So ae ee eee SN a mn = win tater p IS iol ros, = 4" g®@stp?.%9 598 e eleiaks etatotete?~*- a eee Ae es - = - ‘ -+»_ -*» ae i ia ‘ . ip “+ ose * S : md — FG OS - Oy _~s « oo ane ee en eS Oe ee ee ee eee ee DS Le Se Pet thndn de ed qo we vielele s+ oe + 6 & 08 6 Bg se einjeret® ROY yey rr is by ‘3 y is 4 r . s B a fF : i mY e \ ~ ot AY A AX) r aR —~ avid ~y A mA ye — AWN A ) < A °, iy = as ‘ ' ' ye iy /f . ‘, ‘ wd fi My Pr Gi és -~ we © < : « 4 = « 4 K . q “S P am) 7 " ws ~ » = : 9 ' , i SS ( Q; V * < s « 4 ‘ 4 G < : 4 « ‘ . 7 ? a0" 2 6:@'.2:4:8 ‘ SUPPLEMENT—JUNE 2, 1900. VO Lat EX. PDE TO WOr UNE Ine THE AGRIC UT PUK Age GAZA ITE OF NEW SOUTH WALES Issued by Direction of THE Hon. JOHN PERRY, MP. MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE. By Authority: SYDNEY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER. 1909. ¥41384—a Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,’ June 2, 1909. INDEX To Vou. XIX. 1908. SUBJECT INDEX. PAGE. African Wonder Grass (Panicum spectabile) African Wonder Grass; by B. Harrison 19, 243 Agave. [See Sisal Hemp. ] Agricultural Education. [See Agriculture —Hducation ; Experiment Farms and Stations. | Agricultural Implements, Tools, and Ma- ehinery— Useful Farm Implements; by A. H. Haywood ... 19, 1008 Agricultural Pests. [See Rabbits; rows; Weeds. ] Agricultural Societies. Societies, Exhibitions, ferences, Shows. | Agriculture—General— Farm Notes [monthly] Spar- [See Agriculture— Boards, Con- 19, 80, 168, 261, 348, 513, 603, 775, 865, 1042 Wheat-growing in New South Wales; by G. L. Sutton Sa 19, 355, 448 —— Education, Teaching, College Ss Sahoale: Museums— *“ Daily Telegraph ” Farrer Scholarship —— Societies, Exhibitions, Boards, Con- ferences, Shows— Agricultural Societies’ Shows [monthly] 19, 89, 177, 265, 352, 432, 520, 608, 694, 780, 868, 956, 1044 [See also Judging at Shows. | Alfalfa. [See Lucerne. ] Amarantus albus. [See Tumble Weed. ] Amsinckia echinata— Note on Amsinckia echinata, a very bad 19, 677 weed; by J. H. Maiden aa seo, 19578911 Animals. [See Diseases of Animals. ] Aphides.. Economic Zoology — Aphis causing Scab on Sheep, Cattle, and Horses ... “oe woe 19, 505 Apples and Apple-growing American Apple Industry; by G. Brad- shaw --- 19, 1028 Apple Report [London Apple trade] 19, 757 Apples: zn Varieties of Fruit Grown; by W. J. Allen... ws aes --- 19, 998 ‘-—— Discases— Growth of Black-spot on Cased Fruit; by H. M. Nicholls ... sect uesagee 19, 408 Thrips; by W. W. Froggatt ... --- 19, 1030 [See also Codlin Moth; Entomology, Economic ; Fruit-growing; Insects, Injurious; Plant Diseases. | Apricots— Apricots: 7x Notes on Varieties Grown: by W. J. Allen awe --. 19,991 Apricots dried and salted [Mebos. i sesy 195,325 [See also Fruit-growing. | Argemone mexicana. [See Blue Thistle. ] Argentine Repubiic— Dairying in the Argentine; by L. T. MacInnes BOK Bac mae sae Artesian Irrigation— Artesian Irrigation: an antidote for alka- line waters ; by R.S.Symmonds. [ Map.] [See also Irrigation. | Artesian Water and Wells— [See names of individual Bores. | Asclepias semilunata— Valuable Fibre Plant (Asclepias semi- lunata); by J. H. Maiden ... ae —— by C. A. White... B Bacteriology. Economie— Science in Agriculture: Soil Bacteria; by R. Helms... soe Bee one Beans. Fodder— Feeding of Pigs; by H. W. Potts [See also Cow-peas; Nitrification ; Beans. | Bees—General— Influence of Bees on Crops; by A. Gale [See Fertilisation, Botany. | Bees and Bee-farming— [See Honey. ] Beetles— Beetles attacking furniture and woodwork Beetles from Solomon Islands attacking Coco-nut Palms oe [See also Insects, Injurious. ] Binniguy Thistle. [See Blue Thistle. ] Birds— Native Bird destroying the Sparrow [Ground Cuckoo—Shrike (Pteropo- docys phasianella)]; by C. T. Musson _ Blue Thistle (Argemone mexicana)— Note on Argemone mexicana: by J. H. Maiden ... Sere ae ese Bores and Boring— [See names of individual Bores; as Pera Bore. ] | Bot Fly. [See Horse-bot.] Botany. Economic— [See Fibre Plants ; Grasses. | | Bounties— Bounties on Australian Products ms Butter Factories— List of Butter Factories of N.S.W. ee coe ore Soy Forage Plants ; brands] .. aa aoe eae as Butter. Preservatives— Preservative Action Boric Acid in Butter ... ose Sy oc PAGE, 19, 673 19, 609 19, 926 19, 585 19, 657 19, 812 19, 211 19, 507 19, 680 19, 829 19, 391 19, 70 . 19, 1033 Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,” June 2, 1909. ul INDEX, 1908. C PAGE, Carpocapsa pomonella. [See Codlin Moth. ] Cattle. Importation Rules— {ules and Regulations for the inspection and shipment of live stock (Philippine Islands) 19, 738 Che2se— Cheese-making on the South Coast of New South Wales; by W. Graham... 19, 797 [See also Dairying. | Cherries— Cherries: tin Varieties of Fruit Grown; by W. J. Allen... 19, 996 [See also Fruit-growing.] Chicken-pox. [ See Poultry —Piseases. | Chloris Gayana. [See Rhodes Grass. ] Closets. [See Dry-earth Closets. | Clovers— Paspalum dilatatum and Clover; C. F. Julius ae ae «. 19, 851 [See also Leguminose; Nitrification. | Cozoa-nut Palm (Cocos nucifera)— Beetles from Solomon Islands attacking Coco-nut Palms - ae 19, 507 | Codlin Moth (Carpocapsa pomonella)— Gosford-Narara Fruit Fly and Codling Moth Control Experiment; by W. B. Gurney ... are ies Soe eon 195581 [See also Apples and Apple-growing; Entomology, Economic ; Insects, Injurious. | Coffee. Agriculture— Cultivation of Coffee, with particulars of imports, 1906; by H. V. Jackson... 19, 440 Cold Storage — Nutritive and Digestive Properties of Frozen and Chilled Meat [Report by S. Rideal] = me oe wee 19,599) Refrigeration on the Homestead; by H. V. Jackson and A. E. Lea [Plate] 19, 537 Concrete— Concrete Floors; by A. Brooks... 19, 137 Conifer — Conifers: in Forestry; by J. H. Maiden 119, 1, 179, 267 [See also Larch; Pines; and names of other Trees. | Co-operation in Agriculture — Co-operative Farm Machinery; by P. Quirk ... ant ae Moe ee 195-90) Co-operative Marketing of Citrus Fruits (California Fruit-growers’ Exchange) 19, 941 Cost of Production. [See Crops, Cost of Production. ] Cotton. Cultivation — Cotton Growing in N.S.W.; by W. R. Fry Sar swt 19533811 Cow-peas— Feeding of Pigs; by H. W. Potts 19, 808 | [See also Forage Plants; Manures and Fertilisers; Nitrification. ] Cows. [See Dairy Cattle.] | | | Crops. Cost of Production — Cost of Producing Crops in the Hawkes- bury District Cytisus proliferus. [See Tagosaste. ] D Dairy Cattle— Dairy Cattle; by M. A. O’Callaghan ... ——Jerseys + Jerseys for Dairying; by M. A. O’Cal- laghan sits siete oe SE Type and Colour of the Modern Jersey ; by M. A. O'Callaghan —— Diseases— ' Afterbirth in Cows ; Dairying — Dairying in the Argentine; MacInnes ve os ais iis Feeding Milking Herds; by H. R. Alexander aS i ae 3s [See also Butter Factories; Butter Pre- servatives; Cheese. | Dermanyssus galline. [See Mites. ] Devil’s Fig. [See Blue Thistle. ] Dianella. [See Poisonous Plants.] Diseases of Animals— Outbreak of Mortality among Stock in Candelo District; by J. D. Stewart... [See also Veterinary Science ; and sub- heading—Diseases—under names of Animals. ] Dried Fruits. [Sce Fruit-drying. ] Dry-earth Closets— Rural Hygiene .. Ducks. [See Poultry ing —General. | by J. D. Stewart ... by -L. 22: and Poultry-farm- E Eden— Analyses of Soils from the Eden District Egg-laying Compstitions. [Sce Poultry. ] Electricity in Agriculture— Electricity in Agriculture; by W. H. P. Chorry Elms Urticacee (Elms and Figs): x Forestry ; by J. H. Maiden Entomology. Economic— intomological Notes; by W. B. Gurney [See also Insects, Injurious. | Eriachne obtusa— Useful Australian Maiden. [Plate] : ae Euchlena luxurians. [See Teosinte. ] Experiment Fa7ms and Stations— Field Experiments at Bathurst Experi- ment Farm, 1907; by R. W. Peacock F Farm Buildings— Concrete Floors; by A. Brooks dais Ferm Implements. [See Agricultural Implements. | Farming. [See Agriculture.] Plants; by..J. H. PAGE. 19, 732 19, 91 19, 169 19, 979 19, 425 19, 673 19, 832 19, 947 1957 19, 838 19, 871 19, 781 19, 503 19, 836 19, 322 19, 137 oe Supplement to Feeding Experiments— Feeding of Pigs; by H. W. Potts Sheep and Salt-bushes; by G. L. Sutton and H. J. Kelly 3's : Fermentation. [See Wine. ] Fertilisation. Botany— Influence of Bees on Crops; by A. Gale Fertilisers. [See Manures. | Fibre Plants. Agriculture— Valuable Fibre Plant (Asclepias semi- lunata); by J. H. Maiden Valuable Fibre Plant (Aselepias semi- lunata); by C. A. White [See also Flax; Sisal Hemp. | Figs— Figs (Ficus): Moracez in Forestry; by J. H: Maiden ; Urticacee (Elms and F igs): by J. H. Maiden Figs. Fruit— Figs: in Varieties of Fruit Grown; W. J. Allen ans [See also Fruit-growing. | Fir Trees— Sapinez: in Forestry; by J. H. Maiden [See also Conitere. | Flax. Cultivation— Notes on Flax Growing; H. V. Jackson ... 5 [See also Fibre Plants. ] Flower Gardening — Practical. Vegetable and Flower Grow- ing; by W. 8. Campbell 19, Fodders and Food Stufis—General— Growing Fodder Crops under Irrigation (Pera Bore); by W. J. Allen : [See also Forage Plants and Soiling Crops; Grasses. | Forage Piants and Soiling Crops— Edible Trees and Shrubs;. by R. W. in Forestry ; by compiled by Peacock Fertility of Teosinte : Forage Crops on Black Soil at Moree Irrigation Farm; by A. E. Darvall.. Goat’s Rue (Galega ee by R. W. Peacock.. Indian Cane (Sacchar um officinarum) : by A. H. Haywood - Rabbits and the Western Flora ; R. W. Peacock.. Rib-grass or Plantain Rib-giass or Plantain (Plantago. lanceo- lata, L.); by J. H. Maiden. [Plate]... Tagosaste or. Tree Lucerne (Cytisus proliferus); by J. H. Maiden Spe [See also Modders and Food Stufis; Grasses ; Lucerne ;_ Salt-bushes ; Sorghums. ] Forestry and Forest Conservation — Forestry: some Practical Notes on Forestry suitable... for New South Wales; by J. H. Maiden by mn 179, 267, 523, 628, 711, 7 B Agricultural Gazette,” PAGE. 19, 638, 808 19, 49 19, ¢ 195 19, é 19; 19, 19, 19, 269 19, 296 84, 170 781 | June INDEX, 1908. i 992 | | 19, 17 | 19, 101 19, 831 19, 387 19, 681 19, $30 19, 46 19, 754 19, 573 19, 390 2, 1909: ill PAGE, Forestry and Forest Conservation—continued— Twist of grain in Tiare Dy J. H. Maiden ... 19, 380 [.Sce also Timbers ; 2 . and | names “of Trees and of Families, Genera, and Species ; as Conifere. | Frozen Meat. [See Cold Storage. ] Fruit Fly— Gosford-Narara Fruit Fly and Codling Moth Control Experiment Fruit Diseases— Giowth of Black-spot on Cased Fruit; by H. M. Nicholls ‘ Se sue Rust in our Fruit Crops; by E. Cheel... [See also Insects, Injurious. | Fruit-drying and Dried Fruits— Apricots dried and salted [Mebos] Drying Apricots and Peaches ; by WJ. Allen B : Fruit Trade. [See Cold Storage. J Fruit-growing — Orchard notes [monthly]; Allen 19, 408 19, 750 19, 325 19, 741 by W. J. 19, 78, 165, 258, 345, 426, 511, 600, 690, 773, 861, 954, 1040 Report on Land between Gosford and Mangrove River; by W. J. Allen 19, 845 Varieties of Fruit Grown at Depart- mental Orchards; by W J. Allen 19, 986 [See also Apples; Apricots; Cherries; Figs; Grapes; Nectarines; Oranges; Packing; Peach; Pear; Plums; Strawberries. | Fungi in Agriculture and Fruit-growing. [See Fruit Diseases.] . G Galega officinalis. [See Goat’s Rue.] Gardening —General— Garden notes [monthly]; by W. Sander- son ; . 19, 350, 429, 517, 604 —— Education— English Royal Horticultural Society's Examinations in Horticulture . 19, 1031 [See also Flower Gardening ; Propaga- tion of Plants; Vegetable Gardening. | Gasterophilus equi. [Sec Horse-bot. | Geese— About Geese; by G. Bradshaw... .. 19, 274 [See also Poultry and Poultry-farming— General. | Goat’s Rus— Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis); by R. W. Peacock... ae Bat oe 195680 Gosford-Narara Fruit Fly. [See Fruit Fly.] Graminee.. [See Botany, Economic ; Grasses. | Grape Vine. [See Viticulture. ] Grapes— Export of Grapes to England 19, 755 Grapes: tn Varieties of Fruit Grow n; by W. J. Allen . 19, 993 [See also Sultanas ; Viticulture.] Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,” iv PAGE, Grasses — African Wonder Grass (Panicum specta- bile); by B. Harrison... Me ... 19, 243 Chloris divaricata, R.Br. [Plate]; by J. H. Maiden ... soe a's ... 19, 682 Eriachne obtusa, R.Br., variety glabrata : New variety [P ines iors ; 19, 836 Grasses at the Hawkesbury Agric sultural College; by A. H. FE. McDonald... 19, 115 Phalaris commutata : by W. H. Webb... 19, 848 Private Experiment Station for Grasses [Minembah, near Singleton]; by J. H. Maiden ... Bee nee ..- 19, 435 Rhodes Grass Seed ; by C. 'T. Musson... 19, 389 Sporobolus actinocladus, VW.v.M.; by J. H. Maiden. [Plate] ae ..- 19, 924 Sporobolus pulchellus, R.Br.; by J. H. Maiden. [Plate] = Hs ... 19, 1010 [See also Fodders and Food Stuffs ; Forage Plants; and names of special grasses, aS Paspalum, Phalaris Com- mutata, Rhodes Grass, &e. | Grasshoppers— Grasshopper (or Locust) Swarms in N.S.W. during 1907-8; by W. B. Gurney. [Plate] as ens .-- 19, 411 Grasshoppers se eas - 19, 1007 [See also Insects, Injurious. | Ground Cuckoo Shrike— Native Bird destroying the Sparrow; by C. T.:Musson ... Aer see ... 19, 680 Hakea leucoptera. [Sec Needlewood. | Hemp. Agriculture. [See Fibre Plants; Sisal Hemp. | Honey— Market for New South Wales Honey in Great Britain ... Mar ae 19, 938 Horse, The— breeding— Almac Cob Stud ... ss aes ses £93915 —— Diseases— [See Horse-bot. } Horse-bot (Gasterophilus equi)— The Bot Fly; by W. W. Froggatt. [Plate] ... sais ae ae «-- 19,229 Horticulture. [See Gardening. | Humus. [See Manures; Soils and Sub- soils. | Hygiene. [See Dry-earth Closets. | Incubators. [See Poultry and Poultry- farming—G@eneral] ... «on, 19,643 Indian Cane (Saccharum oficinarum)— Indian Cane (Saccharum officinarum) as a Fodder for Dairy Cattle; by A. H. Haywood ste 3 aaa oa 019,831 Insects. Injurious— Progress Reports from Mr. W. W. Froggatt 19, 66, 225, 400, 663, 759 Thrips ; by W. W. Froggatt... oes [See also Aphides; Beetles; Entomology, Economic ; Grasshoppers ; Mites ; Poultry—Diseases ; Weevils.] 19, 1030 June 2, 1909. INDEX, 1908. PAGE. Irrigation. Agriculture — Growing Fodder Crops under Irrigation (Pera Bore); by W. J. Allen sow ASSAY Trrigation with Household Waste Water ; | by H. Selkirk me Eee «. 195223 Small Irrigation Areas; by W. R. Fry... 19, 291 | Yanco Irrigation Farm; by W. J. Allen 19, 927 [See also Artesian Irrigation. | | J | Jersey Cattle. [See Dairy Cattle, Jersey. | Judging at Shows— Judging the Competitive Wheat Ex- hibits, R.A.S., 1908; by F. B. Guthrie 19, 569 Score Card; by P. Quirk J J Sale 19, 328 Student’s Score Cards. [Lucerne ¢ thaft ; Oaten and Wheaten Hay. | ‘ 19, 910 K Knots and Splices. Knots; by F. G. Chomley oor 19, 206 L Larch— Laricee in Forestry; by J. H. Maiden... 19, 267 [See also Conifere. | Laricez. [See Larch. ] Leguminose. [See Beans; Clovers; Cow- | peas; Forage Plants; Lucerne; Nitri- | fication; Peas, and similarly names | of other families and genera. | | Linseed— Linseed (Lanum usttatissimum) ... swe 1951330 Local Market for Linseed sae ..- 19, 850 Locusts. [See Grasshoppers ;_ Insects, Injurious. | Lucerne— Feeding of Pigs: Lucerne; by H. W. Potts : ..- 19, 638 Kansas and. her ‘Alfalfa. ( Lucerne) ; by Fr. D. Coburn sie sia .-- 19, 240 Lucerne at Wagga Experiment Farm; by G. M. McKeown... sd -»- 19,/330 [See also Tagosaste. ] M Maize— Chemical Changes taking place during the Ensilage of Maize ; by KE. J. Russell 19, 1019 Composition “of Green Maize and of the Silage produced therefrom; by H. E. Annett and E. J. Russell... ooo dO, LOLI | Manures and Fertilisers— a ae with Swede Turnips; by A McDonald... ae veo 1951904 Liquid iiawure for Tomatoes... - 19, 1032 List of Fertilisers in New South W. ales: 1908 list; by F. B. Guthrie and L. | Cohen we soe MDolS | ——— Farmyard, Green, Nateral— Humus and the best means of supplying it; by F. B. Guthrie ... me soe. ADE 200 Nitrogenous— Use of Nitrate of Potash as Manure ... 19, 903 Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,” Manures and Feriilisers—continued— ——— Potassic— Use cf Nitrate of Potash as Manure ... [See also Soils and Subsoils. ] Meat Trade— Lectures on the Meat Industry ae Mebos. [See Apricots. ] Meteorology. [See Weather Reports. | Mexican Poppy. [See Blue Thistle. ] Milling of Wheat— Notes on the Milling Nature of the 1907- 1908 Harvest in N.S.W.; by F. B. Guthrie and G. W. Norris Bae [See also Wheat. | Mites— Chicken Mite (Dermanyssus galline) in Diseases of Fowls; by G. Bradshaw Moracex— Moracee zn Forestry; by J. H. Maiden Urticaceze (Elms and Figs) in Forestry; by J. H. Maiden : : Mules. Anima! Husbandry— Mules; by G. Valder N Nectarines— Nectarines 7n Varieties of Fruit Grown; by W. J. Allen... [See also Fruit-growing. | Needlewood (Hakea leucoptera)— Needlewood New Guine2 and Arehipalago— Analyses of Soils from Papua; Guthrie and R. 8S. Symmonds Nicotiana suaveolens. [See Tobacco. | Nitrification— Experiment with Lucerne and Pea Cul- tures ; [See also Bacte sriology, Economic. ql 0 Oaks— Oaks in Forestry; by J. H. Maiden by F. B. [See also Forestry. | Oranges and Orange Culture— Export of Oranges, 1907; by W. J. Aillent —.. ; How to utilise the ‘Surplus Orange Crop : by M. Blunno ... ae Orchards. [See Fruit- -growing.] P Packing Goods— Packing and Marketing Citrus and other Fruits ; by W. J. Allen See Panicum sp2ctabile. [See African Wonder Grass. | Papua. [See New Guinea.] Paspalum dilatatum— Paspalum dilatatum and Clover ; F. Julius at [See also Grasses. ] Passeres. [See Sparrow.] Pea and Bean Weevils. Me C. [See Weevils. ] June 2, 1909. INDEX, 1908. v PAGE, 19, 903 19, 753 19, 393 19, 992 19, 248 19, 326 19, 807 19, 523, 628, 711 19, 254 19, 242 19, 851 PAGE. Peach— Peaches zn Noteson Varieties Grown; W. J. Allen... ee sae [See also Fruit-growing. ] Pear— Pear in Varieties of Fruit Grown; by W. J. Allen 235 .. 19, 1004 [See also Fruit-growing. ] Pera Bore— Growing Fodder Crops under Irrigation by -2- 195986 (Pera Bore); by W. J. Allen 195.7, Phalaris commutata— Phalaris commutata : by W. H. Webb... 19, 848 [See also Grasses. | Philippine Islands— Rules and Regulations for the inspection and shipment of live stock ... sae, 1954138 Pigs— Feeding of Pigs; by H. W. Potts 19, 638, 808 ——— Housing— Construction of Pig-sty Buildings; by A. Brooks ven ae wets 19, 30 Pines— Pine in Forestry; by J. H. Maiden 19, 1, 179 [See also Conifer. ] Plant Diseases. [See Insects, Injurious. ] Plant Propagation. [See Propagation of Plants. Plantago lanceolata. [See Rib-grass.] Plantain. [See Rib-grass. | Plants. [See Poisonous Plants. ] Plums— Plums in Varieties of Fruit Grown; by W. J. Allen a6 --» 19, 1005 [See also Fruit-grow ing.] Poisonous Plants— Injurious Effects of Wild Tobacco Plants; by Jas. D. Stewart ... 19, 946 New Sass ‘ted Poison Plant (Dianella): by J. H. Maiden Ac ao, 195,925 Potato— Potatoes; by R. H. Gennys ‘ 19, 189 Poultry and Poultry-farming —General—_ Imports and Exports of Poultry and Eggs, 1907 19, 679 Inc ubator at W Gre: by A. L. W ‘yndham 19, 643 Mammoth Poultry Farm: by G. Brad- shaw ; so. £92746 Permanent Poultry Farm; by G. Brad- shaw so» 2991892 Report of the Sixth Annual Egg-laying Competition for Pullets, and_ first Two-year Contest for Hens.—1 April, 1907—31 March, 1908... .. 19, 454 ——— Fowls—Diseases— Diseases of Fowls; by G. Bradshaw. Chicken-pox or Warts Fic 22 2s 19, 54 Chicken Mite ; Apoplexy ; Diarrhoea, &c. 19, 217 Rheumatic Troubles ; Crop Troubles 19, 395 Various Diarrhea, Dysentry, Diphtheria, &c. ; 19, 647, 719 Diseases c F es on is [See also Ducks ; Geese ; Turkeys. | Preserving and Preservatives — Preservative Action of Borie Acid in Butter ... aaa ae =e evs 19, 1033 Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,” vi PAGE, Prickly Poppy. [See Blue Thistle. ] Propagation of Plants— Plant Propagation; by H. Reid 19, 24 Pteropodocys phasianella. [See Ground Cuckoo Shrike. ] R Rabbits 2abbits and the Western Flora; by R. W. Peacock baie 19, 46 Refrigerating Machinery — Refrigeration on the Homestead; by H. V. Jackson and A. KE. Lea 19, 537 [See also Cold Storage. | Refrigeration. [See Cold Storage. | Rhodes Grass (Chloris Gayana, var.)— Rhodes Grass Seed; by C. 'T. Musson... | See also Grasses. | Rib-grass or Plantain (Plantago lanceolata, 1.)— Xib-grass or Plantain 19, 754 Weeds of N.S.W.; [Coloured Plate] ere Rope. [See Knots and Splices. ] Rusts. [See Fruit Diseases. | s Saccharum officinarum. Cane. | Salt-bushes— Sheep and Salt-bushes; by G. L. by J. H. Maiden. 19, 573 [See Indian Sutton and H. J. Kelly ws 19, 49 Sapinex. [Sce Fir Trees.| Seolymus maculatus, L.— Another bad Weed; by J. H. Maiden... 19, 1029 Score Cards. Sheep— Sheep for Farmers; by R. H. Gennys... [See also Cold Storage; Meat Trade ; Wool. ] ——— Breeding (Wool)— Sheep at Bathurst Experimental Farm ; by R. W. Peacock ——— Breeding (Mutton)— 3reeding Sheep for Mutton; McKeown Sheep at Bathurst E Ixpe rimental Farm; [See Judging at Shows. ] 19, 813 19, 9 by G. M. 19, 489 by R. W. Peacock 19, 713 ——— Diseases— Experimental Tests of Treatments for Worms in Sheep at Glen Innes Experi- ment Farm pee se 195,081 Mortality in Pregnant Ey wes (Parturient apoploxy) ; by Jas. D. Stewart 18, 946 Shrikes. [See Ground Cuckoo Shrike. ] Silos and Silage— Chemical Changes taking place during the Ensilage of Maize; by E. J. Russell ... nBe oe . 19, 1019 | Composition of Green Maize and the Silage produced therefrom; by H. E. Annett and E. J. Russell : ryt: a Co-operative Farm Machinery; by P. Quirk a 19, 911 June 19, 389 | 2, 1909. as INDEX, 1908. Silos and Silage—continued— Inexpensive Silo; by F. G. Chomley ... Plea for Silage in the West; by C. C. Bradly ... ar see aoe ... 19, 825 Silo in a Hill-side: how to construct; by A. Brooks ae ae 19, 244 Stack Ensilage; by R. W. Peacock 19, 735 Stack Silage; by G. M. McKeown 19, 920 Titanic Asbestos Silo; by F.G.Chomley 19, 37 Sisal Hemp (Agave rigida, var. Sisalana)— Some Notes on Sisal Hemp; by H. V. Jackson. [Plate.] 19, 367 [See also Fibre-plants. ] Soils and Subsoils. Agriculture — Analyses of Soils from the Eden District 19, 838 Analyses of Soils from Papua; by F. B. Guthrie and R. 8. Symmonds 19, 326 Humus and the best means of supplying it; by F. B. Guthrie 19, 200 [See also Manures and Fe rtilisers. | Soja Beans. [See Soy Beans. | Sorghums— Sorghum: in Forage Crops; Darvall ... Ane nod [See also Forage Plants. ] Soy Beans or Soja Beans— by A. E. Feeding of Pigs; by H. W. Potts | ... 19, 811 Sparrow (Passer domesticis) House Sparrow in N.S.W.; by C. T. Musson ... ars wae scone Onli Native Bird destroying the "Sparrow [Ground—Cuckoo, Shrike (Pleropodocys phasianella)|}; by C. T. Musson Sporobolus actinocladus, I’.v.M.— Sporobolus actinocladus, I.v.M. ; J. H. Maiden. [Plate.] Sporobolus pulchellus, R. Br.— Sporobolus pulchellus : by J. H. Maiden. 19, 680 by 19, 924 [Plate] . Sos . 19, 1010 Spotted Golden Thistle— Another Bad Weed (Scolymus macu- latus, L.); by J. H. Maiden ... . 19, 1029 Strawberries — Tall-stemmed large-fruited Strawberry... 19, 69 Sultanas— Sultanas on Phylloxera-resistant Stocks ; by M. Blunno ... 19, 919 Tagosaste (Cytisus proliferus)— | Tagosaste or Tree Lucerne; by J. H. Maiden ... ae 19, 390 Teosinte (Luchlena Tuxurians) + Fertility of Teosinte 19, 831 Thistles— Another Bad Weed (Scolymus maculatus, L., the ‘Spotted Golden Thistle ’’) ... 19, 1029 [ Se: also Weeds. } Thrips— Thrips; by W. W. Froggatt ... --. 19, 1030 Timbers— Twist of grain in Timbers; Maiden ... [See also Forestry. I by J. H. wee nee wee 19, 380 Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,” June 2, 1909. INDEX, 1908. PAGE, Tobacco—General— Injurious effects of Wild Tobacco Plants ; by J. D. Stewart 19, 946 Tomatoes— Liquid Manure for Tomatoes Tree Lucerne. [See Tagosaste. ] Tumble Weed— Tumble Weed (Amarantus albus, L.): in Weeds of N.S.W.; by J. H. Maiden. . 19, 1032 [Coloured plate] 19, 234 Turkeys— American Bronze Turkeys: breeding and raising; by A. L. Wyndham 19, 565 [See also Poultry and Poultry-farming— General. | Turnip— Experiments with Swede Turnips; by A. H. E. McDonald ... ae, 295,904 U Urticaceze— Urticacee (Elms and Figs): in Forestry ; by J. H. Maiden : i 19, 781 [See also Elms; Figs ; Moracex! ] V Vegetable Gardening — Practical Vegetable and Flower Grow- ing; by W. 8S. Campbell 19, 84, 170 Vegetables. [See Potato; Turnip. } Velvet Beans. [See Beans, Fodder. | Veterinary Science and Practice— Veterinary Notes; by J. D. Stewart 19, 946 [See also Diseases of Animals. | Viticulture— Experiments with European Grape Vines grafted on: Phylloxera-resistant Stocks; by M. Blunno 19, 553 [See also Wine. | W Weather Reports— Hawkesbury Agricultural Colle ge Month- ly Weather Rens 19,77, 136, 253, 349, 433, 21; 590, 689, 749, 812, 914, 1035 Weather Conditions [monthly] 19, 75, 162, 245, 331, 420, 497, 591, 683, 768, 852, 948, 1036 Weeds— Amsinckia echinata, a very bad weed; by J. H. Maiden ant Another bad weed (Scolymus maculatus, L., the “* Spotted Golden Thistle ”’) . 19, 891 . 19, 1029 Rib-grass or Plantain SchtehO5 O4: Rib- “grass or Plantain (Plantago lanceolata, L.). {Coloured plate.] .. 19, 573 amb le Weed (Amaranius albus, ss {Coloured plate] or .. - 19, 234 [See on Thistles. ] ———Eradication and Extermination. Eradication of Weeds; by J. H. Maiden 19, 740 Weevils— Pea and Bean Weevils 19, 504 [See also Insects, Injurious. | Wheat— Judging the Competitive Wheat Ex- hibits, R.A.S., 1998; by-F. B. Guthrie 19, 569 Wheat—continued— Mummy Wheat; by G. L. Sutton Seasonable Notes [monthly]; by G. L. Sutton 19, 82, 174, 249, 337, 509, Wheat-growing at Wagga Wagga Ex. periment Farm; by G. M. McKeown Wheat-growing in New England Dis- trict; by R. H. Gennys Wheat-growing in N.S.W.; Sutton ade Wheat-growing on | the Tablelands ; R. W. Peacock.. “Wonder Wheat ” Story [See also Agric ulture ; Milling of Wheat. 1 White Thistle. [See Blue Thistle. ] Wine—Chemistry and Composition— Chemical Composition of some Austra- lian Wines; by M. Blunno and L. A. Musso ——— Ferments and Bacteria— Wine-making: notes on the Fermenta- tion of Must; by M. Blunno.. ——— Manufacture, Plastering, Alcoholi- sation— Concentrated Grape Juice for Sweetening Wine; by M. Blunno... [See also Viticulture. | Wire Grass. [See Eriachne obtusa.] Wonder Grass. [See African Wonder Grass. | Wonder Wheat— ** Wonder Wheat ” Story: | ssc [See Wheat. | Wool— Packing— Jute Fibre Nuisance Worms— Worms in Sheep ... by Ge by 7 an Aqaericant Wheat : an American Wheat Yellow Poppy. [Sce Blue Thistle. ] PLATES. Bot Fly Chloris divaricata Eriachne obtusa Plague Locust Sisal Hemp Small Refrigerating Chamber Sporobolus actinocladus, F.v.M. Sporobolus pulchellus, R.Br. COLOURED PLATES. Rib-grass or Plantain (Plantago lanceo- lata, L.) eee see eee ove Tumble Weed (Amarantus albus, L.) ... MAP. Australia, showing Great Artesian Basin vii PAGE, 19, 678 598, 858 19, 575 19, 708 19, 355, 448 19, 695 . 19, 1027 19, 140 19, 235 19, 344 . 19, 1027 19, 731 19, 981 233 682 837 419 368 , o44 19, 925 - 19, 1010 574 Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,” June 2, 1909. vill INDEX, 1908. AUTHOR INDEX. A PAGE. ALEXANDER, Henry Robert— Feeding Milking Herds ... ALLEN, William John— Drying Apricots and Peaches .-- 19, 741 Export of Oranges, 1907 id ... 19, 254 Growing Fodder Crops under Irrigation (Pera Bore) : sis Notes on Varieties of Fruit grown at various departmental ore shards ... 19, 986 Orchard Notes [monthly] 19, 78, 165, 258, 345, 426, 511, 600, 690, 773, 861, 954, 1040 Packing and Marketing Citrus and other Fruits . Report by Fruit “Expe rt on the land lying between Gosford and Mangrove River ees Yanco Irrigation Fe arm ... ANNETT, Harold E., Edward J.— The Composition of Green Maize, and of the Silage produced therefrom - £9, 1011 19, 832 19, 17 19, 285 19, 845 19, 927 and RUSSELL, 5 BLUNNO, Michele— Concentrated Grape Juice for Sweetening Wine... 19, 344 How to utilise the “surplus Orange crop 19, 242 Some Results of the Experiments with European. Grape Vines grafted on Phylloxera-resistant Stocks, at How- long... 19, 553 Sultanas on Phylloxer ra- resistant Stocks 19, 919 Wine Making: Notes on the Fermenta- tion of Must... , me -.. * 19,235 BLUNNO, M., and MUSSO, L. A.— On the Chemical Composition of some Australian Wines aoe dele .-. 19, 140 BRADLEY, C. C. A Plea for Silage in the West ... ses. (19,5825 BRADSHAW, George About Geese se ... 19, 274 The, American Apple Industry oes ... 19, 1028 Diseases of Fowls.. 19, 54, 217, 395, 647, 719 A Mammoth Poultry Farm 19, 146 A Permanent Poultry Farm 19, 892 BROOKS, Adam— Concrete Floors . 19, 137 Construction of Pig-sty Buildings 19, 30 Silo in a Hill-side: how to construct, .. 19, 244 C CAMPBELL, Walter Scott— Practical Vegetable and Flower Grow- ing Bo ma Ee a 19,84, 170 | PAGE. CHEEL, Edwin— Aust in Our Fruit Crops... 19, 750 CHERRY, William Henry Patrick— Electricity and Agriculture 19, 871 CHOMLEY, Frederick Griffith— ; An Ine ee Silo es uae .-» 19, 587 Knots : ate 19, 206 The Titanic As bestos Silo 19, 37 COBURN, F. D. — Kansas and her Alfalfa (Lucerne) --- 19,°240 COHEN, Lionel— [| Part-authorship of] List of Fertilisers in New South Wales, 1908 list [See Guthrie, F. B,] sc. WLOTSTS. DARVALL, Augustus Edward— Forage Crops on Black Soil at Moree Irrigation Farm 19, 387 F FROGGATT, Walter Wilson— The Bot-fly (Gasterophilus equi). [Plate] 19, 229 Progress Reports ... 19, 66, 225, 400, 663, 759 Thrips . 19, 1030 FRY, W. R.— Cotton Growing in New South Wales 19, 381 Small Irrigation Areas... nae ..- 19, 291 G GALE, Albert— The Influence of Bees on Crops... 19, 211 GENNYS, Richard Henn— poe ise : _— 0 s» 9, 189 Sheep for Farmers di .o MONSIS Wheat-growing in New E ‘ngland District 19, 708 GRAH AM, William— Cheese-making on the South Coast of New South Wales Ba ae sas, AOS OT GURNEY, William Butler— Entomological Notes... 19, 503 Gosford-Narara Fruit Fly and Codling Moth Control Experiment... 19, 581 Notes on Grasshopper (or Swarms in N.S.W. during Locust) 1907-8 [Plate] ... eae mes sme 19, 411 GUTHRIE, Frederick Bickell— Judging the Competitive Wheat Ex hibits, R.A.S., 1908... 19, 569 Notes on Humus, and the best. n means of supplying it... eae oe: .- ‘£9,;200 GUTHRIE, F. B., and COHEN, owas List of Fertilisers in New South Wales, 1908 list ae “es Ser ves $49, 313 Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,” INDEX, 1908. PAGE. GUTHRIE, F. B., and NORRIS, George oe) Wallham— Notes on the Milling Nature of the 1907-1908 Harvest in New South Wales Sie aE sie sve 195,393 GUTHRIE, F. Bi, and SYMMONDS, R. 8. Analyses of Soils from Papua ... 19, 326 H HARRISON, B.— African Wonder Grass (Panicum specta- bile) oer aa ... 19, 243 HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENT FARM— Cost of producing Crops in the Hawkes- bury District 19, 732 Monthly Weather Report 19, 77, 136, 253, 349, 433, 521, 590, 689, 749, 812, Report of the 6th Annual Egg-laying Competition for Pullets, and first two- year contest for hens—Ist April, 1907, to 3lst March, 1908; Pe D:, oS: Thompson 19, 454 HAYWOOD, Alfred Hee Indian Cane (Saccharum officinarum) as a Fodder for Dairy Cattle 19, 831 Useful Farm Implements HELMS, Richard— Science in Agriculture: Soil Bacteria... 19, 657 J JACKSON, Henry Vaughan— The Cultivation of Coffee, with particu- lars of British and Australian Imports for the year 1906 Ss 19, 440 Notes on Flax Growing ... eos sees L9H 296 Some Notes on Sisal Hemp. [Plate.]... 19, 367 JACKSON, H. V., and LEA, A.. E,.— Refrigeration on the Homestead see 19,537 JULIUS, C. F.— Paspalum dilatatum and Clover... eee 19 SOL K KELLY, H. J.— [Part-authorship of] Sheep and Salt- bushes. [See Sutton, G, L.]... se. 19, 49 L LEA, A. E.— [ Part-authorship of] Refrigeration on the Homestead, [See Jackson, H. V.] .... 19, 537 M McDONALD, Alexander Hugh Earle— Experiments with Swede Turnips ... 19, 904 Grasses at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College ... eae soc foc Foo ae), a6 914, 1035 | 19, 1008 | June 2, 1909. 1X PAGE MacINNES, L. T.— Dairying in the Argentine ails o> 195,673 McKEOWN, George Maurice— 3reeding Sheep for Mutton ook --. 195.489 Notes on Lucerne at Wagga Experiment Harmy 3s. sie wee ae co ADO Stack Silage «2s 195/926 Wheat-growing at W agga LW agga a Experi- mental Farm 19, 575 MAIDEN, Joseph Henry— Another Bad Weed (Scolymus maculatus, L., the ‘* Spotted Golden Thistle ’’) ... 19, 1029 Eradication of Weeds 19, 740 Forestry: some practical notes on Forestry suitable for New South W. ale 7S —— 17..Conifers ... « 195-7, 179, 267 18,19. Trees, other ‘than Conifers and Palms... 19, 523, 628, 711, 781, 957 A New Suspected Poison Plant [Dianella] 19, 925 Note on Amsinckia echinata, a very bad weed : 19, 891 Note on Argemone mexicana =.= 193,829 A Private Experiment Station for Grasses ... Bare wie ast -«. 195,425 Tagosaste, or Tree Lucerne (Cytisus proliferus) 19, 398 Twist of Grain in Timbers 19, 300 Useful Australian Plants— 96. Chloris divaricata, R. Br. [ Plate | 19, 682 $7. Eviachne obtusa, R. Br., variety glabrata : new variety. { Plate] 19, 836 98. Sporobolus actinocladus, F. v. M. Plate] «-- 193,924: 99, Sporobolus pulchellus, R. Br. | Plate]... . 19, 1010 A Valuable Fibre Plant (Asclepias semi- lunata) ... The Weeds of New ‘South Ww ales:— Rib-grass or Plantain (Plantago lanceolata, L.) 19, 926 [Coloured Plate | : 19, 573 Tumble Weed Geant albus, Ti. aoa [Coloured Plate] ... 19, 234 MUSSO, L. A.— [Part-authorship of] On the Chemical Composition of some Australian Wines [See Blunno, M. | ws 19, 140 MUSSON, Charles Tucker— The House Sparrow in New South Wales 19, 127 19, 680 19, 389 A Native Bird destroying the Sparrow... Rhodes Grass Seed (Chloris gayana, Var.) N NICHOLLS, H. M.— The Growth of Black- eel on Cased EUG ce : ; NOBLE, A.— Weather Conditions NORRIS, George William— [ Part-authorship of] Notes on the Milling Nature of the 1907-1908 Harvest. [See Guthrie, F. B.] 19, 408 19, 75 19, 393 Supplement to “ Agricultural Gazette,’ June 2, 1909. x INDEX, 1208. (@) PAGE, us : PAGE. O’CALLAGHAN, Michael Angelo— 81 willereer tera Douglas— Dairy Cattle 7 19, 91 A ter-births in Cows 19, 425 Jerseys for Dairying... 7 woe, 9, 69 Veterinary Notes 19, 946 The Type and Colour of the Modern SUTTON, George Lowe— Jersey 19, 979 Mummy W heat 19, 678 ° P PEACOCK, Robert William— Edible Trees and Shrubs ... 19, 101 Field Experiments at Bathur. t E xperi- ment Farm, 1907 a : Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis) ... 19, 631 Rabbits and the Western Flora. 19, 46 Sheep at Bathurst Experiment: al Farm. 2219519 sci bo Stack Ensilage 19,7 735 Wheat-growing on the | 19, 695 POTTS, Henry William— Feeding of Pigs 19, 322 Sublelands 19, 638, 808 QUIRK, Patrick— Co-operative Farm Machinezy ... The Score Card 19, 911 19, 328 R 'D, Hugh— Plant Prope RUSSELL, buwerd J.— The Chemical Changes taking during the Ensilage of Maize.. { Part- author. ‘ship of| The Composition of Green Maize. [See Annett, H. E.]... stion 19, 24 place . 19, 1019 19, 1011 S SANDERSON, William— Garden Notes [monthly] SELKIRK, Henry— Irrigation with Household Waste Water 19, 223 19, 350, 429, 517, 604 49, 82, 174, 249, 337, 509, 598, 858 Wheat-growing in New South Wales 19, 355, 448 SUTTON, G. L. and KELLY, H. J.— Seasonable Notes [monthly] Sheep and Salt-bushes 19, 49 SYMMONDS, ROBERT Artesian Irrigation: an antidote for alkaline waters. [Map.] 19, 609 [Part-authorship of] Analyses ‘of Soils from Papua. [See Guthrie, F. B.]... 19, 326 T THOMPSON, David Singer— Report of the 6th Annual Egg-laying Competition. [See Haw kesbury Agri- cultural College) . ... 19, 454 V VALDER; George — Mules 19, 176- W WEBB, W. H.— Phalaris commutata 19, 848 WHITE, Charles A.— A Valuable Fibre Plant (Asclepias semi- lunata) ... i ate 19, 585 WILSON, 8.— Weather Conditions [monthly] 19, 162, 245, 331, 420, 497, 591, 683, 768, 852, 948, 1036 WYNDHAM, A. L,— American Bronze Turkeys: breeding and raising , 19, 645° The Incubator at W ore. 19, 563 Vol XIX Patines Le a Lh ! i i iu 5 Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper. Price SIXPENCE. Vol. XIX. Part 7. JANUARY 2, 1908. Man ICULTURAS GAZE LTE OF MEW SOUIH WARES Issued by Direction of Die oN,” JOIN er ERY ies Secretary for Mines and HAariculture. FERCY HUNTER, FE. Go] CHOMEERM Editor. Sub-E ditor. Hv Authority : SYDNEY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER. — *10858 (a) oleh II Agricultural Gazette of NSW. { Jan. 2, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. Jt is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Acw South Gales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same in sepurate pamphlet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. CONTENTS? ForrEstRy— Some Practical Notes on Forestry suitable for New South Wales J. H. Maiden Sueep av Batuurst EXPERIMENTAL FARM _... R. W. Peacock Growina Fopper Crops UNDER IRRIGATION (Pera Bore) W.J. Allen THe R.A.S. ANNUAL, 1907 Hawkesbury AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENTAL FARM— Plant Propagation ... a ae ae .. © Hugh Reid Construction of Pig-Sty Buildings... he ae A. Brooks THE Tiranic ASBESTOS SILO... stb ee F. G. Chomley RABBITS AND THE WESTERN FLORA... ms R. W. Percock SHEEP AND SALT-BUSHES ae Geo, L. Sutton and H. J. Kelly DIsEASES OF FowLs ae ane Dae ae ... G. Bradshaw NUTRITIVE AND DIGESTIVE PROPERTIES OF FROZEN AND CHILLED MEAT Procress Report From Mr. W. W. Froaeatr TALL-STEMMED LARGE-FRUITED STRAWBERRY A List or Burrer Factories or New SoutH WALES RURAL ELYGIENE ... WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING NOVEMBER, 1907 a A. Noble MonrTHity WrAatHeR REPoRT— Hawkesbury Agricultural College ... .. W.-Mervyn Carne OrcuHarpb Nortss... aa ee. ee . ... W.J. Allen PAGE, IV Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. PAGE. Farm NoTres— Hawkesbury District ee Aa e. ele W.. ottssad Glen Innes District ... Say aa Net 7, Wee. Gennysieeen SEASONABLE NOTES Spe Ane fat = Geo. L. Sutton 82 PracricaAL VEGETABLE AND FLOWER GROWING ; W.S. Campbell 84 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES SHOWS Nan aw ae Ae OO ADVERTISEMENTS — Rams, Boars, and Turkeys for sale. Government Stud Bulls available for lease or for service at State Farms. Regulations under which Bulls are leased. Pure-bred Pigs fur Sale at Newington Asylum. Viole MEX PART 1: JANUARY 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Forestry. SomME PRAcTICAL NOTES ON FORESTRY SUITABLE FOR NEW SOUTH WALES. [Continued from December, 1907, page 906. ] J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. XVI 1l—continued. Conifers. WET. Tribe—ABIETINER. Sub-tribe 1.— Pinee. 14, Pinus. Sub-tribe 2.— Laricee. 15. Warix. 17. Cedrus. 16. Laricopsis. Sub-tribe 3.—Sapinee. 18. Picea. 20. Abietia. 19. Tsuga. 21. Abies. Sub-tribe 1.—Pinee. 14. Pinus. Over 70 species of this well-defined genus have been described. Not many of them are at their best in the Sydney district, but most of them will undoubtedly do well in one part or other of New South Wales. At present we confine our attention, in this State, almost exclusively to P. radiata (insignis), Pinaster, pinea, and halepensis, and exhibit too little enterprise in trying other species of this beautiful, health-promoting and interesting genus. The seed is quite cheap, and can readily be imported if local seedsmen do not have that of any particular species in stock. (1.) P. Ayacahuite, Ehrenberg. The “ Ayacahuite” of Mexico. The ’ of Mexico. common ‘* White Pine’ A graceful Pine, tender in many parts of Britain, and probably quite hardy in parts of New South Wales. A 2 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. wae, as & fe (Ans ce a "a=" J = > Araucaria Bidwilli, Hook. Camden Park, N.S.W. (See December, 1906, page 903.) my Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. D f Ae SS —- Pinus canariensis, Ch. Smith. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. — a 4 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. (2.) P. canariensis, Ch. Smith. ‘Canary Pine.” Native of the Canary Islands. See Gard. Chron. 1888, iii, 723, f£. 94. A beautiful long-leaved “Pine which does well in comparatively dry situations and calcareous soils. It does only indifferently well in Sydney, but is a very useful tree in many parts of the State. L 7, 17, 32 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (3.) P. Cembra, L. ‘Swiss Pine.” This is a cold country Pine which just exists inthe Sydney district. It should be well tried in the coldest regions. (4.) P. cembroides, Zuce. (P. fertilis, Roezl.) “ Mexican Swamp Pine.” The seeds are edible. We have not been very successful with this tree in the Sydney district, but steps are being taken to give it a further trial. Tt will probably be found suitable in cooler situations. , L 30 b (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (5.) P. coutorta, Douglas. ‘* Oregon Scrub Pine.” Isa small scrubby tree which inhabits the sandy dunes and exposed pro- montories of the Pacific Coast from Mendocino northwards to Alaska. It may be added to the list of trees and shrubs more or less useful for covering sand-dunes and preventing land slips, and is listed here with that view. (6.) P. Coulteri, Don. ‘“ Coulter’s Pine.” A large tree, remarkable for its very large cones. It does fairly well in the 5 J Q Sydney district (better at Campbelltown), and in many cooler parts of New South Wales, but in our experience it is not dense-foliaged and hence not ? f=) very popular. At the same time further experiments should be made with it. (7.) P. densiflora, Sieb. and Zuce. “ Akamatsu Pine.” See Sieb? and Zuce., Flora Japonica, ii, 22, t. 112. Japan. This Japanese Pine has never done well in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. Tt requires colder localities and is worthy of extended trial. (8.) P. excelsa, Wallich. ‘“ Himalayan Pine.” “ Lofty or Bhotan Pine.” Temperate Himalaya. This tree has been tried in the Sydney Botanic Gardens for many years, but it always suffers during the droughts of summer. It is a beautiful and a very large tree and can be confidently recommended for cool localities where good soil is available. L 15 b, 29 ¢ (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (9.) P. halepensis, Miller. The “‘ Jerusalem or Aleppo Pine.” See Gard. Chron: 1884, xxii, 553, £. 97 ; 1888, in, 629, £ 84. Native of South Europe to Afghanistan. A tall tree, but, in the Sydney district, liable, during the last few years, to an insect disease (a Coccid, Daetlylopus sp.) which has almost thrown it out of cultivation. an Ty sete: : Pe ef 5 eR eee hp ” ve Pe ee ey eta INT NG i re Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IW. 5 Pinus Coulteri, Don. State Nursery, Campbelltown. ; i tie ® Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. Pinus excelsa, Wallich. State Nursery, Campbelltown. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Pace Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. i Pinus Laricio, Poiret. State Nursery, Campbelltown. 8 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. It prefers calcareous soil, and a drier climate than Sydney. It does admirably in Adelaide and many parts of South Australia, and will flourish in many parts of our State also. In its best development it is a very large, handsome tree, with large branches of very dense foliage. L 7, 33, 35 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (10.) P. Hartwegi’, Lindl. (Syn. P. Ehrenbergii, Endl.) Mexico. This has never made a good plant in the Sydney Botanic Gardens, being always thin and spindly. It should be more thoroughly tested in New South Wales. (11.) P. heterophylla, Ell. ‘Cuban Pine.” Prof. B. E. Fernow says that this species is in the very first rank of timber pines in the United States. It should therefore be given a thorough trial here. (12.) P. Koraiensis, Sieb. and Zuce. ‘Corean Pine.” Native of Corea, China, and Japan. For a figure of the remarkable and handsome cone, see Veiteh’s Manual. It is often planted in Japan, where it attains imposing dimensions. Sydney is too warm for it, and it is hence a poor grower in the Sydney Botanic Gardens ; but it should certainly find a place in gardens and planta- tions in colder districts. L 15 b (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (13.) P. Lambertiana, Dougl. ‘Sugar Pine.” Native of California, Oregon, and British Columbia. Sargent, tt. 542, 543. A gigantic tree in its native country, being the loftiest of all pines, attaining a height of 300 feet. It yields a well-known and valuable timber, and Professor B. E. Fernow classifies it as one of the best timber pines in the United States. The Sydney district is too warm for it, but it is certainly a valuable tree for the cold districts. ~ L.5 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (14.) P. Laricio, Poiret. ‘Corsican Pine.” ‘“ Larch Pine.” Native of South Europe and the Levant. The most useful tree for general forestry planting in Great Britain. Tt does fairly well in Sydney. Our tree has been a good specimen, but it is now past its prime. This pine should be well tested in the coast districts. L 7 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). Var. austriaca (P. austriaca, Hoss). ‘Austrian Pine.” It is a smaller and more inland tree than the preceding, and promises best away from the coast. L 17 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (To be continued.) Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 9 Sheep at Bathurst Experimental Farm. R. W. PEACOCK. Tue following notes are supplementary of others upon this subject, and give the average weights of the fleeces of the various crosses for 1907. The actual weights represent thirteen months’ wool ; weights equivalent to twelve months’ growth are given. Merino Ram. 8-tooth. Owing to the very dry weather of the spring, the wool was very dirty, 5 J ‘ i > : ’ especially the backs, they containing a large proportion of dust from the roads. Fully 1 lb. each should be deducted for this. The photographs shown give some idea of the rams used for crossing purposes, and also of the progeny. The rams were purchased from reputable breeders, and are typical of the breeds. They appear in flock condition, nothing being done to improve their appearance. 10 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [Jan. 2, 1908. The following are the average weights of tleeces: 13 months’ 12 months’ wool to wool. lb. OZ. lb. OZ. Lincoln- Merino, cross-bred ARe ee bas ous Pe i lay 10 13 English Leicester-Merino, cross-bred ... oe Py = ELL OX9 10 10 Shropshire- Merino a ss or : i 10 § 9 1] Border Leicester-Merino An . . 10 1 9 4 Southdown- Merino ss + , 8 2 ff es: Merino ram on Lincoln-Merino ewe, Comeback a. cecee lade a ai oY - English Leicester-Merino ewe, Comeback .. 12 15 1] 15 aA Border Leicester-Merino ewe 5% Ae: Jit 4: Lincoln ram on Shropshire- Merino ewe, second cross Se PA p- Le Shropshire ram on Border Leicester-Merino ewe, second cross 10° 0 9 3 Southdown ram on Southdown-Merino ewe ... # = 8 8 i{ M5? Shropshire Ram. 6-tooth. Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1] First-cross Shropshire-Merino. 4-tooth. First-cross Ewe. 13 months. Second-cross Ewe. 13 months. By Shropshire ram from Merino ewe. 3y Shropshire ram from Border Leicester-Merino ewe 12 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Lincoln Ram. Reis mrt nnn: AID FS a NRT Sa el kasd First-cross Ewe, 2 years. By Lincoln ram from Merino ewe. First-cross Ewe. 13 months. By Lincoln ram from Merino ewe. 13 a . Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W Jan. 2, 1908. | 13 months. y Lincoln ram from Shropshire-Merino ewe, Second-cross Ewe, Hoggett. B 2 years, Second-cross Ewe. By Lincoln ram from Shropshire-Merino ews 14 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Southdown Ram First-cross Wether. 13 months. By Southdown ram from Merino ewe. Three-quarter-bred Southdown-Merino Ewe. 2 years. By Southdown ram from Southdown-Merino ewe. 15 _ ff NS.W vu icultural Gazette o Ag) 2, 1908. | Jan. 2 years. By Southdown ram from Merino ewe. First-cross Wether. Romney Marsh Ram. 16 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908 English Leicester Ram, First-cross English Leicester-Merino. 2 years. 3y English Leicester ram from Merino ewe. First-cross Ewe. 13 months. By English Leicester ram from Merino ewe. Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. vy Growing Fodder Crops under Irrigation (Pera Bore). V. J. ALLEN. As there have been contradictory reports from time to time as to the suita- bility or otherwise of artesian water for growing crops, the Agriculture thought it advisable to settle the question by series of experiments to cover a period of at least five Department of carrying on a years, during Lucerne Plot, under irrigation ; young plants just up. which time crops were to be grown continuously on the same land under a proper system of irrigation—such crops as sorghums, corn, &c., to be sown in drills and irrigated from time to time, whenever it was found necessary, by running water down furrows made with the plough between the rows. After each irrigation, while the crops were youn B 2, the furrows were to be [ Jan. 2, 1908. cette of N.S.W. Agricultural Ga D dry Hc and in this way the surface soil the Na ae dough stat ) be kept i > a el. - - Kaffir Corn. First Crop— Second Crop—Kaffir Corn. possibile condition. Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 19 well cultivated, even though the subsoil in each instance was well suppled with moisture. Also, when a thorough system of cultivation is carried on, less water is required to produce a crop than where water is run down the furrows and these not cultivated in as soon as dry enough, if at all. In growing lucerne, it will be found advantageous in most cases—par- ticularly when the head of water is only a limited one, and does not admit of flooding the crop quickly—to run shallow furrows at distances of from 4 to 8 feet apart, according to the nature of the soil, a heavy soil requiring Rhodes Grass (Chloris Gayana var.). (Four months after sowing.) them closer than a porous one; such furrows to be made after the land is properly levelled and the seed sown. It is best to sow the seed as soon as the land is in fit condition, either atter a rain or an irrigation, and no further watering should be given until the young crop is well up, else the surface soil will harden, and the result may be that the seed will not come up evenly, and, in consequence, a further sowing might be necessary to get a good stand. Seed may be either broad- east or sown with a drill; but unless one is accustomed to sowing seed by hand, it will be found rather difficult to get as even a stand as with a driu. and they will require to sow a greater quantity of seed. 20 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Grasses.—These are sown in drills, many of them making very fair growth; but out of ten varieties there was nothing which, when compared with the Rhodes Grass, was considered worth growing. This variety stood out ahead of all others, Paspalum dilatatum not holding a candle to it. When once the Rhodes Grass is estab- lished, it appears to do remarkably well with but very little irrigation— as a matter of fact, it had only one irrigation last year; but we were fortunate in getting two or three good heavy summer rains, which supplied it with all the moisture it required. The officers of the Department are of opinion that with any kind of systematic cultivation, in conjunction with irrigation, at least good fodder crops ean be grown wherever bore water is available in this State, and that on moderately light soils lucerne ean be profitably grown. On_ the heaviest soils, where, perhaps, lucerne will not do well, some of the very best erops of sorghum can be grown. The ground in which we have started these experiments at this bore has been under crop for at least two years out of three during the past ten years, and I fail to see that it is in any worse condition to-day than Black Sorghum. it was after the first crop was taken Gite We have not turned our attention to the making of ensilage here, but we have shown for the last ten years at our larger farms how to make this, not only in the stack, but in the pit and tub silos; so that there is very little need for going in for it here, where we do not carry stock of any kind, beyond the horses necessary for working the orchard and experimental plots. Last year our wheaten hay crop proved a failure, owing to rust attack- ing it just about the time it was ready for cutting, when continuous rains, lasting for nearly a fortnight, flooded the ground and spoilt the crop. This year we have tried John Brown and Plover, both of which are fairly rust-resistant varieties. John Brown, has done very much better and yielded heavier crops than Plover. Next year we will, in all probability, try three or four other good varieties. Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 21 Wheat for Hay; variety, John Brown. The following are the weights of the green crops taken from 1 acre :— Notes on Sorghums, Millets, &¢., grown at Pera Bore. eee =F Variety. | Date when sown. Date when cut. | Yield per acre First Crop. tons cwt. qrs. lb. Sorghum Saccharatum _... 30: Oct. 1906: |("s0cant; 1907). .)13 8,201 ae Amber Cane we sce 560 Ou) a Paleo) as less SOS SO Planters’ Friend ... ny) Paleo), - Heel eb ewes vas EO eae oa Sie 1s oa Kattir Corn ... isi “it EU 5 Stalhe al ae seat oO) ella ES 0) White French Millet ane alee, As Srl Meee eae sacl Ossie hace lie aN emeeeg aa Golden Millet ay: ae |e, re spat Zall a noel el) yeditye a= O40) Japanese Millet... aes Baal! 24 a Seal Pall x eed elena eS Hungarian Millet ... i. pod! oH fe scale n ial leer emai es ae LL Sorghum Saccharatum _... 7c tn Muntaecmaxtes- 5 fe April TSO 70. .( LO eee eS Amber Cane... ~ oe La iil ae ees lieeets: = Boa) uote UNS) S3y QiD) Planters’ Friend ee as eae rae | 26-dunes 1907 .2-) 4p bee Om 2A: Kaffir Corn ... ne a SROIRE logician | 26 re edt tsi ed OAc Tn, Dy Main Corn Crop, | faebushs libs Pride of the North (yellow) lenoe Nove 906.2, | 25eMar: 907-2 32 10 Iowa Silvermine (white) ... za 3 3 spel) 2 55 >. 33 20 Sorghums.—A reference to the yields before mentioned will show that some varieties have done very well, and would prove very profitable to grow for either ensilage-making or for green feed during the summer months, when grass is usually rather scarce. 22 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Millets.—These have not given us anything like satisfactory yields; the Hungarian produced the best crop. Grasses—The following are the grasses we are testing, viz. :— Triraphis mollis (Purple Head). Briochloa punctata (Karly Spring Grass). Panicum decompositum (Australian Millet). Diplachne fusca (Brown-flowered Swamp Grass). Sporobolus Lindleyi (Pretty Sporobolus). Chloris Gayana, var. (Rhodes Grass). Blue Grass. Paspalum dilatatum. Mitchell Grass. Umbrella Grass. Johnston Grass. First Crop—Amber Cane. Small tree yielded 131 Ib. beans; large tree Carob Beans (two varieties). yielded 120 Ib. beans. Lucerne.—Owing to pressure of work, we were not able to sow any last year, but have recently put in a plot (see illustration), which we hope will make good headway this season. There was some sown twelve years ago, but as it could only be watered occasionally during the summer when the trees Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 23 required most of the water, it did not have a fair chance. Still, these old plots have produced a good many tons of hay. They are now being used for grazing purposes, and will be until such time as we can see our way to regrading them, and if we consider we have sufficient water to give them an oceasional irrigation, sowing them to either Rhodes Grass or lucerne. e- Ne A 4. PRINTER NSW.) | Planters’ Friend. THe R.A.S. ANNUAL, 1907. THERE has lately been published by the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales the second Annual, compiled and edited under the authority of the Council by Mr. H. M. Somer, Secretary to the Society. The 1907 Annual, which is considerably larger than the first one issued in 1906, should find a place on the bookshelf of every progressive farmer. The book is presented free to members, but to others it is for sale at the very moderate price of 2s. 6d. The Annual contains many excellent articles by prominent authorities, embracing Agriculture, Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Horses, Pigs, Poultry, The Royal Agricultural Society— Historical Sketch, Financial Position, List of Members, Judges, ete.—Sheep (British Breeds), Wine Judging, The State in Relation to Agriculture, The Prize List for 1907, and other useful information not readily obtainable elsewhere. The Annual is very interesting, is full of information, and well illustrated. 24 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Hawkesbury Agricultural College and Experimental Farm. PLANT PROPAGATION. [Continued from December, 1907, page 944. ] < HUGH REID, Gardener, Hawkesbury Agricultural College. Propagation by Layers. A LAYeR is a branch or shoot, part of which is introduced into the soil, and strikes root whilst being fed by the parent plant, with which, however, its communication is partially interrupted to induce the returning sap to form roots where checked, instead of returning to the parent stock. It has already been stated that when absorbed by the roots, the sap passes upwards through the alburnum or cambium layer, and the youngest layers of wood, to the leaves, and that having been exposed in the tissue of these to the influence of light, it returns by the liber or inner bark, forming woody matter and A Callus formed on the end of a cutting that has been buried upside down previous to being set out in the ground to strike, (See December, 1907, page 943.) depositing secretions in its progress, a portion extending to the roots, to which it supphes organised matter for the growth of the spongioles (the tiny whitish portions at the extremities of the roots for absorbing water). As the upward flow of sap is by the young wood, it is evident that we may eut off from a branch a ring of bark, including the lber or inner bark, without stopping the flow of sap by the alburnum. The returning sap will, however, be deprived of its regular channel when it reaches the place where the outer and inner bark were removed by ringing. If this part is kept in dry air, the obstructed sap forms a swelling on the upper edge of the ringed space, or if it protrudes a little in the form of a cellular tissue, it soon dries, Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 25 exhibiting a margin of irregular excrescences, but when the ringed portion is placed in the soil, the cellular tissue, protected from the drying influence of the air, forms granulations, which by degrees elongate and assume the form and office of spongioles. It is upon these principles that the operation of layering is founded. The shoot or branch is kept alive by the flow of sap from the parent, and various means are adopted to check its return, and induce the formation of roots on the layered branch where it is placed in the soil. When these have formed in sufficient quantity for the entire support of the layer, it may be severed from the parent, and removed at the proper season for transplanting, which is from May till August, according to circumstances. Various modes of layering are adopted, the principal being as follows :—Simple bending in the earth ; twisting ; incision by splitting, tongueing, or heeling ; strangulation, or wiring; ringing or piercing ; serpentine arching; insertion of the growing point ; and circumposition ; and when the principles upon which these are founded are understood, the modes of operation can be varied still more :— 1. Simply bending the branch in the earth and covering. This is usually unsuccessful, as there are only a few varieties which will take root in this manner. 2. Incision by splitting. Select branches which will bend easily, and remove the leaves where they are going to come in contact with the soil, thrusting a sharp-pointed knife through the middle of the branch at the continued part which is to be laid in the earth, and then split it longitudinally to the extent of 2 inches or so, more or less, according to the size of the branch. The parts are kept separate by a piece of wood or stone. The split, of course, occasions an obstruction of the sap, and allows of the emission of roots by the edge of the cleft. (See Fig. 1.) 3. Twisting is performed by twisting the branch and then covering with soil. This operation is to check the returning sap, and conse- quently favour the emission of roots. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | Jan. 2, 1908. 4. Tongueing or heeling is performed by entering the knife about the lowest part of the bend below a bud, and cutting upwards about 1 inch or 2, the branch being then planted at the proper depth. A stone or piece of wood is placed in a groove made for its recep- tion, and the whole kept from springing out of the ground by a hooked peg. In placing it, care must be taken to keep the divided portion separate, for, if in contact, they would unite, and the object of making the cleft would be defeatéd. It is also necessary to observe that all buds on the layer below the surface, except the bud at the base of the tongue, should be rubbed off or cut out before the shoot is laid down. It will be seen that the sap can ascend by the upper side into the buds left above the surface ; but when these expand into shoots or leaves, and when the latter are able to return elaborated sap, turns to the stem, whilst another por- a portion re- tion will go towards the tongue, and accumu- lating there, must break out in the shape of roots. The topmost bud of the shoot will have the flow of sap more that side are to the buds ee the leaves direct, because the vessels on entire ; but it will also find its way remaining uncut. The sap from produced by the latter will, however, tend to return to the toneue, in consequence of that part being on the same side and in con- nection with the part from which roots proceed. Spongioles should be encouraged with a compost of sand, leaf mould, and loam of equal parts, well mixed, and put all over the part that is laid in the ground. The reason for cutting below the bud is that when a shoot is cut a little above a joint or bud, the dividing parts are apt to die up to the next joint, and it has also a tendency to injure the core of the branch, and if this happens the layer will die. The tongue is sometimes made on the upper side, and the branch is twisted so that the tongue may be placed Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 27 in a perpendicular position, and in a downward direction ; but, in general, it is preferable to make an incision on the under side, unless the shoot is of a brittle nature, and may bend when cut on the upper side with less danger of breaking. Tongueing is certainly the best way of layering. (See Fig. 2.) 5. Strangulation or wiring.—If a wire is twisted tightly round a branch, the ascending sap will flow along the vessels of the albur- num or cambium layer, but the returning sap, descending by the inner bark, will be checked. Woody layers continue to be formed so long as the outside bark admits of being compressed, but by degrees the portion of it within the ring becomes hard and so compact as to prevent the return of the sap below the ring, and, of course, the further deposition of woody layers, An accumulation of the returning sap then takes place above the wires, Exposed to the drying influence of the air, roots do not readily break out in consequence of this accumulation, but an increased deposition of woody matter is indicated by the swelling of the branch to a much greater thickness immediately above the wire than below it. When, however, the part around which the wire is twisted is laid in the earth, the accumulated sap tends to form roots, and to encourage their breaking out, the part above the ring is sometimes pricked with a sharp instrument in various places quite through the inner bark. 6. Cireumposition is an old term for a mode of propagation employed in cases where the branch is far up from the ground, or when from stiffness, brittleness, or other circumstances it cannot be bent down. Whilst the branch, for any of these reasons, retains its position, some soil or compost is arranged around it in a box, garden pot, basket, or any other article, adapted so that the branch can be introduced into the interior. A garden pot may be used to greater advantage when cut down the middle, and a piece taken out of the bottom large enough to allow the branch to be introduced into the pot. The pieces, of course, require to be bound or hooped together. It, however, is preferable to arrange a post or stake with a board on top, thus forming a table or stand for the pot to rest on. The branch can then be introduced into the pot at the proper height, and placed in a suitable position. A sht must be made about 2 inches up the centre of the stem with a sharp knife or saw, and a piece of wood placed in the slit to keep it open. Owing to being raised in the air, the soil in the pot or box is apt to dry rapidly, and this should be prevented by mulching or with moss, which should be kept moist. It will also prove advantageous to cover the whole pot with moss, in order to prevent evaporation. Pots or boxes made of slate, not being porous like those of earthenware, are preferable for this mode of propagation. (See Fig. 3.) 28 te Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Ringing a portion of the branch.—The ring should be taken off quite through the liber or inner bark, otherwise the returning sap would pass by it to the stem, and thus the object of ringing, to interrupt it, would be defeated. Ringing is preferable to strangula- tion or Wiring, inasmuch as the granulated cellular matter has a clean-cut edge to issue from, and on which it can sooner accumulate in suthicient quantity to form protrusions, in the shape of spongi- oles, than it can burst out. Besides, previous to its doing so, part of it is appropriated for the deposition of woody layers. 8. Piercing.—The braneh, where laid in the ground, is sometimes pierced or punctured. The returning sap is thereby obstructed, and the emission of roots encouraged. But punctures are more apt to cause disease than clean euts ; theretore, very small circular notches will an- swer the purpose better, except when the branch is of a tender succulent nature, and lable to bleed when cut. 9, Serpentine layering. This mode is very applicable to vines, such as wistarias, clematis, and other plants which make longrunning shoots. The shoot is layered at every 2 feet, or Fig. 3. Cireumposition (}'vcca alifolia variegata). less, according to the nature of the plant, its pliability, and the situation of the buds. Each curve below ground is held down by pegs. The buds must be cut or rubbed off. The extremity is supported by a stick, and when the shoot is sufficiently rooted at the different parts laid, it is cut off the parent; then each is cut separately, and planted where Jan. 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette. of N.S.W. 29 wanted. When this method of propagation is adopted in summer with a growing shoot, the latter must be layered as it proceeds in growth, and the leaves on the part above ground should be pre- served and encouraged; consequently, the shoot will have to be shallow, and the curves to be but slight. Sometimes, pressing the shoot at its joint the depth of its thickness in the soil, and Fig. 4.—Serpentine Layering. then laying small stones upon it, will be sufficient ; but as the stones may be knocked off, small pegs are preferable at any time. (See Fig. 4.) 10. Layering by insertion of the growing point. e Some plants which emit few roots, and these but slowly, by the previously-detailed modes, will produce them in surprising abundance by merely inserting the growing points or tips of the shoots in well prepared Fig. 5.—Layering by insertion of the Growing Point. soil, and before autumn a large bundle of roots will be formed with a bud, which must be carefully preserved in transplanting, and afterwards trained to form a stem. This mode, though not, in general, essential for propagation, deserves notice, as it can easily be tried, and doubtless will often be found successful, in the case of many plants difficult to propagate by other means. (See Fig. 5.) 30 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. . [ Jan. 2, 1908. CONSTRUCTION OF PiG-sty BUILDINGS. [Continued from November, 1907, page 862. | A. BROOKS, Foreman of Works, Hawkesbury Agricultural College. Separate Sties. A very ordinary design of shed to house a ntmber of pigs together is that shown at Fig. 17, built of bush timber—round stuff for the framework, slabs fixed upright for the walls, similar slabs laid down for the floor, and bark roof. The size of ‘the one shown is 16 ft. x 9 ft., and it cost here forlabour and materials, ESS) Such a building may make a decent shelter shed, but it is not by any means a healthy pig-house. ‘The floor allows all the urine to soak through, the walls and roof are a harbour for vermin, and the timbers soon decay away. Something Better. Figs. 18 and 19 show the ground plan and elevation of a house of similar dimensions, set into the dividing fence of two separate runs, and so fitted with gates on the front at A-B, Fig. 18, that the pigs can be shut off from either run. a Cart rood Through gates 1 =] ==] Cc) i Bush covering for sun shade san Feed pen “a Fig. 18. re’ Fence line pang =a Jan, 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 31 i} =| | Wire [ ah Fig. 19. Hi The cost of this house is, comparatively speaking, little more than that of the slab one, but it is a sanitary and healthy house in every way, and will last many years. The framework consists of light round posts, with rails of sawn stuff, braced with battens where required, (four) rafters on the roof, with battens 144 inch thick to take the iron. Both walls and roof are covered with corrugated iron. The wall iron may be set into the floors (see page 860, 1907), thus keeping the faces free from any ledges to hold dirt, and making both walls and floor all the more easy to clean. Should it be desired to have a bottom rail in the walls to fix the iron to, let it be on the outside face, and a few inches off the floor, so that the rain will not rot the wood, and the inside will be free to clean down. The roof-lights may be thought too elaborate for a pig-sty, but sunlight is most necessary, and in no way can it be better provided for than through the roof. Protection from hailstones can easily be provided for by wire- netting. They may be on hinges, to allow of them being opened for ventila- tion in summer. They are made in the corrugated sheet of iron ready for fixing, which is no more trouble to do than fixing another sheet, and can be had any length, as ordered. They cost say, in 9-foot sheets—opening lights, 25s.; fixed lights, 19s., including glass. The floor, as shown, is of brick paving, laid flat on the sand, requiring thirty-two bricks per square yard, the outer edge bricks being set on their ends to make the border stronger. The joints of the bricks when laid are kept 44 inch open, and after the floor is thus paved, a liquid cement-mortar grout is made and poured into all the joints until they are quite full and 32 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. flush on the surface. To make this grout, mix three parts sand to one part cement into ordinary mortar, then in a half bucket of water mix suficient mortar to make the grout just thin enough to run into the joints. Previous to pouring in the cement grout, throw a few buckets of water over the floor to wet all the bricks, to prevent them from absorbing the moisture out of the grout too quickly. The floor must, of course, be graded to the back to an open gutter, to carry off all drainage. On>this brick floor, portable batten floors, as previously described on page 861 (1907), may be laid in sections to make them easier to handle. Fencing. The fencing of the runs may be of posts, with top rail, 34 inches high (for sows), a barb wire on the ground, a No. 8 wire 24 inches up, and 24 in. x 4 in. mesh, and 14-gauge wire-netting threaded on the wires and stapled to the posts. The cost of this fencing (for material only) would be be about 13s. per chain. On the front line, sun-shade and feed-pens may be constructed with a few saplings and bushes. Houses and runs thus arranged, the pigs can have the whole of the house room, while only one of the runs is being used; the other may be sweetening up for a few weeks. A Portable House. Where it is desired to use pigs to feed off crops and improve the land, shelter is very necessary, and nothing better can be on hand for this purpose than a portable house. te SASSO TESTI 3 Fig. 20. Portable pig-house. Fig. 20 shows one 12 ft. x 8 ft., built hghtly, but strongly, of sawn timber frame, on 8 in. x 3 in. hardwood sleepers as slides, and boarded on the sides and ends with pine weatherboards, and on the roof with 45-inch match boarding. A drop flap-door on the front provides a gangway for the pigs to walk into the house on, and fasten them in if required. The floor is of battens 3g inch apart to allow the drainage to soak through. Drag chains Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 33 at either end to hook a swingle-bar to, and one horse can shift it anywhere. It costs about £9 to make, complete. To preserve it in good order, it must, say once a year, be painted externally, and not allowed to stand too long in one position. Troughs. Feeding pigs with slop food is most easily done in troughs, and, un- doubtedly, these should be well made. They should be so strong that the pigs cannot break them up, but not so cumbersome and heavy that one man rannot lift them about to clean out occasionally. Smaller separate troughs, in a yard where there are a number of pigs to be fed, are preferable to one large trough, where the pigs crowd and jostle each other for the feed. Some- times a large platform, with a deep gutter all round, is laid down, the feed tumbled into the gutters, and the pigs haul it out on to the platform to feed. This style is very suitable where a large number have to be fed at one time. The ordinary trough for the sty may be made of various materials, but, like the floors, they should be impervious and easily cleaned. Square and sharp corners should be avoided, and if this is attended to the pig will clean out its own trough. Rough Boards Fig. 21.—Mould for casting Concrete Troughs. Concrete, composed of bricks, stone, gravel, or such like, broken up to a *4-inch gauge, mixed with cement mortar, makes capital troughs. All that is necessary is to have a mould—such as is shown at Fig. 21—the stone, sand, cement and water, and a handy man can make a trough at any time he may have a spare hour at a cost of Is. 6d. If coarse, clean sand, mixed with about one-third its bulk of finer sand, and using three parts of this to one part Portland cement, no stone will be necessary. AA, at Fig. 21, shows a rough platform (which would not be necessary if a floor was available) to set the mould on. This mould is made of 114-inch pine sides and ends, the latter set into the sides in wedge-shaped grooves, as at FF, and held together by $-inch bolts and nuts at E. A wedge is inserted behind the end pieces at F to keep them in position and to enable the mould to be more easily taken to pieces when the cement is set. C o4 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. The centre part of the mould B, with the bearers DD, is made exactly the shape of the inside of the trough, and 2 inches less every way than the outer mould. All corners are rounded off. On the front of the mould a 2-inch hole is made, into which a plug is set, touching against the inner mould, thus providing a cleaning hole in the conerete trough. To ensure a smooth face when east, the moulds should be lined with light galvanized iron. When making these troughs, fix the euter mould together, set it on the floor on a piece of flat iron, and fill in about 2% inches thick of con- erete; then set the inner mould and press it down until the bearers DD rest on the top edges, and an equal space of 2 inches all round. Set the plug in the front, and fill the concrete carefully in all round, packing it tightly and flush to the top. Allow this to set for about twenty-four hours, when the plug may be taken out, the inner mould removed, the bolts and wedges withdrawn, and the trough laid aside to dry. Any rough edges should be dressed up before leaving it, and it should be covered over with a wet bag for a few days, when it will be ready for use. Fig. 22,--Concrete Troughs, Fig. 22 shows the trough as made. Another handy trough for suckers can be made of sawn timber, as shown at Fig. 23—the ends 12 inches long, 6 in. x 2 in. thick hardwood, and the Fig, 23.—Suckers’ Trough, Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 35 sides of 1-inch pine, jointed and nailed together on the bottom edges, and let into the ends 34 inch deep, painted and nailed. Use paint on all the joints, and paint the outside when finished. The Oil-drum Trough. As a handy, easily made, sanitary trough, to set in the front of a sow’s sty, nothing can be compared to that shown on Figs. 24, 25, 26, and 27. To make it all that is necessary is an ordinary 5-gallon linseed-oil drum (larger if you wish it), two pieces of 3 in. x | in, hardwood battens to fix to the sides, two jieces of 3 in. x 2 in, hardwood for bearers, cut out as at B, and two brackets of 3 in. x 1 in., as shown at XX, seven (7) 1} in. x Lin. bolts and nuts, and four 24 in, screws. Call the top side of the drum that with the bung-hole nearest the rim, and mark out lines on each side 23 inches above the centre of its depth. Cut with a sharp chisel along these lines on the sides and up to each rim, and the trough is opened up. Shape the battens to fit against the sides of the drum, the front one projecting 1 inch past the rim at each end, Cut and round these projecting ends to form a l-inch Fig. 24. round pin, to fit into the holes in the brackets XX, When bolting these battens on, take care to have the end bolts pass through the rim of the drum. The inside batten is cut square at the ends, anc just long enough to fit in between, and fixed with three bolts, Bevel off all edges of the battens, so that they will not hold anything when the trough is being cleaned out. The bearers are 34 inch thick in the centre, so that the trough is that much clear of the floor to allow free flow of the drainage. The swinging flap over the trough shuts the pigs off when cleaning or filling, and is held in position by the sliding bar shown in the centre, and stop pins are at 11 (Fig. 24). It is simply 2 ledged shutter with round pins formed on the ends of the top ledge, 11 much the same way as the batten on the trough already described. The illustrations show the construction very plainly. Fig. 24 shows the outside or front of the trough, as when the pig is feeding, while Fig. 25 shows the inside. 36 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. It will be seen there are no ledges on the inside face; also, note the drop catch or stop, a, hanging at the left hand end of the trough. ‘This pre- vents the pig raising the trough with her snout. The stop is raised by the flap when it is pushed from the outside. Fig. 26 shows the trough as tilted up, when washing out, emptying into the open drain in front; Fig. 27.—Brackets and Bearers. and Fig. 27 shows the drum, brackets, battens, and bearers, all ready to fix. The cost of such a trough, as shown here at Fig. 27, will not exceed 2s., and they are as clean as a plate. Jan. 2, 1908. | Agrwulturai Gazette of N.S.W. 37 The Titanic Asbestos Silo. F. G. CHOMLEY. THe United States of America is undoubtedly the home of the modern silo; there the wooden tub silo holds sway ; but there they are fortunate in having a supply of timber suitable for this purpose, while our hardwoods are not well adapted for staves for a tub silo, Conerete and ferro-concrete (conerete strengthened with iron rods or lathing) are also becoming common, and where the materials are obtain- able at a fair rate, this form of silo is as nearly perfect as anything yet introduced, being practically indestructible. These materials are not available here at a price that enables the average farmer to make use of them for silo building, except in special cases. Moreover, ferro-concrete requires very careful workmanship, unless the walls are very thick ; it would be without the scope of an ordinary farmer to make use of his own labour or that of his employees. Our native hardwoods enjoy a reputation for durability under circum- stances that would cause speedy decay in most of the soft imported tim- bers, which makes them of great value for framework for silos of which the walls are formed of some kind of sheeting, to make an air-tight silo. In Victoria a form of silo consisting of an outer framework of circular shape, built of hardwood lined with flat iron, is largely used, but has not been an unqualified success, except that any sort of a silo is a tremendous advance over no silo at all. During the last year or so there has been introduced to these States a form of cement sheeting that is admirably suited to lining a wooden frame for silo construction, and was first referred to in this journal in October, 1906, by Mr. E. G. Stone, C.E., who designed and erected the first one on tis property at Werrington, near St. Mary’s. These sheets are mainly a mixture of cement and asbestos; they are strong, durable, fire and acid proof, are splendid non-conductors of heat, and are of large size. A silo built of hardwood framing and cement sheets has the advantage of simplicity of construction, and is free from the disadvantages the iron sheets are subject to. Silage made in an air-tight silo of non-conducting material is of uniform quality right up to the edge. This is not the case with iron- sheeted silos, as the following extract taken from an article dealing with Mr. A. Foster’s Boisadale Estate, Gippsland, Victoria, published in the Australasian, 9th November, 1907, will show :— Latterly Mr. Foster has been following the system of construction advocated by the Department of Agriculture, and most of the large cylindrical tubs are of iron. But he 38 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Atl Bearerlorhoof ‘ae te i hal 24° 73 ea be 2% —4 ON TINUOUS ella DOOR ) 4 } | } | \ | : = = eal Si | round fine | | | eee) ane Llevalion Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 39 has not fouud it wholly satisfactory. The great point in favour of the iron silos is, of course, the cheapness of building. If, however, efiectiveness is sacrificed for cheapness, it is a doubtful economy. And that appears to be the danger. The best results have not been obtained from the iron structures, but from a wooden silo, which was about the first one erected in the State. Almost invariably, so Mr. Foster states, there is a waste of 3 or 4 inches round the edge, and no explanation can be given of the cause, and no remedy suggested. Whether it is the effect of alternating heat and cold upon the thin walls, or some corrosive effect produced by chemical action of the fermenting mass and the iron, he is at a loss to determine. Unless the fault can be rectified, he intends to build of wood in future. In the Titanic Asbestos silo which is being placed on the market by Messrs. Noyes Brothers (Sydney), Limited, 109, Pitt-street, and fully Uliustrated in this issue, the circular form of the standard 100-ton (24 ft. x 16 ft.) wood tub silo has been kept to as nearly as the dimensions of the Titanic sheets would allow, the height being 24 ft. 7} in. by an approxi- mate diameter of 15 ft. 6 in., which is arrived at by having twelve sides each 4 feet; this gives a content of 4,403 cubic feet, with a capacity of 94 tons of ensilage, allowing 48 Ib. to the cubic foot, which is a fair average weight per foot for a deep silo. The Titanic asbestos silo can be made any size the sheeting will work in with, but the stock size is the one illustrated. This size has the advantage of depth, which is very im- portant, while the area is not excessive. The 100-ton silo is the most popular size in the United States for dairymen. The sheets are 8 ft. 25 in. x 4 ft. A silo can be made of any number of sides and height, but it is better to have them fairly high, to obtain better solidification of the chaffed fodder. If a silo is desired having a different number of sides to the one illustrated, it would be necessary to cut the studs from the 6 in. x 4 in. stuff at an angle to suit. Referring to Fig. 1, the silo is seen in elevation. The doorway, it will be observed, is a continuous one; this form of doorway is the kind abso- lutely insisted on in all tub silos in the United States, and has many advantages. In Fig. 2 a single section is shown in elevation. In this the method of fitting the battens to the studs is shown, and the distances at which they are spaced to suit the size of the sheets are set out. It should be observed that the sections are absolutely independent of each other, but are built exactly the same in every way, except the doorway section, which is shown in the same illustration. These sections are accurately fitted at the works to the dimensions shown, and when erected in position, as shown by the ground plan, Fig. 3, form what is practically large staves of a tub; these sections are bolted together at the corners, as shown in Fig. 1, and are in addition bound together, just as a cask is, by means of iron rods of special design. These rods, together with the bevelled studs, are the dis- tinctive feature of this form of construction, and are clearly shown in position in Fig. 4. In Fig. 5 it is shown how two studs having the required bevel are cut from one 6 in. x 4 in. piece of hardwood. The angle of the bevel varies Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. = [ Jan. 2, 1908. with the number of sides. With an eight- sided silo it would be 112! 2 degrees; ten sides, 108 degrees ; twelve sides, 105 degrees; six- teen sides, 101 degrees 15 minutes. The importance of having the tramework bound with iron tie- rods is very great, not only to resist the in- ternal pressure of the ensilage while being made, but in a greater degree to keep the hard- wood studs from warp- ing or twisting away from one another at the joints under the influ- ence otf the weather. From the nature of the design, any tendeney to deviate fromthestraight in an inward direction would only cause a tighter and better joint, but when the grain of the studs would cause an outward bend this is resisted by the iron tie- rods, and thus a perfect joint is maintained. With the iron tie-rods and the take-up nuts at each joint, a_ perfectly rigid and eask-like structure is obtained. The iron rods also stay the intermediate studs, and make the whole frame as rigid as the best class of wooden tub silo. 2 ee ee Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 41 The method of attaching these rods is shown in Fig. 1, and also in detail in Fig. 6. The rods are of 3-inch mild steel, shaped as shown, with an eye to go over the end of the next preceding rod, and provided with a thread and nut to enable the rod to be tightened at each ‘joint. To doubly secure an air-tight joint at the corners and obviate any ingress of air due to the rough surfaces of the studs, which might allow GS RR eS SS a eS aS SSS SF SSeS Sn I SS i SO Taal slight leakage, a strip of damp-course material is tacked up the studs, as shown in the detail of the corner joint in Fig. 4. The doorway is of the continuous pattern, which is absolutely insisted on in the tub silo so popular in the United States, as shown on plan in Fig. 7. The studs are rabbeted, as shown, to permit the horizontal planks shown in section in Fig. 8 to be placed against the back of the rabbet and 4.2 Agricultural Gazette of N.SJIV. [ Jan. 2, 1908. maintained in position by the ensilage. These boards are placed in posi- tion as filling proceeds, and are removed as emptying takes place; there can be no accumulation of carbonie acid gas to cause accident to the men when filling or emptying. Also, when emptying, the boards are removed to the level, or just below the surface, and thus any lifting of the ensilage is obviated. The door-plank is of the dimensions shown, and cut from tongued and grooved Oregon, 26 in. long, 12 in. wide, and 14 in. thick, with a good stout tongue. lig. 9 shows the plan of the bottom plate. This is of 4 in. x 3 in. hard- wood, shaped and mortised as shown ; the bevel corresponds with the bevel on the stud; the top plate is the same, except that the stuff is 4 in. x 25 in. To facilitate the setting out of the stumps to carry the frame, a trammel is provided. This is of the shape and dimensions shown in Fig. 10. In erecting the silo, the foundation stumps are first set in position and accurately marked, as shown in the illustration—only a portion of the stumps is shown—these marks indicate the position the bottom plates will occupy. The sections having all been fitted and securely nailed, as shown in Fig. 2, are placed in position, starting with the doorway section, which is placed vertically on the stumps and carefully plumbed and stayed (the roof battens may be used for this purpose). Care should be taken not to twist or rack the sections while being elevated. When the doorway section is up, the bottom plate should be nailed to the stumps; then the section on either side is raised up and bolted, where shown, to top and bottom of the doorway section. Proceed in this way till all are ? up, care being taken that the studs are es flush at the joints. When all the sec- tions are up, the remaining bolts are put in, putting in the middle row first all round; tighten bolts a little at a time, till all are home and taut. The iron rods are next put on—a nail in the studs along the line to support the rods while fixing them will help; thread the bolts together, in the direction shown in Fig. 1, that is, with the nuts to the left, other- wise the screwing up of the nuts will be left-handed, and rather trouble- OO Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 43 some to a right-handed man to work. Screw these gently at first, and go over them twice, or oftener, till all are tightened equally. Fig. 6. The anchor post-holes should now be dug, and the anchors put in and bolted to studs, as shown in the elevation and plan, Figs. 1 and 3. The holes should be thoroughly rammed; the anchors are purely for safety, and may never be ealled upon to take any strain, but high winds may do some damage when the silo is empty. The roof, which is of the simplest kind, is carried on a roof-plate, shown by dotted lines in the plan, Fig. 3, which is bolted or nailed to the tep plates. The framework is now complete, and the sheeting may be put on. The sheets are very tender when first taken from the erates, but soon harden ; while green they are shghtly flexible, and may be nailed, sawn, or planed. Use 1-inch clout-nails, about 4 inches apart, to attach sheets, but discretion must be used to get the sheets to lie flat against studs and battens. Start at the top of the silo. The sheets should be shld up the studs on edge and nailed. If Aon ate the sheets do not make a per- fect Joint at the corners, the edges are to be planed to a fit. Fig. 9. following proportions :—1 part cement, 11% part lime, 3 parts sand. As soon as the sheets are all fixed, the joints may be grouted with a mortar, made of sand and cement, or sand, lime, and cement, of the Fig. 8. A seaffold is not required; use planks across the battens of the sides. The whole of the Titanic sheeting should now be painted with Ferrol paint, which is provided with the silo. AA, Agriculiural Gazette of N.S.W. [Jan. 2, 1908. The practice in the United States is for manufacturers to supply silos ready to erect, with all details worked out and made an accurate fit. The purchaser then knows exactly what his silo is going to cost him: the labour of erecting is usually supplied from among the employees on the farm. The business has become so extensive that every American agricultural paper contains many advertisements of silo manufacturers. When silos are made in numbers, the cost is far less than an individual could possibly purchase the material for and have it transported to lis holding, quite apart from the loss of time entailed obtaining the various materials in small quantities and in working out plans and details for himself, Thus it is that a demand for silos has led to their supply at reasonable prices by firms who have gone into the business prepared to supply that demand at a less cost than the farmer can do it for himself. The demand in this State has hitherto not been sufficient to make it worth while manu- facturers taking up the business, each farmer being left to work out his own silo as best he could, drawing his supplies from various sources, and paying the retail price for his stuff, and any errors he might make were Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. AS call charged to one job. This has deterred many men from going in for silos, who, had they been able to purchase one ready to erect, would not have hesitated. There are circumstances under which it is more profitable to do all the work of sawing the wood, fitting and making the iron-work on the farm—that is, where a saw-bench and a smithy are part of the farm outfit—but for the average farmer who only requires one silo, and who is without any means to cut his own timber, it will undoubtedly pay better to buy the whole thing ready to erect. To supply this demand, Messrs. Noyes Brothers (Sydney), Limited, are prepared to supply the whole of the material, cut to size and fitted at the works before being sent out, according to their design, or they will supply with the sheeting plans and specification to enable those who are desirous of doing the work themselves. The price, which is liable to alteration, depending on the market rates for materials, has been fixed as low as possible, and will be quoted on application to them. Quantities. The following is a list of the timber and materials required for a silo of the dimensions described :— Foundation—12 stumps, 9-inch diameter, 2 ft. 6 in. long. Frame— Hardwood, Studs, 24-25 feet, cut on bevel as per detail, from6in.x 4in, 12-25 feet, 4in. x 3in. Plates—Bottom, 50-feet, 4 in. x 3 in. Top, 50-feet, 4in x 24 in. Battens—--600-feet, 3in. x | in. Anchor—50-feet, 4 in. x 4 in, Roof—Bearer, 4-16, 4in, x 3in., Oregon. Rafters, 10-9, 4in. x 2 in. Brace, 2-17, 3in. x 14 in. Battens, 8-17, 3in. x I4in. Ridge, 1-17, 7 in. x 1} in. 7 lengths 4-inch gutter, 3 lengths 14-inch ridge capping. 7 lengths 24-inch down pipe. 18 sheets 9-feet gal, corrugated iron. Door—25-2 ft, 2in, x 12in, x 14in,, Oregon, tongued and grooved. Sheeting—-36 Titanic asbestos sheets, 8 ft. 25in. x 4 ft. Miscellaneous—300 teet damp-course, 44 inches wide. 60 tie-rods, 2 in. x 4 ft. 5 in., with hexagonal nut and washer, screwed 3inches, with 2 inch wrought eye, formed as shown in detail of plan. 29 39 3° 99 5 gallons Ferrol paint. 72 6 in. x 4in. bolts and nuts, with washers. 4 Sin. x 4 in, ” ” ” Sailitingex 5.10) 5, ys i 3 lb. screws, galvanized. 3 lb. lead washers. 14 1b, 3in. x 10 nails. 12 packets 1-in. wire clout nails. 28 lb. cement. 46 Agricultural Gazette of N.S JI. [Jan. 2, 1908. Rabbits and the Western Flora R. W. PEACOCK, Tue flora of the western pastoral districts of this State is extremely interesting, comprising as it does many trees, shrubs, and smaller plants of peculiar interest to the grazier and botanist. It has been evolved under extreme conditions: only those forms which could withstand severe periodical droughts and extremes of temperature, either as plants or embryos, have survived, Fig. 1..Remains of Kurrajong Tree. The primeval condition of the edible flora, which comprises many trees, shrubs, herbs, and grasses, was very different to what it is to-day. The stocking of this country by man, firstly with cattle and afterwards with sheep, has in many instances (far too many) led to serious deterioration. Stocking with cattle had far less effect in this respect than the overstocking with sheep which has in many places been practised. Since the advent of sheep, another important factor in this deterioration has appeared, viz., the rabbit. The rabbit bears as great a relationship to the sheep in the matter of deterioration as sheep bear to cattle. The effect of the rabbit is extreme and astounding, bringing about a metamorphosis in the flora upon a scale which seemed ineredible, and testifies to the marvellous +f eo Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 47 adaptability of exotic plants during fair to good seasons, as well as the prolificacy of these and native herbs. These rabbits, appearing in millions, devastated the country first from the south about twenty years ago; their northward march was checked for many years by the wire-netting fence erected along portions of the southern and western railway lines; beyond this barrier the rabbits did Fig. 2.—Cockspur (Centaurea solstitialis). not appear in plague form until the past few years. It is upon this area that my observations were made. I was in a position to study the flora prior to the rabbit, and to view it after he had worked his sweet will upon it. As regards the edible trees, the position is lamentable, thousands otf valuable kurrajongs, leopard trees, orange bushes, wild lemon, and others which had played their part in the sustenance of hundreds of thousands of sheep throughout the 1902 drought and preceding droughty years, had been ringed, and were dying without hope of recovery. The only redeem- ing feature of this tree-ringing was the fact that the rabbit is partial to budtha; stock, generally speaking, will not eat it, and it is one of the worst trees for the pastoralist to cope with in the improvement of the country. Many of these have been destroyed. 48 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. (Jan. 2, 1908. Many small kurrajongs were eaten down, and trees 7 inches in diameter were felled by the rabbits and the leaves, branches, and trunks devoured by the hungry rodents. All that was left of one such tree is shown in illustration, Fig. 1. The orange bush proved very palatable, and the rabbits would eat all the bark from the trunk, and climb up the bushes and strip the limbs up to fully 10 feet from the ground. The effeet of all this wholesale ringing will be seriously felt during the next drought, the edible trees being one of the principal features of large tracts of this country. Upon the herbage their effects were very marked; not a vestige of the more common herbs and grasses, whieh the rabbits relished, could be found. In the place of these, a white everlasting (/e/ipterum species) has taken possession of hundreds of thousands of acres. The reason that this has taken such a hold is on account of the rabbits not eating it, although practically starving. This fact was the salvation of the kangaroos and many thousands of sheep. The kangaroos and sheep, also cattle, may not have relished it, but it was Hobson’s choice, and they appear to do fairly well upon it whilst voung, and when it was more mature and the seed- heads formed sheep appeared to thrive upon it. The rainfall over this tract for the past two years had considerably exceeded the average. Further eastward another plant, Centaurea solstitialis (Cockspur), has taken possession of large areas. The seeds were introduced in fodder for starving stock throughout the 1902 drought. This plant has adapted itself admirably to the conditions of the past few vears. It has come to stay, as I have noticed large patches existing through severe droughts in horse-paddocks around homesteads. Fortunately, sheep thrive upon it, and it is spoken of highly by pastoralists of large experience. Rabbits do not eat it, which accounts for the hold which it has obtained. In proof of this statement, I might mention that I saw an embankment of a tank covered with it to the height of 18 inches, whilst the surrounding country was perfectly bare, excepting for the white everlasting. The embankment was enclosed by a drop-fence, which was sheep-proof, but not proof against rabbits, of which there were thousands surrounding the tank. The above are striking instances of the effects of rabbits upon the flora, and I have no doubt but that pastoralists and others have noticed other cases applicable to other plants. It will be seen that the effects of the ‘abbits are not transitory, but may be permanent, and the most deplor- able feature is probably the ringing of the edible trees. Other plants seed so profusely, and the vitality of such seeds is so great, that they will probably reinstate themselves after many years. Not so with our edible trees. Under our present system of stocking, many of these have gone for ever. It behoves those interested to weigh this aspect of the case and to use every endeavour to cope with the rabbit, so that this important section of the State will not sufier further deterioration. Jan, 2, 1908. | Agricuitural Gazette of N.S.W. 49 Sheep and Saltbushes. COOLABAH EXPERIMENTAL FARM. FEEDING EXPERIMENT.-—SECOND TERM. GEO. L. SUTTON anv H. J. KELLY. THis experiment is a continuation of that carried out in 1904-5, the details of which were published in the Agricultural Gazette, July, 1906. The experiment, when originally planned, had for one of its objects the deter- mination of the carrying capacity of land planted with saltbush; but, on the expiration of the first period of twelve months during which the experiment was running, it was found that the paddock in which the experiment was Fig, 1.—The paddock as it appeared when the experiment started. being conducted had still plenty of saltbush feed in it, though this paddock had carried for the twelve months an average of nearly a sheep and a half per acre. In order, therefore, to obtain the information desired, it was necessary to continue the experiment for a further term, and until the saltbush feed was exhausted. The second term of the experiment was therefore entered upon, imme- diately at the conclusion of the first term, 30th November, 1905; and, in addition to testing the carrying capacity of land under “ Old Man” salt- bush, its object was incidentally to observe the effect of an almost exelu- sively saltbush diet for a prolonged period upon the wool and stamina of the sheep. D 50 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. The paddock in which this trial was conducted was the small one of 61 acres, in which the unpenned sheep, during the first term of the experi- ment, were running. In 1899 it had been planted with * Old Man” salt- bush, in rows 8 feet apart; 4 acres had made very satisfactory growth, as ean be seen from the illustration (Fig. 1),which shows this portion of the paddock before the sheep were turned into it at the commencement of the first term of the experiment. On the remaining portion of the paddock the saltbush was very thin, and its .growth meagre. On 13th July, 1906, a portion of the paddock, which was almost destitute of saltbush, was ploughed up and feneed off. This reduced the area available to the sheep to 5°69 acres. It is interesting to note that the soil in this paddock is not the typical black soil usually associated in this district with saltbush, and on which it naturally grows, but is what is known as * Red” country. The paddock, during the preceding twelve months, had carried six sheep for the first three months, ten sheep for the next four months, and eleven sheep for the remaining five months, or the equivalent of 1:44 sheep per acre for twelve months. Despite this comparatively heavy stocking, there was, at the commencement of this term of the experiment, an abundance of salt- bush within reach of the sheep, also a short green shoot, and some dry grass and herbage. Good rains fell towards the end of February and during Mareh, and, though the paddock was carrying over three sheep per acre, the grass made a fair shoot, which was much relished by the sheep; this green shoot remained in evidence until the middle of May. Towards the end of July, the lower portions of the saltbush within easy reach of the sheep had all been eaten. At this stage, suflicient of the higher top branches to meet the needs of the sheep were broken down as required. On 11th September the whole of the saltbush was eaten, and it became necessary to remove the sheep and terminate the experiment. The sheep with which the trial was conducted were the wethers and the ewes and their progeny used during the first term of the experiment. There were four wethers, ten ewes, and six lambs; the ewes and wethers were about 314 years, and the lambs between 1 and 2 months old. Three ewes (one of the ewes with a lamb) and one wether had been confined in a pen and fed exclusively on saltbush during the previous twelve months, and the remainder had been running loose in the small saltbush paddock, their diet being mainly saltbush, with the shght addition of any grass or herbage which grew after rain. On 4th April, 1906, a ram was added to the sheep in the paddock, and remained with them until 17th July. The result was that eight out of the ten ewes became in lamb. The sheep were shorn on 16th August, 1906, exactly twelve months later than the date of the previous shearing. The fleeces, including those of the hoggets, averaged 101% Ib. each. ———$$<$—$_—- -$_-_-__ __-—-——- Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 51 On 26th August one of the ewes died; a post mortem examination showed that she was in lamb, and that her death was probably due to compaction, as the contents of the stomach had formed into a hard, dry lump, this state possibly being largely due to the character of the food she was getting. During the early part of the experiment, the sheep had free access to water at a tank in a small bare paddock adjoining the one in which they were running; but after the rains in February, which caused a growth of herbage in the tank paddock, the sheep were driven daily to the tank for water, and immediately after watering were returned to the = saltbush paddock. a GOVEPRINVER: N. SW Fig. 2.—The paddock as it appeared at the conclusion of the experiment. The rainfall recorded during the progress of the experiment was :— Date. No. of days on which Rain fell. Meceis December, 1905... Bs sus ] 3°20 January, 1906 4 ‘68 February, » 5 5-O4 March, ss 7 3°91 April, - 4 27 May, Ms 5 esi June, ‘3 5 1:20 July, As ] ‘OR August, Ae Conte 5) 2-112 September 10, 1906 2 1-01 18°77 At the conclusion of the experiment the sheep appeared in good health, and, although not in very good condition, could not be termed poor; four wethers, with one month’s growth of wool on them, weighed 370 lb. The 52 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. total weight of these same wethers nine months previously, with three and a half months’ wool on them, was 469 lb., so that the treatment they received during the course of the experiment was responsible for a total shrinkage, in their case, of about 90 lb. Mr. T. C. Dickson, of ‘“ Yarrawin,” who bred the sheep and selected them for the experiment, kindly consented to examine the sheep shortly before its completion. With regard to this experiment, on 24th September, 1906, he wrote as follows:—‘ I had the sheep in the yard and had a good look at them. They have altered very much since they were taken to the farm, and have also altered since last year; the wool has grown smaller in the fibre, and shows a shorter and weaker staple, without any increase in quality to make up for the loss in weight. They have not grown the frame they would Fig. 3. Showing the paddock after twelve months spell. running on natural pastures. I cannot understand why they have produced such a black yolky tip—quite as good a tip as you see on sheep reared in a cooler climate. I can give no reason why sheep fed on natural grasses and herbage show a white tip inclined to be fuzzy, while these sheep, fed only on saltbush, show a good tip. Although they have not grown a really pro- fitable fleece, nor produced the carease of more highly-fed sheep, the experi- ment proves that sheep can be kept alive, on saltbush only, for a considerable. time—possibly for long enough to tide over a severe period of dry weather, probably at less cost than by expensive means of artificial feeding. The experiment has also shown that saltbush can be grown at little cost—at a less cost than any other fodder—in a very dry time, and is practically drought resisting. I may state that, although the sheep looked to be in good condition and strong, I do not think they had much vitality of system left, and would not stand the hardship travelling sheep have to go through at times.” ane OOS. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 53 This report sums up the results of the experiment clearly, and in a concise, practical manner. Coming from such an experienced and recognised authority on western conditions, it shows conclusively the great value salt- bush has for mitigating the effects of the droughts, which periodically visit these dry districts. That sheep for twenty-one months maintained a healthy condition on a diet consisting almost exclusively of saltbush, and during that time produced fair fleeces and reared lambs, demonstrates that the feeding value of salt- bush is very good. Seeing that the small saltbush paddock in which the experiment was conducted carried an average of nearly one and a half sheep per acre for twelve months, and then an average of over three sheep per acre ~for a further consecutive period of nine months, it is evident that the carrying capacity of conserved saltbush country is very high. From these facts it is plain that the pastoralist, by planting and conserving saltbush, has available a practical method of making provision for times when grass and ordinary herbage is searce. Once established, the saltbushes will remain available for many years. The recuperative power of the plant is very great. At the conclusion of the experiment, the saltbushes had the appearance of a number of dead bushes, as may be seen from the illustration (Fig. 2), which shows the paddock just after the sheep were removed. The sheep had nibbled off the young shoots as fast as they appeared, and because of this, it was feared that the bushes might be permanently injured and would not recover their usual vigour. These fears proved groundless, for, twelve months after the sheep had been removed, the bushes had almost as much feed on them as ever, and presented the appearance shown in Fig. 3, which is ‘from a photograph taken some twelve months after the termination of the experiment. By this experiment, the value of saltbush for our western country has been demonstrated in no uncertain way. In order to make the fullest use of the advantages which this plant possesses, the cheapest and most expe- ditious method of planting it will have to be sought and found. eat ae per cent. per cent. per cent. Water aa a : ae Sate &y 9605 96°52 96°17 Mineral matter a ae nit Pe sf 0-42 0°42 0°45 Organic solids a ae ct aa ‘: 3700 3°06 3°30 100-00 100: 00 100-00 Total nitrogen Ke: eA 0°59 0: 51 05 Ratio of nitrogen to « organic > solids Pe sac 1 to 6 1 to 6 1 to 6 Since the ratio of nitrogen to total solids is the same in chilled and frozen shins as that in the fresh one, no hydrolysis or putrefactive change has occur red in the preserved samples. Even a slight decomposition would have disturbed the nitrogen ratio. That the gelatine and albuminoids in the frozen and chilled meats had not been degraded by refrigeration was shown by the consistency of the jellies, as already mentioned. Phosphotungstic acid, which throws down in addition to the albuminoids a considerable proportion of the meat bases, gave an equal precipitate with B and C, and a slightly higher one with A. Comparative Digestibility. By artificial digestion experiments, using pepsin as the hydrolytic agent, it is possible to ascertain whether the differe ent processes employed for pre- serving the samples modify the digestibility of the meat. The beef steaks already described were taken for these trials; they were first carefully weighed and trimmed from loose fat and connective tissue. After trimming in this way the available lean portions for digestion were as follows:— Steak D. Steak E. teen te Tl Argentine Argentine stew Chilled. Frozen. ato ete Weighed as received ~ : “(i a 2 |b. G2, lb. 2) oz: 2 lb. 4 0z. W eight of fat and skin removed.. aes Bee 5 oz. 5 oz. 10 oz. Available percentage ae ae ae Ac 844% | 85'3 12°2 —— = : - — =) The remarks as to the excessive amount of fat in the English shin apply, therefore, also to the steak, so that—notwithstanding the higher amount of water in the hard frozen sample, owing to the small percentage of fat, as shown in the preceding table—the quantity of available lean meat per Ib. in the English and frozen Argentine beef is the same. The fats separated were all near ly white. The method adopted in the digestion experiments was to digest 20 grammes of the finely-minced meat with 20 ce. of *5 solution of B.P. pepsin, 50 cc. distilled water, and 1 cc. } HCl, at a temperature of 38° C., for one hour. The undigested residue was filtered off, carefully washed, dried, and treated Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 63 with successive quantities of benzene to remove any remaining fat. The residue left after this treatment was weighed, the weight giving the amount of undigested matter in 20 grammes of meat. The percentages obtained in this way are tabulated below :— Steak D. Steak E. “py Argentine Argentine Sea E ‘ Chilled. Frozen. ee | per cent. per cent. | per cent. Percentage of nitrogenous organic matter un- digested oh ih ee a ae 3801 30°11 36°22 Showing digested ... Ae si ae a 61:99 69°89 63°78 The tenderness of meat which has been frozen has often been noticed, and has been attributed to the slow continuous action of the sarcalactic acid, whilst the loosening of the intermuscular tissue promotes rapid decom- position. In these samples this solvent action has not caused any increase in the digestibility of the fibrin, nor have any signs of incipient decomposition been detected, either in the frozen or chilled steak. II.