The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16,1879.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1128, 16 September 1879, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1879.

Equal and exact justico to all men, .Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press tho People's right maintain, Gnawed by influence and tmbribed by gain.

Scme little time since, we published a really "valuable and interesting essay on potato culture, from the pen of Mr James Hunciman, and as the time has now arrived, when farmer's will be busily engaged throughout the district, in getting in their potato crops, a return to the snbjecb may not be oub of place. The main point to be borne in mind by cultivators of this crop is, that none bub a good one^ will pay iur the labour, and that, therefore, it is more profitable to grow one acre that will yield above a certain average than bwo acres that fail below it, for there will be all the expenses attendant upon a poor crop that there are upon a good one. If the land to be planted is old grass land, no plan can be better thau ploughing in the sets under every third furrow, about four inches deep. Whether, even then, a little manure will noc be of advantage, must depend upon the richness or otherwise of the soil, and of this the farmer hihiself can alone judge. On ordinary laud, however, coming in. tlit rotation, arid which has been more or less cropped, the soil must be assisted, if a payable crop is to be obtained, and the field left in suitable condition for either wheat or grass. Land must be exceptionally rich, which, under these circumstances,' would not pay for the outlay of some kind of artificial manure — nf>y, ,the probability is that the margin for profit will be found in exact proportion as this want is attended to. Mr Runciman published some valuable tables, showing- the results of certain expenditures in artificial manures for the potato crop, in which this was very notice able, and that our readers may study and profit by them at the present moment, we again commend them to their notice. The potatoes in each of the following experiments were planted on the 21st of September ; one single drill, side by side, six. chains long : — At the rate of lOcwt bone meal per acre, ' gave 6601bs potatoes, or, at the rate of 14 tons scwt per acre. „ „ fiewt bone meal per acre, gave 4901bs potatoes, or, at the rate of 1 1 tons per acre. „ „ sowt Hurst's mixture per acre, gave 510lbs of potatoes, ' or, at the rate of 11 ton 2cwt per acre. „ „ 6cwt superphosphate per acre, gave 4561bs of potatoes, or, af the rate of 10 tons 6c\vt per acre. „ • „ SOOlbs of coarse salt per acre, 1 gave 2651bs of potatoes, or, at the rate of 5 tons IGowt per aero. (no manure) only the grass turned in, gave 3201bs of potatoes, or, at the rate of 6 1 toas 18cwt per acre. Now, we start, as above, with a normal condition of the soil, in •"hi ih. it gives at the rate of 6 tons 18ewb per acie, anr l we find that for an expenditure of, say, 55s per acre, for sowt of bone meal, the produce is increased to 11 tons 2cwt of potatoes per acre ; that is, by an outlay of fifty-five shillings the same land produces 4 tons 4 cwt. of potatoes more per acre than it did without such application. Again by doubling the dose of bone flour 14-| tons per acre are obtained. Thus for an additional fifty-five shillings the acre is made to give a further increase of 3 tons 3cwt. of potatoes. Yet, of course, except so far as the handling 1 and carting of the extra quantity grown, theexpense of cultivating the crop on the unmanured acre is as great, less tho coot of the manure, as that of cultivating the full crop of 14£ tons. The crop is doubled, in fact, a,t a cost of £5 10s per acre, and in that extra yield lies the profit. There is, undoubtedly, a limit to which manure may be profitably applied, and probably Mr Runcirnan's experiments very nearly reached that limit, 17 cwt. of bonedust to the acre is said to be, by actual experiment, the maximum quantity that can be used with the greatest proportionate return, and bone flour being so much more easily and quickly absorbed as food by plants, the half ton of the one may be taken as coming verr nearly to the standard of 17 cwt. of the other. Of the other experiments in Mr Runciman's list we shall aay nothing, because they afford us no subject for comparison as do the two dissimilar applications of the same manure, bone flour. Mr liunciraan condemns the old British style of having all tbe land well worked, and the potatoes then drilled in. He advocates, not the use of the searifier to thoroughly pulverise the soil throughout, but of the skimcoulter, whether the land be rough or bare, and planting at such a distance only, say thirtydnches from to row, and a foot in the row, as will enable ' the tops fa easily govqp the ground,

and keep in the moisture. Between whole sets and cut sets, Mi* Ruuciraan has uo choice, and for plantiug at this season, and on moderately dry soils, the latter are quite safe, if sufficiently skinned over. The essay contained, also, much useful information, with reference to the »fter cultivation and the housing of the crop, bat, at' the present time, the remarks on planting are of chief interest.