The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1103, 19 July 1879, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact juatioo to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious

or Dolitical. Hero shall the Press tho People's right

maintaiu, Unawed by influenco and taibribod by gain.

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 1879

Ajvready since the House wa opened the Ministry have raet with two checks*, defeats they can scarcely be called, though full of significance ; tho one when Mr Macandrew brought forward his motion for a direct steam service with Home, and .the amendment of Mr Wake, field for its adjournment was carried, the Nativ3 Minister voting with the amendment to deprive the doomed motion of the character of being a Ministerial question ; the other when the Premier asked the Honse to allow tho debate on the Address m Reply to take place on Wednesday, so that, that business over, the House might proceed to (ho discussion of the loan Bill to enable debentures to be sent home by the next mail, the financial position of the colony being such that the immediate floating- of a portion of it was absolntely necessary for carrying on the administration. That the Opposition havo acted wisely m refusing the latter request has been loudly called m question by the Ministerial portion of the Press, which — admitting the correctness of what was stated by both Sir William Fox and Major Atkinson, that if the monetary matters of the colony were m such a position as depicted by the Premier, it was the duty of the Government to have called Parliament together at an earlier date — think that having scored that point it would have been better to have yielded to the request rather than run the risk of embarrasing the administration of the colony. It does, however, require farther explanation to enable us to See what special obstacle there is to floating a loan m England m the months of October, November or December — why, if as said by the Premier it cannot be floated m September, the operation mustnecessarily lie over till Januaiy. If the July mail be lo»t instructions nan go home by the Angusfc mail, and only one month need be lost,

As yet there has been little but light skirmishing. Parties have not yet consolidated, and one great reason for this is the incertitude of what shall come next. The continuation of many a Ministry m office has depended less on its' own inherent strength, fchau m the djffi-

eulty of replacing it from the opposite ranks. Already this difficulty has shown itself. A Ministry m which no Auckland member would hold a portfolio has been spoken of, aud Auckland, which is fully represented m the present Cabinet), naturally demurs to such a thing, and of course the Opposition can scarcely afioi'd to provoke so large a vote into hostility. The natural outcome of the present state of tliingrs would seem to be a coalition Ministry. On one point neirly all are agreed, th;»t Sir George Giey mvs 1 go — that it would be better for the country aud for himself that he should retire to the ease and comforts of Ins Kawau residence — but thia does- not necessarily imply the retirement from office of all other members of the Cabinet There are thos.l iv the present Ministry, both Auckland andOtagan, who command

the vespecb and sympathy ot the public, and a Ministry which could combine the strength of the large majority of either party — which could cavry on the business of the^ colony without the continual har- 1 rasstnent of a threatened assault on the treasury benches, and with justi enough opposition to keep it iv healthy check — would soon find for the colony a way oat of its native and financial trouble.

Already m this, as well as m other districts, the question of how 1 to return worn-out soil to its original fertility has come to be discussed. The rough-and-ready plan is to return the land to grass and let it lie foi a time, but if it is desired to obtain good crops of grain or roots without delay, dome more speedy, and, ut the same time, cheap result fop re-fertilsing it must be found The cost of bonedudt, guano, or other artificial manures is great, and the effect but temporary at best. As a renovator of worn-oat soils, red clover has been alwaysrecommendedi and where lime at the rate of 100 buahols and about three busheln of gypsum to the acre, can be applied there is no difficulty m ensuring- a crop. Tho lime is harrowed m, bat the gypsum is sown about six weeks after the clover, its object being not to act as a manure for the plant but to fix the ammonia, retaining it and attracting the carbonic acid gas from the air. The secret of the fertilising effect of clover lies m the fact that it derives exactly one-half its food from the air and only half from the soil. Whether ploughed m green, fed upon the land, or carried home »s hay and returned as manure, the clover leaves the soil twice as rich as it was before the crop was sown. Speaking of turning m red clover as a renovator and preparative for wheat crop, the ' Country Gentleman' of a late date, says : - " It is not so essential that a coat of green clover be ploughed under early, or at midsummer as some imagine. I would never advise it, for the reasons that you only turn water under and lay bare the soil to rain, sun and wind. The office of clover is to shade the ground, protect it from a burning sun, washing 1 rains and wind. In so doing, the ammonia which is m constant process of creation, is protected and retained. It is to vegetable life, what blood is to auimal life, and therein lies the marvellous effect a dense, heavy coat of clover has on the ensuing crop. The effect depends notaltoxetker upoh the roots, stems, or blades, which some suppose to be tLe agency. Theu it is clear that the clover should m same form remain > as a cover to the ground, until the last day before ploughing for the corn crop which should follow. If m June it is cat off for hay, it soon rallies; and affords shelter, and should not be pastured, if the aim is to get the soil m good hearfc for a crop. The ensuing summer, if ifc is desired to sow wheat, plough it down a few weeks before seeding time, and that is the time to scatter the lime over the ploughed ground, having then plenty of vegetable matter to decompose, to prepare it for food for the wheat plant." The season will of course differ here, the wheat being, sown m May or June, and the clover turned m m autumn. Where ifc is first intended to obtain a clover crop it is recommended to sow m spring a peck of red clover seed to the acre on autumn sown wheat and to sow tho gpysuru soon after the clover is up. The advantages of a resort to clover as a resorative are aiainly its cheapness as compared with the contin»ous use of artificial manures and the fact that except the loss of the aftergrowth of the hay crop ploughed m instead of beingeaten orcufc, the land, unlike the rase of a naked fallow, is producing a. crop the while it is undergoing the process of restoration. Such a course, says the authority quoted above, the result of inexpensive manures such as 100 100 bushels of lime per acre, a peck of clover seed and three bushels of gypsum or, as here, where these stimulants ,to fertility are not so cheap as at home, some fertiliser to ensure the catching of the clover, will m every iustance bring up land if it is not too wet or und rained, and is far more durable and far less expensive than by the use of phosphate, guano, or other mineral preparations, which are only within the reach of the wealthiest amateur farmers, and require renewed applications paph crop, whereas land restored by the use of lime and clover does not require lime again for many years. This line of treatment has never failed to bring qp land to a highly productive standard, and, it is not attended with much

outlay of cash. Hundreds of wornout farms have been rescued from dissipation and ruin. It is an aco°pted truijm that as long as "clover will catch," the farm can soon be restored to paying fertility, and by suoh rotation is even getting more productive and profitable, for after some years of such treatment the land will bear harder farmiug ; that is, two or three crops may succeed a good coat of clovev before laying down to clover again.