—Lamb and Mutton. The second part of this inquiry deals with the relative value of hard-frozen Australian lamb and mutton as against home-killed meat. For this purpose Welsh lamb and English mutton were bought at Smithfield market on the Ist January, 1907, and compared with Australian lamb killed early in October, 1906, and with Australian mutton also killed about the same time, but shipped by a different steamer. The particulars of these four joints are as follows :— G.—A leg of prime young Welsh lamb, being a cross between the Welsh and Radnor strains, weighing about 5 tb., brought to Smithfield Market for sale on Ist January, 1907. H.—One leg of prime Australian frozen lamb of the well-known “* Champion ’ brand, weighing 53 tb. It was shipped by the “ Tropic,” which steamer arrived in London on the 18th December, after a voyage occupying about fifty-two days, during which the meat was kept at a temperature of about 20° Fahr. The lamb had subsequently been kept in the Victoria Dock Store at a temperature of about 16° Fahr. The tab attached to the leg indicated that the lamb was of grade 4 (7.e., weighing between 42 and 50 tb.), and certified that the carcass was perfectly sound, free from disease, and suitable for human consumption. The lamb was loaded on steamer on 27th October, 1906, and was killed probably about a fortnight or three weeks prior to that date. J.—One leg of English mutton of the Leicester breed, bred and fattened at Taunton, and offered for sale on the Smithfield Market on Ist January, 1907. The sample leg weighed about 9 tb., and was fully representative of the characteristics of the Leicester strain. K.—One leg of Australian frozen mutton of the well-known “ Champion ” brand. It was shipped by the “ Runic,” which arrived in London on the 24th December, the duration of the voyage, temperature, &c., in the case of sample H applying also to sample K. The Australian leg of mutton also weighed about 9 Ib. It bore a tab ‘wdicating that > 64. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Jan. 2, 1908. the mutton was of grade 6 (7.e., between 60 and 65 Ib.), and including a certificate similar to that on sample H. The mutton was killed about the middle of October, and was put on board steamer on 5th November. It has frequently been alleged in the past that frozen meat is more wasteful than English, that it diminishes in weight more in proportion during the cooking process, has more refuse parts, which cannot be consumed, and less dripping and gravy. These objections have been refuted from time to time, and were specially reported on in the ‘ Hospital’? in 1896, dealing with New Zealand mutton. Since that date no further tests have been brought to my notice. I, therefore, according to your instructions, repeated these baking tests with the above legs of Australian lamb and mutton, and followed the detailed methods of baking in every particular as in the former trials. My results are as follows :— G | H | J K Welsh Australian | 9 English Australian Lamb Lamb. | Mutton. Mutton. Ib. 0z lb. oz. lb. oz. lb. oz. Weight when delivered sak ae as 4 15 5 74 8 10 8 9 W eight when taken from oven —.. 4 24 415 6 133 6 73 Weight of slices suitable for hospital diet 2 134 3. 8} 4 43 4 6 W eight of bone and waste ... es ae 1 O84 1 13 2 4 Ie Pure bone ve aes a He a 0 9 0 83 SZ, 0.13 Dripping 2 Pe re O 4? 0 4? 0 113 1 04 ene in dish after carv ing .. Me = 0 14 0 2 0 OF 0 34 Gravy under dripping sae Bes S 0 04 O 04 QO Of 0 04 The closeness in the results cf the English and Australian mutton is remark- able. As in the “ Hospital” experiment with New Zealand mutton, no difference can be discovered of any material significance. Instead of more waste, less dripping and less gravy, the Colonial produce in this case had slightly less waste, more dripping, and more gravy, together with a trifle greater weight of slices suitable for diet, although the original weight was 1 oz. less than the English jomt. It would, however, be unfair to mention such slight advantages were it not that in each case the differences are so small as to show that the two joints are practically identical in every respect. As a matter of fact, the cook who carried out my instructions believed that the two joints of lamb were foreign, and that the two large joints were English mutton, while the slices when prepared for table were indistinguishable by the consumers (in a private boarding-house in London). The consumers numbered about fifteen persons, who pronounced all the kinds to be of excellent quality, but invariably expressed a preference for sample “ H” (Australian lamb). From the above figures I have calculated the percentages of loss in the oven, the amount of useful slices, and the amount of dripping, as shown in the following table: G | J K Welsh | ee ‘alian English Australian Lamb. (: Lamb. Mutton. | Mutton. per cent. percent. percent. per cent. Loss in oven ... as a a ee 158 9:7 20°6 24°6 Useful slices ... he aa a SO EO 65-0 49-6 5c Dripping ran a oe tee Be 60 5'4 8°5 12°0 Jan, 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 65 Digestibility of the Cooked Meat. In order to ascertain the relative food value of the cooked meat, I have determined the quantity of water, fat, and nitrogenous matter in the cooked slices. These were carefully trimmed from all visible fat, minced, and digested with pepsin in the way I have described in the beef experiments. The results are tabulated as follows:— G H | J K Welsh Australian English Australian Lamb. Lamb. Mutton. Mutton. per cent. | per cent. | per cent. | per cent. RVarbeie amine ces Cah tse Pere ewe « fOS 508 Pn 165 57°79 | 57°32 Fat at ade Sse En Aid Boe 4°11 6:62 753 | 9°68 Organic matter and associated mineral | matter ... asp ae SOE Eve Byoy eTE eebo7(e: 34°68 33°00 100-00 { 100°00 . 100°00 100°00 Percentage of nitrogenous organic matter digested .., zhi * ae ae 19°91] 15°25 18:20 12-48 These results show a very close resemblance in the amount of water in the cooked samples; and confirm the fact already noticed that the amount of disseminated fat is larger in the “ K” sample than in the others. It is satisfactory to find the general opinion confirmed that no incipient decomposition or hydrolysis takes place under cold storage, while these further series of tests also fully support the favourable conclusions arrived at as the result of previous experiments, by further illustrating the satis- factory food values of frozen mutton and lamb. 66 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Progress Report from Mr. W. W. Froggatt. | Mr. Froacarr is travelling on behalf of the Governments of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, in quest of means of com- bating the fruit-fly and codling moth pests, and other fruit and plant diseases. | Washington, D.C., U.S.A., Sir, 13 October, 1907. I have the honor to forward you a progress report of my movements and work since I left California on the 17th of September last. I found that it would be quicker and cheaper to come straight across to Washington than to come via Texas, as I had first proposed, particularly as I could easily see the cotton weevil work on my road to Mexico. T arrived here on Sunday morning, 22nd September, 1907, and on Monday went up to the Agricultural Department, where I presented my credentials to Dr. L. O. Howard, Chief of the Staff, and had a long talk with him about the most advantageous way of spending my time and seeing the inner work- ing of all these divisions and branches into which the Department of Agri- culture is divided at Washington. Through his kindness, I have been enabled to go about and interview all the officers and see the methods they adopt in breeding specimens, looking after their specimens, books, and materials. There are over 10,000 persons in the Department of Agriculture at Washington and seattered through the Federal offices in the United States; there are 300 in the Entomological Division, and in the Plant Pathology and other groups of this division under Dr. Galloway there are seventy botanists at work alone. Each of the leading entomologists under Dr. Howard is a specialist on a certain group of insects; thus—Dr. Hopkins deals only with forest insects; Professor Webster, with insects infesting field crops; Marlatt, seale insects and the best methods of dealing with them; Quantance, with those on fruit-trees and truck crops; and Banks, with ticks and animal parasites, and so on; therefore, they can get through a great deal of original work, besides answering correspondence. Besides this, there is a large staff of workers at the National Museum, each in charge of a different group of insects, who are also under Dr. Howard. With all these officers I have spent some time, and they have been very kind in placing all their informa- tion at my disposal. One of the greatest time-saving methods is the card catalogue system in all branches of work, even extending it to the collections. I have specially inquired into the habits of all cosmopolitan pests and the methods adopted here and in other parts of the States, and the range of the insects, but will not enlarge upon it in this report, as it would take up too much of your time, but have recorded all my observations in my journal. The two species of fruit-flies found in the New England States are not known in the west or southern States. Trypeta pomonella is very common in the State of New York, and damages as many apples as the eodling moth does in some years; but the commercial orchards are of very small extent, and very little is done to keep it in check. The same might be said of the Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 67 eherry fruit-fly (Trypeta cingulata), whieh is common in cherries in the same districts. The climatic conditions and the neglect of orehards will not furnish us with any suggestions in our work of fruit-fly destruction. I have met Mr. Gilles, in charge of silk-work culture, a business that the Depart- ment is introducing into the southern States. They supply the eggs, instructions, and mulberry plants free to anyone who will take the business up, and then buy the cocoons from the growers at a little above market price, spin the thread in the Departmental workshops, and sell it to the silk manufacturers. The bee culture, under Dr. Phillips, is another important branch, as there are over 500,000 bee-keepers in the United States. The bacteriologist in this branch would be very glad to get specimens of bee paralysis from Australia, and would acknowledge and furnish reports upon any specimens received; specimens of foul brood would also be interesting to him. They have here a special Fairbanks’ scales, which will weight from 400 Ib. to Yy of an ounce, and on this they are testing a hive of bees to find out the ‘activities of a hive,” and with regular observations, regularly reeorded, expect to get some interesting results. I spent a most interesting day in the division of Plant Pathology, where Dr. Galloway sent me round to all his officers; and, among others, I had a very interesting time with Mr. Swingle, who is interested in the dry- farming cultivation, and has travelled extensively in Asia and Northern Africa. He is very much interested in our western flora and edible shrubs and plants. Among other interesting questions he pointed out that it was not a spineless cactus that we want in dry countries, but such a spiny one that nothing will touch it until the spines are burnt off. A spineless cactus, he maintains, would never hold its own in desert country; everything, from the mice to the mules, would eat it out. He showed me a species (Opuntia fulgida), which is such a mass of spines when young that nothing can come near it; but the spines are so thick and dry that they are like matchwood, and this species grows a great quantity of fruit, that is a very valuable food to stock. He is also greatly interested in the cultivation of dates in the dry country, and thinks that we should also be able to grow dates commercially in Australia. In the Investigation of Plants division, Mr. Collins went into the question of cotton and also maize, and said that some of the species obtained in the arid parts of Mexico will mature in three months, and they are carrying out extensive experiments in these dry-lands varieties of maize. The germina- tion of seeds is a special branch of this division, and the purity of all seed: sold in the United States is tested here. Miss Schofield, in charge, has al the seeds examined under the microscope, and the foreign seeds, inet! matter, and seeds all listed and determined. With Dr. True, of the same division, I had some interesting conversations regarding the diseases of stock caused by native plants, and he informed me that “ Loco” disease in the eastern parts of the Rocky Mountains round tu Arizona and Mexico, is very similar in its effeets upon stock, and horses in particular, to our “ Darling Pea,” and last year in some places as many as 75 per cent. of the horses in Arizona died from this disease, caused by eating several species’ of Astragulus and Argullus. Several species of wild lupins (Delphinus) also often kill large numbers of stock in the West, particularly sheep. 68 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Jan. 2, 1908. I also called upon Dr. Cobb, who has a branch under Dr. Galloway, who is only just getting things together in his branch; he wished to be remembered to all the officers of our Department. Another morning was spent with Drs. Mueller, Dorset, and Hassell, who have charge of the branches of Sureau of Animal Industry, and deal with much of the work undertaken by our Stock Branch. The Biographical Survey deals with investigations as to the spread and range of useful and injurious birds and animals. In the absence of Dr. Merriman, Dr. Fisher took me through the offices and explained the trouble that they had in the north-west with the ground- squirrels, which destroy grass and crops, just like our rabbits. Poisoning with phosphorus or other mixtures is the chief method of extermination; but it has been stated that a few years ago a contagious disease sprang up amongst them, and in some places they all died out. Dr. Piper has been investigating this matter. The Bureau of Forestry was also visited, and the officers in that branch gave me much interesting information about their methods of dealing with the forest areas. Most of the United States forests are in the west and north-west, and consist chiefly of conifers. Replanting is not practised on a large seale, but the forests belonging to the Govern- ment are waste lands, much of them in the free-range districts. The free- range system has grown up into one of the greatest evils to settlement in the States. There are millions of aeres for which the State gets no rent in the occupation of sheep and cattle men, who are eating out the grass and fighting among themselves to hold the land of which none of them have any right or title. The Weather Bureau is also closely connected with the Department of Agriculture, as they issue warnings as to rain or frost indications that are carefully watched by fruit-growers, farmers, and others interested in agri- culture. They issue two weather-charts every day. The observations are taken all over the States, from Edmonton in the far north of Canada to Porto Rico in the West Indies, and at 10.30 a.m. the same morning all these reports are tabulated and ready for publication. Last week, 7th October, I went to Ithaea and visited Cornell University as one of the most typical agricultural colleges in the United States, where Professor Comstock showed me all their work, and the arrangement of specimens for their teaching work. Professor Slingerland showed me his methods of making lantern-slides and other work. Dr. Needham took me down to his marsh lands experiments, where all water insects, mosquitoes, and fish ean be continuously observed under natural conditions, and the reclamation of marsh lands studied. From there I went to Boston to study the work of the Gipsy Moth and 3rown Tail Moth Commission. The State Commissioners have a force of 1,000 men engaged burning: off underbrush, burning egg clusters, bandaging the trunks, and spraying the foliage of the infested forests. The State of Massachusetts votes part of the money, and each town in the infested districts has to tax itself so much per valuation of property, and at the same time the Federal Department has voted a sum to deal with the introduction of parasitic enemies of these moths in their native home (Europe), and thousands of such parasites are being liberated in these infested areas. The result of these parasites will be watched by the economic entomologists all over the world. J went over about 200 miles of the infested area with the State Commissioner. I have now arranged to leave on the 15th (next Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 69 Tuesday) for Texas, where the Cotton Boll Weevil Commission is working, and after a few days’ stay in the district of Dallas will proceed to the City of Mexico, via San Antonio, to investigate the Mexican Fruit-fly (Trypeta ludens) and its parasites, and, if feasible, shall forward consignments of infested pupe direct to our Entomological Branch. I have, &e., WALTER W. FROGGATT. To The Hon. Minister for Mines and Agriculture, Sydney, New South Wales. TALL-STEMMED LARGE-FRUITED STRAWBERRY. Tue firm of Vilmorin-Andrieux, which has already propagated several very interesting varieties, has now brought out a novelty in strawberries, which presents some extraordinary characteristics. This is the long-stemmed strawberry with large fruit—Queen of August. It is the result of a cross between the strawberries Dr. Morére and Saint Joseph. It has been carefully cultivated for several years in order to fix its special characteristic of tall growth. It is also very prolific, which is another great merit. The fruit is large and tapering, and scarlet when ripe. The flesh is firm, rose-coloured, very juicy, and slightly acid. It seems likely to turn out a great success, and has received a Certificate of Merit from the National Society of Horti- culture.—P. FLorent, Journal d’ Agriculture. 70 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Jan. 2, 1908. A list of Butter Factories of New south Wales Factory. Avon and Barrington Co-operative Dairy Co., Gloucester Albury Co-operative Butter Factory and Produce Co., Ltd., Albury. Albury Co-operative Butter Factory and Produce Co., Ltd., Cootamundra, Alstonville Co-operative Refrigerating Co., Ltd., Alston- ville. Argyle Co-operative Central Dairy Co., Ltd., Goulburn Australian Chilling and Freezing Co., Ltd., Aberdeen — ...! | Berrima District Farm and Dairy Co., Ltd., 664, Harris- street, Sydney. Bathurst Co- “operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Bathurst Bega Co-operative Creamery Co., Ltd., Bega... Bellinger Central Co-operative Butter Factory, Ltd., Raleigh Bellinger Central Butter Factory, Fernmount Braidwood Co-operative Dairying Co., Ltd., Braidwood Bemboka Co-operative Butter Co., Ltd., Bemboka Burrundulla Dairy Co., Ltd., Mudgee cr Thomas Blunt, Overton Creamery, Muswellbrook Bowthorne Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Hinton Blanch, G. A. Butter Factory, South Grafton. Brooklet Co-operative Dairying Co., Ltd., Brooklet ... Ballina Co-operative Refrigerating and Produce Co., Ballina. Berry Central Butter K., Southampton Ltd.. Factory, Berry Bacchus Marsh Concentrated Milk Co., Ltd., 297, Clarence street, Sydney, and at Bomaderry. Black Mountain Dairy Co., Ltd., Black Mountain Barrengarry Dairy Co., Ltd., Barrengarry Ltd., Denman Braemia Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Ulmarra Clarence River Pioneer Dairy Co., iD state, Camden Park Ltd., Menangle ... Clarence River Ltd., Maclean. Casino. Co- -operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Casino ... Cooyal District Butter Co., Ltd., Mudgee Cathcart Catheart Co- operative Dairy Coes itd a Ltd., :C: Castle Mountain Co-operative Butter Factory, Mountain. Crookwell Crookwell Butter Ltd; Factory Co., Cowra Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd.,-Cowra Co- _oper: ative Butter and Refrige ‘rating Co..,| Brand at present in use, A.B.C. (name of Co.). Brio, Willock. Wongwah. C.A., Coota- mundra. Empress. Thistle. Thistledown, Thistie brand (fig. of thistle), W ombat, Kangaroo. Bathurst. Bega, Burrawang. Boronia, Raleigh. Bellingen, Fernmount. Braidwood. 8.B., Bemboka. Burrundalla, Overton. Bowthorne (fig. bow and arrow). Hyacinth, Owara., Seaview. Ballina, Uralba, Duramboi. Berry, Lillipilii. Bace hus Marsh, Bomaderry. Bora. Lion, Braemia., Pioneer, Calliope. Laurel, Nymbcida (fig. of horse-shoe). Casino, Coronet. Cooyal. Catheart. Castle Mountain Victory, Crook- walla. Cowra. Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 71 A uist of Butter Factories-—continued. Faetory. Copmanhurst Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Candelo Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Candelo Coraki Co-operative Butter Co., Ltd., Cudgegong Dairy Co., Ltd., Cudgegong... Cobargo District Co- “operative Creamery Butter Co., Cobargo. Cessnock Butter Factory, Cessnock Ltd., Curtis and Curtis, Harbour-street, Sydney ces Dungog Co-operative Butter Factory, eee Dungog Debenham, I’., Frederickton : a one Dorrigo Central Co- -operative Dairy Co., “Ltd., Dorrigo Duckenfield Co-operative Dairy Co., Ld., Morpeth ... Deniliquin Co-operative Butter F actory ‘and Harm Produce, Co., Ltd., Deniliquin. Kugowra Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Foley Brothers, Ltd.— Sydney... a ee Kugowra Cootamundra Cambewarra Lismore Co-operative Society, Ltd., do ‘Kangaroo Valley, Warmers and Settlers’ Do do forrester, A. C., Branxton Foxground Co- -operative Dairy Co., itde ok oxground | Farmers and Dairymen’s Milk Co Ltd., ‘Harris- street, Sydney. Forbes Co-operative Dairy Co. Ltd., Forbes ... Grabben Gullen Butter Factory, Gordon and Binnie, Singleton Gerringong Dairy Co., Ltd., Gerringong Gloucester District Co-operativ e Butter Stroud. Glen Innes Co-operative Butter Factory, Gleniffer Central Dairy Co., Ltd., Grabben Gullen Eval Ltd..,| Ltd., Glen Innes... Ltd., Gleniffer Gurrunda ... Gund agal Factory, Gurrunda Co-operative Butter Factory, Ltd., Gundagai Co-operative Butter Factory, Ld., Gunnedah District Co- -operative Butter Gunnedah. Gresford Butter Factory Co., Ltd., East Gresford ... ae | Hastings District Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Port Mac-, quarie. | Hay Co- -operative Butter Factory Co., Ltd., Hay .. | Inverell Co-operative Butter Factory, Ltd., Inverell... Ireland, J., Ltd., Newcastle Illawarra Co- -operative Central Dairy (Sloe Lid. ; “Albion Park| Jamberoo Central Dairy Co., Ltd., Jamberoo ... Kyogle Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Kyogle ... Kangaloon Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Kangaloon... Ltd., } Copmanhurst ... Coraki... sia sal Blayney Brand at present in use. Comhurst. Lilac, Moana, and Candelo. Southern Cross, Silverstream, Greenleaf, Coraki. Emu ( (fig.), Narira. IXoh-i-noor, Dianthus. Magnum. Prairie, Durham, Anchor. Alpine, Dorrigo. (fig. of tri- angle), Stockman. Mugowra. Meadow, Bar- oona, and Native Rose. Golden Rose. Daphne, Short- horn, North- ern Central. Snowdrop Kangaroo (fig.). White Swan. Glen. Golden Cow. Forbes. Grabben Gullen. Maeranie. Gerringong. iCaruah, Stroud. tlyland, Golden Wattle. Glentalls, Gleniffer. Gurrunda. Gundagai. Hastings, Koala, Bullhead. Waradgery. Willow. Rosebud. Warrilla. Waughope. Kyogle. Kangaloon. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. A uist of Butter Factories—continued, Factory, Kialla Butter Factory Co., Ltd., Kialla ase i ae Kangaroo River Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Kangaroo Valley Leconfield Butter F actory Co., Lismore Co-operative Dairy Co., Branxton Ltd., Lismore Manning River Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Jones’ Island Molong District Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Molong Millthorpe Butter Factory Co-operative Co., Mudgee District Dairy Co., Ltd., Mudgee McKinney Bros., Nangus, Gundagai ca as aft Macleay River Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Kempsey Maclean Nowra McLean Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Nowra Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Newell, Joseph, Bulladelah sae aes Nambucca Dairy Co., Ltd., Macksville ... North Coast Co-cperative Co., Ltd.— Byron Bay South Lismore Murwillumbah Narrabri Co., Ltd., Narrabri Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., New South Wales Fresh Food and Ice street, Sydney. Harbour- Oakey Creek Dairy Co., Ltd., Orange Co- operative Central D: ury Co., Cudgegong Ltd., Orange Orara Co- -operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Coramba... Palmer’s Island Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Palmer’s Island. Parkes Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Parkes ... Pambula Rylstone Raymond Terrace Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Raymond) 7 a | Terrace. | Ltd., tds Pambula Co-operative Dairy Co., Ry!stone Co-operative Dairy Co., Rocky Hall Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Rocky Hall Rohr, G. J., Wagga.. van aoe eae aS ae wae Reid, J. H., Tenterfield... sae a ae a waa Southgate Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Ulmarra Smithtown Dairy Produce Co., Ltd., Smithtown Le | Singleton Farming and Dairying Co., Ltd., Singleton —... Singleton Central Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Singleton...) Stewart, A. C., Union Creamery, Cathcart... Southern Monaro Co-operative Dairy Cox tde Skillen & Co., Dungog x Scottish Australian. Inv estment Co.; Nimitybelle Ltd., Adaminaby [Ja n. Ltd., Millthorpe| 1908. 3rand at present in use. Crookwell. ICangaroo River, Leconfield. Countess, Wonga, and Ululu. Sun, Pyramid, and Wingham. Molong. Mulga. Acacia. Nangus. Yaelwood, IXempsey. Nealeam. Nowra, Worrabba, Wilna. Acme. Utungan, Macksville. Myee. Unara. North Coast, Kureka, Cavanba, Noorebar. Narrabri. I’. 1.C. (mono- gram), Golden Star. Orange. Orara and Coramba, with fig. of Phoenix. Cycle, Merista. Parkes. Oakleaf. Rylstone Co-op. Dairy Co. Oak. Rocky Hall. Riverina. Cottisbrook. Crescent. Smithtown Co- op. Dairy Co. Singleton. Almond, Bush- man, T'airview. Southern Monaro. Heather Bell. Bolaro Jan. 2, 1908. | A ist of Butter Factories—continued. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 13 Factory. Brand at present In use. itd South Wolumla Co-operative Creamery, Wolumla Tremayne Bros., Wellington ; ie Tweed River Co- -operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Tenterfield Co-operative Dairy Gon Ltd., Tenterfield... Tamworth Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Tamworth ... Towamba Central Co-operative Creamery, Ltd., Tumut Co-operative Butter Factory, Ltd., Tumut ... Upper Macleay Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Upper Bellingen Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Upper Wallamba Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Ltd, Upper Manning Co-operative Dairy Co., Taree Ulladulla Co-operative Refrigerating Butter Co., Ltd., Ltd., Uralla Unanderra Woodhill Uralla Co-operative Butter and Bacon Co., Unanderra Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Woodhill Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Woodburn ... Ltd. 5 Woodburn Dairy Co., Ltd., West End Creamery Co-operative Co., Bemboka Winkley & Co., G., Forest Hills Creamery, Withycombe, C. J., Millgrove Creamery, Muswellbrook Wingham Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Wingham Woodstock Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., Jamberoo ... Wilde’s Meadow and Yarrunga Dairy Co., Ltd., Meadow. William White, Butter Factory, York, Hamilton, Central Butter Quirindi. Tumut Factory Murwillumbah ... Towamba ... Hickey’s Creek! Bellingen ... Krambach... Milton West Maitland... Wilde's, Gadara, Buttercup, W Creu Lily. Pansy, Celosia. Tamworth. CACO: Tumut Valley. Upper Macleay. Orchid. Rock Lily, Rock, Banksia. Taree, Upper Manning. Ulladulla, Boomerang, Lion and Kangaroo. Allaru. ..| Woodluff, Airlie | Atlas, Wy vambah, a nd Tce Works. | Budgeree. Fern (fig. of fern leaf). Hillerest, Mindaribba. Millgrove. W rilde’ s Meadow and Yarrunga Dairy Co. Eppeles. Quirindi. 74: Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Rural Hygiene. THE importance of keeping the closets in the country in a sanitary condition Is hardly realised. There is absolutely no reason why these places should be in the unclean and insanitary condition they frequently are. They are too often a harbour and_ breeding-ground for thes, which are notorious as carriers of disease, are kept in a state of disrepair, with unsuitable or leaky buckets, and are generally a place of corruption and evil smells. If there was any difheulty about maintaining these places in a sanitary condition it would be a different matter, but the means for keeping the closets in a perfectly sweet and wholesome state are to hand everywhere in the country. The following extract from The World’s Work, dealing with Dr. Poore’s Rural Hygiene, by Mr. Allport, author of ‘“ Inexpensive Holiday Homes,” is of interest to farmers, butter factory managers, and all dwellers in areas not served by sewage or municipal sanitary systems. “As one who takes a great interest in this subject, and who had _ the advantage of frequent discussion with the deceased reformer, both on his Andover property and elsewhere, may I be allowed to give the results of my own practical experience of his methods with regard to solid and liquid sewage. I have for about five years adopted his systems at a country bungalow of my own, and although I believe his theories to be practically right, I have found that there are several points not generally -known-which materially affeet their satisfactory working. When going over with the doctor his bountifully manured garden at Andover, we turned over the soil in several places at which the dates of manuring were known. And we found, even where twelve months had elapsed, there were still frequent instances of excrement quite undecomposed. “His plan was to bury the exereta in a 6-ineh trench, and put the soil removed in forming the next trench on top. I have found that if no trench is made, the contents of the buekets being put on the surface, and only suticient soil to conceal their character raked over them, the decomposition is exceedingly rapid, a few weeks destroying all trace of organic matter. The appheation is best made in the intervals between already growing plants, which are never injured by it. “There is one matter in this connection which should be insisted upon. Each closet should have two buekets to be used alternately, the one just emptied being as recommended by Dr. Poore, rinsed with dry earth, then put under cover, in the open air, until its turn for use comes round. It will then be absolutely free from odour. Ignorance of this essential condition is responsible for all, or nearly, the prejudice against the earth closet. “7 find an admixture of roughly sifted peat-moss litter (not obtainable here) a great improvement to the earth and ashes generally employed in earth closets, and I have abandoned all mechanical contrivances in favour of the old-fashioned box and scoop, which are infallible in operation, and do not demand perfectly dry and sifted earth.” Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultura! Gazette of N.S.W. 75 Weather Conditions during November, 1907 A. NOBLE, Meteorological Department, Sydney Observatory. On the Ist and 2nd of the month light rain was recorded, chiefly on the coast; but on the 3rd one of the best rainstorms experienced for many months passed over our State. All stations in the extreme north-west and on the extreme north coast participated. The storm, which was responsible for the above useful rainfall, was undoubtedly monsoonal in origin, and developed rapidly. It resulted from the continued agency of monsoonal conditions, operating over Northern Territory on the Ist, and the eastward progression of a so-called Antarctic Depression passing along the shores of the Great Bight. Some of the heaviest falls were: Kiandra, 336 points; Molong, 334; Junee, 330; Orange, 315; Careoar, 311; Tumbarumba, 309; Wellington, 251; Young, 258; Mudgee, 270; Murrurundi, 218; Adelong, 215; Burrowa and Cowra, each 218; Rockley, 229; Bathurst, 210; Dubbo, 211; and Cannonbar, 208. During the period between the 5th and 13th, inclusive, light to moderate rainfall of a partial character was recorded, chiefly over the south-east quad- rant, Central Tablelands, and North Coast districts. Thence, to the 16th, light to moderate falls were registered generally east from the Western Division, and in parts of the North Coast district upwards of an inch was received, the heaviest being: Manning Heads, 225 points; Woolgoolga, 132; Seal Rocks, 130; Clarence Heads, 112; and Byron Bay, 103 points. As the result of the operations of a well-defined monsoonal disturbance, which intensified on the 16th and 17th, light to heavy and general rain fell throughout the State. This disturbance, before it left our coast, was also responsible on the whole for almost continuous rainfall over the various districts of New South Wales east from the Darling. The heaviest falls during the rainstorm, which lasted from the 16th to the 22nd, were as follow:—Byron Bay, 444 points; Armidale, 333; Murrurundi, 315; Glen Innes, 306; Bundarra, 294; Yetman, 282; Emmaville, 276; Mullumbimby, 263; Inverell, 257; Tabulam, 250; Grafton, 228; Walcha, 222; and Manning River Heads, 196 points. From the 23rd to the 27th, rainfall, associated with thunder and hail, was recorded over the Metropolitan, Hunter and Manning, Northern Tablelands, North-western Slopes and Plains, as also at isolated places on the North and South Coasts and Central Tablelands. Upwards of an inch in the aggregate 76 Agricultural Gazette of NASI, [ Jan. 2, 1908. was received in various places, chiefly in the north-east quadrant, as follows :—Bendemeer, 166 points; Bingara, 156; Collarenebri, 150; Mun- gindi, 131; Murrurundi, 127; Raymond Terrace and Nundle, each 110; Paterson, 107; and Albury, on the South-west Slope, 128 points. Between the 28th and 30th of the month, light to heavy rain fell along the coast-line, and here and there on the tablelands; the heaviest falls, how- ever, were confined to Northern and Central Coast districts. 3yron Bay received 215; Mullumbimby, 218; Kiama, 89; and Jervis Bay, 75 points. On the whole, the rainfall during the month was both general and bene- ficial, the major portion of the State having received totals in excess of the average. Defects, however, were experienced at scattered places in each of the subdivisions, excepting Northern Tableland and North-west Plain, where ‘ainfall was generally in excess of the average. The metropolitan area fared worst, all stations showing defect. The following is a statement of the distribution of rainfall. over the various subdivisions of the State during November :— Division. Percentages. Above selow normal. normal. Over North Coast ane from ..< 56 to 31 ,, Hunter and Manning ooh Pec eo a 52 », Metropolitan Seine — ae 4 to 53 s, South Coast sates 45 to 65 ,, Northern Tableland Ra eee NUOls/ Olea - ,, Central Tableland oa ee 190 to 45 s, Southern Tableland iP hala 40) = 26 ,, North-western Slopes Ae Ae 87 A 37 ,, Central-western Slopes ,, ... 153 = 21 », South-western Slopes A ee LAO 5 50 » North-western Plain nh coe SaNIOI OLS) See -- ,, Central-western Plain ,, ... 94 to 47 5, Riverina Ae Ey es: SS 22 s, Western Division Pas 75 te 95 The following statement shows a brief comparison of the chief meteoro- logical elements over India, together with Australia, as far as data are available for the month of November, 1907 :— | Departure from normal. General Conditions Wtpesccnrcs Temperature. (referring to State as a whole). | Inch. Degrees. India... aes de — 02 +1°7 Very dry. | Sydney Pass ie +:08 | -~0°3 | Moderately wet. Melbourne ... ye) Bqualto ..7 +2°8 Moderately dry. Adelaide... ner + ‘06 | +12 | Wet. Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 77 The above table shows India, Melbourne, and Adelaide to have had tem- perature considerably in excess of the average, while at Sydney it was slightly in defect. The pressure results of India and Melbourne were somewhat similar, the former being ‘02 below and the latter equal to average. The general weather conditions at these two places were “ very dry” and ‘ moderately dry,” respectively. Pressure at Sydney and Adelaide was in excess—in the former + :08 ; and the latter + °06—while the weather conditions of New South Wales ” and South Australia were “ moderately wet” and ‘* wet,” respectively. MontHuy WEATHER REPORT. HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, RICHMOND. Summary for November, 1907. Air Pressure ‘ | Air Moisture Evaporation (Barometer). Shade Temperature. | Saturation=100, (from Water Surface). tdi. 32 | 3 | Sie | ah [base AAP se ale. #@.é g | 8 gee 8 (oS bg | gd |B lS) a ee | 4 Bias sien ec Ps ra 3 Ps a 3 ap E41 a mA | 8H 0 [adn Plunge Sc i) sp OR on |e? 2 S35 | o |.» g oe | 22 os OFC ens A se] toe) teh eel a as | 4a foe a = Sica SISA Sei 29-78 | 30:46 | 3010 | 442 | 970 | 67-9 | 688 | 40 | 93 | 582 | -359 | 8-174 | 5-709 | 17 17 Ten Qnd.| 26 | | Sieh pres | | 3rd. | | | Points ... 48 14} 3 2} 52 Ba) 53 P - i : es au z Total, 1604 points. Rainfall...{ rome ae 6 7 18 33 a ota » points Mean rainfall for 15 years = 204 points. Wind Be N NE E S SW W NW 4 22min OMe 4 3 Thunderstorms on 2lst, 22nd, 23rd, 26th. Greatest daily range of temperature = 40°6° on 16th. Days on which shade temperature rose above 90° = 90°6° 90:2" 92°6° 97° 90'S" 16 22 23 26 30 W. MERVYN CARNE, Observer, 78 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Orchard Notes W. J. ALLEN. J ANUARY. Codling Moth.—Growers of pears, apples. and quinces will find that they will have to give the strictest attention to the bandaging of trees, as also to picking up and from the trees of all infested fruit, if they hope to be able to market anything hke a decent percentage of clean fruit. The bandages must be examined, and all grubs destroyed which are found hidden under- neath, at intervals of eight days, and the fruit picked up every few days, and either boiled or burnt, so that the grubs cannot possibly escape alive. Acetate of Lead Spray for Codling Moth. The formula recommended by the Georgia State Board of Entomology (Bulletin 19), is as tollows :— Acetate of Jead ae 520. elluioz: Arsenate of soda a nee 4 oz. Water ... wy. = =. epOgeals. Dissolve in separate vessels, the lead in 1 gal. water, and the arsenate of soda in 2 gals. water. Use wooden buckets for preference. Pour the arsenate solution into the lead solution. Add to 50 gals. water, and stir well. Ready for use. Comparative cost— aaa CLs (a2) 11 oz. acetate of lead, at 6d. per lb. = O 4 4 oz. arsenate of soda, at 6d, per lb. = O 14 0 5 for 50 gals To get the same amount of arsenate of lead per 50 gals., using Swift’s arsenate of lead, you would require— (b) 10 oz. arsenate of lead, at 1s. 3d. per lb. = 93d. for 50 gals. The Victorian formula for arsenate of lead is— s. a (c) 1 lb. arsenic, at 1s. 3d. per Ib. = l] 3 2 Ib. carb. soda, at 2d. x = 910084 7 lb. acetate of lead, at 6d. per lb. = ah (3 5 1 for 360 gals. or OQ 84 for 50 gals. Jan. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 79 Fruit Fly—Al\) infested fruit, whether on the tree or on the ground, must be gathered and destroyed by boiling or burning, and no fruit must be allowed to remain on the ground longer than three days before being picked up. It has been reported that fruit imported into Victoria from South Aus- tralia has been found to be infested with the grub of the fruit fly, but a contradiction appeared later to the effect that they were the larve of some other fly. Red and other Scales on Citrus Trees.—lf the trees are in good growing condition, fumigating or spraying may be safely carried on this month, but where trees are suffering from the effects of want of moisture, they should net be treated under any consideration, as either spraying or fumigating would under such conditions be harmful to the tree. The lower the temperature the better will the trees stand either of these processes; there- fore never treat trees on a hot day; in fact, during this month fumigating gives best results if carried on at night. When it is found necessary, trees may be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture after fumigating, but under no circumstances must a tree be fumigated after it is sprayed with that mixture. Fruit-curing.—The last of the apricot crop and the first of the better varieties of peaches for drying purposes will be ripening this month. See that such fruits are handled properly, and do not allow the cured product to become over dry. As soon as properly processed, store in bags until they are to be packed. Pamphlets on fruit-curing can be had on application to the Department of Agriculture. Cultivation.—Should rain fall during this month, see that the soil is well stirred as soon as it 1s sufficiently dry to work, or the result will be the loss of a considerable quantity of the moisture so essential for the proper nourishment of the trees. These have had a pretty bad time up to the present this season, more especially in the coastal districts, and as a con- sequence are in a weakened condition; and therefore we cannot afford to neglect the cultivation, in order that they may derive the greatest benefit from any moisture that falls. Do not fail to order vetches, peas, rape-seed, or whatever crop it is in- tended to sow among the trees for green manure, as early as possible, as such crops should be sown without fail early in March, in order that they may put on good growth before being turned under, and before the rains have ceased to fall in the spring. There are many orchards which could be made more productive, if the owners would only give a little more attentio» to the proper manuring and working of same. 80 Agricultural Gazette of NS SV, [ Jan. 2, 1908. Jarm Notes. HAWKESBURY DISTRICT—J ANUARY. Hl awe, LOTIS: DiscouRAGING as was the outlook in this district twelve months ago, the present conditions are far worse. Recent rainfalls, scanty and patchy as they undoubtedly were, might have been made of service to the crops had they not been followed by scorching winds, which left the ground as bad as ever. The tenant farmer, faced with the necessity of rallying all his resources in order to pay his half-year’s rent, feels tempted to give notice at the same time. However, the key-note of the month’s operations must be conservation of such moisture as there is and the sowing of all available ground for green feed and ensilage. January is practically an off month in several respects, as it is too late to do much for the summer crops, and rather early for the autumn and winter ones. Weather conditions are usually unfavourable for many operations. However, as oceasion offers, vigorous preparations should be made for the sowing of turnips, lucerne, barley and vetches for green feed, and the main hay crop. Maize. after hilling (but before the formation of the cob), will possibly be of Little can be done to the early crop, but light cultivations, even service. Though it is against local practice to work through the corn after hilling, our experience on the high lands has shown that a light seutHing at that time is often decidedly beneficial. Should a thunderstorm or two come, plantings may be made of any of the standard heavy-leafed varieties, such as Hawkesbury Champion, Red Hogan, Hickory King, or Early Mastodon. Even as late as February, where early frosts are not likely to occur, maize may be sown for ensilage and green feed. Rows 3 ft, 6 in. apart, and the seed sown with a dropper 6 inches in the rows or three or four grains every 2 feet will be found desirable. Sorghums.—F requent shallow cultivations must be resorted to in order to keep this crop on the move. Attention to this point may mean all the difference between a good crop and failure, as sorghum is a slow grower in the early stages. It is rather late for sowing, but Early Amber Cane may ke tried, while Planters’ Friend may give greater yields in situations untouched by early frosts. Jan. 2, 1908. |] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 81 Millets —Many farmers who have deemed it unwise to plant their usual area of corn would do well to devote their attention to these valuable fodders. Hungarian has been found the best here, while White French finds favour in many parts, especially where the seed can be utilised by poultry. Sow at the rate of 7 to 8 lb. per acre, with an ordinary wheat-drill or barrow- sower, and 12 to 14 lb. by hand. It is best to roll the surface previous to sowing, and follow by harrowing lghtly, as the seed must not be covered more than an inch or so. Rape.—For green manure or pig-feed this useful crop may be sown at the latter end of the month, and ground got ready for further sowings in S t=) ev fo) February. Potatoes.—lf weather conditions prove favourable, planting may be started late in January, though the main crop should not be planted till a fortnight or so later. Swedes and Mangolds.—Suticient attention is not given to these succulent root-crops, and a small area might well be devoted to them on every farm. Sowings may be started near the end of the month on ground which has received deep and thorough cultivation. GLEN INNES DISTRICT—J ANUARY. R. H. GENNYS. Harvesting.—Much oats will yet remain to be harvested in New England. These should be cut for hay when the tops are beginning to turn white. Sheaves for hay should not be made too big, in order that they may dry more quickly, three or four only being put in a stook and heads tied with band keeping them close together to throw off rain. If very green or wet, and the outside of sheaves fit, turn them inside out; this will greatly expedite their readiness for stacking. Oats are very lable to heat, and must not be prematurely stacked. Tucerne Hay.—This crop should be cut for hay when about one-fifth of the crop is in flower. It should be cut with scythe or mowing machine, and not be exposed too long to the sun, but turned over once and put into small cocks to “‘make’’ prior to stacking, the point being to preserve as much of the leaf as possible. Better to stack a little early than too late, as brown lucerne that has been slightly heated is not objected to by stock, and often brings good value. Aim, however, for green leafy hay. F 82 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Algerian Lucerne is doing fairly well here on the hillsides, but seems slower of growth than the ordinary lucerne. It is early to say as yet what. its value really is under Australian conditions; but a few acres here are well set, and time alone can show if it will flourish on hillsides, as it is claimed it will. Do not feed lucerne too close, as any injury to the crown may ruin the plant. When cutting for hay, too, do not shave too close, for the same reason. It has been shown clearly here that sowing too thickly is injurious. In a dry spell here a plot sown at about 20 Ib. per acre was commencing to wither badly when that sown in drills at about 4 lb. per acre was fresh and green. A middle course in seeding is advised, and on well-cultivated soils and where the best seed is used, 8 lb. per acre will prove in the long run better able to stand adverse climatic conditions than, say, 12 to 15 lb. when sown with a drill, but if broadcasted 12 to 15 lb. per acre is not too much. The plants should form deep vigorous tap-roots, drawing their nutriment from a great depth. It would be well to gather seed only from a crop: with well-developed plants. Good seed should be of a bright-yellow colour—not dull-brown nor dark. SEASONABLE NOTES. GEO. L. SUTTON, Wheat Experimentalist. AS soon as the harvest is over, farmers with fallowed land should seize every favourable opportunity to get the fallows broken down and in order for planting. Experience at Coolabah has proved that on worked fallows planting can take place, and the seed germinate at the proper season, even though no rain has fallen for two to three months previously, if the moisture has been conserved by harrowing the soil as soon as a crust formed after rain. In addition to conserving the moisture, the working which the soil receives helps to compact it, and so produce that firm ideal seed-bed desirable for the wheat plant, without the aid of special imple- ments like the “‘Campbell Sub-packer.’”? Working the ground aerates and mellows it, and at the same time destroys weeds, and in connection with keeping ground clean, it is as well to bear in mind that the easiest way to destroy weed seeds is to make them grow, and then kill the plants resulting therefrom. In July last attention was drawn to the necessity of combining with tallowing some profitable practice of maintaining the supply of organie Jan, 2, 1908. } Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 83 matter in the soil. The fact that the harvest this year in most districts is an early one will possibly afford those farmers who do not systematically plan to do this, an opportunity of doing so, in connection with the land to be fallowed next summer. There is every probability that this land, if ploughed early, can be cropped in February, March, or April with rape or tares. These crops, after being fed off at any time from May to September, will leave the soil richer in humus, and the surface soil richer in plant food than if the ground had been spelled all winter. These plants are deep rooters, and obtain a proportion of the plant food used by them from depths below the feeding area of the wheat plant, which has a com- paratively shallow root system. This plant food is used to build up their leaves and stems, and when these are ploughed in, becomes mixed with the surface soil, and so is rendered available for the next wheat crop. Such crops are very valuable, for they serve a double purpose in that they furnish a valuable stock feed, and they also enrich the surface soil with plant food obtained from the subsoil, and with organic matter obtained from the air. It is advisable to manure these crops, so as to encourage their growth as much as possible, and especially as there is fairly conclusive evidence that if the manure be applied to these crops, it is unnecessary to apply it with the following wheat crop. There need be no fear that the manure will be lost before the wheat crop can use it, for with these crops growing on the land, there is less danger of plant food being washed out by the winter rains than if the land were uncropped. On fallowed land these crops can be planted with a reasonable amount of certainty, and this year the early harvest affords an opportunity of their very probable success on unfallowed land. Some growers think that the rest which fallowing entails is beneficial to the land in the same way that sleep is beneficial to animals; and these may fear that cropping in the way suggested will exhaust the ground, and lessen the yield of succeeding crops. Such fears are quite groundless, for it will improve the ground and increase the yield, whilst bare fallowing, though its immediate effect is the production of better crops, really exhausts the soil. One point brought out in a general way by experiment work is that continuous cropping on right lines makes land fertile, whilst injudicious cropping impoverishes the land. There is abundant evidence in this and neighbouring States that the system of cropping recommended is on the right lines. 84 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908. Practical Vegetable and Flower Growing. W. S. CAMPBELL. DIRECTIONS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY. Vegetables. We often have favourable conditions for vegetable growing during January—that is, for summer vegetables—the weather being moist and warm, in some districts very hot, and at the same time weeds grow with extraordinary vigour, and are difficult to cope with, if rain is abundant. All old vegetable remains, such as pea and bean haulm, cabbage stumps, rotting tomatoes, should be cleared out of the garden; indeed such things should never be allowed to accumulate, for immediately the plants are past their useful stage, they should be removed, and other kinds of vegetables planted in their places, keeping the ground constantly cropped wherever practicable. Always follow one kind of vegetable with another of quite a distinct character, and, where possible, alternate a vegetable which is grown for its leaves or pods with another which is grown for its roots ; for instance, a cabbage can be very well followed by red beet, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and so on; peas and beans can be followed by roots, or by cab- bage, cauliflower, &c. Where different kinds of diseases prevail to any extent, such as scab in potatoes, or black spot disease in tomatoes, be sure not to grow such plants on the same ground next year, although other vegetables may be grown in the meantime, for the diseases remain in the ground, in some cases, such as potato-scab disease, for years; and once they become established, they are extremely difficult to eradicate. If a mulch of dung has been spread between and about vegetables, stir it up occasionally, and stir also the surface of the ground below it as well. Beans of all sorts, except the Broad or Windsor bean, may be sown during the month as extensively as anyone may require. It is worth while trying several varieties, for there is a very great deal of difference in the quality of the various kinds, both runners and dwarfs. For general purposes the Canadian Wonder holds its own very well for quality as well as productiveness. The bean, although an excellent vegetable, should not be depended upon entirely. The greater variety of vegetables made use of, the better and more wholesome for those who make use of them. An overdose of beans is likely to cause indigestion to some persons. Broccoli,—A little seed may be sown, from time to time, during the month. This vegetable is hardier than the cauliflower, which it resembles so much, that the two can hardly be distinguished from one another by many persons. It needs rich soil to enable it to grow to perfection. It Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S IV. 85 should be grown as quickly as possible, and without a check from seed to flower. When the seedlings are 3 or 4 inches or so in height, they should be pricked out in a small bed by themselves a few inches apart, and allowed to grow into good strong little plants. Before they are very large, plant out in a heavily-manured bed—that is, if the ground is not rich enough without the manure; but it is only in very few places that, such as rich alluvial flats, where manure, in more or less quantity, will not be an improvement. Borecole or Kale,—This is very suitable for cool climates, and is worth growing. It belongs to the cabbage family, and needs the same treatment as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. A little seed may be sown. Cabbage.—This vegetable is, perhaps, more extensively grown than any other, and is in general favour. It can be cooked in various ways, and it is abused in the cooking, as a rule, probably more than anything else. When sometimes it might be made very palatable, it is cooked in such a manner as to be almost uneatable. Sow a little seed during the month, and treat as advised for broccoli. During the growth of any of the cabbage family, stir up the ground frequently between the plants; and even when the huge leaves overlap each other, it is possible to get a Dutch hoe underneath. Cauliflower.—Obtain the best seed procurable, and sow a little in seed- bed, from time to time, shading and watering when necessary. After sowing vegetable seeds of any kind in a seed-bed, never allow the soil to become dry. Spread a mulch, and, if necessary, shade and water frequently. Cucumber.—If any more cucumber plants are required, seed may be sown, and the chances are, if the season is moist, the plants will soon come into bearing. Check the growth of runners by pinching before the runners extend overmuch., Celery.—This should grow very well during the month, and be available in sufficient quantity for all requirements, that is, if there should be good rains. Under irrigation it can be grown to great perfection. Sow a little seed, prick out advanced seedlings, and when they are well grown, plant out on ground that has been well manured. Water the plants before and after planting. Celery plants that are nearly full-grown should be “earthed ’’ up. If soil is used for the earthing up, take care that none of it falls in between the leaf stalks. Cress and Mustard,—These deserve to be grown, for they are very use- ful for summer; but they will not succeed satisfactorily without a good deal of rain, or frequent supplies of water. The quicker the plants are grown, the more palatable they are likely to be. Sow seed occasionally during the month. Egg Plant.—These should be bearing well in the early districts, where they are more at home than in cool places. They succeed best in humid climates. In early districts seed may be sown if plants are required. 86 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 19U8. Maize (Sweet or Sugar).—Plants should be bearing ears sutticiently advanced for use, in suitable districts. Onion.—A little seed may be sown; but unless the seedlings are kept quite free from weeds when they come up, they are likely to be smothered. Seedlings can be raised in seed-bed and afterwards transplanted when they are strong enough. This is a good method to adopt, and will save a good deal of trouble in early weeding, although the transplanting takes some little time to carry out. Parsley.—A little seed may be sown. Peas.—If the weather is satisfactory and the soil is moist, a sowing or two of peas may be made; but, as a_rule, the summer is not a satisfactory time for the pea. Potato.—A few rows may be planted, taking all possible trouble to select good seed, free from any signs of disease such as moth, sometimes potato fly,’ eel worm, and seab. Diseard all potatoes that are in any way defective. Use whole potatoes for seed of medium size. ce knewn as If it is necessary, however, to cut potatoes into sets, select the largest potatoes for the purpose, making use of those of the most perfect shape. Plant in rows about 3 feet apart laying the potatoes 1 foot apart in the rows. The drills should be 5 to 6 inches in depth. Pumpkins.—Seed may be sown if required, but by this time, plants should be growing and bearing well so that further sowing may be unnecessary. Radish.—Sow a little seed. Spinach.—A little seed may be sown from time to time. This vegetable deserves to be grown, being useful for a change from those vegetables most commonly used, Vomato.—According to Dr. Gordon Stables, R.N., ‘* The tomato if just ripe and not too ripe is perhaps the most health-giving food in the kingdom.’’ Therefore, taking this into consideration, no one could go wrong in planting and using this vegetable extensively. A few seeds may be sown and seedlings planted out in order to keep a supply of fruit geoing as long as possible. Train to one stem, for, from repeated trials, I feel certain that such system of training is the very best to carry out. Nothing is more offensive than a mass of rotting tomatoes in a garden where the plants have not been trained in any way, and probably nothing is more likely to increase tomato diseases. There is but. little trouble in training tomato plants as they should be trained. Stakes must be provided, and as the plants grow they must be tied to the stakes removing all side shoots as soon after they appear as possible. The leaves will spread out well, giving a quite handsome appearance to the plants, and fruit will grow in quantity along the stems. Turnip.—Sow a little seed in drills from time to time. Jan. 2, 19U8. | Agricuiturai Gazette of N.S.W. 87 Flowers. Flowers should be abundant in the garden during the month, that is, of course, if the season is favourable. If the weather should prove very dry with hot winds, watering will be necessary, particularly for chrysan- themums and dahlias, the two chief plants which are coming along now for the autumn flowering. Carnations also will need water as well as most of the other garden plants. A thick mulch o- dung, if kept suffici- ently moist to prevent its being blown away, will prove very beneficial te all plants. Both chrysanthemums and dahlias are likely to be improved by applications of liquid manure occasionally, unless the garden soil is of an exceptionally good character, when water will suffice. Asters, of the annual varieties, may be planted out in the garden when the weather is suitable and the ground in good order. They are extremely showy plants when in full bloom, and the blooms last for a considerable time. Roses, grown in pots for the purpose, if not too old, may be planted, and as they will soon establish themselves, they will, if looked after, be- come fine plants by next spring. If the soil is dry, apply abundance of water to the roses when planted, and keep up the watering from time to time. Also spread a mulch over the ground about the plants. 88 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Jan. 2, 1908 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHOWS. SECRETARIES are invited to forward for insertion in this page dates of their forthcoming shows ; these should reach the Sub-Editor, Department of Agri- culture, Sydney, not later than the 21st of the month previous to issue. Alteration of dates should be notified at once.. 1908. Society Secretary. Date. Dapto, Unanderra, A. and H. Society a ... Geo. Lindsay... Jan. 8, 9 Albion Park A., H., and I. Society... ats .. H. G. Frazer « 95) sd ;a6 Central Cumberland A. and H. Ass. (Castle Hill) ... H. A. Best ape Pes: Gosford A. and H. Association ,,. ae ae .. W. E. Kirkness.... ,, 24, 25 Kiama Agricultural Association < si ... J. Somerville sp. Soa Coramba P., A., and H. Society a ass rr = Hindmarsh ... Feb. 5, 6 Wollongong A., H., and I. Association a ... J. Beatson Sol Osman Alstonville A. Society... ‘ios — sas a 7 m. ee Monaghan ,, 12, 13 Gunning P., A., and I. Society... ae ee .. W. T. Plumb sg0 lo, 1s Pambula A., H., and P. Society sich ~ din felis ‘ Wilkins... ,, 19, 20 Kangaroo Valley A. and H. Association Ls 4. 2. (GS Wilkinson... ,, 20,21 Southern New England, Uralla a oe ... W.C. McCrossin . .,, 25, 26 Campbelltown A., H., and I. Society ... oe at ALR. Payten :..° S90 26, 27 Ulladulla A. and H. Association Bee whe wweG. Ac Buchan .. Ga,e 26327 Robertson A. and H. Association sre a. ... A. G. Ferguson ... 5, 27;28 Manning River A. and H. Association, Taree ... 8. Whitehead ... ,, 27, 28 Newcastle A., H., and I. Association ... Ro Zee. Wi, Donnelly ... 75:27, 28529 Bega A., P., and H. Society... ee ss ... W. A. Ziiegel ... Mar.4, 5 3raidwood P., A., and H. Association an ... L. Chapman Sey ey Yass P. and A. Association se Ate, St .« Wall, Ehomson ... ,, 4,5 Tenterfield P., A., and Mining Society a 7 He Weebloskin 0° sae4scon10 Berrima A., H., and I. Society, Moss Vaile ... ... J. Cullen... eR OL ad) Wyong Agricultural Association a Boe .. W. Baldwin ret S65 ee Bombala Exhibition Society —... ee i? imc WeGregbweedie ..; 5. 1010 Bangalow A. and I. Society —.., .«. Wet Reading ... 5, 10; lS 12 Glen Innes and Central New England: P, and We Ass. Geo..A; Priest ... ,, 10, 11,12 Tumbarumba and Upper Murray P. and A. Society KE. W. Figures... ., 11, 12 Nambucca A., H., and I. Association, Bowraville ... Clifford Moseley... ,, 12, 18 Nepean A., H., and I., Penrith eee . Perey Smith poeta? ee als} Port Macquarie and Hastings District A. andi: Sob. Thos. Dick Pepemicn Alls Blayney A. and P. Association... Bat ee 1 HORE Woolley: .::) “71s Cobargo A., P., and H. Society one et ... T,. Kennelly ee LS; 7S Macleay A., H., and I. Association, Kempsey ... E. Weeks... Soe gle LON 20 Crookwell A., P., and H. Society Ae a Pa Cala @lifton 9 = <3. ayanl oo Gundagai P. and A. Society... ax sh ... A. Elworthy we gs 24, 25 Inverell P. and A. Association ... ore Mi: ... J. Mellveen Soa ng eed 2o 826 Tamworth Agricultural Association... » dp R. Wood sae vip) Tee LoOsucO Hunter River A. and H. Association (West Maitland) Creel. WINS cea ene eat, a Moruya A. and P. Society a8 =e a ... John Jeffery Pape ane v40 Orange A, and P. Association ... ee wie ... W. Tanner ae og 2D 20s eam Berry Agricultural Association... ms =A ... A. J. Colley ste) ga LOOT Clarence P. and A. Society, Grafton ... ae ... Thos. Bawden ... Apl.1, 2 Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 89 Society. Secretary. Date. Durham A. and H. Association (Dungog) _... ies Be Grant Soe SN a Warialda P. and A. Association “ bs Via Coeddesy cose, sa els Zoid Bathurst A., H., and P.... y of a Pen Ga MEhOmMpsOlews er. lsp2sico Walcha P. and A. Association ... 2 a ... §. Hargraves Sh ate RB Lower Clarence A. Society, Maclean ... = saa, Oe DAVIS Y=. ACRE ines) Moree P. and A. Society... oe oa see ee DS He Karby, Aa esti UA ZO5a Mudgee A. Society a= fe oes is Hevbaisamerbone Sieenss, als Oso Cooma P. and A. Association... zon oe 735 CS de VWralmsleyares 5, S35) Upper Hunter P. and A. Association (Muswellbrook) Pierce Healy ..._ ,, 8, 9, 10 Upper Manning A., P., and H. Ass. ... sats se DWhStewarbsjUnwe. is. ° 5) LO The Royal Agricultural Society of N.S.W. ... sa) MeySomer.)) 42. 5, 14 to22 The Central Australian P. and A. Ass., Bourke —... G. W. Tull ... May 20, 21 Wyngan and District P. and A. Association ... ena EE PAM ymeen 5) cueh es Deniliquin P. and A. Society... Bae sie ... L. Harrison a July. VS5 19 Forbes P., A., and H. Association ae ane .. N. A. Read se Augs 12, 13 Murrumbidgee P. and A. Association . b eA EDR IVWNItel esd usa 72052052 Young P. and A. Association ... a ee .. G.S. Whiteman:. -,, .8, 9, 10 Germanton P. and A. Society ... ace AM ... J. Stewart .. sept. 9, 10 Cootamundra A., P., H., and I. Association... .» 2. Walliams see esse loselG Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. vis, BOARS, AND TURKEYS FOR SALE, WAGGA EXPERIMENTAL FARM, BOMEN. SHROPSHIRE RAMS... Suc 550 ... £3 3s. to £5 5s. each. BERKSHIRE BOARS AND SOWS... s-) Saves. each. BRONZE TURKEY GOBBLERS _.... ECan Seals, Apply MANAGER, Wagga Experimental Farm, Bomen. G Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ ADVERTISEMENT. | [ Jan. 2, 1908. Government Stud Bulls available for lease, or for service at State Farms. Breed. Name of Bull, | Sire. Dam. | Shorthorn | March Pansy ...| Earl March Australian | | Pansy 3 Dora’s Boy . Cornish Boy ...| Lady Dora . 5 Royalty Royal Duke II..) Plush 5 Pansy Duke Earl March Pansy 4th . < Dora's Showman, Showboy ...| Lady Dora I Jersey Thessalian II .... Thessalian Egyptian | | Princess = | oe Golden Melbourne ..| Colleen ad. aA ...| Golden Lord ...| Golden King .../ Colleen Guernsey “| Gentle Prince .... Rose Prince .... Gentle on .. | The Admiral .. | Hawkes Bay ...| Vivid... ¥ .., Peter’s Lad | Peter Souvenir Saucy Prince .... Rose Prince ...| Saucy Sal - Prince Milford... Rose Prince Flaxy Vivid’s Prince...| Rose Prince .. | Vivid 9 Prince Edward..| Rose Prince | Vivid Red Poll Dairyman Dandy ... Turban AC an . The Judge Barrister Lovely 8th ... Ayrshire Don Juan ...| General... Judy 9th ap Royal Prince .. | Curly Prince Rosie 5th... Kerry... Bratha’s Boy .... Aicme Chin Bratha 4th Dexter Kerry ” Holstein 9 * Available for service only at the Farm where stationed. . The Hague Erebus .. Sl Waterville | Punch. Obbe II Hottentot President Obbe Marguerite ... La Shrapnel... District where now stationed. Grafton Farm Berry Stud Farm.. Cumbalum Wollongbar Farm. Alst« valle Wagga Exp. Farm, Wollongbar Farm} Gladstone Burringbar Pambula ... . H.A.College, Richmond Wollongbar Farm. | Coraki i Grafton Farm Berry Farm Bathurst Farm ... Wollongbar Farm | Glen Innes Farm...| .| 26M Eastwood... Grafton Farm wal Leate expires * * 30 June, O08. * | — June, 08. — June, ” e 21 April, 08. e * + + ar., 08. * | .| LolkjeVeeman H.A. College, Richmond] Berry Stud Farm.. * | + Available for lease, or for service at the Farm. Regulations under which the Government Stud Bulls are leased. be at the rate of 2s. 6d. (two shillings and sixpence) per cow. no case be forwarded until the fees have been received. Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney, Ist July, 1903. 1. Any Agricultural Society, Dairy Farmer, or a combination of Dairy Farmers, may, should the Minister deem it advisable, obtain the hire of one of the Government stud bulls for a period of six months if they guarantee payment for the service of thirty cows, or for shorter periods on special terms. 2. The fee, which shall be payable in advance, shall be at the rate of 5s. (tive shillings) per cow for all bulls save Dexter-Kerries, and their fee shal) Bulls will in Jan. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. I 3. Bulls leased will be transferred free of charge to any place not more than 100 miles by rail from the place from which they are transferred ; to any place distant more than 100 miles by rail, lease will be granted only on condition that the lessee pays all charges for the extra distance over 100 miles. In the case of bulls sent by sea, or partly by rail and partly by sea, all expense over the sum of £1 (one pound) must be borne by the lessee. The lessee must make all arrangements for, and bear all expense of, transferring a bull from the nearest railway station or port to the place where it is to be stationed. In the case of leasing a bull already stationed within the district, the new lessee must send for the bull and bear the expense of removal. 4. A condition of the leasing of the bulls shall be that the farming public be allowed to send cows to the bull at a fee of not more than 10s. (ten shillings) per cow, provided the bull’s list is not already full, but the total number of cows served must not be more than thirty for six months. 5. Each bull shall be treated and kept in a condition to satisfy the Depart- ment, and shall be at all times open to inspection of authorised Officers of the Department. 6. A return showing the number of cows served, and distinguishing between cows owned by those to whom the bull is leased and the outside public, shall be sent to the Department at the end of the term. 7. All due care must be taken to see that the bull shall not have access to cows suffering from any infectious disease, special attention being given to pleuro-pneumonia and tuberculosis. 8. No farmer who is known to have pleuro-pneumonia in his herd shall be permitted to send cows to any of these bulls within three months from the date of the last outbreak. 9. In case of illness of a bull the Department shall be immediately informed. 10. The bull shall not be allowed to run with cows, but shall be kept in a special bull paddock, which must be well fenced, and each cow “in use” shall only be allowed to remain with the bull such time as will enable him to have connection with her twice. However, where necessary, in order to keep bulls quiet, special permission may be given to run with one or two specially- selected healthy cows. 11. Should any of the foregoing rules not be complied with, the Depart- ment shall have the right to remove the bulls at once, and all fees paid shall be forfeited. 12. Should a bull be wilfully neglected or badly treated, or Rule 10 be broken, the Department shall have the right to take any action desirable for the recovery of damages. 13. All applications for bulls should be made to the Director of Agricul- ture, Department of Agriculture, Sydney. AGREEMENT CLAUSE. ln consideration of the loan of one Stud Bull ( ) for a period of He of do hereby agree to be bound by the conditions expressed in the foregoing Regulations. Dated this day of 190 Witness, — Lessee. J.P. | Duty Stamp. | N.B.—This agreement must be signed on the day the bull is received by the lessee, and One Shilling. | is to be returned by first post to the Director of Agriculture, III Agricultural Gazette of N.S UTV. [Fant 21908. PURE-BRED PIGS FOR SALE. Newington Asylum, Parramatta River. BREED | AGE. | CIRES. | DAMS. Danesfield Lottie III (imp.), Russell Swanwick (imp.). . Joyce (imp.), Queenie. Black Cloud, Jeanette, Queen BERKSHIRES.. 3 months to. Betsy, Rookie. Ocean Wave (imp. ) 8 months. | Gold Digger (imp. ) Swanwick, Joyce II, Sea Wave, Ripple, Sea-Shell. Newington Countess (imp.), Hawke’s May, Hawke’s Lass, YORKSHIRE, do .... Sir Wilfred (imp.)... Hawke’s Flower, Newington LARGE. Empress, Newington Duchess Swanwick’s Pride, Jean, Miss | (from imported stock). Rolleston Cowslip (imp.), ( Cholderton Don (imp.) \ Daffodil .imp.). TAMWORTH... From 3 months. | ( Cossack I (imp.) ... ... || Ruby (from imported stock). All the imported stock has been selected from THE BEST, SURAENS IN ENGLAND. Terms from £0 3s. Prices may be arranged for young sows ready for service. Intending buyers are invited to inspect the stock. The Parramatta River steamers call at Newington Asylum. If notified in advance, a vehicle will meet the train at Auburn Station. (Telephone, No. 23, Rookwood.) Communications should be addressed to the Superintendent of Newington Asylum, G. E. BRODIE, Inspector-General of Charities. ——— JA ce Vol XIX Part es gi 7 a : ~~ va », ae Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper. Price SIXPENCE. Vol. XIX. Part 2. FEBRUARY 38, 1908. PrermtCUL TURAL Cobv/G ie BSE OF NEw SO UELE VW AISES. Issued by Direction of ri RON \ oO) PERRY MP. MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE. PERCY HUNTER, NEW YORK © F. G. CHOMLEY, Editor. SERS Sub-Editor. Hy Authority : SyDNEY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER. [ = 19L8 *13604 (a) II Agricultural Gazette of N.S IW. [ Feb. 3, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. It is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Aew South Gales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same in separate pamphlet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. Feb. 8, 1908. ] CONDEN ES. Dairy CATTLE ... ae oe ee .. M. A. O'Callaghan EpIBLE TREES AND SHRUBS ... ae on R. W. Peacock HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENTAL FARM— Grasses at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College A. H. E. McDonald The House Sparrow in New South Wales 2 ©.T Musson Monthly Weather Report—Summary for 1907 W. Mervyn Carne Concrete Floors ne = a AZ: ree A. Brooks On THE CHEMICAL CoMPOSITION OF SOME AUSTRALIAN WINES M. Blunno and L. A. Musso A Mammotra Pouttry Farm ... a ae _.. G. Bradshaw WEATHER ConDITIONS DURING DEecEMBER, 1907 oe S. Wilson OrcHARD NOTES oe ae Se Si PeeWee Jae Allen Farm NotTes— Hawkesbury District S38 cats ee o> HW eotts JERSEYS FOR DAIRYING... as sige .. M. A. O'Callaghan PracticaL VEGETABLE AND FLOWER GROWING W. 8S. Campbell SEASONABLE NOTES see aye fe ar Geo. L. Sutton MEGS = = << aoe My mn age aye George Valder AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES SHOWS Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. PAGE. 91 101 136 137 140 146 162 165 168 169 Iv Agricultural Gazelle of NSW. [ Feb. 3, 1908. insurer ancien PAGE. ; INrorMATION INVITED FROM WHEAT-GROWERS... ae ee eo LO | ADVERTISEMENTS — ’ Government Stud Bulls available for lease or for service at State Farms. ) Regulations under which Bulls are leased. Pure-bred Pigs for Sale at Newington Asylum. Dairy Bull for sale, Rams, Boars, and Turkeys tor sale. heme a ee’ Fran res: he 1 ; 4 : 4 : 1 r Ss ViGiee Ne PART 2, FEBRUARY 3, 1908 Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Dairy Cattle. | 7 M. A. OCALLAGHAN. The Guernsey. As complete success in dairy farming depends in the first instance on the cattle used therein, it goes without saying that the dairying industry of any country is not on a sound basis unless the class of cattle used therefor are of the required character, and it might also be added that improvement in financial results must depend very greatly on the improvement which is capable of being brought about in cows which any dairy farmer keeps. The price of butter may be a couple of shillings per cwt. dearer one year than another, but that means only a very little all round. If, for instance, we say that butter is worth a farthing nett more one vear than another, this only means 3s. 4d. per cow on a returned basis of 160 pounds of butter per cow per year, whereas if, by selection, we improve our cows from 400 to 500 gallons per head per vear, it means an improvement in money value of 33s. 4d. per head on the very low valuation of 4d. per gallon for whole new milk. It is thus seen that it is in the increased production from our herds we should devote our greatest energies, until the standard reached is so high that we cannot expect, without great expense, to materially increase it. The yielding of milk in large quantities is really a question of development through selection, and proper handling of the young female, both before and after calving; and there seems no reason why, if sufficient intelligence and energy be devoted to the question, the standard of all dairy cattle could not be raised to, say, 700 gallons of milk or 300 pounds of butter per milking period. Any number of individual cows yield considerably more than this, and the standard mentioned should be within the reach of many. Before, of course, this could be acquired, concentrated efforts sustained over a number of years should be made, and considerable sums of money spent in the selection of animals. If we look back and see to what perfection the modern thorough- bred has been brought for purposes of horse-racing, we will have some idea of what is possible for man to do with regard to the improvement of animals for special purposes. Large sums of money are to be won and great notoriety obtained by the owners of race-horses of the highest class, and hence wonderful improvement has been effected in this animal. If similar efforts were made throughout the world with regard to the development of the dairy cow, there is no doubt but that the averages stated would be obtained before a great many years in those districts throughout the world where dairy farming 1s A 92 Agricultural Gazetle of N.S. [ Feb. 3, 1908. specialised. Though it may not appear so important on the surface as the improvement of the horses, still there seems little doubt but that the annua! revenue of a country in which a large section is devoted to dairying, would be increased more by the development and improvement of the dairy cow than of the thoroughbred. When dairying was first begun in New South Wales, those who undertook to carry it on had.to do so with whatever cattle were available, and as Australia is looked upon as a pastoral country, it 1s almost unnecessary to say that the cattle introduced here were selected from herds for beef purposes rather than for the production of large quantities of milk. With only material of this kind in their hands the early pioneers of the industry deserve very great credit for the success which they obtained in producing a cow capable of giving a paying quantity of milk. It is, perhaps, a lucky thing for the dairying industry in New South Wales that the modern Shorthorn had not been developed from a beef point of view to such a success seventy-five vears ago as it is to-day, because the foundation of our cattle was undoubtedly of a Shorthorn type. We know that the cattle from which the modern Shorthorn has descended were originally of a heavy milking variety, and as it takes a considerable number of years to cross out milk and cross in beef, there is no doubt that the Shorthorns, which were landed here, say, sixty years ago, were, on the average, more likely to produce milk in quantity than, say, those animals which have been imported for beef purposes within the last thirty years. As the industry developed, however, importations of cattle were made on a small scale, specially for dairy purposes, and thus it 1s that the Ayrshire and the Jersey were introduced, as well as the Holstein. Bulls, especially of the Ayrshire breed, were mated with Shorthorn cows, and the result was very satisfactory from the dairyman’s point of view, because it produced an animal capable of yielding large quantities of mill. Our development in dairying, however, took place so rapidly that it became impossible for farmers to purchase suitable cattle, in numbers sufficiently large to keep pace with the development generally. Hence, in most districts, with the exception of a few special animals, farmers had to take what they could get, and this meant obtaining animals that were bred almost entirely with a view to a laying on of flesh. Thus it is that the average yield of our cows throughout the State was bound to be a low one, and though it is on the increase, it is still capable of great improvement, without the expendi- ture of any considerable amount of brains or money. It is now a generally understood fact that the bull, if pure bred, has a very great effect on the milking properties of his progeny, no matter what class of cattle they are. For this reason it is evident that the first steps towards improving the milk yields of the cattle of any district should be to procure bulls of the character best calculated to bring about the desired results. The question of which breed is not of so much moment as the individuality of the animal. Excellent specimens may be obtained from many of the recognised dairy breeds, which when crossed on to ordinary half-bred cattle, Feb. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 93 will be capable of stamping his type on a very high percentage of his calves. The farmer should, however, first make up his mind as to the breed of animal calculated to suit his soil, climate, and class of farming; and, having fixed this, should stick to bulls of that breed for three generations of animals at least. By that time his cattle will have, practically speaking, all the chief characteristics of the breed which he has selected his bulls from. If all heifer calves are kept from the best milkers, and their bringing up has been properly attended to, he will, in a few years, have considerably increased the butter yield per head of his herd. Government Buils for the use of Farmers. For the purpose of demonstrating this fact, and thereby educating the farmers on the point, as well as, of course, to generally improve our dairy stock, the Government of this State decided to import a number of cattle in 1898, and lease a number of the bulls to farmers. as well as establishing the stud farm where young bulls would be raised, to be sold at reasonable prices afterwards to bona fide dairy farmers. At first the experiment was voted as injudicious, mainly by those who were interested or prejudiced, but when it was seen that the imported bulls produced an improvement in the cattle with which they had been mated, the desire to lease them became very strong, and, of course, only a very smal! percentage of those making request to do so could be accommodated. The result of the experi- ment for education purposes, however, had been very valuable ; and instead of the farmer being prepared to use the first bull that he came across, the intelligent farmers now demand pure-bred animals, no matter what breed they desire, so that with this feeling abroad we are assured of a general improvement in our dairy stock for some time to come. No greater evidence of this can be got than the fact that many of our farmers have recently imported cattle from Kngland on their own account, for the purpose of breeding bulls and improving their own stock. Breeds of Cattle. We have in New South Wales all varieties of climate and soil, speaking in a general way, and for this reason there is a demand for different breeds of cattle suitable to the conditions under which they are required to be used. We have also the different branches of dairying, viz.:—the selling of milk, for consumption as milk, the manufacture of butter, the manufacture of cheese, as well as in a smaller way the manufacture of condensed milk; and, because of these varieties of purposes, there is a demand for special cows for cheesemaking, for butter-making, and for the production of milk for sale as milk. Besides the well-known strain of Shorthorn already referred to, we have the Ayrshire, the Jersey, the Holstein, the Guernsey, and the Kerry now established in this State. 94. Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Feb. 3, 1908. The Guernsey. Of all the breeds of cattle imported in 1898, none has given so much satis- faction to farmers apparently as the Guernsey, and judging by results obtained Head of No, 2 (Clatford Hopeful). bv crossing with the ordinary cattle, the confidence of the farmers is fully justified. The desire to purchase or lease bulls of this breed has been very pressing now for some years, but owing to the limited number of cows originally imported, the Government were only able to supply a very small per- centage of the demands made for young bulls. Matters, however, have now been considerably improved from the farmer's point of view, the late Minister for Agri- culture, The Hon. S. W. Moore, and the late Premier, The Hon. J. H. Carruthers, having arranged for an importation of twenty Guernsey females for the purpose of breeding bulls to meet requirements of dairy farmers. These animals, which are undoubtedly a great acquisition to the State, have now been landed. and photographs are given herewith of some of them. No, 3.—Parson’s Red Rose 2nd, ae Feb. 3, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. No. 5, Claudia’s Pride (Heifer). No, 6.—Bi'ou de la Fontaine 3rd. lent 96 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Feb. 3, 1908. The photograph of No. 3 represents “ Parson’s Red Rose 2nd,”’ calved on the 26th January, 1906. She was bred by A. Parsons, Castel, Guernsey, and her sire is “‘ Gil Blas” (1,679 P.S.R.G.A.S.); and her dam, “ Parsons’ Red Rose ” (2,813 F.S.R.G.A.8.). She is a nice heifer, showing a good deal of quality, and is now at the Wollongbar.Experimental Farm. No. 5 is the heifer ‘‘ Claudia’s Pride,” who obtained second prize in her class at the last Royal Show of England, so that she must rank as an animal of class. She shows good milking capacity, and is of a very rich and fashion- able colour, with grand skin. Her head is very handsome, the fault, if any, being that she is slightly short and thick in the neck, but as she develops into a cow I expect her to fine down there. She is stationed at the Berry No. 7.—Golden May of the Gron 8rd, Stud Farm. She was born on 24th April, 1906, and was bred by Mrs. H. C. Stephens, Salisbury; and her sire is “* Permit” (1,407, E.G.H.B.); and her dam, “Itchen Claudia” (5,152, E.G.H.B.) No. 6 represents ‘‘ Bijou de la Fontaine 3rd,”” a cow of wonderful substance and constitution, in fact she is too strongly constituted for a typical Guernsey. However, I expect to see her put up good dairy records, and she should produce animals of a type calculated to do benefit to the breed in New South Wales. She is stationed at Wollongbar Experimental Farm. She was born on 21st December, 1902, and bred by Mrs. H. C. Stephens, Salisbury; and her sire, “ Cholderton Lord Roberts ” (1,272, E.G.H.B.); and her dam “ Bijou de la Fontaine” (3,976, E.G.H.B.). Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 97 No. 9.—Hayes’ Lily du Preel 4th. oN No. 10.—Rosey 7th. 98 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Feb. 3, 1908. No. 7, ‘‘ Golden May of the Gron 3rd,” is another cow that has been sent ‘0 Wollongbar Experimental Farm. She was born on &th October, 1904, and was bred by Col. H. W. Shakerley, Godalming. Her sire is “ Burgate Holden” (1,358, E.G.H.B.): and her dam, “ Golden May of the Gron” (5,119, E.G.H.B.). She is a cow just at the end of her milk and not at the present time in her very best condition, but is very typical of the breed. No. 8 represents a very nice heifer indeed, “‘ Hayes’ Muzette 7th.” She was born on 3rd March, 1906, and was bred by E. A. Hambro, Kent. Her sire is “ V.C.” (1,729, E.G.H.B.); and her dam, “ Hayes’ Muzette 2nd ” (4,090, E.G.H.B.). She is stationed at the Berry Stud Farm. No, 11. Rosey 8th, No. 9, “‘ Hayes’ Lily du Preel 4th,” is a heifer by the same breeder as No. 8. She is also a handsome young beast, and has been sent to Wollongbar Farm. She was born on 7th April, 1906, and bred by E. A. Hambro, Kent; and her sire is “ Hayes’ Royal” (1,674, E.G.H.B.); and her dam, “ Hayes’ Lily du Preel 3rd” (6,166, E.G.H.B.). No. 10, “* Rosey 7th,” represents probably one of the most typical Guern- seys imported, as well as one showing very excellent dairy qualities. She represents a notorious strain of Guernsey blood, her dam being a well known animal, who is now about 19 years of age. She was born on 4th September, 1904, and was bred by The Rt. Hon. J. E. Ellis, M.P., Yorkshire. Her sire is ‘‘ Broomflower”’ (1,446, E.G.H.B.); and her dam, “ Rosey” (2,308, E.G.H.B.). She was much admired when sent to the Wollongbar Farm. Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 9g No, 12.—Rohais Lassie. No. 15 —Bel Air VI. 100 = Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ eb. 3, 1908. No. 11, ‘‘ Rosey 8th,” is related to No. 10, being a year younger, and directly descended from the well-known cow “ Rosey.” She was born on 10th September, 1905, and bred by The Rt. Hon. J. E. Ellis, Yorkshire. Her sire is ‘‘ Broomflower 2nd” (1,641, E.G.H.B.); and her dam, “ Rosey 3rd” (3,912, E.G.H.B.). She has been sent. to Berry Stud Farm. No. 12, ‘‘ Rohais Lassie,” is an island-bred heifer just over 2 years old. She has plenty of quality, and should develop into a very fair cow. She was born on 24th October, 1905, and was bred by F. Belloir, Guernsey. Her sire is “ King of the Friquet” (1,674, P.S.R.G.A.S.); and her dam, “ Dolly Graves (Oval. Os): No. 16. Beauty V of the Brickfield. No. 15, ‘‘ Bel Air VI,” is an island-bred cow. She is now at the end of her milk, and was born on 21st February, 1905, and bred by T. H. Mahy, Guernsey. Her sire is ‘‘ Sequel’s Crescendo” (1,406, P.S.); and her dam, “ Bel Air IV” (5,809, P.S.). She is stationed at Berry Stud Farm. No. 16, “ Beauty V of the Brickfield,” is an island-bred cow, just 4 vears old, and at the end of her milk. She was born on 4th November, 1904, and bred by J. de Garis, Guernsey, and her sire is “* Mino” (1,415, P.S.); and her dam, ‘“‘ Beauty I of the Brickfield’ (4,859, P.S.). She has been sent to the Wollongbar Farm. [The numbers 2 to 16 refer to the numbers cut on the horns before being shipped from England. ] Ey ‘ o Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 101 Edible Trees and Shrubs. R. W. PEACOCK. Pernars the most striking feature of the Flora of the central portion of Australia is the large proportion of trees and shrubs which are edible. In the western districts of New South Wales, where the rainfall is meagre and subject to prolonged periods of dry weather, these trees and shrubs are of Kurrajong (Sterculia diversifolia), G. Don. peculiar value. Their drought resistance is remarkable. They being evolved under droughty conditions possess characteristics which allow of develop- ment under adverse conditions. For example: the root system of the kurra- jong allows of plant-food being stored in tuberous-like sections, which is drawn upon in dry years. The harsh narrow phyllodia or leaves of the acacias present the least transpiring surfaces to the hot rays of the sun. They also are attached vertically and throw the least possible shadow. The a 102. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ feb. 3, 1908. currant bush divests itself of its leaves under adverse conditions, they only appearing in quantity in the best of seasons. The stems at other times function as leaves. Such characteristics fit them admirably for their environ- ment, The value of these trees and shrubs has been.fully demonstrated throughout the extreme drought of 1902 and preceding lean years. Many thousands of sheep and cattle subsisted solely upon them for considerably over twelve months. Sheep have been fed for several years upon trees alone, and kept a i é Needlewood (Hutea leucoptera), R.Br. in fair condition. Cattle have fattened upon some of the best of these trees. They are practically useless for horses. Goats thrive upon them. Cows milk fairly well and produce good flavored butter upon a tree diet. Working bullocks pull heavy loads and work hard at sinking tanks for water, when they can obtain nothing else. Camels prefer nothing better. Rabbits are far too fond of many of the best varieties, and have done much towards their annihilation. Such is regrettable, and if unchecked, these in conjunc- tion with overstocking with sheep, must eventually alter the nature of the western flora for the worse. Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 103 Many varieties are well nigh extinct over many tracts upon which they at one time were plentiful. Owing to the injudicious system of felling, instead of lopping, many of our mulga scrubs have been destroyed. The same applies to other trees. Overstocking, or even rational stocking, prevents the growth of seedlings to take the place of the older growths. Owing to the rabbits the conservation of these valuable plants is fraught with many difficulties. The loss of such during the next drought will be keenly felt. Nature may evolve something to fill the breach. At present Supple Jack (Ventilago Viminalis', Hook. the outlook is not very encouraging. In order to facilitate the gaining of information respecting them, the plates of several are shown, and these notes are supplementary of those appearing in the Agricultural Gazette of April, 1899. The brigalow, ironwood, and yarren cannot be classed as edible. The gidyea is eaten by the camel. Sheep have been known to eat some of the eucalpyts, and also pine scrub when hard pressed. Such are not comparable to those shown, of which many are relished by stock, and they unquestionably thrive upon them. Ot ete Satay Re as ut a AE (Oa: *(nSjaova DLIODIP) POOMUOI] ‘WAL (nsojnonm mssapuyg) aeiy, predooy eas [ Feb. 3, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 104. WaT ‘ungpmoun wnyhkydody) ysnq-jue.ind ‘(PULT “(vUQ0V)MS Mond) BOVOY OMI1-MOTIM - « +4 Ps r ae ~~ Cede. ~ : oe ltural Gazette of N.S.W. 105 ucu Agr . 3, 1908.] Feb [ Feb. 8, 1908. ee icultural Gazetle of ? g A 06 1 *(DPOLYSUOI Y1U0}S)V) Bd1L, BUTUINH ey Ra ly OSE eT COP he eke pops ey ad a ee es, ~ a Feb. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. Wild Lemon (Canthium oletjolium), Hook. Wilga (Geijera parviflora), Lindl. Ll ‘tung ‘(uophrojnsop MIOMIF) SUBMBIIND “IG (W178 N9j/10A1) POOM-JoOog Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 108 Feb. 3, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 109 “tatters eee F.v.M. #8 ae se Berrigan (Eremophila lonzifolia), Emu bush or Brigalow (Acacia harpophylia). WA ‘(vineun pionoy) ean ‘(ds pony) Ulex Pm Se ae ee “Vp ee + Feb. 3, 1908. E v zette of N.S. ii & = > . ss ~ ~ ~ > ~ ~ ‘S) °"s . ~ RY | | : y ie | ; : } | § ‘ am 8 | | Py as ‘ : | =>) Z in\' . | eo | teat LIL Sol ZA ltural Gazette of N. vcUu Quandong (Fusanus acuminatus), R.Br. Agr Warrior bush (BLremophila polyclada), F.v.M. ] 1908 Feb. 3, AE EE AGS TL LS ———————————————————————————eE re or i i oP ee Oem ae ee, Or) ‘ = * a913 prep Aq poyioddns outa Yo WA's eryeyydApeone vrsuoky pe i 5 _ ; “‘qaig ‘(vonn)b nurzonsn)) Avpeg ‘Sa : aA pe = 3 . + ps ey i Meats » ere, Se i (Feb. 8, 1908. ette of N.S.W. = SN .} ~ ; = iy ~~ ns = e SS = i> 112 Lee ~ ee.) i ne Te.) ae ae oe eer a TP Tae Fe eee We OE PY ee) eee Ee eg eree Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 118 Orange Bush (('apparis Mitehelli), Lindl. at FAS es Sa eS I xg Narrow-l>aved Apple-tree (Angophora intermedia), DC. b oele [ Feb. 3, 1908. SS. ut zette of icultural Ga ype Ao 114: ‘uuny) ‘(aynpuad ponoy) [eA Feb. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 115 Hawkesbury Agricultural College and Experimental Farm. GRASSES AT THE HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. A. H. E. McDONALD, Experimentalist. EXPERIMENTS have been conducted at the College for some years with a large number of grasses and forage plants, and close observations made of the characteristics and habits of the different varieties, with a view to selecting, if possible, those which will prove satisfactory under our con- ditions. Owing to the uncertain nature of the climate, and its dis- similarity to that of older-established countries, we can gain little from their experience, and have to depend largely on our own research work to guide us in selecting varieties and methods for the formation of pasture land. Until recent years, with the exception of the more favoured coastal districts, this important branch of farm operations had received little attention; but with the increase in land values and in the number of small farms, the necessity of obtaining the highest returns from the land has become greater, and more attention is now being paid to it. The spread of dairying has tended still further to create a desire for better pastures, and in consequence keen inquiries are now being made for suitable grasses. It is in satisfying these demands that the experimental work is proving useful. The years during which it has been carried out have, generally speaking, been remarkable for the low annual rainfall compared with the average, and the results give a pretty clear indication of the value of the grasses under somewhat adverse conditions. It has native and been the aim to contrast with the better-known varieties introduced grasses—which might be expected to prove of value. Whilst it has not been possible to carry out the tests under the conditions which would prevail in paddocks grazed by stock, the method of comparison adopted allows of fairly accurate estimates of the usefulness of the different grasses. Special attention has been paid to those likely to prove suitable for dry conditions, as it is from the inland districts that the keenest inquiries come, and it is in those districts that the greatest difficulty is encountered in establishing pastures. Attempts that have been made in such places have in many cases been followed by indifferent success, and have to a certain extent given rise to an impression that good results cannot be obtained from artificial grasses. This is no doubt true of some varieties ; but from the results of work here we can point to several kinds which are likely to give good returns, provided they receive fair treat- ment. The mistake is often made when sowing new grasses in supposing them to possess some magical power which enables them to resist all 116 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Feb. 3, 1908. circumstances. Roots or seed are simply planted or sown in paddocks, and left to take their chance with other well-established grasses. Cattle are grazed upon them, and when they fail to grow surprise is expressed. Such new grasses, being sweet and tempting to stock, are kept eaten down too closely, and are consequently soon eaten right out. Any attention grass land receives is well deserved, and will be followed by satisfactory increases in its carrying capacity. When once established it lasts years ; but it must be well treated at the commencement, and encouraged to get its roots well down into the soil, or it will never thrive. In such a country as this, where farming is practically in its infaney, everyone must depend much on his own resources and experience for success. If each individual landholder carried out a few tests with some of the best grasses, it would prove of great assistance in showing the most valuable sorts for his particular district. All grasses have particular characteristics, such as preference for different classes of soil, temperature, &e., and it may be found that some which do well in one place cannot thrive in others. By this simple form of experimenting the best could soon be selected, and much expense and disappointment avoided, than if varieties were planted of which the farmer had no practical experience. Introduced Grasses. Meadow Foxtail (A/opecurus pratensis).—This quick grower comes early in the spring, and provides a good bite of fodder when other grasses are scarce. It grows to a height of 18 inches to 2 feet, and is fine and succulent in the stem and leaf. It does not give a heavy yield, but is highly fattening, and is also valuable in pastures on account of its earli- ness. After flowering in October, it gradually dies down, and produces no fresh growth until the cool weather of autumn returns. Stock of all kinds relish it. Bent Grass (Agrostis stolonifera).—Grows slowly during the spring and early summer months, and flowers in November. It attains a height of 12 inches, and remains green and succulent throughout the summer, but is not a heavy yielder. Its stoloniferous roots give it the power of quickly forming a close sward. It is a useful grass for cool, moist climates. Blue Grama Grass (Bouteloua oligostachya).—This grass is deep rooting, and when sown thickly forms a dense mass of herbage about 18 inches high. The stems and leaves are fine and succulent, and have a characteristic bluish tinge. It resists drought well, and is likely to prove useful in the drier districts as a pasture grass. It begins to flower in November, but remains green until February or March, when it dies back, and does not make fresh growth until the following spring. Prairie Grass (Bromus unioloides).—This is a very vigorous winter and spring grass, which seems to do well in almost all soils and climates. It attains a height of 3 to 4 feet generally, but has grown 8 feet high in rich moist soil. The seed is produced in large quantities, and germinates freely. The first growth is made in the autumn and early winter months, Feb. 8, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S JV. bly) and remains green almost up to December. Stock of all kinds eat it greedily, and it forms a highly nutritious fodder either in the green state or made into hay. Owing to the ease with which it is cut, and the heavy yield, it is very useful for the latter purpose. It does well, and spreads rapidly on old cultivated ground. Some care is necessary in grazing it to see that it is not eaten down too closely, as stock are so fond of it that they eat the crowns right out, and consequently it dies out; it is one of the best winter grasses. Awnless Brome Grass (Bromus inermis). Awnless Brome Grass (Bromus inermis).—This hardy grass appears to resist drought and frost equally well, and remains green practically throughout the year. It tillers freely, and produces dense tufts of succu- lent foliage. The flowering stems are produced in October; but here, perhaps owing to the peculiar nature of the past season, no seed was formed. It possesses a mass of fibrous roots, which, extending deep into the soil, enable it to produce large quantities of feed on even poor soil. It is liked by all classes of stock. 118 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Feb. 3, 1908. Rhodes Grass (Chloris Gayana var.).—This grass, although only intro- duced into the State comparatively recently, has spread rapidly, and is now well known. The reasons for its rapid rise into favour are its wonderful power of returning large vields of fodder when grown on poor soil, and its power of resisting drought. .P?aspalum dilatatum has long enjoved a reputation for productiveness ; but the essential conditions for success with it are a fairly rich soil and a regular rainfall, and where these are aksent it does not always thrive. Rhodes Grass fills the gap, and pro- bably no other grass will give such good results under adverse conditions of soil and climate. It is particularly suited for light, sandy soils; but also thrives in even heavy clays. It does not stand frost well, and is cut down , « a a De a “ oa vu Rhodes Grass (Chloris Guyina var.), four months after sowing. in the winter, but grows rapidly in the spring, and attains a height of 3 to 4 feet. In experiments at the College it has yielded up to 12 tons of green forage per acre. The stems are fine, and in their early stages succulent ; but if not kept closely grazed or cut before the seed hardens, it becomes a little coarse and harsh. The feeding value is high, and it is relished by all classes of stock. The stems in the early stages of their growth are procumbent, and as they root at every node, fresh centres of growth are being constantly formed, and the ground is quickly covered with a dense sward. When the flowering is about to oceur, in November or December, the stems grow upright rapidly, and if it is desired to make it into hay, no difficulty is found in cutting it at this time. It is likely that it will become popular for hay and ensilage, owing to its Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 119 heavy growth and the ease with which it is harvested. After cutting, a second growth is made, and gives good grazing. The seed is formed freely, and is easy to harvest, but shakes out almost as soon as it ripens, and a certain amount is always lost in the field. The harvesting should be done when the largest quantity can be obtained, and a careful watch must be kept to select this time. It can best be done by using a sickle, and cutting only the heads. This is rapidly done, and the heads are then dried on clean floors or cloths for a few days, when the seed can be shaken out without beating or threshing. Many. inquiries have been made whether this grass would be difficult to eradicate after it has become established. It is not likely that it will ever present any difficulty, as the roots are fibrous, and the plants can easily be ploughed out of the ground. Crested Dogstail (Cynosurus cristatus).—This grass forms dense tufts of a soft velvety nature, but rarely grows to a height of more than a few inches. It is useful for giving a bottom to other tall grasses, and does well on poor soils. It is a good fodder, but is more fitted for sheep than large stock. It keeps green almost throughout the year. Cocksfoot, Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata).—This grass prefers strong land, and although it requires plenty of moisture for its best development, it resists drought fairly well. It flowers in November. During the hot weather of January it dies down, unless the soil is moist, and becomes green again in the autumn. A good body of foliage is pro- duced, which is suitable for either pasturage or hay. The stems become somewhat harsh with age, and it needs to be grazed moderately close. Diplachne sp.—Attains a height of 2 feet 6 inches, and gives a good succulent forage. The stems die down after flowering in November ; but the leaves at the base remain green until irosts set in. The seed is pro- duced in large quantities, and germinates freely. The plants tiller well, and fairly large tufts are formed. It can be used for pasture, or hay, and can be easily cut. Tall Fescue (Festuca elatior).—Grows to a height of 4 to 5 feet, and produces a large body of forage, which, however, is rather coarse in character. The plants tiller well, and form dense upright tufts. Its deep-rootins g system enables it to resist drought and do well on poor soil. Frosts have little effect on it, and a vigorous growth is maintained during the greater part of the year. Giant Fescue (Festuca sp.)—This grass grows to an immense size, the stems often measuring over 7 feet in height, and the tufts 3 to 4 feet in diameter. The leaves grow to a length of 3 to 4 feet, and are very broad. When in the full vigour of its growth it presents a very striking appear- ance. The forage produced is rather hard and coarse in character, and does not possess a good flavour. It resists drought well, and remains green during the whole year, with the exception of the hottest months. It is only suitable for ensilage and rough feed. Perennial Rye Grass (Lolium perenne).—This grass requires a fairly good soil and an evenly distributed rainfall. Under these conditions it 120 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Feb. 8, 1908. has proved one of the most valuable grasses for either pasturage or hay ; but in a dry climate or in poor soil it is out of its proper sphere, and will not give satisfactory results. Under favourable conditions the plants tiller out close to the ground, a dense sward is formed, and a heavy mass of highly nutritive herbage produced, which is relished by all classes of stock. In our experiments with it a fair growth is obtained in the early spring months and in late autumn ; but during the hot weather of summer it suffers severely, and almost dies out. Italian Rye Grass (Lolium ctalieum).—The remarks made on Perennial Rye Grass apply to this variety, with the exception that it is slightly more drought-resistant, but is not so permanent in character. Little Millet (Me/liwm multiflorum).—Attains a height of 3 feet, and produces a large quantity of herbage, which remains green during a considerable portion of the year. It resists drought well, and gives good results in even dry seasons. It is a good hay grass; but if left standing after it flowers, in November, becomes woody in the stem. It does well on poor sandy soil, and makes several growths during the year. Large quantities of seed are produced. Paspalum dilatatum.—This grass is now so well known that any mention of it may seem superfluous; but it may be as well to give a few notes in order that a comparison with other grasses can be made, and a_ better relative idea of their value obtained. Our experience with it has been of a mixed kind. In moist seasons it gives wonderful returns of nutritive herbage, which stock eat greedily; but in dry seasons it makes little growth, and spreads slowly. It requires an abundant rainfall and a fairly warm climate for its best development. Given these conditions, no grass will equal it; and, in fact, the growth is so heavy that at times stock are unable to keep it down, and it becomes coarse and unpalatable, especially in the latter part of the season. Frosts cut off the upper leaves, and although the grass beneath this coat of dry matter remains green during the winter, it is unpalatable to stock, and they refuse to eat it. Under circumstances such as these the value of the grass can be greatly improved by cutting in February or early in March, and making the crop into hay or ensilage. This allows of a fresh shoot; and although frosts cut it back, it has a good feeding value. This cutting also prevents largely the tendency the grass has to become coarse after it has been established some years. Hairy Paspalum (Paspalum virgatum).—Grows to a height of 7 feet 6 inches, and flowers in November. The plants tiller well, and it spreads rapidly from the parent stem, forming dense tufts. Seed is produced abundantly, and germinates easily. The character of growth is upright, and an immense bulk of foliage is produced. The stems are somewhat coarse, but carry many large leaves, which are fairly soft and palatable to stock. It grows well in poor sandy soil, but does not seem to possess any advantage over Paspalum dilatatum, except its upright nature. Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 121 Paspalum paniculatum.—Attains a height of 18 inches, and flowers in December. It grows in tufts, and is not very vigorous. The foliage remains green during a great part of the year, and is tender, but some- what hairy. Panicum proliferum.—This is essentially a summer grass. It grows rapidly during the spring and early summer, and produces a fair amount of herbage. The flowering occurs in November, and after this it quickly becomes dry, and makes no fresh growth until the following spring. Evergreen Meadow Grass (Poa sempervirens).—This variety enjoys the reputation of being one of the richest of the cultivated grasses. It is creeping in habit, and forms a dense turf, but requires a moist climate. Frosts affect it very little, and it maintains a green growth through the winter, until hot weather sets in, when it dries off rapidly. In our trials it has never given large yields. Natal Red Top (Vricholw@na rosea). Texas Blue Grass (Poa arachnifera).—This is one of the most valuable grasses in our collection. It resists drought and frost well, and produces a dense mass of foliage up to 2 feet high, which is highly nutritious. Frosts affect it little, and good pasturage is obtained from it throughout the winter and well into summer. The hot weather of January and February dries it off a little; but it starts into growth again as soon as the cooler days return. It possesses a deep-rooting system, which enables it to do well on even poor soil. Once planted, it spreads rapidly, and 122 Agricultural. Gazette of N.S.W. | Feb. 3, 1908. forms a dense turf. In our trials its fine healthy appearance during the cold mouths rendered it very conspicuous. Kentucky Blue Grass (Poa pratensis).