606 



THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



wider rows with, thicker planting ; the 

 width of the row will counter-balance the 

 more plentiful setting by allowing room 

 for cultivation and admitting air and light, 

 be.sides giving a good thick stand. The 

 number of seed to each hole is a debatable 

 question. Many favour a single good seed 

 to a set, but on the other hand it is doubt- 

 ful if a single plant will make as good a 

 return. A thicker sowing of two seeds to 

 the set will ensure a greater number of 

 plants and allow for bad seed, ravages of 

 insects, and other losses which are difficult 

 to remedy when the sowing is found to 

 be too thin. The quantity sown will be 

 so far regulated by what the land is 

 profitably capable of bringing to maturity; 

 too heavy phnting is likely to result in 

 number of plants at the expense of yield 

 in stem and cob. 



There is much yet to be done in Natal 

 in an experimental way regarding tbe 

 most profitable weight of seed to sow and 

 the best depth of planting ; these are, of 

 course, largely regulated by the condition 

 of the seed, soil, climate, and season, and 

 until experiments are instituted each 

 farmer will have, to a certain extent, to 

 derive his opinions from the experience 

 he has gained on his own land. 



It is certainly a mistake to keep on 

 planting mealies year after year on the 

 same land without a change of crop ; 

 rotation, whether in the shape of smaller 

 grains such as oats, barley or rye, roots, 

 clovers, peas or beans, should have its 

 place on the farm. Thereby the land is 

 rested from the constant draught on some 

 particular part of its resources ; change 

 relieves and rests the land and prevents 

 it becoming what is termed " oick " of a 

 particular crop. It is refreshed and 

 renewed by the change to a crop having a 

 different root system. 



An average crop of mealies, including 

 stems, leaves and cobs, will remove per 

 acre some 74 lbs. of nitrogen, 27 lbs. of 

 phosphoric acid, and 64 lbs. of potash. So 

 it will be seen that the plant draws largely 

 on all the fertile constituents ; if these 

 are not already in the soil in sufficient 

 quantities, which is seldom the case, they 

 must be added in some suitable form. 

 Good farmyard manure makes a splendid 

 l)asis for manuring, especially when sup- 

 plemented by artificials either supplying 

 one deficient ingredient or complete, as 



the case may be. Nitrogen is largely 

 drawn on, and it is one of the most costly 

 elements we have to supply in the form 

 of a bought manure, yet by adopting a 

 system of rotation with a leguminous 

 crop or growing such for the purpose of 

 green manuring, the nitrogen content of 

 the land may be largely increased, at a 

 much less expense than through the pur- 

 chase of artificials. 



It is impossible to set down a fixed for- 

 mulae for a manure which will just suit 

 the mealie under all circumstances, owing 

 to the variation in soils and other condi- 

 tions which govern its growth. Each 

 individual soil would have to be examined 

 in order to ascertain its peculiarites befoue 

 a fertiliser could be prescribed which 

 would meet the wants of the lands and 

 crop. But taking into account the duration 

 of growth of the plant, some knowledge 

 of Natal soils and approval which certain 

 mixtures have had under experiment in 

 other countries, and recent observations 

 which have demonstrated that physiolo- 

 gical conditioDS largely govern the fertility 

 of a soil, and the power crops have of 

 making use of the materials within their 

 reach, a formulfe may be arranged to suit 

 the crop in the majority of soils. 



The following manure is devised to 



apply to the mealie crop : — 



Bone Dust 140 lbs. ] 



Superphosphate 112 „ (per 



Sulphate of Ammonia 98 ,, j acre. 



Sulphate of Potash 70 „ ) 



420 lbs. 



This works out at 6 per cent, nitrogen, 

 11.5 per cent, phosphoric acid, and 8.5 per 

 cent, potash, or 25 lbs. nitrogen, 48 lbs. 

 phosphoric acid, and 36.5 lbs. potash to the 

 acre. 



I have purposely named those fertilisers 

 which can be procured in Natal, and 

 these may be all mixed together and sown 

 simultaneously if for immediate use, but 

 if the mixture will have to stand for some 

 time it is preferable to sow the bone dust 

 by itself and mix the others together, or 

 keep the two -lots separate till time of 

 sowing. The mixture at present prices 

 will probably cost about £2 2s. 6d., it 

 gives the phosphate partly in a soluble 

 and partly insoluble state. 



Basic slag may be substituted for bone 

 dust, say at the rate of 1^ cwt. It is a, 



