402 Agricultural Gazette o/ N.S.W. [June 2, 1920. 



Improvement of the Swamp Land Pasture. 



The first step in the improvement of the pasture on such swamp land is the 

 encouragement of sweet grasses and of clovers. There does not seem any 

 doubt that Paspalum dilatalum cannot be improved on as a summer pasture 

 on this soil. This grass will stand the wet conditions that obtain, and thrives 

 luxuriantly. It should, therefore, be seeded and encouraged without much 

 delay on practically the whole area after the cutting of the main drain. 

 During the first few years the land is best utilised for keeping dry cattle, 

 steers, or bullocks in condition. Dairying is hardly worth a' tempting until 

 the land has sweetened considerably. To effect this sweetening more 

 quickly it is essential that an application of lime should be made at once. 

 Freshly slaked lime or agricultural lime at the rate of 1 to 2 tons per 

 ac)-e should be used for this purpose. This application will require repeating 

 every few years until the sourness has almost disappeared. 



When the paspalum pasture has become thoroughly established the 

 sweetening effect may be hastened by ploughing every few years. This 

 ploughing should be cari'ied out with a view to bringing up a little of the 

 subsoil for aeration and admixture with the surface peat soil, and also for 

 renovation of the pasture. The subsequent limings can be conveniently made 

 after these ploughings for the best effect. Except under such treatment the 

 land cannot but be expected to remain in a sour state for many years. 



The encouragement of clovers is particularly desirable, and so far the 

 ordinary white clover has been found to be the best for inclusion in paspalum 

 pastures. Without the sweetening of the soil by liming, however, it is 

 useless to attempt clovers. Alsike clover is reported to be largely grown on 

 and very suitable for muck and peat lands on drained swamps in America — 

 being more resistant to acid conditions than any other clover. Comparatively 

 little success has been obtained from this clover in this State under any 

 conditions, but it is certainly worth a trial on the class of land under 

 consideration. Shearman's clovei (described in the Agricultural Gaz'tlte for 

 April), which is particularly suited to the low-lying salt-marsh soils at 

 FuUerton Cove (near Newcastle), may prove a valuable acquisition on these 

 drained swamps. Red clover in any of its forms (including cowgrass) is 

 more intolerant of an acid or sour soil than any of the clovers. 



For winter or early spring pasture, a small paddock of perennial rye grass, 

 cocksfoot, prairie grass, and alsike clover is worth trial, to see if it will 

 withstand the conditions, but in a pasture separate from the paspalum. 

 When depending on pasture so much, more care should be exercised in its 

 treatment, such as the periodical resting or shutting up of the paddocks. 

 This can only be accomplished by the employment of smaller subdivision 

 parldocks, cheap rough fencing for which can be made from the tea-tree 

 saplings usually found on the edge of the swamp. The upland pasture mainly 

 consists of couch gi-ass, with which white clover should also be encouraged by 

 artificial distribution if necessary. It is only with the sweetening of the 

 swamp land pasture and the encouragement of cloveis that the milk-failing 

 and bone-chewing habits of the dairy cows can be expected to disappear. 



