Pasture Notes.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 4, 9 April 1920, Page 13

Pasture Notes.

(BY E. BRUCE LEVY.)

ASSISTANT BIOLOGIST, WERAROA STATE FARM. GKASSING OF FERN LANBS. The above mixtures aim at permanent grasslands on this type of country. They are fairly expensive (at least £2 per acre), and will not produce a large bulk of feed soon after sowing, and when late autumn sown as little stocking as possible sbould be give n in order that a good sward be produced so that heavy stocking can he carried out in October. If it is not possible to put on the above mixtures in view of the high cost the foilowing two alternatives are — - (1) Reduce the area to be sown. (2) Use mainly Ryegrass in the first year's sowings and when this is thinning out surface sow seed of the other species mentioned in the mixtures to be sown : — 251b Pc-rennial Rye *61b Crested Dogstail 21b White Clover. followed in subsequent years by surface sowing with Cocksfoot. Poa Pratensis, Danthonia, etc. This method should he successful in a moist climate bnt in dry areas the surface sowing of seed later may not prove successful. INDUCED FERN COUNTRY. These areas are of receiit origin and represent a type of succession to which all bush land in New Zealand is prone a few years after the forest has been cleared and burnt. In dealing with this type c4 country therefore the utmost endeavour should be made to so regulate the factors of seeding and subsequent farm management that the reversion to fern is prevented. Just so long as a sole of grass is maintained, so that the area is capable of can'yin.g stock there is little danger of fern coming in, but so soon a-s hare ground appears or that the feed so diminislies that but few stock can be carried then fern will inevitably come in and it being of such an aggressive nature soon overshadows and crowds ont what little grass has persistcd, resulting in but a few years in a complete covering cf forn . . Owing to the steepness of the country and logged state ploughing is impossible, and owing to the poor fern undergrowth the area will not carry a fire. Some years

of fern must elapse before sufficient dead j undergrowth of fern has accumnlated in order that a saiisfactory burn can be secured. The aim certainly should be to secure a good sole of grass from tlie forest fire for on induced fern country, eve.i after a saiisfactory burn, the young grass has a very seiuous ccmpetitor in the reappearing fern more so than has that grass sown on the original forest burn. Induced fern country must be looked 1 upon, therefore, as dihicult country to ; tackle without experience and a fair bank- | ing acconnt. The disability of failure is j fairly great and certainly this class of country should not be tackled by the sma.ll man without at least some level country that can be ploughed. If the ploughable area is in the rough logged state tlie foilowing approximate ex. penditure would be incurred in order to aecure a crcp Stumping and logging up, £15 per acre (fairly heavy bush). Seeding, £2 per acre. Ploughing and cultivating £1 10s pcr acre. It is owing to the high cost of stumping that a great deal of our more level bush country has remained in fern and such vegetation until such time as the fitnmns have more or less rotted out.

The grass-seed mixtures reoommended for natural fern land apply also to induced fern country, and must be varied according to nature of country to which applied . The renovation by the surface sowing of seed of much of our country now in the stage of transition. should be undcrtaken, the roughish patches of fern etc, being burnt previous to seeding. The species of grasses and clovers likely to be of most value for this surface sowing are ; Crested Dogstail, Poa Pratensis, Danthonia, Chewings Fescue, Fiorin, White Clover, and Lotus Hispidus, If a good deal of birrning is done then other grasses and clovers conld be added and a mixture similar to that rccommended for

fern burns could be used. The mere surface sowing of grass and clover seed on to a more or less turf is really needful of much experimental work to determine whai species actually are the most reliable to use and the time and quantities to sow. Those mentioned above have, however, been tried to some extent, and the times of sowing most likely to be attendant on success are early spring or after the first rains of autumn. It is quite possible and probable that Crested Dogstail alone wonld prove quite a satisfactory grass to employ sowing down from 10-181b per acre plus 21b White Clover. Wlxether the heavy cost of sowing truly permanent mixture on this class of country could be spread over a period of years requires experimental proof and depends on how successful surface sowing of grass and clover seed is when applied to tlie already cxisting turf. There is little doubt but what Paspalum should be valuable in many fern infested areas. A sward of Danthonia and Paspalum, even if the fern did get away, would ensure that the area could readily be fired without injury to either of these grasses. However, where winter feed is the necessity, Paspalum will be of little value, as this grass is essentially a summer one. The value of Danthonia is not fully appreciated by many of our second and third-class bush burn country farmers. It

is considered not good enough for the land of any one particular farmer. The endeavour is made to grass with grasses land that is just a little too poor for those grasses satisfactorily to estahlish and hold. If one takes, for instance, a typical mix- j j ture used on this hiii-side country : — [ 61b Perennial Rye s 31b Italian Rye 61b Cocksfoot ! 11b Crested Dogstail 11b Poa Pratensis ^lb Chewings Fescue. 21b Danthonia Pilosa 11b Waipu Brown Top or Fiosin. 21b White Clover 21b Cowgrass. It will be see-n that the permanent elements amount to 13-glb per acre, which amount is expected wh.-u sown on steep hillsides, where the loss is considerable by wasting away, etc., to give a satisfactory soil. Agaiii the binding clement as represented by Poa Pratensis and Chew1 ings Fescue (lJ,ilo per acre) is quite useless, which means that even the Cocksfoor cannot rightly be looked upon as a permarient con%tituent.