—The stoloniferous roots of this grass allow it to spread rapidly. It resists frosts well, and produces good feed during the winter and early spring. It does not stand drought or heat well, and under such conditions gives only small yields. It is nutritious, and liked by stock; and as it is early, is valuable for cold climates. Natal Red Top (7richolwna rosea).—This is a very striking grass, its highly-coloured appearance when in flower making it very handsome, and it is on this account a favourite grass for pleasure grounds. It is a vigorous grower, and attains a height of 3 feet 6 inches. A dense mass of leafy, succulent herbage is quickly produced in spring, and remains until cut down by heavy frosts. It flowers in November and December, and produces a large amount of seed, which germinates freely. It resists drought well, and flourishes in poor sandy soil. For growing as green food for poultry it is very valuable, and can be recommended for sowing in fowl-vards which require resting. Sporobolus atroides.—A fairly rapid-growing, tall grass, attaining a height of 3 feet. It flowers in November, and after this dies down until the following spring, when it makes a fresh growth. The herbage it produces is succulent and very suitable for hay. Panicum levifolium.—Attains a height of 2 feet, and flowers in November. It is a quick-growing grass, but somewhat watery in nature, and is apparently more suited to a moist climate than dry conditions. After flowering it rapidly dries, and does not make a fresh growth until the following spring. Panicum bulbosum.—This upright-growing grass flowers in November, attaining a height of 25 to 3 feet, but is only sparsely covered with leaves. The forage it produces is succulent and palatable, but becomes dry shortly after the flowering. It is a good drought resister, and does well in sandy soil. Native Varieties. In the selection of grasses, our own native varieties are worthy of careful consideration. They have become adapted, by long natural selection, to our peculiar climatic conditions, and are better able to with- stand them than many grasses brought from cooler climates, which, no matter how good they may be in their own habitat, are not fitted to districts lable to drought. There are many valuable kinds in our numerous and varied species, and among them will be found varieties suitable for almost every district. Many of the introduced erasses are, and will continue to be, the favourites for localities where the climatic conditions are similar to those to which they have become inured by long years of cultivation; but when they are removed to districts with absolutely different conditions, satisfactory results will not always follow. Le Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 123 Australian grasses have, through the wool and meat produced, obtained a world-wide reputation, and it is well worth attempting to still further increase their value, and that of the pastures, by carefully selecting and growing those varieties which have by actual results proved the best. We have many areas the stock-bearing capacity of which could be largely increased by a little judicious treatment ; and with the increasing necessity of making the greatest profit from the land, attention might well be turned to our own varieties. In many cases in the western wheat country horses have been worked hard at ploughing for several months at a time, with no other feed than that which they have been able to obtain from the natural grass land. They have remained strong and healthy through- out, and have in some instances even put on flesh, and looked better at the end of the season than when they commenced work. This is an actual proof of the high nutritive qualities of our grasses, and if but a portion of the attention is given to them which other crops receive, highly satis- factory results must iollow,. Mitchell Grass (Astrebla triticoides).—This grass, whilst giving fair results, has not thrived so well under our conditions as its power of resisting drought in the inland districts would lead us to expect. It does not appear to do well in poor sandy soil, and probably the different climatie conditions influence its growth. In its native habitat of the interior it has the reputation of being one of the most vigorous and fattening indigenous erasses. “ven under extreme heat it produces abundant highly nutritive herbage, which stock eat greedily and do well on, even after it has become quite dry. This is a marked feature in many of our grasses, aud is responsible for the heavy stocking which can be done throughout the year. In our trials with Mitchell Grass it grew to a height of 18 inches and tillered largely, producing a large quantity of fine succulent stems and many leaves. It flowered in December, and remained fairly green throughout the summer. It has strong, wiry roots, and bears a fair amount of well-developed seed. Tall Blue Grass (Andropogon refractus).—This variety remains green during most of the year. It grew to a height of 3 feet, and flowered in December. The stems are a little hard, and are scantily leafed ; but a fair amount of succulent leaf is borne at the base of the stems. It is fairly prominent among the native grasses of the farm, and resists drought and heat well. Brown-flowered Swamp Grass (Viplachne fusca).—This common name is somewhat a misnomer, as the grass thrives well on the driest soil. It is a rapid grower, and reaches a height of 3 feet. The forage produced is succulent during its young stages, and very useful for stock, but becomes slightly coarse after it flowers, at the end of November. The foliage remains green during the summer months, and dies down on the approach of frosts, and remains dormant until the following spring. It resists drought well, and grows on poor sandy soil. a a . 124 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IV. [ Feb. 3, 1908. Crab Grass (Lleusine indica).—A quick-growing annual grass, which resists drought well. It tillers largely, and a mass of herbage is formed about 12 inches in height; but it is rather coarse, and of little value. The seed is borne plentifully, and germinates freely. Weeping Love Grass (Lragrostis pilosa).—This is one of the most vigorous varieties we have grown. It resists drought wonderfully well, and has always stood out from other grasses as a heavy yielder in even the driest years. The flowering stems attain a height of 6 feet, and bear leaves along almost their entire length. It is a rapid grower, and appears to be one of the best grasses for poor sandy soil. In its early growth, or Tall Blue Grass (Andropogon refractius). if kept closely grazed, it is succulent; but if allowed to make too strong a growth it becomes wiry. Its fibrous roots extend deep into the soil. The seed is produced in large quantities, and as they germinate well, the grass quickly spreads. This variety is perennial, and must not be confused with an annual Love Grass which slightly resembles it. Rough Bearded Grass (Hehinopogon ovatus).—Attains a height of about 18 inches, and gives a fair amount of foliage. It keeps green during the winter, and produces good feed when other grass is scarce. The flowering stems are produced in October; but it remains green up till Christmas, when it dies down until cool weather returns. It is very soft and tender in the leaf and stem until it flowers, when the stems become a little harsh. Seed is produced abundantly, and grows easily. Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. 125 Eriochloa polystachya.—This variety grows to a height of 2 feet 6 inches, and flowers in November. Its strong roots penetrate deeply into the soil, and enable it to resist drought and thrive on poor soil. An abundance of fine, nutritious forage is produced, and is well liked by stock. It remains green until frosts occur, when it withers, and does not make a fresh growth until spring. Australian Millet (Panieum decompositum).—This variety should be encouraged in all pastures. It resists drought well, and is a rapid, vigorous grower, attaining a height of 3 to 4 feet. It flowers in November, and the stems carry leaves along almost their entire length. Unlike a large number of our native grasses, it remains green well into winter. Weeping Love Grass (Hrayrostis pilosa). A large amount of nutritious herbage is produced, which is greedily eaten by stock, and when cured makes good hay. It is one of the best of our native grasses for this purpose, and when cut it quickly sends up a fresh growth. The seeds are produced freely, and germinate well. Its deep, fibrous roots enable it to grow in almost any class of soil. Vandyke or Yellow Grass (Panicum flavidum).—A quick-growing variety, which attains a height of 3 feet, and flowers in October. It is upright in habit, and does not spread rapidly. The herbage is scanty, and contains few leaves. It makes two or three growths during the season if cut. Panicum leucopheum.—This is a valuable upright-growing variety. It produces a fair amount of herbage, which is fine and succulent, and or “ a - » + a * rr a ae oe 126 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Feb. 3. 1908. suitable for hay or pasturage. Its deep, fibrous roots render it capable of resisting drought and doing well in poor soil. The seed is produced freely, and grows well. Forage Plants. Sheep’s Burnet (Potertum sanguisorba).—This excellent perennial fodder plant grows in tufts, and attains a height of 18 inches. Its strong roots penetrate deeply, and enable it to thrive in almost all classes of soil, from a heavy clay to almost pure sand. It resists drought and heat Sheep s Burnet (Poterium sanguisorba). wonderfully well, and when eaten down quickly throws up fresh shoots. Sheep eat it greedily, and rapidly put on flesh when fed on it. A heavy yield is produced, and it remains green throughout the year. The seeds are produced freely, and germinate easily. It is well worth extended cultivation to provide grazing for either pigs or sheep, particularly so as its permanent character makes it an inexpensive crop to grow. Millefoil (Achillea millefolium).—A perennial forage plant, which produces a fair amount of fodder under favourable conditions. In dry seasons it gives a good growth in early spring, and dries off during the summer until the autumn, when it recovers, and gives a fair crop. It is a suitable crop for grazing to sheep, and dees well on poor soil. Feb. 3, 1908.] Agriculiural Gazette of N.S.W. 127 Tat Housrt SPARROW IN NEw SoutH WALES. (Continued from December, 1907, page 917. ] C. T. MUSSON: As to sparrows destroyed through the agency of sparrow clubs and action of socreties, A considerable amount of good work has been done, but the efforts have been spasmodic and wanting in uniformity. Trapping is resorted to where there are sparrow clubs. A number of societies have for some years given prizes for eggs and heads with satisfactory results. One society (Hawkesbury district) last year held a sparrow crusade, poisoning a considerable number. Large numbers of birds have been destroyed, and the success attained points to a still greater success that would certainly attend an organised general crusade. As to the prevailing sentiment with respect to the sparrow, The bird is universally condemned. As to suggestions received, These probably cover the whole conceivable range of the subject, and can be roughly epitomised as follows :— The authorities to take the matter in hand. The societies to take the matter in hand. Bonus to be given, Regular crusade should be organised. The authorities to advise best means ; societies and individuals to varry out the details. Killing the fledged young is the best method of taking advantage of the usefulness of the sparrow, and at the same time checking its ravages amongst grain. Conclusions arrived at. The sparrow is widely distributed ; it is here to stay, and has to be reckoned with as a rapidly-increasing enemy to be combated before it becomes too oppressive in its detrimental action. It certainly does good in destroying insects. A service which cannot be calculated and is frequently overlooked. The damage done far outweighs the good, probably as 8 to 2. Damage is greatest when the pest is present in numbers. The sparrow was of no serious importance as a pest prior to 1890. It is only within the last ten years it has spread widely and increased so much as to become a serious pest. On large areas with sparse population we have ditticulties in dealing with the bird not found where areas are smaller and population denser. It has spread beyond the Darling, and is found in the dry western country as far as Milparinka. It has become a menace to the agricultural industry and to fruit growers, and should be promptly checked. 128 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Feb. 3, 1908. It is a scavenger in towns, which form the centres from which the neigh- bouring country is invaded. Round buildings it accumulates filth and is a means of contaminating the water supply. In pastoral districts the bird gives little trouble. [t is in the farm the bird causes most loss. Tt has spread mainly along the railways and roads, There is no universal remedy which will get rid of the Sparrow, Kxtermination is impossible. Prevention of increase is possible, as also is reduction in numbers. Bounty laws have not been a success elsewhere and are hardly likely to be so here. The Sparrow always nests close to the habitations of man. The Sparrow needs to be reduced in numbers and kept in check. We must look to the individual to carry out the necessary work, This can only be carried out by organised, united, and persistent effort renewed each year. Every year this matter is left the birds will increase enormously, and probably the required Jabour and expense to be incurred in fighting them will be largely augmented. There are signs that in the not very distant future a fresh “ Balance of Nature” will be arrived at in this country in relation to the Sparrow and its present want of natural checks. This position has, according to a writer in the Scientific American, apparently arrived in the United States; largely brought about there by the native flesh-eating birds, the Hawks and Owls. We should, however, do everything in our power to encourage the birds of prey likely to make use of the Sparrow as food. None of the small Hawks should be destroyed, nor should the Butcher Bird. They have only been destroyed in the past through a misunderstanding as to the nature of their food ; they may do a little harm but they do a very large amount of good. We cannot affurd to wait for this possible and probable course of events as the damage increases with the number of Sparrows. With the expenditure of a litt'e time and money, carried out on co-operative lines, the local agricultural and related societies supplying the machinery, it is quite possible to bring the pest within reasonable bounds during the next few years. The experience of our local: society has shown that with one effort, carried out at a bad time of the year for the purpose, the numbers can he considerably reduced. Without doing anything else, prevention of breed- ing would alone answer the general purpose in view: the situations in which they breed admit ef this being done. Everything points to two lines of work as likely to give the best results if anything is to be done at all lL. Prevent them breeding. 2. Reduce them in number by poisoning and shooting. Tf the former is carried out, they will become reduced in number gradually through t'e operation of natural agencies. Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 129 Tf these two methods were carried out thoroughly for three or four seasous there would be no Sparrow pest worth mentioning ; and a little timely work in looking after the breeding haunts would, in preventing the production of young, stop any great increase for the immediate future. Introduction of Foreign Birds. With regard to the indiscriminate introduction of birds to this country, a suggestion was once made to us (February, 1905) “that a little green bird (a nice whistler) from Hongkong, whose food is the moth (/), should be introduced here as likely to be of use in keeping down Codling Moth.” Without knowing something about the habits of any bird in its native home, it would be folly to introduce it into a new home ; for it might prove to be of no real use and perhaps a positive pest. In New South Wales, under the Stock Act, there is no restriction placed on the introduction of foreign birds. For regulations, &c., as to importation of other animals, see page 41, Stock Act. The Birds Protection Act gives no protection to Sparrows or Starlings. Originally Starlings were protected, but the protection was removed under Gaze/te notice 17th February, 1905. Native Birds sufficient as Insect-checks. We do not need the sparrow as an insect-destroyer. The native birds are numerous as to species and also as individuals, and are quite sufficient for our needs. The available feeding-grounds are admirably divided amongst the different groups: the ground providing food for many, others attending to the bark of trees ; others, again, to the leaves and lesser twigs ; whilst flying insects are mainly looked after by fly-catchers. Small plants, as vegetables, are attended to by certain of the ground-feeders, as the Chats, also some of the Tits (Yellow-tail) and the Silver Eye. The customary food habits are varied at times for change of food, much to our annoyxnce ; for instance, in the case of the Silver Eye. The small birds should be encouraged and attracted under all circumstances, by not shooting or disturbing them, and by providing occasional food and a water supply. At the times when they are likely to be destructive we must watch them and drive them away. Generali Suggestions with regard to the Sparrow. Certain matters need to be strongly emphasized here if there is to be any effort made to reduce in numbers this increasing pest. Circumstances in this country are such as to allow it to increase to enormous proportions. — It has entered into a position here with tremendous possibilities before it in respect of space, food, sparse population, and absence of enemies for the present. We cannot afford to wait until such time, if ever it arrives, when our native flesh-eating birds have come to the front and, as in other countries, act as a sufficient check ; it takes time for them to become accustomed to a new article of food. It is difficult to give any idea as to what the bird will breed up to if left alone for another five years. Let us assume that with us each breeding pair raises sixteen young ina year, and that these are half males and half females ; 130 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Feb. 3, 1908. this is, perhaps, understating the case, but will sufficiently answer our purpose. There would be at the end of five years as the result of a single pair, if all the progeny lived, over 64,000 breeding pairs. There are, however, losses from natural causes, which reduce the numbers very much, and which make any calculations purely speculative. If left alone we can be sure there must be énermous increase, and it may be taken that they are now increasing four or fivefold each year. Under an annual crusade, at the end of two years the number of Sparrows in existence would probably be about the same as at present ; if continued there would be a slight annual decrease. The following general suggestions given merely in outline may be taken to be the outcome of this investigation as to the position of the Sparrow in relation to producers in New South Wales. They indicate just what would be likely to produce the desired result if persevered in, moreover they form an essential part of a general crusade against the Sparrow, which should culminate each year ina systematic winter campaign, as will be outlined below. Recommendations as to what it rs considered should be our policy with regard to the Sparrow. 1. It seems desirable that the importation of birds and other animals into New South Wales should be absolutely prohibited, except under strict supervision, Noxious birds or other animals should not be permitted to be moved from one part of the State to another. Power should be given to some authority (the Under Secretary for Agriculture?) to determine the advisability of admitting, or otherwise, any bird or other animal, their eggs, or young. 2. It should be a punishable offence to import into the State, or introduce to any new locality, any prohibited bird or other animal. > 3. It should Le a part of the duty of the Inspectors of Nuisances in towns, of the Police and any other officers appointed for the purpose to see that Sparrows are not allowed to breed about premises. Municipalities should have power to prosecute, and there should be a fine inflicted upon any person not complying with the regulations. The same plan should be adopted by the local authorities under any Local Government Act. 4. Householders should be compelled by the local authorities to carry out reasonable means for preventing sparrows nesting and rearing young. The same provision should be carried out by Station-masters and all persons in charge of buildings of all descriptions. 5. All Agricultural, Pastoral, and Horticultural Societies receiving a grant of money from Government should be compelled to spend not less than (7 £10) per annum in fighting the pest, by offering prizes for eggs and heads, or in some other suitable way. Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 13¢ 6. Such societies should make it a part of their regular yearly work 1. To offer prizes for eggs and heads. 55 2. To organise the members into actively fighting the Sparrow in some recognised uniform manner, chiefly by means of a yearly winter crusade and by destruction of nests, 7. It should be a part of the curriculum in all schools, in connection with Nature study, to instruct scholars as to the life history, good and evil deeds of the common animals, especially instilling into young minds the necessity of following up this knowledge by “protecting the useful” and “destroying the noxious.” Much can be done by encouraging “the boy” to a lifelong Sparrow war. This trouble is largely a matter of education. There shouid be a “ Bird Day” in all schools, and special instruction, looking to the desired end, 8. Every effort should be made to prevent the Sparrow from making good a footing in any district at present unoccupied, or where a few are present. In the early days of its settlement it should be pursued re'entlessly until exterminated, an end that can in such cases be attained. Suggestions in detail, more particularly for the man interested. The Sparrow is a cunning and wary bird, which learns to avoid poisoned food and traps after a few have tried them and succumbed. We must, there- fore, meet cunning with cunning and endeavour to present things to him in such a way that they do not look like “preparation,” but as natural as possible. Eyery grower who is interested in the subject—and there can be but few who are not sufferers in one way or another—should help the matter on, by urging his local society to take the matter up and organise a systematic plan of operations for the district. When this is done, everyone should join in the matter heartily, carry out the instructions faithfully, and follow up the proceedings by undertaking such other suitable things on his own initiative as he is able to adopt, with the one end in view—destruction of the Sparrow. Most men only want to know what to do, and to see others do the same thing, when they will act hkewise. Destroy the nests and disturb the roosting-places.—Proltably, the best result in any Sparrow crusade will be attained by regularly and systematically preventing the Sparrow from building ; or, where nests are found, allowing the eggs to hatch and then destroying the young; the latter is the better plan. It is believed that, in the fact that the Sparrow never nests far from build- ings, lies the key to the whole question of preventing increase in this pest. The nests are always close at hand ; the only requirement is never to let the young get away. A hook of bent wire attached to a bamboo makes a useful instrument for destroying the nests. The offering of prizes at local shows is a great inducement to this particular end. nia} 4 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Feb. 3, 1908. To prevent sown seed trom being takeu, dip it, before planting, in tar water, afterwards drying it. One pound of tar steeped in boiling water overnight, znd made up to 25 gailons, should be strong enough. Another plan is to moisten the seed with water and sprinkle on it powdered red lead, stirring it until well coated, drying it before use. Still another plan is to sprinkle the seed with kerosene. Seed-beds and small vegetable plots can be protected by wire-netting, bit this is expensive as is also the netting of trees. An old-fashioned but successful method for protecting seed-beds is to stretch fine white twine or cotton across them, tying bits of paper or feathers on them to make a scare. The gun is a great help, as it frightens birds away. Naturally enough it is necessary to keep any “scare” going all day as long as the danger lasts. “Scare boys” are employed in England and elsewhere, always moving aroun | the crop with loud-sounding wooden eclappers. Poisoning, when adopted, should be carefully planned, and everything done to prevent dead birds from contaminating water supply, to prevent poultry from taking the poison, and to protect farm animals. The native birds suffer also. ‘This it is impossible to prevent where poison is spread in the paddocks ; but it is a serious matter to kill off the native useful birds, such as magpies. incourage the natural enemies.—Hawks, butcher birds, and even owls will take sparrows. The domestic cat is also a great enemy. Hedges should not be allowed to become dense, as if such be the case they make admirable harbours for the bird. We should use the sparrow as food, and encourage trapping or shooting for the purpose. OUTLINE FOR AN ORGANISED SPARROW CRUSADE. A general Sparrow crusade should be commenced at once. Success will entirely depend upon the hearty co-operation of every householder and every person suffering from the depredations of the Sparrow. This applies to town as well as country. On the Victorian border the plan would not result in such perman+nt good as elsewhere, unless it were carried out in the southern State contemporane- ously with us, for our side of the river would soon receive colonists again. The two operations—(1) prevention of breeding, and (2) winter poisoning must be carried out thoroughly and completely. All newspapers should be requested to print this outline in full at earliest convenience, and again at beginning and end of July, in order to give reminders t.. all interested. All Agricultural, Pastoral, and Horticultural societies are requested to tuke such steps as are necessary to secure the co-operation of their members in the general effort to check the bird. Municipal authorities should at the same time prevent the Sparrow from rearing young in parks or public places. Tf all join heartily in the crusade, success is assured, but action must be unanimous, and the work must be thoroughly done. Feb. 8, 1908.) Aaricultural Gazette of NSW. 13a Summer Campaign. To prevent increase in numbers. All hous: holders in the State are requested, in the interests of the State, to prevent Sparrows from rearing their young upon or near their premises. As the Sparrow never nests far from human habitations, this should not be a dithcult matter to accomplish. The bird usually builds under house roofs, in spouting, in dense hedges and trees, in ivy, and other protected places. The nests are large and easily found. The best plan is to let the parent birds hatch the eggs and feed the young for a week, then destroy the young before they can fly. The birds will rear other broods, often as many as four or five; these should be stopped in a similar way. Breeding is continuous from July to the end of summer. If this were properly cirried out, or even the nests destroyed before they could be made full use of, the bird would cease to increase in numbers. Boys might be encouraged to undertake much of the necessary work. Special inducements might be given by extending the system of giving | riz's for “heads” at the local shows. Better prizes should be offered for heads than eggs. This summer work should be followed up for two or even three years until the bird is completely under subjection, when the amount of work to prevent production of young would be reduced to a minimum, Winter Campaign. To reduce the number of those already in existence winter poisoning must be resorted to, August is probably the best month, as there is le-s food about for them then, The poison should be laid in such places as the Sparrows are likely to visit, where poultry are not likely to get at it, and far enough from any water supply to prevent dead birds from contaminating it. The special method adopted should be suited to the locality. If the area is baited with a little untreated grain for a few days before spreading the poisoned grain, the birds are likely to be less suspicious. There should be three poisonings, each one to be carried out on three sicvessive days at intervals of a fortnight. Convenient dates would be the last week in July, second and third weeks in August. A bushel of grain for each poisoning should be enough ; a third of it should be spread on the first three days of the week mentioned, in each case laying the grain in different places. For the three poisonings it would, perhaps, conduce to success if the character of the food is varied. Cracked corn, millet, or sorghum might le tried, say, one of them for the second poisoning. The most useful grain for the purpose is, undoubtedly, that which is mainly grown in the district where poison is laid. Speaking generally, wheat is the most convenient to operate with, most easily obtainable, and most readily used. Local circumstances may call for slight variations in the method. The important point is that all should poison at the same time. 134 |e |e | eel sg] as Slaq $828. o 2 q o 2 q a5 o = x ye BS Bales §\ryHea 2 a 3 E a a as Ea oe oO an) SueOlADH Sea & 9 ° en ® ° oo Ces ° Et a oO, 6 OSs Os oO PlOORS 3 Ss a roxas = ~T—) > a jee} = A jee] a = =r e jen] Pa fy (To FA As S ome 8 29°64 | 30°30 | 29°95 | 45°3 | 105°4| 73°29 | 72°15 | 36 95 59 168 8°259 6°636 17 98. | 31 | 6. | 14. | aaa. 28, | | | Mean rainfall Rainfall ‘eee -» 7 3 17_14 21 45 45 4 36 a! 149 points. for 15 years. Dates:.., 22° 7. 29! (15: S718 419 2) 228 Si 256 points. Thunderstorms, lst and 16th. rz N NE E SE S SW W NW ne. Geese, pda 56 a aanO ae Greatest daily range of temperature = 47°2°, on 14th. 95'°7 97°7 99:5 1054 97°1 96°8 1 1 aegibe 14 26 27 Days on which shade temperature rose above 95° = SumMMARY FoR 1907. Mean Shade Rainfail. Evaporation. | Temperature. inches. | inches, January er "? re ; 1°495 6°556 73°10 February... * ad 2°460 | 5146 72:08 March sate De els. 4270 | 4-006 67°32 April... zi " i 1790 37576 62°29 May 5. 2. ieee, or 595 | 2°113 55°S4 June ... vs es Bere ae bee 3° 000 | 1636 51°94 July ... = 067 1-900 48°21 August ie rf ase "285 2°769 52°24 September ... oar Sh Bat 165 | 4-886 59°13 October SpE 3 ai Sue 635 6°S77 66°03 November a Ry sat 1605 S174 67°90 December... ae be. 1-400 8:259 73 29 Mean, 17-742 | 55-898 62-44 Average annual rainfall for 27 years—30°357 inches. Mean yearly rainfall :—Highest, 1892 os .. 50°24 inches. Lowest, 1906 ese eee i7 Gimmes Mean yearly temperature :—Highest, 1902 sa) Oar lze Lowest, 1893... Se Oleic Yearly evaporation :—Highest, 1907... ir ... §5°S898 inches. Lowest, 1900... cs a 4350490" en, The rainfall for July, 1907, is the lowest recorded for any month. College records commenced January, 1893. W. MERVYN CARNE, Observer. Feb. 3, 1908. ] Agriculturai Gazette of N.S.W. Se CONCRETE FLOORS. A. BROOKS, Foreman of Works, Hawkesbury Agricultural College. Op bricks, blue metal, or sandstone broken to 14-inch or 2-inch gauge, clean sharp sand, Portland cement, and clean water are the necessary inaterials; a gauge-box, as shown in the illustration, made of boards, 12 inches deep, measuring 4 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. inside, is also required. This. is laid on a prepared platform of planks bedded flat and close together. Set the box on the platform, fill it with the stone, and again nearly half- full of sand; mix these together, then add one and a half bags or half a cask of cement, and mix all together dry, by turning over with shovels twice; then turn a third time, and while this is being done one man should sprinkle the water over from a watering-can; this heap should again be turned over, when any dry stuff should be wet as before. Care must be taken not to use too much water, as the concrete must not be sloppy; and after it is laid it should be hghtly rammed with a flat rammer, say 12 in. x 10 in. on the face. A Cheaper Concrete for such as Cow-bail or Pig-sty Floors. Spread and ram down to the required levels the dry stone or other ageregate to be used, which need not in this case be broken to any 1388 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | Leb. 3, 1908. particular gauge. Mix a batch of stone lime mortar, using three parts sand to one of unslaked lime. This may be made up by opening out the centre of the heap of sand and placing the unslaked fresh lime in the centre; then sprinkle enough water on to reduce the lime to a powder, add enough water to make it like milk, and gradually mix in the sand; knock the lot into a heap, cover with a little dry sand, and leave it stand for a week. Mix up this into a grout or liquid mortar, and pour it over the dry stones until all the spaces are filled in, and next day render or plaster the top off with a coat of cement mortar $ inch thick, ruled straight and trowelled hard. Rendering. This is the term given to the finishing coat applied to walls er floors, and is usually done with cement mortar made of two parts clean sand to one part Portland cement, worked together through a fine sieve before being wetted for use. Care should be taken not to wet up any more than ean be used within a half hour, as some cements set quickly (an indication they are not the best). Mixing and Laying Concrete Floors. A few hints as to how to mix and lay cement concrete, especially for such as pig-sty floors, may prove useful, and it is given here in the hope that it may be so. Laying concrete floors requires two distinct operations—first, laying and ramming (lightly) the concrete in position, and then rendering or top-dressing with cement-mortar mace of clean sand two parts to one part Portland cement, evenly laid aud trowelled hard to a smooth finish. Concrete that is to be so top-dressed must never be allowed to dry before the render- ing is put on, otherwise it will not adhere together, and uo floor should be laid in large areas, but in small, easily worked slabs, otherwise the floor is sure to crack in various directions. This is more likely with floors of less than 6 inches thick. To lay a concrete floor, say 12 ft. x 10 ft. and 4 inches thick, to be top-dressed (rendered) to a smooth finish, determine the height to the finished surface, and drive in pegs atthefour corners; withastraight- oe ¢ ei e on © : Co 8 nf 4 : ae Qe) > Csi aber pear rn edge or levelling rule, laid on the ine) top of these pegs, measure down and cut out the soil to a hard, even surface, using the spade or Sj) square-mouthed shovel only, 4 inches below the straight-edge in every direction. This will make room for aslab of concrete 4 inches 679 re —— thick all over. Then divide the area, say, into twelve squares of 3 ft. 4 in. x 3 ft., thus— : Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 139 From Nos. 1 to 12, and using boards 4 inches wide, with the upper edges straight, lay one from A to B and another from C to D, and drive pegs in the centre space behind them, as at e, ¢, ¢€; then using short boards 3 ft. 4 in. long, place them three on each side, as at F, F, F, and fix them in position with pegs as before. Note that these pegs are not to be in the spaces to be filled with concrete; it is sometimes necessary to have them so, but they must be removed, and the holes filed in with cement mortar as soon as possible. Having the concrete mixed, fill in slabs Nos. 1, 3, 9, and 11, keeping the surface lightly rammed down $ inch below the edges of the boards, to allow for the top-dressing. These should be allowed to set for, say, twenty-four hours, when the top may be finished off, trowelling hard with a steel trowel for a smooth face, or with a wood tloat or trowel if required for a rough face. Cut off the corners half V shape; then take up the short boards and place a strip of strong brown paper against the edges of the finished slabs; fill in Nos. 2, 4, 10, and 12, allow to set, and finish as before, then Nos. 5 and 7, then 6 and 8, and the floor is laid in twelve separate blocks that will, if the stuff has been properly mixed and a lberal amount of elbow-grease used, never crack or wear out. The quantities of material required for this floor would be— 1$ cubic yards stone, broken to 14-inch gauge ; ’ cubie yards clean sand ; 6 bags or two casks Portland cement. 140 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | Feb. 3, 1908. Qn the Chemical Composition of some Australian Wines. M. BLUNNO, Government Viticulturist, and L. A. MUSSO, Assistant to the Viticultural Braneh. Tue tables below refer to the analytical data of some of the Australian wines analysed under the Wine Adulteration Act, 1902, with the view of ascertain- ing whether they had been submitted to any illicit treatment. We are glad to say that the statement so often made of Australian wines, or ot New South Wales wines at any rate, being adulterated, has little if any foundation at all, in so far in one case only we found one sample of sherry, one of port, and another of sweet red, all sold by the same South Australian firm, which contained an undue amount of sodium chloride, viz., common salt, for which offence the firm in question was fined. Also in four samples of sweet wines recently analysed and not included in these tables we found an excess of alcohol, ranging from | to 5 per cent. of proof spirit above the limit of 35 per centum prescribed by the Act for sweet wines. It was not thought opportune to lay any information against the merchants concerned as it was obvious that the shght over-fortification was due to a mistake of calculation on the part of the wine-grower or of the merchant, who generally do not possess the knowledge or the apparatus for an exact estimation of the alcoholic strength of their wines and of the wine-spirit used for fortify- ing. That there couid be no malice in it is evident when considering that wine- spirit is not a cheap substance, and, therefore, no undue advantage would be gained by anyone to increase the alcoholic strength of wine, which would also raise the cost of production at a time when competition is rather keen. It is generally said that Australian wines are too acid, and the expression is as colloquial as it is misleading. There are two kinds of acidity in wines, one which is called fixed acidity, and is that which is naturally found in grapes, consisting of malic acid (apple acid), tartaric acid, and potassium acid tartrate; the other acidity is volatile and forms during and after fer- mentation of the grape juice. This volatile acidity is higher in wines the fermentation of which has been neglected, or where the article is not kept with all the diligence and skill such as the keeping of wines in casks or in bottles require. Volatile acidity in wines is mainly due to acetic acid ; with it smaller proportions are to be found of formic, propionic, butyric, valeric, caproic, and acids which are responsible for the nasty smell and taste of some wines. Volatile acids in wines are always the effect of secondary fermentations which take place while the alcoholic termentation is in process or after, and naturally implies the presence and growth of bacterial life. Not even the best of the world’s wines are exempt from traces of volatile acidity ; such traces are however so negligible that the trained palate, which is the finest analyser, fails to detect because the bouquet of said wines is so marked as to obliterate any contrasting organoleptic sensation. If is when Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS W 141 the volatile acidity from traces increases to appreciable proportions that the wine becomes more or less undrinkable. Some Australian wines, like all wines produced in hot climates, show a marked deficiency in fixed acids on account of the grapes being overripe when taken to the crusher. This deficiency is mainly responsible for the development and growth of those micro-organisms responsible for the volatile acidity, as they thrive l-ss in a medium with a higher degree of fixed acids. The hot weather prevailing at vintage and other factors referred to so often in the Gazette, enhance the activity of those germs, which by their multiplication encroach on the alcoholic yeast. It is safe to say when tasting a bad Australian wine that its fixed acidity is relatively low and the volatile is high. Wines of this kind are thea thought by people as having been adulterated, when really those wines are genuine and pure, only they have been badly made or badly looked after. Those are the wines that, relatively few as they may be, discredit the New South Wales vintages, and as the mass of people in general is not apt to discriminate, a wholesale condemnation ensues. In the wine-drinking countries of Europe a limit as to the amount of volatile acidity tolerated in wine is fixed by law, and the same should be done here by opportanely amending the Wine Adulteration Act, 1902. By doing this the sale of unsound wines, even if unadulterated, would be prohibited, and only a wholesome and palatable article would be found on the market. New South Wales wines have all the nourishing qualities of European wines. The proportion of ashes, viz., mineral matter, is from fair to good, and com- pares very favourably with any of the old-world vintage. The quantity of phosphoric acid is normal ; the average quantity of sulphates is about ‘6 per thousand cubic centimetres, therefore always far below the limit prescribed by the law ; while Algerian, Spanish, and Portuguese wines often contain an undue amount of acid potassium sulphate on account of the old and unjusti- fiable practice of adding gypsum t» the must during fermentation —still pursued by many growers in those countries. Boron is normal in Australian wines as in those of various other countries ; but its proportion is so small that no person could make a point of it and elude the law if using boracic acid as a preservative. This State’s wines contain also iron and manganese in propor- tion considered by the medical science sutticient to act beneficially. We have only made qualitative tests of the iron. Its presence in the New South Wales wines did not surprise us, as most wines contain it, but we were pleased to discover manganese as well, which we always found whenever looked for and determined quantitatively when in appreciable proportions. We showed Dr. Th. Fiaschi the data relative to manganese found in the wines of New South Wales and that gentleman expressed the opinion that they represented the proportions administered for therapeutic purposes. Por a long time it has been and it is still considered that irom and manganese are found in wine in a state of chemical combination that makes the two elements assimilable by the human system, and that state of combination, so it is believed by many medical authorities, has not yet been reproduced by any pharmaceutical preparation. ‘q'W—uoes aod sureas ce oq otgty dod ous F MUL S,09R9g SIU) AopUN St ALU OUT, « | < | | SLST | > Bywagsny yynog 96 OT |" *F ‘ POY JAMS . | | eS | | | | [ele (G\eS2eGr|( eae PLL 8.2L i ee x2 " = | | | GF. | Seow | 28.1 SL2L |" . 55 gaint = | | ee | a SUSI sae ete > | | gue | es 6 . pay Jang | GLE (exo LAY) ba ee -' : Apuns.ng ae) | | meee | ie OL |" of Se Wd @ 16 Ga OLtL |° A : a Journey < | | 00-8 | “iT 86-91 | o SGU Ry Sel | Sao | | 6 | Leet pe | LLL ve OIA WANG “. .* ae wo. 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AuStao jo aqvys Ais Bm |S") 2 |ssk|/2eh | Ser ikeng, ” | os a B° GeSslabee 8 Bon epee x00 280Hs Pp aw ec o> &, nae rss fx} be oo | PRES as) ro} oD ® 4 Sy mee) a7) noe oa 7 on ass 2 = ae a Ae 2s > SS a ar es wis eos eS 5. “50 =| iS} or Oe aeons ets PP. n é | Bie Bar Ee 5 5S 5 rales 5 iS Sai ep eas z e Dien ‘ ow Dea = aq oyu 5 5 o Dino i = | o (Okie | 3 D ay ' rye o i) | | os eo z | E : ~ Pp g GB ‘ *PanwezUoI—Ssoaul | A UBTTBMSNY duos JO BBBCT TVOILATYNY 146 Agricuttural Gazetle of N.S.W. | Feb. 3, 1908. A Mammoth Poultry Farm G. BRADSHAW. INTRODUCTION. THe following letter lately appeared in a weekly paper from one of its correspondents ae Ne fruit-grower comes and stavs and prospers, the small general farmer comes and stays, even if he does not always prosper, but the poultry-farmer comes and goes. His wire-netting is left to hang Fig. 1.—A corner in the rearing ground. useless from its supports, and his incubators go to swell the lumber of the auction room. It is doubtful if 10 per cent. of those who start poultry farming continue in the industry for more than one year, or perhaps two.” The above is not a lengthy communication, still it contains some truths, and a good deal apparently so, but all uncomplimentary to the poultry industry. However, without straining a point, every reflection is capable of explanation. Feb. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IV. 47 Concerning the fruit-grower coming, staying, and prospering, it 1 very well known that whether for the amount of cash and labour lost in the respective industries, or a putting of the abandoned orchards in county Cumberland against the poultry farms which once were, fruit- erowing has suffered most. The proprietor of the poultry farm which forms the subject of this paper was a practical market- gardener and fruit- grower, with a few fowls as a side issue ; the possibilities, how- ever, for profit from the latter were such that there was a gradual evolution from cherries to chickens, onions to Orpingtons, lettuce to Leghorns, and man- darins to Muscovies, Fig. 2.Big responsibilities, the mixed farm ulti- mately disappearing in favour of a farm of fowls, a permanent one, the largest, and from every point of view one of the most successful in the Common- wealth. A further testimony, too, in relation to the profitableness of the poultry industry in comparison with the one to which the correspondent attaches prosperity, is the fact thit independent of our very large consump- tion of poultry and eggs, the small farms and other holdings in the Com- monwealth are able to produce enongh for all our demands, there being but a couple of hundred pounds of differ- ence between the imports to Aus- tralia and the exports to other countries, while coming to the fruit, the imports of fresh, dried, canned, and otherwise preserved exceed out OTR GEES — exports by hundreds ot thousands of Rig. 5-- ust aut, pounds annually. From these facts it must not be supposed I am desirous of placing one industry against the other, but rather to give facts and figures to discount the condemnatory terms in which poultry breeding is frequently referred to. I should here say that the subject of this paper is a poultry farm pure and simple—that is, there is no other stock or article produced on the place for profit beyond eggs and meat—yet, despite what I know of the profitableness of the place, that is no reason for those lacking experience 148 ; ... W. Baldwin 3 en Wie Ge weediet.. , ao Wi HH. Reading %.. _ Glen Innes and Central New England P. ana ie Ass. Geo. A. Priest . Geo. Lindsay K. W. Figures Clifford Moseley ... . Perey Smith Thos. Dick .. EK, J. Dann .. Edward Rye . E. O. Hincksman.. ek Kennelly . EK. Weeks... ... C. T. Clifton ... A. Elworthy ... J. Mellveen . J. R. Wood Cc. J. H. King . John Jeffery aie Lanner . A. J. Colley . Feb. 29 bi) 99 99 oP bo fer) ~I ow tw wh w 2) bo c=) iw) =I 2] e) i) ~jI ~-J ~ . Go “1 So On ~I od 10, 11 10, 11, 12 10, 11, 12 11, 12 11, 12 12, 13 12, 13 12, 13 17, 18 18, 19 178 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Feb. 8, 1908. Society. Secretary. Date. Clarence P. and A. Society, Grafton ... . Thos. Bawden ... Apl.1, 2 Durham A. and H. Association (Dungog) —... ... C, E. Grant non or ep Warialda P. and A. Association = Lee SWB Geddesi .3) 5;. 15 2520 Bathurst A., H., and P.... Br & ae a WG. Dhompson:. 5, lee2io Walcha P. and A. Association ... S nee ... &. Hargraves ae eb Campbelltown A., H., and I. Society ... ae ... Fred. Sheather oe fepte: Lower Clarence A. Society, Maclean ... - .' @. Davis ... Are inte! Moree P. and A. Society... wae ates Me: Pe Da. Kirby. 54 Ue Mudgee A. Society o ion ca us ... H. Lamerton he Cooma P. and A. Association... she Ht ceeiC@ord.., Walmsley. accu moomosne Upper Hunter P. and A. Association (Muswellbrook) Pierce Healy FS 189 LO Upper Manning A., P., and H. Ass. ... Ss we D. Stewart, jun... ss os L0 The Royal Agricultural Society of N.S.W. ... EM somer *- <5) 55°) L4eto.22 Dubbo P. A. and H. Association ie aA ... F. Weston cee MY Oss The Central Australian P. and A. Ass., Bourke eG Wiel] 5) 203.21 Nyngan and District P. and A. Association ... com Re Eee A Ly neierta sec eo New South Wales Sheep Breeders’ Association . A. H. Prince ... June 24 to 27 Deniliquin P. and A. Society... an ite ... L. Harrison ... July 18, 19 Forbes P., A., and H. Association 2 a . NWA. Read. ... Aug. 12, 13 Murrumbidgee P. and A. Association ... ae i MALSB. De White san. os5,28 205 20ner Young P. and A. Association... ee. a .. GS. Whiteman... ,, 8, 9, 10 Germanton P. and A. Society ... “Ge ae ... J. Stewart »weps. 95 10 Cootamundra A., P., H., and I. Association ... ve Le Walliams elon 6 INFORMATION INVITED FROM WHEAT-GROWERS. Tue Wheat Experimentalist of the Agricultural Department is desirous of obtaining some definite data as to the minimum amount of rain required in different districts to produce a profitable crop of wheat under farmers’ conditions. Last season being unfavourable generally, would appear to be a suitable period for furnishing such information, and the Minister for Agriculture invites such of our readers who are wheat-growers, and have kept rainfall records, to assist the Department by furnishing the following details with regard to the different areas cropped—(1) Area harvested, (2) total yield, (3) variety of wheat, (4) date planted, (5) date harvested, (6) how harvested, (7) details of rainfall during the year, (8) any other information likely to be of interest. The particulars should be sent as early as convenient to the Director of Agriculture. Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. Feb. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [ ADVERTISEMENT. | I Government Stud Bulls available for lease, or for service at State Farms. Breed. Name of Bull. Sire. Dam. | Stationed at— | Lease expires 1 ) Shorthorn x | March Pansy ...| Earl March Australian | Grafton Farm Pansy ag Dora’s Boy __...| Cornish Boy ...| Lady Dora Berry Stud Farm.. a ae Royalty Royal Duke II..} Plush Cumbalu 30 June, 708. Pansy Duke Dora’s Showman) Thessalian II ... ...| Colleen’s Golden Lad. ..| Golden Lord 29 Guernsey 29 Red Poll Ayrshire Kerry. 20 rs Dexter Kerry Holstein ” | i * Available for service only at the Farm where stationed. .| Gentle Prince ... ...| The Admiral ...| ...| Peter’s Lad ..| Saucy Prince ... .... Prince Milford. . | ... Vivid’s Prince... | Prince Edward.. Dairyman . The Judge Don Juan .| Royal Prince .. | Bratha’s Boy ... Erebus ... : Waterville Punch. . The Hague ...| Obbe II | Golden King ... Earl March Showboy Thessalian Melbourne Rose Prince Hawkes Bay Peter Rose Prince Rose Prince Rose Prince Rose Prince Dandy ... Barrister General... Curly Prince Aicme Chin Hottentot President Obbe Pansy 4th Lady Dora I Egyptian Princess Colleen Colleen Gentle Vivid... Souvenir... Saucy Sal .. Flaxy Vivid Vivid Turban Lovely 8th ... Judy 9th Rosie 5th Bratha 4th Marguerite ... La Shrapnel... Wollongbar Farm. Alston ville Wagga Exp. Farm ’ ’ Ballina . | Gladstone | Burringbar | Pambula ... --.| H.A.College, Richmond Wollongbar Farm. | Coraki Grafton Farm Berry Farm ...| Bathurst Farm ... Wollongbar Farm. | =| Glen Innes Farm... Eastwood... | Grafton Farm | * WwW | .| LolkjeVeeman/H.A. College, Richmond Berry Stud Farm.. * 6 June, 708. * * 3 July, 708. 22 Feb., 708. .| 20 June, 08. 19 June, 08. « * 21 April, ’08. * + Available for lease, or for service at the Farm. Regulations under which the Government Stud Bulls are leased. be at the rate of 2s. 6d. (two shillings and sixpence) per cow. Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney, lst July, 1903. 1. Any Agricultural Society, Dairy Farmer, or a combination of Dairy Farmers, may, should the Minister deem it advisable, obtain the hire of one of the Government stud bulls for a period of six months if they guarantee payment for the service of thirty cows, or for shorter periods on special terms. 2. The fee, which shall be payable in advance, shall be at the rate of 5s. (five shillings) per cow for all bulls save Dexter-Kerries, and their fee shall no case be forwarded until the fees have been received. G Bulls will in IL Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IV. [ Feb. 3, 1908. 3. Bulls leased will be transferred free of charge to any place not more than 100 miles by rail from the place from which they are transferred ; to any place distant more than 100 miles by rail, lease will be granted only on condition that the lessee pays all charges for the extra distance over 100 miles. In the case of bulls sent by sea, or partly by rail and partly by sea, all expense over the sum of £1 (one pound) must be borne by the lessee. The lessee must make all arrangements for, and bear all expense of, transferring a bull from the nearest railway station or port to the place where it is to be stationed. In the case of leasing a bull already stationed within the district, the new lessee must send for the bull and bear the expense of removal. 4. A condition of the leasing of the bulls shall be that the farming public be allowed to send cows to the bull at a fee of not more than 10s. (ten shillirgs) per cow, provided the bull’s list is not already full, but the total number of cows served must not be more than thirty for six months. 5. Each bull shali be treated and kept in a condition to satisfy the Depart- ment, and shall be at all times open to inspection of authorised Officers of the Department. 6. A return showing the number of cows served, and distinguishing between cows owned by those to whom the bull is leased and the outside public, shall be sent to the Department at the end of the term. 7. All due care must be taken to see that the bull shall not have access to cows suffering from any infectious disease, special attention being given to pleuro-pneumonia and tuberculosis. 8. No farmer who is known to have pleuro-pneumonia in his herd shall be permitted to send cows to any of these bulls within three months from the date of the last outbreak. 9. In case of illness of a bull the Department shall be immediately informed 10. The bull shall not be allowed to run with cows, but shall be kept in a special bull paddock, which must be well fenced, and each cow ‘in use” shall only be allowed to remain with the bull such time as will enable him to have connection with her twice. However, where necessary, in order to keep bulls quiet, special permission may be given to run with one or two specially- selected healthy cows. 11. Should any of the foregoing rules not be complied with, the Depart- ment shall have the right to remove the bulls at once, and all fees paid shall be forfeited. 12. Should a bull be wilfully neglected or badly treated, or Rule 10 be broken, the Department shall have the right to take any action desirable for the recovery of damages. 13. All applications for bulls should be made to the Director of Agricul- ture, Department of Agriculture, Sydney. AGREEMENT CLAUSE. In consideration of the loan of one Stud Bull ( ) for a period of I, of do hereby agree to be bound by the conditions expressed in the foregoing Regulations. Dated this day of 190 Witness, — Lessee. Jaks | Duty Stamp. | N.B.—This agreement must be signed on the day the bull is received by the lessee, and | One Shilling. | is to be returned by first post to the Director of Agriculture 227i UN) cM = Faun Vol, XIX Pah S. AL ) AGRIC 2 =e f UN UI i / ; oy } ae: | ae , LZ “ ps cal ! : Hate nok - a (0 a Pe Wii ( ml ul oT Pats ntyat) silt Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper Price SIXPEN@GE. Vol. XIX, Part —3, MARCH 2, 1908. Pee eo Ula hk AB Gael Vs OF NEW SOUTH*WAEES. Issued by Direction of tie ewON JOn PERRY, Mee. MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE. F. G. CHOMLEY, Sub-Editor. Hy Authority : SyDNEY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER —_ 1908. *14481 (a) II Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. It is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Acw South GHales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same tn separate pamphlet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. CONTENTS: ForEstRY— Some Practical Notes on Forestry suitable for New South Wales J, H. Maiden PoTATOES te ee ee Re ate 2.1 Rs EH Gennys Notes on Humus, AND THE Best MBFANS OF SUPPLYING IT F. B. Guthrie KNOTS; <2 Se sae a2 sa ate ...F. G. Chomley THE INFLUENCE OF BEES ON CROPS ... ee ... Albert Gale DiIsEASES OF FowLs ... pe ugk a .-,. G- Bradshaw TRRIGATION witH HousEHOLD Waste WATER i H. Selkirk Proaress Report From Mr. W. W. FrocGaTt THe Bot-Fiy (Gasterophilus equi)... oa W. W. Froggatt THe WeeEpbs oF New SoutH WaALES— A Tumble-weed (Amaruntus albus, L.), with Coloured Plate J. H. Maiden WINE-MAKING ... Ga See ae ee ae M. Blunno KANSAS AND HER ALFALFA (LUCERNE) a ... F. D. Coburn How to UtiILis— THE SURPLUS ORANGE CROP at M. Blunno ArricaN WonbDeER Grass (Panicum spectabile) .... B. Harrison HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENTAL FARM— Silo on a Hill-side : How to Construct WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING JANUARY, 1908 ihe S. Wilson THe NeEpLewoop (/akea leucoptera) SEASONABLE Notes aa coe a i a Geo. L. Sutton PAGE, 234 235 240) 242 243: IV Agriculturak Gazette of NSH. MontTHiy WeEaTtHER REPORT— Hawkesbury Agricultural Colleg EXPoRT OF ORANGES, 1907 OrcHARD NOTES Farm Nores Hawkesbury District Glen Innes District AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHows ADVERTISEMENTS— Rams, Boars, and Turkeys for sale. e em Gs t yj 7 . | Lar. 2, Mervyn Carne W. J. Allen W. J. Allen H. W. Potts R. H. Gennys Government Stud Bulls available for lease or for service at State Farms. Regulations under which Bulls are leased. Pure-bred Pigs for Sale at Newington Asylum. Dairy Bulls for sale at Berry Stud Farm. 1908. PAGE, bo ON Qe WOle XX... PART :3; MARCH 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Forestry. Some PracticaL Notes on FOrESTRY SUITABLE FOR NEW SoutH WALES. [Continued from page 8. ] J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. XV II—continued. Conifers. EX; (15.) P. longifolia, Roxb. “ Emodi Pine.” Himalaya, India. A tall tree, remarkable for its beautiful, long, pendulous leaves. It does fairly well in the Sydney district, and should be well tried in the coastal districts and eastern slopes. L 17, 29, 35 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (16.) P. Alassoniana, Lambert. China. Timber used for tea-boxes. This is a tree which does fairly well in the Sydney district, and if it be given a fair chance, with fair soil there is no doubt it will prove a useful Pine for New South Wales. L7 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (i7.) PB. mitis, Michx. (Syn. P. echinata, Miller.) ‘Short-leaved Pine.” “Soft-leaved Pine” (England), and “Yellow Pine” (United States’. Sargent, t. 587 (as P. echinata, Miller). Native of the Eastern United States, where it is widely diffused. [t yields a valuable timber, and has the merit of rapidly reafforesting worn-out fields, thus enabling a crop ot timber to be raised while the soil has an opportunity of recovering its fertility. Professor B. E. Fernow, the eminent exponent of forestry in the United States, speaks of this species as being one of the best pines of that country. For that reason it should well be tried in this State. It has been tried in Sydney and has not done well so far, but residents in the coldest districts should experiment with it. L 15 b (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (18.) P. Montezume, Lambert. The common Pine of the mountains and highlands of Mexico, between the 17th and 25th parallels of north latitude. It is a beautiful species, very distinct, tender in Britain and Ireland, and may be expected to flourish in many parts of New South Wales. It is not in the Sydney Botanic Gardens at present. A 180 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Uar. 2, 1908. Pinus longifolia, Roxb. State Nursery, Campbelltown. (19.) P. muricata, D. Don. ‘ Bishop’s Pine” (corruption of Obispo Pine). “ Prickle-coned Pine.” Sargent, tt. 585, 586. War. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 181 A maritime Pine tound wild only in the vicinity of the Californian coast exposed to the fogs and winds of the Pacific Ocean. Our experience shows that this Pine has not been a success in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. It is, however, worthy of additional experiments, and should be thoroughly tested along the South Coast. It is a small-leaved, dense-growing species, and its real value for New South Wales remains to be ascertained. (20.) P. palustris, Miller. ‘“Long-leaved Pine,” ‘Southern Pitch Pine,” <“Southern Yellow Pine,” ‘Yellow Broom Pine.” Sargent, tt. 589, 590. A medium sized or tall tree. Pinus palustris is almost the sole ingredient of the immense forests stretching unin- tecruptedly along the Atlantic seaboard from south-east Virginia to the Everglades in Florida, and also along the northern littoral of the Gulf of Mexico as far as Trinity Valley in South Texas. This belt, known in the United States as the Southern ‘* Pine Barrens,” varies from 80 to 125 miles in breadth in the Atlantic States, but is much narrower along the Gulf coast ; it is estimated to have once covered upwards of 130,000 square miles, an area greater than that of Great Britain and Ireland, and to have repre- sented an amount of wealth which, if properly husbanded, would have made the States of South Carolina and Georgia among the richest in the Union, But, ‘‘ invaded from every direction by the axe, a prey to fires which weaken the mature trees and destroy the tender saplings, wasted by the pasturage of domestic animals, and destroyed for the doubtful profits of the turpentine industry, the forests of Long-leaved Pines appear hopelessly doomed to lose their commercial importance at no distant day.” * , It is by far the most valuable Pine of the Atlantic States, and still the most abundant. It supplies nearly the whole of the turpentine, pitch, tar and resin of American commerce as well as for home consumption, and its timber is used for all sorts of constructive purposes, including ship-building, house carpentry, fencing, railway ties, ete. (Veitch’s Manual, p. 353.) See “Waste in Logging Southern Yellow Pine,” by J. Girvin Peters, Year-book, Dept. Agric. U.S.A., 1905. Prof. B. E. Fernow says it is one of the best Pines of the United States. It is too tender for Great Britain, and is a species well worthy of attention in coastal New South Wales. It promises well; for example, there is a fine specimen in the National Park, sent out by the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, and farther tests are being made in the Botanic Gardens. (21.) P. patula, Schiede. A large tree, native of Central Mexico. It is ‘“‘one of the most orna- mental of Pines,” rather tender for Great Britain, and should have more extensive trial here. Up to the present time it has shown itself a rather slow grower in the Sydney Botanic Gardens, but is fall of promise. It was distri- buted by the Sydney Botanic Gardens some years ago, but reports are not available as to results. L 32 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (22.) P. Pinaster, Sol. (Syn. P. maritima, Lam.). ‘Cluster Pine” or ‘¢ Maritime Pine.” South Europe and the Levant. Figured and described in Bentley and Trimen’s Wedicinal Plants, * Silva of North America, x1, 156. 182 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. An excellent Pine for sea-coast planting. It is the celebrated Pine of the “Landes” of South-western France, so extensively planted to reclaim the sand-dunes, and valuable because of the yield of Turpentine. This tree spreads spontaneously in the Sydney district. It is undoubtedly a valuable tree for the sandy coast districts. While very useful, it is, however, not one of the most ornamental species. L 30 (Sydney Botanie Gardens). (23.) P. pinea, L. ‘““Stone Pine.” The “ Parasol Pine” of the French, owing to the flat tops of mature tr es. Often called “ Umbrella Pine.” Pinus penea, L. State Nursery, Campbelltown. Var. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S IV. 183 Mediterranean region. This valuable tree does well in the Sydney district and in the coastal district generally. It attains a very large size, and is one of the Pines which is worthy of attention in any scheme of Australian forestry, involving artificial planting. Because of its flat top it is the most easily recognised of all Pines. U 3, L 29 a (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (24.) P. ponderosa, Dougl. ‘Western Yellow Pine.” “Bull Pine.” Sargent, tt. 560-64. The western Yellow Pine or Pinus ponderosa is the most widely distributed Pine-tree of the mountain forests of western North America, where it spreads from the interior of British Columbia from about latitude 57? N. southwards to Mexico and eastwards to northern Nebraska, the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and western Texas. Usually an inha bitant of dry elevated slopes, where it often forms open forests of great extent, it flourishes also on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in the c¢ omparativ ely humid climate of northern California, where it attains its largest size ; and in California it grows occasionally in wet and swampy ground. A tree of such enormous range over a region of so many different climates has naturally developed many forms, and no other American Pine-tree varies more in size and habit, in the character of the bark, length of leaves and size of cones. Sometimes it is 250 feet high, with a trunk 12 feet i in diameter, covered with bright « cinnamon-red bark broken into great plates ; sometimes it attains with a difficulty a “height of 50 feet, and its bark is nearly black and deeply furrowed. Such variations in the character of the bark are not always due to climate, and individuals with the red bark of the Californian tree and the black bark of the inhabitant of the arid slopes of the Colorado mountains stand side by side in northern Arizona, to the discouragement of the botanist anxious to understand this tree and the causes of its variations. One hundred photographs would not be too many to illustrate the appearance of Pinus ponderosa in the different parts of the country which it inhabits; and an attempt to describe the different forms with any words at our command would be hopeless. (Veitch’s Manual, pp. 364-5.) Prof. B. E. Fernow says that this is one of the best timber Pines of the United States, and that it is well adapted to dry, windy, exposed places. It is evidently a hardy Pine. This is a species not a great success in Sydney, but hardy in many parts of Britain, but I recommend seed for New South Wales to be, as far as possible, obtained from Californian trees. The wood of Pinus ponderosa varies greatly in quality, strength and durability in different parts of the region over which it is distributed ; the wood of the western tree is heavy, hard, strong, and fine-grained, but not durable in contact with the soil. (Veiteh’s Manual, p. 366). See also “Forest Planting Leaflet,” Forest Service Circular 72, U.S. Dept. Agriculture. L. 30 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). Var. Jeffreyi (P. Jeffreyi, Murr.) “ Jeffrey Pine.” California. See Gard. Chron. 1889, v. 361, f. 65. Distinguished in Oregon from the typical Pinus ponderosa by its more pungently aromatic resinous secretions, its stiffer and more elastic leaves, persistent for a longer time ; its yellow-green Hovis flowers, and its larger cones, armed with stronger reflexed prickles. (Veitch’s Manual, p. 364.) On the mountain above the Yosemite Valley is a wonderful forest of Pine-trees, com- posed of P. ponderosa var. Jefreyi; the trees stand sometimes close together, sometimes at a considerable distance apart ; they are often 250 to 300 feet high, their massive trunks 10 to 12 feet in diameter, and free of branches, except near the “top of the tree. There are not many things more impressive or more beautiful than these trunks ; the bark is excessively thick, and broken by deep fissures into great armour-like plates, across which the sunlight, as it flickers down through the “scanty canopy above, casts long shadows. (Veitch’s Manual, p. 366.) 184 = Agricultural Gazette of N.S IV. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Pinus ponderosa, Dougl. State Nursery, Campbelltown. Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 185 Prof. B. E. Fernow says this is a second-class Pine in the United States. We have had but limited experience of this Pine in Sydney, but sufficient to show that it will thrive here, and it can be recommended for a thorough trial. It does fairly well at Campbelltown. (25.) P. pyrenaica, Lapeyrouse. The ‘“ Pyreneean Pine.” The geographical range of Pinus pyrenaica may be stated in general terms to extend through the Mediterranean region, from the Pyrenees to the Levant and Asia Minor, whence it spreads eastwards through northern Persia into Afghanistan as far as Herat.* It occurs on many of the mountain ranges throughout this region at altitudes of 2,000 to 6,000 feet. (Veitch’s Manual, p. 368.) This should be a useful Pine for New South Wales, not only for the Coast districts, but for considerable elevations on the Coast range. In Asia Minor, where it forms pure forests, it is much esteemed, not only as a timber tree, but also as a yielder of turpentine. (26.) P. radiata, Don. (Syn. P. insignis, Douglas.) The ‘ Monterey Pine,” of California. Sargent, tt. 573-4. A stately tree, of 80-100 feet. Pinus radiata inhabits a strip of coast-land in South California, extending for about 150 miles from Pescadero to San Simeon Bay, spreading inland only a few miles. It also grows in a peculiar form on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, of the Santa Barbara group of islets off the coast of South California, and in Guadalupe, off the coast of Lower California. The wood is light, soft, and brittle, and is used only for fuel.t (Veitch’s Manual, p. 370.) Pinus radiata is much cultivated in Australia and New Zealand, where its growth is still more rapid than in Great Britain. In South California it is planted for fixing the sand dunes (op. cit.). This is extensively known in New South Wales by its botanical name of P. insignis, but it must give way to that of P. radiata, which is two years older. It will not be easy to supplant the name P. insignis in favour of the rightful one. It is undoubtedly a most useful Pine, beiug hardy in many climates and soils, and a rapid grower. It is, hence, often grown for shelter and ornament. A drawback is its liability to sudden death. It has been attacked, in recent years, by the same Coccid which has destroyed P. halepensis, but P. radiaty has a stronger constitution than P. halepensis in the coast districts, and hence has not suffered much. L 8, 15 b (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (27.) P. resinosa, Solander. ‘“ Red Pine.” ‘‘ Canadian Pine.” A tall tree, native of the North American continent between the 41st and 48th parallels. It is a useful timber tree, exuding much resin. In the neigh- bourhood of the North American lakes it thrives best in a dry, sandy soil It can only be expected to do best in cold localities. This is one of the best Pines of the United States according to Prof. B. E. Fernow, but he states that seed is difficult to obtain. [See Forest Planting Leaflet, United States Department Agriculture Forest Service, Circular 60. | We had it in the Sydney Botanic Gardens, but circumstances required its removal. It did moderately well, and it should be further exper imented with. It was not a handsome tree with us, but our experience of it is limited. * Boissier. Flora orientalis, v. 696. + Sargent, Silva of North America, xi, 104. 186 Agricultural Gazette of N.S IW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Pinus radiata, Don. (commonly known in N.S.W. as P. insiviis). State Nursery, Campbelltown. Mar. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 187 (28.). P. rigida, Mill. “ Pitch Pine.” This is one of the second-class Pines of the United States according to Prof. B. E. Fernow. It is not in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. It should be well tested in the colder districts. (29.) P. Sabiniana, Douglas. “ Digger or Bull Pine” of the United States ; “Nut Pine” (England). Sargent, tt. 569-70. A medium-sized tree, inhabiting the foot-hills of California, both uf the coast range and of the Sierra Nevada, almost throughout the entire length of the State from north to south, ascending in places on the latter to 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, but usually much lower. It is so unlike any other Pine in habit and aspect, that even amidst the luxuriant coniferous vegetation of California, it forms a distinct feature of the land- scape, appearing in the distance more like an Olive tree or a Willow than a Pine, Its loose and widely-branched habit, and its thin, grey, pendulous foliage tufted at the ends of its crooked, straygling branches, render the tree so pervious to light that it affords no shade, but, at the same time, clothes it with pale colouring so distinct that in the distance this Pine can be easily recognised amidst the darker surroundings. — (Ve/tch’s Manual, p. 376.) It yields a poor timber, but its large seeds are much esteemed as an article of food by the Indians. We have many localities in which this remarkable species may be expected to flourish. We had it in the Sydney Botanic Gardens for a number of years, and was rather a thin-foliaged plant with us. At the same time it should be further experimented with, (30.) P. sinensis, Lamb. Has never done well in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. It evidently requires a cooler climate and better soil than is available here. L 17 a (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (31.) P. strobus, L. “ White Pine” of the United States. See a valuable paper by Prof. B. E. Fernow in the “ Year-book of Agriculture ” (U.S.A.) for 1897, p. 645, where this tree is recommended as being one of the very best timber Pines in the United States. See also Forest Planting Leaflet, U.S. Dept. Agric., Forest Service, Circular 67. Not at present in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. Not a handsome species for the Sydney district, but should be well tried in the coldest localities. (32.) DP. sylvestris, L. The name “Scots Pine” has attached itself to this Pine. Figured and described in Bentley and Trimen’s Medicinal Plants. The Scots Pine has a greater geographical distribution than any other Pine, or even of any other species included in the Abietinee. With the exception of the southern portion of the Balkan peninsula, it is spread over the whole of Europe, including the British Islands, and in Asia it occurs throughout nearly the whole of that part of the continent comprised within the Russian dominions. (Vertch’s Manual, p. 380. ) See also Forest Planting Leaflet, U.S. Dept. Agric., Forest Service, Circular 68 It is a very valuable Pine for shelter, and also for the multifarious uses to which its timber is put. 188 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. (Mar. 2, 1908. It should flourish in the colder parts of New South Wales; the ordinary Scots Pine from northern Europe does not flourish in the coast districts. (33.) P. Tada, L. “ Loblolly Pine.” ‘Old Field Pine.” Figured and described in Bentley and Trimen’s Medicinal Flants. Pinus Twda is one of the most widely distributed of the Pines inhabiting the Atlantic States of North America. It spreads from Delaware southwards to Florida, and through the Gulf States to Texas, Except in the northern portion of its range where it preters the low lands adjacent to the Atlantic coast, it takes the place of the southern Pitch Pine, P. palustris, inland spreading westwards through South Carolina and Georgia to the Mississippi River. West of the great river, the area covered by it is less extensive, but in western Louisiana and eastern Texas it forms considerable forests, and in Arkansas and the Indian Territory it is the most important timber tree of the country. (Veitch’s Manual, p. 882). This is one of the species growing in a warm climate, and it should do well in our coastal districts. In the south-eastern United States it is a rapid crower, but it does not seem to yield a valuable timber, and Professor B. E. Fernow says it is one of the most valuable Pines of that country. Mr. Robert Garrett grows it well at Chatsworth Island. L 17 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (34.) P. tenuifolia, Benth. Guatemala. A handsome Jong-leaved Pine, with fine needles, as its name denotes. It is certainly a valuable addition to the plants of the Sydney district. Unfortunately the top was blown off the specimen in the Sydney Botanic Gardens, but it is so full of promise that it is hoped that it may be more widely grown, L7 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (35.) P. tubereula‘a, Gordon. * Knob-cone Pine.” Sargent, tt. 5i5=—6. A medium-sized tree. Pinus tuberculata inhabits the dry southern and western slopes, fully exposed to the sun, of the mountain ranges, which under various names, extend from south-west Oregon, its northern limit to the San Bernardino mountains in South California. In some places it forms pure forests of considerable extent ; in others it is more scattered and mixed with other trees; its vertical range is from 1,000 to 5,000 feet above sea- level. The wood is soft, brittle, and cross-grained, and but little used. Pinus tuberculata is singular among pines in bearing cones when only a few feet high, and which remain on the tree for thirty to forty years, often becoming embedded in the bark, and not opening till the tree dies from local causes, or is destroyed by a forest fire. P. tuberculata also has the peculiarity of producing its cones on the main trunk as well as on the branches, giving it a singular appearance, as they are arranged around the stem in almost a circle, usually five though often seven cones composing the circle. (Veitch’s Manual, page 387.) This tree will flourish in many parts of New South Wales, and is an interesting species, if if possesses no other merits. We have had it in the Sydney Botanic Gardens, where it did not thrive, but steps are being taken to obtain further specimens. (To be continued.) Mar. 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 189 Potatoes. Re EH GENIN Ms; Glen Innes Experimental Farm. THE potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a native of America, and next to wheat and other valuable cereals, forms a most important food for man. The potato, as Dr. Langworthy, of America, has stated, is in reality a modified stem—not the root of the plant—being shortened and thickened to serve as a storehouse for reserve material for the propagation of new plants. The flesh makes up the bulk of the potato, and peeling removes the outer and inner skins. The loss of the skin is a much greater loss of nutritive material than is generally thought. Cooking with skins on, more especially when boiled, is generally to be recommended. The edible portion of the potato is made up of about the following :— Per cent. Per cent. Wiater” 228-3 Carbohydrates (chiefly starch) 18-4 Protein ... eo) Ashi = 2 ae a Oe 1:0 Fat Wee Ost On account of the large proportion of carbohydrates, potatoes may be classed as carbohydrates, or starchy food. Potatoes as a food yield energy, but play a small part only in building up tissue on account of the small protein content. One object in potato selection should be with a view to increasing this protein content. Potatoes may be grown in most soils, but light soils containing plenty of potash are much to be preferred ; the loose soil allows the tubers to expand properly. A well-drained sandy loam well supplied with humus is an ideal potato soil. The heavier clay lands are not nearly so suitable. They hold the moisture too well and may induce rot; also the potato is often contracted and out of shape. Tubers may also be successfully grown under fresh green sod, but are apt to be flat. The land at all times must be worked deeply before planting and be in good mechanical condition, and in after cultivation sufficient moisture must be maintained near the surface. In the after culti- vation there should be a fair depth with cultivator at first, and very shallow as the stalks approach maturity. Avoid cutting surface roots. In very wet land and where there is a heavy rainfall it is better to hill the plants ; this helps to drain the land. In drier soils and with poorer rainfall flat cultivation is the best, but much after cultivation between the drills must be indulged in to destroy weeds and conserve moisture. Potatoes should not be planted in the same soil two years in succession, and are more profitably grown in a rotation of crops. This allows the land to recover, and also tends to destroy any diseases left in the soil. They are a capital preparation for a wheat crop, saving much labour in getting ready 190 Aaricultural Gazette of N.S IV. [ Mar, 2, 1908. for the latter by leaving the soil in fine tilth; when it is intended to hill, plant potatoes about 4 inches, and when for flat cultivation, 6 inches deep— a double mould-board plough is a good implement for hilling potatoes. Monuring.—Potatoes require abundance of yotash—sulphate of potash is a very good form in which to apply it—but this manure acts better when in combination, espec- ially with superphos- phate, say, in propor- tion two of the latter to one of sulphate of potash ; they also re- quire nitrogen, but this may be supplied when required by ploughing in legumes such as clover, peas, heans, kc. ‘Too much nitrogen 1s not good, as haulms may grow too strong at the ex- pense of tubers. Well-rotted man- ure is. splendid tor potatoes, and may also be used in com- bination with arti- ficial manures. Wood ashes are also good, as they are rich in potash. ‘*Thomas’ phosphate” or basie slag—a by-product from the manu- facture of steel, isalso a usetul manure; this should be supplied before planting as it is slow-acting. Easily soluble manures may be ap- plied either above or below the sets, but Trish Flounder. Natural size. should not beallowed to touch the seed, more especially if cut sets are used. Manuring may be very successful when done in broadcast fashion, and well mixed with the soil before planting. Mar. 2, 1998. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 191 Seed.—Tubers intended for seed should be selected from healthy, vigorous plants with good foliage,—these could be marked with a stake early,—then, when digging, select the tubers growing under the most prolific plants, having due regard to their size and trueness to the type they represent. Small potatoes growing with large ones under a prolific stalk may produce a good crop, but in no case plant small potatoes when this is not known, and Centennial. Natural size. they are better in every case discarded. Large, well-formed tubers in every case are the best, and generally whole sets are more prolific than cut sets. However, opinions differ somewhat, but the weight of sets is very important as it is the plant food that gives the young plant its start in life ; a small, miserable set cannot have a good supply to nourish its offspring tiil it can gather food for itself. A good potato should be true to type, clean skin— 192 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. that is, free from disease ; the eyes should not be too deep, but large and well defined for all that, especially for seed. Large eyes bear large shoots. Al] staggy sorts, and with excrescences of all kinds, are not good when mature. The tubers when cut and then put together should adhere closely, showing a large percentage of starch. When ripe the skin is firm and not easily rubbed off. Planting.—The set—that is, tuber or portion of tuber planted——should in no case be less than 2 0z. in weight, with at least two eyes. The weight is of much consequence, more so than the number of eyes, providing there are at least two. If cut before planting, rub off long and weakly shoots. Potatoes sprouted in sunlight produce vigorous plants, and may be sown just as they are, the shoots to be placed in an upright direction—the very best crops have Northern Star. Natural size. been produced in this way, and they mature earlier; but tabers sprouted in the dark often produce long and weakly shoots, and if planted, these must be rubbed off. Where the potatoes are cut, in order to prevent much bleeding, ashes, slacked lime, or soot may be used. Whole potatoes of good size are recommended when procurable; cut potatoes are more liable to rot in dry soil. Cut tubers lengthwise when convenient. The drills or furrows where sets are to be planted should be trom 2 feet 9 inches to 5 feet apart, and the sets placed in them from 12 inches to 15 inches. A good plan is to run a harrow over the soil just before they should appear above the ground, to destroy young growths of weeds. Mar. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 195 Digging the Crop.—Dig early potatoes when of a marketable size ; but for keeping over the winter the haulms should be quite dead, tuber firm, and the skin hard to rub off. For this, the main crop, do not sow too early in the season, or there may be much — difticulty through their shooting. Only plant good keepers in this con- nection. Potatoes to be kept through the winter should be placed in a cool, dry shed, on straw if possible, or in dry sand under cover, or they may be stored in the open in pits, say heaped up about 4 feet deep, about 4 feet wide, and & feet long, a 6-inch layer of straw spread over the lot and covered up with earth so that water will later, if not enter wished, and where frosts are severe, an- other layer of straw andearthmay beputon. Potatoes are used in some countries tor the production of starch, which is abundant in their constitution. Food for Stock.—In this connection, except for feeding pigs, they to) have been little used, but the drought and a dull market have aes Sees Se brought the unmarket- Ashleaf Kidney. Natural size. able ones to the fore, and ere long they are likely to be much used in conjunction with other foods, as they are not a complete ration. For pigs they are better when about half cooked than fed raw; for cattle and sheep probably they will answer the purpose as well raw, but should be sliced or bruised to prevent 194 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. them choking animals when the latter are hungry and tubers whole. The feeding value of potatoes is said to be about equal to beets and turnips ; but the cost of growing them is greater—still, when they are cheap and a large British Queen. Natural size. surplus on hand, it is well to know that the inferior tubers may be used with such good effect Potatoes grown on top of the soil and matured under straw only.— Some soil is too heavy and stiff for potatoes, and will not allow the tubers to expand. There is much of this class of soil on the flats of New England. Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. 195 Growing them in straw was tried and the experiment is being continued. The ground is ploughed deeply and harrowed into a good state of tilth ; the potatoes are then placed by hand firmly in the soil until they are about half covered ; then 12 to 15 inches of wheaten straw is placed over them ; this completes the planting. Nothing more is done until the potatoes are picked—not dug from under the straw, for they lie on top of the ground around the seed set. Some people do not understand that the potato tuber is not the root of the plant, but a modified portion or a runner from the stem. The potato tubers must form above the seed planted, therefore if it is placed on top of the soil they have no option but to grow as they do. The Potatoes grown under straw. One-third natural size, straw forms a protection from the sun and other destructive agents, the same as the earth does when they ave grown in the ordinary way. Thi potatoes grown last year under straw were only a fair crop, but of beautifu shape, with lovely skins Some were found in the straw hanging to the stem 6 inches off the ground ; most of them were lying on the soil, and some were slightly buried. They can be looked at at any time during growth by removing the straw, which must afterwards be replaced. The same plant has been looked at several times apparently without damaging the tubers. Will this method of growing potatoes pay? This cannot be answered at present, but further information is being obtained. B 196 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Ifar. 2, 1908. Experiments in growing potatoes under straw and under earth are now being carried on side by side, with the same variety and other conditions being equal; both are now forming tubers nicely. Last year crickets destroyed a good many under straw. The straw, of course, is an item, also carting and laying it on, al- though the latter operation can be performed quickly, but there is no after-culti- vation, and no weeds grow—no digging, straw can be forked away quickly. If suc- cesstul it will bea handy way for a kitchen garden, as the cook will merely have to go out, put aside the straw, and pick the best tubers off for the pot ; those left will probably Potatoes grown under straw. One-third natural size. crow all the better. I do not claim to have made a discovery, but had read somewhere of it being done in Ireland years ago with success, but had to find out the way to do it, as no available data were to hand. The object was to overcome a difficulty in treating the heavy soils which contain the plant food necessary, but are otherwise unsuit- able, and the Agricultural Department aims at overcoming these difficulties, and only by experimenting can this be done. Potato Diseases. Seah (Oospora scabies) is a common disease in tubers, and first appears as slight swellings on skin, which increase till they burst ; then decomposition sets in, leaving ugly pits or abrasions of greater or less depth. Stable manure, especially if not well rotted, favours the increase of scab ; rotation of crops tends to check it. Perhaps the best treatment yet used, and the simplest, is: 1 oz. commercial formalin (liquid) to 2. gallons of water, soak for two hours in the solution, then cut and plant in the usual manner. Or, 1} 0z. commercial formalin (liquid) to 2 gallons water, and soaked for one and a half hour only, may be used. Another treatment: 1 oz. of corrosive sublimate dissolved in 12 gallons. water. Immerse potatoes for about two hours in this solution. 197 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 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SMOT[OF SV a1v {oy s Soully [TR1oA08 poppnasip ud9q pur wood seas “URDU YY SOLPOLIVA SUL le “i jo poos of, rue Aqnvo¢ auModg Jo UOIZdadxo oY} YQUM ‘SUOTLIPUOD ALU J G4 Ene od op ynoads you pip BIE {N, ‘poquryd poos Perle: ALALYS op aood “IMOTOD UL AaZUSIT * ‘swaddows Wet § oorpins oy} Ivau soko ‘aountvoddy ouy $ ozt OSIVOO gou aqtpenb *[VLuttey tay) qv YOO, OF SV DUIS aq OF S ‘daap LIAR soXo § woyy survoddrx “OOVJINS avau Adaa Sada ¢ uLys yuep + ‘govpans ava sofa $4108 9[QvI poos $ ‘gourarodde ouy “AJoLUwA Wosvas- piu Aaviiuayuay) “ULeZUNO TY UWaAty BYaIy ‘ueutoad | UBvOLIOWLY ‘OIppuy [ PSH “dunn, “UR S apouy) Dea poos ot} SUrwags oqy aad ysoud OF ps equeyd Ayuo pure ‘paypeaLys ‘SOATOSULAYY IPJLM AO ‘saaqyyo og YQLA oTqeavduioo you orv Loy + souetyo 005 B PONS pry YoUA Jo I aM | FU it I I I JopuN apis Aq Ops UMOLT 9.410.M SOLPOLIVA yysio-AqyYy aaoqe ou, TANGALOU TY, uvonty Avy }L oyun ogimbh pur Suoorystyeg Ss Uosiepuy UetIy « losuo'] Lt MOROUISIFES 8,1099N§ (a farqeq aoz Aqipenh ouy $ oouvase odd pood Aaaa Jo daqny V¥ 8 7G ||" Joly) Lovey “taqny Suryooy poos ‘ aeddoww are Emenee * dayIOX MON [VINY *paTPPALlys pur [[VuUs poureyqo paos + o1oy Ay 100d AION PI] ree toe 7G (0) A “SUL youy Saul) “MOYS LOF Aoquy Ayodd vf FULPOO] poos ApAva APLAR Y ta G@ cl O MOTEL OVI OU \ MON ‘TUL doyqoue yWOM | Apes ATWO plc] F110 9 I sis ounqtoyp ATA ULYS BUY £.1aqny SULYOoT poor) Qeae Gi) oe “ TRapy ward yo staqny $daddo19 poos + Ayouva Wosvas-PIN | Go 6 9 ) q CON SyuRqaing, ‘urys oped ‘ doao UIVUL BLOF Ayauava poos AuoA VW rR iPS x - aqeq 03 dq et ‘Suoy { oouvavadde ut Ajouva Laupry oyy jo “toddoro Fiq AOA | FBO OLE “Aqpedoy S,UOSI9 | LY punos sayyea faadaey poos : dows ure ajqeyms aoddows poory | 0 € SL BS HOLOVISIPLY S_UOSLaPUy dowd uy Ao pood oq pyuoys + [fou sdoay puv “AjoUva Buryve poor) | GGL St ¢ fog Aaquno,) s,uos.epuy ‘ppaid aood par saaqng jpeas AoA | 0 O TO = a ALMA] $4108 punod [ev poos : souvavodde auy jo ‘aoddoso poos y i (S : " MOTJRUOLOLY ‘Tjam daoy 03 savedde {saoqny ooln | 260 SIG |” “i ~ olyg Apreny ‘sadaay poos pus seqn9 pezis epi W |) “O00! .8) a : © Arvuuszpuay qnoyouoayy advys uLlojtun Jo pue ouLos pueq AyoldBa WOSBAS-PI]Y 0nG F 9 poaqysnosoy yp, Apes “Aqueah poos | pure oyeyjod omospury y | 94% OL I WIePUNO TL W214) ‘doao ure oJ pasn aq ppnoo £ ozyeyzod puyasn ‘poods + AzotvA WoOsvos-pru YW | OG & Sl | ; “ g9al0g ‘dodo WRU LOT aTqe gins pae ‘Mgouva Surya poos Vy | fF € T 9 aUle{Y JO 34BIS "[RLIy datyyjour ygaom § Savak styy Aye} poddouo Ajug | 0° 2.2) Lales oH “ WBg spoUug ¢ pea sdaay $ aoddoao ureut £ 440s punod [Te poos $ aaddoao ee Pl GOL 9 YDlo[ey OYE AY Ig ‘ava styy pjord dood Aaoa $ SaLyooy 9ot SIO seo eg “+ pyog-AqoulN s aouvavedde poos + advys ut uraosrun ¢ aaddo.to ay igaleae wiz eo pi ¢ ‘ON Woulle) ‘qy ‘sab "yao suog jo AYOMIVA YORa UO syAvUAyY ever a JOLIV A "07VIOG “PanUryuoor— Svea fT, TLV A Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 199 The former treatment, viz., with formalin, is recommended, and has been used on this farm Downy Mildew, or Rot, attacks stems, leaves, and tubers. Treatment : Weak solutions of Bordeaux mixture sprayed on at short intervals often effects a cure. There are other diseases which require special treatment ; but it is always best, when a badly-diseased plant appears, to pull it up and burn it. I am indebted to Mr. A. A. Dunnicliff, of the Department of Agriculture, fr valuable information ve the varieties, which he found all true to name, except, he points out, that one that was sent here under the name of “ Satisfaction ” is “Centennial,” and it now goes under that name here ; it 1s one of our very best. A preliminary experiment was made to find out best seed to plant, as follows :— A potato 6 oz. in weight, with sixteen eyes: The yield from one plant was 8 lb. 12 0z., the largest tuber weighing 13 0z., and smallest, [ 0z.; a very uneven lot. A potato 4 oz. only in weight: The yield from one plant was 3 lb. 4 oz. ; largest tuber, 84 oz. ; smallest tuber, $ oz. ; an uneven lot. A potato 2 oz. in weight, with five eyes, yielded 44 1b. from one plant ; Jargest potato being 8 oz, and smallest tuber, + 0z.; a very even lot generally. All the above were planted whole, none being cut. Further and more extensive experiments relative to the above, and also to cut and uncut seed, are in course of being carried out at the Farm here this year. 200 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Notes on Humus and the Best Means of supplying it. F. B. GUTHRIE. Over that considerable portion of the State’s arable land on which the rainfall is limited or uneven, the need of retaining within the soil whatever moisture is received as rain is one of paramount importance in the treatment of the land. The maintenance of the soil’s fertility in these areas becomes largely a question of conserving this sometimes scanty supply, and soil treatment having for its object suitable means of maintaining the most favourable conditions as to moisture will claim the most serious consideration of the farmer. As the land taken into cultivation gradually extends so as to include more and more of the area within the belt of reduced rainfall and approaching to semi-arid conditions, this question cf the conservation of soil moisture becomes of increasing importance. It far exceeds in importance the question of manuring, and it is safe to say that unless the conditions as to moisture are satisfactory the application of manures is not likely to be of any benefit, and the money expended on their use is practically thrown away. Apart from the question of cultivation and drainage, the maintenance otf the best conditions as to water within the soil depends to a very large extent upon the presence of humus. Humus, which is derived from the gradual decay of animal or vegetable matter within the soil, is one of the most impor- tant of the soil’s constituents, and any variation in its amount affects profoundly the value of the soil for agricultural purposes, Functions of Humus. The presence of humus in the soil increases the fertility in the following ways :— In the first place it absorbs and retains moisture in the soil, and prevents surface evaporation. A surface soil, fairly rich im humus, exercises much the same influence on the underlying soil as does a mulch of dead leaves or other vegetable matter. During dry spells, and under the influence of the hot winds usually prevalent under such conditions, the loss of moisture from the soil by surface evaporation is enormous, and in soils destitute of humus this loss is so rapid as to result in the drying up of the soil and the wilting of the crops. The final result of such conditions is the formation of scalded spots and the complete removal of the fine surface soil in the form of dust. Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 201 The humus in the soil is the ingredient which is most subject to alteration and destruction, and under dry conditions it is more or less rapidly destroyed. As soon as it has lost its moisture and become dry it is rapidly burnt out by the combined action of sun and air. So that it is exactly in those circum- stances where its presence is most essential that it is most liable to destruction, and the necessity for renewing it most urgent. The presence of humus in the soil also tends to improve the texture of the soil, lightening it and loosening it, and preventing compaction of the surface, so that it is of special value in the amelioration of stiff soils. It is the principal source of nitrogen in the soil, and by its decay under the influence of soil organisms, ammonium salts and nitrates are produced, which are the forms in which this important element is assimilated by the plant. It is of interest to remember that the humus of arid or semi-arid regions is richer in nitrogen than that of the moister districts. This is a point of great importance with reference to the potential fertility of these soils. In point of fact from a variety of causes acting together, the soils of the dry climates are richer in plant food of all kinds than are the soils in regions of greater rainfall, consequently nothing but the absence of water prevents these from being extremely reproductive. There is, therefore, no problem which exceeds in importance that of retaining in the soil the little moisture that it receives, and any operation that succeeds in arresting even partially the unavoidable loss of that moisture deserves the highest consideration. Methods of supplying Humus. There are three ways of supplying humus to soils in need of this constituent, namely by the application of generous additions of farmyard manure (in cases where this is available), by the application of compost manure, and by green-manuring, or the ploughing under of a quickly growing green-crop (leguminous for choice). We will discuss these separately. Farmyard Manure. Except in some dairies or such farms on which the animals are stall-fed, the material known as farmyard manure is nothing more than the solid excrements of animals, and does not contain either the urine or the vegetable matter used as bedding which is the characteristic of farmyard manure made and used in Europe and colder countries. Owing to the absence of vegetable matter such manure has very little value in the formation of humus, and it is probably most economically used in the compost heap. The Compost Heap. The compost heap is a most valuable adjunct to the farm, and it is a very great pity that it is not more frequently to be found. A heap or pit can be made very economically, and is of special value in that it utilizes all sorts of vegetable and animal refuse, which would otherwise be wasted, and converts it into a valuable manure, rich in vegetable matter and eminently suited for soils low in humus or subject to droughty conditions, 202 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Mar. 2, 1908. The principle of the compost heap is the fermentation of easily decomposed vegetable material in the presence of earth and lime. It is not only substances like peat and straw, which form the usual basis of compost heaps that are thus decomposable, but almost every kind of organic substance, both of vegetable and animal origin, can be thus composted. Dead leaves, bush scrapings, sawdust, weeds, tops and stalks of vegetables, as well as bone and anima! refuse, can be treated in this manner. In the case of animal refuse the operation is much slower, and substances like bones should be first crushed. It is also important to be sure that animal refuse so treated is not derived from a diseased source. The best way of making and maintaining the compost heap will depend largely upon local surroundings. As a general method of procedure the following will be found satisfactory :— Make a heap with alternate layers of earth, refuse, and lime. Under the term refuse is included all the refuse material of animal or vegetable material mentioned above. Cover the whole with a layer of earth. When a suff- cient quantity of refuse is again collected, place it on top of the heap and cover with a layer of lime, and lastly of earth, until the heap is 3 to 4 feet high. The heap should be kept moist, and for this purpose all refuse water from the house, slops, urine, &c., should be added. The heap may be conveniently watered by making a hole into the interior and pouring the liquid in. The covering with earth has the object of absorbing any ammonia which is evolved in the process of fermentation and by the action of the lime. When the heap has been prepared it must be left to itself to ferment for a greater or less time. Probably a few months will be sufficient unless very refractory substances, such as bone, &c., are present. In a few months’ time it should be well forked over and another layer of lime and finally of earth should be added. In the course of another month or two it should be ready for use, and you will have provided yourself at a very slight cost with an excellent manure rich in humus, and will have utilized for the purpose a great amount of refuse material which would otherwise be lost or burnt. When refuse material is burnt, the ashes, though still possessing manurial value on account of the lime and potash and phosphates they contain, are of incomparably less value than the original substances out of which they are derived, owing to the absence of humus material and of nitrogen, which have been lost in the process of burning. Instead of a heap the compost may be conveniently prepared in a pit. In either case the bottom should be cemented, or so drained that the liquid escaping from the mass can be collected and returned to the compost. It will be found advantageous to prepare a second heap while the first one is ripening and being used. It will also be found that if it is desired to use more concentrated fertilizers, such as superphosphate, potash, and ammonium salts, these can be mixed with advantage with the compost Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 203 manure, before being applied to the land. Used in this way they will be in less danger of leaching away, and will be of greater benefit than if applied directly to the land. Green Manuring. Amongst the most effective methods of supplying humus to the soil and increasing its fertility is the practice of green-manuring—that is, the ploughing under of a green crop. The beneficial action of this operation is a twofold one: it enriches the soil, in the first place, by supplying it with a considerable proportion of readily-available plant-food; and in the second place, by adding humus, and thus improving the soil’s texture and its power of absorbing and retaining moisture. When such a crop is buried, the surface soil becomes enriched by the nourishing materials which the crop during the period of its growth has drawn from the air and from the lower portions of the subsoil, and this material is now placed within the reach of the succeeding crop. During the growth of the plant the soil has, in addition, been stirred up and disintegrated by the development of the roots. When ploughed under, provided that sufficient moisture and warmth are present, the buried mass decomposes with more or less rapidity, and the succeeding crop gets the benefit of the fertilising ingredients contained in the decaying mass of vege- tation in a readily-available form. The resulting humus is of the greatest: value, not only as a source of plant-food, but in improving the soil’s texture, in preventing too rapid evaporation, and in enabling the soil to absorb and retain water, thus rendering it less lable to suffer during dry spells. A further important result is the formation of carbonic acid by the decom- position of the buried crop. Carbonic acid is given off abundantly in the fermentation of the mass, and assists in the disintegration of the soil and in rendering available the plant-food contained in it. Green-manuring is effective both in sandy and on heavy clay soils, and, indeed, on all soils deficient in humus. On sandy soils the effect of green- manuring is to consolidate the soil, the humus formed binding the particles together. On clay soils, the effect of the addition of humus and the produc- tion of carbonic acid is to loosen and aerate them. When conditions as to warmth and moisture are favourable, and the crop decomposes fairly rapidly, the production of soluble plant-food proceeds with considerable rapidity. This is especially the case in respect of nitrogen, which is the principal manurial ingredient. Nitrification (that is, the conversion of the nitrogenous material of the plant into soluble nitrates) takes place quite rapidly. sandy soils, green manure nitrifies more rapidly than manures like driec blood, bone-dust, &c., and only less slowly than ammonium sulphate; while 1 1 1 in stiff clay soils the green crop nitrifies very much more rapidly than either sulphate of ammonia or animal manures. With regard to the kind of crop to be used for the purpose of green- manuring, a gocd deal of latitude is permissible. Any crop that is rapid and Jaxuriant in growth, and that can be readily turned under, is suitable for the 204 Agriculiural Gazette of NS AT. [ Mar. 2, 1908. purpose, and the selection will be guided by considerations such as the time of year at which it is to be grown, its suitability to soil and district, &e. Amongst the most effective class of crops for the purpose are leguminous plants, such as clover, cowpea, lupines, &c., since these are specially valuable on account of their power of obtaining their nitrogen from the air. They are, therefore, especially suitable for soils poor in nitrogen, and are of high value in enriching the soil with this ingredient, There are, however, many other crops which are suitable for the purpose, and frequently used, such as mustard, buckwheat, &c. These are all rapid growers, and can be grown as catch-crops—that is to say, after the main crop has been harvested and before the succeeding one is sown. The practice of growing a crop of tares or vetches after the wheat crop has been harvested is very common in Europe, and can be followed successfully here in districts where the autumn rainfall is sufficient. Such a catch crop occupies the ground only at a time when it would be otherwise unoccupied, and, during its growth is collecting plant-food from air and soil, which is utilised for manuring the succeeding crop. The practice of green-manuring is of special value in orchard work, where the green crop can be grown and ploughed under between the rows. It must be borne in mind, in all cases, that green-manuring depends for its success upon conditions favourable to the decomposition of the buried green crop, namely, sufficient warmth and moisture. A crop ploughed under in the late autumn or winter will nitrify only slightly, and the same applies to ploughing under a crop in a dry season, H the land is quite dry the crop will remain buried without decomposition for a considerable period, and its benefit is lost. Proportion of Nitrogen supplied to Soil by Green Manuring. With regard to the actual amount of material supplied to the land by ploughing under a green crop, some experiments were carried out at the suggestion of Mr. Allen, the Fruit Expert of the Department. The produce of one square yard of crops of vetches, at Wagga, Bathurst, and Hawkesbury College, was harvested carefully, tops and roots, and for- warded for analysis. In the case of the Wagga sample, the roots were obtained by washing away the soil, and Mr. McKeown calculates that he succeeded in obtaining 95 per cent. of the total weight of roots in the soil. The produce of tops from one square yard was 4 lb. 145 0z., or 10 tons 12 ewt. per acre; and of roots, 1 lb. 9 oz. per square yard, or 3 tons 7 ewt. per acre. Analysis showed that the tops contaied 87 per cent. water (13 per cent. dry matter), and °506 per cent. nitrogen; the roots contained 83 per cent. water (17 per cent. dry matter), and *213 per cent. nitrogen. When therefore, this crop is ploughed under, it will add to each acre of the soil, in the shape of dry matter, 1 ton 7 cwt. tops, and 113 ewt. roots, including 120 Ib. nitrogen from the tops and 16 Ib. nitrogen from the roots; Mar. 2, 1908. ] Agriuttural Gazette of N.S.W. 205 a total of 136 lb. nitrogen per acre. Assuming that conditions are favourable for nitrification, this will be equivalent to a dressing of nearly 7 cwt. sulphate of ammonia per acre, or over 11 ewt. dried blood—an enormous dressing. The soil in which this crop was grown was a light loam with about 25 per cent. clay. The clay is of a tenacious character, and has a tendency to cake hard on drying. The soil is low in humus, containing only about 4 per cent. of this ingredient. It is fairly rich in potash and satisfactorily supplied with lime, but rather low in nitrogen and phosphates. It is, consequently, just the type of soil in which green-manuring should be effective, as the effect of ploughing under the crop will be to break it up and render it more friable, and to supply the deficiences in humus and nitrogen. — Its efficacy is, of course, dependent upon conditions as to rainfall being favourable to its decomposition in the soil. The climate of Wagga is not very favourable to the growth of these crops. At Bathurst, and at the Hawkesbury College, where conditions are more favourable, the benefits of green-manuring are even more striking. Mr. Allen obtained similar samples of tops and roots, representing the produce of one square yard from crops grown at these places, and they gave the following figures :— At Bathurst, the tops weighed 17 lb. and the roots 2 lb. 5 oz. per square yard, or 36 tons 14 ewt. tops and 5 tons of roots per acre, giving a total of dry matter to be ploughed under of 4 tons 15 ewt. from the tops and 16 cwt. from the roots. Assuming the same nitrogen content in tops and roots as was found in the Wagga plants, this will give when ploughed under 411 lb. nitrogen per acre from the tops and 22 lb. nitrogen from the roots. At Hawkesbury, the produce was 21 tons 12 cwt. tops and 4 tons 14 ewt. roots per acre. When ploughed under, this would yield 2 tons 16 ewt. dry matter from the tops and 16 cwt. dry matter from the roots. With °5 per cent. nitrogen in the tops and °2 per cent. in the roots, the soil will be enriched in nitrogen by 242 Ib. per acre from the tops and 22 lb. from the roots. 