THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



Some Results in Fallowing 

 L&nd. 



By John W. raterson, B.Sc, Vh. 

 1)., Exi)eri!ncntaUst, and P. U. 

 Scott, Chemist for Afjriculturc, 

 Victoria. 



The most pressiiiji demands of an 

 ordinar\' crop are for water, 

 phosphates and nitrates. The im- 

 portance of these arises from their 

 comparative scarcity in the soil. 

 The deficiency of i^hosphates is 

 most easily made j^ood by apply- 

 intf some phosphate manure aloiia; 

 with the seed. The deficiency of 

 water and nitrates can nsually 

 best 1)6 remedied bv some system 

 of fallowintj the land. 



— Fallowing and Soil Moisture. — 



Table I gives the percentage of 

 water in the top i8 inches of soil 

 at each date of sampling. The re- 

 snlts are calculated on the dry 

 soil. 



Table I. 



O ^ 



24-95 

 16.25 

 10.01 

 10.06 



In viewing the results the con- 

 ditions regulating the loss of 

 water on good fallow, bad fallow 

 and on crop may be briefly re- 

 capitulated. Water rises in a 

 moist soil somewhat rapidly by 

 capillarity. In a good fallow, the 

 upper layer of soil is kept loose 

 and drv by cultivation, so that 

 its capillary power is lost. This 

 loose, dry layer protects the water 

 within the capillary zone under- 

 neath from sun and wind. In a 

 bad fallow, the surface is compact, 

 and also damper, so that capillary 

 action is continued right through 

 to the top, which is unprotected 

 from drying influences. A crop 

 requires much water for its 

 growth, which must come from the 

 soil. Experiments bearing upon 

 the water losses through plants 

 were previously reported. 



— The results by Weight. — 



By weighing the earth from a 

 measured hole, it was estimated 

 that I acre of the soil to a depth 

 of 18 inches equalled 2,270 tons in 

 the dry condition. Employing this 

 figure, the water percentages at 

 the different dates may be con- 

 verted into tons. 









Neglected 

 Fallow. 

 Per cent. 







Worked" 

 Fallow. 

 Per cen1 



Oct. 



16 



27.22 



24.27 



Xov. 



28 



19.62 



15-95 



-Tan. 



17 



0.66 



1 1. 61 



Feb. 





21.67 



12.38 



Tabic II. 



•a a. 

 5 o 



October 16 572 551 566 



Xovember 28 445 362 345 



.January 17 469 203 227 



February 28 492 281 228 



-Vt the close of the experiments, 

 the cropi>ed soil contained 264 tons, 

 and the neglected fallow 211 tons 

 less of water ])er acre in the first 

 18 inches than the corresi>onding 

 worked fallow. One ton of water 

 to the acre equals almost exactly 

 one point of rain. 



— Relation of Fallowing to Ni- 

 trates. — 



Iveaving the effect of fallowing 

 upon moisture, the nitrate con^ 

 tents of the plots next call for 

 notice. Table III states the re- 

 sults obtained in tt)s. per acre of 

 nitrate nitrogen for each plot at 

 the different dates of sampling. 

 Depth, 18 inches. 



Table III. 



Oct. 16 

 Nov. 28 

 Jan. T7 

 Feb. 28 



^ o 



t> fee 



14.04 

 43.20 

 113.09 

 148.91 



M O 



. 



<U oi M 



:z fe32 



I7-,S8 

 44-,'^6 

 60.29 

 ,58.63 



o 

 u 



o 



4-> . 



aj w 



o£ 

 trace 

 3-31 



2j;.o6 



V ,9 



Up to 1 6th October, the v-orked 

 and the neglected fallow had re- 

 ceived the same treatm'ent, and the 

 results show that the worked fal- 

 low had no original advantage. 

 Nevertheless, at the end of Febru- 

 ary, the neglected fallow contained 

 just 39 per cent, of the nitrate 

 1) resent in the worked plot. The 

 latter was seen to be much mois- 

 ter during the latter half of the 

 experiments, and the extra ni- 

 trates are prol^ably due in large 

 measure to this extra moisture en- 

 courao^intr nitrification. This is in 

 accord with the results of experi- 

 ments recently reported in this 

 iournal. Sufficient moisture will 

 be of greatest benefit in aiding ni- 

 trification during the hot months 

 of the year. In addition to tlie 

 extra water present, the better 

 aeration of the worked fallow 

 would also encourage the produc- 

 tion of nitrates. 



— Nitrate Used by Crop. — 



On the cropped plot the nitrate 

 conrtent was only a trace at the 

 date of the first sampling. Com- 

 paring it with the fallow plots, 



this could n()t be due to lack of 

 moi.sture, as at that date the 

 moisture content of each i)lot was 

 a])proxiiiiatelv identical. It ap- 

 pears that the nitrates of this 

 ))I()t had Iveen al)Sorbed to supply 

 the wants of the growing crop. 

 Apparently the crop in the early 

 part of its growth was taking all 

 the nitrates it could find. This 

 fact indicates the imjiortance of 

 nitrates in the soil, and the j)rob- 

 abilitv that the supply often fails 

 to meet the demand. 



— Summary, — 



1. A well-worked fallow pre- 

 vents much loss of soil-moisture 

 during dry weather, 



2. A fallow may do little good 

 if neglected. 



3. A crop leaves the .soil ex- 

 tremely dry in the autumn. 



4. This lack of moisture must 

 affect the succeeding crop unless 

 the winter be exceptionally wet. 



5. The^ Au.stralian clim.ate indi- 

 cates in a special degree the need 

 for fallowing. 



6. Ivand growing a crop may 

 contain only a trace of nitrates. 



7. This deficiency may starve a 

 crop , 



8. Nitrate formation stops when 

 the surface soil becomes too dry, 



9. A growing crop dries up the 

 surface soil. 



10. It is desirable, therefore, 

 that a crop should start with a 

 ready form'ed nitrate supplypv^iliie 

 .soil and subsoil, 



11. Such a nitrate sunply will 

 also favour a downward develop- 

 ment of the roots. 



12. A well-worked fallow meets 

 the nitrate reiuirement of the suc- 

 ceeding crop. 



13- Fallowing serves the double 

 purnose of storinp- soil-moisture 

 and supplying nitrates. 



The amount of capital reqtured 

 to farm successfully with sheep 

 is dependent upon several things : 

 the district selected ; the class of 

 stock to be kept ; and the ability 

 of the farmer. It can, however, 

 safely, he stated that a farmer 

 who knows his business, with a 

 moderate capital, will, in p. suit- 

 able locality, obtain a good return 

 for his money. If there is need 

 for economy in the purchase of 

 foundation stock, it is urged that 

 it should he that true economy, 

 which is shown by the limited size 

 of the flock rather than by a 

 larger flock of low-priced animals. 



