THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



March, 191 -4 



alone were datnajred in this or- 

 chard, or more than half the crop 

 of that variety. Tojjether with 

 tlK^ other waste fruit these were 

 crushed for the juice which was 

 ijent to the cider lactorv. and 

 about lod. to iid. ])er bushel was 

 thus netted. A machine for cut- 

 ting up the apples costs jLl6, 

 whilst a small crusher for eijjht 

 cases costs /Iio, and a lar<r.e oiu' 

 for sixty cases i=So. The juice is 

 sent in barrels, which are return- 

 ed. Another way to dispose of 

 one's waste fruit is to dry it, 

 whilst in some districts there is 

 the jalm or drying factory. 



I returned to Batlow with a 

 firmer belief than ever in the future 

 of the fruit indtistry, for everyone 

 who was in a position to know 

 s))oke jjlowingly of its prospects, 

 seeing that as yet Europe has 

 hardly been touched. Then there 

 is India and the East as well as 

 other markets. Moreoyei", Eni>:,and 

 has not been worked Sicientifically, 

 for too much fruit has been sent 

 to London, instead of sending a 

 big i)roportion direct to other 

 cities, and last, but not least, 

 there is the American market 

 which, when the ^ anama Canal is 

 opened, will be most profitable, as 

 it will be possible to ship direct 

 to New York in the off season. — 

 A. C. Amot, Hon. Sec. Batlow 

 Branch Agricultural Bureau, N. S. 

 W. 



<^ 



Cultivation of the Vine. 



A paper read l)v Mr.' H. 

 Lafier :— 



As far as Australian \-iticulture 

 is concerned manuring is only in 

 the first experimental stage. 

 When it is considered that the 

 average yield of grapes is only i.ys 

 tons per acre, it will readily be 

 understood that there is ample 

 scope for experiment. The fer- 

 tility of any given soil must be 

 gauged, not by its percentage < ( 

 moisture, nor by its supply of 

 available l)lant food, but bv a 

 combination of the two factors. 

 So far the Australian wine trade 

 is concerned, the question of' an- 

 t-estral sentiment has not to be 

 cf)nsidered, and the point -.o be 

 solved is whether manuring will 

 pay or not. It is clearly e<'ident 

 that loo tons hi gra])es from 'y) 

 acres of vines is a much heltcr 

 pa\ing propositirm than a like 

 amount from 75 acres, and this is 

 the point from which the matter 

 must be considered, nameh$; in- 

 creased returns from smaller areas. 



— What is Profitable Manuring ? — 

 IManuringi to be profitable in- 

 volves a little more than actual 

 cost of the manures, for it means 

 that greater care and better culti- 

 vation must be given to the small- 

 er area in order to secure an in- 

 creased weight of fruit. In advo- 

 cating a system of vineyard man- 

 uring, it is not to the fertile soil's 

 of the river lands nor to those 

 choice localities devoted to 'the 

 "growth of table fruits that we 

 look for increased returns, but ra- 

 ther to the less favored districts, 

 where the bulk of the wine varie- 

 ties are grown. Even in the for- 

 mer, however, it is a matter of 

 doubt as to whether the rich 

 soils, with their strong, robust 

 vines, are yielding their maximiim 

 of profit to the growers. We may 

 sum up the main elements which 

 contribute to the fertility of the 

 soil, and with which manuring is 

 chiefly concerned, as nitrogen, 

 |/hosphoric acid, potash, lime, and 

 organic matter. The three former 

 are largely consumed by the vine 

 as essential to good growth and 

 fruit production, and the fourth 

 one, lime, as a necessary food, but 

 more particularly as a corrective 

 to the physical natxire of the soil. 

 In the greater part of the South 

 Australia vine-growing areas we 

 mav say that nitrogen is deficient, 

 potash is fairly plentiful, and 

 phosphoric acid is deficient if 

 heavy yields are to be maintained. 

 Nitrogen 148 conducive to luxuriant 

 orrowth, potash to heavy frviit pro- 

 duction, and phosphoric acid to 

 the g-eneral health and vitality of 

 the vine, and, it is said, to: quality 

 in wine. The latter element is 

 taken up by the vines in much less 

 (luantities than any of the others. 



— Deficiency of Organic Matter. — 

 In the bulk of our vineyards 

 organic matter is deficient, and 

 there is no doubt that the raising 

 of the j^roportion of humus in the 

 soil will materially assist in over- 

 coming other apparent deficiencies. 

 In fact, it may be said that the 

 fiuestion of increasing the propor- 

 tion of organic matter in the srene- 

 ral run of the vineyards is of 

 greater importance than the aopli- 

 eation of either phosphoric acid or 

 potash. Apart from its actual 

 chemical and physical effect as a 

 soil constituent, the moisture-re- 

 taining capacity of any soil is in 

 direct ratio to the percentage of 

 organic matter present. Tlierefore, 

 if some efficient system of m'anur- 

 inc can be practised whereby or- 

 iranic matter is added in such a 

 condition that it is readily incor- 

 jiorated with the soil, apart from 



its action as a source of plantj 

 food, it increases the fertility of 

 the soil by maintaining a more 

 even supply of moisture. . To this 

 end the use of organic refuse of 

 any description in a decaj^ed state 

 can be recommended, and one of 

 the best known sources of this is 

 stable or farmyard manure. This 

 commodity, however, is available 

 onh- in limited quantities, and 

 therefore applicable only to small 

 areas. In addition, the general 

 type of stable manure is not m 

 a form which readily decomposes in 

 the soil except with a large 

 amount of moisture. Thus we find 

 that the only practicable means of 

 applying organic matter to large 

 vineyards 'is by growing special 

 crops within the rows and plough. 

 in<r them in as green manure. For 

 this purpose one or other of the 

 leguminous crops may be chosen, 

 that of greatest utility being peas, 

 with vetches as second best. This 

 practice has .several points to re- 

 commend it — First, the crop is 

 grown generally with a dressing of 

 artificial manure as superphosphate 

 or potash ; second, the crop en- 

 riches the soil in atmosphere nitro- , 

 Fen through the agency of its ni- ; 

 trogen-gathering bacteria ; third, ■ 

 there is a heavy bulk of green 

 matter ploughed 'into the soil 

 which has the advantage of being 

 hea\ily charged with moisture. 

 Thus, it can readily be understood 



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