206 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Knots. F. G. CHOMLEY. Every farmer uses ropes for some purpose, either for tying on loads or in . . . . . * . connection with his stock, but it is seldom that one sees the most suitable F.g. 1.—Reef knot. knots employed. A good knot should be easy to undo—that is, it should not jamb when a strain is put on it, nor should it become fast when wet. ‘There Fig. 2. Bowline. are so many knots employed by sailors, that to refer to a work on knots and cordage is almost bewildering, and many of the knots shown in such works Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 207 ‘are purely of a fancy nature. For the purpose of simplifying the matter, a few of the more useful and easily-tied knots are here shown. These are all Fig. 3.—Running bowline. easily tied , and were tied and photographed specially with the view of showing clearly how it is done. For this reason they are not pulled up tight, but were just tied loosely, so as to show as clearly as possible how the ropes “ lay” over one another Fig. 4.—Becket, or sheet bend. There are two knots that stand out as useful knots above all others, and these are the “ reef” or “ square” knot and the “ bowline.” The reet knot 208 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. (Fig. 1) is the best knot for most purposes ; where it is necessary to join two ropes, it will not jamb except when the rope is very thin. The bowline (Fig. 2) is a very useful knot indeed, and is quite safe ; it cannot possibly slip, and for this reason is a suitable knot to use for tethering Fig. 5.—Clove hitch. stock. Ifa running loop is required, the running bowline (Fig. 3) is a good form, as the loop will not pinch on the rope and give trouble when in use. The plain, becket, or sheet bend (Fig. 4), is another usetul knot for join- ing two ropes—especially when one end runs up to, and stops at, a pulley- block, there is no loose end to feed into the block and jamb it. The clove hitch (Fig. 5) is also a useful knot for use with poles and guys. It will not shp in either direc- tion, and is easily undone. It sometimes happens that there is some building or well-sinking going on on the farm, so it is just as well to know how to make a timber hiteh— this is shown in Fig. 6. This knot can be combined with a half-hitch by pass- ing the fall of the rope round the spar, say, 2 feet along its length and back under itself. This makes a good hitch for lowering timber down a shaft or well. Thisisshown in Fig. 7. It can be made additionally safe by putting in another half-hitch another 2 feet Fig. 6.—Timber hitch. along the spar. Sometimes it is desirable to reduce the length of a rope without undoing the ends; when loading, for instance, the ropes may be reduced in length by Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 209 means of the sheep-shank previous to putting in twitches. ‘There are many times when it is handy, and it is very simply tied. It is shownin Fig. 8, but it is far easier to te than it looks. For tightening ropes over loads of hay, straw, lucerne, green stuff, and other springy loading, no means is so rapid as the one shown in Fig, 9. The fall is taken through a ring or round the guard-irons of the dray or wag- gon. A loop inthe bight is grasped in the hand, and a_ half-hitch is made round the end of the loop higher up the bight; the end of the i / y a on Fig. 8.—Sheep shank. fall is then passed through the loop thus made, and used as a pulley block or snatch block. It isa little bit rough on the rope pulling it Fig. 7.—Timber hitch with half-hiteh. through the loop, but it enables the rope to be drawn very tight and thus keep the load quite firm. It is possible to extend this system by putting more than one such loop in—a second, or even a third, can be put in 210 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. the fall in succession. Sut for all ordinary purposes one is enough. If the load is going any distance, the twitch method, using sticks, is better. The too common knot generally called the granny is shown in Fig. 10. This knot is easier to tie, and far harder to undo than a reef or square knot, yet it is the usual knot tied by the inexperienced. To some people the granny knot comes natural—the knot is liable to slip ; it is frequently used by shop assistants to tie parcels, probably with the object of increas- Fig. 9. Fig. 10.—Granny knot. ing sales. The best way to untie a granny knot is to—cut the rope. Of course, there are many very useful knots not shown, but because they ave not shown is not to say they are useless, or merely fancy knots, for such is not the case; but those shown may be considered a few of the most useful, simple knots in general use. Mar. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 211 The Influence of Bees on Crops. [Continued from page 879, November, 1907. ] ALBERT GALE. In “The Story of the Plants,” Grant Allen says, “The use of the corolla with its brilliant petals, is to attract insects to the flowers and induce them to carry pollen from plant to plant. That is why they are painted red and blue and yellow ; they are there as advertisements to tell the bee or butterfly “Here you can get good honey”! If the brilliant coloured petal of flowers are so attractive to bees, how is it the single blooms are more attractive to them than doubie ones of the same variety and species having the same colour 4 Here is the answer: The single ones produce pollen which is the all-essential food supply for the young bees, but traly double blooms produce no anthers, therefore they produce no pollen. Where bees can get the greatest supply of food in the shortest space of time is the place where they will go. They do not care what colour the corolla is, it may be “painted red, blue, or yellow,” the pollen and honey are the advertisements. Neither do they care what colour the pollen is because they carry home white, yellow, and red pollen indiscriminately, but only one colour at the same time. The cells in the combs that are packed with pollen contain any colour they can get. Food is the advertisement, and not the colour in the corolla or the petals. In some of our most ornamental plants the flowers are so inconspicuous were it not for their foliage they would be treated as weeds and rooted out. The brilliant foliage is their only recommendation. The carpet beds in our Botanical Gardens during summer are one of the chief attractions to the grounds. They are nothing but leaves. There is no denying their brilliancy. Watch as long as your patience will permit, you will never see pollen or honey- feeding insects alight on them for the purpose of obtaining food. If the clipping or trimming of these carpet beds be neglected, and the tiny flowers be permitted to expand, you will at once see bees and other insects alighting for grains of pollen and sips of honey. The caladium and the coleus have foliage far more showy than the blooms of scores of plants that are constantly visited by bees, but bright as the foliage may be, the bees are not attracted thereby. When the coleus throws up its spike of pale blue flowers then it becomes attractive to insects, and they are drawn to it, not by the colour of the flower or the leaf, but by the food contained in the forier. In the month of September the peach-trees are in full bloom, so are the bougainvilleas, The brilliant crimson bracts of the latter, with their small Cc 212 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Yar. 2, 1908. creamy-white flowers, are equally as attractive in colour as the peach-trees, yet where one bee visits the latter a thousand will visit the former. The manufacturing of artificial flowers has become so perfect of late, and the imitations are so much like natural flowers that when placed amongst natural foliage, the experienced eye of the florist frequently fails to detect the fraud. Even if it be a honey or pollen bearing imitation bees are not deceived thereby. If the colour of the flowers or their forms are the adver- tisements telling them where they could get honey, how is it that bees and other insects are not swarming on the head-dresses of the fashionably attired ladies of to-day ? No one can deny that these artificial flowers are as perfect both in form and colour to the sight as the natural ones they are meant to represent, only their essentials of reproduction are absent. The food bees require is wanting, and food, and fool alone, is the only advertisement that will induce the bee to search for sustenance even in natural blooms. Their natural intelligence and generations of education have taught them the true sources of wealth. Bees will no more search colours in the expectation of getting food than a gold-miner would go fossicking in a coal-pit for gold. 3otanists and entomologists speak of bees as one of the highest types of insects, and Grant Allen, in ‘The Story of the Plant,” speaks of them thus :—“ These higher insects . . . are the safest fertilisers because they have legs and a proboscis exactly adapted to the work they are meant for; and they have also, as a rule, a taste for red, blue, and purple flowers, rather than for simple white or yellow ones. Hence, the blossoms that especially lay themselves out for the higher insects are almost always blue or purple.” Darwin, in ‘Self-fertilisation of Plants,” says:—‘* Not only do the bright colours of flowers serve to attract insects, but dark-coloured streaks and marks are often present, which Sprengel long ago maintained serve as guides to the nectary,” and “that the coloured corolla is the chief guide rannot be doubted.” The native daphne (Pittosporum undulatum) flower has a creamy corolla hidden amongst its deep green foliage. These trees, both in the Botanic and in private gardens, were in bloom at the same time as the double-flowered peach. In the former the bees were in swarms busily at work, and only an odd bee occasionally visite] the latter, and the flowers. visited were those containing a few scattered anthers from whence they could scrape together a few grains of pollen. The bright blooms of the double-llowering peach could be seen hundreds of vards away, but to discover the flowers on the pittosporum you need stand underneath the tree. There is ro flower in this State more frequently visited by bees than the simple white or creamy yellow eucalyptus bloom. It is the bee-keeper’s most important source of profit. Again, we are told that markings on certain flowers are finger-posts. ‘‘ The lines or spots so often found on the petals of highly-developed flowers,” says the author of “The Story of the Plant,” “act as honey guides to lead the bee or other fertilising insect direct to the nectary” ; he then goes on to describe the “so-called nasturtium.” The upper pair (of petals) are broad and Mar. 2,1908.) = aN ~ ~ x wh >y AN i Hi ty AS AASAVARE SOR aie Rey) ee Mar. 2,1908.| Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 233 Note on Preceding Report. Simultaneously with the receipt of above report from Nausori Mill, we have one from another of our Fiji mills reporting that the bot-flies had commenced attacking the horses. As the bots are supposed to remain for something like a year inside the animals, and the flies emerge in about a couple of weeks after the voiding of the bots, it is highly probable that these flies are from recently-voided bots, and that in Fiji, just at the time of trying the carbon bisulphide treatment, all the bots may have naturally left the mules ; hence the negative result at Nausori Mill, as far as bots are concerned. The expulsion of so many parasitic worms would lead us to expect a similar effect on bots when present, and instructions have been given to repeat the carbon bisulphide treatment from time to time during the ensuing year.—'T.S. Conclusion. Since these notes were written I have examined some specimens of bot- flies in the National Museum collections in Melbourne, which Mr. Kershaw tells me is the common species in Victoria. These flies are named ('asterophilus salutaris, and are identical with specimens I have received from Wagga ; and only a few days ago Mr. Steel received specimens from the Colonial Sugar Company’s estates in Fiji, which also belong to this species. The bots of all these flies also agree in having a double row of spines round the segments, while the larvee of Gasterophilus equi are described as having a single row. Some bots taken from a New Zealand racehorse, killed at Botany, New South Wales, had only the single row, and probably belonged to the latter species. Walker describes four species as found in England, and this one as rare. It differs from the common species in having unclouded wings, and the more brilliant tints upon the head and thorax. Walker gives the following description :— Gasterophilus salutaris, Estr., pl. 1, f. 35, 36 (1815) ; Long. 43-5; wings, 9-10 lines. Body black, very pubescent, shining, punctured, brighter and more robust in the male than in the female; head clothed with short ochraceous hair: eyes dull, castaneous ; thorax covered with orange down, having at the base of each wing an orange spot, which is more distinct in the male than in the female; wings slightly brown, yellowish-brown at the base and along the fore border; coastal vein brown, the others paler ; alulae, opaque-white ; abdomen black in the middle, clothed with pale yellow hairs towards the base, and with orange hairs at the tip; legs reddish-brown, clothed with paler down. Not common. REFERENCE TO PLATE. Dorsal view of Bot-fly. Gasterophilus salutaris, Clk. Side view 9? 99 99 29 Eggs of Bot-fly on hair of horse. ,, (enlarged) - i Larv or Bots attached to stomach of horse. Bots of Gasterophilus salutaris (mules), Fiji. Head segment of Bot of G. salutaris (horses), Sydney. Bots of Gasterophilus salutaris (horses), Sydney. . Bot of Gasteroplus equi (New Zealand racehorse killed in Sydney). wre Dy SOU co o-I 234 Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. The Weeds of New South Wales A 'TUMBLE-WEED (Amarantus albus, L.). J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Description of 4. albus. (“'Tumble-weed,” or ‘ White Amaranth.”) Aw erect, glabrous, pale-green annual herb, about 6 inches to 2 feet high, with slender, ascending, rather whitish branches. Leaves alternate, from oblong to obovate, from under } to 14 inch long, narrowed into a slender petiole, the top generally with a fine point (the prolongation of the midrib beyond the blade). Flowers often unisexual, several together in small axillary clusters shorter than the leaves, commonly not longer than the petioles, surrounded by three subulate pungent-pointed spreading bracts. Sepals, 3, much shorter than the bracts, membranous, whitish. Stamens, 3. Petals, none. Fruit, a wrinkled utricle, opening circumsciss, with a single smooth and shining dark seed. The leaves fall away in autumn, and on the plains the plant, thus denuded, is freely uprooted and blown before the wind, whence the American popular name ‘ Tumble-weed.” It is stated to be often mistaken in America for the dreaded ‘ Russian Thistle” (a form of Salsola kali). It has largely been diffused in the United States through dirty pasture and lawn grass seeds. It is one of the most pernicious weeds in the United States, and although it does not occur in New South Wales in the same abundance, it is a weed to be dreaded and fought against. An enemy in Ohio is a white mould, Cystopus blitt (Biv.) Léy., which also attacks the beet. It is an annual, and the only way to destroy it is to pull it up before it ripens its seeds. Common in waste and cultivated lands throughout the greater part of North America. It is now spread nearly over the whole globe, but is indigenous only in North America, and probably only in tropical North America. In New South Wales I have only received it from the Riverina, but do not doubt that search will find its invasion to be much more extended than that. EXPLANATION OF PLATE. Fruit-bearing branch (much reduced). A. Twig (natural size). Part of same enlarged, showing a fruit in axillary clusters supported by bracts. Fruit, a membranous utricle opening circumsciss when ripe. Seed, a single one in each fruit, very dark red (much enlarged and natural size). Leaf much enlarged. oR toe AG CU ETGUSRTAIL GAZ EX ThE OF N.S. WW. MAR. 2 TODO W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER. A TUMBLE WEED. AMARANTUS ALBUS, L.- Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 235 Wine Making. NOTES ON THE FERMENTATION OF Must.* M. BLUNNO. THE agent of fermentation is a microscopic plant of the fungi order, called Saccharomyces ellipsoideus, which is usually spoken of as elliptic ferment, on account of its oval-shaped cells ; or it is called alcoholic yeast, because of its faculty to change grape-sugar in alcohol. Alcohol, however, is not the only substance derived from the action of the yeast over the grape-sugar ; a large amount of carbonic acid is also formed, which is that pungent, asphyxiating gas that is noticeable in badly-ventilated cellars at wine-making time. Alcohol remains in the wine, carbonic acid is set free, and the bubbling noise is due to that gas, which is released. Some of it still remains in the juice even after fermentation ; and it is enough to shake in a glass a little wine a few weeks old to see small bubbles collecting on the surface ; but gradually with age, through the racking and fining, all the carbonic acid is driven away. That is rather a pity, because a small pro- portion of this gas—in such a quantity as not to make the wine over-saturated with it, but leave it quite still—is a good thing, conferring on the wine more vim, while preventing it from growing too old and becoming flat. That is why wines that are too old and flat are in a way rejuvenated by dissolving in it some carbonic acid. The third substance that is formed in wine through fermentation is glycerine, though in much smaller quantity than the previous ones. Glycerine gives the wine sapidity, smoothness, mellowness. Often the natural harshness of some wine is corrected by the addition of glycerine. Succinic acid is also formed during fermentation ; its quantity, however, is so small that it is quite unimportant to dwell on it here. The alcoholic yeast is a minute, organised, living body, in the shape of an oval cell. Its germs are scattered in the air, in the soil ; they are found on every part of the vine, viz., bark, canes, leaves, and are specially plentiful on the berries and stalk. When grapes are squeezed they get into the grape- juice, and their life begins. They grow and multiply at a terrific rate, and in a few hours from a relatively small number countless millions of other cells are produced, which in their turn originate billions of like cells. A drop ot grape-juice in fermentation, looked at under the microscope, shows the field of the instrument literally covered by such cells, free and isolated, or budding without even the smallest interstice to accommodate one single individual Like all living bodies, the life of alcoholic yeast is favoured or obst ructed by certain conditions of environment ; and the environment in this case is the * Notes of lecture delivered at Albury, 1908. 236 Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. chemical composition of the medium in which they have to live and multiply, and the temperature under which they have to labour. Often wine-makers take a pride in the high proportion of sugar contained in their grapes ; but it is a fact thar musts containing over, say, 28 per cent. of sugar, ferment with more difficulty than one containing, say, 20 per cent. Grapes when too sweet, are, generally speaking, rather deficient in acids from the wine-making point of view. . A certains proportion of acids is not only necessary, but indispensable, to make wine. ~ The acids found in the grape-juice are malic acid principally, which may be called apple acid, because it is also the main acid in that wholesome fruit ; then, in a very small proportion, tartaric acid is found ; some musts, in fact, hardly contain any in a tree state, but is all combined with potassium, and forms the bitartrate of potassium commercially known as cream of tartar, which is nothing but the wine-stone recrystallised and bleached. This cream of tartar is found in musts before fermentation in the propor- tion of 8 to 12 parts per 1,000; but as the alcohol forms it becomes insoluble, therefore precipitates with the lees as soon as the fermentation is finished, and the liquid is quiet and no longer tossed about by the bubbling of the carbonic acid. Consequently in wine we founda much smaller quantity of said substance, about 2 in 1,000 parts of the wine; all the other is in more or less minute crystals, settles down with the sediment, and also lines the inside of the cask, forming that crystalline crust which is colloquially called wine-stone. By the way, popular prejudice looks at that with a kind of horror, and people at the sight of wine-stone conjure up visions of gout, rheumatism, stone in the bladder, in the liver, and what not, and they little know that when they eat grapes, or when they drink the sacrament wine which is supposed not to contain alcohol, or when they drink the wine of the abstemious, that is, the unfermented grape-juice, they take from four to six times more wine-stone than there is in wine. Nay, we all eat scones, but how many know that the nice hot scones contain a good deal of that alleged death-dealing wine-stone, insomuch as baking-powders are made by mixing soda bicarbonate and cream of tartar ! Generally speaking, the higher the proportion of sugar the lower that of the acids in the grapes, except in those that have suffered from a long period of wet weather for five or six weeks prior to the ripening of the grapes ; in them sugar, acids and all other substances decrease, while the amount of juice increases through an excess of water. It is a common thing to hear that one of the faults of Australian wines is that they are too acid, which is another fallacy that originates, like all prejudices, from ignorance of the subject. It will surprise wine makers, therefore, to hear me saying that, on the contrary, Australian wines are deficient in acids, I must explain. We must distinguish two kinds of acidity—the acidity that is due to fixed acids, or acid salts, which I have already referred to, and that are found in the grapes. They are called fixed acids, because they are not volatile—that is to say, they do not go off if the wine is exposed to the air, or shaken, or put in Mar. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 237 a warm room. It is this kind of acidity which is really the grape acids which Australian grapes for wine-making are deficient im. The other acidity is called volatile acidity, and forms during fermentation and after, in more or less quantity, according to the more or less skilled way in which the grape-juice has been fermented and the wine kept. This volatile acidity is mainly due to acetic acid, or vinegar acid, and other acids called, in the chemical nomenclature, fatty acids. They are not fixed, but volatile, because if exposed or shaken in the air they volatilise, and their volatilisation is the more rapid the higher the temperature of the environ- ment. The smell of very dilute acetic acid is pungent, not disagreeable, but that of the other fatty acids is pungent and disagreeable at the same time. The wines made in hot climates are all susceptible to contain a relatively large proportion of such acids compared to what you would find in wines made in cooler climates, all other conditions being equal. Portuguese, Spanish, Southern French, Calabrian, Sicilian, Dalmatian, Algerian wines that have not been taken special care of during and after fermentation, contain a proportion of volatile acidity beyond the degree tolerated by an ordinarily sensitive palate. The climate of Albury district must be regarded as a hot one during summer, and, while little trouble will be found in growing grapes, extra care must be taken to avoid high temperatures in the cellar and vats, or fermentation will take place too violently. I have already stated that the alcoholic yeast is an organised and living body, the life of which is much influenced by its environment. Too much sugar is a fault in grapes if you want to make light wine. Light dry wines should not contain more than from 10 to 12 per cent. of absolute alcohol by volume, to obtain which from 17 to 20-2 per cent. of sugar are required. In Albury district you get 25 and 30 per cent. and over. Such musts are specially indicated for making sweet wines of Port and Sherry types, also of Muscats, or for heavy dry wines useful for blending ; lighter vintages can, however, supply a Burgundy. Fixed acids are generally deficient, in so far their pro- portion is from 3:5 to 5 parts of must per 1,000, or a little over. Those musts would be better if they contained from 6 to 8 parts per 1,000. The operations on musts and wines may be divided in licit and illicit treatments. The correction for the deficiency of acidity by increasing it through the addition of tartaric acid is quite licit, and allowed by the Wine Adulteration Act, 1902, in force in this State. Tartaric acid is a natural ingredient of the grape-juice, and its deficiency may be corrected within the limits of what a suitable degree of acidity should have been. Now, to do so, one should be able to estimate how much fixed acidity the various kinds of grape-juice naturally contain at every vintage. To make such estimation requires a knowledge of chemistry, and the possession ot manipu- lative skill, which is not usually found in vignerons, but I may safely say that, if you increas the acidity of your musts by two parts per thousand, you will keep within safe limits—that is, you may safely add to the must and skins of | ton of grapes, 2 lb. 4 oz. -of tartaric acid. 238 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. All other conditions being equal the yeast works hetter in a grape juice, say, with 8 parts of grape acids for every 1,000 parts of must than in the same grape juice with only 6 parts per 1,000. All or nearly all vignerons must be under the impression that in grape picking all unripe and second-crop bunches, which are sour, should be caretully avoided. ‘This is another of those prejudices which I am determined to fight against. ‘The sourness of the second erop of grapes is due to nothing else but to a deficiency of grape sugar and to an excess of acids. Then there you have the most natural corrective of the bulk of your crop, which is too sweet and contains little acidity. When this country will teem with millions, and wine growing will be carried on on every patch that is unsuitable for anything else, and the sides of Mount Kosciusko will be terraced up to 3,000 feet, and planted with vines, then the Government Viticulturist will tell the wine growers of the mountain that they must avoid picking up unripe grapes. But now inthe Albury district, I say put them altogether, your wine will be all the better. It is much easier to do this than to make an earlier vintage such as is often advised in hot countries. An early vintage would give grapes that are not over ripe, but how cana vigneron decide by simply tasting the grapes, and judge of their acidity, and say whether it is 7, 8, or 9 parts per 1,000 ? Were he skilled in chemical work, he could take daily samples of grapes and test them, but, even if he could do that, there is nothing so misleading as the tests on samples of grapes, which are made by four or five bunches picked on different points of the vineyard, representing anything but the bulk. Why even the position of the berries on the same bunch will make a difference, and those on the shoulder are usually less acid than those on the point of the bunch. Jesides, when grapes are well on the way of ripening, every day makes a great difference ; therefore the last to be picked would always be over ripe for wine-making purpose, and in most cases a vigneron would begin picking grapes when they contain, say, 9 parts of acid in 1,000 parts of must, and the grapes picked last would finally contain much less. Now as to the Temperature. Fermentation is a complex phenomenon. It is physiological in so far as a live organism, viz., the yeast is concerned, but the yeast exudes a substance called diastase, which acts chemically on the grape sugar and transforms it into alcohol, carbonic acid, &e., as above stated. Fermentation, therefore, is a chemical phenomenon as well, and like in all such phenomena there is always loss or production of heat. Fermentation, however, always provides heat ; every particle of sugar that is spit up in the various bodies already enumerated produces heat. You may easily imagine the amount of heat generated by 5 cwt. of grape sugar which is contained in a ton of grapes with 25 per centum of that ingredient. If the grapes come in hot, and after being crushed they mark 75° Fahr., you will find that such temperature will steadily rise, and after forty-eight honrs or so the liquid will be so hot as to disturb the normal conditions of lite of the leaven, that is, of the yeast. Mar. 2,1908.| Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 239 You understand that 5 cwt. of grape sugar that is split into alcohol, carbonic acid, &e., must fatally produce a certain quantity of heat, which is the same, no matter what is the initial temperature at which fermentation begins ; whether it begins at 60° Fahr. or at 80° Fahr., the amount of heat produced by 5ewt. of grape sugar turned into alcohol and the other ingredients is always the same. However, if the must is cool when beginning to ferment, then the heat produced by fermentation will not cause the temperature in the vat to rise beyond the limits best adapted to the life of the yeast ; but if the grape-juice is already fairly hot, then it gets much too hot for the yeast to perform the best work of which it is capable. What are these limits? They are between 75° to 90° Fahr. ; even 92° or 93° Fahr. may be reached without the wine suffering in quality. There are only two ways to secure that fermentation should take place within the proper temperature limits. One is to pick the grapes early in the morning, and suspend picking during the hot hours of the day. In this way the juice starts fermenting at a relatively low temperature, and the rising of the initial temperature of the must will not reach or go beyond the limit. Naturally, gathering the grapes only early in the morning would protract the vintage too long ; and if the method may be applied by the wine-grower in a small way of business, the man with large vineyards cannot do it. Then special devices should be adopted, so as to eliminate the increasing heat from the vat. Readers of the Gazette will find a description of several methods of how to control the temperature of the fermenting grape juice in some of my previous articles, viz., “Modern Processes of Vinification,’ January, 1902; “The Stability of the Colouring Matter in Red Wines,” January and February, 1903; “Licit and Improved Treatment of Grape-juice in Wine Making,” January, 1906. 940 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar..2,-1908. Kansas and her Alfalfa (Lucerne). F, D. COBURN, Secretary, Kansas Board of Agriculture. KANSAS is unique in many things, but in gone more than in the com- manding position she occupies in relation to alfalfa growing. Her development in this industry has been one of the marvels of her prolific agriculture, and with alfalfa, as with winter wheat, no other State is her equal in its area and production. The alfalfa field of Kansas now ap- proximates nearly three-quarters of a million acres, and but three culti- vated crops exceed it in annual area, viz.: wheat, corn, and oats. In combination with these, alfalfa furnishes Kansans in abundance with perhaps the best and cheapest rations anywhere available for the main- tenance of their live stock, for the excellence of which they are famed. The credulity of the stranger to alfalfa, however fair-minded, is invari- ably taxed by a recitation of the truth about this wonderful plant; even the facts cut in two leave him in a perturbed state of doubt as to the veracity of the narrator, but thoroughly convincing are the experiences of those who are actually its growers. It is a perennial blessing to those who are so fortunate as to have an area devoted to its culture; vielding annually, whether the season be wet or dry, its several cuttings of hay unsurpassed in tonnage and quality, it is indeed esteemed as a benefac- tion, and doubly appreciated in those portions where it flourishes, but where the clovers do not prosper. Another feature, too, that the wide- awake farmer does not overlook or minimise is the improving effects of its roots, restoring and enriching, rather than depleting, the fertility of the soil in which they grow, to the great benefit of other succeeding crops. As is well known, alfalfa is one of the oldest forage plants, but to the hus- bandry of the American farmer it is of but recent acquisition. Kansans were among the foremost to correctly estimate its worth, and its wide- spread introduction in the Sunflower State has been one of the most important factors in increasing bank deposits and the per capita wealth. The increase in its area in Kansas affords some, although no adequate idea of the growing appreciation in which the plant is held. It is six- teen years since the crop was first thought of enough importance to chronicle its statistics, when the enumerators of the Board of Agriculture returned the area for the State as 34,384 acres. This year (1907) the area in alfalfa is 742,140 acres, or an increase of 20°7 per cent. over the area of 1906, 132 per cent. more than in 1901, and a gain of 2,058 per cent. over the area of 1891. Alfalfa can be grown in every county in the State, and 103 of the 105 counties report greater or less areas devoted to it in 1907. Of the 103, ninety-two counties show increases aggregating 130,369 acres, while eleven report decreases aggregating 3,542 acres, making a net gain for the year of 127,327 acres. Jewell, a central county Mar, 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 241 bordering Nebraska, has nearly 49,000 acres in alfalfa, by far the largest acreage of any one county; Smith, its neighbour on the west, ranks second with 30,939 acres; and Butler, south and east of these, comes third with 30,355 acres. Other counties having over 20,000 acres each are Cloud, Mitchell, Phillips, Republic, all north-central counties, and Sedg- wick, adjoining Butler. The largest gains in area in the year are like- wise reported by Jewell and Smith, of 7,027 and 6,258 acres respectively, followed by Mitchell with an increase of 5,451 acres, Washington with 4,991 acres, Wabaunsee 4,988 acres, Sedgwick 4,613 acres, and Republic 4,029 acres. Kansas, situated as she is, bordering the Missouri River on the east and extending 400 miles westward toward the Rocky Mountains, presents a wide variety in soils and other conditions, but alfalfa is all the way success- fully grown, thus demonstrating its general adaptability. The farmers of practically all portions are annually sowing enlarged areas, as is indi- cated by the county statistics. For example, of the more western coun- ties, Wichita and Stevens, in the second tier from Colorado, report gains in area in the past year of 576 per cent. and 633 per cent. respectively ; Clark has increased its area 112 per cent., Pratt 104 per cent., Stafford 142 per cent., and Rush 95 per cent. ; of the eastern counties may be men- tioned Leavenworth, on the Missouri River, which enlarged its area 158 per cent. in the past year; Johnson gained 178 per cent., Bourbon 241 per cent. ; over 100 per cent. was gained in Brown, and 98 per cent. in Jackson. In 1891 there were nine counties having 1,000 or more acres; this year there are eighty-one. In 1891 there was one county, Finney, having over 5,000 acres ; now there are forty-four such counties, twenty-nine of which have 10,000 acres and upwards. In Kansas, alfalfa growing was a prelude to prosperity, and is tlhe steadfast promotor of her progress. From comparative obscurity it has steadily risen to the foremost rank of the hay plants, and has already resulted in quadrupling the State’s output of tame hay. In 1890 the value of the tame-hay crop was 2,000,000 dollars, while that of 1905 was worth over 10,500,000 dollars. The annual value of products of live stock in that time has been practically doubled, and alfalfa has made of Kansas, if not first, one of the foremost States in dairying—a most desirable branch of husbandry that, intelligently and generally followed, well-nigh ensures continued and enlarged prosperity. Alfalfa, it seems, supplied the one requisite Providence failed to provide in establishing the otherwise ready- made conditions for dairying in Kansas, and the attention being given this mode of intensive farming in nearly every locality is having its bene- ficial influence, commercially and socially. As a hay, there is none so good for all kinds of live stock as alfalfa, and for horses and hogs it is a most invaluable food, either as a hay, a soiling- crop, or as pasture. As a meat-maker, milk-maker, and money-maker, it is equally prized, and as a renovator and improyer of soils it has no competitor. 242 Agricultural Gazette of N.S W. [| Mar. 2, 1908. How to Utilise the Surplus Orange Crop. M. BLUNNO. THERE are no certain data as to how many oranges are required to obtain 100 gallons of juice. It is evident that it depends on the size of fruit, thickness of the peel, on the variety, on the season, and on the pressure exercised in squeezing the fruit. The vessels and utensils required are— One vat in which to ferment the juice, about 150 gallons capacity ; two casks of 100 gallons capacity each (one cask is filled with the orange wine, the other is a spare one, in which the wine is racked, so that it is ex- changed from one vessel into anether at certain periods) ; a few demijohns and jars; a small hand-press. To make 100 gallons of orange wine, an equal quantity of orange juice is obtained from as many fruit as required ; to this 300 Ib. of cane sugar are added ; the whole is well stirred until the sugar is completely dissolved. The following ingredients are also added, and well mixed, viz. :— 6 oz. of ammonia phosphate (at 3s. per lb.). 1 oz. of common salt. l lb. of cream of tartar (1s. per lb.). 10 lb. fresh wine lees, or 8 oz. beer yeast. Mix everything thoroughly in the juice, throw a sheet or a blanket over the vat, which should be placed in a cool room in a corner out of the reach of the sun. It is important that the juice be extracted from the fruit as rapidly as possible. The oranges are split in halves, and quickly squeezed; a small press, all of wood—without iron fittings—would help very much, but care should be taken not to exercise a very strong pressure. Fermentation will gradually set in, and when this is completed and the juice is quite still, it is racked off and stored in one of the easks, leaving an ullage of 5 or 6 gallons, which are put in demijohns. An hydraulic bung is put in the bunghole, so as to allow the escape of any residual car- bonie acid. When the water in the hydraulic bung has ceased from bubbling, the ullage is filled and the cask bunged tight. The cost of making 100 gallons of orange wine will amount to about £10, including labour. Naturally, the outlay is not included in this estimate, and the outlay would be about £20 for the purchase of vat, casks, a small press, &e. A great saving might be effected by purchasing second-hand vessels—good clean casks that have served to store wine, brandy, whisky, sherry, or port ean be safely used. The orange wine so made is an intoxieant, and a person would not be authorised to sell it without first obtaining a license. Mar. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 243 Pickling Citrus Fruit. The pickling of citrus fruit peels, or of the citrus fruit themselves, to be afterwards used to prepare candies, is carried out as follows :— The pickle used is salt and water, viz., a solution of 124 lb. of salt in every 10 gallons of water. One of the heads of a cask of about 100 gallons is removed and the vessel is filled with peels, or with the citrus fruit split in halves. The pickle is poured on them until the vessel is full to the brim, then the head that was removed is put back. The cask will gradu- ally get in ullage, through evaporation, therefore more brine is added through the bung, so as to keep the cask always quite full. In this condition they will keep for a long time, and can be even shipped to distant countries. AFRICAN WONDER Grass (Punicum spectabile). B. HARRISON, Tweed River. Tuis is the heaviest-yielding grass in Australia, and it appears to thrive well in any soil or situation. So far, it has proved a very shy seed bearer, but it is readily propagated by pieces of the procumbent stem, which roots freely at each joint. When well established it forms a mass of the richest green foliage, about 5 or 6 feet high, gradually lowering to the outer border, where a network of shoots or runners cover the ground; it roots at the joints, and sends up then a mass of the softest and most luscious fodder. It is of rather coarse growth, but should prove unrivalled for pasture or ensilage. It is generally spoken of in the highest terms of praise by all those who have grown it, on account of its great vigour and astonishing growth. A writer inthe West Australian Journal of Agriculture says :—‘ As the result of numerous experiments, the African Wonder grass has proved the best of all the grasses yet introduced to this State ; it has succeeded in almost every place where it has been tried, both in dry and moist situations, and the introduction of this grass for the stock- owners of this State is worth several times over all the money that has been spent for grass seeds and experimenting with grasses during the last few years.” At the Bathurst Experimental Farm this grass has proved a vigorous grower, is unaffected by frosts, and sheep like it well. At several of the West Australian experimental farms it has given the most promising results ; in fact, it seems to stand the dry weather better than any grass that we have yet had growing. It appears to be doing equally well in sandy and clayey land, and also in dry places. This grass grows most luxuriantly, and, as well as the upright growth, it sends out long lateral stems, which form fresh roots at the nodules and cause the grass to spread quickly. Farmers in the western district should give it a trial, as it is a splendid drought-resisting grass, and would enable them to double and treble the stock-carrying capacity of their holdings. E 24,4 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Hawkesbury Agricultural College and Experimental Farm. SILo IN A HILL-sIDE: How To CONSTRUCT. THERE are many situations where a silo can be constructed in a hill-side, thus doing away with the necessity for an elevator, the material for the silage being carted to the top and there chaffed and allowed to fall into the silo. Questions are frequently asked regarding such silos; therefore, the following information, supplied by Mr. A. Brooks, Works Foreman, Hawkesbury Agricultural College, will be of general interest :— The style of silo which could be constructed in the side of a hill is a combination of the pit and overground patterns—that is to say, the hill may be cut into sufficiently far back to give the vertical depth required at the face, and this may be increased by sinking down 4 or 5 feet, or even more if the ground is hard, and will not require draining round the site of the silo. A road may be constructed to the top, where the chaff-cutter may be placed, when no elevator will be required; but the question of applying the driving power may prevent this being done. At least part, if not the whole, of the walls will require to be timber- lined. This may be done with logs for cross-rails, and slabs for vertical lining, jointed together as closely as possible. The front frame will require to be strongly made of corner-posts, door- posts, and rails. At each side of the doorway the slabs should be fixed vertically, but those in the door-frame, which are movable, may be horizontal (see sketch), or they may be arranged as shown in the diagrams of the tub silo in Gazette of September, 1902, POST As shown on the WN = sketch, the door-posts are > SRBXK - = = - = - -- Z Se) checked out the thick- SSS WS = : : SSS a on one side a strip of HOOP IRON hoop-iron is nailed on, This prevents the loose planks falling into the silo, when empty. ness of the planks, and To make the walls air-tight, it will be necessary to cover the inside face with P. and B. paper, not less than 2-ply thick, which requires to be tacked on to the slabbing, as the filling proceeds. It can be purchased for about 21s. per roll, containing 1,000 square feet. If white ants are troublesome, the timbers must be treated with a liberal coating of some of the preserving oils, or else line the silo with brick and cement. The roof may be a flat one, pitched as the slope of the hill or less, and, if covered with iron, a sheet can be removed each time the silo is filled. With regard to the fall or grade of the hill, a 1 in 1 grade would be a good position. Mar. 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 24.5 METEOROLOGICAL BuREAU, No. 4 DIVIsiIon, New Soutu WALES. Weather Conditions during January, 1908. S. WILSON, Divisional Officer. At the beginning of the month the rear isobars of a high pressure were located over New South Wales, Victoria, and the main portion of Queens- land, with its centre covering the eastern districts of New South Wales. This distribution persisted until the 9th, when it began to move towards the north-east. Its stagnation over the Eastern States resulted in a heat wave in South Australia and Victoria, which gradually affected parts of our Western districts, as it was permitted to move eastward by the displacement of the anticyclone. The highest temperatures reported on the 10th were— 111 degrees at Bourke, 108 at Brewarrina, 106 at Carinda and Mogil, and 105 at White Cliffs. The rainfall during the week ended the 7th was light to molerate and pa‘chy, but the passage of a low pressure over our State between the 8th and ' 1th was attended by some good general falls. The greatest amounts during that period were—In Western Division, 200 points at Hungerford and 166 at Nymagee; North-western Plain, 237 at Pilliga; Central Western Plain, 103 at Carinda ; Riverina, 50 points at Deniliquin ; North-western Slope, 122 at Bingara ; Central-western Slope, 346 at Dubbo; South-west Slope, 69 at Marsdens ; Northern Tablelands, 309 at Armidale; Southern Tablelands, 374 at Bombala; North Coast, 235 at Byron Bay ; Hunter and Manning, 70 at Port Stephens ; Metropolitan, 190 at Kurrajong ; South Coast, 127 at Pambula. Light to moderate rain continued in the extreme north-east corner until the 16th, but otherwise fine weather ruled over the State generally. High temperatures again occurred ; Euston registering 117 degrees on the 17th ; Deniliquin and Balranald, each 115; Wentworth, 114; Hay, 111; and Urana and Wagga, each 110 degrees. Hot weather conditions prevailed more or less generally until the 20th, when they were displaced by a cool southerly change. An extensive anticyclone controlled the weather of the southern half of the continent on the 21st, and fine weather was experienced over the greater portion of that area ; but at 9 a.m. on the 22nd, monsoonal conditions appeared over the Eastern States and caused rainfall of rather patchy character, associated with thunder, over Central and Eastern districts of our State on the 23rd and 24th. The distribution was as follows :—In the Western Division, from 1 point at Bourke to 135 at Euabalong ; North- 24.6 Aaricultural Gazette of N.S UV. [ Mar. 2, 1908, western Plain, Walgett 5 points only ; Central-western Plain, from 5 points at Warren to 78 at Ungarie; Riverina, from 1 point at Carrathool to 43 at Hillston ; North-western Slope, 46 at Warialda and 15 at Bingara oniy ; Central-western Slope, from 16 points at Wellington to 62 at Parkes , South-western Slope, from 3 at Albury and Gundagai to 218 at Marsdens , Northern Tablelands, Bundarra 128 and Inverell 16 points ; Central Table lands, from 3 at Springwood to 33 at Rockley ; ” 252 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Mar. 2, 19u8. ALTERNATIVE PLANS. Experiment No. 1. (1) Best Plan. Nb gece ttton. MAIN CROP VARIETY. bo NEW VARIETY A. 3 ns f B. ee sie MAIN CROP VARIETY. 5 NEW VARIETY C. 6 ce Es ¥ : lemenec ae MAIN CROP VARIETY. (2) Not such a yood plan as (1) but hetter than (8). Lp MAIN CROP VARIETY. 9 NEW VARIETY A. 3 4 ; e B. tine eaees 5 e D 6 ais ics MAIN CROP VARIETY. (3) il NEW VARIETY A. = : f oD Gheax PLOT a MAIN ies eat ator ; “} NEW VARIETY C. ii) Mar. 2, 1908. | Ayricultural Gazette of N.S IV. 253 The method of conducting the trials has been made as simple as possible, and experience in the past has shown that farmers who have undertaken these trials have had no difficulty in planting these experiments as planned. During the present month farmers in some districts will commence planting their wheat crops. This early planting should be confined to the late varieties, or to such crops as are intended to be fed off in the winter. Unless required for this latter purpose, early varieties such as Bunyip, Federation, and Comeback should not be planted during the present month, as when sown so early they are likely to come into ear at an unseasonable time either to produce grain or to be made into hay. The thorough preparation (f the soil should, however, be pushed on in readiness for planting next month orin May. In the matter of preparing the soil, it pays to be thorough, for plants are unable to make use of either the fertility or moisture stored up in clods. The result of observation goes to show that it is better to delay planting rather than to sow on poorly-prepared soil. A hopeful sign for the future of the wheat industry is that the day of the slipshod farmer is passing. Montroyuy WEATHER REPORT. HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. Summary for January, 1908. Air Pressure Air Moisture | Evaporation hade Temperature. 3 x. (Barometer.) S IESE) Saturation=100. | (from Water Surface). Sena se hate Sie -|osas bee 5: rac. 4 A | 8 : n o | : bale A a ° a) 2 ldoqou| @=Ss o | P=] =| o | =| as ) | q ps re el a>) ele een bert |e ies e = Le a ao Ps 5 3 na Seo |AOg, Sana &.2 op et) | oP &p ° +» oloo-'o } Ra © cS) eet | ) a g 2 OOS (So 219 Pas 4 se Be oe dealer een Wetter ail cael cele | ey od) eval Sea 29°91 | gU°32 | 80°14 | 51:4 | 106-4) 75°66 | 73°77 40 98 | 61 *380 | 7:770 | 6°073 16 28th. | Ist. Qnd. 28th. llth. 30th. 21st. | é Points 14 17 1 13 8 2 2 13 31 193 ee Rainfall... DACs Ss Gh TL) SSO as eG ORS? 20 RD 31. = 109 points. Mean for 16 years = 275 points. N NE E SE S W NW B23 ea on One 2 Thunderstorms, 7th, 8th, 9th, 24th, 28th, 29th. Greatest daily range of temperature, 49°5° on 17th. 95°3" 105:5: 99°1° 101-7" 104°7° 97°5° 10674 9 17 19 20 21 27 28 W.. MERVYN CARNE, Observer. Wind Days temperature rose above 95° 254 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Export of Oranges, 1907. W. J. ALLEN. In July the Minister approved of our sending a few cases of oranges and lemons to London, Vancouver, and Seattle, in order to again test the carrying quality of our fruit, and the prices to be obtained in the different markets; as also to ascertain whether or not they would land in good condition, and if there would be any difficulty about landing our clean fruit at any of these ports. It may be claimed by some that we did not send large shipments, but our reason for going slowly was to find out, Ist, whether our fruit would carry well; 2nd, whether there would be any difficulty in landing it; 3rd, the price it would command; and, 4th, the total cost of landing and selling fruit per case. The varieties under test were (to London)— Washington Navels. Blood. Valencia Late. Joppa. Mediterranean Sweets. Lisbon Lemons. (To Vancouver)— Mediterranean Sweets. Lisbon Lemons. Valencia Late. (To Seattle) Valencia Late Oranges. Lisbon Lemons. Sizes of Oranges and Lemons.—A few of the Valencia Lates were 2? inches in diameter, but the majority of the oranges were 3 inches, while the Wash- ington Navels went 34 inches in diameter. Most of the lemons were 2} inches in diameter, but a few cases measured 23 inches. The fruit was all evenly graded, wrapped and packed in bushel cases having centre divisions. These cases hold about two-thirds as much as the American cases, and the Vancouver Agent reported that the fruit would have sold better if we had put it up in the standard sized Canadian case. The Seattle Agent made no complaint about the case, but if large consignments were sent, I do not doubt but that they would prefer having them packed in their standard-sized cases. In nearly every case they complain that our shipment was a little late. My reason for shipping late was to try and put the Valencia Late orange in the different markets in as ripe a condition as possible, as this variety is rather sour when it first colours, and requires to hang for a while before it is at all sweet. However, there would be no trouble in sending citrus fruits from here so that they would land in either London or America at the time when they would be found most acceptable for the trade. In looking over the different items of cost, it will be seen that outside Mar. 2, 1908. | A geeiirel Gazette oO4 N.S.W. 255 of the Customs duty at Seattle, the other expenses are excessively high, and unless these can be materially reduced, they could never expect to do business with us. On the other hand, the Vancouver charges are moderate, and the prospects for doing business there should be very good as there is a big back- country market among miners, timber-getters, and the many resorts in the mountains visited during the summer months by thousands of tourists. The oranges and lemons were sent as deck cargo and not in the cool chambers as was the case with the London shipment. Had the prospects of next year’s crop been a normal one I would have liked to have seen our growers again sending some of their best fruit, but owing to the very dry spring and summer which we have experienced, I fear we will not have sufficient fruit to supply our own requirements. In reference to the report of the Agent-General on the condition of our fruit on arrival, it will be noticed that he claims that it was soft, while the previous year’s shipment arrived in better condition. This I consider was due to the wrapping paper we used. This year we used the ordinary glazed, while last year we used a waxed paper. The latter is a little more expensive, but the fruit wrapped in it usually keeps in better condition than that wrapped in ordinary wrapping paper. VANCOUVER. Ss: di Oranges realised per case... Ge S06 S60 ae Ses se cca) pe vo Expenses per case:— Ss: d: Cartage in Sydney tio oe xy re cae) (Ole Steamer freight, Sydney to Vancouver... ae soe ee saat. Landing charges, Vancouver... ce sah sais sae Oh a Customs entry, Vancouver as ah. ae ae Ba Die Commission on sale (5 per cent.) oie see ie st 1028 —— 2 8 wa Lemons realised per case... acP ie ts me SB ies Sop a Expenses (same as oranges) 2558 IME 7 SEATTLE. s. d. Oranges realised per case... see a EO are one Ser Soca) Expenses per case :— Sed: Cartage in Sydney Or Steamer freight to Seattle ib Freight and ‘cartage 0 11 Customs brokerage services: — Effecting release ... re sas ae ae se Sag” Al) ete} Duty BC ue Soe S00 sig Sil set le 9 Brokerage, 10 per ‘cent. ... 500 sc Nee see spe ae eet Gh +6 5 9 Lemons realised per case Expenses (same as oranges) 256 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. LONDON SHIPMENT. s.~ "dé Oranges realised per case... ade as aoe are ay ace .. 14 Qf Expenses per case:— 87d: Cartage in Sydney ae sce ass We: ee ed ine Freight to London hi os une cee ee epee a London:— a fel: Sale room charges yA ae ae ce bee Ppa i) fl Packages on show be aks Bas nae ee Aspe ll) YP srokerage and guar antes wee se oats soe seme a (mete — ee) 3 10 10 113 Lemons realised per case... es sie a Ste : 12 0 Expenses (same as above)... aot moe aac ss Sie Sone 1G, 8 2 Extract from letter from Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Mines and Agriculture. London, 18 October, 1907. * * * * * The fruit, although arriving rather soft, which suggested slight over-ripeness, sold exceedingly well; the Navels, indeed, fetching over 3d. each. The excellent colour and appearance of the fruit was a great attraction to the fruit buyers in the West End shops who were specially inyited to attend the sale. Oranges and lemons are also scarce in this market at the present time. I will report fully next mail. Agent-General to Minister for Mines and Agriculture, Sydney. Sir, London, 25 October, 1907. With further reference to the citrus fruits from the Pera Bore orchard, which arrived ea s.s. ‘* India,” I have the honour to forward herewith the account sales for the same, from which it will be seen that the net proceeds amount to £16 10s. 9d. Messrs. Keeling and Hunt advise me that the prices obtained must be considered high, but apart from the good quality of the oranges, it happened that there was very little of any kind of showy fruit on the market at the time. These clean-looking, bright, and well-coloured oranges were particularly welcome. With regard to quality of the consignment, it was excellent, though as regards condition the fruit was soft and more or less over-ripe. The *‘ Late Valencias”’ had the finest skin, the 96’s were what they call “‘ large 42077 size, and this size is the best of all. The ‘‘ Navels”’ were very fine, but the ‘‘ Mediterranean Sweets”? were of a rougher quality. The method of packing was good, but might have been tighter, and it is ‘well to put the oranges exactly over “each other, and all. lying the same way. If the box is not quite full a little wood-wool is good to prevent rattling. The lemons were small and soft, of good quality; but there is very little room for them except during September and October, as they receive so many from Sicily, Majori, Sorrento, and Malaga, practically all the year round. Messrs. Keeling and Hunt took a great deal of trouble with this fruit, and after finding it had arrived in such excellent show condition, sent special notices to well-known fruiterers regarding it. They advise me that there is an excellent market for Australiam oranges during September and October, but after this time heavy supplies come froms other places and prices fall. | Mar. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 257 J. Fyfe Smith, Vancouver, to Director of Agriculture, Sydney. Dear Sir, Vancouver, B.C., 5 October, 1907. I beg to report that the twelve cases of citrus fruits shipped by your Department to Vancouver in my care, arrived in verv sood condition. I disposed of same to a retail merchant as per enclosed account. Both lemons and oranges were clean and considered very good samples by the wholesalers in Vancouver. Of the thirteen cases for Seattle one was delivered in a damaged condition. I held this back as it would have been pillaged in transit. I distributed the oranges amongst the wholesale houses to give them an idea of what New South Wales is capable of exporting. The fruit would have realised higher prices if it had not been too late in the season, and if it had been packed in Canadian standard cases. This is a matter of vitak importance in this and the American markets. Hamitt Bros. to Director of Agriculture. Dear Sir, Seattle, Washington, 7 October, 1907. Replying to your favour of August 30 we are pleased to advise you that the shipment of oranges and lemons arrived in Seattle on the 5th. We received instead of nine cases of oranges and four of lemons, eight cases of oranges and four of lemons. Mr. J. Fyfe Smith, in whose care these goods were shipped, having held one box at Vancouver, on account of its being damaged more or less in transit. On the oranges and lemons we received we wish to congratulate you on the quality, more especially the oranges, which were very high coloured and in practically perfect condition. The lemons were cured down, we think, a little too much; otherwise they were very good. We sold these oranges and lemons as per account sales enclosed, and are attaching draft to these account sales, which, we hope, you will find all in order. We are sorry you did not make us a larger shipment, as we could have used it to very good advantage at the time these goods arrived; in fact, from the latter part of September to the first of November there is an opening for some of these goods every year, and another season we will take this matter up with you early, and we hone to be able to do some business with you. 5 Under separate head, in a day or two, we will take up the matter of packing these goods, &c., with you. As we will receive new Navels on this market about the Ist to the 10th of Noveinber this always stops the sale of Valencia oranges. The oranges you sent us were a very desirable size for this market. At your convenience we would like to hear from you as to how you ordinarily pack your oranges. You possibly have seen some of our Californian cases. The size you sent us was about equivalent to what we call 150 or 176 size. We would also like to have you advise us if the sale of these oranges was entirely satisfactory, and meets with your approval. 258 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Orchard Notes. W. J. ALLEN. MARCH. THE most important work to be carried out this month is the harvesting of fruit, preparing the land to receive cover crops, attending to pests, and the preparation of land which is to be planted this coming winter, as also the ordering of the necessary trees. For those who are exporting apples, the earlier in the mouth the fruit can be sent to London the better are the chances of its bringing good prices, as when the season is normal to early, the early and medium markets are usually better than the late ones, as it happens at times that some of the earlier summer fruits clash with the late shipments of apples, and it is therefore well for exporters of apples to bear this in mind. See that all fruit is well graded as to colour and size, and packed neatly and closely in nice, new, clean cases ; the latter to be neatly branded before that is whether they are selected, specially selected, or choice ; but never put first, they leave the packing house with the name of the variety, the grade- second, or third grade, as the quality of all grades should be equally good— the only difference being in the size and colour. Some varieties of fruit when picked under-ripe will, during certain seasons, develop black spots, on the voyage, similar in appearance to the bitter pit. It is therefore best to see that such varieties are not picked until they are ripe, in which case the fruit is not so liable to become so marked. During the beginning of February splendid soaking rains fell all over the coastal area, which up to that time had suffered from a prolonged drought, ard many of the older citrus trees were languishing. The splendid rains have caused most of the trees to freshen up, and the fruit is fast filling out. Not- withstanding the dry weather experienced, there are some very fine apples and pears in many of those orchards which have received good attention, and where the trees are not very old. These fruits, when placed on the market, are bringing very high prices. Where it is the intention of the orchardist to sow cover crops this fall among the trees or vines, it will be well to have the land prepared and the crop put in by the end of this month. Grey field peas, black tares, and rye may be sown, the last-named variety being the quickest-growing crop. Last season’s experience taught us to put this-crop in early in the fall, and get it plowghed under early in the spring, while the land has sufficient moisture left in it to plough well. Fruit Fly, wherever prevalent, must receive unremitting attention. It is well to place tins containing kerosene around the trees which are carrying fruit, in order to trap as many flies as possible. Coaling Moth.—- Continue to examine the bandages on all trees in orchards carrying fruit, and for a few days after the fruit is picked ; occasional grubs t=) Mar, 2, 1908, | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 259 will be found. Our Inspectors under the Fruit Diseases Act have found parasites at work in a good many places, but not in sufficient numbers to keep the moth under. The bandages should be at least 1 foot wide, tied round the trunk of the tree with acord or fastened with a copper nail. The cord should be placed about the middle of the bandage, the upper half of which should be turned down to form a retreat for the grubs. Peaches.—In the April, 1897, number of the Agricultural Gazette, pages 267 and 268, I advised growers to plant certain varieties of peaches, among which was the Elberta. At that time growers considered this variety rather coarse, and, in consequence it was not planted very extensively for seyeral years, but of late they are beginning to change their minds, and to-day it is one of the varieties which is being most largely planted. Messrs. Jenkin Bros., of Lisa- row, had a very well-packed case of this variety, which took first prize at the Gosford Show this year. There are several other good varieties ripening at different times, but there is no better ali-round peach. It is a beautiful dessert fruit,and Messrs. Jenkins Brothers’ first prize case of Elberta Peaches makes splendid canned and Block kindly lent by the Town and Country Journal. dried fruit, as well asarich jam. Planting.—Wherever there is sufficient moisture the latter part of this month is a good time to plant out young strawberry plants. Where young orchards are to be planted the land should be put in condition as soon as possible, so that it may be in readiness to receive the trees by June, which is one of the best months for the planting of deciduous trees. Powdery Mildew belongs to the Erysipbea group, and its mycelium spreads itself over the surface of the attacked organ, and resembles the oidium of the vine, which also belongs to the same group. On this account, sulphur dusted on the plants in fine powder, which has been found so effective against oidium, is equally effective against powdery mildew. The ammonio-carbonate of copper spray is also recommended for this disease and late stages of fungus disease generally. The directions for making the solution are as follow :— Formula :—Copper Carbonate res ae ... © OZ Ammonia (Liqnor Ammoniz sp. sre880)P es. ox ur ... 3 pints. Water ... Sect er ae ... 45 gallons. 260 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Make a paste in a wooden bucket of the carbonate of copper and a little water, Add the ammonia, which will dissolve the paste, and then dilute to 45 gallons. The first application should be made long before the leaves are half grown. Copper carbonate is obtainable from wholesale chemists, but is not stocked in very large quantities, as there is little demand for it. The price is Is. 9d. per lb., in 7 lb. lots. : Owing to the ditticulty of obtaining carbonate of copper in smaller towns, as well as the high price usually charged for it, the Department recommends. that the fruitgrowers prepare it. The following is the method given by Pierce :— “In a barrel dissolve 6 lb. of copper sulphate in 4 gallons of hot water. In another wooden vessel dissolve 7 lb. of washing soda or sal-soda, in 2 gallons of hot water. The soda should be clear (translucent), and not white and powdery, as it appears when air slaked. When cold pour the soda solution slowly into the copper solution. As soon as bubbles cease to rise fill the barrel with water, stir thoroughly, and allow the mixture to stand over night to settle. The next day syphon off all the clear liquid from the top with a piece of hose, fill the barrel with water, stir thoroughly, and allow it- to stand a second night. Syphon off the clear liquid the second day, fill the barrel with water, stir, and syphon off the clear liquid once more the third day. Now pour out the wet sediment from the barrel into a crock or other earthen dish, strain out the excess of water through a cloth, and dry slowly in an oven, stirring occasionally, if necessary, to prevent overheating. Prepared in this manner there should be obtained, if none of the sediment in the barrel be lost, about 2°65 lb, of copper carbonate.” ‘The cost of preparing carbonate of copper by this method will depend on tue cost of the sulphate of copper and the sodium carbonate (sal-soda or washing soda). The present price of copper sulphate is 3d. per Ib., and washing soda 2d, per lb.; thus the cost will be as follows :— Sade 6 lb. of Copper Sulphate, @ 3d. ee ore 7 Ib. of Sodium Carbonate @ 2d. ... Soe ees 2 2 8 As these ingredients will make 2°65 lb, of the carbonate of copper, the cost: will be approximately 1s. per lb. The advantages of making it at the orchard are twofold; firstly, the sulphate is obtainable almost anywhere, thus saving delay, and secondly, the cost is less. Very little time is taken up, as there is no continuous stirring or watching as is the case with some mixtures, — ————————————E Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 261 Farm Notes. HAWKESBURY DIstRICT—Marcu. H.W. POLIS. As a result of continuous drought the doleful recital of constant crop failures month after month has been an unpleasant duty in the past. Happily this is now entirely changed. The monsoonal rains of February reached the Hawkesbury Valley and brought a copious downfall of 6 inches, all of which was readily absorbed. The parched soils and subsoils were saturated. Insutticient rain fell to fill the lagoons and waterholes which have dried out. The volume and character of the rainfall has not been equalled for the past ten years. The entire aspect of the valley has changed from a drought- stricken condition to one of rapid growth, with intensely green grass and capidly-growing crops on all sides. Where farmers took the risk in January and planted maizes, sorghums, and millets, the results now are most gratifying. The growth is phenomenal. There will be green forage crops for stock in April, May, June, and July, with a surplus for conservation as ensilage. There has been no period during the past ten years during which farmers have found more need for energetic and constant work. Urgent provision is essential for early supplies of green feed. The activities of the farm have reached and necessitate this most intense application. The soils are in excellent condition for cultivation—friable, moist, and warm. The long continuous period of drought with enforced fallows have released ample plant food. The conditions for sturdy, prolific, and rapid growth could not be more favourable. Stock are provided for until winter by the excellent and abundant grazing conditions. The milk yields at the dairy have responded already to these. Provision must be made this month to get in the earliest cereal crops and also prepare the land for the main sowings next month. Crops for Green Feed.—For early crops for green feed the Macaroni or Durum wheats are worthy of attention, and may be sown in the middle of this month in order to get the first cut for green feed in August, and secure a second crop for hay or grain. These wheats are hardy, withstand drought, and resist rust, and in our experience have amply demonstrated their special value for this district, more particularly where the soils are light and some- what poor. The plant grows tall, has smooth, broad, succulent leaves, and affords useful forage in the early stages. Farrer’s Durum and Medeah give the best results. 262. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Again, oats and peas (the grey field pea) form a useful combination for forage, 1} bushels of oats to $ bushel of peas drilled in, or oats and tares in similar proportion. Where a stimulating manure is required, the application of 1 ewt. per acre of bonedust, dried blood, and superphosphate, equal par'ts, will be tound sufficient. It has, however, to be remembered that where crops failed last season through absence of moisture, the artificial fertilisers applied then were not used, and probably are lying dormant ready to be taken up with the favourable moisture conditions existing now, hence judgment must be exercised in determining the necessity for adding fertilisers this season, and the quantity to apply. For soiling purposes, Skinless barley is in high favour with dairy farmers. The soil requires careful cultivation for the crop. A manure similar to that suggested for the oats will answer in this case, with 13 bushels of seed per acre drilled. Where an area of poor land is available, it might be profitably utilised by growing a crop of Emerald rye for green feed. Sow 13 bushels to the acre. This plant is very hardy, and whilst not so nutritious as the abovementioned crops, yet it often comes in handy, and repays well for its growing. Hay.—The early hay crops of wheat might be sown this season towards the end of March, seeing the conditions are suitable for the late maturing varieties, such as Blount’s Lambrige, White Lammas, and White Tuscan. It has been shown that these usually are fit to cut in September. The best class of oat to sow so early as this month is that known as the Potato Oat. The straw is clean, stout, rather short, with good flag, and is highly esteemed for early green feed. Sow 2 bushels to the acre. Hungarian Millet—TVhe final crop of this useful green fodder may be sown this month. It requires a rich mellow soil. The growth is heavy, and apart from its value as green fodder, it has proved one of the most valuable and easily handled crops for conversion into ensilage. The late crop sown last year at the College proved a veritable gold-mine during the past summer for our cows in the form of stack ensilage, and was relished and greedily consumed. Rape.—Much has been written about rape of late years, and it is satis- factory to note that generally a greater area is being grown, It supplies a rich, palatable, and succulent food for all classes of stock, including poultry, and more particularly sheep. With the latter the dual advantage is gained by the rich class of manuring the land is given. The feeding value of rape necessarily depends on the character of the soil, but given good land the results closely approximate to that of clover. Rape is sturdy and yigorous in growth, and occupies the position of a catch or cover crop. It is par- ticularly serviceable in acting as a cleansing crop. A good growth is assured in from eight to twelve weeks. It may afford several successive cuttings, and will give from 10 to 15 tons of feed to the acre. A fine, moist, clean seed-bed should be made, and seed of the Dwarf Essex variety sown in drills 2 feet apart at the rate of 4 1b. per acre. A broad- casted crop will require more seed. Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 263 Turnips, Swedes, Kohl Rabi, Tree Kale, and Thousand-headed Kale may be sown as early as possible. Deep rich loams give the best returns. Anderson’s Imperial Purple-top Swedes gave us splendid returns in the past. A quickly-growing favourite green crop with a moist soil is the White Mustard, This can be sown at the rate of 4 or 5 lb. seed to the acre. It provides excellent fodder for sheep. Maize.—The late-planted crops are now above ground and are growing well. It is important that they be subjected to shallow cultivation to keep down the summer grass and weeds, as well as to aerate the soil. Constant attention to this will keep up rapid and sturdy growth. Sorghums.—These crops, like the maize, require equal attention in the form of shallow cultivation. Lucerne.—The past three seasons of drought have given us unmistakable proof of the hardy nature of lucerne and its extraordinary power as a drought resister. On our poor high lands no grass or fodder plant responded more vigorously to the recent falls of rain. During the summer a small picking of this richly-nourishing plant was always available, from a grazing point of view, notwithstanding the absence of moisture. The more we see of this plant under the adverse conditions we recently experienced, the more satisfied we are of its great capacity for providing an ideal food for stock. ‘The opportunity now offers to increase the area under this useful crop. It naturally thrives best on deep loamy, rich soils, with good natural drainage. This, however, should not discourage farmers testing it on poor soils. It is surprising the growth noted on low-class soils, always providing there be depth and good natural drainage. In all cases the land should be prepared by thorough cultivation and subsoiling. The addition of > ton gypsum per acre is always attended with good results. A clean, fine seed-bed, particu- larly when prepared after fallow, is advantageous, and favours early develop- ment of the plant. When lime is not added, the addition of 2 to 24 ewt. per acre of super- phosphate and sulphate of potash may be harrowed in, in the proportion of four cf the former to one of the latter. Use from 12 to 20 lb. seed per acre, and adopt every precaution to secure clein seed, free from dodder. It may be sown in drills or broadcast. 264: Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Mar. 2, 1908. GLEN INNES DIsTRICT—MARCH. R. H. GENNYS. Green fodders.—Barleys may be sown this month for green fodder for the winter. Cape and Skinless barley are both good in this connection; the latter stools badly, so seed should be sown thickly. Ryes may also be sown for green fodder or for grazing in winter. White Rye and Emerald are two good varieties. For grazing on, Thousandfold stools well and stands much longer before coming into head than the other varieties mentioned. Wheat and oats may also be sown for green winter feed ; the former is the sweeter, but oats grow the quicker and form a good fodder for milking cows. Swedes and other turnips may now be sown with advantage. Lucerne may be sown towards the end of the month on deeply-ploughed, well-prepared land. See that seed is good, bright, and yellow, and guaranteed free from dodder. Cover lightly with very light harrows, with tines slanted backwards towards the driver, or with a bush harrow. Red Clover.—This is a capital fodder plant for New England; it might also be sown towards the end of thismonth. Planted with any of the grasses in the proportion of two-thirds grass seed to one-third clover will be found about right. It is better to sow the light seed of grasses first, sowing the clover afterwards, as a more even distribution will thus be made. Small grass seed and clovers should, like lucerne, be only covered lightly. Clovers, besides improving the pasture, conserve much nitrogen on their roots, providing nourishment for the grasses they are sown with. Rape may be sown on good, well-prepared land. A dressing ef 56 Ib. of superphosphate to the acre almost doubled the yield of fodder in our experi- ments last season. The practice here is to first mix the rape seed with the manure with shovels as evenly as possible, then sow through the manure feeders of the drill only, the seed-feeders not being used. Kale, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Onions, Lettuces, Carrots, Celery may also be sown. Orchard.—Destroy all fallen fruit by boiling or burning, examine bandages on the apple, pear, and quince trees about once a week for codling moth. The chrysalises of the moth which find shelter in the folds of the bandages should be killed by cutting in half with a knife, or the whole bandage dropped into boiling water, care being exercised not to drop any in the process. Mar. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 265 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHOWS. SECRETARIES are invited to forward for insertion in this page dates of their forthcoming shows ; these should reach the Sub-Editor, Department of Agri- culture, Sydney, not later than the 21st of the month previous to issue. Alteration of dates should be notified at once. 1908. Society. Secretary Date. Bega A., P., and H. Society _... ae oc . W. A. Ziiegel . ... Mar. 4,5 Braidwood P., A., and H. Association ae ... L. Chapman eee eo Yass P, and A. Association ae 5 oa ... Will. Thomson fo PASEO Tenterfield P., A., and Mining Seas: a ... F. W. Hoskin on AO Berrima A., H., and I, Society, Moss Vaie ... ... J. Cullen ... iS Dosey Wyong Agricultural Association BS <3 ... W. Baldwin seston Osea, Bombala Exhibition Society... ae Bes giao Gaukweedies-., =, - LO. Bangalow A. and I. Society — .. Bee . W. H. Reading ...- ,, 10, 11, 12 Glen Innes and Central New England P. CoE v. ee Geos-AvsPriest- 2.5.3, LOpLE 12 Dapto, Unanderra, A. and H. Society... one Geo: Lindsayeee... os lal Tumbarumba and Upper Murray P. and A. Society BW Biguresi= (crc s5e ell eke Nambucca A., H., and I. Association, Bowraville ,.. Clifford Moseley... ,, 12, 13 Nepean A., H., aes I., Penrith aes . Perey Smith eal eapaeeaeed Geen te} Port Macquarie and Hastings District A. aid H. ae Thos. Dick Ne oh real ealted Goulburn A., P., and H. Society das ae ede Roberts! a2. So L2so 14 Blayney A. and P. Association ... ibs Sa fon Ward Dann Past Lael S Gloucester Agricultural Society or: sis ... Edward Rye Boe! He teh Ne) Cobargo A., P., and H. Society a ... T. Kennelly soo sage teh aly) Macleay A., H., and I. Association, Kempecy ... EK. Weeks... St es S920 Armidale aad NE. P., A., and H. Association .. A. McArthur... ,,18, 19, 20, 21 Crookwell A., P., and H. Society aa ae ee Onl Cliftonsy= cso. al on 20 Gundagai P. and A. Society... ae Ba ... A. Elworthy » 24, 25 Inverell P. and A. Association ... aes ay ... J. Mellveen pee 242520, Tamworth Agricultural Association... . J. R. Wood Spanos 20 Hunter River A. and H. Association (West Maitland) Co JHE Kings oe) 55.2 24 to 27 Orange A. and P. Association ... ee we ... W. Tanner cose 20s} Berry Agricultural Association... af ie ... A. J. Colley Soon COHAN ea Clarence P. and A. Society, Grafton ... Be ... Thos. Bawden ... Apl.1, 2 Ulladulla A. and H. Association ae a en © weACu Db aCchanwies se eel Durham A. and H. Association (Dungog) ..._ ... C. E. Grant Saati ol ie Warialda P. and A. Association aor ee Pa WisnbiGed estan erat tls 2, o Bathurst A., H., and P.. ba Eig ‘se ... W.G. Thompson.. ,, 1, 2,3 Walcha P. and i Acco tntion san : oa wee Se eLLALOTAVeSs ems P35) 25 8 Campbelltown A., H., and I. Society. ape ... Fred. Sheather ao Dats: Lower Clarence A. Society, Maclean ... be sae) Gre DAVIS): Sam Fp eins) Moree P. and A. Society... a ae $2 ... D. E. Kirby Aer heh =) hc) Mudgee A. Society akc vg sa for ... H. Lamerton 7, 8,9 96) oOo Cooma P. and A. Association... ie a ... C. J. Walmsley ... 266 Agricultural Gazette of NSA. [ Mar. 2, 1908. Society. Secretary. Date. Upper Hunter P. and A. Association (Muswellbrook) Pierce Healy ... Apl. 8, 9, 10 Upper Manning A., P., and H. Association ... ., D. Stewart, jun.... ,, 9, 10 The Royal Agricultural Society of N.S.W. .. H. M. Somer ..» 9, 14 to 22 Dubbo P., A., and H. Association : , ... F. Weston ... May 6,7 Hawkesbury District A. Association .., a ... C. S. Guest Lela oselG The Central Australian P. and A. Ass., Bourke . G. W. Tull Sone ee AU 4! Nyngan and District P. and A. Association ... wie We Hi. A; Tiyne es. issn 2a New South Wales Sheep Breeders’ Association . A. H. Prince cease) a2atOeey Deniliquin P. and A. Society... ae ae .. L. Harrison ... duly 18, 19 Hay P. and A. Association 5p na ee . G. S2Camden” <2 45,, 22420 Narandera P. and A. Association Ric Be jo WV, TD lynchi se. AU oan tO National A. and I. Association of Queensland vo.2C. -AArvier Se ooelOl tors Forbes P., A., and H. Association a 7 .. N. A. Read eees loa Parkes P., A., and H. Association ... wae 7. G. W..Peaborn 3. 3, 219520 Murrumbidgee P. and A. Association . 2 AL BD. White scans eo 2 Oso, Young P. and A. Association... +: ae » G.S. Whiteman.:, 4; 8; 9; 10 Grenfell P., A., and H. Association... re ... Geo, Cousins ... sept. 2,3 Albury and Border P., A., and H. Society ... a WL JOWNnSONS jay 5) Ome LO Germanton P, and A. Society ... bo Ws .. J. Stewart a sO Cootamundra A., P., H., and I. Association ... ... T. Williams Poa we ape ia) Queanbeyan P. and A. Association —.. shee ... KE. O. Hinksman.., Oct. 1 Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. {2 Plates. ] RAVES, BOARS, AND TURKEYS FOR SALE, WAGGA EXPERIMENTAL FARM, BOMEN. SHROPSHIRE RAMS... a nae ... £8 8s. to. £5 5s;-each. BERKSHIRE BOARS AND SOWS.... 502 u&e 2S. (eachs BRONZE TURKEY GOBBLERS ...... £225. ,, Apply MANAGER, Wagga Experimental Farm, Bomen, Mar: 2, 1903: | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. I [ ADVERTISEMENT. | Government Stud Bulls available for lease, or for service at State Farms. Breed. | Name of Bull. | Sire. Dam. | Shorthorn. | March Pansy 4 Earl March Australian Grafton Farm | Pansy 6 .. Dora’s Boy _...| Cornish Boy ... Lady Dora .. Berry Stud Farm.. z 3 ... Royalty .. Royal Duke II.. Plush ..., Cumbalum ...| 17 July, - .... Pansy Duke ...| Eari March ...! Pansy 4th .... Wollongbar Farm. 3 3 . Dora’s Showman) Showboy ...| Lady Dora I . | "i Jersey Thessalian II .... Thessalian Egyptian Alstonville 6 June, Princess 5 .| Colleen’s Golden} Melbourne ..| Colleen Wagga Exp. Farm 7 | Lad. * ...| Golden Lord .... Golden King ...} Colleen 3 S Guernsey . Gentle Prince... Rose Prince...) Gentle Ballina .,, Slo Only, 6 ..| The Admiral ..| Hawkes Bay ..| Vivid... Wollongbar Farm 3 $s ...| Peter’s Lad ..| Peter .| Souvenir... Burringbar .| 20 Mar., a .| Prince Milford..| Rose Prince Flaxy . H.A.College, Richmond : = .. Vivid’s Prince...) Rose Prince Vivid Wollongbar Farm. ; et Prince Edward..| Rose Prince Vivid Coraki .| 21 April, Red Poll Dairyman | Dandy ... Turban .. Grafton Farm : 7 The Judge .. Barrister . | Lovely 8th ... Berry Farm 5 Ayrshire ...| Don Juan ...| General... .| Judy 9th . Bathurst Farm ...| = x .| Royal Prince .. | Curly Prince Rosie 5th .... Grafton Farm + Kerry. | Bratha’s Boy ... Aicme Chin Bratha 4th . Glen Innes Farm... + Dexter Kerry | Erebus .. Hottentot Marguerite ...| Eastwood... ao] Ge Mare S Waterville tamea | Mesnanseecnate mane (bare soscuctaenss Grafton Farm... : Punch. Holstein . The Hague... | President .| LolkjeVeeman H.A. College, Richmond * | Obbe II _ | Obbe = ”” * Available for service only at the Farm where stationed. | La SleneGl3| Berry Stud es + Available for lease, or for service at the Farm. Regulations under which the Government Stud Bulls are leased. be at the rate of 2s. 6d. (two shillings and sixpence) per cow. Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney, lst July, 1903. 1. Any Agricultural Society, Dairy Farmer, or a combination of Dairy Farmers, may, should the Minister deem it advisable, obtain the hire of one of the Government stud bulls for a period of six months if they guarantee payment for the service of thirty cows, or for shorter periods on special terms. 2. The fee, which shall be payable in advance, shall be at the rate of 5s. (five shillings) per cow for all bulls save Dexter-Kerries, and their fee shall no case be forwarded until the fees have been received. G Bulls will an | Stationed at— | Lease expires. OS. 0S. 708: 08. 08. 08. II Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IV. [ Mar, 2, 1908. 3. Bulls leased will be transferred free of charge to any place not more than 100 miles by rail from the place from which they are transferred ; to any place distant more than 100 miles by rail, lease will be granted only on condition that the lessee pays all charges for the extra distance over 100 miles. In the case of bulls sent by sea, or partly by rail and partly by sea, all expense over the sum of £1 (one pound) must be borne by the lessee. The lessee must make all arrangements for, and bear all expense of, transferring a bull from the nearest railway station or port to the place where it is to be stationed. In the case of leasing a bull already stationed within the district, the new lessee must send for the bull and bear the expense of removal. 4. A condition of the leasing of the bulls shall be that the farming public be allowed to send cows to the bull at a fee of not more than 10s. (ten shillings) per cow, provided the bull’s list is not already full, but the total number of cows served must not be more than thirty for six months. 5, Kach bull shall be treated and kept in a condition to satisfy the Depart- ment, and shall be at all times open to inspection of authorised Officers of the Department. 6. A return showing the number of cows served, and distinguishing between cows owned by those to whom the bull is leased and the outside public, shall be sent to the Department at the end of the term. 7. All due care must be taken to see that the bull shall not have access to cows suffering from any infectious disease, special attention being given to pleuro-pneumonia and tuberculosis. 8. No farmer who is known to have pleuro-pneumonia in his herd shal! be permitted to send cows to any of these bulls within three months from the date of the last outbreak. 9. In case of illness of a bull the Department shall be immediately informed 10. The bull shall not be allowed to run with cows, but shall be kept in a special bull paddock, which must be well fenced, and each cow “in use” shall only be allowed to remain with the bull such time as will enable him to have connection with her twice. However, where necessary, in order to keep bulls quiet, special permission may be given to run with one or two specially- selected healthy cows. 11. Should any of the foregoing rules not be complied with, the Depart. ment shall have the right to remove the bulls at once, and all fees paid shall be forfeited. 12. Should a bull be wilfully neglected or badly treated, or Rule 10 be broken, the Department shall have the right to take any action desirable for the recovery of damages. 13. All applications for bulls should be made to the Director of Agricul ture, Department of Agriculture, Sydney. AGREEMENT CLAUSE. In consideration of the loan of one Stud Bull ( ) for a period of Ike of do hereby agree to be bound by the conditions expressed in the foregoing Regulations. Dated this day of 190 Witness, — Lessee. JRE. | Duty Stamp. | N.B.—This agreement must be signed on the day the bull is received by the lessee, and is to be returned by first post to the Director of Agriculture One Shilling, TS oy ERR Vol. XIX Part 4. AGRICUETURAL Y . ks aa y Cae st ih | : registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper. | Price SIXPENCE. Vol. XIX. Part 4. APRIL 2, 1908: ptrkbC UL TURAL Gait E NeW SOU LE WALES. Issued by Direction of fee eroy JOHN PERRY MP. MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE. F. G. CHOMLEY, Sub-Editor. Bp Authority: SyDNEY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER [| *17238 (a) 120: II Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. It is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Hew South GHales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same in separate pamphlet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. April 2, 1908. |] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. CONTE N ES: PAGE. Forrestry— Some Practical Notes on Forestry suitable for New S« muth Wales J, H. Maiden 267 Apout GEESE ... eae aes ae ee ... G. Bradshaw 274 PackING AND MARKETING Cirrus AND OTHER FRUITS W.J. Allen 285 SMALL [IRRIGATION AREAS ee oe e's is Waakeekinys 20m Notes on FLAx GRowING ie See ro H. V. Jackson 296 List or FERTILISERS IN NEw SourH WALES F. B. Guthrie and L. Cohen 313 Fietp Experiments At BatHurst EXPERIMENT FARM R. W. Peacock 322 Apricots DrIED AND SALTED... ee =f =i ay OD ANALYSES OF SOILS FROM PAPUA F. B. Guthrie and R. 8. Symmonds 326 Tur Score-Carp ae a se ee = PaQuinkeseon Nores on Lucerne at WacGGA EXPERIMENT FARM G. M. McKeown 330 WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING FEBRUARY, 1908 _... S. Wilson 331 SEASONABLE NoTES— Notes on Some of the Lesser-known varieties of Wheats available for Farmers’ Experiments... car ... G. L. Sutton CONCENTRATED GRAPE JUICE FOR SWEETENING WINE ...M. Blunno 344 ~- OrcHARD Notes Are ie oe Peat .. W.J, Allen 345 Farm Notres— se Hawkesbury District bs Sh hee He WwW. Potts. oe r os ss sy a Bids ; ' Pe H ay sea > _ ci } = ir st abe f Bs : to P > 4 >. ; o la) < it~ a2 ¢ a a : " A § x 4 e: ee ee a) es a hh. i> « + A Te e Iv -Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [April 2, 1908. PAGE. Montuty WEATHER Report ... ae ... W. Mervyn Carne 349 GARDEN Novres eh Ae fh: fo. ... W. Sanderson 350 AGRICULTURAL SocIeties’ SHOWS oe es ae ioe eA oa ADVERTISEMENTS — Rams, Boars, and Turkeys for sale. Government Stud Bulls available for lease or for service at State Farms. Regulations under which Bulls are leased. Pure-bred Pigs for sale at Newington Asylum. Dairy Buils for sale at Berry Stud Farm. Winter School for Farmers at Hawkesbury Agricultural College a Wot KS SPARTA, APRIL*2;.1908. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Forestry. Some PracticaAL Nores ON FORESTRY SUITABLE FOR NEW South WALES. [Continued from page 188. ] J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. X VI Il—continued. Conifers. X. Sub-tribe 2.—-Laricee. 15. Larix, Salisbury. “ The Larch.” This is a genus of alpine or subalpine trees confined to the northern hemisphere. Larches do not do well in New South Wales, merely existing in a few places. At the same time they cannot be said to have been thoroughly tested, say in such places as Southern Monaro. 16. Pseudolarix, Gordon. Laricopsis of Veitch’s Manual. It is proposed to supersede Pseudolarix for purely literary reasons. ‘‘ Nature produces nothing false,” certainly not in the Greek sense of psewdos. Admitted that the name is not a model one, but if botanical nomenclature were to be disturbed on such grounds it would be much more unstable than it is. (1). P. Kaempteri, Gordon. “ Chinese or Golden Larch.” A tall tree, native of China, inflorescence umbellate. Deciduous. It just exists in the Sydney Botanic Gardens (M 18), It should be well tried in the coldest districts, for it is a beautiful tree. 17. Cedrus, Loudon. A genus of stately trees known as Cedar in Britain. There are three easily distinguishable forms, conventionally recognised as species but scarcely so in a strictly scientific sense, respectively known as the Cedar of Lebanon, the Deodar or Indian Cedar, and the African or Mount Atlas Cedar. The typical form which inhabits the slopes of Mount Lebanon and the Cilician Taurus, has been. known as Vhe Cedar from remote antiquity ; the existence of a second Cedar forming extensive forests in the north-west Himalaya was not known to science till the commencement of the nineteenth century ; whilst the presence of a third on the Atlas Mountains of Algeria was not suspected till the discovery after the occupation of the country by the French in 1831.—(Veitch’s Manual, p. 406.) The geographical distribution of the Cedars is remarkable ; they are contined to three separate regions in the great mountain systems that cross the eastern continent between the 28th and 38th parallels of north latitude with but little interruption from the Atlantic Ocean to the China Sea (op. cit.).. A 268 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. Cedrus Deodara, Loudon. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. April 2,1908.| Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 269 (1.) C. atlantica, Manetti. ‘ Mount Atlas Cedar.” North Africa. A stately tree attaining a height of 100 feet. For park and Jandscape considered the best of the three in Great Britain. It has been grown in the Sydney Botanic Gardens for years (e.g. M 19), but in our climate it is too close in appearance of the Deodar to be separately planted. In colder districts it would flourish better and display its characteristics. (2.) C. Deodara, Loudon. The * Deodar” or “ Indian Cedar.” A noble tree, native of the mountains of Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and north-west Himalaya. This is the Cedrus most generally useful in New South Wales as an avenue or specimen tree, For an excellent account of it see “The Deodar: a Sylvicultural Sketch ” (Indian Forester, xxv, 4). We have many specimens in the Sydney Botanic Gardens (M 19; L 32 b, 3), 15 b, 29 ce). (3.) @. Libani, Loud. The ‘Cedar of Lebanon.” Native of the Syrian mountains, Cilicia, and Cyprus. A majestic tree of medium size. This is the celebrated tree with sacred historic associations. It is hardy in Britain, where there are trees over 2} centuries old. C. Libani is even more difficult to grow in Sydney than C. atlantica. It can only be recommended for the coldest districts. Sub-tribe 5.—Sapinee. 18. Picea, Link. The “Spruce Firs.” This is a genus of evergreen trees of conical or pyramidal outline. It is a fairly natural one, and includes about 17 species, though some may be varieties of hetter-known forms. Most of them find New South Wales too warm. The most important botanical characters by which Picea is distinguished from Abies are :—The leaves are stomatiferous on the upper surface ; the dehiscence of the anthers is longitudinal (not transverse) ; the scales of the cone are always longer than the bract, and persist after the dispersion of the seeds. Very obvious differences are also observable in the pendulous (not erect) cones with differently shaped scales; in the four-angled spines-tipped leaves of the greater number, and in the general habit of most of the species. —(Veitch’s Manual, p. 423.) (1.) P. orientalis, Carriere. “ Eastern or Oriental Spruce.” A medium sized or tall tree, found on the south-eastern shores of the Black Sea, thence to the Caucasus. It is a beautiful species, but not much is known concerning it. It will, doubtless, flourish in many parts of New South Wales. Our Sydney experience is that it is very slow in growth here, and it should be tried in colder localities. M 19 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (2) =Po poleta, Carmere:. “Prickly Fir? A tall or medium sized species from Japan, with stout, pungent leaves. It is rather tender in England, and should be well tried in New South Wales. (3.) P. Smithiana, Boiss, (P. Morinda, Link.) ‘Himalayan or Indian Spruce.” 270 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [April 2, 1908. A large tree in its native mountains, occurring throughout “ the temperate Himalaya from Bhotan to Afghanistan, with a vertical range of from 6,000 to 11,000 feet elevation, and occasionally higher.” —(Veitch’s Manual, p. 455.) A beautiful species most suitable of all the Piceas, so far as we know, for Sydney conditions, but even it finds our dry spells very trying. M 19; 1 6, 7 ¢ (Sydney Botanic Gardens). 19. Tsuga. The “ Hemlock Firs.” These are readily distinguished from all other Abietinesw by their habit and foliage, especially by their slender, often drooping, terminal shoots clothed with leaves having a special anatomical structure. They are tall evergreen trees. (1.) 2. Albertiana, Kent. “ Western Hemlock ” of the United States and Canada. Sargent, t. 605. A stately, tall tree, the largest of the genus. North Califormia is its most southern limit, so that seeds would require to be collected from as warm a locality as possible in order to ensure success in New South Wales. (2.) 7. Brunoniana, Carriere. ‘“ Himalayan Hemlock Spruce.” A beautiful tree of medium size, for the most part tender in England. — It should theretore be quite hardy in sheltered situations in our coast range. (3.) ZT. Caroliniana, Engelmann. ‘ Carolina Hemlock Spruce.” Sargent, t. 604. This species, originally found in Carolina, also occurs in southern Virginia and northern Georgia, It is a recent introduction into Great Britain as is stated “has thus far proved hardy in the neighbourhood of London.” — It will probably be found useful in many parts of eastern New South Wales. (4.) V7. Sieboldi7, Carriere. “ Japanese Hemlock Fir.” A medium-sized tree much cultivated in Japan. 7’. Sicholdvi takes the place of 7’. diversifolia south of Nikko, ascending in places to a considerable elevation, nowhere forming a continuous forest, but scattered in groves among deciduous trees or mixed with Pinus densiflora.—(Veitch’s Manual, p. 473.) It is, therefore, more likely to succeed in New South Wales than 7. diver- sifolia, the other Japanese species, which forms a great forest, covering the Nikko Mountains at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet. 20. Pseudotsuga.* An anomalous genus presenting aflinities to Abies and Tsuga and less closely to Picea. lent, in Veitch’s Manual, proposes to provisionally place Keteleevria with it. * Kent, in Veitch’s Manual (2nd edition, p. 474), proposes to reject the above name (substituting Abzetia) for the following reason:—An uncouth, barbarous name, half Greek, half Japanese, ‘‘ utterly bad in construction,” and misleading in such meaning as it has, and which I have refused to adopt as a protest against the admission of such names into scientific nomenclature. Also, in compliance with Art. 60, sect. 4, of the Laws of Botanical Nomenclature, adopted at the International Botanical Congress, held at Paris, in 1867, which enacts that—Everyone is bound to reject a name which is formed by a combination of two languages. The Vienna Congress does not make this a valid reason, and the supercession of names for such reasons is dangerous. April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. WA (1.) P. Douglasti, Carr. ‘The Douglas Fir” or “Red Fir.” Sargent, t. 607. The foregoing outline of the distribution of the Douglas Fir brings out prominently the following remarkable facts :—It is the most widely distributed, not only of all Ainerican Firs, but of all American trees. It is spread over 32 degrees of latitude, a meridional range greater than that of any other coniferous tree, excepting, perhaps, the common Juniper ; it must thence possess a constitution that ‘‘enables it to endure the fierce gales and long winters of the north and the nearly perpetual sunshine of the Mexican Cordilleras ; to thrive in the rain and fog which sweep almost continuously along the Pacific coast range, and on the arid mountain slopes of the interior, where for months every year rain never falls.”* The Douglas Fir is not only one of the most interesting, but it is also one of the most valuable of trees ; its size, its capacity of adapting itself to new surroundings and the excellence of its timber, all contribute to make it one of the most important inhabitants of the forests of Western America, It attains its greatest development in the humid !owlands of Western Washington and Oregon, especially around Puget Sound and on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, where the precipitation from the Pacific Ocean is greatest; in these regions it often attains a height of 300 feet, with a trunk 9 to 12 feet in diameter.+t—(Veitch’s Manual, p- 480.) Surely a tree like this is worthy of acclimatisation in New South Wales, but care should be taken to select seed from a locality with climatic con- ditions approximately similar to those obtaining in the locality in which it is proposed to grow it. Some forms (¢.g., var. taxifolia) are recommended tor planting sand dunes near the sea. 20a. Keteleeria. An anomalous genus close to Pseudotsuga. (1.) K. Fortunei, Carr. (Abies jezoensis, Lindl.) A large tree resembling the Cedar of Lebanon in habit and aspect. It does fairly well in the Sydney district, and will certainly do better in cooler localities. The best tree in the Botanic Gardens is in that lawn nearest to the Federal Government House Grounds. M 25 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). 21. Abies, Link. The ‘Silver Firs.” A noble genus of trees, specially ornamental in their young state. They are best suited for the colder districts of this State. (1.) A. amabilis, Forbes. ‘* California Fir.” This might be well tried. (2.) A. balsamea, Miller (Picea balsamea, Loudon). ‘Balm of Gilead Fir.” “Balsam Fir.” Sargent, t. 610. Also Bentley and Trimen’s ‘ Medicinal Plants.” This tree yields Canada Balsam, used for optical purposes. Native from Newfoundland to Virginia. It is for the most part a swamp tree ; “it seems to need a constant supply of water at the roots, as many lie in exceptionally dry seasons.” * Silva of North America, xii, p. 91. + The British public have had for many years past an opportunity of forming an idea of the stupendous dimensions attained by this tree. In the Royal Gardens at Kew is erected a flagstaff brought from Vancouver Island ; it consists of a single piece 159 feet in length, 22 inches in diameter at the base, tapering to 8 inches at the summit; it weighs 3 tons and contains 157 cubic feet of timber. ‘The tree from which this flagstaff was made was 250 years old, as indicated by its concentric rizgs. =) Ce Re a), a ee Ss ave ct A . 272 Agricultural Gazetle of NSW. | April 2, 1908. Keteleeria Fortunei, Carr. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. It is chiefly interesting because of its well known oleo-resin, and should therefore be tried in cold regions with moist soil. It just exists in Sydney. M 18 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (3.) A. bracteata, Nutt. The “ Bristle-coned Fir.” Sargent, tt. 615, 616 ; also Bot. Mag. t. 4740. Remarkable for its long, leaf-like bracts plentiful between the scales. April 2,.1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 273 Abies bracteata is the most remarkable of all the Silver Firs. Its strict but stately habit, its massive deep-green foliage, its singular cones, and especially its extremely restricted habitat, have invested it with an especial interest both for botanists and for horticulturists. Its only known habitat is on the outer western ridge of the Santa Lucia Mountains in South California, where at the present time ‘‘it grows only in a few isolated groves scattered along the moist bottoms of canons, usually at elevations of about 3,000 feet above sea-level.””—(Veitch’s Manual, p. 497.) It should be hardy in the cooler parts of New South Wales. (4.) A. cephalonica, Loudon. » ‘Mount Enos Fir.” “ Greek Fir.” A stately, medium-sized tree, growing in Greece at eleyations ranging from 2,500 to 5,000 feet. It is hardy over the greater part of Great Britain, and steps should. be taken to thoroughly test it in the colder parts of New South Wales. (5.) A. eilicica, Carr. ‘Cilician Fir.” This inhabits the mountain system of Asia Minor, known under the general name of Taurus. It has a vertical range of 4,000 to 6,500 feet. Veitch’s Manual states :— The precise limits of its distribution have not yet been ascertained; these limits may, however, be assumed to be nearly conterminous with those of the Cedar of Lebanon, with which it is associated wherever met with. That being so, this Silver Fir should flourish in many parts of New South Wales. (6.) A. coneolor, Lindl., and Gordon, ( Picea concolor, Gordon.) ‘American White Fir.” ‘‘ California Silver Fir.” This Fir has an extensive range west of the Rocky Mountains. It is common on most of the mountain ranges of California, between 5,500 and 8,000 feet, and therefore it may be expected to succeed in our coldest moun- tain regions. It is a specially handsome species. (7.) A. firma, Sieb and Zuce. “ Japanese Silver Fir.” The largest and handsomest of the Japanese species. It is found in the warmest parts of Japan and Corea. It does only fairly well in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. In Japan this tree is called ‘ Uro-Siro,” signifying that the leaves are white beneath, and also ‘“ Sjura-Momi,” meaning White or Silver Fir. (8.) A. Nordmanniana, Spach. ‘“ Nordmann’s Silver Fir.” Bot. Mag. t.. 6992. A beautiful species from the Trans-Caucasian region, well known in some of our mountain regions, but not as frequently planted as its great merits demand. It does fairly well in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. In Mount Wilson, for example, it is one of the loveliest trees imaginable. M 19 (Sydney Botanic Gardens). (9.) A. religiosa, Schlecht. ‘Sacred Fir,” because branches are used for decoration of churches. Bot. Mag. t. 6753. Native of Mexico, and often at a considerable elevation. It is the most southern species of the genus, is tender in England, and would probably succeed in many parts of New South Wales. 274 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. About Geese. G. BRADSHAW. CHAPTER [. ~ Historical. Wirnin the past few months there have been numerous applications to the Editor for ‘* Something on Geese.” The latest information on the subject was from the pen of Mr. J. McCue, a former poultry expert at the Hawkesbury College, and appeared in the November Gazette of 1900,that issue and its reprints being long since exhausted. The following monologue should supply everything practical on the subject to inquirers, When the goose became domesticated is still a matter of contention, nor does it matter for the purpose of this paper, except to say that some writers consider it more ancient than the coimmon hen, both of which have been servants of man from early times. Ancient literature has told us that since the fourth century the goose has provided the quills wherewith all our history has been written, and depicted to us the virtues, faults, customs, and foibles of our ancestors. It was kept about the house in the time of Homer, and this poet never mentioned t hen. Fattened fowls, certainly, are mentioned in I Kings, 5-23; but some writers assert that these were geese, as they abounded throughout Palestine. Herodotus (450 B.c.), the “tather of history,” speaks of the Egyptian priests being supplied with abundance of beef and geese. When the goose first arrived in England is also lost in the vista of centuries. That they were there at a very early time there are many records. The rent for land tenure in olden times was usually paid in kind,-—geese being invariably included in the lists of landlord’s requests. Geese were usually required at Michaelmas, ducks and hens at other quarter days. It is thought that the English custom of feasting on fatted goose on St. Michael’s day originated from the payment at that period of such kind. In the reign of Edward 1V, we read that John de la Hay was bound to render to William Barneby, Lord of Lastres, in Herefordshire, for a parcel ot the demesne lands,—‘ xx d., and one goose fit for his lord’s dinner on the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel.” Another writer alludes to the agreement thus : And when the tenantes come to pay their quarter’s rent, They bring some fowle at Midsummer, a dish of fish at Lent, At Christmasse a capon, at Michaelmas a goose ; And somewhat else at New Year’s tide, for feare their lease fly loose. Indeed, the majority of the leases in the olden times included items such as above, and if not brought their lease would be void. April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 275 In connection with this variety of waterfowl, they were always held in high appreciation in England, the price in the early days being worth noting. In 1450, the Mayor of Rochester gave an entertainment to King Edward TV, on Michaelmas Day, and paid for “one gose and two pigges xviii d”. Stowe, in his ‘“ London,” 1616 edition, says that in 1331, the price of a fat goose was fixed at 24d., a fat capon 2d., a fat hen 1d., and 24 eggs Id. In the reign of Richard IT, 1377, like most other commodities, the price of a goose was fixed,—the best goose 6d., a mallard 3d. The price evidently did not alter much for the following hundred years, for at the Candlemakers” Feast, 1478, the cost of a goose was put down at 6d. From that period they gradually got higher in price, until early in the nineteenth century, when the annual value of the govse and its progeny was reckoned to be equal to that of a ewe sheep, and sold at the same market price. Goose-breeding became a great English industry, particularly in the fens, where some rearers produced as many as from 5,000 to 8,000 every season. Of late, however, the huge flocks which were one time driven by slow stages to the great goose fairs are getting smaller every year. The importations to England are also falling off, and the prices becoming lower, through the change of taste in favour of the foreign rival, the turkey. The goose, which for ages was associated with Michaelmas, is now scarcely heard of at that term, while the demand for the Christmas goose, of later years, has disappeared to an extent that the breeding of such in England can now scarcely be called an industry. The huge flocks of thirty or more years ago have entirely disappeared,—goose-breeding now being done but in a comparatively small way, and principally on the agricultural farms of England. On this subject a practical English poultry breeder writes :—‘ The main cause for this depression is no doubt a change of fashion on the part of the public. People now prefer the turkey, and the demand for these birds at Christmas is excessive, while that for geese is rapidly decreasing ; and those who do now indulge in the time-honored goose at that festive season, usually prefer a medium-sized, meaty, rather than fatty specimen. ‘Common’ lands where people used to run flocks of geese, have been enclosed, and fens and other marshy places drained, and converted into rich farm lands. Many peasants or cottagers therefore, who at one time could run quite large flocks of geese for next to nothing, are now debarred from doing so. Not so many years ago, many flocks of geese were kept entirely for their feathers, and were plucked four or five times a year. This cruel practice has happily been put down, and with the suppression goose-keeping was given up by many. The feathers are not so valuable as they once were, owing, no doubt, to the fact that the spring mattress has been found to be more hygienic than the feather-bed, which, however, still graces the ‘best bed-room’ of many respectable houses in our rural districts.” 