FARMING NOTES SEPTEMBER.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2215, 18 September 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARMING NO TES SEPTEMBER.

Oats and barley should be well over ground by the beginning of September, particularly the forme! ; while we hay« been excellent crops of the latter sown up to the middle of October, on land previously under turnips and rape, and which had been fed oil by sheep. We, however, do not advocate Lite sowing, when it can be axonled, bdicviug tiiat those who piactise it farm at a great di^ad\ antage, and piobdbly with little profit in the end. CJi.iss and clover wed-j may now be sown. The cultivation of barley should receive morn attention than it does at present. The land best suited for this crop u a light f liable lo.im. To produce good crops the giouud inn^t be deeply tilled anil thoroughly leiluced to a fine tilth; the seed m-.st be of go > I quality, and frequently changed (this applies equally to oats and wheat, and nuked to all seeds), delecting only that winch has been grown on good bailey sod The ('hevalicr and (iolden Melon barley commands the li!gli"st pi ice, and is a good croppoi, but of a somewhat coarser description, nor do<;s it sufifei no much from the attacKs of catcrpillais. Man<;ki,s — The fiist sowing should now be got in aa rapidly as possible, presuming that the soil has had deep and careful tilling. No arable farm pretending to any system should be without a good breadth of these useful roots. The past exceptionally se\ere winter has amply demon.itiated the value of loot crops, the absence of winch was well nigh caused the ruin of many of our f.irmem, while those who had a supply have been able to keep their stock in comparative comfort. In tolerably diy lands, sow iv diills on the flat fiom '20 to 3) nu-lies apait, four pounds of good seed will sutlice lor an acie ; if sown broadcast, half the quantity will do, unless the land is quite clean — oiich as new lavd — and in good heart ; it will always be better to sow in drills, fur the reason that a little supei phosphate or fine bone mea l , from one cwt. per acre and upwards, may be sonu in the drills in eont-iet with the .seed. And again, the hoi&e-hne and drill-grubber can be kept at woik till the leaves meet across the drills. The practice at the Lincoln Collei»e farm is to apply superphosphate in a liquid form to all root ciops. A cart for tlu purpose is us,ed with a fcced-sowmg attachment. In dry seasons this system aiiMveis admirably, insuring a rapid gio.\ th of the young plant. — N Z. Country Journal.