284 Journal or the Department or Agriculture. — vSept., 1922. 



Fertilizers for Potatoes. 



Ccvpe Flats. — Is Government guano a suitable fertilizer for pota- 

 toes and vegetables? 



Elsenhurg School of AgricaUuie replies : To use Government 

 "■uano for potatoes and vegetables to the best advantage, it "should be 

 mixed with superphosphate and with some sulphate of potash. About 

 300 lb. (xovernment guano, 300 lb. superphosphate, and 80-100 lb. 

 sulphate of potash would be a suitable mixture to be used on your soil 

 at the rate of 400 to 450 lb. per acre. 



Clovers for the Western Province. 



Stellenhosch, Cape Province. — What clovers woiild you recom- 

 mend for the Western I^rovincey 



Elsenhurg School of Agriculfvre replies : One or two of the 

 indigenous " clovers " are well worth consideration. The common 

 "burr clover'' (Mcdicago denticulata) i)r()vides an excellent feed for 

 a considerable length of time. The ol)je(tionable feature — the burr — 

 is more than counterl)alaii((Ml l)y the good cjualities of this jjlaiit, 

 which readily establishes itself if sown in the autumn. 



As regards true clovers, l)road red clover, cow grass, late flower- 

 ing red, and Chilian clover j)rovide a good cut. These four are 

 very closely allied varieties, and at Elsenburg the first-mentioned — 

 broad red — has given the best results. If irrigation can be practised, 

 these clovers should give excellent returns during the summer months. 

 For pasture work, wild white clover, though somewhat expensive, has 

 given good results under adverse conditions during the past three 

 seasons. It is apparently a selection of the ordinary Dutch or dwarf 

 white clover, and is more hardy than the Dutch clover, which, how- 

 ever, is well worthy of consideration. Another hardj*^ legume which 

 does well here in poor soil is Birdsfoot Trefoil. The plant is deep- 

 rooting, and has shown itself to be very robust. 



Oat and Vetch Silage. 



Moorreeshurg, Cape I'lovince. — Would you recommend the grow- 

 ing of oats and vetches for silage purposes? What variety of oats 

 and what variety of vetches? How much seed of each per acre? 



Elsenhurg School of Agriculture replies: Spring vetches and 

 oats mixed do well practically all over the AVestern Province. The 

 crop is produced more cheaply than either sorghums, millets, or 

 mealies, and from a silage point of view it is equal in value to 

 mealies. The return per acre of green material varies from 3 to 4 tons. 

 The growing of oats and vetches mixed either for silage or hay 

 cannot be too strongly recommended to Western Province farmers. 

 Sow the mixture of English spring vetches and Algerian oats in early 

 May at the rate of 20 lb. vetches and 40 lb. oats i)er acre. Algerian 

 oats mature later than the vetch, but it is recommended in prefer- 

 ence to early varieties, owing to the firmness of straw, which is better 

 able to carry the vetch vines and prevent lodging of the crop so 

 easily.' 