276 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. CHAPTER II. Breeds and Varieties. There are quite a number of breeds of wild and domesticated geese. The best-known of the latter are Toulouse, Embden, African or Cape, Chinese, Egyptian, Sebastopol, and Canadian. The Toulouse, as the name implies, is called after that city, in the south of France, where they are bred in considerable numbers. ‘They are the largest of all the goose tribe, good English specimens weighing from 20 to 25 Ib. Imported Toulouse. or more each. ‘They are massive, square, and heavy, with a broad long back, pendant breast, and so deep in keel that the underpart of old specimens touch the ground. ‘The head is broad and deep, and the back, thighs, and wings of a dark steel-grey colour, laced with a lighter shade. The wing flights and breast a solid grey, shading lighter towards the thighs; stern, underparts, and tail white, with a bar of grey across the centre ; beak, legs, and feet are orange. This breed usually lay from 40 to 50 eggs in the year. Both sexes are coloured alike, and there is much difficulty during the first year in determining the sex. This breed are nearer non-setters than any other variety, yet some make good mothers. rs goslings are greenish-yellow in colour, and hardy. is v a 7? > y April 2,1908.| Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 277 There are very few pure-bred Toulouse geese in this State, although the majority of the geese we have, have the Toulouse markings and shape, few reaching even half the size of good pure Toulouse. An occasional pair of pure-bred Toulouse appear at some of our shows, but, from whatever cause, they do not appear to increase in numbers. The first illustration is that of Toulouse imported a number of years ago for the Hawkesbury College, one pair of which weighed 50? lb. when taken out of the ship’s coop. Toulouse at Hawkesbury College. Embden.—The Embden geese differ but slightly from the Toulouse in shape. The build is finer, the head longer, and there is no dewlap. They have not the great pouch development as has the Toulouse, and appear longer in the leg. The eyes are blue; the legs, feet, and bil! bright orange, and the plumage pure white. They are not such good layers as the Toulouse, but lay larger eggs. They received their name from the town Embden, in Holland, from whence they came to England. The goslings are yellow when hatched, but change to white as the feathers grow. The late Harrison Weir, who bred this variety largely, says =P he Embden or Bremen geese have deteriorated of late years by being crossed with the Toulouse. Many have inherited the large dewlap and bagginess of skin peculiar to that breed. They are also less compact and close in feathers, and not such steady sitters as they once were. The Embden goose a ee oe a POE IES Sor ROPE IE AE ee v ~—. T- ET a Ee ee ee ee a eee ae Toe 278 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. fats very quickly and evenly, and the flesh is very delicate, tender, and juicy ; the skin thin, and not oily like that of the Toulouse. Embden ganders, or geese of large frame, do not come to maturity until two years, some growing for a longer period. In 1858, Mr. Fowler’s pair of White Embden at Birmingham show weighed 57 lb.; Mr. Mansfield’s, second prize, 55 |b.; third prize being 54 1b. At Birmingham, the following year, Mr. Price won with a pair weighing 63 Ib. ; the next, 53 lb.; and the third, Embdens. 48 lb. At the Crystal Palace in 1861, the first prize pair weighed 63 Ib., and then for a number of years they deteriorated in size. The first prize pair at Birmingham in 1878 were but 48 lb. Mr. Weir attributed the decrease in the weights to the foolish fallacy of crossing the breeds, which, for the time may be successful, but is detrimental to the improvement of any variety in the end, adding, “I have always found that keeping any variety of poultry or other stock pure, and selecting the strongest, healthiest, and best formed, is the right way to attain the highest and, at the same time, the most permanent excellence ; and those breeders who act on this principle always find the progeny not only come truer and more equal in their general characteristics, but they maintain an evenness and quality which is not to be procured in any other way ; at least, such is my firm opinion, gained from. observation and a life experience.” April 2,1908.) Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 279 1 Chinese.—These are sometimes termed the African or Knobbed goose, and are kept in America extensively, owing to their very superior laying qualities. Not that geese eggs of any variety are a marketable commodity, but rather that, from the thirty to forty eggs laid by the Embden or Toulouse, ten to fifteen goslings may be the entire year’s produce. The Chinese, on the other hand, lay two or three settings in the season ; and, as the eggs are usually fertile, it is nothing un- usual for one goose to be the parent of twenty or thirty gos- lings in a year. naprys hy : P 179,334 », Argentine Republic... 555,363 ea 1,182,993 ,, British East Indies ... 494,961 ; 1,039,764 ;, Other countries ae 280,940 55 578,642 Total... .. 1,588,100 5 3,274, 988 Oil— tons. Linseed oil—Pure.. es Ane bat ee aa 17,056 45 345,035 - —Not pure ... me! a ak a 1,605 an 30,064 Total ... eos 18,661 375,099 In addition to the above importations of products derived from the flax plant, 7@.¢., linseed, Great Britain imported hemp, dressed and undressed, April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 297 during 1906, to the value of £3,552,359 ; tow, under the same head, to the value of £159,808. Jute, during the same period, was imported to the value of £8,341 268. The grand total of importations of flax, hemp, and jute, being £15,612,002. AUSTRALIAN Imports. The importations of fibre into Australia for the year 1906, under the head of Flax and Hemp, amounted to 87,954 ewt., valued at £167,281 ; other fibre being also imported valued at £12,400. Linseed and linseed meal was imported to the value of £5,700. Linseea cake and oil cake valued at £1,388, and the value of linseed oil imported amounted to £105,309, the quantity being 1,032,118 gallons. The importation of fibre* from New Zealand amounted to £77,374, and linseed grain to the value of £480, The countries where flax is mostly produced are British India, Russia, Argentine, and the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture has devoted a considerable amount of attention to flax culture, and in 1903 Professor H. L. Bolley was sent to European countries to investigate the conditions of flax culture, and a very useful bulletin by Mr W. L. Marcey, being extracts from Professor Bolley’s report, was issued in 1907. The following information given under separate heads will be of value to intending flax-growers in this State :— Climatic Conditions. The regions in which the flax crop has been successfully grown, either for fibre or for seed, cover a wide latitude, being within the 10th and 65th parallels of north latitude. New culture areas in southern latitades also show the crop successfully grown under similar climatic conditions. As at present cultivated in Europe, the limitations as to climate are rather sharply defined. These are probably matters of variety and strain, which have become established because of unintelligent cultivation rather than because of any definite attempts which growers have made to obtain new and suited strains or varieties. Temperature, rainfall, atmospheric humidity, and soil type directly govern plant distribution. Generally speaking, the flax crop may be said to grow best in the colder parts of the temperate region. As far as the growth of the seed crop is concerned, its region of culture may be stated to be similar to that of successful spring wheat cultivation, while the fibre crop is at present produced in regions of heavier rainfall and somewhat cooler and more cloudy skies than those in which spring wheat is usually grown with success. The crop may also be said to possess either general capabilities or varieties and strains, which allow of the production of fair crops of seed flax at least to the southern limits of winter-wheat producing regions. “ Flax and hemp. 298 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ April 2, 1908. The rainfall of two districts may vary much as to amount, yet the results as to soil and atmospheric plant environment remain essentially similar. The less measurable features of sunshine, cloudiness, fogginess, general atmospheric humidity, &c., are matters which vitally affect plant growth, and these are especially noteworthy as affecting the flax crop. For the production of fine long fibre of even quality, the plant must have an even, rather slow development, with few, if any, sudden checks. The cloudy sky and cool humid air, with an even but not too great soil moisture throughout the period of growth, is a feature of all fibre districts. Soil Conditions. Observations and studies of the soil relations of the flax crop lead to the belief that the question of soil type and fertility, as affecting the successful culture of this crop, is one of far less importance than has usually been supposed. Nearly all writers on flax culture have thought it necessary to state that flax demands a very fertile soil. The writer's observations in America, the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, and Austria do not confirm the belief of those writers. The lighter soils of Ward and Ramsey counties, North Dakota, equal or excel the most fertile soils of the North-west in flax-seed production ; and the light, sandy, very poor forest or scrub lands of some of the flax districts of Russia easily produce the finest types of fibre flax when the system of culture is at all intelligent. Indeed, in Russia, the writer found the peasantry continuing the culture of flax upon soils naturally light, and so impoverished from the long-continued ruinous ‘“ three-crop ” rotation that the growing of oats and rye was no longer a possible consider- ation. This was a surprising confirmation of previous conclusions drawn from work done at the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. It has also been shown in this work that the flax plant is less radical in its draft upon the soil than wheat, corn, or oats. Experiments conducted by the North Dakota Station on large plots definitely illustrate that flax is not particularly hard on the soil. In the Red River Valley it has often been found that the soil is too fertile for the growth of a flax crop when atmospheric and soil moisture is normal. The farmers of the valley often put flax upon summer-fallowed lands, thinking that such lands are too strong for the wheat crop. Observations of this practice have shown that very often the flax crop almost fails, and produces a poorer yield of seed because of this extra fertility. In droughty seasons the flax crop has shown itself able to stand on very fertile lands, but frequently it is almost worthless when anything more than an ordinary rain- fall occurs. It has also been very clearly demonstrated at the North Dakota Station that considerably better crops of wheat may be raised after flax than after wheat. By comparing soil statistics, contrasting the chemical composition of farm crops, and considering extremely various types of soil upon which fine crops of flax fibre and flax-seed have been grown, it has been made evident that flax-growing is not injurious to the soil. The chemical analyses of the soils + eee On April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IV. 299 of some of the noted Russian flax-producing districts bear out this state- ment. The lesson for American farmers is that, so far as flax is concerned, soil quality is rather a secondary consideration. The strains of seed used and the climatic and atmospheric conditions seem to be first in order of importance. Growth-periods of the Crop. The flax plant of cultivation is naturally an annual, and _ is, therefore, limited to climatic and soil conditions which are suited to the growth of such plants. In certain southern regions, including southern France, it is sometimes cultivated as a winter annual, but such varieties are found to mature when sown as spring crops in the usual flax-growing regions. The complete growth-period varies somewhat according to the types or varieties, and quite considerably according to the climate and region in which the crop is grown. Flax may, however, be looked upon as a short-season crop. It is quite common for the seed crop to be matured in from two and one- half to three months. This makes it a very important crop for northern regions. Indeed, the fibre crop, as has been previously noted, may be produced in very fine form in regions so far northward that few other crops may be successfully matured. The entire growth-periods of the plant may, for convenience, be divided into (1) the period immediately following seed germination, and preceding thedevelopment of the regular foliage leaves ; (2) the period from the seed- leaf stage to the blossoming stage; (3) the period of flowering and _ boll formation; and (4) the period of maturing. Very much depends upon the condition of weather and soil during these definite periods of growth as to the final types of the products ; and much depends also upon whether one is growing the crop for the production of fibre or seed, what sort of weather should be hoped for, and what soil conditions one should strive to maintain. Generally speaking, a halting, irregular growth will result in the formation of a woody straw and a poor type of fibre product. There may or may not be a good seed crop produced under these conditions. If the aim is to produce a long even growth of fine fibre, everything possible should be done to obtain an even and rather slow growth. Arrangements should be made to provide that texture and drainage of the soil which will give as constant a water supply as possible. Anything which checks the growth of the straw during the period preceding boll formation is sure to result in an inferior type of fibre. If a drought sets in at some time when the straw should be making its greatest strides in length and increase of diameter, there will be a formation of woody straw and a thickening and hardening of the fibre cells, and the straw becomes contracted, stunted, and brittle. Where the crop is being grown for seed purposes, the matter of an even growth is almost of equal importance. It is extremely important to the seed crop that the atmospheric conditions should be sutticiently dry to cause the sturdy woody type of stem growth and a heavy production of foliage, for the reason that seed production demands a strong branching plant-body with large leaf surfaces. In order that the boll formation may be numerous and Cc 300 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [April 2, 1908. perfect and the seeds may be well filled, large leaf surfaces expanded to the sun and air are a necessity, as these are the manufacturing source of the seed content. Too much moisture throughout the growth season results in weak and imperfect stems and poor boll and seed formation. If a severe drought should occur at or near the time of flowering or boll and seed formation, it will prevent the proper flow of sap and occasion the hardening and _ ripen- ing of the straw, especially of the slender and thin stems upon which the bolls are formed, thus cutting off the proper supply of food materials from the seeds. Every effort should, therefore, be made to provide a type of soil which will maintain to the last a sufficient supply of moisture. The flax plant when supplied with a subsoil moisture will stand very severe conditions of atmospheric heat and drought. A period of extreme importance in the growth of the crop is that which immediately follows seed germination. It is of the utmost importance that the germination should be rapid and that the soil should be in such condition as to allow the seedlings to come immediately above the surface. This accounts for the great care which should be exercised in the preparation of the soil for the seed-bed, as described later. Cultural Methods. The matter of formulating some systematic methods of flax culture which shall be recognised as of special merit is of first importance when considering the question of establishing the crop as a staple one in any particular region. In America there is a great difference of opinion as to what methods should best be pursued in preparing the seed-bed, sowing the seed, and harvesting the product. Generally, the crop is looked upon as a side issue, and is cared for without much uniformity of effort and method. Even in the old flax- producing regions of Europe the writer found that definite knowledge as to the best methods of handling the soil and seed is hardly to be had except trom observation. A great diversity of belief was tound to exist. The processes generally followed and the methods which may be calculated to give the most satisfactory results are outlined in the following pages, The Seed. The most successful flax-growers piace great stress upon the care with which the seed is handled, and upon the type and character of seed which is used ; but it is a peculiar, indeed, a strange feature of the entire system of fax culture that no matter what region is visited one finds that the producer of the crop believes he should send to some distant region to procure seed. It is evident that this belief alone would result in a very thorough mix:ng of all the kinds, types, or varieties, and at the same time it practically eliminates the idea of seed development or seed breeding. The writer is convinced that the raising of properly-cared-for home grown seed would be of great advantage to the entire fibre industry of the Nether- lands. ‘This statement is made here in urder to impress upon the American flax-producer the fact that, if it is to be hoped ever to make the crop reach a. April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 301 standard of excellence, he must cease to buy seed of unknown quality, and must proceed to grow the crop from seed of known pedigree. Experiments with farm crops have for a number of years shown that crops in their climatic environment do not degenerate by being grown for a long time upon the same type of soil. The cause of weakening depends upon other features which are not properly considered. The Dutch grower persists in sowing the seed thick upon the ground in order to give the fine type of fibre-straw. He also pulls the straw while yet somewhat immature, that he may procure what he considers the best grade of fibre. The result is that each year the seed becomes weaker and weaker. Those who are in the business of growing fibre flax can well afford to set aside a piece of ground in order to produce a sufficient quantity of thoroughly matured seed of a pure type with which to seed their Jands. The quantity of seed sown to the acre throughout each particular flax- growing region is fairly uniform, The Russian growers, who sow the crop for oil-production, approximate very closely one-half bushel of good seed per acre. The Dutch, Belgian, and Russian growers of fibre flax sow very unif rmly 8 to LO pecks of seed per acre, according to the strength of the land and the moisture conditions which the crop can stand. The Russian seed costs Hollanders approximately from 82:50 to &4 per acre, because, before sowing, great care is taken to grade out everything but the very plumpest and best seeds. Because of its capability of absorbing water and of its oil content, flax seed is of such a nature as to readily lose its viability. Tt is particularly sus- ceptible to injury by heating in the bin, by exposure to high dry-storage temperatures, or by exposure to slight amounts of moisture under conditions of low temperature. As the young plants are very susceptible to the action of moulds and other fungi which attack the seedlings and the mother seeds at the time of germination, it is of great importance that the seed should be stored dry, so that the spores of such fungi cannot gain a hold upon the seed. Flax seed for sowing purposes should, therefore, be harvested dry and stored in a cool dry place. ; The Land In America flax-growers make little distinction as to what type of ‘soil they select on which to grow the crop. Speaking generally, the farmers’ of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Russia follow the same course. The writer's observations show that the kinds of soil upon which the crop reaches the standard of perfection are very uniform in all regions, though fair crops may be raised upon soils of a great diversity of types. For the fibre crop the texture of the upper layers of soil should be sueh as to give a finely-compact surface, well drained, but of sufticiently sardy and loamy nature to allow the first growths of the root system oz the young plant to be rapid ; and yet it should not be so loose as to cause rapid drying, or so compact as to cause baking and cracking. , Jute, A Bee se 7 15 1OR Oe eli ORO Mexican... ae & ss cia B= MM) 0) 55 a OO) Raftia ts ae at 85 22 On Ot e2 ee Ol 0 Hemp, per ton, c.i.f.— Polish ae 2 5 ab se 38 OO “s,s 10 italian oe ae Be i. ae AIO) ay CEP UO Sunn... ie ee Shs Bat Fe NOOO) a5 2a Other East Indian... ene Ts wi 1D Seem Ober ZOO: oO Manila, brown eas xa ed ee Ey 0) O55 Bo a x fair a 7 4 28a Olea wos On LOY es good oo ee ae on a Oy 0) ee ety AU 1 Mauritius ... Ae a - < OO iaOn So 2S ae On New Zealand ne ne oe ee We) ay (OS Sisal ... oe is oy se ie Ga OO. = 29) 0.0 The Textile Mercury, December 21, 1907, quotes flax as follows :—Bejetsky, £36 10s. ; Javapol, £26 to £27 ; best Livonian, £20; Courish, £18 to £19 ; and Hoffs, £15 10s. to £16. 312 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [April 2, 1908. Yield of Seed, The yield of flax seed in the American States averages about 10 bushels to the acre. Yield of Fibre. In Ireland the average yield per acre of flax for the years 1896 to 1905, was 448 lb. ; in 1906 the yield was estimated to be 485 Ib. The cost of growing and pulling of flax fibre at the Oregon Station was $15 15c. (£3 3s. I4d.); and for ploughing, harrowing, and sowing, $7 70e. (Ele Usd) In America, the price for flax seed varies from 85 cents (3s. 6hd.) to $1 50c. ($s. 3d.) Allowing 56 Ib. of seed per bushel, and taking the general average of yield of flax seed in the United States at 10 bushels per acre, 7.¢., 5 ewt., and allow- ing, say, 5s. per bushel as the price obtainable by the farmer here, £2 10s. per acre is realised for the seed, and taking the average yield of fibre, as obtained in Treland, at, say, 4 ewt. at a low price of, say, 16s., per ewt., the return from fibre will be £3 4s. per acre, making a total of £5 14s. per acre. If the fibre, however, is of better quality it may bring £30 or £36, or even more, per ton, say, 30s. per ewt ; the total yield will then be £8 10s. per acre, 7. 5Os. for seed and 120s. for fibre. On the other hand, the yield of seed may reach, say, 14 bush: Is per acre, which at 5s per bushel equals £3 10s. for seed, and if in such circumstances 4 ewt, of fibre can also be obtained at the lower price of 16s. per ewt , then the total yield for the crop equals £6 14s. per acre, 7.e, 70s. for seed and 64s. for fibre. The farmer may, however, be growing a thickly-sown crop for fibre only, and under such circumstances supposing that 5 cwt. of fibre is obtained, worth, say, 40s. per ewt., then the yield is £10 per acre from fibre only, and there will be some seed saved as well. Fair to first-class flax evidently brings good prices, and in making an estimate at the price of only £16 per ton, it must be borne in mind the above returns are perhaps too low, and £20 to £30 and even £40 per ton may at times be obtained for really excellent fibre. There is some variation in the weight per bushel of flax seed ; some seed will go up to 60 lb. per bushel or over. In Ireland the seed is sold by the barrel or by the stone, and it is hardly advisable to form estimates on a price per bushel unless the weight of that bushel is made known in the first instance ; consequently, I have taken the weight at 56 lb., being a half ewt. At the present time linseed from Calcutta for crushing pur; oses for fodder, &e., may be purchased at about 14s. per ewt., which is equal to 7s per bushel of 56 Ib. The seed locally grown would compete against the imported article, and while the above estimated price of 5s. per bushel in the examples of estimated results may be low, | am probably safe in saying there is that margin, as between the 5s. IT have allowed as the price per bushel to the farmer, and the value of Calcutta seed at the time of writing, namely, 7s. per bushel of 56 Ib April 2,1908.; Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 313 List of Fertilisers in New South Wales F. B. GUTHRIE anp L. COHEN. 1908 List. THE accompanying list of manures obtainable in New South Wales, together with their composition, as guaranteed by the vendors, and their values, is the result of the revision of the list issued in April, 1907, The list is published in the interest of the farmers, and it is hoped that it may serve as a guide to those requiring any particular class of manure. It must be clearly understood that the figures given are not those obtained by analysis of the sample by the Department. They represent the guarantees given by the vendors in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Where possible, samples have been taken from bulk by one of the officers of the Department. and only those manures are inserted in. the list which have been found on analysis to be up to the guarantee. A word is necessary in explanation of the column giving the “values” of the manures. These figures are calculated from the composition of the manures as repres:nted by analysis, a definite unit-value being assigned to each of the fertilising ingredients. The units on which the values here given are computed are as follow :— Unir-Vatues of fertilising ingredients in different manures for 1908. Per unit. sid. Nitrogen in nitrates... a6 0 ape Sep Ee Ape eee eete edna T| 3 in ammonium salts ... zh au ee an a5 so 1 lady it!) aA in blood, bones, orale &e. fine ae oe fe. ee ae omeO Phosphoric acid in hones, offal, &c.—fine ... cis a 55 556 3 «0 Potash in sulphate of potash . Bee ee Me SBE it Sse 8) Potash in muriate of potash .. se bg 4 8 Phosphoric acid in superphosphate and mineral phosphate— Water-soluble 5 2 Insoluble eo Price per lb. of fertilising ingredients in different manures for 1908. Pence per lb. Nitrogen in nitrates Ee 33 In ammonium salts . : a in blood, bones, offal, Ke. —fine Phosphoric acid in bones, offal, & c.—fine ... Potash in sulphate of potash . Potash in muriate of potash ... Phosphoric acid in superphosphate and mineral phosphate— Water-soluble ois tis tae ae Sof a: ne: non WR, Insoluble... Sa a Se fe Bis St cee ae pee gts bo we ® -1 0 suas) Fwy Zea oae oS To determine the value of any manure the percentage of each ingredient is multiplied by the unit-value assigned above to that ingredient, the result 314 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. being the value per ton of that substance in the manure. For example, a bone-dust contains 4 per cent. nitrogen and 20 per cent. phosphoric acid :— 4x 15s. Od. £3 0s. Od. = value of the nitrogen per ton. 20 x 3s. Od. £3 Os. Od. value of the phosphoric acid per ton £6 Os. Od. = value of manure per ton. It must be clearly understood that the value thus assigned, depending solely upon the chemical composition of the manure, does not represent in all cases the actual money value of the manure, which depends upon a variety of causes other than the composition, and is affected by local conditions. Neither does it represent the costs incurred by the manufacturer in the preparation, such as cost of mixing, bagging, labelling, &e. It is simply intended as a standard by which different products may be compared. At the same time, it has been attempted to make the standard indicate as nearly as possible the fair retail price of the manure, and the fact that in the majority of cases the price asked and the value assigned are fairly close shows that the valuation is a reasonable one. These figures have been checked in all cases by analyses made on samples collected by an officer of the Department. It by no means follows, however, that the particular product analysed and here published will be in stock for any length of time. Some agents guarantee two figures—for instance, “from 16 to 18 per cent. phosphoric acid.” In these cases the lower one has been published in the list, as it will certainly be the one the vendors will rely upon in cases of dispute. Now that the Fertiliser Adulteration Act is in force, the purchaser has only himself to blame if he pays for an inferior article. Every vendor is obliged to furnish a guarantee with every delivery of fertiliser, setting forth its actual composition as determined by analysis. If the purchaser has any reason to suspect the genuineness of the guarantee, all he has to do is to notify the vendor of his intention to take samples for analysis, in sufficient time to enable the vendor or some person appointed by him to be present. The samples must be taken before the consignment is finally in the purchaser’s possession ; for example, if the fertiliser is sent by rail, the sample should be taken at the railway station or siding. Three samples must be taken, one being given to the vendor or his representative, the second kept by the purchaser and submitted to an analyst, and the third forwarded to the Department of Agriculture for future reference, in case of divergence in the analyses of the other two. All three samples must be sealed up. In the case of bone-dust, blood, and bone manures, &e., the valuation has been made irrespective of the fineness of division, and is based on the amounts of fertilising ingredients only ; but it must be borne in mind that finely ground bone-dust acts more rapidly than coarse, and that unground fragments of bone only become available as fertilisers very slowly. A word may be added in explanation of the term water-soluble phosphoric acid. When bones or mineral phosphates are acted on by sulphuric acid, a _—— April 2, 1908.) Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 315 portion of the tricalcic phosphate is converted into another time compound, known as monocalcic phosphate or superphosphate. This compound is soluble in water, and it is to its presence that the rapid action of the phosphate is due. This is the “ water-soluble ” acid of the table. In many superphosphates, however, a considerable portion of this compound has undergone change. This change may be due to the salts of iron and alumina present, or to the length of time it has been kept, and it results in the formation of a third lime compound—bi-calcic phosphate. This is known as ‘reverted ” or “retrograde” phosphoric acid, and is insoluble in water, but soluble in ammonium citrate. In the fourth table are a number of waste products which may in many cases be economically utilised. WHEN purchasing a manure always insist on a guarantee of its composition as determined by analysis. Artificial manures should be mixed with about three times their weight of dry loam, and distributed evenly. Never add lime to a manure containing sulphate of ammonia or blood and bone manures, as in these cases loss of nitrogen results; and when lime has been applied to the land do not use such manures until about three weeks afterwards. The accompanying fertiliser diagram, which represents in a graphic manner the points to be taken into consideration in the mixing of different manures, is reproduced in the hope that it will be found useful to farmers who make up their own mixtures. The diagram originates with Dr. Geekens, Alzey, Germany, and is taken from an article by Mr. Leo. Buring in the Garden and Field of 10th October, 1903. SUPERPOSPHATE o™ FARMYARD} Aan AND Guano GHILE SALTPETRE OR NITRATE OF SODA Substances connected by thick line must not be mixed together. Substances connected by double line must only be mixed immediately before use, Substances connected by single thin line may be mixed together at any time. 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LIT F8.F sie od 20 PULLFIVIY |MLOALISAT SYMOMIIJVM WOT YOUT | | | | ‘aaay aoddod @ Glo able aes cha ai) Sl | 0¢-T | LL- LT 80-1 68- 26.62 5 Ok ete ge a Noes {(Saavo] puv yavq) poom potvood] | *poompoo[q LeLOL0 a fies Oe : ee 08-1 89-0F | 68. PL. 08-29 ee peer En nt {(Saavay puv YAvq) poom podvood femal popes sere ewee L-&T tee e ee eG) | LS eL.9 Ze. FP 6E.6 . . oe “e .. .- - “ oe) ae ¢ ; : OO WA eA ONL 86-21 ay I8-ST TPP 99.8 16-62 GG.F oa ae * * . “ = “* re 18-1 ee seeeee 68-1¢ | 9L-E OLS 16.06 SP. o* +. “* oe “* oa “* oe Sie oe a teeta ee | G8.Z1 | GFL 11-9 OF-8E GL.8 2° oie “ yqomurey, | 50 .: syisodap ouwnr) a Dees | | i et eee Z PSs = = ath F S Pie ee x ‘ploy | | aTquysnq SS “ONBA, “yseqod ooydsoug “OUT ‘arqnyposuy | “ermounMy | “UasoagIN | -WWOD puL “LO4V A "AOANOG [VULSIIG “OINUBIY S| | | | OTLYEIOA S| ‘panurjuoI—-LAMUV I AHL NO LON “O93 ‘SHHSY ‘SLONGOUgG-ALSV M -~" AT renner ee | sy) bo bo Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. Feld Experiments WuHeEatTs grown at at Bathurst Experiment Farm, ES ONe R. W. PEACOCK. Bathurst Experimental Farm, 1907. lsd] = £) pate | vied & nee Previous SS] ¢ Date 3 § ae pice Ps Variety. cron : oe| & ate be a har- per |.2 Remarks, Iaa| < ® o| vested. | acre. [5 7 | = ) nl fa | | area. Ib. bus. Ib. inches) points Federation—Plot 1, Maize 12 | 3°05 | 18 May! 343) 10 Dec.| 26 43 | 10°93 | Jan., 291 | \ Rymer ; oe 4 | 12) 2°01] 17 ,, | 363113 ,, | 24 28 | 1093 Feb., 116 Lotts’s Wheat... A te --| 12/1999] 15 ,, 325 13 ,, 23 45 10°93 Mar., 205 | Average yield of paddock, Gluya’s Early... a Lie -.| 12 /0°98/ 16 ,, | 365; 12 ,, | 22 35 | 10°93] April,135| - 23 bushels 23 Ib. per Federation—Plot 2) ,, op oe) LaneeOl 20) 5, 1 40) 9 5 | 21 54° )'10:98!!| Mays 122 acre. Dart’s Imperial .. a } 12/2702) 15 ,, | 31%! 13 ,, | 21 22 | 10°93 | June, 314 ; vx) y | July, 112 : Tarragon .. .. Bare fallow 15 | 47 | 24 Apl.| 33 | 18 Dec.| 24 13 | 12°11 | Aug., 135 ) Averageyield of paddock, Power's Fife re 7 1 AOE Wie2bu i 29%, 19 ,, 18 39 | 12°11 | Sept.,128 f 21 bushels 28 Ib. per _ ee . d ees 4 i __ 1 Oct., 54 acre. Cleveland.. _..| Rape .. _..| 6 | 3°55| 9 Apl| 31 | 14 Dec.| 23 51 | 12-05 | Nov., 308 |) Marshall’s No. 3 .. . ao Sale leOGa 10) Fy, 12 12 ,, | 19 43 | 12°05 | Dec., 152 , Sussex Soles Gui O53 510), 128k! Vi 8s | 1855241°19-05 Waniassa .. Bal) ee 55 --| 6|1:04) 9. ,, | 303) 16 ,, | 17 19 | 12°42) Total, Steinwedel a slieees ae Aa PRO LsOSr 10S 5 MeSde Oe 5, 15 48) 112705 19°72 | Average yieldof paddock, Power's Fife Bae ies es --| 6/095) 9 ,, |30)16 ,, | 15 9 |12°42] inches. |} 16 bushels 32 lb. per Red Glyndon...,, an See OM |PLGU4 ioe unl 2Os 016m i 1b On! 1242 i eaaneee acre. White Hogan Beal Wines a8 £4116) 1)2°03')) 10), 55) 1/2288) 2". 5; 14936591 2°054\ eee ae Blue Federation .. na et PEO tSsooul allem t|e502|/ 99) sci)! 14. 82 |) 1. 9705)|| ae ee Tarragon .. Seles $3 SIMON |2cOls LO meen eSTa Ts sso 1057 1 192054|0 «a oe Jumbuck .. al at as | GMOS BLU Pe Mate Oe ee e121 8050 a eeee ee \/ | | Rymer ..| Rape Ai we Le |'O°861)) a May!33' | 11 Dec:| 26 5) 10:97"). wa... \ Cleveland .. 39 a ais ..| 17 | 3°92) 22 Apl.: 35 | 19 ,, | 22 AD | T2200) Poets sae | inw 7 |0-75| 2 May| 37 | 12 27 18 | 10-97 Steinwedel oll) 2 Sof EEN ELA re en et a AMA PEEP com Averageyield of paddock Bunyip Bc 4 O0 see eUcHOs SZ ey oO LO. 5, | Law) LOO Tale eens es | 17 bushels 47 It 2) Federation Fl es Se tral 0,210 | ese matt To 814 96-1 10:07] = eae Pee ete ecime tL 182"! Cretan cas Rr ORAM e Tues 130) 198--: | 1419/1007 | cate | acre. John Brown ae a mC PI eLMa GS 2s ues. ole poise yl 14 @ 10:0 70 eee one H Comeback .. 55 a 5c el eM elsO3) || weak sae 294 11 ,, | 13. 6 | 10 97 ) Ss lel en i" a 4:00 18 A il 294 2 ~ ? - ae i steinwede ..| Searlet clover 2 “OC 8 Apl.| 293) 2 Dec.) 19 12 /11°39) —..... By ae Ty 1 Bobs pete es Sere sniper 321 | 1Sea aa Ie ees sai Te 17 yst99)l ater | Average yield of paddock, Federation—Plot 1) ,, es | 21/34/17 ,, | 344] 4 ,, | 14 20] 1139] ...... ame Federation—Plot2| jg, 2/88 | 17 4 | Bak 4, fad 2 fargo] oo eg acme: — zs ; —— meback .. ..| Black tares ..| 18 + 4°68} 8 May! 31% 6 Dec.) 11 29|}1093)| ...... \ F Scat =f. paiva” ay eas 184 Que: 321 : ak | 9 44 10°93)" eee ) Averageyield of paddock, Russo-Barietta .. e yy sei 28 1 0:75.09 5, | S48 13° |, 9 2/1093) ...... 9 bushels 34 Ib. per Federation rallies » --| 18) 2°85) 9 ,, | 35/13 ,, 652931 10:93 auee ) ere: ; Za - ay GY | ({ Yield, 16 bushels 23 Ib. ‘leve 2 2| 5:6 | 25 Apl.| 30 | 20 Dec.| 16 23 | 12: ; , Cleveland .. ..| Wheat oe 50 2 | 5°6 ) Apl 30 OmDecs GA 23) | Loci ewes i per acre. Se = ad = < Bobs Pumpkins .-| 3 |0°85} 31 May] 61 | 17 Dec 115 32 111-20] ...... \ f Broom millet) 22) 8) |i0'85.) 81" | 6L | dir ,, 11 50) | 11-20) 22.82 reese oe a : E Sorghum.. _..| 3/0°85| 31 ;, | 61/17 3, | 1137/1120] 12222! LAverage yield) eee oe Hungarian millet} 3 |0°85] 31 ,, | 61|17 ,, | 14 45 11-20] ...... pb. per acre. ie Maize as : BP OPLOHoL,” ss eS as rr | gal PAD se Bobs Wheat .. 5 he tay WSS) 6 May] 40 | 20 Dec.) 14 42 | 11°82] ...... Manure experiment. Total area, 96°96 acres; totaltyield, 1,667} bushels ; average yield per acre, 17 bushels 12 lb. ; highest yield, 26 bushels 43 lb. per acre. April 2, 1908.) Agricultural Gazette of NS W 323 Nores.—It will be apparent from the distribution of the rainfall that the spring rains were inadequate for the production of heavy yields. The dry October militated against the early-sown wheats and also against the early- maturing varieties. The good rain of November was too late for the above to recover, but was excellent for the later-sown and later-maturing varieties. Early wheats, such as Federation, Comeback, and Bobs, were placed at a disadvantage. Mid-season wheats, such as Cleveland and Tarragon, had an advantage. The season also certainly favoured the late wheats, such as Power’s Fife (Manitoba variety). It will be seen that Paddock No. 12 gave the highest and most consistent yields. The previous crop was maize, which was harvested just prior to the seeding with wheat. This necessitated a compara- tively late seeding. The ground was in excellent tilth, due principally to the frequent summer cultivation of the maize crop. A dressing of 1 ewt. of superphosphate was drilled with the seed. This was applied to give the crop a vigorous start, as well as to augment the supply of available plant-food to make up in some measure for the late seeding and the exhausting effect of the maize. The result was extremely satisfactory, the application giving by far a greater return than any previous application on the farm. The unmanured check-plot was situated in the Federation block. The estimated yields per acre were— Unmanured .., oh ... 26 bushels 53 Ib. per acre. Manured nee ee ... 39 bushels 6 lb. o Excess over unmanured = -l2-bushels-boalbie=, The effect of the manure was very apparent from the time the crop appeared above ground until harvest. Paddock No. 15 had been bare-fallowed the previous year and received an application of | ewt. of superphosphate per acre with the seed. These wheats were sown earlier than the above. Power's Fife felt the effect of the dry October, and showed such by the slight tip-withering of the ears. Tarragon withstood it much better, as is apparent in the yields. The effect of the bare-fallowing was very marked and attended with good results. Paddock No. 17.—This paddock whilst under rape the preceding year was stocked heavily during the spring, and practically no crop residue was ploughed under. Paddock No. 21 is not comparable with the others, it being sown comparatively early in the season with early varieties. Paddock No. 18 gave the lowest yield, which cannot be attributed to the preceding crop. The unsatisfastory yields were due to the peculiarity of the soil, which readily loses that desirable mechanical condition after winter rains. Early sowing would have been preferable, the greater root development thereby induced would have kept the soil in better condition after the continuous ‘ains of June. Paddock No. 5 was devoted to a manure experiment and will be treated under that heading. It has grown wheat continuously since the beginning of the experiment. Paddock No. 2.—A portion of slightly over 54 acres was placed under wheat to demonstrate the effect of continuously growing wheat as opposed to 324 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. rotation. As has been stated the variety Cleveland was favoured by the season, and, when compared with the same variety in the other paddocks, shows a falling off in yield of 6 and 7 bushels per acre. Paddock No. 3.—This wheat was sown after various crops, and the results will be available in conjunction with other experiments in connection with rotations. The following is a statement of the wheat yields since 1902 : 1902—Rainfall, 14°83 in. ; average yield, 8} bus. ; highest yield, 23 bus. 1903 “2 1:68. . O61 ts . 49 1904 S 18:26 ,, - 244 ,, 3 B87 5) 1905 ‘ 1S:57e. 2 224°, . 375 5 1906 » - 22°89 ,, ‘ 26 ,, : 37% ,, — Q.7« oy | 9F3 1907 5 SPA a Lit 3; 9% PA es Oats grown at Bathurst Experimental Farm, 1907. S | Es 3 ae Date |$8| 2+ Rainfall pe 2 peers Bis 2 . ate n + eM Take Remarks Variety. Previous crop. os g eae eal S 3° foray Cart Remarks. Aa! & iS3) "8 lea ers nD ~ < . acres lb. bus. lb \inches| inches. Algerian .. ..| Maize ay ..| 12 | 8°78 | 8 May| 482) 25 Nov.| 31 25 | 10°47) 19°72 —— Abundance | op oD BA al Sas 493| 13 Dec.| 32 15 | 10°91 —S Red Rust-proof ..| a kis ..| 12 | 1°99] 13 ,, | 58 | 24 Nov.) 29 6 | 10°45 — | | | | = a Algerian .. ..| Rape : --| 7 | 0°48] 28 Feb.) 41) 20 Nov.| 31 1 | 13:94 3 3 aaa Early Angus ..| Bare fallow ..| 7|0°3 | 27 May| 50 | 18 Dec.| 22 30/1165] 58.9 — Potato Ac ..| Canary grass 7/949) 25 ,, | 60 | 18 Dec.| 21 17 |11°65) SoS — Carter’s Royal | 5 a 7 | 0°49 | 25: ,, | 58 | 18 Dec.) 14 29 | 11°65 Be ——— Cluster. { =F Total area, 9°UU acres ; total yield, 286 bushes 1 lb. ; average yield per acre, 29 bushels 24 lb. ; highest yield, 32 bushels 15 lb, per acre. Nores.—The season was an unfavourable one for oats, and favoured the later maturing varieties. The first three are practically comparable, and have proved suitable for the district. Abundance, on account of maturing later, had the advantage of the October rains. Those in Paddock 7 are not comparable, owing to the differences of soil upon which they were grown and the rotations followed. Bar.eys grown at Bathurst Experimental Farm, 1907. =e.) | oe Dat 28) & | Yield = wd) pas | Tete See ee = ate jnQl Oe sod a[ieShtute alnta ee ines Variety. Previous crop. ss é on = = 2° ee 2-52 for Year. | Remarks. z 5 Al sells Pate bats ai| < jo — & ey) | | acres lb. vbus. te inehea! inches. Cape Barley Scarlet clover ..| 28 | 4:0 | 23 Mar.| 50 | 23 Nov.} 23 5 | 11°87 | 19°72 Cut in winter for green } | | fodder. | } | Cape Barley ..| Bare fallow aa 1. , O73 827 May| 66) |:27 Nov. 29°36 - 10:51 —— ae ; ast | 2 e Cape Barley ..; Maize 3 089} 30 May] 57}, 27 Nov.| 18 15 | 10°51 33 —S Skinless Barley .. re | 3 | 0°89 | 31 May] 53% 23 Nov.) 12 16 | 10°30 =) g == Standwell Barley. . ~ G0 ..| 8 | 0°89 | 28 May| 584) 23 Dec.| 7 32 | 11°65 es \ Maltster Barley .. a me ..| 38 | 0°89} 29 May} 64 | 23 Dec.| 11 48 | 11°65 3S \ ; a Brewer's Favourit 5p ae =| 3 | 0°89 | 29 May] 48 | 23 Dec.| 12 5 | 11°65 =Q ‘-Malting varieties. Barley. a) Albert Barley ..| ,, .. .-| 3 |0°89 | 30 May} 643| 23 Dec.| 11 42 | 11:65) ¢£ ) Total area, 9°64 acres ; total yield, 167 bushels 37 Ib. ; average yield per acre, 17 bushels 20 Ib.; highest yield, 29 bushels 36 |b. per acre. = Elack Winter Rye | Flax Emerald Rye ..| Canary grass April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 325 Nores.— Generally speaking the season proyed too dry for barleys. The Cape, in Paddock 28, gave a creditable yield after having been cut for green fodder during the winter. The plot in Paddock 7, which had been previously bare-fallowed, gave the highest yield. All the varieties after maize gave an unsatisfactory crop. XYES grown at Bathurst Experimental Farm, 1907. iB By = ae aie Bel) oo8) |) Yield) la ace me. : 26! . | Date. |9¢ a7 |S 22 | Rainfall ri Previous crop. asl -lne o# per |S.E valnia marks Variety | revious croy Se S | sown. |o = = 4 Bae 52) for Year. Remarks. | evenrlie <4-4i| Ze Fs Nee bp | | | : jacres Ib, bus. Ib. inches | 0°9 | 24 May) 49 | 18 Dec | 16 58 | 11°65) Vide == | 0 43] 27 May, 414) 18 Dec.| 11 30 eee Wheats. | | ~JI-J Total area, 1°34 acres ; total yield, 20 bushels 24 lb. ; average yield per acre, 15 bushels 6 Ib. APRICOTS DRIED AND SALTED. CoMMONLY CALLED ‘‘ Mrsos”’ In Cape Conony. Some time ago His Excellency Sir Harry Rawson called the attention of the Department of Agriculture to a table delicacy made in Cape Colony called ““ Mebos,” which he thought worth while experimenting with here, as apricots are grown to perfection in many parts of the State. Lately Miss Rawson has obtained from the Cape a recipe for the process, which she has kindly forwarded to the Department. The recipe, which is given below, is very simple, entailing no more trouble than ordinary dried apricots. Take soft ripe apricots, lay them in salt water (about 2 ounces of salt to a quart bottle) for a few hours. Then lay them on a mat to dry in the sun ; the next day press them between the hands to flatten and to let the stone come out. ~The next day repeat the process. At the Cape it generally dries and becomes ‘‘ Mebos”’ in three or four days in the sun, but, if the weather should be damp, they might be dried in heated rooms or a cool oven. To erystallise the ‘“‘ Mebos,” lay them in lime-water for five minutes till they feel nice and tender, take out, wipe dry on a soft cloth, and rub coarse erystallised white sugar well into each; take 1} 1b. of sugar to 1 lb. of “Mebos.” Pack closely with lots of sugar in between, in jars that will cork well. A very nice sweetmeat, and said to be a remedy for sea-sickness. Lime-water.—2 tablespoonfuls of fine lime to a quart of boiling water. Mix well, and when the lime has drained to the bottom, pour the clear water into a bottle; cork and keep for use. 7 326 Agricultural Gazette of N.S IW. [April 2, 1908 Analyses of Soils from Papua. I. B. GUTHRIE anp R. S. SYMMONDS. Tne following notes on samples of soil submitted by the Director of Agri- culture, Papua, and forwarded through the Commonwealth Department of External Affairs, may be of interest to Gazette readers who desire information as to the nature of the soils and their agricultural value in this portion of the Commonwealth, and to compare them with typical soils of the mainland, already published in the Gazette. The soils examined are typical of the soils met with in New Guinea, and were collected under the direction of Mr. Staniforth Smith, Director of Agri- culture, Papua. Mr, Staniforth Smith reports as follows :— The twelve samples of soil that have been forwarded to the Director of Agriculture, Sydney, have been cbtained from all accessible portions of the et With the exception of the Sogeri soil the elevation has been near the sea level and generally taken from places only a few miles inland from the coast. In every case a piece of land has been selected which was a fair average of the agri- cultural land of that district, and in no case has soil been selected that is situated less than 20 chains from a river bank. A hole, with perpendicular sides, has been sunk to a depth of 18 inches or 2 feet and the soil for analysis taken in slices of even width from the surface to the bottom ; any stones found in this have been included. With the two following exceptions none of the soils taken were more than 100 feet above sea-levei :— Sogeri, 1,700 feet. Kemp Welch, about 300 feet. Speaking generally, these are rich fertile soils of a loamy nature, friable, and fairly easy to work. They are good nitrifying soils, and should be capable, under cultivation, of giving good results with any kind of crop suited to the climate. With the exception of the soils from Woodlark Island and Cheshunt Bay, they may be classed as rather light loams. These two are rather heavy clay loams, but the clay appears to be of a friable nature, and it the drainage is efficient they should present no difficulties to cultivation. The relation of the soils to water are good, the capacity for retaining moisture being in all cases high, and the humus content satisfactory. With one exception, that of the Woodlark Island soil, the capillary power is good, and the soils are in good mechanical condition. In only one instance, that of the Sogeri soil, is the land sour, and in this case the application of lime appears desirable, as the soil is deficient in this ingredient, and its addition would help materially in sweetening the land. In all other cases the soil is abundantly supplied with lime. They are, on the whole, fairly rich in plant-food, nitrogen and phosphates being from satisfactory to good, but are invariably low in potash, and this ingredient would have to be supplied in the case of such crops as tobacco, coco-nut, banana, and fruit-trees generally. With this exception, it is doubtful whether manuring will be required, at least, for the first few seasons. I am not in a position to speak authori- tatively as to their suitability for tropical crops, but they are fertile soils and should give good results with any of the crops cultivated on the mainland, The lighter soils should be capable of producing the finer varieties of tobacco-leaf. 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So far back as 1891 the late Mr. A. Bruce, Chief Inspector of Stock, issued a valuable pamphlet on “ Points of Stock and their Relative Value.” This system has not received the attention it deserves, as the practice of deciding on the merits or demerits of an animal by a cursory examination, which results very often in the prize being awarded to the wrong exhibit and not on the essential value of the animal. Agricultural societies look upon the point system as an experiment, and prefer to go slowly by trying the experiment on the youths of the district by means of the score card in judging dairy cattle. A prize is held out for the youth who judges best on points. It has repeatedly come under my notice where the wrong competitor has gained the prize, as awards are made on totals and not on the sum of the difference of points from the judge. Appended are two Score Cards, No. 1 and No. 2. Now take No. | Score Card. The maximum number of points, or perfec- tion, in a dairy cow is, say, 200. The judge has credited the animal with 179 points. The competitor credits her with 174 points; therefore, on totals, he only loses 5 points, whereas actually he has differed from the judge to the extent of 23 points. Take again No. 2 Score Card in the same com- petition, the same judge, and animal. The competitor's total is 167 points, and he differs from the judge 12 points as against 5 points in No. | Score Card, whereas No. 2 only differs from the judge 14 points as against No. 1 23 points. So that it is obvious the compiler of No, 2 Score Card has done the best judging and should be awarded the prize. To explain further: Say a youth is 2 points above the judge in one place and 2 points below him in another; he has balanced his account and his total is equal to the judge, although he has missed 4 points. The Score Card is a splendid system for the training of youths. We have used it for years on the Government Stud Farm in the training of students, and have found it invaluable, as every pointin a dairy cow has, as compared with another, a certain definite value. It would be a progressive movement, and the system would be of high educational value to the youth competing, and also the general public, it the judges compared the Score Cards and explained where each competitor had failed, and also gave reasons for his dezisions as to the desirable and undesirable points of a dairy cow. April 2, 1908.] No. Style and general appearance. Colour ... Head Neck Forequarters Back Body Flanks ... ms Hindquarters .. Thighs ... Legs Udder Milk veins Teats Escutcheon Tail Temper ... Size Skin No. Style and general appearance. Colour ... sae iis % Head Neck Forequarters Back BOdveen =. Flanks ... sins Hindquarters ... Thighs ... Legs Udder Milk veins Teats Escutcheon Tail Temper .. Size Skin 1 Score Carp. Agricultural Gazette of NSW. Maximum Judges’ Competitor's Points Points. Points. Poiuts. Lost. 20 18 17 1 4 4 3 ] 10 8 9 l 5 4 4 sd 12 11 10 il 10 9 df 2 15 14 12 2 4 3 4 1 12 10 11 ] 8 6 7 1 6 | 6 5 1 30 | 28 26 2 10 10 5 2 10 five 9 10 1 12 10 11 ] 4 4 3 ] 8 8 di! ] 10 9 10 1 10 8 10 2 200 179 174 23 2 Score Carp. Maximum Judges’ Competitor’s, Points Points. Points. Points. | Lost. 20 18 18 58 4 4 3) 1 10 8 7 1 5 4 4 aes 12 ll 9 2 10 9 8 ] 15 14 13 1 4 3 3 12 10 10 8 6 6 abe 6 6 5 1 30 28 27 1 10 10 8 2 10 9 8 1 12st SIO Get Wee 4 | 4 4 8 8 8 b= Sings 10 9 8 | 1 10 8 9 1 200 179 167 14 5) 29 330 Agriculturat Gazette of N.S.w. [April 2, 1908. Notes on Lucerne at Wagga Experiment Farm. G. M. McKEOWN. Tue site occupied by the crop is one of the highest parts of the farm, situated between two hills of granite formation, from which it is considered that moisture reaches the intervening depression by soakage at a depth at which it is available for the benefit of the crop. he land was ploughed to a depth of 6 inches with rotary disc ploughs in the second week in August, and the seed was sown about the middle of the month. Hunter River seed was sown at the rate of 3 lb. per acre by means of a grass-box attached to an ordinary wheat-drill, together with 56 lb. of superphosphate per acre. The land was rolled after sowing, and the seed germinated early. Three months after sowing, the crop was cut and harvested for a yield of 4 cwt. of hay per acre, which was then worth 7s. per ewt. A month later it was stocked with sheep consisting chiefly of rams and large-framed cross-bred wethers at the rate of seven per acre, Portion of the crop was cut and allowed to lie as the mower left it, for the stock to pick up. These sheep were allowed to remain on the crop for eighteen days, and after the lapse of twenty-five days they were again put in, remaining for eleven days. Fourteen days later it was again fit for moderate stocking, although the growth was too short for cutting. It is intended to cut for hay all growths of sutticient length, and when the growth is too short for this purpose it will be cut for feeding on the ground. The rainfall from Ist January to the end of October was 907 points, and the subsequent records were—November 209, December 286, January nil, February 219. LINSEED (Linum usitatissimumy). In view of the fact that bounties are being offered by the Federal Govern- ment for the production of linseed, or the fibre which is obtainable from the plant under favorable conditions, attention is drawn to the desirability of farmers testing this crop in Riverina. At Wagga fair crops of linseed have been obtained ; but the-growth of the plant for fibre has not been satisfactory, as it has been short and branching, defects which depreciate its value. [t is probable that in the higher portions of the district fibre of the best quality can be grown, while the seed yield should also be increased. The land intended for the crop should be ploughed as deeply as the soil will admit, without bringing sour subsoil to the surface. It should be well pulverised and levelled by harrowing. Seed at the rate of 40 lb. per acre should be sown broadcast, and lightly covered by harrowing, followed by the use of the roller. The seed may be sown from March to the middle of May, April being the best month. April 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 331 MeErEeoROLOGICAL BurREAU, No. 4 DIVvIsiIon, New South WALES. Weather Conditions during February, 1908. S. WILSON, Divisional Officer. TH month opened with a cyclonic storm ceitrally situated on the sea- board between Jervis Bay and Port Macquarie, where it caused severe gales and very rough sea. This disturbance was attended by good rains 5 uv 5 Of Mite over our State generally, which persisted until Tuesday, the 4th instant. In Queensland, also, light to heavy rainfall was recorded during this period. The largest totals in New South Wales were in and around the Metropolitan area, as follow:—1,154 points at Lawson, 1,147 at Katoomba, 1,072 at Kurrajong, 1,000 at Wollongong, 866 at Spring- wood, 736 at Camden, 715 at Parramatta, 653 at Picton, 613 at Black- heath, 605 at Ulladulla, 532 at Sydney, and 501 at Bowral. b] e e The distribution durine this rainstorm, which persisted from 29th January to 4th February, was :— On North Coast from 55 points at Kempsey to 200 at Nambucca. Hunter and Manning pemeelteil » CapeHawke,, 408 ,, Jerry’s Plains. Metropolitan eG 55. Windsor », 1,072 ,, Kurrajong. South Coast soe teks) » Gabo », 1,000 ,, Wollongong. Northern Tablelands A: enWircalila; ,», 9397 ,, Tenterfield. Central Tablelands OO) » Blayney », 1,154 ,, Lawson. Southern Tablelands OD oo) Kaandra AQ Acaluen: North-western Slope ie 70 », Manilla ,, 9384 ,, Blackville. Central-western Slope eel G7) », Parkes », 445 ,, Gilgandra. South-western Slope 3 3 », Junee ,, 287 .,, Marsdens. North-western Plain so. ae » Mogil »> 224 ,, Walgett. Central-western Plain An Z », Quambone ,, 305 ,, Trangie. Riverina we 4 », Balranald ,, 364 ,, Cudgellico. Western Division oh 8 » Wanaaring ,, 365 ,, Euabalong. Monsoonal conditions reappeared on the 5th, resulting in unsettled weather over the north-west half of the continent, attended by light rain over the southern seaboard, and moderate to heavy in Central Australia ; put in New South Wales only two stations reported rain, viz., Manning Heads and Sydney, with 5 points and 2 points respectively. Otherwise, in our State it was fine generally. On the 6th and 7th the rain area on the coast expanded, and Lght to moderate falls were recorded south from Port Stephens, and modecate at Cape Byron on the North Coast. Mild temperatures ruled generally during the first week of the month, 100 degrees in the shade being exceeded at only a few scattered stations in E ao2 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. | April 2, 1908. the Western Division, North-west Plains, Riverina, and North-west Slope. The highest were reported from the western districts, where Menindie headed the list with 110 degrees, followed by Euston with 106 degrees; Deniliquin, in Riverina, with 105 degrees; and Hay, 104 degrees. On the 6th, Bourke had 105 degrees, and Mount Hope and Bre- warrina 104 degrees each. At 9 a.m. on the 8th, an energetic high. pressure was situated over the south-west half of the continent, with a central barometric value of 30°3 in the south-west corner; whilst the rear isobars of another were shown over eastern Queensland. Between these two anticyclones, and covering New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, was a steep * Antarctic Low,” with its least pressure reading 29°17 inches at Hobart. Rainfall associated with thunder resulted over Central and Eastern Australia, in parts heavy. Charlotte Waters reported 193 points, and Alice Springs 185 points; at Thursday Island 270 points were recorded, and in South Australia McDonnell had 100 points. In New South Wales the falls were fairly general, the heaviest being registered over the north- east quadrant. Dungog had 280 points; Quambone, 207; Lismore, 187; Enngonia, 180; Taree, 185; Brewarrina, 176; Scone, 165; Warialda, 162; Moree, 160; and Singleton, 153 points. By Monday, the 10th, the disturbance had passed seaward and the high pressure covered the greater part of the continent, with its centre over the Great Australian Bight. A depression, however, still existed over the northern border, eastern Queensland, and our north-east districts, and was responsible for further light to heavy falls over that region. Port Darwin had 172 points and Rockhampton 170 points. In our State the heaviest falls occurred at Lismore, with 404 points; Cape Byron, 370; Millie, 184; Clarence, 172; and Casino, 153 points. During the llth and 12th the depression had become the dominant weather feature over the Eastern States, and caused fresh to strong east to south-east winds, with rough to high seas on the North Coast. The rainy conditions intensified over the north-east half of New South Wales, and consistently heavy falls were recorded on the North-west Plains, Slopes, Tablelands, and North Coast, as also over the Hunter and Manning Dis- tricts. Amongst the largest amounts were—Casino, 442 points; Tweed Heads, 405; Mogil, 397; Nambucca, 395; Millie, 314; Byron Bay, 313; Kunopia, 301; Tabulam, 291; Wee Waa, 278; and Dungog, 265 points. At 9 a.m. on the following day the pressure distribution presented somewhat similar features to those of the 8th, and some good falls were reported from seattered places over Queensland and Northern Territory. Rockhampton had 320 points; Brisbane, 156; Thursday Island, 115; and Port Darwin, 143 points. In New South Wales, on the 14th, an isolated heavy fall was registered at Tambar Springs—164 points; but, otherwise, the rainfall was light to moderate and confined to the north-east quadrant. April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 333 The distribution of rainfall over New South Wales during the week ended the 14th, was as follows :— Western Division from 2 points at Menindie to 225 at Brewarrina. North-western Plain e2oo bg Boggabilla 615 ,, Manilla. ’ 55 ” ’ Central-western Plain ,, 10 < Ungarie ,, 329 ,, Quambone. Riverina We 9 Se nllston 5, 40 ,, Jerilderie. North-western Slope 5p allies) ae Bundella >, 400 ,, Barraba: Central-western Slope ,, 16 a Forbes », 224 ,, Tambar Springs. South-western Slope Aer eles: ‘ W yalong », 91 ,, Tumbarumba. dr ’ 5 ’ Northern Tableland eG - Emmaville , 455 ,, Tabulam. ’ 9 ’ ‘Central Tableland a 6 A Orange , 210 ,, Cassilis. fo) > Southern Tableland Be 2 » Queanbeyan 1 604, Kiandra- North Coast ZOOS » Grafton », 847 ,, Lismore. Hunter and Manning ,, 98 ,, seal Rocks », 398 ,, Manning. Metropolitan ee PT > Parramatta ., 209 ,, Kurrajong. South Coast ae 8 ., Sutton Forest ,, 144 ,, Wollongong. On the 15th the weather chart showed an anticyclone. of some energy, occupying about one-half of the area of the continent, with its highest barometric value—30°2 inches—over the Great Bight. Another “high” was just leaving the eastern seaboard of Queensland. The rear isobars of a low pressure were also shown over our Eastern districts and Tasmania. With this distribution some isolated rainfall, associated with thunderstorms, was reported from Queensland and Northern Territory. Mein had 186 points; Port Darwin, 41; and Daly Waters, 9. Light to moderate falls were also recorded on the Victorian Coast, and in the south-east corner of New South Wales. Fresh to strong south-west to southerly winds occurred over the South-eastern States, with moderate to rough seas along the Victorian and our South Coast. Within the next forty-eight hours a great change had taken place in the pressure distribution, for the “low” had passed off our coast to the Tasman Sea, being superseded by a portion of the anticyclone, now very deflated and unsymmetrical owing to the influence of an extensive monsoonal depression which had developed over the greater part of the continent, with its centre in the north-west half. Thunderstorms accompanied by light to heavy rainfall occurred in Northern Australia. Katherine reported 196 points; Port Darwin, 83; Daly Waters, 80; and Burketown, 45 points. In Queensland and New South Wales the falls were light and unimportant and confined chiefly to the seaboard. On the 18th, the rear portion of the anticyclone was situated over Tasmania and the eastern district of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, whilst the “ monsoonal tongue’ had extended about 300 miles southward; and another, but incipient, low pressure appeared over the southern coastline, stretching from Eucla to Portland. In the south-west corner of West Australia the northern portion of another high pressure was shown. This distribution was responsible for light to heavy rainfall over various parts of the continent. The chief falls in West Australia were—130 points at Hamelin Pool, 104 at Cue, and 101 at Carnarvon. In Queensland 123 334 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [Aprit 2, 1908. points at Lochnagar was the chief amount, followed by 108 at Mitchell. The falls in the Northern Territory and South Australia were only light to moderate. In New South Wales light to heavy falls were registered over parts of the north-east quarter, the heaviest being 175 and 136 points, respectively, at Wee Waa and Pilliga, on the North-west Plain; 103 at Quambone, on Central Western Plains; 115 at Uralla, on Northern Table- land; and 120 at Jerry’s Plains, and 100 points at Seal Rocks, in Hunter and Manning Districts. On the 19th, the high pressure was situated over the north-east quad- rant of our State and south-east portion of Queensland, with its centre between Rockhampton and Brisbane, whilst another “ high” covered the southern districts of the continent from Portland, in South-west Victoria, to Perth, in West Australia. Between and north of these two high-pressure systems were three depressions. The “ monsoonal tongue ” was still over Central Queensland, its west portion extending to the west coast of Aus- tralia; the second one was situated over Tasmania; and the third, which was a cloud-curve depression, covered the south-western half of our State. As the result of the above, rainfall associated with thunderstorms was experienced over many parts of the continent. Fully two-thirds of New South Wales benefited from falls varying from lght to heavy, east of a line joining Wanaaring, Mossgiel, and Corowa, with the exception of that part of the seaboard between Taree and Nambucca Heads. The heaviest amounts were—214 points at Warren, 205 at Picton, 196 at Coonabara- bran, 189 at Scone, 178 at Quirindi, 175 at Jerry’s Plains, 165 at Murru- rundi, 150 at Mungindi, 144 at Canonbar, 128 at Walgett, 123 at Nowra; and in the Metropolitan area Beecroft had 134; Gordon, 131; Turra- murra, 104; Bankstown, 88; and Sydney, 42 points. At Kangaroo Valley, in South Coast district, an exceptionally heavy and destructive hailstorm occurred. Isolated heavy falls were reported from Queensland and West. Australia. Thursday Island had 362 points, and Carnarvon 135 points. At 9 a.m. on the 20th, the high pressure over South Australia was shown to have travelled at an abnormally rapid rate eastward, to the extent of about 1,100 miles; its centre being then to the south of Adelaide. It now covered all the southern part of the continent from Geraldton to Sydney, having displaced the two low pressures over the South-eastern States ; but the monsoonal depression still hovered in Queensland and our northern border districts. During the ensuing twenty-four hours the high pressure had become the chief weather control of Australia, with indica- tions of monsoonal influence still over Queensland and portions of our inland districts. The centre, to the value of 30°5 inches, was now to the south of Tas- mania, having travelled about: another 900 miles eastward. At 9 a.m. on this date, consistent rainfall was reported from the north-eastern quadrant of New South Wales, and here and there on the northern border, as also from scattered places on the South Coast, South-west Slope, | | | { | Aprit 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 335 and Riverina. Some heavy falls were recorded in the north-east quarter, the principal amounts being—Nambucea, 379 points; Tabulam, 560; Kyogle, 330; Manning Heads, 328; Woolgoolga, 321; Grafton, 290; Lis- more, 265; Seal Rocks, 210; Warialda, 203; Cape Hawke, 202; Nundle, 184; Tamworth and Narrabri each 183; Armidale, 180; Gunnedah, 174; and Port Macquarie, 150; the remaining amounts varied from a few points to about 100 points. On the 22nd, some additional heavy falls were reported from the central part of the seaboard. Port Macquarie had 308 points; Manning Heads, 190; Camden Haven, 156; Cape Hawke, 140; Seal Rocks, 130; and New- castle 105 points. The weather chart showed that the high pressure had surged slightly southward, and lost somewhat in its central barometric value over Tasmania where the greatest reading was now 30°4 inch. With this movement southward, the monsoonal conditions extended also and intensified, although, speaking generally, the anticyclone covered prac- tically the same area as the preceding day. The winds on the coast of New South Wales were still fresh to strong from the south and south-east ; but inland they were blowing more consistently from the east and had freshened. By the 24th, the anticyclone had contracted considerably east- ward, and the axis of the main body of it had wheeled round from an east and west direction to north-east and south-west. It now covered only the South-east States, having lost one-tenth in the central reading, which, at 9 a.m., was 30°3 in. Monsoonal indications were also shown between the Queensland coast aud Norfolk Island. Between Saturday, the 22nd, and the following Monday, an exceptionally heavy rainstorm occurred over the Hunter and Manning districts, and resulted in phenomenally heavy falls there. The largest amounts were—1,045 points at Newcastle, 908 at Maitland, 805 at Camden Haven, 729 at Paterson, 659 at Gresford, 594 at Singleton, 545 at Dungog, and 531 at Port Macquarie. In the Metro- politan area, 527 points at Kurrajong Heights, 472 at Turramurra, and 471 points at Mount Colah. These falls are included in the following statement of the distribution of rain from the 18th to the 25th inclusive, over the various subdivisions of the State :— North Coast from 169 points at Mullumbimby to 705 points at Woolgoolga. Hunterand Manning ,, 264 ae Murrurundi _,,_ 1,577 53 Newcastle, Metropolitan papel) Bs Sydney ae ail se Kurrajong. South Coast = 9 ae Gabo ao SO ms Picton. Southern Tablelands ,, 44 5a Bungendore ,, 258 Ae Braidwood. Central Tablelands 7 pe Blayney », 646 ae Lawson. Northern Tablelands ,, 107 58 Walcha ay (OS) 55 Tabulam. North-western Slope ,, 40 ee Bendemeer cm PAR es Warialda. ‘Central-western Slope ,, 28 zs Gilgandra ols > Coonabarabran South-western Slope ,, 20 3 Morangarell ,, 143 = Tumbarumba. and Junee. Central-western Plain ,, 13 PA Nyngan x i Warren. North-western Plain ,, 15 9 Moree Sees ‘3 Wee Waa. Riverina = 5 ss Moulamein xo UY) - Cudgellico. Western Division ea 2 és Bourke ay PPE ie Euabalong. 336 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [| April 2, 1908. For the most part mild temperatures ruled over the State during the month, but occasionally, as when the frontal portion of a “low” reached the Western districts, 100 degrees in the shade was exceeded. The highest points attained were 115 degrees and 113 degrees respectively at Bourke and Brewarrina on the &th. The percentage distribution of rainfall over the various subdivisions of the State during February, 1908, was as follows :— Percentages. “Above 3elow normal. normal). North Coast from 5 to 66 =: Hunter and Manning », 107 to 496 _ Metropolitan ,, 40 to 197 mae South Coast 53 367 to 57 Northern Tableland .. 36 to 190 — Central Tableland oe to: Li — Southern Tableland Pe 142 to 39 North-western Slopes Ss 71 to 225 Central-western Slopes = ,,_—s-78:_- to 236 — South-western Slopes * 192 to 25 North-western Plains A 64 to 256 — Central-western Plains . 361 to 48 Riverina fe 422 to 17 Western Division 35 482 to 69 The following is a statement showing a brief comparison of the chief meteorological elements over India, together with Australia, as far as data are available for the month of February, 1908 :— Departure from normal. 4 Fe ! Xe : General Conditions (referring to State as a whole). Pressure. Temperature. Inches. Degrees. India or ae — “04 +0°7 Normal, Sydney (N.S.W.) ... — 02 +0°3 Excepting a few scattered places in Western Division and Southern Dis- tricts, rainfall much above average. Melbourne (Victoria) — “(16 -2°0 Dry. Perth (W.A.) 2 ‘O04 —0°8 Considerably above in Shark’s Bay District, below on north-west coast, normal elsewhere. Adelaide (S.A.) .. 03 +0°8 Rather patchy, mostly normal. Barometric pressure, as shown by the above table, was below average in India and Australia, whilst temperature in India, at Svdney and Adelaide, was above, and at Melbourne and Perth, below normal. April 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 337 Seasonable Notes. NOTES ON SOME OF THE LESSER KNOWN VARIETIES OF WHEATS AVAILABLE FOR FARMERS’ EXPERIMENTS. GEO. L. SUTTON, Wheat Experimentalist. Some of the wheats referred to last month as being available for farmers’ experiments are now well known to farmers, but as others are not so well known, and some of them are being placed in general cultivation for the first time, a few details regarding their characteristics are sure to be of interest to those engaged in the industry. Bunyip. This is a very early variety, being about a week earlier than Federation, and about a fortnight earher than Steinwedel. On account of its extreme earliness, to plant it early in the season is to court failure with it; towards the end of May will be found quite soon enough to sow it. This variety seems admirably suited for our warm dry districts, and will be found very valuable for late planting. It is not a rust-resister, but because of its especial earliness it is likely to escape injury from this pest. The growth is vigorous, fairly compact, and erect, and, like Federation, the plant is short and strong. These qualities, combined with the fact that it does not readily shell, make it admirably suited for those districts where stripping is general. Its short stiff straw and rather pale colour, however, cause it to be rather unsuitable for hay. After heading, because of its upright and level-headed character, a crop of this wheat presents a most attractive appearance in the field. The grain is large and plump, and when milled produces about 70. per cent. of flour, with a strength of 52-6, and having 11:5 per cent. of dry gluten. Comeback. This wheat is not as well known in this State as in South Australia, where it has proved to be a satisfactory yielder, and to produce flour equal in strength to that of the Fife or Manitoba varieties. Because of its earliness it is likely to prove very suitable for our warm, dry districts ; and because of the character of its foliage, which indicates that t will resist rust, it is worth a trial on our coastal areas. It is a vigorous growing early variety, with clean, slender, but e'astic, straw, qualities which make it valuable as a hay wheat. 338 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. 0 O64 Bunyip. Comeback. The straw is fine enough to appear weak, but it evidently makes up in elasticity what it lacks in stoutness. Last season, at the Cowra Farm, a crop 5 feet high was beaten down by heavy rain just as it was ripening early in April 2,1908.) Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 339 November. It was taen feared that 1t would be impossible to harvest the laid crop with the stripper, and that it would be very difficult to cut it with the reaper and binder, but such was the elasticity of the straw that a few weeks later the crop of about 10 acres was stripped, and averaged between 32 and 33 bushels per acre. So far, we have had no trouble with it shelling, but if it held its grain a little tighter it would be an improvement. It strips about as easily as Early Purple Straw. Should it, on further trial, maintain its ability to yield as it has done in the past, it is sure to become a great favourite with farmers, as 1f possesses the desirable properties of quick maturity and suitability for either hay or grain. As a milling wheat it is amongst the very best. This season buyers have been offering 3d. to 6d. per bushel premium for parcels of this wheat. A milling test, made by Mr. Guthrie, the Departmental Chemist, of the best sample grown this year at Cowra, shows that the grain weighed 65} lb. per bushel, and produced 70:5 per cent. of flour of excellent colour, which had a strength of 61:5, and contained 15:74 per cent. of dry gluten. These are the best results we have had, and they at once stamp Comeback as being in the very front rank of milling wheats. An extensive baking trial, conducted by one of the largest Sydney bakers, with flour made from this variety, proved in actual practice that the quality of the flour was quite equal to the best imported American (Manitoba). Such results are very gratifying, and combined with the fact that this variety yielded up to 36 bushels per acre last year at Cowra, show that the climate of New South Wales is admirably suited to the profitable production of the very highest class of wheats. Firbank. This variety is the result of a cross between the well-known Zealand and a crossbred called Maffra. It is very early, and is specially suitable for hay, the straw being sweet, soft, and of excellent colour. Should it prove, under farmers’ trials, as prolific and otherwise as suitable for hay as Zealand (or Berthoud), it is likely to replace that variety, for Firbank is about fourteen days earlier than it. If required for hay, it should not be sown before mid- season ; but if sown early, it will be ready to cut for ensilage before the “black oat” ripens, and if utilised in this way it will prove a very valuable aid in profitably ridding dirty paddocks of that pest. Last season the yield of hay from a small plot of this variety planted on May 8 was at the rate of 2 tons 16 cwt. per acre. Florence and Genoa. These wheats are the successful results of the efforts, initiated by the late William Farrer in 1901, to produce varieties so resistant to smut (bunt) that it will be unnecessary to treat the seed with bluestone or other preventives of smut before sowing it. 340 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [April 2, 1908. April 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 341 To ensure that these wheats will be resistant to smut, each generation of the cross was subjected to the following rigorous treatment, which is as severe as it 1s possible to devise. The seed before being planted was so. thoroughly infected with smut spores as to be quite black with them. The extent of infection may be judged by comparing the illustrations Figs. 1 and 2 with each other. Fig. 1 is from a photograph of the grain before it was infected, and Fig. 2 of the same grain after infection. The seed after being thus infected and in a degree never to be met with under ordinary conditions—-was planted without further treatment. From these tests Florence and Genoa have emerged triumphant in regard to their ability to resist smut ; they have proved themselves to be over 99 per cent. smut resistant, that is to say, that out of 100 seeds thoroughly infected in the manner described 99 plants have been found to be entirely free from smut at harvest time. To ensure that the freedom from smut is due to the inherent ability of the plants to resist the attacks of the parasite, steps are taken to determine that the absence of smut is not because of seasonal or other peculiarities. Florence and Genoa are the result of the same crosses; the varieties used in their production being White Naples, Improved Fife, Hornblende, and an Indian wheat. Florence is a very early wheat, Genoa being about a fortnight later, other- wise they have similar characteristics. Both are vigorous growers, stooling feeely, with rather narrow stiff leaves ; they are of medium height, with straw of good colour right to the ground. Genoa holds its grain rather more firmly than Florence, which gives promise of being more suited to the warm dry districts than Genoa ; it also promises to be more prolific. Last season at Cowra, its yield in a small field trial was at the rate of 35 bushels per acre, exceeding that of Genoa by 41 per cent. As milling wheats they rank very high ; a test made by Mr. Guthrie shows that the grain weighs 68} lb. per bushel, produces 74} per cent. of flour, with a strength of 52, and containing 13°9 per cent. of dry gluten. The introduction of these wheats marks another stage in the history and progress of wheat-breeding in New South Wales. With their advent, the production of smut-resisting varieties has passed the experimental stage, and is now well within the realms of practical agriculture. Their introduction indicates to the farmer that, in the very near future, the operation of treating seed grain for the prevention of smut will be unnecessary. For even if these varieties do not prove for farmers’ requirements equal to those already in cultivation, other smut-resistant varieties will soon be available to suit any of our conditions. Jumbuck. This variety is rather late, being about the same season as Genoa, and is suitable for early planting in warm dry districts, or for mid-season planting on the cool tablelands. It is of the same breeding as Tarragon, which is the 342 = Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. ® & 4 ‘Florence. result of a cross with Improved Fite and Tardent’s Blue with Lambrigg, Australian Talavera. It is an erect rather compact grower of medium height ; the leaves are fairly stiff but narrow ; the ears are rather square, and have woolly chaff, hence the name Jumbuck. It is likely to prove a good hay wheat and prolific yielder. In 1906, at Cowra, it was consistently the best yielder, and Y; ee 3° 0. ie Fig. I.—Clean seed. Fig. I1._-Seed ‘same as Fig. I) infected with smut spores to test the a ey of the variety to resist smut. last season, when planted in April, it produced at the rate of 314 bushels per acre, and when planted six weeks later, at the rate of 27 bushels. The computed yields of hay per acre were 2 tons 12 ewt. and 2 tons 4 ewt. for D438 z«pril 2, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. Thew. Jumbuck. 344 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 2, 1908. the respective plantings. As a milling wheat, ic is similar in composition to Tarragon, which weighs about 625 lb. per bushel, produces 78 per cent. of » Hour, having a strength of 53, and containing 13 per cent. of dry gluten. Thew. This is another early vigorous variety, of medium stooling and_ rather spreading habits ; the foliage is dark green, and the straw soft and of good colour right to the ground, qualities which make it admirably suited for hay. The head is rather open, but the grain is held firmly. Last season it was one of the most prolific hay wheats at the Cowra Experimental Farm, yielding up to 3 tons 2ewt. per acre. It has also proved suitable for hay in the trial plots, at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. It is well worth a trial in the coastal districts, and is likely to prove suitable for other districts where early wheats are desired. A sample of the grain milled as follows :— Flour... ee 6-4 per cent. Strength ... 56:4 quarts per sack. Dry gluten ... 15-4. A result which shows it to be an excellent milling variety. CONCENTRATED GRAPE JUICE FOR SWEETENING WINE. M. BLUNNO. As no sweetening ingredient other than fresh or concentrated grape juice is permitted in the manufacture of wine, it will no doubt be of assistance to many if I briefly describe the process, which is very simple. The apparatus required consists of a boiler, with steam jacket, or a boiler in which a steam coil can be fixed. If, however, neither of these are avail- able, an ordinary copper boiler may be used for concentrating the juice. The juice is first strained through a piece of gauze, and then put in the boiler and brought to the boiling point, and maintained at this temperature until the bulk is reduced from one-half to two-fifths of its original volume. While boiling it must be stirred from time to time to prevent the bottom layer of juice from burning, in which case the juice would contract a peculiar burnt taste, that to many is not agreeable. The juice so concentrated keeps for any length of time, provided it is kept in very clean vessels or glass, and is well corked. It is preferable to use a copper boiler, tinned inside. A slow steady boiling is better than piling on firewood to hasten the process. April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.Y. 345 Orchard Notes W. J. ALLEN. APRIL. Tue outcome of the recent Conference of Ministers for Agriculture of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, is that much better arrangements than have heretofore existed have been made for the importa- tion and exportation of fruits, fruit-trees, and vegetables, and it was not the desire of any of the Ministers that any restrictions should be put on legiti- mate trade. South Australia still probibits the import of grapes or grape- vines, or any part of a vine, owing to the fact that there is no phylloxera in that State, but will allow fruit to pass through to Broken Hill, provided always that it has no disease which may spread to their orchards in transit. They reserve the right to inspect the same. Victoria and New South Wales have come to a very satisfactory agree- ment, but fruit affected with fruit-fly is not allowed to be sent from one State to another. Tasmania admits our nursery stock, provided it is free from disease. All fruits to be exported must be passed as being fit for export and reason- ably free from disease, and a certificate must accompany them to that effect from the exporting State before they will be admitted to any State. Hach State reserves the right to inspect all fruit on arrival, but it is hoped that the pre-export inspection will block much of the inferior and diseased fruits which, up to the present time, have been sent from one State to the other, and which has been the cause of all the friction between the States. Mr. Hugh Calderwood, of Galston-road, Hornsby, informs me that he had recently fumigated some orange-trees, which had been sprayed with Bordeaux mixture a fortnight before, and had not damaged a leaf on the trees. I am of opinion that the heavy rains which fell between the time of spraying and the fumigating washed the bluestone off the trees. Had there been no rain in the meantime I fear the trees would have suffered. Inspector Corrie reports that he found the following varieties of fruits were doing best on the rivers south of Grafton, viz. :— Apples. Pears. Grapes. Granny Smith. Bartlett. Tsabell. Newtown Pippin. Gansell’s Bergamot. White Sherry. Carrington. Winter Cole. Muscat of Alexandria The latter two grapes take oidium badly, and require an occasional spraying of Bordeaux mixture. 346 Agrwultural Gazette of NSW. [April 2, 1908. Green Manuring.— Although it is getting rather late in a good many dis- tricts to sow crops among the trees, it is, however, best to put them in as early as possible now rather than to miss the season. It is a recognised fact that soil cannot go on producing crops without the loss of a great amount of plant food which is required for the sustenance of the trees or vines, and hence it becomes necessary for growers to assist in replacing in as large a measure as possible the constituents so removed from the soil. One of the bess and cheapest ways of doing this is the growing and ploughing under of green crops, such as clovers, vetches, peas, rye, &e., which help, not only to build up the worn-out soil, but also assist in keeping it in condition when once it has been put into a suitable state of fertility. Liming Soil_—Lime may be applied in cases where the soil is found to require it, particularly where it is sour, or where it is very heavy or sticky. After making the application of lime, see that is well worked into the surface soil. Destruction of Pests.—It is most important that our citrus growers should endeavour to rid their trees of all scales, either by fumigating or sprayir g, and this with as little delay as possible, as even after the scale is killed it takes some time for it to leave the fruit, particularly after fumigation. Fumigating tables may be obtained on application to the Department of Agriculture. San José Scale.—Lime and sulphur solution, without the addition of the salt, is one of the best sprays for the destruction of this scale. The mixture to be applied about the time the buds begin to swell in the spring, and is made as follows:—-Take 15 Ib. of best lime and 15 |b. of sulphur to 50 gallons of water. The sulphur is put into 12 gallons of water, nearly at the boiling-point, after being mixed with sufficient water to form a thin paste ; the lime is then added, and the mixture is boiled tor forty minutes, keeping it stirred from time to time. The whole is then strained into a 50-gallon tank, which is thereupon filled with water. If one has a tank large enough to bring the whole 50 gallons to a boil, and apply while hot, T am inclined to think that this spray would be still more effective. Such a solution should not be so hard on the hands of the operator as when salt is added. Codling Moth.—Bandages must still be kept on the trees, as even after all the fruit is removed, an occasional grub finds its way to the bandages. All props should be removed from the orchard, and any grubs adhering to then destroyed. Planting.— Planting of citrus trees may be continued this month. When autumn planting is practised, care should be taken in handling such trees not to expose the roots to either wind or sun for any length of time. As there has been a good demand for suitable varieties of apples for export this year, growers of this fruit should, in planting, only put in such yarieties as are found the most suitable for export, and remember that an apple which colours up nicely (preferably red), and which carries and keeps well, is the one to . as April 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 347 grow ; and also bear in mind that the grower who can supply a line of ten thousand cases of any such variety can easily find a buyer for same. Up to the present the trouble has been that exporters could get only a few hundred vases of a kind, and not in sufficiently large quantities to make it worth their while to exploit foreign markets. There is also a good demand for suitable varieties of good carrying grapes for export, and from information which I gathered while in the western part of the United States and Canada, a good market could be found there for considerable fruit during April, May, and June. Those who intend planting out new orchards should get the land cleared and subsoiled as soon as possible, and trees secured. In planting apple-trees, see that they are all worked on blight-proof stocks, as trees worked on such stocks can be easily kept free of the Woolly aphis. When apples and pears are being pulled it is found necessary, when early shipments are being exported, to go over the trees two or three times, taking only such specimens during each picking as will measure 25 inches or more in diameter, and leaving the smaller immatured or uncoloured fruits to remain on the tree until they are in a fit condition for picking. Valencia Late Orange budded on Seville orange stock. Not2 the thick rind. Grown by Mr. L. W. Nicholson, The Oaks, Camden. F 348 Agricultural Gazette of NSS. [April 2, 1908. Jarm Notes. HawkessBury District—APRIL. H. W. POTTS. THe recent rains have been fayourable for getting the land into good con- dition for the sowing of autumn crops. Advantage may be taken of the opportunity to conserve cultivated crops in the form of hay or ensilage now that there is plenty of grass. Wheat.—Owing to the prevalence of rust, it is not safe to grow this crop for grain. The main sowings may be made for hay, and rust-resisting types should be selected as far as possible. This season a number of new cross-bred types that have succeeded well in the wheat-growing districts are being planted on an extensive scale. They include John Brown, Rymer, Thew, Plover, Federation, Comeback, Jumbuck. It is advisable to steep before sowing. Drill in at the rate of 45 lb. to the acre. Oats.—For green feed the Algerian is the best. Sow about 2 bushels of seed to the acre. The main sowings for hay are made next month. An improved ration is made by sowing a few tares, say half a bushel, with the oats. Barley.—Successive sowings may be made of Cape barley for green feed. Tares should be included where grown for dairy stock. This combination provides a more relishable fodder, and ensures a better balanced ration for milk-production. Rye. will thrive on light poor soil, unsuited for any other crop. Where grown Emerald rye may be planted for green feed or green manure. It for grain, the straw should be saved, as it is invaluable for bedding purposes, and, if not broken in threshing, is suitable for stutting collars, &e. Lucerne.—lt is not yet too late for sowing this valuable crop. Have land as clean as possible, and broadcast at the rate of about 15 Ib. of seed to the acre. Select prime clean samples, obtained from good lucerne paddocks. Light soils, if properly worked, will grow good crops of this plant, and no stock- owner should be without a paddock of it. It may be rather difficult to make hay of the late cuttings of old established crops, owing to heavy dews, cool weather, and showery conditions, but it makes good ensilage. Maize and Sorghum.—The late sowings of these crops should be kept clean by the use of the cultivator until they are high enough to look after them- selves. Towards the end of the month these will be ready for converting into ensilage. Turnips and Swedes.—Vhese crops will now be making rapid growth, and if thinning has not been done it should be pushed on as quickly as possible. This provides for well-shaped uniform roots, so essential for market pur- poses. A few late sowings may be made for stock feed. The swede is a valuable crop for a rotation, and, on large areas, may be grazed off by sheep ; the land will be greatly benefited by the accumulation of manure from the animals. os ae . April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 349 Rape.—This valuable crop can still be sown. Given fair, moist conditions, few crops will pay to grow so well as rape for sheep and pigs. Drill in at the rate of 7 or 8 lb. to the acre. When cut or grazed lightly before it has matured, a second or third crop may be obtained from the one sowing. Itis a deep rooter, and may also be utilised for green manuring. Successive sowings, at intervals of a few weeks, will provide a continuous supply of green feed throughout the winter months. This crop is also of great value for clearing lands of weeds; at the same time, it is necessary to give the rape a good start by having the soil in a fine condition. On large areas, it can be conveniently sown by means of the special broadcasting attachment to a cultivator. Field Peas.—Vhis crop may be planted either for green manure or for the pulse. Sow in drills about 2 feet 6 inches or 5 feet apart. It is also valuable for sheep, where it may be fed off in a similar manner to rape or turnips. Sheep's Burnet.—This plant may be sown this month. It is a deep rooter, and, when properly established, will stand a good deal of feeding. It is invaluable for sheep. Pastures. Where it is intended to lay down permanent pastures, mixtures late for sowing grasses ; but, provided early frosts do not set in, sowings of prairie, should be made up suitable to the soil and climate. It is gettin oO 5 rye, cocksfoot, and white clover will make good growth before winter. The English grasses will only succeed in the moist localities. Montuouy WEATHER REPORT. HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, RICHMOND. Summary for February, 1908. i] Air Pressure Si e Air Moisture | Evaporation (Barometer). Shade Temperature. (Saturation=100). | (from Water Surface). ~ + _ + | s | 8 Ke 55 ~ Z As fea Z a n a : o = A 3 3 leaiclega a8 3 d | +S |g BISE S¥n ee E 8p 5 Boe ramlle oe cls Scere |e Sp & | 68 | Sea (ea stiesee 4 se a cto fetes ved beers bad ears ered pa x = fl aes eae al le shi Nel = ee ad Scr can 29°69 | 30°21 | 29°99 | 6071 | 103°2| 71:6 | 70:0 | 43 | 100 77 “426 | 5°509 | 4°687 11 2 & 29 |11 & 22 Hegel Zire ieee sya | Graal oe | | | | 23, 24. 2 Points 213 162 73 J 58 20 273 107 Ih 23 72 124 95 = : i — 2 = 970 points. Rainfall... Jyotes 4 t) po oO Ti I Li ail Pea ee PE Note Mean for February for 16 years = 271 points. Wind ., N NE E SE 5 SW NW SG PES Ra SES 1 Thunderstorms, 18th and 19th. Greatest daily range of temperature = 37°2° on 8th. Days on which shade temperature rose above 90° = 103°2° on 8th, The rainfall is the heaviest since July, 1904, and the fourth heaviest in 15 years. W. MERVYN CARNE, Observer. 350 Agricultural Gaze.te of N.S.W. [| April 2, 1908. Garden Notes. W. SANDERSON. AP REL. Vegetables. . As most parts of the State have benefited by an abundant rainfall during last month, no doubt this will encourage many to grow a few vegetables who were unable to do so during the protracted drought. Tf the land has been properly cultivated and manured this should be a very favourable opportunity to grow many kitchen garden products. It is the easiest thing in the worid to sow seeds or prick out seedlings from a seed-bed, and with a little attention they will make satisfactory growth. Seed, however, is often absolutely wasted by being planted too deep or in unsuitable land; also seedlings are sometimes transplanted into land poorly cultivated, with plenty of weeds in it, with the result that the plants go back instead of making vigorous growth as they should. The difficulty with sowing seed in stiff soil can easily be overcome by planting them in beds or drilis, as the case may be, with a covering of compost of good leaf mould, rotted dung, sand, &c., that has previously been collected. This is light, and will not crust when watered, consequently if the seed is sown a trifle too deep it will germinate, and the young plants find their way through. When the young plants are ready for transplanting, this should be done on days (evening for preference), when the weather conditions are favourable. Before lifting them out of the seed-beds give them a good watering, so that some portion of earth will adhere to the fibre of the young plant. Care should be exercised to press the soil firmly round the roots. When transplanting, the soil round the base of the plant should be left a trifle low, so that when watering later on the water will collect at the root, thereby ensuring plenty of moisture to the young plant. If the land has been previously well manured and cultivated, the growth of the plants will, with ordinary attention and subsequent watering and cultivation, be up to expectations. In the warmer or coastal districts a sowing of beans, kidney or French, might be made to advantage, but in colder parts, where early frosts occur, perhaps it would not be worth the risk of planting ; also, in the case of ‘auliflowers and broccoli, the season is, perhaps, a trifle late. Yet if a few good healthy plants were pricked out in well manured land they should at least repay for the trouble of attention. Cabbage may be planted out, say, a few now and another planting in the course of a fortnight or three weeks, in quantities large enough to satisfy April 2, 1908. | Agricuctural Gazette of NSW. 351 the requirements of the household ; also red and silver beet can be pricked out from seed-beds ; but if seedlings are not available make a sowing for transplanting later on. The weather conditions are yery favourable for planting out celery, but it requires land that can command a good water supply, which is absolutely necessary to produce well grown stalks fit for the table, otherwise they will be stringy and useless. Onions, eschalots, and garlic should be planted now in small quantities, and as salad is used on almost every table the following should not be forgotten :—Lettuce, endive, cress, mustard, and radish, A few rows of peas can be tried, and when about 6 inches high they should have something to climb on in the way of sticks or brambles, as this prevents the pods lying on the ground, and the wind from destroying the haulms, as is frequently the case. The following seeds may be sown :—Carrot, parsnip, cabbage, broad beans: also a stock of herbs should be looked to, as they are most useful in the kitchen. Flowers. As the season for planting spring flowering bulbs is getting late, no time should be lost in putting in hyacinths, daffodils, freesias, snowflake jonquils, anemone, ranunculus, tulips, &ve., but, especially in the case of the hyacinth and daffodil family, the land should have been previously worked to a depth of 16 or 18 inches, and, if not naturally rich, a little bonedust or other fertiliser mixed through the ground before planting will feed the plants later on. Dahlias and chrysanthemums should be kept tied up to protect the blooms and keep them from lying on the ground; any other flowering plants that require tying up should have attention. For present planting, seeds of the following may be put in :—Pansies, carnations, gaillardia, antirrhinum, phlox, wallflower, daisies, verbenas, hollyhock, primula vulgaris (common English primrose), intermediate stocks (Beauty of Nice and Queen Alexandra are good kinds). The lawn should receive attention now, as the grass grows very fast at this time of the year under favourable weather conditions. All weeds should be removed that have been introduced from time to time, thereby preventing unsightly patches ; also, if continued showery weather prevails, worm-casts considerably spoil the appearance of the lawn. These, however, can be prevented by watering with a fairly strong lime-water, which will cause the worms to disappear. 352 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [| April 2, 1908. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHOWS. SECRETARIES are invited to forward for insertion in this page dates of their forthcoming shows ; these should reach the Sub-Editor, Department of Agri- culture, Sydney, not later than the 21st ‘of the month previous to issue. Alteration of dates should be notified at once. 1908. Society. Secretary. Date. Clarence P. and A. Society, Grafton ... - .. Thos. Bawden ... Apl.1, 2 Ulladulla A. and H. Association bse a na Gs A. Buchan Ha lie Durham A. and H. Association (Dungog) —... .. C.K. Grant Pee! ee) Warialda P. and A. Association a0 oe .. W. B. Geddes Sls OES: Bathurst A., H., and P. ... i Fe anc rs WeaGre bhompsoniee: aemmelse2sco Walcha P. and A. Association ... oe ae? ... S. Hargraves Se oseae Campbelltown A., H., and I. Society ... ane ... Fred. Sheather Pad iaits: Lower Clarence A. Society, Maclean ... ‘6 ... G. Davis Bee ings Moree P. and A. Society... are a Aer 20 DSH. Karby, 5 illest Mudgee A. Society rae At aie ae ... H. Lamerton Je a TOROS RO Cooma P. and A. Association... es ie -../ Ciadi. Walmsley. cause S309 Upper Hunter P. and A. Association (Muswellbrook) Pierce Healy ae Oa LO Upper Manning A., P., and H. Association ... ... D. Stewart, jun. ... =, - 9; 10 The Royal Agricultural Society of N.S.W. ... 30) EL MEY Somer ede sy ele bonee Narrabri P., A., and H. Association ... ans a W. H. Ross Sse PAN eat) Dubbo P., A., and H. Association af ae ... F. Weston see MiavelGs 7 Hawkesbury District A. Association ... aes .. CS. Guest pala abe G The Central Australian P. and A. Ass., Bourke’ ... G. W. Tull A PADS VA New South Wales Sheep Breeders’ Association .. A. H. Prince >) 2h toy, Nyngan and District P. and A. Association ... ... R. H. A. Lyne A Ally PAS: Deniliquin P. and A. Society... 08 ais ... L. Harrison ... July 18, 19 Hay P. and A. Association - et es Rep MCAS AOE werigs: bye OY: Narandera P. and A. Association “iis ee see Wiseele ayn he Relea tO rnO Young P. and A. Association .., anc oat .. G.Ss Whiteman... 9, 959,00 National A. and I. Association of Queensland ... C. A. Arvier 53>. LOMtorwrd Forbes P., A., and H. Association oh xh .. N. A. Read see ann aria so) oO y> 25, 26, 27 Parkes P., A., and H. Association ... ns Gan Weelbeabornarss Murrumbidgee P, and A. Association ... 506 as Alga 6D) shite an April 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 358 Society. Secretary. Date, Grenfell P., A., and H. Association... a ... Geo. Cousins ... wept. 2, 3 Germanton P. and A. Society ... o aoe ... J. Stewart Sober as Albury and Border P., A., and H. Society ... .. W. I. Johnson 35 8, 9, 10 Molong P. and A. Association ... ee nee ... C. E. Archer mG Cootamundra A., P., H., and I. Association... el ee Walliams 5 15.16 Queanbeyan P. and A. Association _... ae .. EH. O. Hinksman... Oct. 1 Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. RAMS, BOARS, AND TURKEYS FOR SALE, WAGGA EXPERIMENTAL FARM, BOMEN. SHROPSHIRE RAMS... ane ie ... £3 3s. to £5 5s. each. BERKSHIRE BOARS AND SOWS... sean ean a5eseaen. BRONZE TURKEY GOBBLEBRGS _... Seen PORASeee Ess Apply MANAGER, Wagga Experimental Farm, Bomen. [ Bat icultural Gazette of NS.W. [ ADVERTISEMENT. | [ April 2, 1908. Government Stud Bulls available for lease, or for service at State Farms. Sire. Dam. Breed. Name of Bull. Shorthorn... March Pansy 5 .... Dora’s Boy . . Royalty ce | Pansy Duke ... 55 Royal Hampton! 10th (imp.). Jersey Thessalian IT ...| 5 . Golden Lord i Sir Jock Guernsey ..., Gentle Prince ... s5 ...| The Admiral ...| - s.| Peter's Lad .. aA ... Prince Milford.. = Vivid’s Prince... a .... Prince Edward.. Red Poll ...| The Judge Ayrshire .. Don Juan : 35 ...| Royal Prince .. 5 ...| Auchenbrain aa | Spicy Jock (imp ). Kerry... Bratha’s Boy Dexter Kerry Erebus ... A Waterville Punch, Holstein . The Hague .. Obbe II 39 Karl March .| Cornish Boy... Royal Duke IL.. Earl March Soliman Thessalian . Golden King ... Omelette’s Pride Rose Prince Hawkes Bay . Peter Rose Prince Rose Prince Rose Prince .... Barrister General... Curly Prince Howie’s Spicy... Robin .... Aicme Chin Hottentot ...| President “| Obbe Australian Pansy Lady Dora Plush Pansy 4th Orange Blos- som 23rd.} ...| Egyptian Princess Colleen Lady Tidy 3rd (imp.). ... Gentle Vivid... Souvenir Flaxy Vivid Vivid Lovely 8th Judy 9th Rosie 5th Another Mayflower | Bratha 4th ... | Marguerite .| LolkjeVeeman/)H.A. College, Richmond. La sega sake Berry Stud Farm.. | Stationed at | Lease expires .| H.A.College, Richmond] Grafton Farm Berry Stud Farm.. Cumbalum Wollongbar Farm. Berry Farm | Alstonville Wagga Exp. Farm Berry Farm Ballina Wollongbar Farm Bur ringbar -| HA. Gollese. Richmond Wollongbar Farm. Coraki .| Grafton Farm Bathurst Farm ... Grafton Farm Berry Farm 23 Glen Innes Farm...) Grafton Farm * Available for service only, at the Farm where stationed. *% 17 July, 6 June, * 3 July, * * 21 April, & * + * * + + Available for lease, or for service at the Farm. Regulations under which the Government Stud Bulls are leased. Department of Mines and Agriculture, be at the rate of 2s. 6d. (two shillings and sixpence) per cow. no case be forwarded until the fees have been received. Sydney, Ist July, 1903. 1. Any Agricultural Society, Dairy Farmer, or a combination of Dairy Farmers, may, should the Minister deem it advisable, obtain the hire of one of the Government stud bulls for a period of six months if they guarantee payment for the service of thirty cows, or for shorter periods on special terms. 2. The fee, which shall be payable im advance, shall be at the rate of 5s. (five shillings) per cow for all bulls save Dexter-Kerries, and their fee shall Bulls will in OS. 08. 08, 08. April 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. IL 3. Bulls leased will be transferred free of charge to any place not more than 100 miles by rail from the place from which they are transferred ; to any place distant more than 100 miles by rail, lease will be granted only on condition that the lessee pays all charges for the extra distance over 100 miles. In the case of bulls sent by sea, or partly by rail and partly by sea, all expense over the sum of £1 (one pound) must be borne by the lessee. The lessee must make all arrangements for, and bear all expense of, transferring a bull from the nearest railway station or port to the place where it is to be stationed. In the case of leasing a bull already stationed within the district, the new lessee must send for the bull and bear the expense of removal. 4. A condition of the leasing of the bulls shall be that the farming public be allowed to send cows to the bull at a fee of not more than 10s. (ten shillings) per cow, provided the bull’s list is not already full, but the total number of cows served must not be more than thirty for six months. 5. Each bull shall be treated and kept in a condition to satisfy the Depart- ment, and shall be at all times open to inspection of authorised Officers of the Department. 6. A return showing the number of cows served, and distinguishing between cows owned by those to whom the bull is leased and the outside public, shall be sent to the Department at the end of the term. 7. All due care must be taken to see that the bull shall not have access to cows suffering from any infectious disease, special attention being given to pleuro-pneumonia and tuberculosis. 8. No farmer who is known to have pleuro-pneumonia in his herd shall be permitted to send cows to any of these bulls within three months from the date of the last outbreak. 9. In case of illness of a bull the Department shall be immediately informed 10. The bull shall not be allowed to run with cows, but shall be kept in a special bull paddock, which must be well fenced, and each cow “in use” shall only be allowed to remain with the bull such time as will enable him to have connection with her twice. However, where necessary, in order to keep bulls quiet, special permission may be given to run with one or two specially- selected healthy cows. 11. Should any of the foregoing rules not be complied with, the Depart- ment shall have the right to remove the bulls at once, and all fees paid shall be forfeited. 12. Should a bull be wilfully neglected or badly treated, or Rule 10 be broken, the Department shall have the right to take any action desirable for the recovery of damages. 13. All applications for bulls should be made to the Director of Agricul. ture, Department of Agriculture, Sydney. AGREEMENT CLAUSE. In consideration of the loan of one Stud Bull ( ) for a period of If of do hereby agree to be bound by the conditions expressed in the foregoing Regulations. Dated this day of 190 Witness, — Lessee. vile Duty Stamp. N.B.—This agreement must be signed on the day the bull is received by the lessee, and One Shilling. is to be returned by first post to the Director of Agriculture III Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [April 2, 1908. PURE-BRED PIGS FOR SALE. Newington Asylum, Parramatta River. BREED. | AGE. | SIRES. | DAMS. Danesfield Lottie III (imp.), Russell Swanwick (imp.)... Joyce (imp.), Queenie. | Black Cloud, Jeanette, Queen BERKSHIRES.. 3 months to J Betsy, Rookie Bionic | Ocean Wave (imp. ) Swanwick, Joyce II, Sea Wave, Ripple, Sea-Shell. Swanwick’s Pride, Jean, Miss Gold Digger (imp. ) ‘ Newington Coun.ess (imp.), | Hawke’s May, Hawke’s Lass, YORKSHIRE, do .... Sir Wilfred (imp.)... ae Hawke’s Flower, Newington LARGE. | _ Empress, Newington Duchess (from imported stock). ‘ Cholderton Don (imp.) ... Rolleston Cowslip (imp.), TAMWORTH... From 3 \ | Daffodil (imp.). | months. ( Cossack I (imp.) ... a | Ruby (from imported stock). All the imported stock has been selected from RHE BESt wiRAINS IN: ENGLAND: Terms from £3 93S. Prices may be arranged for young sows ready for service. Intending buyers are invited to inspect the stock. The Parramatta River steamers call at Newington Asylum. If notified in advance, a vehicle will meet the train at Auburn Station. (Telephone, No. 23, Rookwood. ) Communications should be addressed to the Superintendent of Newington Asylum, G. E. BRODIE, Inspector-General of Charities. Vol, X/X Part &. t } soon legistered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper. Price SIXPENCE. tile LA. Parl:5: MAY 2, 1908. Pe CULTURAL G7 | OF Ne VesOU LH WALES. Issued by Direction of THE Hon. JOHN PERRY, MP. MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE. F. G. CHOMLEY, Sub-Editor. Hy Authority : SyDNEY: W, A, GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER *18631 (a) AOS II Agricultural Gazette of NSW. {May 2, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, (1879. It is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Mew South GAales ts protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same in separate pamphlet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. May 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. CON] ENTS. PAGE. WHEAT-GROWING IN New SoutH WALES BF ao (Gale Simttonee ooo) Some Nores oN SisAL Hemp _.... Bo naa so EL. Vie viacksone “307 Twist oF GRAIN IN TIMBERS = a oe ser ee ser axetd) Cotton GrowinGc IN New SoutH WALES a oie W.R. Fry 381 Forace Crops oN Briack Sotrn Av Moree [rRIGAtTION FARM — . A. E. Darvall 387 Ruopes GRASS SEED oe aon ee ve ... C. T. Musson 389 TAGOSASTE OR TREE LUCERNE ... se et i Js Ee Maidens 2390 BounTIES ON AUSTRALIAN PRopUCTS ... rs, i: Ae he Soll Notrs oN THE Mituinc Nature or THE 1907-1908 Harvest In NEw SoutH WALES a he F. B. Guthrie and G. W. Norris 393 DIsEAsES OF FowLs om ae os, as ... G. Bradshaw 395 Procress Report FRoM Mr. W. W. FroceGatr ae ai soe 2 HOW) THE GrowtH oF Biack Spot oN Casep FRUIT H. M. Nicholls 408 Nores on GrassHopper (on Locust) Swarms In New SourH WALES puRING 1907-8 oak oe aoe ae Wm. B. Gurney 411 WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING Marcu, 1908 ... a S. Wilson 420 AFTER-BIRTH IN Cows ... er me i Jas. D. Stewart 425 OrRcHARD NorTEs .. a - ce Se Weds allen 4:26 Iv Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [May 2, 1908. — PAGE. GARDEN NOTES _... ae ee: aa Je ... W. Sanderson 429 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES SHOWS . 