REPORT OF MR. R. ROBERTSON 



333 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



CLOVER EXPERIMENTS. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH ALFALFA. 



The alfalfa sown in 1909, while seeming- to come through the winter better than 

 usual, made rather indifferent growth, and was more or less patchy. 



This was cut June 23, and a light cutting taken off; then left to grow for the 

 remainder of the season, leaving a moderately good crop standing (probably about 

 one ton per acre), in the fall, with some little seed. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH RUN-OUT LAND. 



The experiment to determine the practicability of restoring run-out land, where a 

 limited amount of manure is available, was continued this season. 



This was commenced in the season of 190G on a field of eight acres of heavy clay 

 with some little loam, badly run out and particularly deficient in humus. This field 

 had grown grain, and had been sown to grass sixteen years previous, since when it had 

 been lying in pasture, producing extremely little after the first three years. The field 

 was made into four plots of two acres each. 



With a view to making each plot as nearly equal in fertility as possible, the field 

 was divided into eight parts of one acre each, and numbered 1 to 8, nos. 1 and 8 being 

 designated plot 1 (2 acres) ; Nos. 2 and 7, plot 2 (2 acres) ; Nos. 3 and 6, plot 3 (2 acres) : 

 and Nos. 4 and 5, plot 4 (2 acres). 



On plot 1, no fertilizer was used; on plot 2, three hundred lbs. commercial fertilizer 

 per acre was used. On plot 3, six hundred lbs. commercial fertilizer per acre was used, 

 and on plot 4, ten one-horse cart loads of barnyard manure per acre was used. 



In the season of 1906, this field was sown with peas, oats and veiches, mixed 

 together and sown at .the rate of three bushels per acre. They were allowed to grow 

 until about August 1, when the entire crop was ploughed under. This was repeated in 

 1907. In 1908, the land was sown with Waverley oats, Odessa barley, and Prussian Blue 

 peas, mixed together and sown at the rate of three bushels per acre, together with clover 

 and timothy at the rate of 10 lbs. clover and 12 lbs. timothy seed ner acre. This was 

 followed with clover hay in 1909 and again with mixed grain in 1910. 



The following tables will show the results for each of the three years, 1908, 1909 

 and 1910:— 



