10 May, 1916.] What shall ve do with our Lucerne. 309 



The roots of crops, manure of any kind, old surface soil, water, and 

 air are the true soil-making factors, and when these penetrate to the 

 subsoil, or the subsoil is mixed through them, then the true " weather- 

 ing " takes place, and more soil is m.ade. To work poor and bare soil 

 to any depth is, therefore, of little or no value. Let us say that it is 

 always wrong to plough a bare fallow, in so far as we desire to make 

 more soil, since no addition is made, and little or no change of 

 importance takes place in the soil. It is looser, sweeter, and more 

 acceptable to a given crop, but an exhaustive process all the same, 

 whereas every crop should compensate in some form or other for what 

 it takes from the soil. — Auckland Weekh/ Times. 



WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR LUCERNE? 



B. T. Archer^ Senior Dairy Inspector. 



In discussing means of obtaining satisfactory^ returns for lucerne on 

 irrigation settlements, the impression appears abroad that the present 

 price of dairy cows is prohibitive. If that were so, how could tlu* 

 British farmer afford to conduct a dairy farm at all, for the regular 

 price for a dairy stock there is always about equal to the prices ruling 

 here this season. As will be seen from the table given below, the dairy 

 farmer in England does not receive higher rates for produce of good 

 quality on an average than the farmer in this country, be it milk, 

 butter, or cheese. Also our herd testing exi>erience leads us to the 

 o})inion that our cattle are capable of as good returns as those of 

 Britain or other countries Avhen well fed. That is where the difference 

 lies. In Britain the cows are well fed the year round. Here they 

 generally have sufficient feed while there is abundance of spring grass, 

 but as soon as that becomes short or dry, and as substitutes er supple- 

 mentary feeds are not provided, the cows dry off, consequently the 

 returns are profitable for five or six months only. Dairy cows have 

 now arrived at a fair valuation, and it should be an indr.cement to 

 those farmers who own tliem to pay more attention to improvement in 

 breeding and management. In the past, it has been generally conceded 

 that £7 10s. per annum would cover the cost of keeping a cow, including 

 food, interest, labour. &c. To this must now be added interest and 

 sinking fund on increased cost of purchase, Avhich will probably be £15. 

 Allowing 5 per cent, interest = ir)s., and 20 i)er cent, sinking fund — - 

 £3, nuiking annual cost £11 5s. A herd of such cows would easily 

 average -'500 lbs. of fat. which at Is. would return £1"). Skim milk 

 u-ouhi amount to about .■').400 lbs. As .'JO lbs. of skim milk will produce 

 1 lb. of pork, there would be 180 lbs. of ])ork per ccw. valuing this ai 

 (5d. would give £4 lOs. (present and probable future prico for somt- 

 vears will be 50 jjer cent, above that). At this rate the total gros> 

 return per cow would be £19 10s., or net £S 5s., besides the calf. One 

 acre of lucerne should i>rovide sutHcient feed for a cow for a year (i.r.. 

 5 cuts of 1 ton of hay each, equal to '^ tons green stuff, or 15 tons for 

 the year of green lucerne); that would give a return ecpial to £19 per 

 aci-e foi- lucerne converted into milk. 