432 Montuty WeratHER REPORT— ; Hawkesbury Agricultural College ..» =... W. Mervyn Carne 433 <« ADVERTISEMENTS— Rams, Boars, and Turkeys for sale. Government Stud Bulls available for lease or for service at State Farms. BAGS Regulations under which Bulls are leased. Pure-bred Pigs for sale at Newington Asylum. Dairy Bulls for sale at Berry Stud Farm. Winter School for Farmers at Hawkesbury Agricultural College. VOL. XIX. PARI. MAY 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Wheat-growing in New South Wales. G. L. SUTTON, Cowra Experiment Farm. The Progress of Wheat-growing. THe wheat industry in New South Wales at the present time is rapidly increasing in importance. Its condition resembles that of a healthy vigorous child who has emerged from the dangers of childhood and is developing into prosperous manhood. At first its progress was slow and irregular, but from 1861, when 123,468 acres were planted, the acreage under wheat steadily grew during the next thirty years, until 356,666 acres were planted in 1891. During the next decade progress was more rapid, for in 1901 the area under wheat for grain was 1,392,070 acres. In 1906 we reached the maximum area, 1,939,447 acres; but in 1907, owing to un- favourable conditions at ploughing time, the area was only 1,590,171 acres, but with good prospects and a favourable season we shall soon reach 2,000,000 acres. But even this is less than one-tenth of the area suitable for the growth of this crop within the belt having an average annual rainfall of over 20 inches, which is now known to be the “safe” area for wheat- growing. The expansion which is possible in the near future is obvious. The slow progress which wheat-growing at first made in New South Wales was due largely to the use of varieties unsuitable for the warmer and drier districts. The wheats first used were those which the early settlers brought with them from the Old Country, and when the differences between the climate of England and that of New South Wales are con- sidered, it is not surprising that these varieties were found unsuitable, or only adapted to the cold districts or the moist climates of the coastal areas. By degrees, new and more suitable varieties were obtained, and as these were secured wheat-growing spread into districts which before had been considered totally unfitted for that industry, and the rapid expansion of this highly profitable branch of agriculture during recent years came about. This expansion has been materially assisted by the adoption of new methods of cultivation and harvesting suitable for con- ditions in Australia, where land is cheap and where large areas are avail- able, and also by the introduction of labour-saving machinery where labour is scarce and high priced. That wheat-growing is highly profitable is shown by the comfortable homesteads and thriving financial position of innumerable familes in those districts where wheat is king. A very gratifying feature of this prosperity is, that many of these wheat-growers are men who started with little or no capital in hard cash, and in many cases with but little practical knowledge, but have succeeded because of their ability and willingness to work. That such is the case is not altogether surprising A 356 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ May 2, 1908. when it is known that in a favourable year a farmer will often receive for his crop more than the capital value of his land. Many instances could be given of men who started in a small way and who, after putting in their crop, had to leave home to earn the necessaries of life until the wheat was ready to harvest, but who now have steady incomes and own properties and plant whose value runs into four figures. Climate and Rainfall. In view of the fact that in the early days of the industry wheat-growing in New South Wales was confined to the moist regions of the coastal districts, which have an annual rainfall of 30 to 40 inches, it is interest- ing to note that the largest recent additions to the area under crop are lands on the Western slopes, where the average annual rainfall is 20 inches and under. The cultivation of wheat in the coastal areas has, indeed, now been practically abandoned on account of the prevalence of rust, combined with the discovery that the drier districts are suitable because the crop can be more easily and more cheaply grown. The bulk of the wheat is now grown in the distriets bordering on the 20-inch rainfall, many of them having less. An average annual rainfall of 20 to 25 inches is considered ample for wheat-growing, and preferable to a heavier one. Actual results have proved the industry to be highly profitable in districts with less than 20 inches. A yield of over 37 bushels has been obtained with less than 19 inches in the year. What is of more importance than the actual inches of rain received is the period when it falls. Rain is most beneficial in the early autumn, to facilitate ploughing, and in the spring at the time when the wheat is heading and flowering; and falls at such times assure an abundant harvest. The wheat districts of the State are fortunate in benefiting by rain at these particular periods. The very dryness of the wheat districts in summer, which at one time was considered fatal to their suitability for wheat, is now rightly con- sidered one of their advantages, for such dryness is favourable for the production of high-class grain, and because of it rust need only be feared in unusually wet vears, hay-making is facilitated, and the crop for grain can be left in the field until thoroughly ripe, when they ean be harvested with special machinery and bagged ready for market at a cost of 4s. to: 6s. per acre (excluding the cost of bags). The yields in the dry districts of New South Wales are certainly not as large as in the moister ones, but the average return is about 11 bushels. When this is compared with the 32 bushels which is the average yield of Great Britain it seems alarmingly small; but such a return as is obtained in our dry districts leaves a very reasonable margin of profit, for the cost of production is correspondingly low. In such distriets it is estimated that a crop of & bushels per acre, sold at 2s. 6d. per bushel, will pay the grower. The average return by no means indicates what the dry districts are capable of, for the yields of poor and unskilled farmers. reduce the average for a district. May 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSIT. 357 The Narromine district, one in which the most recent expansion is taking place, is in the Central Western plain, and has an average annual rainfall of about 20 inches. This district in the past has averaged 16, 18, and 20 bushels per acre; and as much as 40 bushels per acre from 600 acres and 25 bushels per acre from 3,000 acres have been obtained. The temperature is certainly high at times in the summer (December and January), the thermometer during the hottest part of the day often registering over 100 degrees Fahr., but owing to the dryness of the air this heat can be borne with considerably less discomfort than can much lower temperatures in moister climates. For two or three months in the middle of the summer the conditions during the heat of the day may be trying, but during the remainder of the year the climate is ideal, the winters being so mild that stock need no sheltering, and even fatten on pasture during that season. The districts are remarkably healthy, and it is possible to live out of doors all the year round. Occasional droughts or periods of scanty rainfall are met with, but farmers are learning how to provide for them, and by new methods how to make the most of the moisture that falls, so that the injurious effeets of drought are lessened, and in the future are likely to be still further reduced. Nature is usually so good that when she occasionally frowns folks are apt to be unprepared and to become alarmed. The climatic advantages of these districts far outweigh their disadvantages, and it is questionable, when all things are considered, whether many more desirable places for residence are to be found. Classes of Land. The wheat districts comprise all classes of land, from plain open country with belts of timber or scrub, to fairly open or timbered undulating or hilly country. In the open plain country the soil is chiefly rich black loam, which is not considered as suitable for wheat as the red friable loamy soil found on the timbered or scrub lands. The quality of the land is very good, easily worked, and naturally drained ; for several years profitable wheat crops can be grown in succes- sion without manure, and with indifferent cultivation. In the districts now devoted to wheat-growing, it is likely that wheat will always be the principal money crop, and when it is grown in conjunction with the culti- vation of oats, barley, rape, tares, peas, sorghum, and other crops suitable for stock feeding, there is not the shghtest doubt that its profitable culti- vation can be carried on for an indefinite period. The unimproved value of land in these districts ranges from £1 10s. to £2 10s. per acre. Size of Farms. With the implements now on the market, a good farmer can plant and care for 200 acres of wheat, and some hard-working energetic men manage 300 acres. In the settled districts, wheat farms range in size from 300 to 600 acres; but farms of one, two, and three thousand acres are not uncommon. When fenced, cleared, and provision made for water, they 358 Agricultural Gazette of NS IV. [May 2,.1908. may be put down as worth from £2 10s. to £7 10s. per acre, the value depending upon the improvements, and their proximity to the railway. It is the exception to find wheat farms which have a natural permanent water supply. In some instances water is obtained by sinking shallow wells, but in the majority of cases the much needed provision is made by excavating tanks or dams in suitable low-lying sites, where the water from the catchment area can be led into them by means of drains or gutters. The general size of these tanks ranges from 1,000 to 2,500 cubie yards, costing from 7d. to ls. per cubie yard to excavate. Fencing. The universal practice is to fenee each holding, and in the majority of cases convenient subdivision fences are erected. The most common kind of fence consists of posts erected 9 to 11 feet apart, with six or seven wires running through them. The value of this fencing is about £28 to £30 per mile; the cost of the wire being from £8 to £10 per mile; the posts are usually obtained from timber on the property. The advent of the rabbit has rendered it necessary to wire-net the boundary fences, so as to exclude him, and prevent his depredations ; this necessitates an additional expenditure for these fences of about £45 to £50 per mile. A wire-netted rabbit-proof fence, two posts and six droppers per chain. From Virgin Forest to Wheat Farm. The ground is most commonly cleared of timber by first ringbarking the green trees, and allowing them to die, before fitting the ground for the plough by grubbing them out. Only in a few instances is the ground entirely cleared of green timber, as the latter method is very much more expensive than the former, and for some time after the re- moval of the green wood, the ground is in a sour condition, and not in the best state for the growth of crops. After ringbarking, the ground gradually sweetens as the trees die, so that by the time the timber is dead, the ground is in fit condition for cropping; and while the trees are dying, May 2, 1908. | Agriculiural Gazette of N.S TV. 359 the ground is used for grazing. The cost of clearing ground on which the timber is dead is only about a quarter or a third that of clearing land with trees growing on it. Cost of Clearing. There are various methods of ringbarkine in vogue, but in a general way it may be described as the removal of a small strip of bark or sap- wood from around the trunk of the tree, so as to prevent the How of sap from nourishing it and making fresh growth. After the trees are ring- barked, they generally throw out young shoots—‘‘ suckers ’’—below the ring from which the bark has been removed. The removal of these neces- sitates another operation, known as “suckering”; usually this has to be done twice, and sometimes three times before the trees are dead. The deeper the trees are ringbarked, 7.e., the thicker the strip removed, the sooner the tree will die; but the greater the tendency to produce suckers. Ringbarkine costs from 9d. to ls. 3d. per acre; the first suckering, 6d., and the second suckering, 4d. When the trees are dead, which is two to three years from the date of ringbarkine, they are grubbed or burnt out, all roots within 12 to 1& inches of the surface being removed. © The cost of doing this ranges from 10s. to 15s. per acre, so that in the wheat districts the cost of getting timbered country ready for the plough is about 17s. 1d. per acre, made up as follows :—Ringbarking, 9d. to 1s. 3d. ; suckering twice, 10d.; grubbing, 10s. to 15s. The cost of clearing land in the green state ranges from £2 to £2 10s. per acre. In some districts it is the practice to cut off the dead trees level with the surface of the ground, the roots below the surface being allowed to remain. This is known as ** Yankee’ grubbing, and is from 5s. to 10s. per acre cheaper than the ordinary method. It requires special ‘‘ Stump jump ”’ implements to cultivate land so cleared; but seeing that these are avail- able on the market, there is something to be said for this cheaper method of clearing, as the vields obtained from land so cleared are not very much less than from land more thoroughly dealt with, and to a man with limited capital, the reduced initial outlay for clearing (either in hard cash or labour) is a consideration. The more careful farmers do not advocate this method. Ploughing, Sowing, and Harvesting. With regard to the cultivation of wheat, the general custom is to plough the ground as early as possible after the autumn rains fall in March and April, and then to plant the seed as rapidly as the ground can be pre- pared, until the end of June, when the planting season is considered over. A change is, however, now taking place, for it is generally recognised that better and more certain results are obtained when the seed is sown on land which has been fallowed and worked during the summer, so that the best farmers now make it a practice to plough at least part of their land in the early spring, allow the ground to lie fallow during the summer, and then plant at the usual time without reploughing, though in some cases where the ground is weedy it is reploughed. 360 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | Way 2, 1908. The increased yields which invariably follow summer fallowing are con- clusive evidence of its value in our wheat districts, and proves that it pays, despite the slightly extra cost incurred in preparing the ground. When the land is not fallowed, the operations connected with wheat-grow- ing are usually (1st), ploughing; (2nd), harrowing (if erop is drilled, but omitted if crop is broadeasted); (5rd), sowing, either broadcasted or drilled; (4th), harrowing after sowing; and (5th), harvesting. When the land is fallowed a slightly different method as followed ; then the ground is first ploughed in the spring or early summer, harrowed twice or three times during the summer, and perhaps dise-harrowed or cultivated to kill any weeds that may grow. At planting time the seed is sown without any further preparation, unless the ground, despite the cultivation, is weedy, when it may be reploughed. Rolling. In some cases the ground is rolled, either before or after sowing, and in others both before and after. Often the whole of the work done for the landowner is by contract. The rates ruling for the different items per acre are :— Ploughing—New ground, 7s.; old ground, 6s. ; fallowed ground, 4s. LO.DS: Harrowing—6d. to 9d. Sowing—Broadeast by hand, Td.; broadcast with machine, 4d. ; with erain-drill, Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. Harvesting—Stripping and winnowing an 8-bushel crop, 4s.; a 16 to 20 bushel crop, 7s.; or if done with the reaper and binder— cutting, 3s. to 4s. ; twine (say), 2s. ; stooking, 9d. to ls. Stacking and carting, 4s. 6d. to 5s.; thrashing, about 4d. per bushel. Various kinds of ploughs, both the mould-board and dise, are used ; the size most favoured is the four-furrow, drawn by five or six horses, a team which an ordinary driver is capable of caring for. The depth May 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 361 usually ploughed is about 4 inches, and rarely exceeds 5 inches; 4 to 5 acres is considered a day’s work. Harrowing is done with a set of three to six sections, covering from 12 to 20 feet ; with them from 15 to 20 acres are done daily. Double-furrow dise plough. The alinost general practice now is to plant the seed with a grain-drill, at the same time distributing with the seed from 40 to 60 Ib. of super- phosphate per acre. Both dise and hoe drills are in use, the sizes ranging pn ie are Pee Double-furrow mould-3oard plough. from twelve to fifteen tubes, and on some large farms drills having twenty tubes are used, the distance between the tubes being 7 inches. From 12 362 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ May 2, 1908. to 20 acres is an average day’s work. A case is recorded where a farmer, whose sowing was delayed, had 500 acres drilled in twenty-four days with a thirteen-hoe drill; the drill was kept going night and day with relays of men and horses, the necessary light at night being furnished by means of acetylene lamps attached to the drill. Dise plough at work, In some few instances the seed is still sown broadcast, generally with a machine fitted to a cart or dray, the wheels of which operate the mechanism of the implement. ‘Though this method is cheaper and more expeditious than drilling (with a broadcasting machine up to 100 acres a. May 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 363 per day can be sown), it is gradually giving place to the drill, the use of which is now fairly general, as the amount of seed saved when the drill is used, to say nothing of the increased yield, soon pays for its initial cost, which is from £35) to..£40). 2 The amount of seed used is 20 lb. to 45 lb. with the drill,and 1 bushel and over when broad- Pies cca? ge Ot ec casted. Xs Ait Baa In some cases the + ate afinnn irr Han been k , ee re eet. crop or part of it 1s Tee ae cut with a reaper and Drilling. binder, but in the majority of instances it is allowed to stand in the paddock until perfectly ripe, when it is harvested with a stripper or stripper harvester. Harvesting Machinery. The “stripper” is purely an Australian invention, and is a mecnine drawn through the ripe standing crop by three or four horses attached to its side, whieh walk in the stubble of the harvested portion. By means Stripper at work. 364 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ May 2, 1908. of a comb the ripe ears of wheat coming within reach of the machine are gathered and directed to the cutting-plate, where the beater-drum cuts them from the straw and thrashes the grain out; at the same time the grain with the chaff and a small quantity of straw is deposited in a box- like receptacle at the back of the machine. This box holds about & bushels of grain and its accompanying chaff. When the box is full the machine is taken to a convenient place in the paddock and there emptied. Here a winnower or cleaner is situated: the mixture of grain, cavings, and straw is put through this winnower, which cleans the wheat and bags it ready for market. “In fair crops, one winnower with four men to work it and Emptying the Stripper. sew the bags will keep two strippers going. In some cases the winnower is driven by a horse-tread power, and then one winnower keeps as many as five strippers going. Stripping starts in the morning about & a.m., and is continued throughout the day until about 7 p.m. A man with two three-horse teams, each team working about three hours at a time, will strip in a fair crop about 10 acres, yielding from 40 to 45 bags (180 bushels) per day. Cases are common where over 80 bags (320 bushels) are stripped in a day, and one case is known where one driver with his machine stripped 96 bags (over 384 bushels) in one day, The “Stripper Harvester” is another Australian invention, and an improvement on the-simple stripper. Built in as part of the machine is a winnowing attachment, on to which the thrashed but uncleaned grain May 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 365 is delivered as the machine is drawn through the crop. This implement, in addition to harvesting the ears and thrashing the grain from them, SR = ie ————————— Winnowing. Harvesting with Reaper and Binders. 360 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [| May 2, 1908. as in the case of the stripper, winnows it and delivers it in bags at the side of the machine ready for market, thus considerably reducing the cost of harvesting and, in addition, enabling the farmer to dispense with a certain amount of outside labour, which is extremely difficult to obtain at harvest time. The Stripper Harvester is a wonderfully compact machine, and though only introduced a few years ago has rapidly grown into favour. The comb-gathering device in these implements is 5 to 6 feet wide, and in order to prevent damage to the unharvested crop the machine is drawn by the horses which are attached to the side. This method of attachment causes a certain amount of side-draft, which in the past has prevented the combs on these machines being made wider than that stated. Quite recently, however, a new implement has been patented, im which Thrashing Wheat. the horses are attached to the rear of the machine and push instead of drawing it, as is usually done. This implement is called the “ Push” harvester, and because of the position of the horses the side draft is practically eliminated, and in consequence the comb or gathering device is made twice as wide as in the ordinary harvester or stripper, thus a very much greater area can be harvested per day with one of these machines without a corresponding increase in the amount of manual labour required. The harvester is worked by two men, one of whom drives the horses and attends to the machine, the other adjusts and removes the bags and sews them up. The area dealt with by the harvester is about the same as that dealt with by the stripper. (L’o be continued.) May 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 367 Some Notes on Sisal Hemp. H. V. JACKSON. Srsat hemp is one of the fibres scheduled under the Commonwealth Bounties Act. The fibre is obtained from the plants of the Agave species of plants. At the Experiment Farm, Wollongbar, Richmond River, specimen plants were under cultivation at the time the writer was Manager of the farm— from 1898 to 1901. eam ue (a) | deciduous trees and vines. During the first few years after the trees are planted, see that theyare given a heavy pruning, re- moving the central branches, so as to leave the centre of the tree quite open, in order that the middle as well as the outside, and the bot- tom as well as the top, have plenty of room and light to develop good fruiting wood in every portion Kieffer’'s Hybrid Pear-tree, 7 The same tree pruned, with before pruning. of the tree. If this the exception of shortening tack the leaders, system of pruning is followed, the weight of the fruit, when the tree begins bearing, is borne by strong sturdy branches, which will not swing and bend with every breeze that blows. June 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 511 Bearing-ivood.—Good fruit develops on good bearing-wood, and good bearing- wood is the product of proper degrees of light and heat, as has just been urged ; but bearing-wood in the case of some fruits is new wood, and reduction of old wood for the purpose of forcing the growth of new wood must be constantly borne in mind. Renewal is more or Jess a consideration with all trees, and especially the securing of strong new wood. This is a point upon which close study of the bearing tree will yield most satisfactory suggestions. The same tree as it looks wi The same tree a few months later, when finished. carrying fruit. Pruning to obtain a low head.—It is as well to begin with the tree from the very start, which is at the time when it is transplanted from the nursery to the orchard, as a good beginning is half the battle. Assuming that a tree is about to be planted out, the first thing to do is to examine the roots carefully to ascertain how they have fared in their removal from the nursery, as in this country, where proper tree-lifters or diggers are seldom used, it is frequently found that the roots have been badly muti- lated. Before planting, all roots which have been broken or damaged should be cut away, and all the young roots cut back to within 6 or 8 inches of the 512 Agricultural Gazette of N.SwIV. [June 2, 1908. tap-root. All small roots may be removed, leaving only the larger ones, as on digging up a tree which has been planted for some time, it will be found, except in very rare cases, that the very small roots never throw out any young rootlets, but wither away and die, becoming a hiding-place, perhaps, for white ants, which often, in time, through such medium, take possession of the tree and cause its ultimate death. The roots should be cut with a sharp knife, and in such manner that when the tree is planted the cut w ll face downwards. By cutting this way, new ro -ts which will form, or, rather, grow from the cut, will have a tendency to grow inthe right direction, downward. The next step to consider is as to how the top of the tree shall be dealt with. This, of course, will depend largely on the age of the tree in que-tion. [f a two or three year-old nursery tree, it may be advisable to leave eit ier three or four short arms, as it is found that if the head is cut away and only a straight trunk left, the top of the tree may not shoot, but will die, and the tree shoot from the root. This is often the cas» with the peach, but where a few shoots are left this danger is avoided. If a well-grown yearling tree, | would prefer cutting it back to a single stem. It must be borne in mind always that in moving a tree it loses the greater portion of its roots, and that, in consequence, the remaining roots are una'le to sufficiently support or nourish the growh above ground, for whch the whole root system was intended. We must, there'ore, shorten the top in such a way as to re-estab- lish the lost equilibrium, and the planter must bear in mind that it is always better to cut a newly-planted tree back rather severely than to leave it with too much top, as by so doing it will recover more quickly, and in the end, make a much better tree. Fruit-fly.—In one or two districts there are still evidences of this pest, but owing to the rigid inspection and the compulsory destruction of all fallen and infested fruits, the damage caused by this enemy is greatly reduced. In fact, in my opinion, the fruir-grower has a much more hardy enemy to fight in the codling moth than in the fruit-fly. In one of our orchards this year, where we have done everything that is possible to keep the moth in check, we have had to boil a thousand cases of fruit, which, had they been sound, would have easily sold at 7s. 6d. per case. Where is there an orchard of 25 acres, in even the worst distriet, that has lost anythiug like a quarter of that through the ravages of fruit-fly ? Vegetation Diseases Act.—Such an Act exists in nearly all the States of the Commonwealth, but there is no other State which is striving to live up to the conditions of the Act to the same extent as we are doing in New South Wales. We have at least five qualitied inspectors (who are also practical fruit- growers) to every one in almost any other State. These are appointed to see that fruit-growers are following out the conditions of the Act, and, in the course of their visits, are able to disseminate much useful information among the growers, who are doing their best to keep orchard pests in check, and while this nor any other Stare ca»not totally eradicate these diseases, we hope to reach to as near a state of freedom from pests as it is possible to attain. Juve 2, 198. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 513 Farm Notes. Hawkesspury Distrrict—JvuUnNE. Jele AWS JOLIE THE winter season may fairly be estimated as upon us this month. Frosts arrived last month earlier than last year, and have rendered operations in connection with ensilage-making more urgent. The maize crops suffered in this regard. As usual, sorghums proved hardier and more suitable for late conservation as ensilage. The summer rains and those again at Easter provided us with a good growth of couch, and all the paddocks provide enough fodder for stock. In addition this season, early cuttings of Skinless barley, also rape and turnips, are available. We have not entered the winter with better provision for stock for many years past, although rain is again required. Last month was fully oceupied in sowing the main crops of cereals. Wheats.—The final crops for the season may be put in during the early part of the month, and the varieties best suited are John Brown, Marshall’s No. 3, Plover, Upper Cut, Warren, and White Loaf for greenstuff. Medeah and Cretan macaroni wheats are very rust-resistant, and should provide useful green fodder to cut for late winter or for ensilage, and then allowed to mature as a grain crop for milling or poultry feed. Unless cut back or eaten off in the winter, the tendency of these wheats is to grow rank and produce a thick crop of straw. This makes it difficult and costly to deal with when thrashing. Oats.—The best variety for hay is Algerian. In this district Red Rust- proof gives good returns. These main crops should be sown now. Coarser- growing sorts for green feed or ensilage are White Tartarian, Tartar King, Peerless White Bonanza, Abundance, Danish Island, and Potato. The last-named becomes easily discoloured with rain, and turns yellow rapidly after flowering. These points are not favourable for hay. Barleys—Further sowings of Cape and Skinless barleys may be made now. The latter not only affords a nutritious green stuff, but may be converted into good hay. The Cape variety is the hardier. Rye—tThe outlook at present points to a dry winter, and in that case it will be good practice to provide. Sow further crops of this hardy plant. It resists dry conditions and affords a useful green crop. White and Thousand-fold are the best sorts for grain, and Emerald for grazing or hay. Turnips, Swedes, Field Cabbage, Kale, Kohl-Rabi, and Tree Kale.— Thin the rows freely, and keep up thorough cultivation. Small sowings of field cabbage, kale, and turnips may be made, in order to maintain a supply of stock feed for the spring. 514 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [June 2, 1908. Vetches, Peas, Beans.—The final sowings of vetches, alone or with oats or barley, can be made in order to provide early spring green feed for stock. Field peas and beans are also crops worth paying some attention to. Onions.—Plant out the young seedlings into well-drained, mellow, rich soil. This plant needs good soil, failing which it will be essential to enrich it with farmyard manure or artificial fertilisers. This crop may. be classed as a fodder for stock in close line with Rape. lucerne from a nutrient point of view. As a catch-crop in the rotation it is most valuable, and where sheep or pigs are reared no better or cheaper form of enriching impoverished soils can be adopted, more especially where the land is to be subsequently utilised for maize. The plant is succulent, relishable, and rich in those elements for forming: flesh, Moreover, it is a quick grower, and does not interfere with the ain crops. Further sowings should be made now in order to provide a grazing crop in September. GLEN INNES DISTRICT—JUNE. R. H. GENNYS. Tillage of the Soil. Oxr of the most important of farm operations is the preparation of the soil for farm crops. In its natural state the ground is generally covered with a thick coating of various kinds of vegetation, which take up the surface area and use the available plant-food underneath; it is also usually too compact, or even in some cases too loose, for the roots of foreign growths; also the plant-food required for the latter, although there in abundance, is mostly in an insoluble condition, and much deleterious acid may also be present. If it is not intended to cultivate green-timbered land for some years it certainly should be ringbarked, to sweeten and improve the herbage and rot the roots of trees, so that the grubbing, when it takes place, will be very much less expensive. When clearing, take out all roots that may impede the plough right out to the greatest depth to which it is likely to be stirred, and in no case should this be less than & inches. Make one operation when means will permit; bad clearing means broken ploughs, broken machinery, and continuous work through removing fallen timber for years to come—far the dearer way in the long run. Ploughing and other modes of tillage turn the natural grasses and other vegetation lying on the surface into humus for future use, the soil is loosened and the particles which compose it are separated so as to permit of the free circulation of air and water, and the young roots can easily find their way among the channels so formed. The soil underneath is also brought to the surface, June 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 515 and there sweetened by exposure to the sun, frost, and all atmospheric agents that tend to sweeten and enrich it; harmful acids are also driven out, and the mechanical nature of the soil is changed in every way for the better. Good cultivation must be practised to obtain good results. It is questionable if bad cultivation is better than nothing, because good land in its natural state may be a source of profit to the owner for grazing purposes, while bad cultivation simply destroys the natural grasses and grows often nothing but weeds in their stead: it always costs something, too, and may return nothing. Tickling the soil and blackening the surface is not ploughing. This operation must be done deeply and thoroughly, so that the ground may be turned over, pulverised, and fit to grow the crop intended for it. Average soil is in proper condition for operations when it contains about half the quantity of water that it can take up; but it is better, and more especially in clay lands, to plough when rather dry than wet. In ploughing the first time where a further operation is intended later on, it is preferable to plough on the dry side and turn up good-sized clods, leaving these in this state for exposure to the atmosphere. In this way a far greater surface is aerated than if laid or worked to an even surface; the rough clods soon moulder down, and ean easily be broken up:when required ; but before seeding the surface should be brought into a fine state of tilth, and especially should this be so for small and delicate seeds. Anything that impedes the progress of young roots, such as large clods, should be broken up. for such are unsuitable for supplying food to young roots even if they could enter them, which they cannot; the adjacent soil, well tilled, is asked to supply the rootlets which should enter them, and is asked to do more than its share in bringing these plants to perfection—by reason of the manifold openings in well-tilled earth they entice roots to penetrate their manifold openings that are full of soluble plant-foods. Not only is good tillage neces- sary for the development of roots, but it warms the land, provides air and moisture, without which no seed can germinate. Moreover, how can the tender blade which first shoots with the root find its way to the surface through heavy impenetrable earth? If it does not do so quickly it dies. Much seed is rendered useless through bad cultivation ; it germinates, but never reaches the surface. There is also very little capillary action in soil that is too compact; it can neither absorb water freely nor give it off evenly and continuously as well-cultivated land ean. Now, take ploughing that is done at the same depth year after year until a hard-pan is made like a well-beaten road. How can young roots pene- trate this? They cannot, and are turned off from their proper direction, which is first downwards, and hamper the lateral roots which develop afterwards by sharing with them the surface plant-food, which should properly belong only to them. In dry weather, then, it follows, as there is no connection with the subsoil deep down where moisture is, F 516 = Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ June 2, 1908. the plants die. Ploughing twice before cropping is recommended ; if the land is clean, deeply at first, say 6 to 7 inches, and afterwards, before sowing, 3 to 4 inches. Crops like wheat, for instance, like a firm con- dition of the subsoil, therefore plough shallow last. If, however, weeds are plentiful, shallow ploughing should be first, in order that any seeds may be induced to germinate, and afterwards be turned under and buried by a deep sod. Shallow soils, with sour, stiff subsoils, should be brought gradually to the surface, and in such eases deep ploughing, for some years at any rate, should not be practised. : Too much rolling in New England, where the soil is more often too full of moisture than too dry, is not advisable, and when it is done the harrow should immediately follow. Harrowing wheat in dry spells is freely advocated up to, say, 6 inches high. After cultivation of maize and potato crops and the like is strongly recommended. This should be frequent and shallow, to destroy weeds and conserve moisture. Wheat.—The early varieties of wheat are better sown somewhat late than early. In this district, if they are sown too early they are apt to be injured by late frosts. This month is a very good time, and even by sowing in July good results have been obtained. The spring is often moist, and plants do not require to be sown early and develop such deep roots during winter as is required in the drier parts. The Manitoba varieties, which do well here and do not mature quickly, might be sown a little earlier, say May, or the earler part of this month. As we sow late we must sow rather thickly. One bushel to the acre in June is not too much with the drill, and about 145 bushels broadeast. Manures have not had a sufficiently lengthy trial here to state their value; but if sowing very late they would be helpful as far as superphosphates are concerned, in that this manure almost invariably promotes an earlier maturity. Wheats that are recommended for this district are Jonathan, John Brown, Sussex, Power’s Fife, and the Blue Stems; Zealand does very well, and is specially recommended for hay. Nothing but good plump grain should be sown, and in all cases it should be bluestoned for the prevention of bunt or stinking’ smut. Oats may be sown for grain or for hay. Algerian, Red Rust-proof, and White Tartarian are good hay sorts. Others that have done well for hay or grain are Surprise, Tartar King, Golden Giant, and Danish Island. Surprise, Algerian, and Tartar King are the best of these for feed oats. Rye, for green fodder or for grain, may be sown. Emerald for green feed and White rye for collar-making. Onions may be sown. See that the land is in good heart and free from weeds. Barleys, also, for green feed. Cape and Skinless are recommended. Sow pretty thickly. For malting, Invincible, Eclipse, Standwell, and Chevalier are good sorts. Sow peas, cabbages, cauliflowers, parsnips, and carrots. -~T June 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 51 Garden Notes. W. SANDERSON. Vegetables. Durine this month the vegetable garden should be thoroughly cleaned up, and on no account leave any rubbish lying about, such as weeds, useless vegetables, haulms, &c., which only harbour slugs, cutworms, and other insect pests which may destroy seedlings planted out later on. If all the rubbish, together with plenty of farmyard manure, or anything in the shape of sweepings, bush rakings, leaves, grass, &c., is piled in a heap and occasionally watered and turned over, it will rot and be very useful later on for manure. All tomato haulms should be destroyed by burning, as this prevents fungoid diseases, if any exist, infecting the young plants in the spring 1f grown in the same situation next year, but if possible avoid planting tomatoes in the same ground two years in succession. Where slugs are troublesome, it is advised to sprinkle the ground freely with sulphate of iron (green vitriol), around but not too near the plants; this will destroy the pest if they come in contact with it. Another good method of collecting slugs is to place cabbage leaves or pieces of bagging on the ground, putting under them small pieces of fat, chop bones, &c., anything fatty will do, the slugs collect there and can be destroyed in the morning. In almost any garden there is room for a small bed of strawberries, and if it is the intention to plant, now is a good time to do so. Select strong grown plants produced from the last season’s runners, trim the roots and plant about 15 inches apart each way, say three rows in a bed; the plants can then be watered, cultivated, mulched and otherwise worked without walking on the ground. There are many sorts to choose from, and amongst the best are Marguerite and Glenfield Beauty. Artichoke, Globe.—A few may be planted now, and as they grow toa con- siderable size, plant out about 3 or 4 feet apart, in good rich soil. Artichoke, Jerusalem.—The tubers should now be quite ready for lifting and storing, but to avoid having a crop in the same place next year, care must be taken to collect every small bit that becomes detached during digging operations. Broad Beans. French Beans.—As this vegetable will not stand frost, sow in the warmer portions of the State only. Sow largely from time to time during the month, 518 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [June 2, 1908. Brussels Sprouts.—Sow a little seed, or if any young plants are obtainable, plant out about 2 feet apart. Cabbage.—Make a sowing of seed to keep up subsequent transplantings. If any young plants of Savoy Drumhead can be procured, they are a good sort to transplant now, being an excellent variety for winter use; a few red cabbage should also be planted out for pickling later on; try Nigger- head variety. Carrot.—Sow a row or two of the Early Shorthorn variety. Parsnips.—Make a small sowing in drills in land that has been previously well manured; the addition of fresh manure at the time of planting only tends to make the parsnips fork, Peas.—Sow in rows 2 or 3 feet apart, according to the varieties planted ; the high growing sorts require more space between the rows than the dwarf varieties. Leek.—Make a sowing of seed and prick out any seedlings in heavily manured land. London Flag and Musselburgh are sorts that should be tried. Endive. months, and owing to its peculiar, bitter flavour, many persons like it. This useful salad plant does remarkably well during the winter When nearly full grown tie up or cover to blanch the leaves. Rhubarb.—Plant out a few sets of winter rhubarb (Topp’s Winter). This variety bears a heavy crop whilst the other sorts are dormant. Celery.—Plant out a few seedlings of any varieties that suit the winter months best, such as Solid White, or Manchester. Turnip, White. or strong, the seed should be sown in rich land. Sow in drills thinly, afterwards removing any surplus plants down to As turnips should be grown quickly to avoid being pithy about 6 inches apart; keep free from weeds, using the hoe freely. Turnip, Swedes.—Sow a few rows of Swedes, treating the same as White Turnips, only allowing more space in the rows. Parsley.—Sow a little seed where the plants are to remain permanently. Spinach.—Sow seed or transplant any seedlings. This vegetable is well worth growing. It is not affected by aphis to any extent, and is not attacked by the Cabbage moth. Herbs.—Sow a little seed of any kinds that are likely to be required, or a few plants might be pricked out from previous sowings. Onions.—If sufficient plants have not been raised, make a further sowing, and attend to those already above ground, taking out all weeds, thin the plants, and cultivate frequently, for it must be borne in mind that if onions are not kept perfectly clean there is little chance of a crop. Plant out Tree and Potato onions, garlic, eschalots, taking care that the latter are planted just under the soil, with only one bulb in a place—say about 1 foot each way. June 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 519 Flowers. The gardens will now require much attention in the way of digging and manuring, and as many bulbs are either dormant or just starting to shoot, and these may be injured during the operation, a good deal of care will be necessary. Dahhas, chrysanthemums, &c., will now be dying down and may be cut back considerably until dug up or transplanted later on. Cosmos and zinnia are also past flowering and should be removed to make room for spring flowering plants. Among the best seeds to sow now for an early spring show are the following:—Acrolinium, antirrhinum, aquilegia, calendula, calliopsis, carnation (Marguerite), coreopsis, gaillardia, pansy, polyanthus, forget-me-not, cornflower, daisy, dianthus, poppy, stocks, wallflower, leptosvne, and pentstemons. A good collection of pentstemons should certainly be planted in every garden, for taking all things into consideration, soil, weather conditions, &c., they produce plenty of blooms for the best part of the year, and oftentimes make a good show when very few other plants are in flower. Seedlings of these may be obtained from the city seedsmen. Another plant worth growing is the verbena: it makes a splendid show of flowers, and withstands any amount of dry weather. Bouvardias are an acquisition to the garden; the bloom of this plant should be more appreciated than it is at present, but the fact that this plant will not withstand dry weather may account for its absence in most gardens, especially where there is a limited water supply. Roses being, perhaps, the favourite flower in the garden, no doubt many varieties will be planted out, and the present time is a good one for so doing. In addition to the large number now catalogued by the leading nursery men which are not classed as novelties, and are obtainable in great variety at reasonable rates, there are constantly being added new varieties or novelties which command higher prices. From the lists contained in the catalogues a good selection can be made; orders should be placed as soon as possible (if this has not already been done) as only a limited stock of some varieties is grown, and by delaying this matter disappointment may result. No time should be lost in getting them planted after they arrive, asno matter how well they are packed, they are better in their permanant position, but before planting, trim the roots with a sharp knife, and cut the branches back to 2 or 3 inches, leaving, say, two or three spurs. 520) Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHOWS. SECRETARIES [ June 2, 1908. are invited to forward for insertion in this page dates of their forthcoming shows ; these should reach the Sub-Editor, Department of Agri- culture, Sydney, not later than the 21st of the month previous to issue. Alteration of dates should be notified at once. 1908. New South Wales Sheep Breeders’ Association Society. Deniliquin P, and A. Society Hay P. and A. Association Condobolin P. and A. Association Narandera P. and A. Association National A. and I. Association of Queensland Forbes P., A., and H. Cowra P., A., and H. Society Parkes P., A., Association and H. Association Gunnedah P., A., and H. Association... Murrumbidgee P. and A. Association ... Grenfell P., A., and H. Association Germanton P. and A. Albury and Border P., A., and H. Society Society Young P. and A. Association H., and I. Molong P. and A. Association ... oe mes A., and H. Temora P., A., H., and I. Association Cootamundra A., P., Association ... Cowra P., Association (Jueanbeyan P. and A. Association Lismore A. and I. Society 103; Kiama A. Association Kangaroo Valley ... sine (running P., A., and I, Society... Tenterfield P., A., and M. Tumbarumba and Upper Murray P. Ref A. Society... . J. Mellveen Inverell P. and A. Association.. Camden A., H., and I. Society Upper Hunter P. and A. Ass., Musw Biron, se date daa Secretary. AY EL, Prince L. Harrison . G. S. Camden . G. Bennett - W. TT. Lynch . C. A. Arvier IN A J. Fraser Read G. W. Seaborne ... A Or eA ‘Tweedie Geo. Cousins J. Stewart V. [. Johnson G. S. Whiteman .. T. Williams .. C. E. Archer KE. A. Field John Clark . KE. O. Hinksman ..., T. M. Hewitt W. T. Plumb F. W. Hoskins E. W. Figures . C, A. Thompson ... J. M. Campbell ... D. White .. : Somerville... . . E. G. Williams Date July 1, 2, 3, 4 Bey its} 1S) aaa aaece Aug. 4, 5 pMtOs 0 », 10 to 15 12, 13 Bae dey UY) i 195220 Py At se QoOu2ouo 1 289 a10 Seely a 1G 16 ~ 16,47 y 25, 26 2 to 6 LOS Soe Oise ies; oT Apl. il 18 19 Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. June 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 521 Montruouy WEATHER REPORT. HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, RICHMOND. Summary for April, 1908. Air Pressure . y | Air Moisture Evaporation (Barometer). Shade Temperature. | (Saturation=100). (from Water Surface). ae BARS a an pene ees S12 )/4/38 | 81g |ag)2) 2 |q| ee le aes seas es a 3 z a a ao = | a 3 nd Po glx h ose Q “rs a iS Fis Ss So | 2 Ra s Sa OL SALS mae 4 se A eS | of = as i! feel = = | a s = > = : : aa peal SS < Ase 29°94 | 30°46 | 30°18 | 37°1 | 84°5 | 62°1 | 63°1 54 95 76 Sayfs || ah Pay/el! adi bsbs 6 LG 4 27 16 | 10 17 3 i ae | [ome | ee Points ... 3 2 40 83 9 ae : a aS Birt yh gS 137 points. Rainfall... { Hotes ina igee ne Se maash 20 ene Mean for April for 16 years = 2385 points. Wind oes nN U2 ESS ESO 1 8 1 6 3 2 Greatest daily range of temperature = 37°3° on 2nd. Frost on 27th. W. MERVYN CARNE, Observer. ieee, po AIa- AN I) T Ula E aS FOR SALE, WAGGA EXPERIMENTAL FARM, BOMEN. SHROPSHIRE RAMS... Se aA .. £o oS. to £5 5s. each. BERKSHIRE BOARS AND SOWS... .. £2 2s. each. BRONZE TURKEY GOBBLERS ... ee aiaireeSe 33 Apply MANAGER, Wagga Experimental Farm, Bomen- I Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ June 2, 1908. [ ADVERTISEMENT. | Government Stud Bulls available for lease, or for service at State Farms. < Breed. Name of Bull. Sire. Dam, | Stationed at | Leate expires Shorthorn...) March Pansy ...| Earl March... Australian Grafton Farm - Pansy | An .... Dora’s Boy _....| Cornish Boy ... Lady Dora : Kangaroo Valley Nov., ’08. ae ... Royalty ..| Royal Duke II.. Plush ..., Cumbalum ...| 17 July, 708. se | Pansy Duke ...| Earl March .... Pansy 4th .... Wollongbar Farm. _ ee toyal Hampton) Soliman ... Orange Blos- | Berry Farm 10th (imp.). | som 23rd.) | Jersey .... Thessalian II ...| Thessalian ...| Egyptian | Coraki... ...| 6 Dec., 708. Princess | a . Golden Lord .... Golden King ... Colleen ..| Wagga Exp. Farm _ es Sir Jock .... Omelette’s Pride) Lady Tidy 3rd Berry Farm | | | (imp.). | | Guernsey _.... Gentle Prince .... Rose Prince...) Gentle ...| Ballina _... wt. sowitly,) MOSe - . The Admiral .... Hawkes Bay ... Vivid... ..| Wollongbar Farm | . , ...| Peter's Lad <:.| Peter! .:. ...| Souvenir...) Wollongbar Farm ae . Prince Milford..) Rose Prince...) Flaxy ...| H.A.College, Richmond) . ...| Vivid’s Prince...| Rose Prince .. | Vivid ..| Wollongbar Farm. | a we .... Prince Edward..| Rose Prince...) Vivid a Coraki een. ...| 21 July, 708. Red Poll ...| The Judge __...| Barrister .. Lovely 8th ...) Grafton Farm : Ayrshire ...| Don Juan ...| General... .. Judy 9th ...| Bathurst Farm ... “3 a .... Royal Prince ..| Curly Prince ..| Rosie 5th...) Grafton Farm 1 {| Auchenbrain .... Howie’s Spicy.... Another... \s uh | * ap (| Spicy Jock | Robin... ...| Mayflower ...| ree eae (imp ). | 39 .... Judy’s Mischief | College Mischief} KirkhamJudy Ballina _... ...| 4Aug., ’08 Kerry... .... Bratha’s Boy .... Aicme Chin...) Bratha 4th . | Glen Innes Farm...| + Dexter Kerry | Waterville Mbeinnoteocsrereccoontel ks aemocencarer Got Grafton Farm | : Punch. | Holstein .... The Hague _...| President ...| LolkjeVeeman/H.A. College, Richmond $ 5 ... Obbe II a Obbes— .:. ...| La Shrapnel...) Berry Stud Farm..'| = | * Available for service only, at the Farm where stationed. + Available for lease, or for service at the Farm. Regulations under which the Government Stud Bulls are leased. Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney, lst July, 1903. 1. Any Agricultural Society, Dairy Farmer, or a combination of Dairy Farmers, may, should the Minister deem it advisable, obtain the hire of one of the Government stud bulls for a period of six months if they guarantee payment for the service of thirty cows, or for shorter periods on special terms. 2. The fee, which shall be payable in advance, shall be at the rate of 5s. (five shillings) per cow for all bulls save Dexter-Kerries, and their fee shall be at the rate of 2s. 6d. (two shillings and sixpence) per cow. Bulls will in no case be forwarded until the fees have been received. June 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. IL 3. Bulls leased will be transferred free of charge to any place not more than 100 miles by rail from the place from which they are transferred ; to any place distant more than 100 miles by rail, lease will be granted only on condition that the lessee pays all charges for the extra distance over 100 miles. In the case of bulls sent by sea, or partly by rail and partly by sea, all expense over the sum of £1 (one pound) must be borne by the lessee. The lessee must make all arrangements for, and bear all expense of, transferring a bull from the nearest railway station or port to the place where it is to be stationed. In the case of leasing a bull already stationed within the district, the new lessee must send for the bull and bear the expense of removal. 4. A condition of the leasing of the bulls shall be that the farming public ‘be allowed to send cows to the bull at a fee of not more than 10s. (ten shillings) per cow, provided the bull’s list is not already full, but the total number of ‘cows served must not be more than thirty for six months. 5. Hach bull shall be treated and kept in a condition to satisfy the Depart- ament, and shall be at all times open to inspection of authorised Officers of the Department. 6. A return showing the number of cows served, and distinguishing between cows owned by those to whom the bull is leased and the outside public, shall be sent to the Department at the end of the term. 7. All due care must be taken to see that the bull shall not have access to cows suffering from any infectious disease, special attention being given to pleuro-pneumonia and tuberculosis. 8. No farmer who is known to have pleuro-pneumonia in his herd shall be permitted to send cows to any of these bulls within three months from the date of the last outbreak. 9. In case of illness of a bull the Department shall be immediately informed. 10. The bull shall not be allowed to run with cows, but shall be kept in a special bull paddock, which must be well fenced, and each cow “in use” shall only be allowed to remain with the bull such time as will enable him to have connection with her twice. However, where necessary, in order to keep bulls quiet, special permission may be given to run with one or two specially- selected healthy cows. 11. Should any of the foregoing rules not be complied with, the Depart- ment shall have the right: to remove the bulls at once, and all fees paid shall be forfeited. 12. Should a bull be wilfully neglected or badly treated, or Rule 10 be broken, the Department shall have the right to take any action desirable for the recovery of damages. 13, All applications for bulls should be made to the Director of Agricul ture, Department of Agriculture, Sydney. AGREEMENT CLAUSE. In consideration of the loan of one Stud Bull ( ) for a period of l, of do hereby agree to be bound by the conditions expressed an the foregoing Regulations. Dated this day of 190 Witness, — Lessee. J.P. Duty Stamp. | LenS N.B.—This agreement must be signed on the day the bull is received by the lessee, and One Shilling. | is to be returned by first post to the Director of Agriculture IIL Agricultural Gazette of NS IW. [June 2, 1908. PURE-BRED PIGS FOR SALE. Newington Asylum, Parramatta River. BREED. | AGE. | SIRES. | DaMs. Danesfield Lottie III (imp.), Russell Swanwick (imp.)... Joyce (imp.), Queenie. Black Cloud, Jeanette, Queen BERKSHIRES.. 3 months to / Betsy, Rookie ne | Ocean Wave (imp.) Swanwick’s Pride, Jean, Miss Swanwick, Joyce II, Sea Wave, Ripple, Sea-Shell. Gold Digger (imp. ) Hawke’s May, Hawke’s Lass, (| awee Countess (imp.), YORKSHIRE, do .... Sir Wilfred (imp.)... x | Hawke’s Flower, Newington LARGE. Empress, Newington Duchess (from imported stock). | ( Cholderton Don (imp.) ... (| Rolleston Cowslip (imp.), TAMWORTH ... From 3 \ | Daffodil (imp.). months. | ( | Cossack I (imp.) ... ee | Ruby (from imported stock}. All the imported stock has been selected from PAE BEST STRAINS INV ENGLAND: Terms from £3 Ss. Prices may be arranged for young sows ready for service. Intending buyers are invited to inspect the stock. The Parramatta River steamers call at Newington Asylum. If notified in advance, a vehicle will meet the train at Auburn Station. (Telephone, No. 23, Rookwood.) Communications should be addressed to the Superintendent of Newington Asylum. G. E. BRODIE, Inspector-General of Charities. Vor oxi Pia ee - AGRICHITUBAL " - wi \ H | zs i Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Dat las. eRe Price SIXPENCE. Vai xix. Lark 7. JULY 2, 19082 AGRICULTURAL PAZELITE NEW OU AE WATE S. Issued by Direction of iio JOR PERRY Wee: MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE. F. G. CHOMLEY, Sub-Editor. NEW Hy Authority: Sypney: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT FRINTER. e.3 1908. *21835 (a) At oo Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [July 2,1908. | Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. 1t is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Mew South GAales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same in separate pamphiet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. July 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. CONTENTS: ForRESTRY— Some Practical Notes on Forestry suitable for New South Wales J. H. Maiden REFRIGERATION ON THE HOMESTEAD H. V. Jackson and A. E. Lea Some Resutts oF THE EXPERIMENTS WITH EUROPEAN GRAPE VINES GRAFTED ON PHYLLOXERA-RESISTANT STOCKS oe. M. Blunno AMERICAN BronzE TuRKEYS—BREEDING AND RAISING A. I. Wyndham JUDGING 1HE CoMPETITIVE WHEAT EXHIBITS ... ...F. B. Guthrie THe Weeps oF New SoutH WaALEs—- Rib Grass or Plantain (Plantago lanceolata, L.) ...J. H. Maiden WHEAT-GROWING AT WAGGA EXPERIMENT FARM G. M. McKeown GosForD-NARARA Fruit Fty anp Copiixnc Mors Controt EXPERI- MENT ... i eh tee ys io: Wm. B. Gurney A Va.uaBLe Fisre Piant (Asclepias semilunata) Chas. A. White THE Pree CaLABAsH GOURD AN INEXPENSIVE SILO... i a, hee F. G. Chomley Montuty WEATHER REPORT— Hawkesbury Agricultural College ... ... |W. Mervyn Carne WEATHER ConpDITIONS DURING May, 1908 “es ee S. Wilson SEASONABLE NOTES ee as A fe. ... G. L. Sutton OrcHARD NOTES ... ae ae fs Ais aie) Alen: PAGE, 523 537 Ne) Or we 56D 569 iva Agricultural Gazette of NSW. Farm Nores—Hawkessury Disrricr GARDEN NOTES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHOWS ADVERTISEMENTS— Government Stud Bulls available for lease State Farms, Regulations under which Bulls are leased. Pure-bred Pigs for sale at Newington. Dairy Bulls for sale at Berry and Glen Innes. Fibre Plants for Free Distribution. tams, Boars, and Turkeys for sale. or (July 2, 1908. PAGE. H. W. Potts 603 -W. Sanderson 604 608 for service at NO ites 1 PARTY. JULY 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Forestry. SomME PracticaL NOTES ON FORESTRY SUITABLE FOR NEw SoutH WALES. [Continued from page 273. ] J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. CVA Trees other than Conifers and Palms: Oaks. Introductory Note. I HAVE dealt with the Conifers so far, and the friendly letters received while the articles were appearing have included a number of useful notes, which may find a place in an improyed edition some day. I now propose to tackle the non-conifers. I shall exclude those trees which are indigenous to New South Wales, since these are already being dealt with in my pictorial work,* and there is so much to be done that we cannot afford any duplication. The present series will, however, not exclude Australian trees. For example, if a tree be a Queensland native, which does not naturally extend into New South Wales, I shall not hesitate to include it in the present series if I think it is worthy of cultivation. The principal ditticulty experienced in a new venture like this is want of illustrations. People like pictures. Even if a tree photographed may not be tne best of its kind, it may still have some value, since it may show sone of the characters. I find it difficult to get illustrations. The Government Printer has very generously come to my assistance so far as the trees in the 3otanic Gardens are concerned, and as the articles proceed it will be observed what a rich arboretum (a garden of trees, as distinct from shrubs and herbs) we have in Sydney. But many trees cannot be illustrated because of the crowded nature of the Garden, which prevents their form being properly shown in a picture. Further, I do not want these articles only to display Sydney trees ; I want pictures from all parts of the State. Will my readers help me for the common good? Will they send me good photographs of trees growing in any part of the State, or tell me where such photographs can be obtained? It is obvious that I cannot send an itinerant photographer to *« The Forest Flora of New South Wales.” Quarto ; each part protusely illustrated. Thirty-two parts have already appeared. Price, 1s. per part, or 10s, per dozen parts. Postage, 2d. each part extra. Apply Government Printer, Sydney, or any bookseller. A 524 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ July 2, 1908. photograph trees ; so that it is no use for a friend at Moree, for example, to tell me, “Tf you will only send a photographer up here, I will show him a splendid tree.” For want of illustrations, IT cannot arrange my articles according to a proper botanical or arboricultural classification. I begin with the oaks (Quercus) simply because I have some pictures of them. I cannot hold out any inducements at present to protessional photographers to take tree photographs on speculation. "The sentiment about our native trees is touching. Acres of cold type are brought into play. No trees are like Australian trees ; no Australian trees are like New South Wales ones. Study of them develops the national sentiment. How nice it is to teach our children about them; and so on. Then I go to one of the leading photo- graphers in Sydney, and say to him, “ Mr. - I am a buyer of photographs of New South Wales trees ; send your. man all over the State for subjects.” He retorts: ‘“* My natural taste inclines that way, and I have shown my sincerity by spending over £100 in obtaining a large number of pictures of New South Wales trees ; but you are the only man who has ever bought one from me.” So that this photographic door is closed to me. Fellow New South Welsh- men, you buy photographs of sheep, of horses (especially racehorses), of milking-cows, of politicians you buy a few, and of actresses probably more, but you do not take portraits of trees, and do not buy them, simply because this form of encouraging Australian industry has not been brought home to you. A well-grown tree is one of the noblest works of Nature! My message in the articles which follow is only to lovers of trees. Trees have their points, just as pigs and dogs have. Will you let me win the sympathy of some of you (I am not so foolish as to expect everyone's taste to be directed to trees) for our trees, not merely our native ones, but the imported ones which do well, or which promise to do well, in our richly endowed State of many soils and many climates ? There is very little literature on the subject written in New South Wales for New South Wales people, and still less with illustrations ; so that I am engaged in missionary effort, and I feel sure I shall have sympathy in con- ducting the campaign I have undertaken. I shall not only deal with trees already acclimatised in New South Wales, but shall include those which IT think will readily flourish in some parts of this State, and promise to be valuable acquisitions. It would be a very desirable thing if landowners would do a little specialising in regard to tree-planting. For example, if one gentleman would make a collection of oaks, another of poplars, another of pines, they would be of great interest to the planter himself ; and, if he would record not only his successes, but his failures, much valuable information would be secured for the country which can be obtained in no other way. Of course such specialisation would not interfere with any miscellaneous planting he may desire to indulge in, but a State arboretum seems still a long way off, and when ate July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 525 it 1s realised we shall probably only have one, that is to say we shall have experience of only one district. Meantime, if gentlemen will favour me with a list of the planted trees on their properties, with notes on their experience of them, I shall be glad (with their permission) to quote such notes in the present series of articles. If they can state age and size, including girth of trunk at 3 feet from the ground, such information would be of real value. QUERCUS. (THE Oak.) THE genus Quercus belongs to the family Cupuliferze, and its best known snember is the British Oak (Q. robur, including Q. peduncu/lata, and (. sessili- Jlora). There are about 350 oaks scattered throughout the world, the principal countries of which they are native being North America, Europe, China, Japan, and other parts of Asia. They extend from Japan to the Himalaya, and occur in the Malay Archipelago. Darwin’s dictum that variation is most observed in the largest genera finds no exception in Quercus. In Australia the term oak has been loosely applied to a number of trees whose timbers reminded the early settlers of that of the British oak, in its fissile nature and blotched grain ; thus we have the Forest, Swamp, and other She Oaks (Casuarina), and the Silky and other oaks belonging to the Proteacer. As a matter of convenience, I have grouped them into the three great divisions of the world, in (a) America, (>) Europe, (¢c) China and Japan, &c., and for easy reference I will arrange the species in alphabetical order of species names. Speaking generally, the oaks thrive best in strong, deep, moist soils. The acorn soon loses its germinating power, so that it is desirable to sow it as soon as possible after it becomes ripe, and it is best, if it can be managed, to plant the acorn where it is desired that the future oak shall grow. Failure can be guarded against by planting two or three acorns near each other and preserving the strongest plant should more than one survive. Oaks are valuable as ornamental trees; they have special merits for both avenue and specimen planting.* The acorn cups of some, and the bark of others, are valuable tanning agents, supplementing the dark-coloured tannages of our wattle-bark. At present these oak products are imported into Australia. The foliage of some has some merit as stock feed, Then the value of oak for timber has passed into a proverb. Not all oaks are, however, valuable in this respect, but the oaks are so diverse, and our climates and soils are so diverse, that we should experiment freely. Oaks usually form round-topped trees with symmetrical heads, and are divided into two groups—the deciduous and the evergreen. * Oaks are planted on boulevards, avenues in parks and cemeteries, and more recently in the cities. They make a permanent tree, very free from insects, and unsurpassed by any shade tree. (Meehan, speaking of Pennyslvanian and temperate American conditions. ) (626 =Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | July 2, 1908. Select Bibliography. 1. Die Eichen Europa’s und des Orient’s, Dr. Theodor Kotschy. 40 folio plates (coloured). Wien und Olmuz, 1862. A very fine work. For European and Asia Minor Oaks only. (Quoted as ‘ Kotschy.” 2. Sargent’s ‘Silva of North America” (Vol. VIIT). A classic. The illustrations superb. Quoted as ‘ Sargent.” ~ 3. [llustrations of West American Oaks, from drawings by the late Albert Kellogg, M.D. The text by Edward L. Greene. Published from funds provided by James M, McDonald, Esq., San Francisco, May, L889. Part II, June, 1890. Quoted as “ Kellogg.” 4. The value of Oak-leaves for forage. W. W. Mackie. Bull. 150. Univ. California Exp. Station (1903). 5), “Select extra-tropical plants.” (Mueller. ) 6. “The Oak ; a popular introduction to forest botany.’ (H. Marshall Ward.) ‘Modern Science” series, Kegan Paul, London (1892). Morphology, chiefly. The North American Oaks. l. Q. agrifolia, Née. “Live Oak”; a “ Black Oak.” — Fig. in Kellog Sargent, t. 403; Hooker’s Jc. P/. t. 377. A low, round-topped evergreen tree, occasionally 80 or 90 feet in height. g, also Not an important timber-tree, except for fuel. The acorns important to the Indians of Lower California (Sargent). The timber compact, hard, and of great strength, but the shortness of the trunks and flexuosity of the large main branches render it unfit for sawing into boards ; it furnishes fuel of the best quality (Greene). Western California and Mexico: ascends to 2,800 feet in S. California. Mostly a maritime species. L 18 a.* 2. Y. alba, L. “ White or Quebec Oak.” Fig. Sargent, tt. 356-7. Wood used for ship-building, and also by wheelwrights, coopers, and others. Phiable, most durable, one of the very best of all woods for casks, also of first- Glass value for cabinet work, for machinery, spokes, naves, beams, plough- handles, agricultural implements, carriages, flooring, — basket-material. (Sargent.) . Opinions as to the best temperature for storing apples vary all the way from 30° to 40° F. The latter temperature should not be exceeded in any case. If the air in cold storage is too dry, it wilts the apple, and if it is too damy it cracks and scalds them, especially if the temperature is not low enough. Experiments made by the United States Agricultural Department on the storage of apples, teach, among other things,.that apples should be picked when fully grown and highly coloured, except certain varieties, which are liable to overgrow, and which may need picking a little earlier. As soon as possible after picking, apples should be put in cold storage, especially in warm weather, and the most favourable storage temperature is at 31° to 32°F. If stored for any length of time, apples should be placed in closed packages, as ventilated packages are liable to do injury by wilting. After removal from storage, apples should be kept at as low a temperature as practicable. The danger of scald is greatest with fruits stored in an immature condition and at a high temperature. Asparagus, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery are carried with little humidity ; parsnips and salsify, same as onions and potatoes, except that they may be frozen without detriment. Cabbage should be stored in crates about 25 feet in height, and piled on shelves about 2 feet apart, in order to secure a good air circulation. Late planted cabbage which has closed heads just before frost, is best adapted for cold storage. Artificial drying of the room isadvisable. Temperatures from 31° to 36° F. are advised for cabbage, but 31° F. is considered best, and will keep cabbage from fall until spring with comparatively little shrinkage. Celery may be kept at 32° to 34° F. for several months, according to variety and treatment ; dressed, 7.¢., trimmed celery, for a tew days only. Onions, if sound when placed in cold storage, can be carried several months, and come out in good condition. It is important that the onions be as dry as possible when put into cold storage, If they can be exposed to a cool dry wind, they will lose much of their moisture. They are usually packed in ventilated packages, crates, or trays. It is claimed, however, that they will keep well in sacks, if the sacking is not too closely woven, and are stored in tiers so that the air has free access. Authorities differ as to the best temperature at which to keep the onions, the range being from 50° to 35° F.; but 32° to 33° F. seems to be generally preferred. The rooms should be ventilated, and have a free circulation of dry air. Onions should not, of course, be stored in rooms with otber goods. When the onions are removed, the rooms should be well aired, thoroughly scrubbed, and after the walls, ceiling, and floor are free from moisture, should be further purified and sweetened by the free use of lime or whitewash ; and a good coat of paint or enamel paint would be advantageous, after which the rooms can be used for other goods. There is no difficulty experienced in keeping onions in cold storage for six or seven months, and having them come out in perfect condition, if they were originally sound and properly ary. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 549 STORAGE Temperatures for various Goods, Canned Goods— °F, Fruit (continued)— al de EXCUUGS ees ave ae nee 35 Grapes... ay aa ... 32-40 Meats... oat =. acts 35 Lemons .. an ... 36-45 Flour and meal— Oranges . ot are ae 36 Corn meal = = ae 40 Peaches ... rE si ... 30-45 Oatmeal ... un a ee 40 earse are. ae 1 30-06 Wheat flour —... Ee és 40 Water-melons, carrying about Miscellancous— three weeks ... Ee wit 32 Cigars... ose ee FRO Vegetables— Furs, woollens, &c. ... san PANSBYe Asparagus aa ; ‘ 34 Furs, undressed a a 35 Cabbage ... ns aa .. 02-34 Game to freeze—long storage... 0-5 Carrots .. a fs .. 33-34 ,, after frozen—short storage 25-28 Celery ... ae ap ... 33-35 Hops =<. ae 7 iso -o6 Dried beans a ce .. 32-40 Honey, Aes ae ... 30-40 See CORI ae a 35) Nuts in shell... e Joa CSRS + ~-peas a oe 40 Poultry after frozen — short Onions... PS 3 .. 32-34 storage Bee Fa ... 28-30 Parsnips .. sp ... 33-34 Poultry to freeze —long storage 5-10 Potatoes ... ve a .. 34-36 Tobacco ... a . i= 35 ‘Tomatoes : 46 34-35 Pruit— Fish— Apples... sis as ... 30-40 Dried fish Be nas 35 Bananas ... pe : ... 34-36 Mreshig= es Bix a ... 25-30 Berries (fresh) for three or four Oysters ... 3 ay ... 33-40 days... aH sah e450) A in shell... 40 Dates, figs, &c.... is z 34 ce Wu tubsaace 64 at 35 Dried fruits “2 St .. 30-42 Freezing Rabbits. On this subject Mr. Inspector Bradshaw, of the New South Wales Govern- ment Cold Storage Branch, says :—‘ The crate now in use, which is the result of several years’ experience, although more difficult to freeze than those originally used, has the advantage of carrying more carcasses to the ton than any of the previous ones, while that great dread of all cold stores—mould— is now rarely seen. The case, for holding twelve pairs of large rabbits 2} lb. each and over, is flat, being but 6 inches deep, 35 inches long, and 17 inches wide ; approximately, 2 cubic feet in size. The top and bottom are 3-inch thin boards, with about the same space between each.” To ensure soundness, each carcass has to be specially examined by those having experience of the product, for, to the unskilled, a fresh rabbit and one termed sweaty, are much alike in appearance. The latter term refers to a stage when the carcass is just turning, and, when packed tightly and placed in cold storage, may became unsound before the cold penetrates the centre of the package. The carcasses are placed two deep in the box, the first row on their backs, with heads at each end of case, and legs meeting in the centre of the case, the upper row being reversed, thus leaving the furred side of the carcass exposed on the two sides, a circumstance which, with the close packing, is responsible for rabbits being the most difficult of all products to freeze. The thick fur carries into the freezing-rooms a quantity of the air of the same atmospheric heat obtaining outside the chambers, and this has all to be driven out before the 2 feet of solid flesh benefits from the refrigera- tion, this fact warranting a lower temperature than is necessary for any other meat. 550 = Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [July 2, 1908. In the first year or two of rabbit freezing, this feature was scarcely realised. The cases could be seen stacked as closely in the freezing-chambers as any other goods. Later experience showed that the lower temperature was not sufficient to get the best results, the manipulating of the cases in the freezing- rooms being of additional importance. In other words, in a freezing-room stocked solidly full of cases of rabbits at zero temperature, some in the centre night go stale, sour, or even mouldy before freezing, while, if stacked in what may be termed the orthodox way, a temperature of 10° or 12° F. will do more even and correct work. The system now usually adopted is to commence at the lower end of the freezing-room, stacking the cases on their sides four or five deep, and leaving, say, 3 inches between each row, this being continued at each side of the room, leaving a working space in the centre. With’ this system there is always an apparent great waste of space, but such is not actually so, seeing that the temperature need not be so low asif stacked more densely, while they will freeze quickly, and can then be stacked away in the store-room for further works Under the above system of stacking in the chambers, about one-half of the actaal chamber space is utilised, a 5,000-feet capacity room being thus capable of freezing, say, 2,500 feet of case rabbits, or 1,250 of the standard 2-fect cases. Ina temperature of 10 or 15 degrees, 1,250 of these cases should be frozen hard enough for the store-room, or shipping under a_ftort- night, while if packed more densely, the freezing will be slower. It is claimed for some description of goods that too quick freezing is not beneficial to the products. Such, however, cannot apply to rabbits, for no matter how low the temperature, some time is required before the frost penetrates the carcass. It is always absolutely necessary that rabbits intended for preservation by freezing should be forwarded from the country to the freezing works or store under the most favourable method of packing that is possible. The rabbits should be clean, fresh, and white in the flesh. The whiteness of the flesh can only be obtained by properly bleeding the rabbits, which is done by making a small slit behind the ear as soon as the neck is broken, Experts are of opinion that the inside of the rabbit should not be removed until about ten minutes have elapsed, otherwise the rabbits will get red or discoloured ; on the other hand it is not advisable to leave the inside too long, or discolouration will take place. Great care should be taken not to break the paunch; the bladder, &e., should also be removed carefully. Do not remove the kidneys, and in favourably cold weather the liver may also be retained. Poultry for Export. In connection with the export of poultry from New South Wales, the official grade sizes as laid down by the Agricultural Department some time ago were as follow :- Poultry for Britain.—Grade I. Choicest, 4 Ib. and over. Goslings, 9 lb. and over. Prime, od ,, 53 Turkey gobblers, 12. ,, 54 Standard, 3 ,, 5s Turkey hens, Ome $ Ducklings, 4 ,, ss July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 551 All poultry must be young, from (say) 3 to 5 months old, and not under 34 |b. live weight. The weight alone will not constitute quality, but the birds must bear evidence of having been well-fed and be well-fleshed. Large- framed bony fowls and old birds will be rejected. Ducklings must be from 10 to (say) 14 weeks old, and weigh not less than 43 lb. live weight. The 10-weeks old ducklings are the best; being free from pin feathers, their appearance is better. Goslings for the British market should be 10 lb. each and over alive. Turkeys.—Gobblers must not be over 10 months old, and should weigh not less than 13 Ib.; hens not under 9 |b. live weight. Poultry for South Africa and the Kast.—Grade I, Boiling fowls, 34 1b. and over. Mixed poultry, 34 lb. and over. Prime chickens, 3 ,, 3 Prime ducks, 37 ,, - Prime cockerels, 2? ,, as Ducklings, Dear Bs Mixed ducks and ducklings, 3} 1b. and over. Hens should be plump, and each weigh up to 4 lb. and over alive. Young fowls, not less than 34 Ib. each alive. Ducklings and ducks should weigh not less than 4 1b. each alive, and be well conditioned. Geese and goslings, not less than 105 lb. each alive, and hens & Ib. Packing. The following are the numbers usually packed in cases for export in New South Wales, and shippers would do well to regulate their consignments accordingly :—- Fowls and ducklings... hs 12 or 15 or 25 im a crate. Goslings Bae zs a Pee Be ly ¥ Turkeys ie Has ae ae Ris 8 € Hares ... abl a a a Ser 2 = Rabbits ae fers ee Ne 24 a Skinned rabbits Lee ibe ie 30 and 36 . Measurement of Crates. Cubic Number Crate. Measurement. Measure- to ton ment. shipping. ——inches—-— ft. in. crates (about) Hare, crates... es Pe, Eat 20x29) x10 Be al Z Poultry (15’s) ... a ae Pye) Se Ne o:o5 7] Lis 7 25 ye A ducks (12’s) 334x205 x 5 257) 19 * A fowls (12’s) mare 28% x 182 x 5 157; 25 99 as 6 inch Dh) 5c OBL ae Fl 2, 10 14 AE a akon shed i 29 -x94 x 8 33 8 12 ) ne Sis i : 29 x 24 =x) 9 33 3 11 Flat rabbit crates, special iy BB) oe Ik) oss 0} wy Il 19 vs 55 large eo SB) scl se. 11] 2) 5 on \OrUays = a ; SEO Seo ies 24 55 so UNIT 8 ail) ox 1b S65) ee 633 32 Skinned rabbits (30’s and 36's) ns PB elie ae 7/ ey 25 Butchers’ sundries, crates... ; Dap ss Als) — se 100) ZA 14 Kidney, crates... se ze oa AN) Se SAK) ir 2 34 552 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [July 2, 1908. Frozen Pork, Ham, Bacon, and Fish. While the advent of the refrigeration process for preserving meats has been of very great utility in the handling and disposal of large quantities of beef and mutton in British and other markets, it has also been of valuable additional assistance in places where a hot -climate made the business of dealing with the disposal of hogs a somewhat difficult work. In this State, however, there is great scope for the further development of the frozen pork, ham, and bacon industry, and the comparative cheapness of refrigerating plants for the small as well as the large factory, places refrigeration within the scope of operations of small co-operative societies. In like manner, if the fisheries of the State are to be more fully developed and thoroughly worked along our coast-line, then refrigeration will be a factor assisting in the development of small fishing communities which may yet be established at various points, The satisfactory classifying or grading of eggs into suitable cases for market and the hoiding of same in cold storage is another class of business which has not been taken up in that thorough and business-like manner which one might expect in communities composed of keen and_ practical business men of the farming fraternity, notwithstanding that a little addition in the matter of accommodation at dairy factories would materially assist in tie development of the egg industry. In the absence of other methods, the storing of maize and other grain, and seed, in cold stores, is also an excellent means of holding over seed required for special purposes. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 553 Some Results of the Experiments with European Grape Vines Grafted on Phylloxera- resistant Stocks. AT THE VITICULTURAL STATION, HOWLONG. M. BLUNNO. THE accompanying tables refer to the results obtained from some experiments carried out at the Viticultural Station, Howlong, where a number of the principal varieties of wine-grapes, a few table-grapes, and three raisin-grapes are grafted on various phylloxera-resistant stocks, Each variety grafted on a stock has the same corresponding number of vines along the same row, which are not grafted and are designated in these tables ‘‘ Witness.” Therefore, the word * Aleatico” in the table of Rupestris du Lot means ] t= ” yeast, then the levulose. 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SSOUGTMA MOC PIN 0 3 SSOUJLM ote a0 cy “+ OUI Youlg 50 fe a a SSOUIL AY Ke ee youlaquy An ity SSOUFTAA FINGuevpy, Yoved IBU 562 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ July 2, 1908. Grafted on Rupestris Metallica. 1906. ee Bee. hee oo | fis y $ of | ME | 25 = Z n 70) | = | otal ge | ). Black Hamburg |.21°5 Ms | 4:3 19°56 65 9 52 | 9°76 | 9°80 Witness ak ...| 245 24: | 4°5 21°72 65 10” 4 0-48") Weve 2. Cabernet .s..—«s.| 26°25 | 25-25 | 6-7 | 24-46 | 65 | 11 28 | 11-75 | 12°71 Witness eo hl 20s 28% 5 | 9626: 1:23:30") 65,2) 1On20 0 408 eG 3. Black Prince ... el 20:5 (205 Male. o2~) |.18230 jh) c1G5 734] 912] 9-18 Witness Be qelecos Zsa alkeoso 20°16 63 9 20 9:76 | 10°40 4. Malbeck #0 195: 1 19: 7°6 |-16°82| 65 | 9 8| 812} 870 Witness = led 26° 56 25520 63° 1 1P 12°) 12°36) 12°84 5. Royal Ascot ... lpcos 25° 76 | 24:00 | -65 | 10 34 | 11°76 | 12-24 Witness aes So (ie 23° 5-9 |) 20°14 | 65 | 9 18 | 9°72 | 10:42 6. 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Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W 564: e = ° DB & PL-GL G6-ET 6S GL 61 6S 9E-EL 6¢ FL-ZL 6¢ Es gS 8 | 28 © baat =] @ “oS “86 -O€ +86 CE “Is 66 G16 FG 8% 182 1G 86 1G S H “1d LOULOLBY IOVS $,U00¥ “LOPITMOLVYO OE L Sed oO fo) — 89-86 09-96 61-08 96-86 06-66 GL-GE 9T-SZ CECE CZ C696 £6.06 £9.06 4G F9-1E 6E-LE PLES PRES GeGZ ez e7 G66 “quoo tod “LOubIL Ss SULLYooy Aq aesng S-F 6FA'L 6.6 Sac 60°F FL OLE‘S f P8e'¢ AYIPPV fe} —} a ® fs ‘20ST ‘ON ‘stuisadny *puesnoyy od OL 06-6 F0-L1 81.6 GLI 86-8 FY @L FE-OL PECL 09 &T DF-6 96- FL 98- LL PLL 90- LT “6 9T-OL OL-TL ¥§-OL 62-6 19:8 9F- LL #0 OL 9¢.0L C8.8 “OSO[DAIT] PF.6 DP-GL 09-11 LI-OL 6L-EL 08-01 GL-6 F8-8 T0-FL 8¢-1L 0S-6 86-8 GLéL $8-11 GE-6L 09-01 0-6 06 6 SL IL 96-6 6-8 CGS 08. 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GE 99.12 66-81 90.046 88-GE 09-61 GS: LL 66-91 96-66 91-61 99-06 02-21 Ss mM ees SS = 209 Jo ous @ < i=} —_— S TS ‘tonbipL s5ulpyayy “YO6T DN t-t~ VK 8 JR & ais “ PORNAHs ; 01D © | “pursnoyy tad 1D 1 b= min wormeomowmoor <=) oy p AVL M > “LIJIULOAV GOI aoy su £L 5 > ® e & godn y Ss SSOU4LAL VLIOWULV SSOUFT AL “MMOS 89TU AL ; SSOUZEM ‘+ SBIOT, SSOUGT AA Sow, Sop ULSIVY SSOUYLAL VURANS SSOUIT AL qoarnony SSOUTT AL SULSONy SSOUQT AA “ Suysary spasydays SSOUIL AA our[g gould SSOUQL AA SOUIULY O.Lpad SSAURTM OU[APs19 A SSONL MA “Oou [q Opaoy ‘ SSOUIL A YRIAg SSOUILM O[[LpR.od SSOUQT AN OVUSUOT POS] ; SSOUQT AL HANQUIBET Jvosnyy SSOUYL MA jOOSV [VAY SSOUQT MA yoaq vy SSOUYLAA 90ULN Yor[y SSOUBTAA youraquy SSOUIIM FNGuivyy Youyel July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S IW. en o> Or American Bronze Turkeys—Breeding and Raising. A. L. WYNDHAM, Wagga Experiment Farm. Tne breeding of American Bronze Turkeys is within the reach of anyone who can allow them a free range of not less than 2 acres. The flock may be commenced by purchase of a sitting of eggs, when a turkey hen is available to mother the brood, or by buying an unrelated gobbler and heas. A thoroighbred male will improve the progeny of common turkeys at any time, but it is impossible to arrive at pure bred stock by this means, as the influence of the common turkey must predominate. One gobbler is suffivient to mate with ten hens on the average. Special care should be exercised in his selection. Choo-e a bird rather under standard weight (35 1h.) than over, in general outline pleasing to the eye, thick and medium short in shank, clean in mouth, and about 18 mouths of age, though they are fit for service from about 10 mouths. The hens are best for breeding from 2 years of age and upwards, being more sedate and matured. They lay, on the average, two settings a year, with odd eggs at times, and one service of the male is sufficient to fertilise a setting. As it is generally necessary for safety to shut them in a yard at night, build the yard round some trees where they may roost—though the heavier birds should be discouraged from roosting, or the place where they fly down made soft, on account of the damage caused to their feet by corns, kc. Clean water, grit, and shell, with granulated charcoal, should always be provided, and green stuff when none is available outside their yard. A feed of grain in the evening, to attract them home, is generally sufficient, but during moulting time and winter give some soft food in the morning. Clean up the droppings often, and feed in troughs where possible. The chief laying season seems to be from July to September. The hen utters a peculiar cry when off to lay, and should be watched at a distance. It is well to leave a nest egg—a fowl’s egg will do. There is no difficulty in distinguishing a clucky turkey ; their legs go red, and the redness on neck and head goes away ; the breast also becomes bare. If they can be set on their own nest wll and good, but should a change to another nest be necessary, handle very quietly and firmly, and give the hen a few eggs, other than those you intend to set, for the first few days. The change may be made from the old nest during the day time if the bird is quiet, and there is no need of a dose of wine or anything to keep her clucky, but have the new nest of such heizht that the hen cannot stand upright. Keep a board screen before the nest all the hatch. Release for a run every 566 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [July 2, 1908. other day after the third. Very little food is required ; a run, a drink, and possibly a dust bath, is all the hen needs. The recognised time tor hatching is five weeks, bnt is liable to vary slightly, Test tor fertility on the seventh day with the ordinary field tester in the sun. When the hatch begins, take every three or four chicks away to some warm place, otherwise the hen becomes restless. Phace the mother and brood in an American Bronze Gobbler (imported). empty shed if available: a coop is too contined. If the hen shows a tendency to leave the brood, shut them in the shed for the first day or so till they learn to follow, being apt to follow anything at first. They do not take harm camping outside from the start, but beware of holes in the corner of yard which are likely to get flooded. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 567 The ground of the yard is best bare, and have small-mesh wire or boards round to prevent the chicks leaving without the hen. Let them roam outside all day when about a week old, even in showery weather if the hen takes them out. If caught in a storm, leave them with the mother till it clears up. The hens are very faithful, and will stay with the poults long after they are wanted. The more hens and chicks together the better for safety. They generally travel against the wind when out, circling back home. Feed not more than three times a day; the yolk of hard-boiled turkey egg, finely mashed and mixed with meal, for a day or two, and then pollard and bran or chicken mixture. Mix pollard and bran with milk, whey, or butter- milk any time, but avoid meat or soup for the first week or so. Provide American Bronze Gobblers and Hen (Gobblers imported . plenty of green stuff when there is none to be had out where they roam. Have oyster-shell grit and small pieces of charcoal for them in the yard. Keep their drinking water in shallow tins at first, or they will drown themselves; and give enough Condy’s Fluid to slightly colour the drinking water, with a teaspoonful of Epsom salts to a gallon of water, about once in ten days. There is often no need to overhaul chicks for lice if they have an oppor- tunity to take a dust bath. Where they are seen with wings hanging down they should at once be caught, and Mortein or some insect powder sprinkled over them, if lice are to be seen ; but in the case of sickness very little can be done beyond a small dose of Epsom salts. The poults should be matured for market at 10 months. 568 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | July 2, 1908. Turkeys are very nervous birds, and stupid at times, but well repay care and attention. It is best for one person to be in continued charge. Try and bear in mind that the turkey is practically half a wild bird, and give them just that mixture of care and leaving to themselves that meets the case. Bronze Gobbler. July 2, 1908. | Agricuitural Gazette of N.S. 569 Judging the Competitive Wheat Exhibits. RoyvaL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S SHOW—EASTER, 1908. F. B. GUTHRIE. As in previous years, the judging was based on the actual behaviour of the samples when milled in the model mill of the Department of Agriculture. In addition, an exhibit was prepared in the Farm Produce Pavilion, in which the competing samples where shown, cards being attached to each bag, showing the results obtaimed by the actual milling of the wheat, and of the testing of the flour obtained. Samples of the muill-products-—bran, pollard, and flour-—were also shown alongside the wheats, so that each competitor, or anyone interested in the subject, could not only see the reasons which influenced the judges in forming their decision, but also the actual results obtained on milling the individual samples. The classes were four in number : Class 686 for macaroni wheats. Class 688 for medium hard wheats. ,, 687 for hard or strong-flour wheats. ,, 689 for soft or weak-flour wheats. A first prize of £7, and a second of £3, was awarded in each class ; and a Champion Prize of £3 3s. for the best bag of wheat exhibited in any class. The judging was entrusted to Messrs. R. W. Harris, head miller, Gillespie 3rothers, Anchor Mills, Sydney, and F. B. Guthrie, Chemist, Department of Agriculture. The milling of the samples was carried out by Mr. G. W. Norris, on the small model mill in the laboratory of the Department of Agriculture. The following is a copy of the judges’ report : Chemical Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, The Secretary, Royal Agricultural Society, — Sydney, 15th April, 1908. Dear Sir, We have the honor to forward herewith the results of the judging of the wheat samples competing for the Commonwealth prizes. The method adopted in judging these wheats was the following :—The wheats being placed in their respective classes were in the first place subjected to careful scrutiny with the object of eliminating those that were outclassed or of inferior quality. The bushel- weight of each sample was taken at the same time, and these weights are given in the table attached. The result of this preliminary examination was as follows :— In Class 686.—Nos. 3860, 3859, and 3861 were rejected. Nos. 3863, 3862, and 3864 were milled. In Class 687.— Nos. 3875, 3873, 3865, 3867, and 3870 were outclassed. Nos. 3871, 3872, 3868, and 3869 were rejected as inferior. Nos. 3866, 3874, and 3876 were milled. In Class 688.—Nos. 3591, 3878, 3879, 3880, 3887, and 3884 were outclassed. Nos. 3881, 3890, 3889, and 3883, rejected as inferior, Nos. 3885, 3886, 3882, and 3888 were milled. In Class 689.—Nos. 3902 and 3898 were outclassed. Nos. 3900, 3899, and 3896, rejected as inferior. Nos. 3892, 3893, 3897, 3895, 3901, and 3894 were milled. 570 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ July 2, 1908. The wheats thus set aside were milled and marks assigned, as shown in the attached tabulated statement, in accordance with their appearance, weight, and behaviour the mill. The figures in brackets show the actual results obtained on inilling, the other figures being the marks assigned. It must be understood that the marks are assigned only as between wheats in the same class. : The milling of the samples was in all cases done by Mr. G. W. Norris, in the Depavt- menv’s model mill, and our best thanks are due to him, The judging of the wheat samples has been more than usually dithcult this year on account of the even and excellent quality of the exhibits. The exhibits show a considerable improvement in all classes over previous years, and a glance at the table of bushel-weights show that some of them are remarkably heavy. There was, as always, some difficulty with wheats entered in their wrong class. Some of these were very fine samples of grain and would certainly have received a prize had they been entered in their proper class. It is particularly in the hard and medium-bard classes that wrong entries have been mace. In awarding the championship prize for the best ba classed wheats have been taken into account. g of wheat exhibited, these out WrIGHTS PER BUSHEL. Class 686 (Macaroni). Catalogue No, Weight per Bushel, Catalogue No Weight per Bushel. ib. b. BS5Y 61; 5862 64 3560 633 DdS638 635, 3861 65} 3864 62 Class 687 (Hard Wheats). 3865 644 3871 62! 3866 64 3872 624 3867 66 3873 654 3868 633 3874 634 3869 64 3875 67 3870 654 3876 O4+ Class 688 (Medium Hard). 3875 664 3889 66 3879 654 3886 66 3880 644 3887 67 3881 654 3888 645 3882 66 3889 65% 3883 63% 3890 654 3854 65 3891 63 Class 689 (Soft Wheats), 3892 65% 3898 64) 3893 654 3899 65 3894 654 3900 614 3895 6a 3901 65% 3896 64 3902 664 3897 65% July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 571 Resuuts oF Miuuine Tess. = | an Weight Kase Per- Colour | Rer= >| Appear- | Strength. ance of per of centage of) ot centage of Total. Grain. Bushel. Milling. | Flour. Flour. | Gluten. Besa 15 | 15 10 One| Ors} 20 | 20 | 100 Marks. | } | Class 686 (Macaroni). Catalogue No. | | | [64] | [diffi] | [69-8] | |(46:92] | [46] 3862 15 i) 10 10 2 18 96 | [633] | [dig] | [69-4] [14:79] | [45-9] 3863 | 13 i) 10:5 | lO -} 10 17 18 93 | fez] | fag] | [67-2] | [477] | (49-4) 3864 | Ie eee Le ee LOS | 8 9 17 20 90 lass 687 (Hard or Strong Flour). [64] am) |leivz3i 4 [14:55] | [53°6] 3866 | 15) 22 to 10 = 10 10 20 19 99 | | (633) | [fasr].|, [69°6] [11°57] | [55-2] Boyde see le ial S14 LOBE ier ¢ Clad eeeee9 19 20 95 | | [64] | (fair) | [7-20] | [10°31] | [49:2] 3876 13 15 10 | 10 | 9 18 17 92 Class 688 (Medium Hard). GN (fan) (Sh72-9i- 4 [11°76] | [66-4] 3886 15 15 Ose] 10 10 18 elie 97 ool = freer 70-7) [ae27ay S8>2 3] | 3882 [iu LA Lees Oe ee es Sees lee O. 20 20 96 | [643] | [fair] | [71-7 [11-78] | [548] 3388 fo Nese cal OP tis, cS 8 18 18 89 | [+6] | [fer] | [70-9] [10°11] | [56 4] 3885 13 15 NO | 8 if 16 19 89 Class 689 (Soft or Weak Flour). [652] | [easy] | [708] | [72:02] | [49:6] 3897 14 15m | 10 10 10.2 | 1g 18 96 [642 feasy} | [70-3] | [13°85] | [40 4] 3895 13 13 LORS) 10 8 | 20 20 94 [652] [easy] | [70-5] | [9 67] [48°0] 3901 15 15 10 LOS) 7 15 16 91 [652] | [easy] | [70-4] | [9°81] | [49 0] 3892 12 15 NOS) 1 7 18 17 89 [695] [vasy] , [708] [8°64] | [49°4] 3894 12 14 10 OMe al 16 18 87 | [654 [easy] | [70-3] | [7-96] | [50°0] 3893 12 1 10 | 7 14 19 85 Awards. C'ass 686.— ) First prize, No. 3862, W. G. Reinhard. Mavaroni, Class 687. - § Secund prize, No, 3863, A. Thibault. ? First prize, No. 3866, W. Fulljames. Hard \Vheats. § Second prize, No. 3874, W. G. Reinhard. C acs 688. — Medium Hard. First prize, No. 3886, Russell Brothers. Second prize, No. 3882, Hon. G. H. Greene, Iandra Estate. C ass 689.— \ First prize, No. 3897, George Lindon. Sott W heats. Second prize, No. 3895, Hon. G. H. Greene, Iandra Estate. Champion Prize, for best bag of wheat exhibited, No. 3886, Russell Brothers. R. W. HARRIS, F. B. GUTHRIE. 572 Agricultural Gazette of N.S VW. [| July 2, 1908. The following information regarding the prize-winning wheats was obtained from the entry forms through the courtesy of the Secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society :— Class 686.— Macaroni. First prize, No. 3862, W. G. Reinhard ; variety not stated ; grown at Oddfield, near Wellington, on chocolate soil ; sown ‘at,rate of 1 bushel per acre ; yield 16 bushels. Second prize, No, 3863, A. Thibault ; variety not stated; grown on white gritty soil, on Peel River Co.’s Estate, near Tamworth ; sown at rate of ? bushel per acre ; yield 16 bushels. Class 687..—_Hard Wheats. First prize, No. 3866, W. Fulljames; variety Manitoba; grown on Peel River Estate, near Tamworth, on strong black land ; sown at rate of 1 bushel per acre ; yield 10 bushels. Second prize, No. 8874, W. G. Reinhard ; variety Manitoba; grown at Oddfield, near Wellington, on chocolate soil; sown at rate of 1 bushel per acre; yield 12 bushels. Class 688.— Medium Hard. First prize, and Champion prize for best bag of wheat exhibited, No. 3886, Russell Brothers ; variety Bobs; grown at Woodbine, near Grenfell, on undulating country ; sown at rate of # bushel per acre ; yield 20 bushels. Second prize, No. 3882, Hon. G. H. Greene, Iandra Estate, near Grenfell ; variety Comeback ; grown on dark chocolate soil on Iandra Estate ; sown 4 bushel, yield 20 bushels per acre. Rainfall 144 inches during growing season. Class 689.—Soft Wheat. First prize, No. 3897, George Lindon ; variety Jade ; grown at Gobbagumbalin, near Wagga, on chocolate loam ; sown at rate of 40 lb. per acre ; yield 12 bushels. Second prize, No. 3895, Hon. G. H. Greene, Iandra Estate, near Grenfell (variety not stated); grown at Iandra Estate, on granite ridge ; sown at rate of 4 bushel per acre ; yield 36 bushels. Rainfall 145 inches during growing season; 194 inches during the year. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 578 The Weeds of New South Wales. Rip-Grass oR PLAntatn (Plantago lanceolata, L.) J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. For a description of the genus Plantago and of the Family Plantaginacee, see the Mlora Australiensis, vol. v, page 137. Vernacular Names. —“‘ Rib-grass,” or “ Ribwort,” because of the stout nerves or ribs of the leaves ; ‘ Plantain”; “ Ripple Grass” (of the United States) ; “ Buck or Buckthorn Plantain” (United States); ‘ Narrow Plantain” (in comparison with the “ Broad Plantain,” P/antago major), Occasionally, with other species, called ‘ Lamb’s Tongue.” Botanical Description.—A herb with radical tufted leaves and a tapering rootstock ; more or less woolly or silky-hairy at the top. Leaves. —Lanceolate, very variable, from under 3 to above 12 inches long, generally with 5 strong very prominent parallel nerves ; rarely with more or fewer nerves. Flower-stalk.—Leafless, about as long as the leaves. > oO Flowers. —Small, crowded at the top of the stalk into an ovoid or cylindrical spike, 4 to 3 inches long, usually short in flower, but lengthening out in fruit. Sepals.—4, hairy at the tip, 2 united nearly to the top. Corolla.—With a tube exceeding the calyx and 4 broad, concave spreading or reflexed lobes. Stamens —4, the long, thin filaments much exserted from the corolla-tube, bearing large mobile anthers. Style. Ovarium,.—2-celled. Long and filiform, with 2 stigmatic lines in the upper part. Capsule. —Opening transversely (circumsciss) below the middle, with 2 large, black shining seeds with a mucilaginous testa. Very common in Europe and temperate Asia, and now established in New South Wales everywhere in cultivated land. In his interesting paper ‘‘ Notes on the Fertilisation of some Australian and other Plants” (roc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W., xxut, 763 [1898]), Mr. A. G. Hamilton discusses the evolution of the entomophilous form (7.¢., in which the pollen is carried by insects) from the anemophilous condition (7.¢., in which the pollen is carried by the wind). Bad points of this weed.—In the United States it is reputed to be one of the worst weeds, particularly on light, sandy soils. It is aggressive and smothering. It often comes with dirty grass or clover seed. Where there is but little of it, it can be eradicated with a narrow hoe. Where it is plentiful the breaking up and cultivation of the land is the only method of dealing with it 574 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [July 2, 1908. If it is plentifal in lawns, it is best to cut the affected portions out and returtf. Never allow it to seed. The seed is the food of many birds, and is abundantly disseminated through their agency. An official American report calls ita “vile pest.” It is spreading in New South Wales, and should be kept under confrol. Uses. —“* Some farmers have recommended this plant, by the name of rib- erass, as a good food for sheep, or to be made into hay for cattle in general. [t yields indeed an abundant crop, but it has been said no domestic animal will eat it, except mixed with other vegetables ; which, if true, is not much in its favour.”—(Hnglish Botany, Vol. 3, J. Sowerby.) There is no doubt, however, that they eat it when it is young. To this day it is frequently recommended in Europe as a constituent of pasture mixtures. It possesses the advantage of growing on the most sterile soils. T certainly do not recommend its cultivation in New South Wales, believing that we have many plants superior in merit to it and possessing fewer of its disadvantages. EXPLANATION OF PLATE. A. Flowering specimen ; ovate-shaped flower, cylindrical in fruit. The whole flower supported by a bract (a). (bb) 4 sepals. (c) Two of the sepals which are connate. (d) Corolla with 4 recurved lobes. (e) 4 stamens. (f) 1 long style. . The capsule opened circumsciss and showing the two seeds (b); the corolla with its reflexed lobes (a) adheres to the capsule. Norse. —The leaves are 5-ribbed, one rib in the middle and two on each side, though in broad leaves there may be two more faint ribs, one on each side. The 5 ribs are so constant that the species has been named ‘‘ quinquenervia” on that account, though the name is abandoned. The inflorescence is ovoid when in flower out to cylindrical when in fruit. , rarely more elongated, but it lengthens 1906, SOLELY 2, AGRIGOLMORAL GAZETTE OF N.S.W. fj SPRATT TELAT NS W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER. RIB-GRASS OR PLANTAIN. PLANTAGO LANCEOLATA L. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 575 Wheat- growing AT WacGga WaGGa EXPERIMENT Farm. G. M. McKEOWN. Preparation. EXPERIENCE in a variety of seasons has furnished ample proof that 1t wall pay wheat-growers to thoroughly prepare the land for sowing, and it is recommended that all soils of fair depth should be ploughed to a depth of 6 inches where practicable. This cannot be accomplished under all conditions experienced here, as much of the Riverina soil sets very hard in dry weather, and is then difficult to work. The use of rotary disc ploughs has largely improved these conditions, as with them it is possible to start ploughing much earlier after the removal of a crop, or when weather conditions are unfavourable. In all seasons we have been able to commence work in January, and in a large proportion of our land it has been possible to perform excellent work in deeply ploughing and pulverising the soil. In addition to their being excellent dry-weather implements, their work is very economical, as we have ploughed up to 5 acres in eight hours with one plough drawn by five horses. The cost of discs is moderate, an expenditure of £3 10s. per year covering the wear and tear under this heading for, say, 500 acres. The cost of repairs is light, one of our ploughs having recently required some new parts for the first time after nearly six years’ use. For fallowing, however, the use of mould-board ploughs is essential, as in the spring season weeds which are then plentiful are better covered by them than is possible with disc ploughs. The pulverisation of the soil to as great a depth as possible is of very great importance ; therefore, the value of these implements cannot be overrated. Th> system of shallow ploughing is t» be condemned ; and if farmers would prepare areas side by side, respectively ploughed deep and shallow, they would soon become convinced that the extra cost incurred of breaking their land 6 inches instead of 3 inches deep would be more than repaid to them in the increased crops. It is sometimes urged that, as wheat is a surface-feeding plant, shallow ploughing is all that is necessary. A forest tree may exist in the soil contained in a 6-inch pot, but it cannot attain its full development ; and wheat compelled to find nourishment in the upper 3 inches of the soil naturally cannot find as much food and moisture in that space as in 6 or 7 inches of free soil. Besides this, it is often found that when the first 6 inches of the soil is broken, that next below is sufticiently free to readily admit the roots of the plants in search of nourishment at a greater depth. 