I I «.i MINOUS CROPS. .">, 3 



5. The leading importers are prepared to use locally grown nuts if the 



quality is equal to the imported article. 



6. The protection afforded by the import duties of 4d. per lb., and 6d. 



when shelled, on nuts, and 2s. per gallon from United Kingdom, 

 and 'Ss. from otb.fr countries on edible oil, with the possibility of 

 increased duty when the area of production warrants it. 



7 Excellent machines for handling in all stages of the industry are 

 procurable from overseas. 



8. The uses to which the peanut is put are ever increasing, and the 



demand greater each year. 



9. The plant is of considerable value on the farm holding as a soil- 



renovating crop and a quick-fattening fodder for all classes of stock. 



FIELD PEAS.* 



These crops deserve more extensive cultivation than they have received in 

 the past. As a fodder for sheep, pigs, and other stock they have been found 

 excellent. For several reasons, however, they are more frequently grown 

 with wheat, oats, or barley, forming a very palatable and well-balanced 

 fodder. 



The most suitable soils are loams and clay loams of an open nature. 

 Sandy, soils give but poor results, partly on account of their general lack of 

 plant-food, and partly because of their tendency to dry out rapidly and 

 become warm during a spell of hot, dry weather. On such soils it is 

 advisable to use farmyard manure whenever obtainable, and many stock- 

 yards where manure has accumulated for years could be sweetened and very 

 profitably used by growing peas in combination with oats or barley for 

 green feed. 



In most of the river districts of the North Coast large areas of field-peas 

 are grown each year for feeding milch cows. Besides producing a rich 

 milk-producing food, the refuse is ploughed under in the spring, and the 

 soil considerably enriched for the summer crop of maize. 



A method of sowing field peas that has come into some prominence on the 

 North Coast, where maize-growing, in conjunction with dairying, is prac- 

 tised, is to sow the peas between the rows of late maize just prior to the last 

 cultivation. Very little growth is made until the maize ripens, when the 

 dying leaves allow free ingress of light and air, and causes a quick growth of 

 succulent forage. When the maize is pulled the dairy cattle are turned in, 

 and an immediate increase in milk yield is the result. In addition, this 

 system prevents the growth of weeds, and, most important of all, helps to 

 maintain the fertility of the soil by reason of the power peculiar to this 

 group of plants of enriching the soil with nitrogen. 



Field peas may be sown from February to May. If a succession of sow- 

 ings be made every fortnight or so the crop can be utilised much more 

 economically, as there is less waste. 



* The matter under this heading, together with that under the heading Vetches and 

 Tares, has been revised from previous matter by several officers of the Field Stall 