576 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [July 2, 1908. The method of preparing land by merely scaritying the surface of stubble paddocks is strongly condemned, as it can only have a chance of success in unusually favourable seasons, which, untortunately, are of rare occurrence. Rolling and Harrowing. In soil which is hable to crust on the surface, yb is desirable, where rolling is necessary, to carry out the work before the seed is sown, and not to rol! afterwards till the crop is fairly well grown, and then to follow with light harrows drawn across the drill furrows. Soils vary so greatly that it is not desirable to lay down any hard and fast rule on work of this kind, as much can be learnt by observation on the part of cultivators, many of whom have a variety of soils under their care in which uniform treatment would be undesirable. Under our conditions we have usually found it best to leave the land with the slight furrows formed by the drills, as an even surface is very liable to crust and cause the rainfall to run off. Dise Plough at Work, Wagga Experiment Farm. The harrowing of growing crops may be carried out until the crops are about 6 inches high, provided the soil is firm enough to keep the harrows from penetrating deeply, but it should not be done before the plants are well rooted. The best time for the operation is after the land has been made fairly firm by rain, as then there is less risk of damaging the crop by too deeply operating with the tines of the harrow. Damage to roots is thus decreased, and the chance of injuring plants by means of the bars of the harrow is also lessened. Light harrows only should be used, and they should be drawn at right- angles to the drill furrows. Care should also be taken to avoid harrowing after any of the straw joints have formed in the plants. : Seed Selection. The importance of seed selection is again impressed upon those who are about to sow ; therefore, where individual farmers cannot afford a grader of July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 577 the best kind, it is suggested that such implements be obtained and worked by groups of grain-growers for their mutual benefit. Good implements, however, are obtainable at moderate prices; and as considerably increased yields may be obtained by using only the best grade of seed, the cost of a machine would soon be recouped. Some years ago tests of varying grades of seed, graded and sown by hand, were carried out on a small scale on this farm, and the results were always in favour of the best qualities. Trials of varying qualities of seed carried out on a fairly large scale with machine-graded seed resulted in a gain for first-grade seed of 25 bushels per acre above that harvested from second and third grades sown together. Method of Sowing. The advantage of drilling over broadcasting seed has been frequently advocated and demonstrated. The increased yield, together with the saving in cost of seed, will more than cover the cost of a drill on the first 150 acres. Trials of varying quantities of seed have been made, and results amply demonstrate the desirability of sowing only moderate quantities of seed, as although sowings of 60 lb. per acre show a larger total return, the average gain from the extra seed is only nominal. For general field work we set out drills to sow half a bushel ; and as grain varies in size according to variety, our average sowing will work out at about 33 lb. to the acre. Half a bushel per acre under our conditions we regard as the minimum quantity to be sown, with a maximum of 40 Ib. per acre for seasonable sowing. Should sowing be delayed, as is sometimes unavoidable, the seeding should be increased to 50 Ib. per acre to compensate for the decreased stooling or tillering power of the plants, which diminishes as the season advances. Drill-drivers, when sowing, should see that their machines have the inner wheel so far overlapping the land sown in the previous round as that the space between the rounds shall not exceed that between the tines of the drill. It is frequently noticed in district crops that the space of a tine is left unsown in every round through failure to drive with the necessary overlap. As these blanks are equal to 8 per cent. of the area prepared for sowing, it will be realised that the omission is an expensive one. Fertilisers. Tests carried out during the past eight years have shown that very profitable results may be obtained from the use of moderate quantities of superphosphate drilled in with the seed. In districts with a light to fair rainfall a maximum sowing of 60 lb. per acre is recommended, as, if this quantity be exceeded, there is a risk of crops suffering should adverse conditions set in, as a larger bulk of manure may remain partly undissolved round the roots of the plants. In new land the 578 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ July 2, 1908. quantity may be reduced to 40 lb. for the first sowing. In course of time it will probably be found necessary to increase the quantity, and to supply a fertiliser more closely approaching a complete manure. The practice of manuring wheat on the lines shown by our tests to be the most successful is now being extensively followed, and no farmer who has once tested the value of the system will abandon it for the old method, under which wheat-growing was far less certain of success. Our paddocks are rested occasionally by a sowing of rape, which provides pasture for sheep, besides which the rape is of value in opening up the subsoil for sueceeding crops. This practice is also valuable in helping to free the land of weeds, which are also eaten off by the sheep. A partial rest is also afforded by the cultivation of hay crops, which are cut while green, and before the grain reaches a forward stage of development One paddock is being alternately used for the production of crops and pasture, and the trials so far are showing excellent results in improving both branches of farming. With the use of fertilisers it has been shown that the yields of grain may be increased by 35 to 40 per cent. at a very moderate cost. It is necessary, however, that the manure should be sown with the drill, as the young plants receive benefit from it from the beginning of life. The root system is rendered more vigorous, and the plants are induced to feed at a greater depth, thus utilising a greater area of soil for their sustenance than is the case where the manure is sown on the surface or the crop is not fertilised. The supply of moisture, also, is better at the greater depth. Top-dressing is unsatisfactory, as the roots are attracted to the surface, and the crop suffers when their growth approaches maturity, or when adverse conditions set in. At Wagga, manured crops usually ripen about a fortnight earlier than those untreated, and most probably this feature will be found to have a very important bearing on the rust problem. Treatment for Smut. As a preventive of smut and bunt, we treat the seed with a 2 per cent. (1 lb. to 5 gallons) solution of sulphate of copper, immersing the seed for not more than four minutes. Should the seed, however, not be well filled, the dipping should accordingly be of less duration, it being desirable not to exceed two minutes. Some varieties are more liable to the attacks of bunt than others, and in such cases it has been found necessary to increase the quantity of bluestone to 3 per cent. (1 lb to 33 gallons). Ten gallons of solution should treat about 10 bushels of seed. Our practice is to spread the seed on a floor to dry, after dipping, and to sow it as soon as it is dry enough to pass through the seed drills, about twelve hours usually being sufficient for the drying process. No more than suthcient for one day’s sowing should be treated at once, as it has been clearly proved that delay in sowing treated seed is responsible for considerable loss of seed. July 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 579 Care should be taken to purchase only the best quality of sulphate of copper, avoiding crushed or discoloured samples. The crushed bluestone renders its adulteration easy, and the discoloured article usually lacks strength. Care should also be taken that the sacks in which the grain is placed after drying are perfectly clean, it being preferable to use new sacks, or those which have been dipped in the solution. Sowing Time. The best time for sowing is from the middle of April to the end of May ; but, when circumstances require it, a week in June may not be too late. A good deal of sowing is carried out in Riverina before April; but in our portion of the district crops sown so early, no matter what the variety of wheat, have a tendency to produce too much straw in good seasons. Should insufficient rain fall in March or April, there is considerable risk of loss of seed, or at the least of a severe check to earlier sown crops which may have obtained a start. These risks, however, are greatly decreased by fallowing the land from winter or spring in the preceding year, as land so prepared is in a better con- dition to receive and retain such moisture as may fall between the ploughing and sowing seasons. As it is seldom that late sown seed returns anything like the crops harvested from seasonably sown areas, it will pay better to fallow such land as cannot be sown by the first week in June. It has been further noted that a curtailment of the areas sown should place many growers in a position to carry out their harvesting more seasonably, thus benefiting themselves individually, in addition to increasing our district average, as crops are considerably decreased by insufficient preparation of the soil which is due to a desire to sow large areas. If the labour expended on such areas were concentrated on half or two- thirds of the land, seasonable sowing and harvesting would be possible, and the profit on capital and expenditure would be much greater than is the case at present. Wheat for Hay. The raising of wheaten hay for home consumption in ordinary seasons, for fodder reserves against drought seasons, or for sale in the city markets, is worthy of greater attention than is usually given to it. Under our conditions a crop of wheaten hay may be counted on with much more certainty than is the case with oats, which requires much more moisture to bring it to perfection. It is, however, possible to secure payable crops of oaten hay when good varieties are sown early in the autumn. The average hay yield at the Wagga Farm for eight years, including two drought years, is slightly over 2 tons per acre, which, in ordinary seasons, ‘an be sold at a profit of £1 10s. per ton. At present, sales could be made at a profit of nearly £5 per ton, The profitable nature of hay-growing, if properly carried out, will therefore be apparent, but, so far, it is comparatively neglected by farmers. 580 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ July 2, 1908. One of the recent developments of the industry is its adoption by pastoralists, on a large scale, for feeding their own stock. In fact, we have for some time been unable to meet the demand for seed of varieties which we recommend. The method of preparing the land is the same as that applied to land used for the production of grain. F The most successful fertiliser has been Shirley’s No. 5, containing 13 per cent. water-soluble phosphoric acid, 3-3 per cent. nitrogen, and 3°77 sulphate of potash, the quantity used being 70 Ib., costing 4s. 6d. per acre. In all cases the seed and manure have been sown with the drill, the quantity of seed used being 45 Ib. per acre, first quality grain. March and April will be found the best months for sowing. White straw wheats are far preterable to the purple straw varieties for haymaking, as the weight is much greater, the straw has far less “ dead flag,’ and the hay is better liked by stock of all kinds. In selecting varieties, care should be taken to choose those which carry a green colour to the lowest possible point on the straw. The varieties which have proved the best with us are Zealand or Berthoud, White Essex, Australian Talavera, and White Lammas, in the order named. The best stage of growth for cutting wheat for hay, to secure weight, colour, and quality, is just when it is flowering. If properly saved at this stage and cut into chaff not less than half an inch, it will command the best prices in the Sydney market, as the best quality Riverina chaff is much sought after. Varieties. Among the best croppers in this district are some of the varieties which have recently been rejected by the Department on account of their lack of flour strength. Of the new varieties, those which have stood the longest trials, and have come out best, are Federation and Plover. Of those which have been grown for a shorter period, Jumbuck has proved the most satisfactory. Of old varieties, Marshall’s No. 3 will be found to meet all requirements, being a good cropper and not liable to rust. Of the grain varieties, it will be found to make hay of good quality. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 581 Gosford-Narara Fruit Fly and Codling Moth Control Experiment. WM. B. GURNEY, Assistant Entomologist. Copuinc Morn, though one of the most widespread orchard pests, may be checked by spraying with an arsenical wash at the right time, and bandaging the trees. The bandages are not put on merely to prevent the grubs crawling past up the trees, but to form an attractive home to collect the erubs about to pupate, and therefore the bandages require to be removed every week, and the grubs and pup, to the last one, destroyed each time ; otherwise, and as too frequently happens, the bandages not being attended to, the orchardist 1s merely providing a safe home for the moth, grubs and pup, and aiding the increase of moths in his orchard. Fruit flies as yet have not been found susceptible to spraying or fumigating, and the only known methods are destroying all windfalls and infected fruit found in orchards, shops, and markets, and therefore preventing the maggots from developing ; also scalding empty fruit cases which may have held infected fruit, and thus destroying any pupe within the cases. Useful results have sometimes been gained by oil-traps, consisting of flat tins or china saucers containing a little kerosene or other oil. As many as 200 adults have been captured in a couple of tins within three days. The life history of the common Mediterranean Fly, with variations according to the season of the year, is briefly as follows: The eggs are inserted up to a quarter of an inch beneath the skin of the fruit by the ovipositor of the female. From four to fourteen eggs may be found in a single puncture. The eges hatch within a few days, up to a week or two. The grubs feed for a period from a couple of weeks to about six weeks, and then, fully grown, crawl out of the fruit and pupate just below the surface of the soil. The fruit usually has fallen to the ground by the time the grubs are full-grown ; if not, as in the case of Neville oranges, the grubs simply drop to the ground from the hanging fruit. In from six days to a couple of weeks or more the adult fly hatches from the pupal stage. I have bred adult flies from pup buried in soil to a depth of 6, 8, 10, and over 12 inches. In each case a large percentage of the adult flies worked their way to the surface, and were apparently as lively as those bred from pupe at the surface ; therefore burying fruit is not permissible under the Regulations as being too uncertain and requiring too much labcur to bury deep enough, and in separate holes, every three days throughout the year. 582 Agricultural Gazette of N.S TW. [ July 2, 1908. Inspection of orchards under the Vine and Vegetation Diseases (Fruit Pests) Act, 1906, commenced in May, 1907. The first Regulations, 6th March, 1907, were superseded by those gazetted on 27th November, 1907, and further amendments, including a penalty clause, are now essential. The following extracts are from the November, 1907, Regulations :— 2. The following methods of treatment of at affected by any fruit pest shall, until further notice, be deemed to be effective :— (a) For Codling Moth (Carpocapsa pomonella)— i. All apple, pear, and quince trees must be bandaged with a band of suitable material with two folds, from the first day of November in each year until the crop has been harvested. The bandages must be examined at least once in each period of seven days, and all larvae and pepe found therein destroyed. i. All infected fruit must be coliected and destroyed at least once in each period of four days.* ii. All apple, pear, and quince trees shall be kept clear of dead bark and broken limbs. If, in the opinion of an inspector, any supports or other materials attached 10 or used in connection with any such trees are likely to convey any fruit pest, the inspector may require the owner or occupier to remove or destroy such supports or other materials. iv. All fruit-trees remaining in avy abandoned, deserted, or neglected orchard, and being, in the opinion of an inspector, likely to convey any fruit pest, shall be uprooted by the owner or occupier and destroyed. (6) For any species of Fruit Fly (Tephritidze)— v. All infected fruit and windfalls (except windfali lemons) must be collected and destroyed at least once in each period of three days: Provided that an Inspector may by notice in writing require the owner or occupier to destroy windfall lemons. vi. All Seville oranges remaining in any orchard on and after the first day of August in each year, whether on the trees or otherwise, must be destroyed : Provided that at the request of the owner or occupier an inspector may exempt any crop or portion of a crop from the operation of this Regulation for such period and subject to such conditions as he may think fit. 3. The destruction of fruit must be effected by boiling for fifteen minutes, or by burning, and of plants and packages by burning. Fruit cases or other packages may be treated by immersion in boiling water for two minutes. It is discouraging to note the shortsightedness of some growers in wilfully neglecting to carry out the Regulations which are framed for no other purpose than to help the fruit industry. The refusal of other States to receive fly-intected fruit has forced the necessity for universal action under an Act upon these growers. And it must be apparent to all concerned that continuous and frequent destruction of fallen and infected fruit by every person, from those growing on the largest scale down to the person with but one tree in the back yard, is a method by which we may expect to control these pests. Experiment to demonstrate to growers the practical value of carrying out the provisions of the Fruit Pest Regulations. I have now commenced (May, 1908), with the approval of the Minister for Agriculture, an experiment (to extend over a period of two years) to demonstrate in a single district the advantage, or otherwise, which will result * Nore.—Growers are advised to pick off and destroy any infected fruit remaining om the trees. Or ie 2) ou) July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. from rigid application of the methods advocated by the Entomological Branch for checking fruit flles and codling moth. These wethods are embodied in the Regulations above indicated. The scheme was initiated in a conversation with Mr. Thacker, President, Miranda School of Arts, where I had delivered a lecture on ‘‘ Fruit Pests.” After inspecting various Cumberland and Northumberland orchard districts, Gosford and Narara was chosen as presenting a somewhat isolated district with codling moth and badly infested with the three species of fruit flies :— Ceratitis capitata, the so-called Mediterranean Fly, and the commonest in our orchards ; Dacus (Tephritis) tryoni, the Queensland Fly ; and Trypeta psidu, the Island Fly. The flies have every opportunity for increase there as there is a very great variety of fruits grown ; and, moreover, wild fruits abound in the district, growing in some cases a few hundred feet from the orchards. Dacus tryoni and Trypeta psidii have been bred from three species of wild fruits in the district, viz., native plum or black apple (Sideroxylon australe), berries of white ash (Schizoneria ovata), and wild black fig (icus stephano- carpa). There is, therefore, opportunity to test if reinfection from wild fruits annuls to any great degree the value of the work done in the orchards to check the fly. It is thought not, as the two species of fly attacking the wild fruits are not nearly so prevalent in the orchards as the Mediterranean Fly ; and, further, if reinfection from the bush were frequent, it is thought not to be so serious as reinfection from the infected fruit neglected within the orchard, and, therefore, destruction of infected fruit within the orchards would still reduce the fly considerably. Below is printed a circular sent to every grower and person concerned (about 120) in the Gosford-Narara district, and which indicates the points to be investigated :— Entomological Branch, Sydney, New South Wales, May, 1908. Contro] of Fruit Flies and Coding Moth in the Gosford and Narara D’s‘ricts. CoMMENCING from this month the Minister for Agriculture has arranged that the Entomological Branch will carry out practical operations during the next two years to check and control fruit flies and codling moth in the Gosford and Narara districts. Universal destruction of all infected fruit, on or off the trees, and spraying and bandaging for codling moth are the only methods known to check these pests. So long as any intected fruit is left undestroyed, so long is the fly going to continue and increase, and it is the only way in which this and similar pests ean increase. Similarly codling- infected fruit, and the grubs in the bandages must be destroyed, or the moth will not be checked. These principles are now recognised by all intelligent growers, and the people of Gosford and Narara will be glad to learn that the object of the present undertaking is to demonstrate in their district, and record for the information of the growers throughout the State, that fly and moth can be controlled by the above methods. Phe inspection and requiremerts in the orchards and shops will be exactly the same as in other districts under the Regulations of the Fruit Pests Act, 1906. A small insectary will be erected at Narara, at a central spot, and experiments and thorough inspection will be made under the direction of Mr. Gurney, Acting Entomologist. The inspection of the orchards and shops will be undertaken by Mr. Gallard, Fruit Inspector. 584 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [July 2, 1908. Mr. Gurney intends making a record of : The amount of infection at different seasons, and in different crops. The life histories of the various fruit flies; number of broods each year, and sequence of crops attacked. Infection of wild fruits; extent of reinfection of the orchards, if any, from adjacent wild fruits. Results of destruction of infected fruit in or chards and shops, and imported into the clistrict by rail, &e. Experiments with any methods which may suggest themselves as likely to check the pests, such as oil-traps, sprays, use of “parasites, &e, The success of Mr. Gurney’s work will depend much on the co-operation of the growers. The owner or occupier of every orchard, and even the person with but one fruit-tree, becomes a benefactor in, or a menace to, his district, according to the thoroughness with which he undertakes the proper attention to infected fruit and windfalls, and appreciates the general effort to be made to cope with these two most serious pests of the orchardist. As a first step, growers are asked to kindly fill in the attached slip, and hand the same to the Fruit Inspector some time during the next two weeks. This will enable some idea to be formed of the distribution and extent of the various fruits in the area under experiment. The effects of the general operations, and of any other experiments made at the insectary, or in the district, will be made known when successful, and should result in much useful information for the growers in coping with the pests concerned. At the same time information will be gladly supplied by the Entomological Branch upon other insect pests, and the sprays and methods necessary to check them. IT have, &c., HENRY C. L. ANDERSON, Acting Under Secretary. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 585 A Valuable Fibre Plant (Asclepeas semilunata). CHAS. A. WHITE, F.R.H.S., &c., Uganda Protectorate. (Late Forest Officer, Coolgardie, W.A.) WHEN the Coolgardie gold-fields were first known, the writer was an employee in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, and having been seriously attacked by the gold fever was, with thousands of others who haye been more or less successful, soon upon the field. That was at the end of 1893. Some two years atter, while camped near Bulla-Bulling at an old deserted camp, the writer was astonished to find some oats in full ear; but what struck him principally was a plant producing white clusters of flowers, and large blacdder- like capsules containing a fluffy silky fibre like the Scotch thistle, and producing a white milky substance similar to rubber. This plant must have been brought by seed in imported forage. When the South African war broke out, the writer this time got the war fever and proceeded to Africa, and remained there, having travelled from the Cape to the Zambesi, Portuguese Africa, and then to the Equator and Congo. In all these countries this particular plant was seen in isolated parts, but not cultivated. Nobody knew of its value, only that the silky cotton could be used like Kapok for stuffing furniture, and would not pay to export. The writer merely mentions this to show that it can adapt itself to various climates, although indigenous to the Congo, Uganda, and Abyssinia. While at Uganda, planting rubber at the head of the Nile on the Victoria Nyanza, the writer wanted some rope for a line, and speaking to a native requested him to get some, thinking he would get the bast of a banana. Much to his surprise the boy started pulling this particular plant, and drawing the fibre, then twisting it into rope of remarkable strength. The writer then forwarded samples of rope, fibre, and botanical specimen to the Imperial Institute, London, with the result that the plant was identified as Asclepias semilunata, and that the fibre, if properly prepared, was worth on the London market, £35 per ton. The examination of samples sent from Uganda has shown that it is very strong and of excellent quality, and would doubtless be useful for cordage manufacture, but has not yet been exported in sufficient quantities for actual trials on a manufacturing scale. It is possible that the fibre might also be utilised for the manufacture of explosives, but this question is at present under investigation. The writer has sent to the Hon. John Perry, M.P., a sample of the fibre and a quantitv of seed to test if it can be success- fully grown in New South Wales. The writer feels confident that it can be profitably grown, as its geographical distribution is so well known to him ; he has seen it at an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level at Johannesburg ; also at Rhodesia and in Australia, but has not seen it near the coast, though or 0 9) or Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ July 2, 1908. it may succeed near the sea. The cultivation of Asclepias semilunata 1s simple: sow as you would wheat or oats, after the land has been harrowed ; seed thickly so as to produce stems 5 feet to 6 feet long. It will grow on stony land, on the flat or hill-sides, and requires no irrigation, and will with- stand drought with impunity. With cheap freight from Sydney to London, let alone local market, this fibre may prove te be a desirable subsidiary industry for New South Wales. The writer, who is an Australian, thinks that the seed must at some time have been introduced into Australia by the late Baron von Miieller, otherwise it isa mystery how he saw it at Coolgardie. The writer trusts that through the columns of the Agricultural Gazette more will be heard from tests in New South Wales. The sample of fibre forwarded by Mr. White to the Hon. the Minister for Agriculture has been submitted to Messrs. Forsyth & Co., rope manufacturers, Sydney, who report as follows :— yy The fibre is equal to Manilla, and is valued at £35 per ton. The length and colour are good. They would give £35 per ton for it, but the fibre must not be less than 4 feet long. The quantity submitted was too small to make a test. The seed forwarded at the same time has been distributed among the following experiment farms:—Hawkesbury Agricultural College, Wagga, Bathurst, Wollongbar, Belindigarbar (Grafton), Moree, and Pera Bore, for b] > ’ fo) ’ ’ planting in the spring. An endeavour will be made to obtain, by this means, sufficient fibre for a thorough test by the firm mentioned. Mr. White, in his letter accompanying the seeds and fibre, emphasises the fact that the price quoted him from London was for the bast and not for the si/k cotton which surrounds the seeds, very like our wild cotton. The seed evidently belongs to a plant of the genus Asclepias, and is closely allied to some of our native plants, but in all the botanical literature at our command there is no mention of a species semi/unita. {Further inquiry will be made.— Ep. | THE PIPE CALABASH GOURD. Some time ago small quantities of the Pipe calabash seeds were sent to this State from South Africa, but it is not known by whom these supplies were obtained. The Department of Agriculture has received an inquiry from a buyer for a quantity of the gourds, and would be glad to get information as to the result of their trial from any persons who obtained and planted the seeds. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 587 An Inexpensive silo. F. G. CHOMLEY. AN opportunity was recently afforded me, by the courtesy of Mr. C. W. Bowyer-Smijth, of Green Hills, near Moss Vale, to visit his dairy farm and there see his silo. The photographs which accompany these notes were kindly forwarded by Mr. Bowyer-Smijth, and by referring to the first illus- tration it will be seen very clearly how advantage has been taken of a rather steep hill in which to excavate the pit, so that filling can be carried on by bringing the loads to the silo on the upper side and throwing them off. This form of silo has been used by several farmers, and where the natural lay of the land permits, it is a great saving of labour in filling. The silo, which is 20 feet square by 12 feet deep, was excavated in the hillside as shown, and the roadway leading to it also cut. The walls of the silo are vertical and are lined with split slabs, firmly spiked to horizontal bearers 23 feet long by 9 inches thick, which cross at the corner, and are there held by coach screws; the slabs ave butted up to each other, edge to edge, as close as possible, the whole forming as smooth a surface as can be obtained with split timber. The doorway, as shown in the illustration, is formed of sawn hardwood put in horizontally—the pieces of wood forming the method which are held against the rebate on the door-posts by the silage of fixing a doorway of this description is shown in the Gazette for March, 1908, page 244. The cart-way is cut right into the pit, the bottom of which slightly falls away from the bottom of the silo for drainage, and to secure that storm- water does not lodge in it. The full cost of each section of the silo is clearly set out in the appended statement kindly handed to me by Mr. Bowyer-Smijth : Cost of Silage Pit. Hacavation— Sosy de Pit, 20 ft. x 20 ft. x 12 ft.=177 square yards oe eS eli Cart-way to pit 75 cubie yards ... zc Be Fan sag tO NS) AD) Timber — 12 logs, 23 ft. x 91in., for foundation of walls (horizontal) ; 120 slabs for walls (vertical) ; labour for cutting and splitting sas aa ae = a neice Ome Drawing timber to pit... = ey ik ve Pee OL OhO Labour, timbering pit... so. aoe de ef ee ONO Iron— Ten 10 in. x 1] in. coach screws... 30 se ea: Sop AD eyes 40 lb. 7 in. x 2 in. spikes xt is : ie oe OO 6 Fencing— Fencing round pit, including three slip rails, 4 chains ee le Ol 70 Total ... ei ati mn mee celts} eta (0 Ei 588 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ July 2, 1908. The silage was made from a crop of maize grown on a little less than 20 acres, and was carted to the site and there placed in the silo unchaffed in « similar way to that adopted when building a silage stack. The maize stalks were crossed at the corners, butts outwards, and kept as_ firmly pressed up to the slabbing as possible—the latter is important, as there is a great tendency, if any undue haste is allowed to tterfere with this necessary precaution, for the maize to draw away from the corners and _ sides, as settle- ment in the middle, due to more pertect solidification, takes place. The stack was continued above the top of the silo to a height shown by the dotted lines, about 22 feet. This was kept to the same dimensions as the silo, and the sides trimmed with a hay-knife, and as solidification took place most of the part above the silo sank down, till, on the occasion of my visit, there was only trom L foot at the sides, to about 25 feet in the middle, above the walls of the silo; the top was covered with a few loads of * fat hen” and “pig weed,” then bark, logs, and stone. Harvesting Maize for Silage. Mr. Bowyer-Smijth calculates to have now 100 tons of silage, and allowing half a ton a day for bis herd has 200 days feed on hand. The present. silo occupies the site of a smaller one erected last year which gave good results ; in fact, such good results that he was persuaded of the necessity of enlarging the silo for the present season. It is well known that to obtain the maximum amount of perfect silage from a given quantity of green fodder it is essential to chaff it in addition to thoroughly treading it into a silo which should be perfectly air-tight with smooth vertical sides free from angles. In this case none of these conditions are found, the maize was not chaffed, the silo is built strongly, but the sides Neing made of split slabs are necessarily rough, and a large part of the maize was In the form of a stack which ultimately sank into the silo as consolida- tion due to fermentation took place. What proportion of waste is there, and how far does the amount of waste go as a set-off against the additional cost July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 589 of a more expensive silo and chatting the crop! In this case the average amount of waste is said by Mr. Bowyer-Smijth to amount on the average to 8 inches all round, At the bottom and lower part of sides it may and probably is less, but on the upper part, which was practically a stack, the waste on the sides and corners may be a little more, so no doubt the estimate Pit Silo, Green Hil’s. The dotted lines indicate height of finished stack, about 22 feet. is near the mark, This, however, will be better calculated when feeding starts, which, as far as present indications go, will not be for some little time, as there is plenty of teed on the farm. It is rather a hard matter to decide which form yields, under varying circumstances, the best fiiancial result ; but the fact that Mr. Bowyer-Smijth had a small silo last season and has a larger one this, and—being in possession 590 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. July 2, 1908. of all the facts and conditions, is therefore better able to judge than anyone else in possession only of bald figures—is satisfied, must be taken by the average practical man as good evidence of the value of the enterprise. With regard to the cost of the silage, this works out at 7s. Lld,. per ton, based on the figures supplied me by Mr. Bowyer-Smijth, who kept detailed accounts of the various items making the total cost. Allowing the cost of the silo to extend over, say, five vears, the following statement of cost is obtained :— eh le One-fifth cost of silo : a, oe ad Na ae Piel ste) Cost of putting in crop ws 54 3 Si ae py Loe Cost of cutting, hauling, and stacking maize dak 123 le LO Cost 100 tons z Be Me fe * 39 14 6 Cost per ton Aad mae F as bie ; we OPai Such excellent feed for dairy stock provided at a cost of less than &s. per ton is a matter of no little importance in our dairying districts, and, if there are not very good reasons to the contrary, every one should endeavour to provide some feed for the winter or other periods of scarcity to maintain the milk flow. In the United States the ery is, “ A silo a farmer must have, even if he has to borrow the money to build it.” While we have a shorter winter than most parts of the States the necessity for having a supply of silage is no less, on account of dry spells and the impossibility in some seasons of growing green feed just when it is wanted. With a silo on the farm advantage can be taken of the periods of growth and a sufticient quantity of silage made to tide over the ever-recurring short spells of scarcity. Montroyuy WEATHER REPORT. HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. SUMMARY for May, 1908. Air Pressure . Air Moisture Evaporation . Shade Temperature. : : 2 ere (Barometer.) shade Temperature Saturation=100. (from Water Surface). re 7 te ren aa dle = a Es a 8 Ss ae Usk “ta a “foe Me a ee = |S © alecette aie My rertitoiopamee ues ola ee. dee ete | Pek ih cee (ete pe he 2 a o 5 feu ® 5 z Ep 5 3 259 /5 ae sg Dis ae a ae ssa pes oy gg dae Ps ec ae ae ce bea > : 29:60 | su'41 | 30°25 | 32°1 | 79°0] 58:2 6°6 5 100 77 170 2528 2-2€| 5 6 17 & 30 8 21 7 1 7 : -olnts a 7 & 4 Rainfall... Foints 1 Be EE eo8s 381 points Dates 3 15 ty) 20 25 ime me Mean for 16 years = 193 points. : info, DNB} SSE AE NAN Wind ... N_NE_S8 SV Vv, NY 1 7 >» 9 4 2 Greatest daily range of temperature, 36°5 on 8th. ; 3 SL iDe: 35° 36°3° 30°35 36°0 Days on which shade temperature fell below 40 ee : 2 a : “ es a ‘ % 5 0 26 Frosts: 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, and 26th. W. MERVYN CARNE, Observer. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 591 METEOROLOGICAL BuREAU, No. 4 Division, New Soutuh WALES. Weather Conditions during May, 1908. S. WILSON, Divisional Officer. Ar the beginning of the month an irregular-shaped high pressure covered the mainland of Australia, with the exception of the far western and south- eastern portions, where two depressions were shown. The “low” in the south-east was rather energetic, and had its centre over the ocean to the south-east of ‘Tasmania. Strong westerly to south-westerly winds and rough seas occurred in Bass Strait and over and around 'Tasmamia. Light raintall was reported from scattered places in the southern border of Australia and along the coast of Queensland. In New South Wales the rain was confined to the Murray, the southern half of Riverina, and here and there on the slopes ; elsewhere over the continent the weather was fine and pleasant. Between the 2nd and 4th the several pressure systems advanced eastward at about the normal rate, the centre of the ‘high ” being now in the south- east of Queensland, and that of the depression between Tasmania and The Bluff (New Zealand). Barometric conditions over the western half of Australia were flat and incipient. With this distribution of atmospheric pressure, farther light to heavy rainfall was recorded in West Australia and in the southern districts of the south-eastern States, but fine weather ruled in the interior. Strong winds, attaining the force of a fresh gale, occurred in Bass Strait and Tasmania, with moderate to rough seas. ‘The heaviest reported rainfall was 145 points at Eyre, 137 at Bunbury, 86 at Carnarvon, and 83 at Leeuwin. In our State 50 points at Carcoar was the largest amount. On the 5th the centre of the high pressure had almost passed off the mainland, but another had appeared in West Australia, with its centre, 30-2 inches, in the south-western corner. Between these two anticyclones there was a new depression centrally situated to the south-west of Streaky Bay, with its northern limits extending inland as tar as Charlotte Waters. Strong winds. moderate to rough seas, and a continuation of the rainy conditions in southern districts resulted from this distribution. By the following day the weather over the western half of the continent had come under the control of the high pressure, which had expanded southwards ; whilst that of the south-eastern States, the Tasman Sea, and New Zealand was governed by a remarkable Antarctic low-pressure system, whose lowest barometric value, 29°17 inches, was on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, resulting in very steep gradients, and, consequently, fresh to very strong gales and rough to high seas between Tasmania and New Zealand. Light scattered rainfall and frosty conditions were reported from our southern districts, and all along the southern seaboard of the continent. 592. Agricultural Gazette of NSW -. | July 2, 1908. Within the next twenty-four hours the anticyclone covered the whole of the mainland of Australia, with its centre still in the south-west corner. A. portion of the Antarctic disturbance was still over Tasmania, but its centre, 29-00 inches, was to the south-west of The Bluff (New Zealand). South-west to westerly gales with light rains still prevailed in Tasmania and the south eastern corner of the continent, but otherwise the weather was fine generally. At 9am. on the &th the centre of the high presstre was well established on the mainland between Alice Springs, Esperance, and Adelaide, aid fine, cool weather was experienced throughout, excepting a little patchy rain in extreme southern districts and a light snowfall at Kiandra. Rough seas and boisterous westerlies still obtained in’ Bass Strait, Tasmania, and the South Coast districts of New South Wales. The temperature over the State during the first week was, for the most part, cold to mild ; the lowest readings occurred at scattered places on the highlands. Nimitybelle registered 21 degrees, Carinda 22 degrees, Kiandra and Glen Innes each 23, Inverell 24, Wellington, Armidale, and Walcha each 26, Warialda and Quirindi each 27, together with many others below freezing point. On the 9th, at 9 a.m., an energetic disturbance was shown over Victoria and Tasmania, with its central reading, 29°6 inches, in the south-east of the latter State ; otherwise the continent was covered by a high pressure of very httle character. With this distribution, light scattered rainfall was recorded along the seaboards of Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, as also in southern districts of New South Wales. Strong north-west to south-west winds and rough seas occurred in Bass Strait and on parts of the west coast of 'T'asmania. Within the following forty-eight hours the depression had expanded considerably, and covered the south-eastern States and the Tasman Sea as far eastward as New Zealand. The high pressure, on the contrary, had contracted eastward to Queensland and South Australia, and lost upwards of one-tenth inch in its central reading. Another depression appeared in the southern districts of West Australia, and the advance portion of an anticyclone im the north-west corner of that State. Some further light scattered rainfall was reported from the southern districts and coast of New South Wales, as also trom here and there on the seaboard of Queensland. The falls were heavier in West Australia and along parts of the southern districts of the continent. Bunbury had 137 points, Eyre 145, Leeuwin 83, Winning Pool 77, and Perth 75 points. Strong south-west winds, reaching the force of gales, occurred in Victoria and Tasmania, with rough seas in the Straits. Over the area covered by the high pressure, fine weather ruled for the most part. 3y the 12th the Antarctic depression had advanced from West to South Australia, with its centre to the south of Lincoln. It now controlled the weather between Eyre, Charlotte Waters, and Tasmania, where fresh to strong north-west winds and rainy conditions obtained, and moderate to rough seas along the seaboard. Two high pressures were also shown on the isobaric chart, viz., the rear portion of one over the south-eastern States, and July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 593 the advance isobars of another in West Australia. With this distribution, light to moderate raintall occurred along the southern seaboard of the continent and southern districts of New South Wales. During the next twenty-four hours the centre of the ‘low ” travelled south-eastward to Hythe, in Tasmania, the distance covered in one day being 900 miles, which represents about double the normal rate of translation. |All New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the southern portion of South Australia were now under its influence. The south-west quarter of the continent was under anticyclonic control, the highest pressure value being 30-4 inches, in the south-west corner. Fresh to strong south-west to west winds occurred in the region occupied by the depression, and more light to moderate raintall along the south coast districts of Australia. Rough seas also obtained between Cape Borda and Gabo. The disturbance shown over the south-eastern States on 15th, after travelling eastward, reached its greatest intensity just north of Gisborne, in the North Island of New Zealand, where the value of its central reading had fallen as Jow as 29:17 inches, influencing very strong gales and high seas in the vicinity. The depression over the south-eastern States steepened considerably during the following twenty-four hours. At 9 a.m. on the 14th, the lowest pressure value shown on the chart was 29:1 inches on the west coast of Tasmania. This disturbance was unusually energetic, having nine isobars within a radius of 900 miles, and was responsible for strong west to southerly gales over a great area; as also splendid rainfalls in South Australia and New South Wales excepting the north-east corner. In the former State the distribution of rainfall was light between Farina and Powell's Creek, and moderate to very heavy elsewhere, many stations reporting over | inch, and on the Ranges and Lower North over 2 inches. In. New South Wales the heaviest falls were 137 points at Kiandra, 102 at Murrumburrah, 95 at Tumbarumba, 91 at Yass, 87 at Tumut and Deniliquin, 82 each at Bungen- dore and Moulamein, 79 at Marsden’s, 74 at Young, 75 at Albury, and 73 at Adelong ; the remaining amounts were all under 70 points. On the 15th the centre of the low pressure occupied a position between Tasmania and New Zealand, haying travelled in a south-easterly direction since the previous day, and the barometers over Tasmania showed a rise of upwards of ,°, inch. An extensive anticyclone now covered the greater part ot the continent, with its centre in the south-west corner. Some cold weather occurred on the highlands during the week ending the 15th, and snow was reported on three occasions from Kiandra, The lowest temperatures in that period were 24 degrees at Kiandra, 28 degrees at Nimitybelle, Cooma, and Glen Innes, and 29 degrees at Armidale and Coonabarabran. At 9 a.m. on the 16th an anticyclone of medium intensity covered the whole of Australia, with its centre, 30°4 inches, between Port Augusta and Hay. Light showers resulted all along the southern seaboard and in Tasmania. Light to heavy rainfall also occurred over coastal districts of 594 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ July 2, 1908. New South Wales. ‘Tweed Heads had 137, Byron Bay 110, and Clarence 109 points. On the 17th the centre of the “high” had advanced as far as the centre of the coastline, and was associated with frosty, foggy, showery conditions eastward from the highlands. By the 18th this pressure system had expanded eastward to New Zealand, and its centre had passed off the mainland to the ‘Tasman Sea ; a depression was shown in its outer isobars over the eastern States, whilst another appeared on the fringe of the West Australian seaboard. Light rainfall was recorded at scattered places in Northern Australia and along the coast of Queensland ; but the dip in the isobars over New South Wales was attended by an expansion of the rainy conditions as far westward as the centre of the State. The heaviest falls, however, were recorded from the coast and the highlands. Byron Bay had 410 points, Tweed Heads 365, Mullumbimby 198, Jervis Bay 130, and Lismore 111 points. Other amounts approaching 100 points were: Clarence Heads 98, Camden 94, and Casino 80. The remaining falls ranged from | point to 70 points. During the next twenty-four hours the anticyclone travelled eastward about 500 miles, its centre, 30°4 inches, being now shown in the vicinity of Gisborne, in the North Island of New Zealand. The forward movement gave inducement to the establishment of an energetic Antarctic disturbance to the south-west of The Leeuwin. This disturbance resulted in unusually heavy and beneficial rainfall in the western State; 286 points were recorded at Geraldton, 227 at Carnarvon, 200 at Hamelin Pool, 187 at Perth, and 98 at Onslow. Fierce northerly squalls and rough seas were also reported from the south coast. A depression still existed over the eastern States, and was responsible for further light to heavy rain in various districts, chiefly eastern, In New South Wales; it was confined chiefly between the coast and the slopes, although isolated registrations occurred on the plains. The heaviest falls were 584 points at Clarence Heads, 339 at Byron Bay, 236 at Lawson. 158 at Mullumbimby, 154 at Sutton Forest, 140 at Lismore, 139 at Nowra, 125 at Moss Vale, 117 at Newcastle, 110 at Casino, and 109 at Bowral. Many other amounts also approached 100 points. Some heavy falls were also recorded in Queensland, the chief being 150 points at Townsville, 119 at Mackay, 112 at Brisbane, and 105 at Lochnagar. At 9 a.m. on the 20th the centre of the high pressure was well established in New Zealand, having gained ,', inch, which brought its value to 30:5 inches ; and the depression which on the previous day was over the eastern States, had advanced eastward just beyond the coastline. The Antarctic disturbance now covered the area south of lines joining The Leeuwin, Charlotte Waters, and Adelaide, its centre, 29-7 inches, being situated south from Eucla and Eyre, on the Great Australian Bight. The advance portion of another “high” was also shown over West Australia, where further good rainfall was recorded. Nullagine had 158 points, Cossack 126, Menzies 101, and Nungarra 100 points. Fierce squalls, with hail, and rough to very rough seas, were reported from stations on the Great Bight. July 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 595 Many fogs occurred on the tablelands and slopes of New South Wales, and light to heavy rainfall with disturbed seas along the seaboard, the latter being probably due to the existence of steep gradients between the anticyclone in New Zealand and the depression on our coast. On the 21st the centre of the high pressure was still centrally situated in New Zealand, but the main body of it had passed from the mainland of Australia to the Tasman Sea, its former position being occupied by the “ Antarctic low,” which had made its way further eastward, but in a comparatively enervated condition, the centre now being well to the west of Tasmania. Rough seas still persisted along our coastline and in Bass Strait, but the rainy conditions with the disturbance had worked south of New South Wales, causing scattered light to moderate falls along parts of the southern seaboard of the continent and in Victoria. Every day during the week ended the 21st, except the 21st, rainfall was recorded on the coast of New South Wales, in parts heavy, and now and again extending as far westward as the slopes, but the falls there were for the most part hight. On the 20th fogs were very prevalent over the slopes and tablelands, and during the week frosty conditions were reported from many highland stations. ‘Temperatures were comparatively mild during the greater part of the week, on the 20th. not one station being below freezing point, and on the 19th only two, viz., White Clitts 50 degrees, and Euston 31 degrees, both in the Western Division of the State. The lowest reported temperatures were : Kiandra 24 degrees, Nimitybelle 25 degrees, and Rockley, Coonabarabran, and Glen Innes each 29 degrees. At 9 a.m. on the 22nd an anticyclone covered the whole of Australia, with its centre, 30°3 inches, situated between the southern gold-tields of Western Australia and Port Augusta. ‘This distribution of pressure was attended by fine weather inland and light rainfall along the southern seaboard of the continent. Light to moderate rainfall was also recorded at scattered places on the coast of New South Wales, and an isolated heavy fall of 162 points at Neweastle. Within the next forty-e-ght hours, although the anticyclone covered practically the same area as on the 22nd, its centre half gained inch 10 pressure value and expanded both eastward and westward, and on Monday, 25th, extended from Perth in West Australia to Hay in New South Wales. More light raintall occurred at scattered places along the south coast of the continent, but elsewhere fine settled weather prevailed, with south to south- east and easterly winds. On the 26th little or no forward movement was shown in the high-pressure system, but its centre, which was now 30°5 inches, had contracted and again covered an area between the southern gold-tields of Western Australia and the southern part of South Australia. More light rainfall was registered along the coastline between Adelaide and Manning Heads in New South Wales, and strong south-west winds with rough seas occurred between Victoria and Tasmania. Otherwise the weather over the continent was fine generally. 596 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [July 2, 1908. At 9 a.m. on the 27th, the isobaric chart showed an example of pressure distribution over Australia which is typical of the winter season. The isobars of the anticyclone which covered the whole continent were arranged symmetrically around a central area, 30°6 inches in value, located a little to the south-west of Adelaide and Robe. Rough seas occurred along the coast between Wilson’s Promontory and *Neweastle, and cold, frosty conditions prevailed over a very extensive area. In New South Wales frosts were reported from Riverina district and the slopes and tablelands ; light to heavy rainfall was recorded also on our coastline from Kiama to Port Macquarie and at a few places in the Hunter and Manning districts. The heaviest fall was 127 points at Newcastle. By the 28th the centre of the “high,” diminished in value by |!, inch, was shown between Wilson's Promontory and Adelaide. Its most western isobars had also worked a little eastward, allowing space tor the development of a depression in the western district of West Australia, which at 9 a.m. appeared in the south-west corner, but during the previous night had probably aftected the more northern portion of that State, for light to heavy raintall was recorded west of a line Joining Onslow in the north-west and Esperance on the south coast. The heaviest registrations were: Winning Pool 215 points, Cape Leeuwin 158, Perth 80, Bunbury 63, and Carnarvon 62, the remaining amounts being under 50 points. On the coastline of New South Wales, light to moderate rainfall was registered between Crookhaven and Port Macquarie. On the 29th the anticyclone which, during the past week, had controlled the weather of the continent, was shown over the eastern half, somewhat enervated, with its centre covering the greater portion of the south-eastern States. Another “high” had appeared in West Australia, and between the two systems was the depression, which had moved about 600 miles eastward trom Albany since the previous day after having caused extensive, though for the most part light, rains in West Australia. During the week ended the 29th very low temperatures were registered in many inland districts. Rockley and Kiandra had the lowest, 18 degrees on the 26th; Glen Innes 22 degrees, Nimitybelle 25 degrees, Armidale and Coonabarabran 27 degrees, Coolamon and Murrumburrah 28 degrees, and Orange, Tenterfield, and Inverell each 29 deerees. A considerable change was effected by the 30th in the distribution of atmospheric pressure, for the rear isobars of the anticyclone had expanded westward about 1,000 miles, the system as a whole having an elongated shape, with its highest barometric values along our coastline. With this alteration in the arrangement of the isobars, the northern portion of an Antarctic depression appeared over the Great Bight, extending from the Leeuwin to Cape Otway. During the month of May, the rainfall over New South Wales was for the inost part below the average. Only a few stations, and those widely scattered, had falls in excess of the average. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 597 The pressure systems which travelled across Australia were all more or less of the winter description, the anticyclones being of huge dimensions, and covering the whole of the continent. Consequently, some very low tempera- tures were experienced at many stations in the various subdivisions of the State. The distribution of the rainfall in New South Wales during May, 1908, was as follows : Departure from normal. Points. Above. 3elow. North Coast from 262 to 354 Hunter and Manning 5 35 to 449 Metropolitan 3 = 172 to 339 South Coast aA — 54 to 434 Northern Tableland * — 121 to 191 Central Tableland oF 21 to 259 Southern Tableland 26 to 241 North-western Slope Sy 17 to 232 Central-western Slope 8 118 to 162 South-western Slope a 34 to NGS North-western Plain ms _ 95 to 198 Central-western Plain a — 59 to 166 Riverina Pe 10 to 116 Western Division ms : 7 to 144 COMPARISON WITH INDIA. The following is a statement showing a brief comparison of the chief meteorological elements over India, together with Australia as far as data are available, for the month of May, 1908 :-— Departure from normal. GeneratiConditiens Pressure: ; Tes (referring to State as a whole). | pours inches, degrees. | India a fee +01 +08 | Dry. Sydney (N.S.W.) ... +05 | +1°5 Below normal, excepting at a few | scattered places, chiefly on Southern Tablelands and Slopes, and on North Coast. Melbourne (Victoria) — “02 —10 Rainfall above normal over Western half ; normal in North and North- east. Considerably below elsewhere, especially in South-east. Adelaide (S.A.) .. +02 =F Wet. Perth (W.A.) ao — Ol —0'8 | Kimberley and Eastern Gold fields, and | portion of extreme South-west below normal ; elsewhere above. Judging from the above table, India and Sydney have been respectively dry and below normal chiefly, with both pressure and temperature in excess. Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth, on the other hand, have had rainfall for the most part above normal, with either both elements in defect, or one in excess and the other in defect. 598 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ July 2, 1908. Seasonable Notes. GEO. L. SUTTON. Wheat Kxperimentalist. Spring Crops. The 1908 planting season is now over, and, as the planting is completed, the teams should be utilised to commence ploughing for next season’s crops, both spring and autumn, Land intended for spring crops should be broken up at once and harrowed down at favourable opportunities, to conserve the moisture and bring it into good tilth. In the past, spring and summer crops have failed in many districts, not because the crop or climate was unsuitable, but because the preparation of the soil had been wrong. ‘To plough the ground in the customary way, just before the crop is to be planted, is to court failure unless the district is favoured with abundant rains after the planting. To plough and winter- tallow Jand intended for summer crops is to eliminate a large amount of that element of speculation regarding their success which has characterised such cropping in the past. To plant such crops in drills and to cultivate the soil between the drills is to ensure success in any season but one of absolute drought. Fallowing. Land intended for next season’s rape and wheat crops should, if possible, be ploughed during the winter, and before the harvest commences. This will be found beneficial in all our wheat districts, but will be particularly beneficial in districts where the autumn rainfall is scanty or uncertain. In such districts, with the ploughing done in the winter and the fallow worked during the summer, planting can take place in the autumn with every certainty of the seed germinating when it is planted. This is the practice followed at Coolabah, and there the wheat is up and looking as well as could be desired, though with the ordinary practice in vogue of ploughing just before seeding, sufficient rain has not fallen to admit of ploughing being performed and to germinate the seed. Old Cultivation Paddocks. Inquiries are to hand as to the most suitable grasses to sow in old cultivation paddocks. Difticulty is experienced in replying satisfactorily to these, as it is almost impossible to obtain seed of our native grasses, which are the most valuable for this purpose, and in addition, there is very little information available as to which grasses are most suitable for different July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 599 districts when sown in cultivated land. Seeing the value and importance of grasses to landholders in this State, there should be on every holding at least a small plot devoted to the trial of grasses. Those who desire to do so can obtain small trial packets of many of our native and other grasses trom the Cowra Experiment Farm. Of the grasses of which seed can be obtained, Rhodes Grass will probably be found admirably suitable for planting in the wheat districts, but sufticient experience has not been obtained to warrant recommending the extensive planting of it. A reminder is given that there are two varieties of Rhodes Grass, viz., Chloris Gayana and Chloris virgata. Chloris Gayana will probably be more suitable for dry conditions than C. virgata, Assuming that the object of planting the cultivation paddocks with grass is to renovate and clean them, these objects can be profitably, and possibly more expeditiously, obtained in another way, by planting rape in such paddocks next February. ‘To ensure success the ground should be broken uy: now and worked during the summer. Tf this be done the rape can be planted in February with every prospect that it will provide green, succulent feed during the autumn and winter. By feeding off the rape, wild oats, and other weeds which grow, the land will be improved, and by ploughing in the winter or spring before the oat seeds, the weeds will be killed and the paddock cleaned, Rape. Reports are to hand of aphis attacking early sown rape. Such attacks, though expected in the warm spring, are unusual in the cold autumn, and are possibly due to the dry weather experienced. Sheep evince a reluctance to graze such rape, but eventually take to it if kept on it. The remedy seems to be to keep the early sown rape eaten down until the cold weather sets in. The value and advantages of rape ave being more and more realised by farmers each year, and, in consequence, the area planted with it is Imcreasing, and it will still further increase as its possibilities are realised. This year a tarmer in the Cowra district planted rape at the beginning of the year, fattened sheep on it, and then ploughed the ground, which is now seeded with wheat. This instance shows how rapid is the growth ot the rape plant, and, 77 districts where the rainfall renders such intense cultivation possible, what profit can be derived from its cultivation. 600 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. | July 2, 1908. Orchard Notes. W. J. ALLEN. ~* < JULY. Planting and Refilling Orchards..-Good seasonable rains bave fallen in many parts of the State during the last month, and in consequence the soil has been in splendid condition for the planting of new orchards, and refilling in those already established... If such planting has not been completed, see that it is finished this month, as the sooner now that young deciduous trees and vines are planted the better. Pruned Cieopatra Apple-tree (12 years old). Varieties of Apples to Plant for Export. —Up to the present we have only proved a few of the many varieties of apples we are growing to be suitable for export, the two best being Cleopatra and Jonathan ; Munvoe’s Favourite, Five Crown, and Granny Smith are also very good. The Buncombe is an apple which is doing well in our cooler climates, but is rather lacking in July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 601 flavour, and does not colour quite early enough for the English market. The Rome Beauty is also a good keeper and good flavoured variety, but it, too, ripens somewhat too late for the Continental market, though it would suit the American market. Esopus Spitzenberg does remarkably well in many of our apple-growing districts, but up to the present we have not tested its carrying quality, Pomme de Neige is a beautiful medium-sized dessert apple for the local market. Fair Sample of unpruned Cleopatra Apple-tree (12 years old), Pruning.—This work should be completed this month, in order to give the orchardist time to apply the yearly spraying of either lime and sulpbur, or Bordeaux mixture. At our Wagga orchard we have used the following winter spray with excellent results:—Take 12 1b. of sulphur and 6 Ib. of properly slacked lime, and boil in 100 gallons of water for three or four hours. At the Agricultural Experiment Station, Illinois, United States of America, the following spray has been found the cheapest and best :—15 Ib. of best lime, and an equal weight of sulphur to 50 gallons of water. The sulphur, after being mixed with enough water to form a thin paste, was put into 12 gallons of water, nearly at the boiling point—the lime was then added, 602 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ July 2, 1908. and the mixture boiled for forty minutes with the necessary stirring. ‘The whole was strained into a 50-gallon tank, which was then filled with water. This latter is claimed to be the most effective out of eleven sprays tested in the destruction of San José scale. [t is important that the operator should bear in mind that solutions made by stirring the sulphur into the hot water first, and adding the lime to this mixture, are more efficient than if the order of procedure is reversed. Citrus Crop.—Notwithstanding the fact that the past season has been a very unfavourable one, there can be seen in some of our young citrus orchards some of the finest crops of oranges as regards size, quality, and crop that one could wish to see. The older trees, however, in many places, have very light crops. From time to time inquiries are received as to the cost of the various chemicals used for the different sprays and fumigating. Herewith is a list which will be of interest to growers, showing the latest quotations : (JuoTATION FROM Two WHOLESALE Houses. 12 Cyanide of Potassium 7 lb. lots, @ Is. 2d. per Ib. 56 Ib. lots, @ Is. per Ib. Aas soos: de > se l ews. 5, LOd.* 5; 25-5 Sess de Sulphuric Acid.. 40 lb. jar @ 2d. per Ib. Fish Oil ... ... 1 gallon lots, @ 4s. per gallon; taking 10 gallons, 3s. 6d. per gallon. Lesin— 1 lb. lots, @ 2d. per lb. 112 lb. @ 12s. per ewt. O85 se beds. S. Soda. -=.. ... ld. per lb., 5s. per cwt. Bluestone 7 lb. lots, @ 5d. per Ib. 1 Og are eda: - 30s, per cwt 2. Cyanide of Potassium— 7 lb. lots, @ Is. per Ib. 1 ewt. lots, @ 93d. per oD) 6 », 10d. 5 Sulphurie Acid - 5 lb. for Is. 6d. 40 lb. for Ss. 6d. OTS 45 12s Sd: 1GOGen se eos: 20) Fen ROSIE. dl. Fish Oil— 1 gallon for 5s. 5 gallons ., 21s. 3d. > Note. —-Casing and packing extra. ) lt as ,, 4ls: Resin 7 Ib. lots, @ 2d. per Ib. 28 lb. lots, @ 13d. per lb. Me es 5 «3 gd: = Ay DI oe? 5) 12s. 6d> “ericws:- Soda 7 lb. lots, for 7d. 28 lb. lots, for 1s. 9d Nae, 55% LST Ih PAs 5, os 6d. per ew. Bluestone 7 lb. tots, @ 43d. per Ib. 28 Ib. lots, @ 34d. per lb. Was 55 sy aa: v3 lewti.: =45-008) %; cits Suitable scales can be obtained from any of the Tronmongery establishments, from Is. 6d. upwards. = July 2, 1905. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 608 farm Notes. HAWKESBURY DIstRicr—JULY. Hew. PODS: THE weather conditions during last month were seasonable, Frosts prevailed early, and, in consequence, the couch and other useful grasses have suffered. The rains have been light and farming operations are well forward. Moisture in the soil is by no means ample, and it is diflicult at this stage to forecast the ultimate crop returns. The early sown wheat, barley, and oats are looking well. . The maize harvest may be completed this month. The earlier collected maize will be dry enough at this stage for husking and shelling. The crops have been very light this year, and, in many instances, a failure. The preparation of the land intended for our main crop, maize, must have attention this month. The Hawkesbury Valley soils, unlike those of the more favoured northern rivers, are not so rich in plant food ; moreover, they have been cropped longer, and hence manuring and cultivation are essential as well as moisture to ensure a profitable crop. Those who adopted the sensible course of growing cowpeas last summer as a fertilising crop will secure a benefit, as will also those who put in a cover crop of rape in autumn, The latter has given good results following on the ample rainfall in February. Where the crop has been grazed by sheep or pigs the land has been c’eared and restored to normal fertility, especially suitable for the deep-rooted maize plant. This month the heavier stiff soils should be subsoiled to loosen and stir them, to enable them to absorb all rainfall, and hold as a reservoir. The moisture-storage capacity of the subsoils is a leading factor in the successful growth of the crop. Land may also be got ready and cultivated for early summer crops such as millet, sorghum, pumpkins, and marrows. Wheats: The last sowings of wheats for the season may now be put in, and where barley is required for grain, such as the English and Cape varieties may be sown. Skinless barley may also be sown for a continuation of hay supphes. The last crops of oats may be sown. The quickly growing crops of rape and mustard are worthy of further attention, and may be grown as catch crops on land that may be ulilised for maize or sorghum, 604 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [July 2, 1908. Garden Notes. W. SANDERSON. + JULY. As July is generally a cold month very little growth can be expected from seedlings that have recently been planted out ; however, the frosty weather will do a large amount of good in checking many insect pests, especially cabbage moth, which causes so much trouble. Fig. 1—A small glass-covered frame, Harsh westerly winds frequently prevail during this month, which are a considerable drawback to the garden, making the soil very dry, consequently the plants will require plenty of water to keep them growing. Watering soil that has become very smooth and hard is practically of little use ; in fact, it is only so much water wasted, It is better to have the soil in a loose, rough condition so that the water can soak in, and mulch the surface July 2, 1998. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 605 with old rotten straw, grass, leaves or any litter that will prevent evaporation of the moisture that is absolutely essential to the production of good vegetables, In the warmer or coastal districts some preparation should be made now tor raising seedlings; for this purpose a frame may be made that will answer the purpose and the cost of which will be almost nil. Obtain any rough timber, slabs, boards or old cases for the sides and ends——a convenient size would be 6 feet long by 3 ft. 6 in. wide, 3 feet high at the back, sloping to | ft. 6in. in front; glass is generally used for a covering, but provision must be made for ventilation. This is most easily obtained by inserting a piece of stick under one edge of the glass covering (See Fig. 1). rig.2.—A rough frame covered with hessian. A blind made of hessian on a roller should als» be provided, to lower over the glass when any shade is required, or the young plants may be burnt off. This frame should now be half filled with fresh stable manure, on which should be placed 5 or 6 inches of bush rakings or leaf mould. Sufficient heat will be immediately developed to start any seeds planted ip it. The seeds should be sown in shallow boxes or pans and placed in the surface soil to a depth of 3 to 4 inches. Instead of the glass covering a blind of hessian may be used, as shown in Fig. 2; but if wet weather sets in the manure soon los:s its heat, and the seedlings die off with the cold. 606 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. July 2, 1908. When the heat in the frame is dying, the seed boxes or pans may be removed while a little fresh manure is mixed through that already in the frame, or a quantity of fresh stable manure can be pied up against the outside ; this will create sufficient heat to bring the seedlings along. When they are strong enough they should be pricked out into boxes and hardened off, in any warm and sheltered place; subsequently transplanting them into their permanent position when all danger from frosts is past. The shght trouble entailed raising early plants is amply repaid, as they will come in at a time when fresh vegetables are rather scarce. Any new ground that is to be added to the vegetable garden should be well « worked now; manure should be put in at the same time, so that it will be well rotted before any crop is sown in the spring. If the manuring is deferred until the planting out of seedlings, the chances are that if a dry spring follows, instead of the manure benefiting the plants it will tend to create heat, and do more harm than good, unless a good supply of water is available, For spring planting it would be well to choose seeds and plants of the very best varieties, sorts that will suit the summer months, especially the cabbage family. For instance, St. John’s Day Cabbage invariably produces good heads quickly ; whereas many other sorts fail or take so long to produce hearts that the cabbage moth ruins any chance they might have had. The same applies to other vegetables, and even if a little more has to be paid for good seeds or plants it is well to do so, and insist on having the best—they are the cheapest and most profitable in the end. When sowing seed, especially cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli, care should be taken not to sow the seed too thickly. Thick sowing is a great mistake as the seedlings become leggy, with very little substance in them, and frequently much trouble is experienced in getting them to make a start when planted out; whereas, if the seed had been sown thinly they would have been sturdy, well- grown and strong-rooted plants, and when raised for transplanting they would carry a fair quantity of soil on their rootlets, consequently they would hardly feel the shift. In districts free from frost, any sutticiently advanced seedlings of tomato, cucumber, and capsicum may be planted out. Asparagus —lf a bed is to be established, lose no time in getting the plants and setting them out. Attend to any established plants ; a heavy dressing cf well-rotted dung should be forked in, avoid cutting the crown of the plants during the operation. Broad b-ans.—In the cooler districts a sowing might be made, and any early plantings should be cultivated theroughly, for by this time they should be making good headway. Carrots.—Sow se-d in any land that was well manured and a crop of cabbage has been taken off ; this is the best possible preparation of the ground for carrots. Sow early varieties, such as Short Horn, «&e. July 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.STIV. 607 Leek. —Sow a little seed and transplant any seedlings that are available in good land, and those that are coming along might have a little earth drawn up to them to blanch the stems. Endive.—Plant any seedlings that are sufticiently grown. This salad vegetable is very useful, the peculiar bitter flavour making it very much appreciated by many people. Peas.—Sow a few rows and keep any previous or growing crops well cultivated ; also see that they have plenty of support in the way of sticks to prevent the heavy winds from destroying the hauls. Spinach.—Sow a little seed and plant out any seedlings that may be veady. Spinach is well worth growing in every garden, for, apart from being easily grown, it produces more for the space of ground occupied than many other vegetables. Turnips. —Thin out any seedlings that are coming on, and keep them growing so that they will not be pithy or strong. Herbs. —See that the stock of herbs is not getting low ; there should always be plenty for the kitchen use. Flowers. This is a very good time of year to undertake any alterations in the flower garden in the way of making new borders, grass plots, lawns, walks, «e. Hedges might also be trimmed up or new ones planted. For making hedges, there are many varieties of plants to choose from. Amongst those which look very well are, Saltbush, Duranta Plumierii, Hawthorn (May), Olive (common), Pittosporum (of varieties), and Japanese Privet (Ligustrum lucidum). All deciduous plants might now be put out. For making some early bloom many varieties may be obtained, such as Deutzia, Diervilla or Weigelia, Guelder Rose, Pomegranate, Magnolia, Spirea, Lilac, double-flowering Plums of varieties (Prunus triloba aud Prunus mume), also double-flowering Peach, Cherry, and Hawthorn of various colours. Any of these should have a place in the garden as they make a mass of bloom in the »p:ing and are very attractive. Dahlias should now be taken up and stored until the next planting season. Chrysanthemums may be dug up and the young offshoots rooted for spring planting as they produce better blooms than when the old clumps are allowed to remain for flowering next year. If sutticient seedlings of spring flowering plants have not been raised they should be put in at once. Any pansies that have not been planted out. should be attended to as soon as possible. 608 and | ao ae g as |fe| 8a Baleares haze as 8 S Sh | eit | Gee: = c= 3 23 Name of Bore. | 28 | $5 5 25 | 85) 35 ge\heE | & £5 | #3 | £2 | 63 | #8 | 28 |B6|28|a2 |2e|c2 | 2 | “2 | Ss) | RIO o | 5 = al = | 5 > | 3 | = Bee | fa | Moree ... .» | 39°259 | 1°101 | "642 2953) 75029) melee. Red Altes trace | 1°456 | 49°782 | | | Pera AAG baal oor 183), 1225 | “$49 | “402 | G00 | "tel eal eee | Se See: | 1:064 | 45°076 | | | Quambone ...| 28:280| -493 | 1°800 | :399 | 27099 | ... | ... | 504] ... |trace| 1°596 | 35-224 | | Speaking generally, the saline substance in artesian water consists chiefly of carbonate and chloride of soda. The carbonate of soda not only dissolves Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricuitural Gazette of N.S.W. 611 and destroys the humus in the soil, it also attacks and combines with silica a substance knowa in domestic circles as and produces silicate of soda “ waterglass,’ which is used on account of its cementing properties for pre- serving eggs. It is also used for cementing together sand, in the manufacture of grindstones. The cementing and hardening properties of the silicate thus formed are very clearly seen when testing the capillarity of soil which has been irrigated with bore-water. The capillary rise of water in unirrigated soil (light loam) from Pera is 10 inches in three hours, and only ? of an inch in twenty-four hours in the same class of soil which had been irrigated with alkaline water. The capillary power of unirrigated soil (stiff clay) from the vicinity of the Moree bore is 3$ inches in three hours, and soil selected from a channel along which the artesian water had been running, showed a capillary rise of 2 of an inch in three hours, and only 14 inch in forty-eight hours. It has also been noticed at the Moree farm lucerne plots, where the water was run along furrows 8 to 10 feet apart, that before the centre was soaked the plants near the furrows were drowned, unless great care was exercised. It was, therefore, found necessary to resort to flooding quickly with a good flow of water. The estimated area of the great artesian basin is 364,000,000 acres (more than ten times the area of England), 53,000,000 acres being situated in New South Wales. A method which would successfully and economically correct the injurious effects of artesian water would be of immense value; while a scheme that would not only correct those evils, but convert the soil into a condition of extreme fertility, would be of incalculable value. Milton Whitney, Chief of the Bureau of Soil, United States Department of Agriculture, when writing of American alkaline soils in Bulletin No. 21, says: “The subject of alkali has been a source of much anxiety to our western people, and the vast injury that has been done through the occurrence of alkah has prejudiced outsiders in irrigation enterprises to such an extent that In many communities the subject has been exceedingly unpopular, and any reference to it in connection with certain localities has been vigorously opposed and criticised. “The value of this alkali land is nominal, the greater part of it being priced at $10 per acre or less. Were this land in a fertile condition, its value under irrigation would be at least $75 per acre. If it can be brought into a state of fertility its value will, therefore, be increased $65 (£153) per acre.” A scheme which would increase the value of that portion of the 364,000,000 acres suitable for irrigation by, say, £1 per acre, is worth more than a passing thought; in fact, it would be an achievement of the greatest national importance. It occurred to me that the alkali in our artesian waters could be neutralised by nitric acid, and thereby converted into a valuable fertiliser—nitrate of soda—upon which the world has been spending, for agricultural purposes, something ike £14,000,000 per year. In order to test this idea in a practica 612 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. | dug. 3, 1908. manner, I obtained some alkaline soil which had been under irrigation by artesian water, and on September 28th, 1906, filled three 6-inch flower-pots with the soil, No. 1 being the soil as obtained, Nos. 2 and 3 were treated with nitric acid. Two grains of wheat were sown in each pot and allowed to mature. The wheat was cut on January 28th, 1907, and the grain weighed, which gave the following results :— No. 1, untreated 2°65 grammes of wheat. No. 2, treated 11°30 No. 3 x 14-40 99 rd 99 99 The latter showed more than five times the yield of the first named, which was considered a very satisfactory result. In order to make quite sure, I repeated the ex- periment in duplicate on February 2nd, 1907, and the illustrations, Figs. 1 and 2, show the latter series of ex- periments; andalthough the season (winter) was against the growth and ripening of the grain, the results showed an increase of from eight to ten fold. The pot on the left of each illustration, Nos. 1 and 5, contain the alka- line soil untreated; the other pots contain the same soil in which the injurious effects of the alkali have been cor- rected- by the addition of nitric acid. Nos. 2 Fig. 1. and 6 received ‘2 per cent., Nos. 3 and 7 re- ceived *5 per cent., and Nos. 4 and 8 received 1 per cent. nitric acid. Two grains only were grown in each pot; consequently it is fair to assume that the ‘ stooling”’ properties of wheat are greatly assisted by the process, and as the pots containing *2 per cent. nitric acid showed an increase in yield practically equal to those contaming 1 per cent., it is only reasonable to suppose that the same result would be obtained by the use of a’much lower percentage of acid. Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 613 From these experiments, which must be regarded as purely of a pre- liminary nature, it is quite impossible to attempt to estimate the cost, and until the experiment has been tried in the field, on a comparatively large area, I would prefer not to express an opinion on this point. Mr. F. B. Guthrie, Chemist, Department of Agriculture, on seeing the photographs of this experiment, sent to Moree for some alkaline soil, in order to ascertain, by experiment, the smallest quantity of nitric acid necessary to correct the poisonous properties of the alkali. The Moree soil, when wet, 1s naturally a very sticky clay, and in a com- paratively short time, under the influence of the alkali, “ puddles” to such an extent as to render percolation practically out of the question. The soil used for the follow- ing experiment was specially selected from an old drain or chan- nel which had been alternately saturated with bore-water, and dry, for the past nine years. It was very hard and tough when dry, and in order to bring it into something hike a suitable condi- tion or tilth, it was necessary to use a ham- mer to pulverise the clods. It was strongly alkaline, and contained sufficient carbonates and chlorides to pre- vent the proper growth of cereals. The pots, nine in number, were sown with wheat on June Fiz. 2. 15th, 1907; germina- tion was excellent. four plants only were allowed to grow in each pot. No. 1 contained the untreated alkaline soil as obtained, No. 2 was treated with :002 per cent. nitric acid, No. 5 -004 per cent., No. 4-008 per cent., and so on up to No. 8; No. 9 received °25 per cent. nitric acid. The illustration, from a photograph (Fig. 3), represents four of the pots on September 13th, 1907, and was taken in order to record the date on which the benefit of the treatment became clear. The plants in No. 1 made very little progress after that date, and practically remained stationary ; all the t wen SY as 614 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [-dug. 3, 1908. plants in the treated pots, from that date, grew in a startling manner. No. 2 contained twelve ears 55 inches long, which was a remarkably good crop, when the past history of the soil 1s taken into consideration. On October 4th, 1907, all the plants in the treated soil looked remarkably well, the ears of wheat varying in size and number according to the quantity of acid added to the soil. The ears of Nos. 6, 7, & and 9, were from 5 to 6 inches long; No. 9 contained forty ears—that is, ten ears from each grain of wheat sown. The experiment was conducted in a vegetable garden connected with the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. On October 15th, 1907, a cow managed to find ¥ 3 ‘ : : \: Fig. 3. her way into that garden, and completely destroyed the experiment by eating the wheat. This was a great disappointment, which was intensified by the fact that the cow walked over and did not touch the cabbages, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, &c., which were growing in the garden. It was, however, a very agreeable surprise to learn that the toxic properties of the alkali were corrected by such a small amount (002 per cent.) of nitric acid. To treat an acre 6 inches deep with that percentage, the nitric acid would cost, if produced by modern methods, about 2s. 6d. per acre. There is another very important use for nitric acid in connection with agriculture. For many years the application of sulphuric acid to rock Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 615 phosphates, for the manufacture of superphosphates, has been successfully practised, and the enormous influence which the introduction of super- phosphate has had on the development of agriculture may be gathered from the quantity now annually employed by farmers. The annual manufacture of superphosphates in the world is about 6,000,000 tons. As regards agricultural needs, it is evident that nitrate of lime, closely related as it is to nitrate of soda, has before it almost unlimited prospects, which are daily increasing. It is already well known that all nitrates of alkalies or of lime are as good manure as nitrate of soda. It occurred to me that rock phosphates treated with nitric acid—instead of sulphuric acid—would produce nitrate of lime and water-soluble phos- phorie acid, or nitrated calcium superphosphate. In order to test in a practical manner the manurial value of superphosphate manufactured by each acid, some samples were prepared, the procedure being otherwise similar to that usual in the manufacture of superphosphate. Some strongly alkaline soil from Moree was procured for the experiment. Fig. 4 illustrates the result, and shows clearly the su- periority of the nitrated phosphates. Pot No. 9, unmanured soil; No. 10, manured with 5 grammes Te : Viton ™e,,, neterenehr SORE Dea. ALS LE fh. nitrated superphosphate ; No. 11, manured with 5 grammes ordinary super- phosphate. The pots were sown on June 8th, 1907, with four grains of wheat in each pot; germination was excellent. Only two plants were allowed to mature in each case. The foliage of No. 9 was more yellow than green ; No. 10 was a rich dark- green, and very vigorous; No. 11 was not a healthy green. In view of the extra- ordinary results of this ex- periment, it is only reason- able to assume that the nitric nitrogen corrects the toxic properties of the alkali, and restores the soil Fig. 4 616 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ dug. 3, 1908. to a high state of fertility. Nitrated calcium superphosphate should be of immense value, not only asa fertiliser for ordinary soils, but also in conjunction with our artesian irrigation with alkaline waters. The expense of packing and transport would not be higher than for ordinary superphosphate, and it would be particularly applicable to that portion of the artesian area where the pressure of the bore is not sufficient to produce “nitric acid. The mechanical power derivable from the pressure given in the outflow from artesian wells (some of them give a pressure so high as 150 lb. per square inch) could probably be turned to account in producing, on the spot, electro- chemical nitric acid from the atmosphere, a process which is now being carried out in Europe at a cost of £8 3s. 6d. per ton. This process for con- verting atmospheric nitrogen into nitric acid offers some novel features which render it particularly applicable to our unique conditions, the high pressure bores providing the power to produce from the atmosphere an antidote for their own toxicity, and thereby enormously increasing the fertility of the soil, and rendering us independent of a precarious rainfall. The workers of one process state that they obtained a maximum output of 440 kilos (970 lb.) nitric acid per kilowatt year, when using a current of 0°05 ampére of 6,000 to 10,000 periods per second, at 50,000 volts, each arc absorbing 2°5 kilowatts. So that 2°5 kilowatts (about 5-4 h.p.) produced 1-1 ton of nitric acid per year. A plant such as that mentioned could be duplicated according to the power available. There would not be any expensive transport, or packing of the acid, and it would be quite unnecessary to concentrate it for our purpose, which would mean a considerable reduction in the cost of the plant and working expenses. As the cost of raw material and power 1s nothing— an occurrence unique in the industrial world—it is simply a question of plant, working expenses, and intelligent supervision, and the enormous advantage of this process is apparent when working on such a large area. In connection with the question of power derivable from artesian bores, Professor Mason writes:—‘ It would be difficult to find an artesian field more deserving of study, or more interesting to the investigator, than the one underlying the south-eastern corner of the United States, and which is tapped by the wells of northern Florida,—notably that of the Ponce de Leon at St. Augustine. “The pressure was found to be 17 lb. to the inch, and the flow 10,000,000 of gallons in twenty-four hours. A turbine wheel fed by this flow maintained 120 incandescent lights at 16 candle-power, proving that the well was capable of supplying a force equal to 15 horse-power. “ Concerning the maintenance of the supply, we are possessed of informa- tion upon which to form a judgment. There are now in the town of St. Augustine and its immediate vicinity, in the neighbourhood of fifty artesian wells, varying in diameter from 2 to 12 inches, and exactly the same force exists to-day as when the first well was driven—about ten years ago. Another ground for believing that the supply of water is so abundant that it will “i Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 617 pare spins a | Government Geologist. Photo.'by E. F. Pittman, Esq. | Tenandra Bore. 618 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Aug. 3, 1908. prove equal to any possible draught upon it by artesian wells les in the unvarying pressure indicated by the very sensitive gauge of the electrical apparatus operated by the 12-inch well, surrounded as it is by wells on all sides being used in constantly varying quantities. “ Again, the increase in the diameter of the wells has been attended by more than a proportionate flow. “ While the dynamo was being operated by the 12-inch well a 6-inch well in its vicinity was turned on and off suddenly to test the steadiness of the force, but the closest observation did not detect the slightest trembling of the gauge.” Mr. Gibbons Cox, C.E., has dealt with this question in his book on “ Trrigation and Land Drainage.” He says: “ The value of artesian water for irrigation purposes does not by any means exhaust the benefits derivable from the bores. Over the artesian areas of New South Wales and Queensland alone, amounting to 528,000 square miles, it 1s admissible to predict a great increase in the number of bores and a much larger outflow of water. As the natural rainfall is thus augmented by an increased water supply, settle- ment will proportionately increase, and with it a greater demand for labour- saving appliances to meet the various requirements of station and farm. In New South Wales and Queensland, for instance, there are 897 artesian bores running night and day, and, according to careful scientific calcula- tions of the capacity of absorption of the average rainfall by the water- bearing rocks, they may be increased, as heretofore shown, forty-fold. The bores are all running under well-known laws that govern the movement and pressure of water. That pressure may be utilised in the simplest, most economical, and effective manner for work now done by the more costly and cumbersome modes of steam and horse power. — - “These bore pressures are exceptionally great, and are equivalent to those very high heads of falling water a source of pressure, as applied to turbines or water-motors, much in request of late in Europe and America for working ordinary machinery, and for the generation of electricity for lighting, for locomotive, and for manulacturimg purposes. “The use of water for the purposes of power dates back to the early centuries, and, even with the crude and primitive means then available, was made to subserve many useful purposes. It is, however, only within a comparatively short time that it has come to be recognised as the most practicable and potent of all the elemental forces, destined, in the near future, to do a large part in the world’s work. The practice, which has so long prevailed, of appropriating only the larger streams, with low heads, allowing the higher lands to go to waste, is attended with so many difficulties and such expense, as to make a power so obtained often of questionable expediency. The old style of huge water-wheels has had its day. The modern turbine offers so many advantages for the general utilisation of all these sources of energy, that streams or waterways favourably situated for power purposes are now being eagerly sought for and appropriated. By its iT. a Rees Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 619 < os te ‘ i sua - # oe ee c , - af g , j 5 PS a are By Flow 700.000 Gala, Temp, H2% Fai SOvEPRINIES 2m NS Gil Gil Bore, Moree District. 620 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Aug. 3, 1908. use the entire force, or pressure, from artesian flows obtainable can be made available for all industrial purposes, with a greatly reduced cost, wider range of application, and fuller adaptation to varying requirements, than has before been realised. Nothing in a mechanical way has so signally and quickly proved its own usefulness, as well as its right to the first place in hydraulie- power appliances. Every stream or waterfall, amd every bore outflow, is a mine of energy that, by means of this most simple appliance, can be con- verted directly into useful effect, with almost entire absence of machinery, and made available for any desired purpose, with a high degree of efficiency and comparatively small outlay. : eS os Photo. by E. F. Pittman, Esq. | {Government Geologist. Yarrawin Bore. “The following bore pressures (which may be taken as representative ones) are from the New South Wales Government Report (1905), the other calculations bemg made by myself. It will be seen that bore pressures are of a very high value, as shown by the equivalent pressures from the high heads of falling water :— Pressure, 1b. per Equivalent Head, Effective horse-power, sq. inch. in feet of falling per Pelton wheel, : water. 2 feet diameter. Belalie se 187 es 430 ae 67 Enngonia sa 165 ee 580 tka 56 Gal Gail os 101 ie 250 He 27 Pilliga me 109 P 250 i 50 Tooloora Fe 126 ee 290 AG 37 Careunga ag 120 ae 280 Bae a) Oreel ep 190 aot 440 ioe 69 Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 621 “Tt will be seen from the above table that there are inconsistencies in the pressure, as there are in the flows from artesian bores. It is generally, but erroneously, thought that the greater the pressure the higher the water rises above the surface, and that so in proportion is the flow greater. This is not the case. The discharge depends upon three factors: (1) the pressure under which the flow takes place; (2) the depth, diameter, and conditions of the bore itself; and (5) the nature and character of the stratum in which the flow is obtained. The ascertaiming of (1) is an easy matter; (2) is, of course, known in the sinking of the bore; but (5) cannot be directly known. For instance, the flow from a thick seam of low porosity might be equivalent to a thinner seam of greater porosity. A bore with a very low flow—say, 30,000 gallons per diem—when closed might indicate a pressure of 150 lb. to the square inch, and, owing to the low porosity of the water-bearing stratum, which must certainly control the volume discharged, might take considerable time to reach this pressure. Another bore might have a much greater flow— say, 1,000,000 gallons—but, owing to the high porosity of the stratum, and a constantly free flow when closed, show a pressure of only 50 lb. to the square inch. Take, for example, two bores of equal diameter and pressure, but with different thicknesses of water-bearing stratum, of equal porosity, it is evident that the bore which penetrates to the thicker stratum must have the greater discharge. With variations, subject to conditions, there is a workable pressure from all flowing bores. ‘““ Where power is to be derived from the higher pressure of artesian bores, or an extremely high fall, the use of the ordinary impulse and reaction turbine is rendered impossible—the one because of the enormous stresses which would be set up in the machinery; the other because of the prohibitively high speed which would be developed. With such bore pressure, or falls, an enginé of the simplest construction is desirable, and one in which a reasonably high speed is obtained without undue strain on the working parts, Such a form of engine 1s found in what is known as the Pelton wheel, if this be intelligently designed. The engine consists essentially of a stout wheel, upon the periphery of which a number of specially shaped buckets, or vanes, are secured. The wheel is rotated by the impulse of the rapidly moving jets, working tangentially against the lowermost vanes, and the power developed is conveyed through the shaft. The power is regulated by a sliding valve, or sluice, behind the nozzle. The action of the vane, or bucket, on the wheel is to divide the jet into two equa! parts, each of which glides over the curved surface of the vane, and is deflected backward until it is discharged from the wheel with practically no velocity. “In falling water, the water in a state of pressure from gravity, is led through nozzles into the vanes of the wheel. In artesian flows, the water is likewise led through nozzles into the vanes—also in a state of pressure due to gravity of the body of water held in the water-bearing rocks lying above the level of the bore site; so that, in practical effect, there is no difference between the two sources of supply, the final application being in both cases the same. 622 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ dug. 3, 1908. cor [his form of water-motor is specially adapted to utilise the pressure power irom artesian bores, because the power can be applied direct from the bore itself}, whereas falling water has in most cases to be led from its head source to the wheel, a considerable loss of power accruing from frictional resistance inside the piping. 7 * Taking New South Wales and Queensland confbined, there are as stated, 897 bores now running in these two States. Twenty-eight of them—officially measured—give an average pressure of 82 lb. per square inch (equal to 190-feet head), at which rate the bores now running would give, in pressure apphed to a 3 feet Pelton wheel, 39,468 horse-power. That power 1s now mostly unused, unheeded, running to waste, but it appeals, as does the artesian water itself, with Nature’s mute eloquence, for perfect utilisation. “The power derivable from artesian flows in Australia is both ubiquitous and unique. It is cropping up in out-of-the way places where steam power is not payable, and ordinary falling-water power 1s out of the question. The power is direct, and one of the most economical conceivable. To meet the numberless mechanical operations of the station or farm, and for electric it is most lighting—a small dynamo and wheel combined being procurable desirable. The power being free from working expenses in its production, and the cost being extremely moderate, should ensure its extensive use in the future.” Sir William Owen, in his report on the administration of the Lands Department. says :— “The artesian basin in this State is estimated to cover 83,000 square miles, and to extend over almost the whole of the north of the State, extending south as far as Dubbo. To the westward it covers a large part of South Australia, and to the north it runs through a great extent of Queensland up to Cape York. This enormous supply of water ought to, and will; IT have no doubt, be in time available, not only for watering the flocks and herds, but also for supplying fodder, for agriculture and fruits; but as yet we have done very little to make it really effective for any purpose except the first. “At Riverside, in the San Bernardino Valley, in California, many of the wells are within 15 feet of each other, and have been flowing for sixteen years. In this State, I believe, none are nearer than about 5 miles, and very few so close. “Tn the San Louis Valley alone, containing an area of about 8,000 square miles, there are 3,700 artesian wells. In this State, where the artesian basin comprises 83,000 square miles, there are only about 372. “In this State little has been done beyond sinking the bores and letting the water run to waste, except to provide sheep and cattle with water to drink. “Mr. Boultbee has made a full and most interesting report on artesian horing and irrigation in America, which was laid upon the table of the House by the Honorable E. W. O’Sullivan, on the 25th November, 1902. This report contains a detailed account of the great and successful efforts which AGRICULTURAL GAZ Eig igee Oley aN aS... AUG. 3, 7908. 140 145 150 155 YS “ee Mysory It \ obit fe esti Walckersaerb s Admiralty I $3 OE Matthias | olde B avs lei va SL Sehquten I Pr ae nee rerier Augusta, gs della Torre b Bismarck Ww retanc res iS ay Kaiser Wilhetms Lar vw archipelago SYU | rf. — = | nie German Ones Ed ap) —— * pande | r ah I a | yt Jermitory 8° 4 it Ca n\aree EM EA — 2 panies ( t ao “or J Gomnir SO u 2 37 _Tosre Pucca Sir 3 nat fTruradiay IP ™ food pam, Somerpet | Bc Gtnville Wesel? uA elvilleB nea | } Seroote/ | | SF po, “e/ Carpentaria > gerritolry | \y DEA BeecraSaretne LAE. A | ivory Wprtniiinidértand iw} | — Ho, | < ¢ wes Sound MAP OFL. AUSTRAL Buewine| THE oe \OF THE \ GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN-— AND \AN ARTESIAN - \AREA \N WEST AUSTRALIA FAR \AS wee TASMANIAN) 200 300 400 $500 600 lel ahi af decisions REPRODUCED FROM OF THE ARTESIAN WATER SUPPLY OF AUSTRALIA,’? PROBLEMS By E. F. Pittman, A.R.S.M. <_< a BE. / | 5 130 I40bengitude 145 Bast of 150 Greemrich 155 | Aug. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 6238 have been made in America to utilise the artesian water in the arid parts of the Western States, and ought to be carefully studied if the 83,000 square miles of the artesian basin in this State are to be properly utilised. f “In America, great stress is laid on the analysis of the soil, not merely of the suriace, but to a depth of 4 or 5 feet, and in one respect it appears that we have a great advantage over the Western States of America, in that the land in this State is almost free from the presence of alkalies, whereas in America the land is to a considerable extent charged with alkalies in its natural state. =| “IT think the Government ought to have the water in each bore periodi- cally tested to ascertain whether the flow increases or diminishes, and whether it is aifected by drought or flood, or by the proximity of other bores, and whether the alkaline constituents in the water increase or diminish with the continued flow of the water. “In America, elaborate tests have been made to determine to what extent various cereals, fodder plants, and fruit-trees are tolerant of alkalies; and I think a very useful experiment might be made of a Government farm in some arid district watered by bore-water in order to see what cereals, fodder plants, &c., do best when so watered, and to determine scientifically what the effect of bore-water in agriculture is, and how far the injurious effect of the alkalies can be counteracted. “Such a farm ought to set at rest many of the vexed questions as to the effects of bore-water on agriculture, and would be an object lesson to settlers as to how bore-water ought to be applied, in what quantities and times, and to what soils, and the kinds of cereals, fodder plants, &c., ought to be grown. “So far as the evidence before me goes, the soil in the arid districts is unquestionably rich when supplied with sufficient water; indeed, Professor Hilgard, the great authority on the subject in America, lays it down that— * Arid countries are always rich countries when irrigated ’—principally on the ground that—‘ Where the rainfall is insufficient to carry the soluble compounds formed in the weathering of the soil mass into the country drainage, these compounds must of necessity remain and accumulate in the soil.’ ” A glance at Mr. Pittman’s Map of Australia, which shows the extent, as far as known, of the great artesian basin, impresses one with the importance of producing the nitric acid on the spot, and as the power derivable from some of the bores would not be sufficient for that purpose, the suction gas plant could be economically and successfully applied. Suction gas engines are in general use in Australia, and well known as “the cheapest power on earth.” With charcoal or coke at £1 per ton, a 28- B.H.P. plant can be run for a day of nine hours, at a cost of Is. 6d. for fuel. Mr. F. Howles, M.Sc., has dealt at considerable length with this question in a paper read before the Society of Chemical Industry. The following has been copied from his paper :—‘ With regard to resources nearer at hand, a aes ge a 621 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [Aug. 3, 1908. and means available for producing electrical energy in our own country, it will be generally conceded that steam power is out of the question for the problem in hand, although it is estimated that, with the best modern appliances, | kilowatt year of 8,760 hours can be produced in south-east Lancashire for £6. The gas engine, however, offers more hope of success, and it will be interesting to consider the cost*o{ production by this motor when run on gaseous fuel obtained from various sources. The gas obtained by the distillation of coal in closed retorts does not come within the scope of this inquiry, as the only suitable sources of supply would be the modern coke ovens, and the gas in such cases 1s entirely consumed in carrying out the operations of the works, partly in distilling the coal, tar, &c., and partly in raising steam for power purposes, and also for the rectification of the low-boiling fractions of the tar. “We must, therefore, turn to producer gas as a source of supply. Even the smaller units, of which so many are now in the market, show great economy over steam engines in the production of power. I may cite a case of such a unit, now running in London, and using coke as fuel, with which Suction Gas Plant. a four weeks’ test was carried out. The results showed that a kilowatt year could be produced for £6 2s.; this sum includes all charges. On this basis, 1 ton of nitric acid would cost £10 6s. 8d. With the larger plants, however, and taking the Mond producer as. the best representative type, a very much greater economy is shown. Using the figures given by Guye, in his paper, read before the London Section of this Society, in May, 1906, we find that, with fuel at 7s. per ton, and reckoning £14 as the cost of the outfit, the kilowatt year costs £5 13s. 6d., approximately. Under these circumstances, the energy-cost per ton of nitric acid, would amount to £6 3s. Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 625 “At the pit mouth, coal suitable for Mond producers could be obtained at Ds. per ton, thus decreasing the cost somewhat as regards fuel, but not in the same ratio as the difference in the cost of the fuels, since the lower priced fuel would contain more ash. “The Mond producers possess the further advantage, that about 90 lb. of ammonium sulphate are obtained per ton of coal consumed. This opens up the possibility of preparmg ammonium nitrate and nitrite as a subsidiary industry. “There is still a source of power in this country which ts probably cheaper than any we have considered this evening. I allude to the enormous volumes ot blast-furnace gases which are regularly produced in the manufacture of iron, and a very large proportion of which, in this country, are just as regularly wasted. The first to apply these gases to the production of power was B. H. Thwaite, who, in May, 1895, was granted a patent for the special methods he employed in effecting a purification of the gases, and using such purified gases in the thermo-dynamic motors. A small plant was put down at the Glasgow Iron and Steel Co.’s furnaces at Wishaw, and has since run continuously, supplying electric light for the use of the works.” Since that date enormous advances have been made on the Continent in the utilisation of blast-furnace gases. The matter has long passed the experimental stage, and success is assured. In Germany alone, about 340 blast-furnace gas engines, with a total capacity of 200,000 h.-p., were in use in 1902. Since that date, another 100,000 h.-p. has been installed, represent- ing 100 engines, each of over 1,000 h.-p. The Niirnberg Engine Co. are now constructing engines up to 4,000 h.-p. Other well-known makers of blast- furnace gas engines are Deutz, Korting, Berlin-Anhalt Engines, Daner, and the Corkerill. I am also informed that the British Westinghouse Co. are contemplating the construction of engines of more than 1,000 h.-p. The very finely-divided dust remaining 1n the gases after scrubbing, and amounting to about 0-17 per cent., does not appear to have any deleterious effect on the working parts of the engines. Very favourable reports as to the condition of the cylinders after the engines had been running for a period of two years have been received. After providing for all the power necessary for the operation of the works, such as heating the blast, blowing, hoisting, &c., there remains a surplus which, when gas engines are used, is estimated at from 500 to 1,000 h.-p. hours per ton of iron made. Now, in 1906, 9,592,737 tons of pig iron were produced in Great Britain. For the sake of simplifying the calculations we will assume a yearly produc- tion of 10,000,000 tons, or 1,250 tons per hour, and taking an average surplus of 750 h.-p. hours per ton, the total available surplus will amount to 750 x 1,250=937,500 h.-p., or nearly 1,000,000 h.-p. In Germany, about the same amount of surplus power would be avail- able; in France, about one-third of this amount ; thus making a total for Europe of at least 2,500,000 h.-p. B 626 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Aug. 3, 1908. The shipments of nitre to Europe in 1906, as shown by statistics, were 1,335,689 tons. Assuming a production of 1 ton of sodium nitrate per 1-6 h.-p. year, 2,137,102 h.-p. would be necessary to produce the quantity of nitrate above indicated. Thus the surplus power from the blast-furnaces of Europe would be more than sufficient to supply the electrical energy required for the manufacture of nitrates, at the present rate of consumption, in this continent. Our own furnaces could supply energy equivalent to 585,957 tons of nitrate, or 472,404 tons in excess of our requirements. The output of iron from the American furnaces is almost equal to that obtained from those of Kurope; and if the surplus power were used for the production of nitre, the world’s output of this commodity could be trebled. Allowing a capital outlay of £10 per kilowatt for the buildings and power outfit, and for— £. 8.4 1d: Interest and depreciation, 10 percent. ... 1 0 O Upkeep... ans Ss bu Be 0 6 8 Labour ee ire Bee fare ne OL6:28 Total per kilowatt year ... ee ee) ep ote (Exclusive of blast-furnace gases.) It may be interesting to note the relative costs of power derived from the various sources for the production of 1 ton of anhydrous nitric acid, to which end I have drawn up the following table :— is ae ae Cost per kilowatt Cost per ton, SUT: year. anhydrous nitric acid. £ Sa de Sade Water 4 0 0 613 4 : | (average). Steam sags a! ah ey 10), 0) 10 9 O (S.E. Lances.). Mond gas... ee - 3.13 6 G8} 0) Blast furnaces’ gases see 113 4 2 15° 16 (excl. cost of gas). I do not suggest that no other use can be found for this enormous total of surplus power than that indicated above. It is highly probable that in the near future a large proportion will be employed in the iron and steel industry, as is the case in Germany to day. Nevertheless, a large surplus will remain, which will be available as a source of cheap energy for the electro- chemical industries, cheaper than that obtainable from any other source in this country, and, perhaps, than that derived from most waterfalls, the economy of which is, I think, in many cases, over-estimated. Almost the whole of the world’s supply of nitrate of soda is obtained from Chil, and recent calculations indicate the year 1923 as the date when these beds will be exhausted. This date will be still nearer if we accept the state- ment made by Sir William Crookes. Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 627 Taking into consideration the fact that the electro-thermic combustion of atmospheric nitrogen, as a means of producing nitric acid cheaply, is thoroughly established, the carbonate of soda in our artesian waters, which at present is a substance poisonous to vegetation, promises to be in the near future an asset of incalculable value to Australia, and a great lasting triumph of man over natural productions. The whole scheme is fascinating and sound. The geologist, chemist, physi- cist, electrician, engineer, and agriculturist each play an important, well- established part, and the capitalist should not be slow to recognise the advantages of an enormously increased yield. To get in one season, with one tillage, sowing, and harvesting operation, what under ordinary circum- stances would take five or six years, and to get it practically for nothing, without risk, is an occurrence extremely rare. The results so far achieved are phenomenal, and the process may fairly be regarded as worthy of being fully investigated in the field. Norr.—The Minister, being deeply impressed with the potentialities of experimental work on the lines herein indicated, has approved of a start being made at once on soil at the Moree Experiment Farm, which has been irrigated for a number of years with artesian water, of which an analysis is given in this paper. An area of 2 to 3 acres is being sown with one variety of wheat, one part is to be left untreated, and others treated with nitric acid at the rate of varying quantities per acre. If the results of the experiment, which will be carried on for several years, after still further irrigation with this artesian water, corroborate the pot experiments herein described by Mr. Symmonds, a distinct addition to our knowledge of this important subject will have been made. The next step must be to experiment in the direction of making cheap nitric acid, for the present price in Sydney (£32 per ton), with the cost of transport to our artesian bores added, makes the use of it on large areas practically impossible, If, however, the power generated by the ascending column of artesian water in an average bore can be harnessed and used to develop electric currents, which will oxidise the inert nitrogen of the air into nitric acid, the use of this agent to neutralise the toxic effects of the carbonate of soda, and make it into a valuable fertiliser, will be brought within the realm of practical agriculture. For this second stage of the experiment it will be necessary to get from Great Britain the machinery needed to generate the nitric acid by the operation of a Pelton wheel driven by the force of the artesian bore, and Parliament will be asked to make the requisite appropriation. Meanwhile the other problem of making cheap acid by the agency of the blast-furnace gases now going to waste at Lithgow and elsewhere, is one well worthy of the investigation of our engineers.-—-H.C.L.A. 628 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. | dug. 3, 1908. Forestry. SomE PracricaL NOTES ON FORESTRY, SUITABLE FOR NEW SoutH WALES. {Continued from page 536. ] J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. X VI LI—continued. Trees other than Conifers and Palns : Oaks. The European and Asia Minor Oaks. l. Y. wgilops, L. The ‘ Valonia Oak.” Fig. by Kotschy as Q. greca, Kotschy-Y. wgilops var. graeca. (). vallonea, Kotschy, and (Y. macrolepis, Kotschy, also figured in the same work, are closely allied forms. [ would invite attention to an illustrated and lengthy article by me in this Gazette for July 1899, which it is unnecessary to reproduce. It is entitled “The Valonia Oak ; a tree of the greatest importance to tanners.” Its acorn cups are the part utilized, and are termed Valonia. It is a beautiful tree, apart from its economic value. It is evergreen and will flourish in moist places in the cooler parts of the State. I have no hesitation in recommending it as one of the most valuable of all oaks. Native of South Europe and Syria. 2, Q. cerris, L. The “ Moss-cupped”—or ‘“ Turkey Oak.” The former name is given because of the mossy-like processes of the acorn cups. A deciduous and beautiful species. It is a large, shady tree and does admirably in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, in a rather dry situation, but it will stand much cold and is specially recommended for trial in the colder districts. [t furnishes a timber much in favour with wheelwrights, cabinet-makers, turners, coopers, We. South Europe and South-Western Asia. L 30. See photo. 3. Q cocciferu, L. ‘ Kermes Oak.” Fig. by Kotschy. This is an oak which yields a valuable tan-bark and also a red dye (KKermes) from insects, allied to Cochineal insects, which infest it. ‘ The name Kermes is derived from the Arabic word for worm, and is the parent ot the French cramoisi, and the English crimson” (7reaswry of Botany). Aug. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 629 This is recommended by Mueller, and I insert it because he does so; but the introduction of trees and of insects to feed upon them raises the question Quercus cerris, L. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. of two kinds of acclimatisation (see also (). Jusitanica, var. infectoria), and it may be that insects introduced into Australia may not be as amenable to discipline as in their native countries. It is a native of the Mediterranean Region. 630 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Aug. 3, 1908. 4, @. Ilex, L. The “ Holm or Holly Oak.” Fig. Kotschy. This is an evergreen species and, like the Live Oak (Q. virginiana) of the United States, it is an admirable tree for many parts of New South Wales, especially near the coast. It is especially worthy of attention. The bark is used by tanners, and the wood employed for various purposes. The acorns are eaten in France. a It is a native of South Europe, extending also to Algeria and the Himalayas, which it ascends up to about 10,000 feet. L 7. See photo. Quercus Ilex, L. var. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. The following, Q. Ballota, Destontaines, is by some considered a variety of Q. Hex, but by other botanists as specifically distinct, being also of a more delicate constitution. The Ballota-acorns form really a considerable share of agreeable table fruits in the countries of their nativity. (Dr. R. Prior.) It is a native of Spain and Portugal. 5. W. lusitanica, Lam. The “Gallnut Oak.” Fig. in Hooker’s Jcones Plantarum, t. 562. (). infectoria, Olivier, is by most authors considered to be a variety of the above and is a small tree which yields the round oak-galls (the product of the punctures of a hymenopterous insect) which are used, or at all events were Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 631 employed formerly, in dyeing and ink making. | Now they are used for the preparation of tannic and gallic acids and in medicine. Quercus lusitanica, Lam. igen Botanic Gardens, Sydney. rn The Gall-nut Oak is a native of the Mediterranean Region. It can be highly recommended for the coast districts. With us it forms a small tree of | 20 feet so far, but it is in a very exposed and unsuitable situation. The fact} [ Aug. 8, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 6352 Quercus lusitanica, Lam. State Nursery, C ampbelltown. Aig. 3, 1908. Agriculturait Gazette of N.S.W. 633 that it flourishes at all in its present situation shows how hardy it. is. L 26a. See photos of Q. lusitanica. The Campbelltown specimen is six years old. S0vT PRINTER ~ \ Quercus pseudo-suber, Santi. Botanie-Gardens, Sydney. 6. Q. pseudo-suber, Santi. South Europe. The “ False Cork Oak.” Fig. Kotschy. It yields a cork inferior to that of Y. Suber. The remarks made under @. lusitanica apply to the Botanic Gardens tree. Tt has not fruited with us so far. L 26 ¢. See photo. re 634 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. | dug. 3, 1908. 7. Y. Robur, L., is the British Oak. It extends throughout the greater part of Europe and Western Asia. It includes two forms, (. pedunculata and (. sessiliflora, which, however, run into each other. These forms are figured in Kotschy and other works. Q. pedunculata is the variety which furnished most of the timber used in Britain for ship-building, staves, Xe. * . Quercus Robur, L., var. (pedunculata). , Government Domain. Following are instructions in regard to the propagation of the British Oak issued by Mr. Hutchins, late Chief Conservator of Forests, Cape Town, for use in South Africa. “Care is necessary in collecting acorns for seed purposes. Rejecting the first that fall, seed acorns should be picked off the ground as soon as possible, mixed with sandy soil and stored ina dry place till spring, or else sown at once. The latter plan is the best. Make a nursery ready, by digging and (in almost every case) manuring a piece of ground. Lay out drills about 10 inches apart and sow the acorns close (about touching), in single lines. Weed between the lines by hand or with the American single-wheel cultivator. A simple method, and one that often succeeds quite as well, is to sow close and broadcast in small beds and trust to the young oaks keeping down the weeds. In Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 635 either case transplant out into lines during the first winter after sowing, spacing the young oaks 5 inches in the lines and setting the lines 12 inches apart. They may stand thus for three or four years according to size of transplant required. Specially large and strong transplants are made by transplanting once or twice in the nursery and spacing the trees then 8 in. x 18 in. It takes five or six years to produce a full grown oak transplant 7 or 8 feet high. Transplants that are obtained by diggin out young trees from existing woods are, as may be observed any day, of doubtful success. And the pollard tree produced by this method is never a sound tree. ** Oaks should be planted during July or August as slender saplings 5 or 6 feet high, with a good ball of fibrous roots. They should, for this purpose, have been twice transplanted in the nursery. Any side branches that exist in the nursery tree should be taken off with a smooth cut close to the stem. When the planted tree shoots, rub off all side sprouts and allow only two or three branches at the crown of the tree during the first year. The second year is often the most trying for oak trarsplants, so that the tree’s store of food material should be husbanded for that year by checking a too exuberant growth during the first year. If necessary, water during the first summer. ‘©The oak in Europe is scarcely ever planted pure. It is usually mixed with beech and more rarely horn-beam or pine.’ The Major Oak. U 8d; L7, 8, 19, 29 b. See photo, also a photo of the Major Oak, the largest in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England ; it can hold sixteen persons in its hollow trunk. 8. Q. Suber, L. The “ Cark Oak.” | Fig. Kotschy. This is the tree whose furrowed bark yields the cork of commerce. I would invite attention to an illustrated article on this oak I wrote for the Gazette for February, 1902. See also the article “Cork Oak” by Dr. J. D. Jones, in Bulletin No. 11, Department of Agriculture, U.S.A. (Division of Forestry.) It is an evergreen tree and it is well adapted to our coastal districts. I do not see why we should not grow all the cork we require. [ Aug. 8, 1908. zette of N.S.W. Agricultural Ga 636 Quercus Suter, L. Camcen Park Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricuiturai Gazette of N.S.W. 637 South Europe and North Africa, Near the Opuntia beds, Garden Palace Grounds. See photo. Quercus Suber, L. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. 9. Q. Toza, Bosc. Fig. Kotschy. South Europe. One of the handsomest oaks with beautiful pinnatifid foliage. It is one of the quickest in growth. Will live in sandy soil and emits suckers. It furnishes superior tanners’ bark. We have no experience of it in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. (Lo be continued.) 635 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. | dag. 3, 1908. Hawkesbury Agricultural College and Experiment Farm. FEEDING OF PIGS. 'Continued from page 1090, November, 1906. | H, W. POVIS: 1EXe Lucerne. ** LUCERNE is destined to become a factor of the greatest importance in pig-feedir operations wherever that wonderful plant will grow.”—PROFESSOR HENRY. 5 or 1s Owine to its high protein contents lucerne is known to be one of the most suitable foods for giving vitality and strength to tendons, muscles, and nerves. It assists in developing the bony structure of all domestic animals, and in addition it produces lean meat. It is a cheap and relishable fodder for pigs in all stages of their growth, more especially for sows during the period between service and farrowing ; and for boars and young pigs when building up frame prior to fattening. It has long been recognised that whilst wheaten bran provides an excellent food for cows in milk, its effect on pigs is distinctly different, and its use as a food for them is contra-indicated. The object of feeding bran is to provide protein in the dairy ration in a conveniently concentrated form. The best substitute is lucerne, as may be seen by the following analysis, in which the leading food constituents closely agree: Digestible nutrients in L100 lb. of bran and lucerne hay. | Protein. Carbo-hydrates. Fat. | Ib. 1b. Ib. Wheat Bran 366 soc 12°2 39:2 Dah Lucerne Hay =| 11-0 396 1:2 It is also known that lucerne, either as pasture or hay, is palatable and readily assimilated or converted into blood, otherwise digestible. In studying the composition of the plant it is found that the leaves are 40 per cent. richer in protein, 30 per cent. in fat, and 15 per cent. in mineral matter than other portions. When feeding, the aim is to design a fairly narrow ration, ranging from 1: 4:5 to 1:6. The former is more suitable for young growing pigs, and it may be gradually widened to 1:6 for pigs from 5 to 6 months old. Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 639 In arranging a ration the proteim content is of equal importance with that of cost, but both must receive consideration. The general principle applies that foods containing a high percentage of proteim are costly, whereas the wider rations containing more carbo-hydrates are cheaper. A narrow ration produces the quickest gain in weight, especially in young animals, hence the need for increasing the carbo-hydrates in the ration as the pigs grow older. Experience bears out the scientific truth that protein increases the quantity of red meat. When pigs are fed on lucerne in sufficient quantity to provide a well-balanced ration, there is a greater distribution of lean throughout the flesh. During the period of pregnancy sows require a class of food rich in protein to maintain the demand for tissue making, and developing the unborn pigs, each of which weighs from 2 lb. to 23 lb. at birth. As a rule our grasses are sufficiently rich, but it is always an advantage to give lucerne. The sows are in better condition for suckling, and the young more thrifty and sturdy at birth. When denied food containing a proper quantity of. protein, and fed too largely on maize or other carbonaceous foods, the sow becomes abnormally depraved in the desire for foods containing protein, and by no means intre- quently satisfies this inordinate appetite by eating the sucklings just born. Young pigs, after weaning, when fed on lucerne judiciously balanced with grain, have more lusty vital organs, stronger bone, and more blood. Boars at the stud are always better for service with a diet including lucerne. In all cases lucerne alone, either as hay, green fodder, or silage, is too narrow a ration, and hence should be balanced with maize, barley, rye, oats, potatoes, or other starchy foods. Lucerne hay or green fodder is best fed from a rack, as pigs are so hable to injure and soil food of the kind fed on the floor of the sty. The practice of depasturing lucerne is highly profitable. Pigs are very partial to it. Much depends on the nature of the stand as to quantity, but under average conditions | acre has been found ample to graze fifteen pigs, when supplemented with grain. A gain of 776 lb. of pork per acre was made in a test in Kansas on lucerne-grazing supplemented with maize. In light sandy loams, such as we find in many parts of the Hawkesbury district, at the College and other parts of the State, direct grazing is not satis- factory, and the pigs have been known to destroy the stand in two seasons. In such cases it is better to mow, and feed through racks. Where the land is a heavy or medium heavy loam, with the plants full grown, 7.e., at least three years old, then grazing may be conducted, with periods of rest to enable the plants to produce another growth, and before the crowns of the plants can be injured by too close grazing. Feeding green lucerne will yield a greater quantity of pork per acre than clover or grasses, and at much less cost. 640 Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. | dug. 3, 1908. How to grow Lucerne. Small areas of land can be profitably employed for pig-feeding as green fodder, hay, or grazing. It will be of interest to those engaged in pig-raising to briefly describe the chief pomts as a guide in its cultivation and manage- ment. The plant grows best in deep, friable, loarhy, soils, containing lime, with porous well-drained deep subsoils. In this lucerne establishes itself rapidly, penetrates the subsoils to great depths, and eventually becomes one of the best drought-resistant plants we possess. in all situations where there exists underground water, lucerne will send its roots down. Rich creek or river flats are best, provided there is no serious overflow. The long vigorous roots of the plant grow to great depths in search of plant food and moisture. Instances are on record in Australia where splendid lucerne paddocks sown forty years ago are still giving six to eight heavy cuts per annum. The roots are found im a healthy state 30 feet below the surface. This, of course, is where the plant is grown under ideal conditions. It is much shorter-lved on poorer soils and in dry districts. It can be grown more or less luxuriantly on a wide range of soils. It is simply surprising how vigorous the plant is, and how it survives the greatest hardships so long as the soils, however poor, are deep and naturally or artificially well drained. No better instance of its drought-resisting capacity and hardy nature can be adduced than the case of 50 acres growing well at this College farm on low-grade soils, and with drought conditions during the past three years. Lucerne is not influenced by altitude, so long as the soils are deep, warm, and well dramed, and moisture is available. On lands with stiff clay subsoils, and where water is likely to lodge around the roots more than forty-eight hours, the plant does not flourish. Preparation of the Soil. It must be remembered that lucerne is a gross feeder, and when once estab- lished will last a number of years, and, from a monetary point of view, will afford a greater return than any other fodder. The success of its growth to a great extent depends on the selection of the land and the care and intel- ligence bestowed on the preliminary preparation of the soil. The land must be clean and free from weeds. To eifect this, one or more crops should be taken off, not only to get rid of weeds, but to enable a proper system of fertilisation to be effected (also liming if needed). Wheat, rye, maize, barley, or Any of the following crops will be suitable: potatoes. The best crops are cowpeas, soy beans, clover, Canada field peas, or vetches, seeing they provide nitrogen to the soil as well as humus. Where couch grass is growing, a crop of barley or wheat followed by one of cowpeas will be found necessary. A summer fallow has the advantage of rendering the land free from weeds, as well as releasing plant food. Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazetie of N.S.W. 641 Where the soil requires enriching, farm-yard manure is useful. One objec- tion to its application is the presence of weed seeds. This may be overcome by applying it to the cleansing crops, or using it only when well rotted. Thorough cultivation is a paramount necessity in securing a strong, healthy, even, continuous growth. The richer and cleaner the land, the greater the assurance of a successful stand. Summarising the leading points, we have to bear in mind those of good drainage, a deep porous subsoil, lime, manure, fertilisation by bacteria, moisture, cultivation, and warmth. Soil inoculation has only of late years been discovered to be an important element in the preparation of land for lucerne. The land may possess all other essentials and yet be deficient in the bacteria or micro-organisms which provide centres of action in the warty excrescences or nodules found along the rootlets of the plant. These act as the medium through which nitrogen is transmitted from the atmosphere and made available as plant food at a minimum cost. Without this form of inoculation the plant fails to flourish, and this is often the cause of farmers’ abortive efforts to establish lucerne. Inoculation can be accomplished in a simple way, by carting five to thirty loads of soil irom old clover or lucerne paddocks and spreading over each acre. In order to correct acidity in the soil and to aid the plant in gathering atmospheric soil nitrogen, lime should be supplied at the rate of from half to 1 ton per acre. It is better to add the lime with the cleansing crop. Where there is a deficiency in mineral elements, such as we find in light sandy soils, the following manure may be applied :— Nock: Dried blood ... ee Nes oe a a OOO sb: Superphosphate ae rs oye se Sai MOUs Sulphate of potash . Fen ee sae lOORe, and applied at the rate of 5} ae per acre; or No. 2. Sulphate of ammonia ar is Be yea DOD: Superphosphate Be A ae —e cig 300" 5; Sulphate of potash ... re a Be ee OO! per acre. Early in each spring a top dressing of either of the above mixtures will stimulate growth, if applied at the rate of 2 ewt. per acre, but omitting the dried blood in No. 1 and sulphate of ammonia in No. 2. Where the subsoil is hard or set it will be necessary to loosen or stir it with a subsoiling plough to a depth of 12 or 14 inches, without bringing any of the soil to the surface. The roots are thereby enabled to readily penetrate the subsoils, and furthermore provision is made for storing moisture. This is especially needed in semi-arid areas. So much depends on keeping the young plant well supplied with moisture in its early stage of growth by capil- lary attraction. The object is to work up a compact, mellow, moist subsoil. Cc 642 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Aug. 3, 1908. The young plant is a weak feeder, and requires considerable attention in the early stages of germination and growth, and in this connection a well cultivated and thoroughly fine seed bed must be prepared to a depth of 4 or 5 inches by ploughing, harrowing, and rolling. It is occasionally advised to sow a nurse crop with the seed, such as oats, barley, or wheat. In a warm climate this is notsalways found good practice, seeing all available moisture is wanted to effect complete germination in the lucerne ‘seed. In ordering seed strict care should be observed in obtaining it bright, plump, clean, and free from weed seeds and dodder. Tamworth seed has the best reputation. Use 15 lb. to 20 lb. to the acre. Broadcasting is the most favoured method of sowing, while the wheel-barrow seeder is the handiest implement. The seed should not be covered more than 2 inches with the harrows, and in a wet season | inch is enough on compact soil. If planted too deep the young shoots become choked and fail to reach the surface. Where the soil is ight or dry it will be necessary to roll, and cover the seed and compact the soil. The best time to sow 1s late in February or March, when the soil is warm and just alter the early autumn rains. Cutting. The first growth will be found associated with weeds, and these ought to be checked by early mowing. Frequent cutting 1s not recommended in the early stages, and the cutter-bar should be raised shghtly in order not to cut too closely. Root growth is stimulated by leaf growth; the latter affords the stimulating constituents. When the plant is well established, frequent close cutting creates a more vigorous growth. It 1s also benefited by oceasional cultivation with the dise harrow or lucerne cultivator. This loosens the soil surface, conserves moisture, aerates the soil, and checks the growth of weeds. The first cut invariably is so mixed with succulent herbage and weeds that it is impossible to convert it into hay. It may be consumed at once as green fodder, or converted into silage. The proper time to cut each main crop is when one-tenth of the plants are in bloom. One week after the bloom appears, the indigestible portion of the plant increases, and its more nourishing constituents—protein and fat—decrease until the seed ripens. The yield is slightly greater at the time of blossom, but the quality of the hay is superior a few days earlier. After full blossoming the lower leaves begin to fall. Leaves are the most valuable portion of the plant, and it is the chief aim to cut, wilt, and dry the hay in such manner as to collect the plant whole, without losing any leaves. It requires very careful handling and good judgment to convert it mto well-cured and rich-coloured hay, perhaps more so than any other fodder. The digestible nutrients in lucerne hay are easily dissolved and washed out by rains. It is best kept in big stacks under a sound roof. Ang. 3, 1908.] Agricuiturai Gazette of N.S.W. 643 The Incubator at Work. A. L. WYNDHAM, Wagga Experiment Farm. THE house or room to run the machine in is the first consideration, not so much for the purpose of helping the incubator to keep the proper heat, but to have normal temperature to air the eggs in, 60° Fahr. being the best for results. Pure air, with ventilation from the level of the floor to the ceiling, if possible, light, freedom from harmful dampness, such as may result from the want of proper drainage or the use of an absorbent, such as sawdust, on the floor, and a cement or earth floor to provide against the machines being shaken are essential. The machine.—No special make can be recommended. Experience alone ean teach the beginner what incubator he will be most successful with. The eggs should not be more than three weeks old, and be turned once daily whilst gathering. Do not wash them, if possible, as it destroys the mucous covering of the pores in the shell ; if it is necessary, let it be done just before placing in the incubator. Keep them in some place with an even temperature. Avoid hatching brown and white eggs together. The brown on the shell is a coloured matter, which makes the mucous harder to dissolve ; and if you have both sorts of eggs in the machine at once, there is a big chance of the white eggs needing artificial moisture, while the same will be harmful to the brown eggs. Run one batch of eggs right through ; filling up the space caused by withdrawals of infertile eggs will not compensate for the loss and extra trouble caused. Grade the eggs for setting carefully, putting out all extra large or small shells with faults or lumps of lime on them. They should be stored while gathering, with the large end slightly elevated. Mark on one side, for convenience while incubating, with plain lead pencil. The matter from ink or indelible pencil may be absorbed into the egg. Avoid touching eggs at any time with dirty hands, or when there is kerosene on them. Starting and placing the machine.-The incubator should be run empty for at least a day or two till quite under control. Place it where a draught is not likely to blow out the lamp at any time, and where the sun cannot shine on it and interfere with the heat. Start going in the morning, and get the day’s -heat to help. It is also necessary to be about when the temperature is up, and adjust regulator. The lamps should be filled and trimmed in the evening to get the best heat- at night. Have a place away from the machine to do this work. The lamp should be just filled, and best kerosene used. There is a small hole near the filler which must ‘always be kept open to allow gas, which the kerosene 644 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Aug. 3, 1908. makes, to escape. The burnt parts of the wick should be lightly pulled off daily, and same trimmed smooth with the fingers ; cut off the corners of wick with scissors when the flame is higher there than in the centre. When the wick is first inserted pull it backwards and forwards several times to make sure of its running free; try and get a nice oval flame. The brass part near the flame will require the sooty deposit seraping off daily: the brass gauze round under the flame must have all the holes free from dirt, to allow the proper circulation of air. Wash the whole burner in boiling water with washing soda at least after every hatch. General Treatment of the Eggs.—Put the eggs into the incubator in the morning, and get the warmth of the day to help to heat them up. The temperature of the machine will of course go down and not regain the proper heat for some time ; this also occurs at any time when the eggs are taken out. The morning of the fourth day is generally recognised as the right time to next handle them. Lift out the tray of eggs and close the incubator, after a few days the door may be allowed to be opened for a few minutes only, to let the chamber air; now turn the eggs half round or over on the small end and continue this practice twice daily till the shells chip with the chicks coming out. The methods of turning are immaterial, the former is the one used by fowls and the latter by ducks. If the American way is used of placing an empty tray over the eggs and turning the lot over—the eggs will require to be graded to size, or there will be a lot cracked. Turning necessary to the germ for exercise, and if it is not done the pulsation of the germ will carry it through the protecting layer of white of egg when it will stick to the shell and die. is Moisture.—There is sufficient moisture in an egg to supply needs while hatching under ordinary conditions and proper treatinent. The mucous covering on the shell which keeps out the air—the same which is seen rapidly drying when the egg is first laid—is dissolved shortly after the heat of incubation is applied, and allows the moisture in the egg to commence evaporating. For the purpose of stopping too hasty growth of life and helping evaporation, the eggs must be aired and cooled down—the time allowed increasing as the period of incubation grows, starting with just sufficient time to turn the eggs up to three-quarters of an hour. A preferable way to a time-limit is found, however, in trusting to feeling the eggs with the palms of the hands and returning them when just warm. This process will also indicate the hot eggs, generally about the centre in flat trays, and these should be removed to the outside of tray and replaced with cool eggs from there ; in fact, shift the positions of the eggs on the tray frequently. When the application of artificial moisture becomes necessary, let the water be tepid. A tray for the purpose is provided in some machines, but others with slides on the ventilators which control the air outgoing, and consequently moisture, simply require that the slides be shut some little way Aug. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 645 generally. To apply water in these incubators a small tray can be found to use, or simply throw the water into the chamber or on the floor under the machine. cas oes Fanning Island .. ae Pe. So Are se 29, ee | [es eae ii Fiji iss stot ap ae . 354 102 wes ide 468 26 Hong Kong es bat oe i ss 12 Ca ee ete Natal ei oye 34 ae : ee He 3,116 620 sie. se New Guinea... a se e: 118 19 es 70 5 Norfolk Island ... as es ee 20 33, aorrenaeel A seta Al uhesaeer Ocean Island... be He = 108 20) ane aoe S06 33 Straits Settlements... aa ae ase 674 DBM Se cabe Caroline Islands 3 we re 10 Ey Pamela a Cochin China... eae a — 18 8 POMEL wea Japan... saa a sets te 28 39 )2 NOP sesee Java ’ we ‘ = aan 4 1) |e Kaiser W ilhalm’: s sien aa Ba 31 SBP ct Ub ees aT pees: Marshall Islands 4 nee ae 209 45 Re ia 460 27 Neu Pommern ... at ete bee 407 86 ae a 891 59 New Caledonia... Fo ey = 5 CUM ee) ||| 0. geet. Becee- New Hebrides ... ans nen 3 63 19 Be a. (eee Phillipine Islands ae Bae Se 13 ee SOSm mls GG) rere: sa South Sea Islands sa oo 4 205 61 16 3 1,146 65 — Hawaiian Islands ae rye om 9 15 SEY) || ME Ll. ache Viadivostock ... aA cae , 120 46 12 Shere. Ceylon .. 56 afr i de Es an 108 Pea Se See RoOtalemen es. soe ee) a ele OGSeim6s026m) 2-291] 8,877 618 For returns for year 1906, see Gazette, May, 1907. 680 Agricultural Gazette of N.S IV. | dug. 3, 1908. A Native Bird destroying the Sparrow. C. T. MUSSON, Hawkesbury Agricultural College. In the Lachlander and Condobolin District Recorder, 26th February, 1908 (sent by Mr. G. L. Sutton, with paragraph marked), the following statement appeared :— Mr. A. J. Taylor, of Wheatacre, informs us that during the past few montls he has noticed the presence of numbers of large birds, blue in colour, with black heads, which are very destructive to sparrows. In fact since the arrival of these aerial cannibals, sparrows are practically an unknown quantity about Wheatacre. We wrote Mr. Taylor for further information, and received the follow- ing reply :—* #e the bird that takes the sparrows, it 1s quite true there is not a sparrow left about the place, and there were hundreds here. I tried in every way to get rid of them, but since those birds came we got rid of them. We never saw the birds before; they are strangers. There are about four of them in a flock, and they keep together. I do not think it is a hawk, though they balance in the air like a hawk. They keep after the grasshoppers, but they are death on the sparrows. The other birds are not frightened of them. They are very quick on the wing, and, when flying, spread out the tail.” Three days later came a specimen for identification: it is the Ground Cuckoo-Shrike (Pteropodocys phasianella). The head and neck are dark- grey; breast and lower back dull white crossed by narrow black bars ; wings, upper side black ; under side white; tail forked ; the terminal half black. It is about the size of a small pigeon, but more slender; total length from tip of bill to end of tail, 14 inches. Commonly, they make use of their legs a good deal, not flying much. Insects are the chief food, and we do not hear of them doing any damage. This is a most interesting fact, which should be noted by all dwellers west of the range where the bird is found. If this is to become a fixed habit, which probably it now will, it would appear that the sparrow has at least one enemy in its new abode. Sportsmen should take note and act up to the fact stated. Nature would here seem to be coming in, for evi- dently the cheeky little interloper is no longer to have such a peaceful time as it has had in the past. The “balance is beginning to kick,” and we may congratulate ourselves that at least one cause is in operation which will help in bringing the sparrow down in numbers to such reasonable limits as will preserve a due balance of life forms, and not allow this par- ticular bird to become unduly plentiful. - Aug. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.WV. 681 Goat's Rue (Galega officinalis) av Baruurst EXPERIMENT FARM. R. W. PEACOCK. Tuts is a hardy herbaceous leguminous plant, which grows to the height of 5 feet. It is written of favourably as a forage plant. The generic name Galega is derived from gala, milk; the herbage being supposed to be superior for milking cows, goats, &c. Goat's Rue. It thrives exceptionally well under good cultivation. Its vigorous root system enables it to withstand considerable dry weather. It also withstands many degrees of frost, making some growth throughout the winter at this farm. Where it does not receive attention the hardiest weeds crowd it out. Apparently stock must acquire a liking for it. When fed to cattle at this farm they would not eat it. Sheep were turned upon it, but would have none of it. Stray plants grew in the pig paddock where the pigs had free access, and it was not eaten by them. One old horse seemed to relish it. It has every appearance of an excellent fodder plant. Stock not so well fed as those on this farm may be taught to eat it. 652 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [-dug. 3, 1908. Useful Australian Plants. J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director, Botanic Gardens, Sydney. No. 96. Chloris divaricata, R.Br. Botanical Name.—Chloris, the Greek word for “ pale green,” in allusion to the colour of some of the members of this genus ; divaricata, Latin, literally “straddling” or spread asunder, hence very divergent. This refers to the spikes of Ree rs, Brown uses the word in his original description when he says “spicis 6—9 digitatis divaricatis.” Vernacular Name —I know of none. Botanical Description.—A glabrous erect tufted grass of | to 2 feet. Leaves narrow, flat or convolute, the sheaths often much flattened. Spikes 6 to 12, slender, 3 to 6 inches long. Spikelets very numerous but not crowded, rarely 2 lines long without the awns. Outer glumes unequal, very narrow, finely pointed. Flowering glume narrow, keeled, 3-nerved, the fine awn 3 to 6 lines long, with a point or narrow lobe on each side. Terminal empty glume broadly linear, 2 lobed, with an awn between the lobes some- times as long as that of the flowering glume. (B.FI. vii, 612.) Nore.—(1) The leat-sheath appears to be more flattened in this than in any other species. (2) Comparing this with the closely related C. acicularis: in that species the flowering glume tapers into the awn, while in C. divuricata the flowering glume has an acute tooth or lobe on each side of the awn. Value as a fodder.—\Like most other species of Chloris it is, probably, a valuable pasture grass for sheep, more particularly before its flower-spikes become ripened, but we have few detailed observations by pastoralists con- cerning it. Habitat and Range.—Collected at Yandama, north-western New South Wales, by Mr. A. W. Mullen, Surveyor for the Western Lands Board, April, 190$. It has since been received from the Moree district from Mr. C. J. McFarland. It has, probably, been passed over as other species, and will, probably, be found to have a wide range in this State. This interior grass is recorded in Mueller’s “Census” from North Australia and Queensland. Mr. Max Koch, who did good work in the botanical exploration of South Australia, discovered it in 1900 at Mt. Lyndhurst, in that State, and in Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 1906, p. 740, Mr. Betche and I recorded it as an addition to the flora of New South Wales. REFERENCE TO PLATE. 1. Entire Plant. Natural size. 2. Part of rhachis of a spike, showing the two persistent outer glumes of two spikelets. 3. A single ee showing— a. a. The two persistent outer glumes a The flowering glume, ope sned out so as to show palea and grain. c. The empty terminal glume. 4. Flowering glume. 5. Flowering glume and empty terminal glume in their natural position as they drop off with the ripe grain, leaving the two outer glumes persistent on the rhachis (2). 6. Grain. 7908. AUG. 3, AGRIGULTURAL GAZETTE OP W.S-W. Ar. t 2iage e o~ - | « a a t = t oO ac ¢ > w = b fa) F w N < ee 6 ld a ° = 4 > x= a fo) > ° « oO < w I F ra ° he z = < = o a < z 6 J °o 1 Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 683 METEOROLOGICAL BuREAU, No. 4 DIVvision, NEw Souts WALES. Weather Conditions during June, 1908. S. WILSON, Divisional Officer. Durtine the first week of the month the pressure systems which passed over Australia were all, more or less, of the winter description, the anticyclones being of such huge dimensions as to cover the whole of the continent, and the antarctic disturbances making their presence felt along the southern seaboard and New Zealand, in the form of cold west to south-west gales and rough seas. The central value of the anticyclones gradually increased until a barometric pressure of 30-7 inches was attained between Adelaide and Robe on the 2nd. The lowest barometer readings on the mainland for that week also occurred on the 2nd, when 29°6 inches was registered at the Leeuwin, in an antarctic disturbance. The rainfall during the week ended the 6th, was for the most part along the coast, but on the Ist, some scattered light to moderate falls were recorded on the North-west and Central-western Plains, and Central Tableland. On the 3rd the south-east corner benefited to the extent of moderate rainfall. On the 6th an anticyclone of medium energy covered the whole of the mainland of Australia, with its centre over South Australia and our western districts. As a consequence, fine weather with low temperatures ruled for the most part in the various States, with the exception of a few isolated showers along the seaboard. By the Sth a considerable change had occurred in the distribution of pressure. The anticyclone had travelled eastward, and now covered only the eastern States, with its centre over New South Wales and Victoria. The advance portion of another ‘“ high” appeared in West Australia, between Geraldton and Perth, whilst between them were shown two depressions, an antarctic, between Albany, Charlotte Waters, and Ade- laide, and a monsoonal over North-west Australia. The presence of the centre of the anticyclone over New South Wales and Victoria was responsible for very cold weather in various parts of these two States, especially in the south-eastern corner and highland districts of New South Wales. As the result of the influence of the antarctic disturbance, light rain was recorded along the Darling, and at isolated places in the north- west of New South Wales. as also light to moderate falls at many places on the shores of the Great Australian Bight, on the southern gold-fields, and on the west coast of West Australia. In the north-west quadrant of the latter State some light to heavy falls were recorded, as the effect of the monsoonal disturbance there. The heaviest reported amounts were 328 points at Cos- sack, and 164 points at Condon. During the following twenty-four hours the “high” over Eastern Australia had worked in a north-easterly direction, its centre at 9 a.m. on the 9th 654: Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Aug. 3, 1908. being situated in the vicinity of Brisbane. The other pressure systems had also advanced eastward, the disturbance causing beneficial rainfall over the southern districts of New South Wales, and over northern parts west from the slopes. The heaviest falls were 95 points each at Wentworth and Euston, 94 each at Moulamein and Albury, 91 at Deniliquin, 88 each at Tocumwal and Conargo, 85 at Jerilderie, 80-at, Corowa, 79 at Whitton and Henty, 75 at Urana, and 73 each at Coolamon and Tarcutta. Good consistent rainfall was also recorded in South Australia ; ; and rough seas prevailed along the southern shores of the continent from the Leeuwin to Streaky Bay. sy the LOth the disturbance had become the dominating weather system over an area south from lines joing Eyre, in the Great Bight, Windorah (Queensland), and Newcastle, and still further good rains were experienced over New South Wales and South Australia, and at scattered places in Victoria and Tasmania. The rain area in our State had expanded eastward over the highlands to scattered places on the coast, the heaviest amounts being 154 points at Bendemeer, 150 at Nundle, 132 at Uralla, 137 at Narrabri, 135 at Walecba, Bundarra, and Coonabarabran, 129 at Warialda, 131 at Murrurundi, 125 at Yetman, 121 at Emmaville, 120 at Inverell; as also many falls over 100 points. At 9 am. on the llth, the antarctic disturbance was shown to have contracted somewhat towards the east, but still persisted over the south- eastern States, resulting in more light to moderate rainfall, and fresh to strong north-west to south-west winds. During the 12th the anticyclone, which during the previous few days was situated over the western half of the continent, assumed a very elongated shape, extending from the western coast to Russell, in New Zealand; and the isobars of the antarctic disturbance arranged themselves horizontally between Streaky Bay, Newcastle, and Gisborne (New Zealand), on its northern limits, and between the Bluff (New Zealand) and Hythe (Tasmania), to the south, influencing the continuation of the west to north-west element in the winds; as also more rainfall over southern portions of New South Wales and South Australia, and in Victoria and Tasmania. On the 13th, the incipient high pressure covered the whole of Australia, excepting in the south-east and south-west corners, where the northern isobars of a very extensive antarctic disturbance were shown. As the result of this distribution, northerly winds obtained for the most part over southern districts of Australia, with rough to high seas in Bass Straits, and on the western coast of Tasmania. In the interior fine weather ruled, but scattered showers were recorded on the southern seaboard between Fowler’s Bay and Gabo, as also in Tasmania and ecoasttl and tableland districts of New South Wales. By 9 a.m. on the 15th the high pressure had travelled south-eastward, and occupied only the eastern half of the continent, but it had gained considerably in energy, its centre—30°4 inches—being now over Tasmania and eastern districts of New South Wales and Victoria. As the result of this southerly Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 685 movement of the anticyclone, the antarctic disturbance was dislodged from the south-eastern corner. The other portion of the depression in the south- west, however, showed intensification, and an expansion eastward as far as Eucla. Fine weather resulted for the most part in the area occupied by the high pressure, excepting along the coast of our State, where light to heavy rainfall was recorded. Light falls were reported also from south-western districts of West Australia, and along the southern seaboard ; moderate to rough seas occurred between Cape Borda and the Leeuwin. The heaviest rainfall was reported from scattered places along the coast of New South Wales. Byron Bay had 116 points, Port Stephens 75, and Moruya Heads 72 points. During the following twenty-four hours little or no forward movement was shown in any of the pressure systems overlying Australia, but the “high” over the eastern half had gained another tenth of an inch in its central value. Further light to moderately heavy ram occurred along coastal dis- tricts of our State, and the southern shores and south-west corner of the continent. Heavy seas still persisted on the south coast of West Australia. At 9 a.m. on the 17th the anticyclone was again shown over the eastern half of Australia, but its centre had passed off the mainland to the Tasman Sea. The depression occupied a portion of the Southern Ocean, between Cape Borda and the Leeuwin, and an advancing high pressure over West Australia. With this distribution of atmospheric pressure, fine weather obtained over the area under anticyclonic control ; but over southern districts of West Australia, and along the southern seaboard of the continent, light rainfall for the most part was recorded, and an isolated heavy fall of 100 points occurred at Albany. Strong north-west to south-west winds, with slight to rough seas, also occurred between Cape Northumberland and the Leeuwin, as the result of the influence of the antarctic disturbance. The isobaric chart of the following day showed that the eastern high pressure was gradually losmg energy on the mainland, and moving north- eastward. The disturbance had also advanced as far as the western coast of Tasmania, but as yet only one isobar was in evidence. The frontal isobars of the West Australian anticyclone had extended as far as William Creek and Alice Springs, its central value being increased by more than one-tenth of an inch. Light rain still persisted along the southern seaboard, but other- wise, excepting for cloud areas in the south-eastern States, fine weather prevailed. By the 19th a great change had occurred in pressure distribution over the eastern half of Australia, for at 9 a.m. the anticyclone there was over the seaboard districts of Queensland, its north-easterly movement giving induce- ment to the extension northward of the antarctic disturbance, whose lowest readings were shown in Southern Tasmania. The western high-pressure had also extended further eastward. During the week ended the 19th splendid rains were experienced over the greater part of the south-eastern States. In New South Wales the falls ranged between 30 points and 100 points, and the lowest temperateres recorded 685 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Aug. 3, 1908. were 8 degrees at Kiandra, on the Southern Tableland ; 24 degrees at Coona- barabran, on the Central-western Slope ; and 25 degrees at Armidale, on the Northern Tableland. At 9 a.m. on the 20th an extensive high-pressure system covered practically the whole mainland of Australia, excepting a narrow stretch of country south of a line joining Sydney and Perth (Western Australia). This latter portion was occupied by the northern isobars of an antaretie disturbance, with its lowest barometric readings on the east coast of Tasmania. With this dis- tribution light to heavy rainfall occurred at scattered places in the area dominated by the depression, with moderate to rough seas between the Leeuwin and Wilson’s Promontory. The heaviest falls were 120 points at Robe and 104 at Cape Borda. Light to heavy rainfall was also recorded generally in the southern districts of our State west from the tablelands, the largest amounts being 88 points at Kiandra, 75 at Albury, 53 at Corowa, and 56 at Tumberumba. Within the next forty-eight hours a great change was shown in pressure distribution, for the “ high” had tilted north-eastward, so that its advance portion at 9 a.m. on the 22nd covered Central Queensland. This northward movement was attended by an expansion of the antarctic disturbance over the whole of the south-eastern States, which resulted in unsettled to showery weather over many districts. In New South Wales the rain was chiefly confined to the area south of the Lachlan, with snow on parts of the central and southern highlands. Victoria reported moderate to heayy falls almost throughout, but only light in the south-east. In South Australia general rains were recorded ; light between Port Augusta and Farina, and moderate to flood falls in the far north. The heaviest reported amounts were 170 points at Cape Borda, 157 at Adelaide, 95 at Fowler’s Bay, 85 at Wallaroo, and 67 at Eucla. In our State, an isolated heavy fall of 112 points, the result of melted snow, was recorded. Hail was also associated with the raintall in this disturbance. Strong west to southerly winds, with rough to high seas, were experienced along the seaboard between Lincoln and Wilson’s Promontory. At 9 a.m. on the 25rd the advance isobars of the anticyclone were shown to have expanded south-eastward as far as the western districts of our State, thus compressing the disturbance into a smaller area. As a consequence, the barometric gradients became steeper, causing fresh to strong south-west to westerly gales over Victoria, Tasmania, and our south-eastern quadrant, as also a continuation of the rough seas between Cape Otway and Gabo. — Still further rainfall occurred over the greater portion of the south-eastern States, with more snow on the highlands. Within the following twenty-four hours the high-pressure had covered the whole of the continent, excepting the south-eastern seaboard, where the rear isobar of the disturbance still lingered, its central yalue, 29:2 inches, being now shown at the Bluff (New Zealand). Very cold and frosty conditions occurred in various parts of the States, and fresh to strong westerly winds were still reported from the south coast Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 687 of New South Wales. On the 25th, at 9 am., the anticyclone became the chief weather control of Australia. During the previous twenty-four hours its centre had advanced about 800 miles eastward, and now covered South Australia and the greater part of New South Wales. As the result of its influence fine weather ruled over the entire continent, excepting for cloud- areas at very scattered places inland and in the south-west corner, where the advance portion of another antarctic disturbance had appeared, resulting in cloudy to showery weather there. Many frosts occurred on the highlands and inland districts of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, but otherwise weather was fine generally. At 9 a.m. it was snowing at Orange and Murrurundi. The isobaric chart of the 26th showed a contraction in the main body of the high-pressure, and a slight increase in central barometric value, but very little forward movement had taken place. The influence of the depression, however, had extended all along the western seaboard districts of West Australia, and resulted in some substantial rainfall there. The heaviest falls were 313 points at Carnarvon, 100 at Hamelin Pocl, 76 at Geraldton, and 67 at Bunbury. In South Australia, as the effect of the presence there of the centre of the anticyclone, the weather was generally fine and cold, with severe frosts. The lowest temperatures registered in New South Wales between the 20th and 26th inclusive were :—In Western Division, 25 degrees at Mungindi, Bourke, Balranald, and White Cliffs respectively. On North-western Plain, 25 degrees at Collarendabri, Moree, and Walgett respectively. Central- western Plain, 18 degrees at Carinda, Riverina ; 26 degrees at Hay. North- western Slope, 20 degrees at Bingara and Warialda respectively. Central- western Slope, 22 degrees at Coonabarabran. South-western Slope, 23 degrees at Junee. Northern Tablelands, 18 degrees at Inverell. Central Tablelands, 21 degrees at Mudgee. Southern Tablelands, 10 degrees at Kiandra. North Coast, 29 degrees at Casino, Hunter, and Manning ; 27 degrees at Newcastle. Metropolitan, 28 degrees at Parramatta. South Coast, 26 degrees at Bowral. On the 27th the antarctic disturbance was responsible for further rainfall in West Australia; the heaviest reported amounts were 110 points at Winning Pool and 75 at Bunbury, and within the next forty-eight hours fresh to strong winds, rough to high seas, and rain squalls with hail, occurred along the South Coast. By the 30th the unsettled weather conditions had extended as far eastward as Jervis Bay, and thus covered all the southern seaboard districts of the continent. During June, the total rainfalls in the various subdivisions of the State were for the most part below the average. Indeed, over three-fourths of New South Wales had amounts which were discrepant. Some very dry tracts are shown on the monthly chart, more especially on the Central and Southern Tablelands and Coastal districts. Within the area bounded by lines joming Nowra, Mt. Victoria, and Wyong, little or no rainfall was experienced, Windsor and Nowra having had none whatever, and at other stations falls 688 Agricultural Gazette of N.S IW. [ dug. 3, 1908. tiverina, the iMeion: have ranging between 3 points and points. On the other hand, South-western Slope, and the southern border of Western experienced amounts which were above the average. As compared with June of last year, the rainfall of the month just ended presents some interesting features, for whereas Riverina and the South- western Slope last month were practically the only divisions with falls above average, the chart of June, 1907, shows that those two regions for the most part were the only places with rainfall below normal. In most of the other subdivisions of the State, June, 1907, proved splendid month as regards raintall. Perhaps the greatest contrasts in amounts are shown in and around the Metropolitan area. At Sydney, in June, 1907, 914 points were registered as against only 94 points last month; Parramatta, 412 against 21 points ; Kurrajong, 439 against 18 points ; ene 362 against nil; Camden, 201 against 5 points; and Picton, 249 against 22 points. The largest amounts in each of the subdivisions of the State during June, 1907 and 1908, are shown hereunder :— 1907. 1908, North Coast ... .. 1,239 points at Byron Bay 121 points at Byron Bay. Hunter and Manning 102459 ae Port Stephens... 280 ,, Seal Rocks. Metropolitan ... 914 43 Sydney... ae ght ek Sydney. South Coast ... a Ss] oe Kiama aoe Ala ae Jervis Bay. Northern Tableland .. 390 ees. Walcha... een ele As Uralla. Central Tableland Ae Katoomba eel re Carcoar. Southern Tableland 444, Araluen pene Asie are Kiandra. North-western Slope 4107-55 (Quirindi oe OON Nas Nundle. Central-western Slope Oey. Molong... L9OF 3, Coonabarabran. South-western Slope S22) 9 Burrowa 658) 33 ‘Tumberumba. North-western Plain LSS Wee Waa ANG tees Boomi. Central-western Plain 1h O meee Ungarie wee -L49 - Ungarie. Riverina 3 als 250" Se Corowa... ap OOO mm. Henty. Western Division... CU AZOo Is; Menindie SOM ess Euston. During the month some very low temperatures were registered in each of the subdivisions, the absolute lowest being experienced at MKiandra, with 2 degrees, or 30 degrees of frost. At Sydney the mean temperature 51:3 was 3 degrees below average, and the extreme minimum, 39°1L degrees, registered on the 25th, was only | degree less than the absolute lowest uciae the past 49 years, recorded on 29th June, 1862. The distribution of rainfall over the various subdivisions of the State during June, 1908, was as follows :— Departure from normal. Points. Above. 3elow. North Coast from — 250 to 505 Hunter and Manning 3 — 77 to 456 Metropolitan ne — 328 to 439 South Coast 5 — 236 to 486 Northern Tableland a — 11 to 209 Central Tableland - == 49 to 519 Southern Tableland _— 45 to 333 North-western Slope 3 — 14 to 109 Central-western Slope AE — 28 to 134 South-western Slope ‘. 152 to 77 North-western Plain z — 48 to 11] Central-western Plain i — 14 to 144 Riverina soe to LOZ — Western Division - 47 to 148 Aug. 3, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 689 COMPARISON WITH INDIA. The following is a statement showing a brief comparison of the chief meteorological elements of India, together with those of Australia as far as data are available, during the eatin of June, 1908 :- Der arty F = ape p me ire from Sool Weather Conditions Presuute. Temperature. (referring to State as a whole). inches. | degrees. Simla (India) a —-01 +23 Rainfall defect. Sydney (N.S.W.) ... +02 | —3°0 Above normal in Riverina and on South- | western Slope, elsewhere below. Melbourne (Victoria) —'03 | — 2°8 Rain above average generally except in | the south-east. Adelaide (S.A.) _... Ole | —3°5 Below normal in north and east, else- | where above; heavy on seaboard | and Mount Lofty Ranges. Perth (W.A.) oral 0-0 ! —3°4 Belowin Kimberley District, elsewhere generally above. Judging from the above table, the mean temperatures of the Australian cities during last month were considerably below normal, whilst in India they were more than 2 degrees higher than the average ; AlaoM in both India and Australia barometric pressure showed very little departure from the usual experience. The rainfall in India during June has again been below the average, whilst in the several Australian States, for ais: most part, amounts abode normal have been experienced. New Sonth Wales fared worst, having only Riverina and the South-western Slopes above average. MontHuy WEATHER REPORT. HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, RICHMOND. Summary for June, 1908. Air Pressure Air Moisture | Evaporation (Barometer). Shade Temperature. (Saturation =100). | (from Water Surface). ase Pes ee ene ee ar alias ee Bese oer sO eal ier tassel Salar es eee ee | geese atin aa = a 3 S|) eos cS es ae 2 3 mA | SHO [eon mln 3 S.8 5 Ay 3 iS oD BI ORe e 3 O72 | OSS lee solO ens = se = oH |] a aa | A el a] @ Pslea diel = bbemtel SS 29:66 | 30°48 | 30°09 | 23°2 | 70-6 | 47°75 | 51°189| 47 | 95 | 68 | 122 | Q15l | 1861) 4 22 16 | 28 1 | w14 | 18 | | 24 | Points 4 1 : i Soe eee 5 Ome Rainfall... Dates ... 12 20 nae Mean rainfall for 16 years, 2°08 inches. : Nf ONTO OPS) SA IY Wind 1 8 We 8 6 3 Greatest daily range of temperature, 38°2° on 28th. Extremes of rainfall for month ... { eS re 1. Frost on 2nd to 9th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 21st, 22nd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 28th, 29th, 30th. Remarks :—A cold, frosty, dry month. The lowest monthly rainfall recorded at the College. W. MERVYN CARNE, Observer. 690 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Aug. 3, 1908. Orchard Notes. W. J. ALLEN. AUGUST. Almonds.—The nuts which bring the bighest prices in the Californian market are the Nonpareil, which stand at the top, followed by I.X.L. and Ne Plus Ultra respectively. One of the varieties coming into prominence is the Texas Prolific, which is rather a round-shaped nut, blooms late, and is a prolific bearer. The tree is an upright, strong grower. Mr. J. P. Dargity, who is a large almond-grower in California, speaks very highly of this latter variety. G. C. Roeding places the Jordan as the best hard shell almond growing in California. Number of trees or plants to the acre—Square method: Multiply the distance in feet between the rows by the distance the trees are apart in the rows, and the result will be the number of square feet for each plant or tree, which, divided into 43,560 feet (the number of feet in an acre), will give the number of trees to an acre. Distance Number of Trees Distance | Number of Trees Distance | Number of Trees apart. and Plants. apart. and Plants. apart. and Plants. | | 1 43,560 9 537 22 90 2, 10,890 10 435 24 75 3 4,540 12 302 25 69 4 Dae 14 222 26 64 5 1,742 15 193 28 55 6 13210 16 170 30 48 7 SSS 18 134 35 35 8 680 20 108 40 27 Equilateral triangle: Divide the number required to the acre (square method) by 866, and the result will be the number of trees or plants required to the acre by this method. The following are some of the trees which should be grown more extensively than they are as shelter belts and wind breaks :— Kurrajongs.—Vhe Kurrajong is worthy of being planted extensively in all the drier and warmer parts of the State. It is indigenous to Australia and a good standby during droughty years. It is necessary to protect it from the stock for the first few years else they will eat it out, but when once it is established and large enough not to be damaged by the stock there is no more beautiful tree grown. Everybody should plant these trees extensively ; in fact there should be millions of them growing where at present there are only hundreds. Carob Lean is another good shade tree, and the beans are good for feeding to the stock. After grinding them up we feed them to our horses at the Pera Bore orchard. Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 691 Oriental Plane is a beautiful shade tree to grow in our more moist and cooler districts. It grows quickly and makes a good shade and wind break during summer months, but being deciduous it loses its leaves in the winter. Grevillea Robusta is another indigenous tree, and is well worth a place as an ornamental tree. Sugar Gums, although great robbers, make a good quick-growing wind break. The Pepper-tree does well in most of the warm districts of the State, is a quick grower, and makes a good shelter for stock, but it is a great robber, and the wood is of little use. Peach-tree which has been pruned every season since planting—ten years old. Grafting.—Vhe latter part of this month is a good time to start the grafting of deciduous nursery stock, and should there be any unprofitable apple, pear, or other trees standing in the orchard, these also may be grafted to good varieties. Grape vines are easily grafted just as the buds are well swollen and about to burst. Old peach, plum, and apricot trees will be found much harder to graft than either apple or pear-trees. If, however, there are any such in the orchard which are unprofitable, it would be as well to cut 692 Agricultural Gazette of N.S JV. [ Ang. 3, 1908. them back and graft to better varieties ; and in the event of the grafts not taking >) the summer or fall. young shoots might be allowed to grow, and buds inserted either in Grafting Wax.—The tollowing are two methods for preparing grafting wax, the first for a rather hard wax and the second for a soft one :— No. 1.—Take 2 lb. of resin, 2 lb. of beeswax, 1 Ib. of mutton tallow. Dissolve over a slow fire and apply warm with a brush. If it is found necessary to apply this with the hands, they should be kept well greased to prevent the wax from sticking to them. No. 2.—Take | lb. of beeswax, 5 lb. of resin, 1 pint of linseed oil, and | ounce of lampblack, and mix together. If not soft enough add a little more oil, Spraying.——Besides the above work, there is the winter spraying with the sulphur and lime solution, which will kill two birds with one stone, being both an insecticide and: fungicide. It answers fairly well in keeping in check the curl leaf of the peach-tree ; but for this latter disease Bordeaux mixture is even better. Trees treated with either of these solutions will show very little curl. The sulphur and lime is one of the very best sprays we have for the San José scale ; but where trees are badly infested it is better to give two Sprayings—one in the fall and another in the spring, just as the leaf buds begin to swell, and before the trees are in bloom. Peach Aphis.—For peach aphis the resin and soda is a good useful spray, as is also the blue-oil emulsion, but it usually takes several applications to keep this pest in check. Another mode of treatment is to dissolve a cake of Sunlight soap in 2 gallons of water and spray when warm. This is easy to mix, and has given satisfactory results in destroying this pest, and the wash will not injure the blossom, consequently the trees can be sprayed at any time. It is not safe to use other sprays when the trees are in bloom. Woolly Aphis —At time of pruning, particularly in young apple orchards, a sharp lookout should be kept for the appearance of Woolly aphis, and should any trees be found infested they should be carefully pruned, removing and burning as many of the infested twigs as possible. Then either scrub the trees thoroughly, using a strong kerosene emulsion, or fumigate with hydro- cyanic acid. gas, so as to eradicate this pest if possible. Codling Moth.—All bark should be scraped from apple, pear, and quince- trees, and the scrapings burnt, and everything in the orchard which would be a harbour for codling moth destroyed. Keep all fruit houses as clean as possible, as there is no doubt that they ave responsible for harbouring a great many moths every year. Therefore keep the rooms as airtight as possible, and as soon as the moths begin to hatch in the spring, burn sulphur in the rooms once every other day for a fortnight, so that the moths as they begin to fly may be destroyed by the fumes. Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 698 Vine Moth.—In working around vines, keep a sharp lookout for the pupe of the vine moth. If there are any old, partially rotted stakes, the moths will be found adhering to these and also to the old bark which is hanging to the vine. Crush these wherever found and thus assist in keeping down the pest as far as possible. Commercial Manures.—These may be applied towards the latter end of the month, or in September. In the drier districts, where late rains are uncertain, it is better to make the application early rather than late, as it is Peach-tree which was pruned the first year after planting only—ten years old. well known that they do not give the same results if applied when the soil is at all dry. If summer applications are made it is better to make them immediately after a rain, while the ground is quite moist, in order to obtain the best results. Pruning.—In the illustrations of the two apple trees shown in the last issue of the Gazette, it should have been mentioned that the tree shown on page 601 has not been pruned since the first year after planting. As far as the growth of the trunks is concerned it will be noticed that it is very much the same in both the pruned and unpruned specimens. 694: Agricuttural Gazette of NSW. [ dug. 3, 1908. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHOWS. SECRETARIES forthcoming shows ; are invited to forward for insertion in this page dates of their these should reach the Sub-Editor, Department of Agri- culture, Sydney, not later than the 21st of the month previous to issue. Alteration of dates should be notified at once. 1908. Society. Condobolin P. and A. Association Narandera P. and A. Association National A. and I. Association of Queensl: and Forbes P., A., and H. Association Murrumbidgee P. and A. Association ... Gunnedah P., A., and H. Association... Grenfell P., Vee and H. Association Parkes P., A., and H. Association Geunanton =e "and A, Society .. Albury and Border P., A., and H. Society Young P. and A. Association Cootamundra Ava He vandyle Association... Molong P. and nv escaaee rt Cowra P., A., and H. Association Corowa P., A., and H. Association Temora P., A., H., and I. Association W yalong District io AV eis cand ele Association Queanbeyan P. and A. Association sis The Lachlan P. and A. Association Adelong P. and A. Association Lismore A. and I. Society oe Berry Agricultural Association... 1909, Kiama A. Association Shoalhaven A. and H. Association, Nowra Kangaroo Valley .. Manning River A. and H. Association, ‘Taree. Gunning P., A. A and I, Society... Tenterfield B.A. ande Me Gloucester Show ... Neweastle A., H., and I. “Society Inverell P. and A. Association... Camden A., H., and I. Society Blayney A. "and P. Association .. Yass P. and A. Association Mudgee A. Society : bas see Upper Hunter P. and A. ‘Ass., Muswellbrook Association Bathurst A., H., and P. Durham A. and H. Association, Dungog A ope [1 Plate. Mee: .. hos. .. E. O. Hinksman ... pe eos: : ... A. W. Molineaux ... IT. M. Hewitt . A. J. Colley = RR. Tumbarumba ae Upper Murray P.and A. Society... BE. W. ... Edward Rye a . C. W. Donnelly ... . J. Mellveen CsA: aehompson:--- ode ce 1 Map. ] Secretary. G. Bennett cs Ww. T. Lynch . C. A. Arvier N. A. Read AC eh Tweedie Geo. Cousins ... G. W. Seaborne ... ... J. Stewart a \Wicwls ; .. G.S. Whiteman.. . T. Williams si Chal Bp Johnson Archer 1. A. Field J. O. Fraser John Clark Cadell Hout. Rauch + Bei williams ; S. Ww hitehead Plumb r. Hoskins Figures Dann Will Thomson th H. Lamerton ets J. M. Campbell ... . G. W. Thompson.. C. E. Grant D! White. A. Smith ... Somerville... + Date Aug. 4, 5 » 90,6 ae 10 to 15 ” 12, 13 sen) OT 205.2 Sept. 1, 2, 3 2 3 eas » 49 SeOAE AG eel achat ” 22, 23 5 Bee! se 291530 Oct. 1 pe 9 load: Nov teL2 as » 24, 25, 26, 27 Feb. 10, 11 = 48, 19 a NDAD. * 95. 96 "Mar. 2 to 6 £7 = HOt 5 EIS . 47, 18; 19 23. 24 24. 25 24,25, 26 ial Apl. 1, 2 Mar. 3l Apl. 1, 2 9 99 99 . May 5,6 Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. Aug. 3, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. I [ ADVERTISEMENT. | Government Stud Bulls available for service at State Farms, or for lease. sreed Name of bull. Sire. Dam | Stationed at— | Lease expires. i | Shorthorn | March Pansy ...| Earl March ...| Australian | Grafton Farm =i | Pansy 3 ._ Dora’s Boy .| Cornish Boy .... Lady Dora Kangaroo Valley | 15 Nov., 708. Fp ..| Royalty ..| Royal Duke II..) Plush Wollongbar Farm.) *% Df ..| Pansy Duke ...) Earl March Pansy 4th Wollongbar Farm. | - 35 Royal Hampton, Soliman Orange Blos- | Berry Farm = 10th (imp.). som 23rd. | Jersey Thessalian IT ...) Thessalian Egyptian Coraki 8 Dec., *08. Princess as . Golden Lord .... Golden King ..| Colleen | Wagga Exp. Farm| % ss Sir Jock Omelette’s Pride) Lady Tidy 3rd) Berry Farm | = (imp.). Guernsey _..., Gentle Prince... Rose Prince ... Gentle Ballina er |(eatond alse OOS 35 .| The Admiral .... Hawkes Bay ...| Vivid... Wollongbar Farm | ss a . Prince Milford... Rose Prince Flaxy . H.A.College, Richmond) - es .. Vivid’s Prince...) Rose Prince Vivid Wollongbar Farm. | s a5 ... Prince Edward..| Rose Prince Vivid ...| Coraki | 21 Jan., 709. Red Poll | The Judge ... Barrister Lovely 8th ...| Grafton Farm = Ayrshire .| Don Juan ..| General... Judy 9th Bathurst Farm ... = a .| Royal Prince .. | Curly Prince Rosie 5th .. Grafton Farm t “5 .| Auchenbrain ...| Howie’s Spicy.... Another Berry Farm ig 5p Spicy Jock | Robin Mayflower ...| Berry Farm x (imp ).. | 96 ... Judy’s Mischief | College Mischief} KirkhamJudy) Ballina saat eeveNuies (fs) Kerry... ... Bratha’s Boy .... Aicme Chin...) Bratha 4th Glen Innes Farm... + Dexter Kerry | Waterville |e calncheatnden ict | Sesieteciosse .... | Grafton Farm i Punch. Holstein The Hague _...| President .| LolkjeVeeman|H.A. College, Richmond “i - Obbe II sy Obbe La Shrapnel.... Wollongbar Farm * * Available for service only, at the Farm where stationed. + Available for lease, or for service at the Farm. Regulations under which the Government Stud Bulls are leased. Department of Mines and Agriculture, S) ydney, Ist July, 1903. 1, Any Agricultural Society, Dairy Farmer, or a combination of Dairy Farmers, may, should the Minister deem it advisable, obtain the hire of one of the Government stud bulls for a period of six months if they guarantee payment for the service of thirty cows, or for shorter periods on special terms. 2. The fee, which shall be payable in advance, shall be at the rate of 5s, (five shillings) per cow for all bulls save Dexter-Kerries, and their fee shall be at the rate of 2s. 6d. (two shillings and sixpence) per cow. no case be forwarded until the fees have been received. Bulls will in 1 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IV. [ dug. 3, 1908. 3. Bulls leased will be transferred free of charge to any place not more than 100 miles by rail from the place from which they are transferred ; to any place distant more than 100 miles by rail, lease will be granted only on condition that the lessee pays all charges for the extra distance over 100 miles, In the case of bulls sent by sea, or partly by rail and partly by sea, all expense over the sum of £1 (one pound) must be borne by the lessee. The lessee must make all arrangements for, and bear all expense of, transferring a bull from the nearest railway station or port to the place where it is to be stationed. In the case of leasing a bull already stationed within the district, the new lessee must send for the bull and bear the expense of removal. 4. A condition of the leasing of the bulls shall be that the farming public be allowed to send cows to the bull at a fee of not more than 10s. (ten shillings) per cow, provided the bull’s list is not already full, but the total number of cows served must not be more than thirty for six months. 5. Hach bull shall be treated and kept in a condition to satisfy the Depart- ment, and shall be at all times open to inspection of authorised Officers of the Department. 6. A return showing the number of cows served, and distinguishing between cows owned by those to whom the bull is leased and the outside public, shall be sent to the Department at the end of the term. 7. All due care must be taken to see that the bull shall not have access to cows suffering from any infectious disease, special attention being given to pleuro-pneumonia and tuberculosis. 8. No farmer who is known to have pleuro-pneumonia in his herd shall be permitted to send cows to any of these bulls within three months from the date of the last outbreak. 9. In case of illness of a bull the Department shall be immediately informed. 10. The bull shall not be allowed to run with cows, but shall be kept in a special bull paddock, which must be well fenced, and each cow “in use” shall only be allowed to remain with the bull such time as will enable him to have connection with her twice. However, where necessary, in order to keep bulls quiet, special permission may be given to run with one or two specially- selected healthy cows. 11. Should any of the foregoing rules not be complied with, the Depart- ment shall have the right to remove the bulls at once, and all fees paid shall be forfeited. 12. Should a bull be wilfully neglected or badly treated, or Rule 10 be broken, the Department shall have the right to take any action desirable for the recovery of damages. 13. All applications for bulls should be made to the Director of Agricul ture, Department of Agriculture, Sydney. AGREEMENT CLAUSE. [n consideration of the loan of one Stud Bull ( ) for a period of , of do hereby agree to be bound by the conditions expressed in the foregoing Regulations. Dated this day of 190 Witness ,— Lessee. J.P. | Duty Stamp. | N.B.—This agreement must be signed on the day the bull is received by the lessee, and is to be returned by first post to the Director of Agriculture. One Shilling. J Aaiemn (>% ZINN Pde TN t ahh \ aes en con Vol. XIX Part 9 fi if a | .. ra hi ip, “ye uy i ! 1 I ae Hi ; RN | iil | | = | | | SEPTEMBER a Registered at M4 the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper Price SIXPENCE. Vol. XIX. Part 9. SEPTEMBER 2, 1908. PORICULIURAL (5A 7 is OF NEW SOU PE Wad tS Issued by Direction of STE aRlOIN vc) ©) lel ee coy ae MINISTER. FOR AGRICULTURE. F. G. CHOMLEY, Sub-Editor. IBRAI Hy Authority : SYDNEY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER es 1908. *25961 (a) LI Agricultural Gazette of N.S VW. [ Sept. 2, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. It is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Mew South Gales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may eubse- quently publish the same tn sepurate pamphlet form or otherunse. 4th June, 1894. Sept. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. CONTENTS. W HEAT-GROWING-— On the Tablelands... oan cf. we R. W. Peacock New England District as AM oe ...R. H. Gennys ForESTRY— Some Practical Notes on Forestry suitable for New South Wales J. H. Maiden SHEEP AT Barnurst EXPERIMENT FARM et R. W. Peacock DISEASES OF FowLs G. Bradshaw Tue Jute Frere NUISANCE Hawkrsspury AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENT Farm— Cost of Producing Crops in the Hawkesbury District Strack ENSILAGE ... Sad aoe ee te R. W. Peacock ImporvaTion OF LivE Stock INTO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS... ERADICATION OF WEEDS ... sions ace be ... J. H. Maiden Dryinc APRICOTS AND PEACHES... Ae ae Joo oe Wide Aller! MonruHty WEATHER REPORT— Hawkesbury Agricultural College ... ... W. Mervyn Carne Rust 1n our Fruit Crops a, ate oh ... Edwin Cheel LEcTURES ON THE MEAT INDUSTRY RIB-GRASS OR PLANTAIN THe SPRAYING OF Fruit TREES... Export oF Grapes To EKNGLAND WHEN IN NEED OF LABOUR FOR FARM OR STATION A Simpite Test To DISTINGUISH PURE WooL Goops FROM A CoTTON- WOVE MIXTURE PAGE. 695 708 IV Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [Sepe. 2, 1908. PAGE. APPLE ReEportT Dit Procress Report From Mr. W. W. Froaoarr a De a SEY WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING JULY, 1908 rn eG S. Wilson 768 OrcHARD NOTES ... Sas ae ae Boe ee Weed Aulenm ial Farm Nores— Hawkesbury District oe ae: hy: Sas labs Wve leyonish “7/7/5) AGRICULTURAL SHOWS Ree tee ie a oes Bae HOU ADVERTISEMENTS—- Government Stud Bulls available for service at State Farms, or for lease. Regulations under which Bulls are leased. Pure-bred Pigs for sale at Newington, Dairy Bulls for sale at Berry, Wollongbar, Belindigarbar, and Glen Innes. Fibre Plants for Free Distribution. Rams, Boars, and Poultry for sale. VOW a PART OQ) SEPTEMBER 2, 1906. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Wheat- growing On THE TABLELANDS. R. W. PEACOCK, Bathurst Experiment Farm. Increasing the Average Yield per Acre. Tr is felt that with a better knowledge of the salient points of wheat-farming, the average yield per acre could be materially increased. Assuming that the average cost of prodncing an average crop of 10 bushels per acre is 25s., this, Wheat crop, Bathurst Experiment Farm; average yield, 32 bushels per acre. Rainfall for year, 18°26 inches. at 2s. 6d. per bushel, would but pay expenses, leaving nothing for the grower. By increasing the average yield by 1 bushel, a profit is assured. A farmer should not be satisfied with a 10 bushel crop, but should rather aim at 20. Speculative wheat farming is rife in New South Wales, with its cheap and nasty methods. Many of the largest wheat-growers are realising the necessity of better culture. The metbods which induced good results from virgin areas have been found sadly lacking after 10 years of cropping. The novice may deplete a soil of its fertility. It is only the good farmer who can live by his A 696 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. farm for a lifetime, and hand it to posterity improved by his occupancy. Australian wheat-farming has passed the experimental stage. Facts have been deduced which should assist materially those who are inexperienced in wheat-culture. Australian practice has many aspects peculiarly its own, and many old-world practices have to be modified or discarded if success is to be achieved. Success depends largely upon the abjlity of the farmer to interpret, underlying principles aright, and apply them to his conditions. The following notes will tersely describe the principal points in wheat- farming ; modifications of such must be made to apply to varying conditions. They are more strictly applicable to areas of light rainfalls, to which we must look for the greatest expansion of the wheat area. The attempts to grow wheat in districts of unsuitable rainfall, upon soils not adapted to them, unseasonable seedings, a want of knowledge respecting the peculiarities of varieties, and cultural methods, all tend to reduce the average yield per acre. Climate. —Wheat will thrive under an extremely wide range of tempera- tures. Rainfall is an important consideration, especially as regards its dis- tribution. Districts having copious summer rains and high temperatures are unsuitable on account of losses through fungoid diseases, such as rust, and difficulty in harvesting. Districts in which suitable rains fall during autumn, winter, and spring, with comparatively dry summers, are the most suitable. The dry summers allow of cheap methods of harvesting, and losses from diseases and rains are not so frequent. The wheat season requiring rains is practically from first of April till end of November. Soils. —Wheats prefer good sandy loams rather than rich alluvial deposits, or heavy clays. Rich soils induce too much leaf and stem, which require more moisture than can usually be spared under Australian conditions ; such soils are more suitable for the production of hay rather than grain. Light virgin soils are extremely suitable. The richer lands often give better results if cropped a few years before putting under wheat. Ploughing.—Soils vary to such an extent that it is difficult to preseribe any general method of treatment, and much must be left to the judgment of the farmer. The depth to plough varies considerably. Upon light shallow virgin soils 4 inches may be deep enough the first year. The following year it should be ploughed 1 inch deeper, and this continued until 6 inches is reached. The turning up of too much of the sour subsoil in one operation should always be avoided. The deepening of the mellow sweetened surface should be aimed at. Seven to & inches of such retains moisture better, and allows of free root development. A crop should not be sown immediately after deepening the soil by turning up an extra inch of subsoil ; such deepening should be left for the fallowing period if fallowing is practised. A good rule is to leave the unsweetened subsoil exposed to the weather at least three months before sowing. Under no consideration should a crop be sown late in the season upon a soil so deepened. The layer into which the seed is placed should be sweet and mellow to ensure a satisfactory early growth. Lighter soils lacking vegetable matter must be deepened with caution, and a Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 697 organic matter such as stubble or green crops worked in during the process. Heavier soils rich in organic matter on the surface may be deepened quickly to advantage. Too much vegetable matter on top absorbs light rainfalls, keeping them at the surface, and no inducement is oftered for the plant to root deeply. Shallow-rooted plants cannot withstand droughts and are dependent upon more continuous rains. It will thus be apparent that deep ploughing would be advantageous consistent with the keeping of a mellow surface. Ploughing should be performed in such a manner as to discourage the growth of weeds. Ploughs which do not invert the surface and cover young growing weeds are faulty and should not be used. Disc ploughs do not cover weeds as effectively as mould-board ploughs. For fallowing, ploughs which present the largest possible surface of the soil to the weathering agents should be used. Smooth fallows also are invariably weedy ; rough surfaces should be aimed at. Smooth surfaces readily crust and run together after Sy Sey i ge ta: 2 a SR came Te SS en UR Harvesting Wheat after being fed-off. heavy rains. Rough ones mellow and crumble down during the fallowing period, thereby continually changing the surface, which is desirable. Heavy storms run off smooth surfaces, whereas rough ones trap them. With mould- board ploughs the clods are kept on top when the land is ploughed dry, the finer particles settling beneath. The dise plough carries the fine particles to the top, sprinkling them as an impalpable dust over the surface. Such particles readily crust after heavy rains, and the fine condition of the surface induces the germination of the small seeds of weeds. Weeds.— Weeds should be attacked vigorously. They are robbers of plant- food and moisture. Heavy yields cannot possibly be obtained where they are abundant. Land should be ploughed as soon as possible after the crop comes off to destroy all weeds which have not matured during the time the wheat occupied the land. By a rational crop rotation weeds are kept in check. Wheat should never be sown amongst a lot of young weeds; the weeds always retain the advantage. The land should be newly ploughed, and the grain sown upon a fresh furrow ; stale furrows are unsatisfactory. 698 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. Selection of Varieties. —Many farmers sow wheat as though there was only one variety; such cannot be too strongly deprecated. A study of individual varieties is essential. Every farmer should know whether the wheat he sows is an early, mid-season, or late variety; whether it stools freely or sparsely ; whether it has a procumbent or erect habit of growth in its early stages ; whether the straw is long or short, weak or strong ; whether it sheds or holds its grain; whether it is a weak, medium, or strong flour variety ; whether suitable for dry conditions ; and its behaviour to such diseases as bunt or rust. Generally speaking, late maturing varieties should be sown first, medium varieties next, and early maturing ones last. It is not wise to have all the eggs in one basket, and depend solely upon one variety. Three well-selected varieties can be made to fit in admirably. It is difficult to forecast any , Se xe ' vee 7 : : SCen 4 1 hs W%, “4 $543 Nieves 8 g ’ Fo Ch IR Re Sata Pete haa ig, ALPES AY ae ¥ ,% ; y iia, if , “a, Agfa pee §. iit 3 % ‘ ’ ba a ae q eS a Re Me at oF. Wheat lodged, not fed-off. * season, A season may prove suitable except during November, thus favouring early maturing wheats. It may be dry earlier in the spring, and suitable during the early summer, and thus favour later maturing varieties. It may prove exceptionally frosty with a wide range of temperatures, playing havoc with early sown winter-proud varieties of erect habit of growth during the early stages. Moist conditions, accompanied with high temperatures previous to harvest, may induce rust; under such conditions rust-escaping and rust- resistant varieties would prove the best. Strong winds, accompanied by heavy rains when the wheats are heading, may cause weak-strawed varieties to lodge and be placed out of the reach of harvesting machinery. ) immersing the whole of the bag as well to destroy any bunt spores adhering to it. By opening the mouth of the bag, and stirring the grain under water, many bunt balls would rise to the surface, and could Le skimmed off together with other impurities light enough to float. After five minutes it should be lifted on to a draining-board, allowing the Solution to run back into the cask. By tying the bag at the mouth the bushel of grain could be spread thinly without taking out of the bag and left in a draughty place to dry. It should be dry before putting through the drill; also before broadcasting by hand, unless the land is sufticiently moist to ensure germination. The formalin solution should not be kept longer than one week. It is much wiser to use a fresh solution every time. Grain so treated should be sown within a few days of treatment otherwise the seed- coat may be hardened and germination in some measure prevented. This is the weak spot of the treatment. Very satisfactory results are obtained if the above precautions are taken. Bluestone Treatment.—Vhe method of dipping is similar in every respect to the above. The solution should be made by disolving 1 lb. of bluestone (sulphate of copper) in from 6 to 8 gallons of water. Bluestone readily dissolves if suspended in a coarse bag near the surface of the water. If of the strength of 1 lb. to 6 gallons the grain should only be immersed until thoroughly wetted and then allowed to drain. If made with | lb. to 8 gallons of water, it can be immersed for five minutes, and the stirring and skimming process followed. The thin film of bluestone adhering to the grain has a caustic action upon the young rootlets, and, if the soil is dry may reduce the germination by 50 per cent. Under moist conditions the caustic action is materially reduced. In order to overcome this the grain should be dipped into lime-water after dipping in the bluestone solution. It should be well drained before dipping into lime-water, or otherwise the lime-water will need more frequent renewal. Lime-water is made by placing 1 lb. of quicklime in 30 or 40 gallons of water. The clear solution is then poured off the sediment, and the grain dipped in it. It is wise to renew the solution frequently. One gallon of the above solutions 700 = Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. would treat approximately | bushel of wheat. Of course, small quantities require a sufficient number of gallons to insure complete immersion. Jensen or Hot-water Treatment.—This method is very satisfactory if properly carried out. The disadvantages are the keeping of proper temperatures and the time required. The grain is immersed for 15 minutes in water kept at a temperature of frem 150° to 135° Fahr. and afterwards dipped in cold water. Seed containing many bunt balls should be avoided. The bluestone and lime and formalin methods are to be recommended under dry conditions. Quantity of Seed to sow per Acre.—No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the most desirable quantity to sow per acre. | Much depends upon the preparation of the seed-bed, time and method of seeding, variety, size, and quality of the grain, nature of soil and climate, and the freedom of the land from weeds. The seed-beds should be in such condition to allow the seed to be covered uniformly. The soil particles surrounding the grain should be sufficiently fine to ensure moisture being conveyed to the seed from the subsoil. Well prepared seed-beds require less seed than badly prepared ones. Sparse stooling varieties should be sown thicker than prolific stoolers. Early sowings may be thinner than later ones. | Poor soils should be sown thicker than rich ones. A bushel of wheat of large grain gives fewer plants per acre than wheats of small grain. Clean land, or land free from weeds, may be sown much thinner than weedy soils ; thick seeding may smother weeds it the wheat gets established first. If the climate is dry, wheat should be sown thinly and weeds kept in check by other methods. In moist climates heavier seeding may be practised. Twenty pounds of graded grain of good quality, properly treated for bunt, would be sufficient upon clean land in a climate of low rainfall if drilled in a decent seed-bed at a reasonable time. Thirty pounds would give a maximum result throughout the average wheat districts of fair average rainfall. Farmers must consider the above factors and weigh them in relation to the conditions under and beyond their control. Methods of Sowing.—Drilling is unquestionably the best method of sowing ; it allows of the seed being covered uniformly, the depth regulated, and manure distributed economically with the seed. Such cannot be claimed for broadcasting, either by hand or machine. It is more economical of seed, one-third less being required than by broadcasting. Upon soil that has been fallowed by ploughing thoroughly, the grain may be broadcasted and ploughed under to a depth of 3 inches to advantage. Such ensures uniform covering, and is placed where soil moisture can ensure germination in comparatively dry weather. Depth to Sow.—The most desirable depth is from 2 to 24 inches. Under certain circumstances it may be sown deeper in friable soils. Deep-sowing prevents many plantlets reaching the surface. It is not wise to plant deeper than 3 inches in ordinary soils. Two and a half to 3 inches allows of the placing of the grain into the moist soil away from the drying effects of sun and wind. Should heavy rains fall upon deevly-sown wheat before it appears Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 701 at the surface, and a crust is formed, a large proportion cannot get through. Under such conditions it should be harrowed. Large wheat grains may be sown deeper than small ones. Time to Sow.—It is wise to complete the sowings of wheats between Ist April and end of May. Generally speaking, early sowings yield the best crops; late sowings, very often, do not pay expenses. By sowing comparatively early, root development is encouraged before the winter. Soils covered with a fair proportion of leaves and permeated with roots are not so liable to get out of condition by heavy winter rains as soils upon which the wheat has but the first blade. A fair growth also keeps the soil from getting water-logged so readily during the winter months when evaporation is at its lowest. Light sandy soils should be sown early to allow of larger root development to enable the plants to get sufticient plant-food from a soil lacking it. Richer soils may be sown later as the extra plant-food has a forcing action; such soils are warmer, and the growth faster during very No. 1 unmanured. Plots showing effect of superphosphate. No. 2 manured. cold weather. If wheats are sown during March they frequently get winter- proud, and should be fed-off by stock, preferably sheep. If wheats are sown after May a judicious application of fertiliser gives a desirable fillip. Different varieties should be sown at different times—see under ‘“ Selection of Varieties.” In climates of reliable rainfalls till midsummer they may be sown later. Generally speaking, in the wheat districts dry summers are the rule. Manuring.—It is not premature to state that generally speaking the wheat soils of New South Wales lack phosphoric acid. An application of from 56 to 112 lb. of superphosphate per acre, in conjunction with good culture, invariably increases the yields profitably. Good virgin lands do not require manuring. It is easy to over manure the wheat plant under Australian conditions. A too rank development too frequently exhausts the limited moisture before the grain is matured. A desirable balance between plant- 702.» Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IV. [ Sept. 2, 1908. food and moisture should be aimed at. An application of superphosphate induces a vigorous start and matures the crop about a week earlier than if unmanured, two very desirable effects under certain conditions. Upon very light sandy soils an application of potash may be desirable ; this should be ascertained by experiment. Such soils are leachy in districts of heavy rainfall and may respond to an application of nitrogenous manures, such as sulphate of ammonia or nitrate of soda. Mixed “manures may be purchased when the requirements of the soil are ascertained by experiment. The majority of our wheat soils have sufticient clay in them to be retentive of potash and nitrates, and are content with phosphates alone, at any rate for a time. The lack of response when nitrogenous manures are used is in contradistinction to English requirements. Such is due to the light rainfall not washing away a portion of the nitrates as they are formed from the soil. Also that nitrates are formed practically throughout the year when the winters are not severe and soil temperatures, during the heat of summer Rape crop, Bathurst Experiment Farm. reduced by cultivation and sufficient moisture conserved. The fact remains that, generally speaking, superphosphates increase the yields profitably, whereas nitrogen and potash do not appreciably increase returns. — It is impos- sible to state how long such will remain the case. Manures require moisture to render them available to plants. Conservation, of soil moisture by every possible means shouid be carried out in conjunction with manuring. When a rotation of crops is followed in conjunction with an occasional bare-fallow, manuring presents very different aspects than when wheat is grown continuously upon the same land. Fallowing.—-\In the drier districts fallowing is indispensable to successful wheat-growing. By such, moisture is conserved and the rainfall of one season carried over to supplement that of the next. Fallows are readily permeable by rains. The loose condition of the soil renders it a non-conductor of heat; soi! temperatures are thereby kept lower throughout the heat of summer. Australian soils get very hot in summer and the functions of the valuable micro-organisms which liberate plant-tood, &e., are suspended. Hot soils dissipate moisture. It will thus be seen that fallowing, in keeping the Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 703 soil cool, conserves moisture and favours the liberation of plant-food. The organisms which fix the free nitrogen of the air in the soil are also benefited, thus increasing the nitrogen available to the plant. The various organisms are specially stimulated by ploughing under organic matter in the form of crop residues. Crop-rotation.—In districts of fair average rainfall, fodder crops grown in rotation with wheat possess many advantages. Crops suitable for grazing by sheep are very desirable. Sheep and wheat fit admirably Australian conditions. Continuous cropping with wheat exhausts the soil. Under a rational system of rotation fertility may be increased, manures are more Ploughing under Rape crop. economically applied, moisture conserved, and weeds checked. Rape, on account of its value as a sheep-fodder and the residues available to be ploughed under, is an excellent crop in rotation with wheat. Many other crops may be chosen which would suit the various districts. Bare-tallowing should be relied upon in the drier districts. Feeding-off Crops.— Early sown crops which have made considerable growth during the winter are frequently fed-off by sheep to advantage, if discreetly practised. Crops should not be fed too late in the winter, especially where dry weather during the early part of summer is the rule. Stock should not be turned on in wet weather, especially on soils with a fair proportion of clay n their composition. Continuous grazing for any length of time may be harmful. It is wise to subdivide a paddock if the whole cannot be 704 Agricultural Gazetle of N.S.W. | Sepf. 2, 1908. completely eaten off within a fortnight. Crops which have grown very rank from any cause are much better fed-off, if at all practicable. Rank crops are hable to rust, to lodge, and to be injured by frosts, besides making large demands upon soil moisture. Reducing, by feeding-off, may ward off rust by allowing greater access of sunand wind. The base of the stem is strengthened by access of light, and lodging prevented. Frosts, under certain conditions, may rupture the cells of the nodes or knots of the bottom part of the stems. The stems of the growth after feeding-off are not so liable toinjury. Moisture is conserved by reducing the transpiring surfaces of the leaves which are in eXCeSs, Rolling and Harrowing.— Rolling is advantageous to consolidate light open soils and fit rough land for the use of machinery; it should always be followed by the harrows. Harrowing loosens the surface, preventing the sub- soil moisture rising to be dissipated by sun and winds. A compacted rolled i tae an, Feeding-off Wheat by sheep. surface has the opposite effect. Wheat after having been grazed should be: thoroughly harrowed with sharp heavy harrows. It is preferable to harrow during early spring, before excessive evaporation from the surface of the soil commences ; it may be performed when the crop is a foot high. It is better to harrow after a reasonable fall of rain, when the soil is fit to get on to with the teams. Harvesting.—The stage to harvest wheat for grain varies with the class of machinery used and variety. String-binders, strippers, and complete har- vesters are used. In the cooler, more humid districts, the string-binder is the most satisfactory. The stripper and harvester are more adapted to the drier districts upon level areas. Upon a large farm both the binder and stripper or harvester have their places. A binder is used to cut what is required for hay whilst it is green ; the same man, team, and machine should be used to cut wheat for grain before it is ripe enough to strip; when it is dead ripe the stripper may be used to advantage. Such practice fits in economically as Sept. 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of N.S IW. 705 j | regards labour and horses. Stripping with stripper or harvester is unques tionably the cheapest method of getting the grain ready for market; it has the disadvantages of risk from storms and fires, whilst dead ripe in the field, loss of quality of grain and straw, and the fouling of the land with weed- seeds, which are left in the field. Stripped wheat is apt to be bleached by N.S 30VT PRINIEH BM soyT PRINTER SOVT PRINT ES Winter-proud Wheats injured by frost long before ears Uninjured ear. appeared ; subsequent development. exposure after ripening in the field; a reduced price is always paid for such. If the harvesting period is wet and damp, considerable losses may result. Cutting with binder with the necessary carting, stacking, and threshing is much more expensive. The advantages of the system are less risk from shedding of grain, storms, and fires, and the better quality of straw and grain. With the binder it may be harvested to advantage when the crop is 706 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. | Sept. 2, 1908. quite tough, with a slight green tinge through it. Varieties lable to shed their grain are more economically harvested in that way. Many immature weeds are cut and removed to the stack as well as ripe ones, Straw is saved before it is perished in the field, and is more nutritious ; there is not the trouble of dealing with large crops of straw as after the stripper. If the soil is deficient in vegetable matter, 8 to 12 inches of stubble, if practicable, should be left on the land to be ploughed under; such prevents the soil from running together at the surface, and GOVT FRINTE ' N.S.W SOVT RINT FF N.S. Winter-proud Wheats injured by frost long before ears appeared ; subsequent development. is, in many ways, beneficial. The straw, after stripping, should not be burnt excepting upon soils too rich for wheat. The reduction of the organic matter of very rich soils may lead to the growth of less flag and better grain. Sept. 2,190%.] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 707 Generally speaking, the burning of the straw is very bad practice, and im- poverishes the soil very quickly. Soils depleted of their vegetable matter by burning and cropping are not so retentive of moisture, and do not retain that desirable tilth so necessary to fertility. Considerable quantities of dry straw ploughed into the soil in dry climates keeps the land far too open to allow of a crop growing satisfactorily upon it directly after ploughing under. It requires time and moisture to allow of its desirable incorporation with the soil ; means should be devised to effect this. A good practice would be to disc the land and sow a few pounds per acre of rape seed amongst the straw. If the weather proved favourable, a considerable growth of rape and self-sown wheat would be available for sheep-feed. The stock may eat a proportion of straw with the green feed, the rest would be trampled down and cause the ploughs very little trouble in a few months’ time. The paddocks should then be ploughed during winter or spring; such would clean the land of weeds, conserve moisture, and allow of seasonable operations for next crop. Tbis would, of course, mean that one wheat crop only would be sown upon the same land in two years ; such practice has much to recommend it. Where- ever practicable, land should be ploughed as soon as possible after harvesting to destroy weeds, and fit it for succeeding crops. The careful consideration of the above suggestions, and a rational application of them to the many con- ditions of the New South Wales wheat areas should lead to a considerable increase in the yield per acre, and profits for the individual farmer. Appendix. Analysis of typical wheat soil at Bathurst Experiment Farm capable of yielding 40 bushels per acre under favourable conditions :—- Locality of soil.—Bathurst. Nature of soil.—Loam. Depth of soil.—6 inches. Colour of soil.—Dark brown. Reaction of soil.—Strongly acid. Capacity for water.— Fair, 43 per cent. Absolute weight per acre, 6 inches deep. —1,663, 194 Ib. Capillary power.—Very good, 8-5 inches. Mechanical Analysis. Coarse gravel, more than ;/; inch in diameter, 3°66 per cent. Fine gravel, more than +, inch diameter, 21°94 per cent. Fine soil, sand 24°70 per cent. “a impalpable matter, chiefly clay, 49°70 per cent. Analysis of Fine Soil. Moisture. —2‘80 per cent. Volatile and combustible matter, principally organic.—4°95 per cent. Percentages of Fertilising Substances. General Value. Nitrogen ‘056 per cent., equal to ‘068 per cent. Ammonia, fair, equivalent to 931 lb. in an acre of soil 6 in. deep. Soluble in Hydrochloric Acid, Specific Gravity 1:1. Lime (CaO) ‘184 per cent., satisfactory, equivalent to 3,060 lb. in an acre of soil 6 in. deep. Potash (KO) -136 per cent., satisfactory, equivalent to 2,26] lb. in an acre of soil 6 in. deep. Phosphoric acid (P,O;) ‘094 per cent., fair, equivalent to 1,563 lb. in an acre of soil 6 in. deep. F. B. GUTHRIE. 708 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Sept. 2, 1908. W HEAT-GROWING IN NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT. R. H. GENNYS, * Glen Innes Experiment Farm. Wueat will grow well on the New England tableland, and no better hay from suitable varieties can be produced if cut at the flowering stage and properly saved ; large yields of grain in favourable seasons can be produced, but there are few varieties suited to the changeable climate, and careful selection must be made before good average yields can be obtained. It is found after careful observation and experimenting for four years that the best sorts are strong flour wheats that mature quickly. The time of sowing is important: if too early they may come in head before frosts are over, the flowering stage being a dangerous time in this connection ; they should be harvested before Christmas, or they may be caught in the tield by the summer rains which take place after that period. Good milling wheats of early matur- ing varieties sown rather late—say in June—are likely to prove most profit- able. Manitobas also have a good chance if sown fully two weeks earlier ; very early sowing is not recommended, The district contains a variety of soils ranging from light granite to heavy clays of light, brown, and black colour, and until lately the two latter were deemed quite unsuitable for wheat-growing, but by draining, liming, and sowing them with suitable varieties, such as Jonathan, the Blue Stems, and Power's Fife, good yields have been obtained at the State farm, and these varieties have given fine yields on other farms from seed grown here, one 3olton’s Blue Stem—in a good sized area producing 40 bushels to the acre, which was sold locally at a good advance on local prices. Generally, however, the lighter soils for wheat-growing are recommended. Climate.—The altitude of the district ranges from 2,000 to 4,000 feet above sea level. The climate is cold, heavy frosts occur through winter, with snow at intervals, an occasional fall of the latter being favourable to wheat growth. Ploughing.—The mould-board ploughs are generally favoured in New England, but the occasional use of the disc in throwing up the soil to the weather is beneficial ; for covering weeds the mould-board plough is always recommended. Ploughing with good heavy implements may be done at almost any time, except when the ground is too wet and cloggy, and this state is not infrequent ; generally rather dry seasons are more appreciated than wet ones. For wheat the summer and autumn ploughings are generally from 5 to 6 inches deep, afterwards before the seed issown a shallow ploughing of about 3 inches is practised. As a substitute sometimes the double dise cultivator is used ; in this machine the two rows of discs follow one another, and one row can be set at any angle desired ; if the land is not fine enough for the seed drill to Sept. 2, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 709 work across the path of the cultivator, then harrowing must follow the latter implement. Shallow working is done last fur wheat in order that grain may have a sweetened top soil in which to germinate and get a good start in life, and also that the roots may find a firm condition in the subsoil. Draining is most important in New England, a great proportion of the subsoil being very retentive. By draining, and at a small cost, the work being done by ploughs and scoops, a very wet piece of land of several acres produced 34 bushels to the acre of Power's Fife wheat. Liming.—This is of great benefit in sour lands and heavy clays, making the latter more friable and sweeter, and besides being a necessary plant- food in itself lime tends to make other important plant-foods available. Unslacked lime must be used, and should be applied after one ploughing and one harrowing, then put on the land in convenient heaps to air-slack, which is the best ; although, if required to spread quickly, this may be done with water. After slacking spread evenly over the surface and lightly harrow in, to incorporate with the top soil and leave at least a month before ploughing in, as lime has a tendency to work downwards. For wheat lands with fairly heavy soils 10 cwt. to the acre is of much benefit, but for very heavy claysfrom | to 2 tons to the acre may be used. Some 30 acres of land were limed here at the rate of 10 cwt. to the acre for cereals. The cost of the lime, which was brought from the Blue Mountains to Glen Innes, delivered at the Jatter station, was 34s. a ton, or at the rate of 17s. an acre. Liming in most soils is sufficient every six years. Manuring artificially other than liming has not been largely experimented with hitherto, but it has been shown that phosphates in many cases are likely to be exhausted afterafew yearsot heavy cropping, especially onthe lighter suils. Thomas phosphate gives, so far, very little better results than without manures ; the quickly acting properties of superphosphates are of more benefit as they promote a good start for young plants and cause early maturity—two im- portant points here. The soil here being generally of a clayey nature is well supplied with potash, though some friable ones and especially those which have been heavily cropped with potatoes, and where it is intended that wheat should follow, would be all the better of, say, 28 lb. of sulphate of potash mixed with 56 lb. of superphosphates applied to the acre. Sulphate of potash seems to act better in combination with superphosphate than by itself. It should be mentioned that the superphosphates when used alone are put in the drill at the same time as the seed and distributed at the rate of 56 to 60 |b. to the acre. Nitrogen which is so necessary to soils for cereals may be pro- vided by sowing legumes such as peas or clover. Red Clover is doing well here and a three-course rotation consisting of (1) wheat, (2) clover, (3) maize or potatoes might be followed. The clover could also be eaten off in early spring by sheep and ploughed in in iate summer. Rape has not done so well in clay soils, otherwise when sown with superphosphates it is a good practice to eat it off with sheep and then plough it in as a preparation for wheat, but of course it does not add nitrogen to the soil, but humus, and the droppings from the depastured flock add to the fertility of the soil. 710 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. Sowing.— Drilling in seed is better when the soil can be got into a fine state of tilth, but in wet seasons broadcasting may have to be resorted to. The quan- tity of seed used when sown by drill at the beginning of Jane should be about 50 lb. per acre, and three weeks later at the rate of 60 Ib. per acre; as sowing early is not recommended, thick sowing is practised and early maturing is hastened. Tf grain is broadcasted, about 90 Ib. of grain shauld be sown, say, tor the middle of June. Too much rolling in New England is*not desirable as land consoli- dates quickly enough without ; but when rolling is required to break down clods, harrowing should immediately follow the operation—trequent barrow- ing in dry weather during growth of crop up to 5 inches high is advised. Harvesting.—The use of the reapers and binders in preference to strippers is strongly recommended here as there is a tendency to uneven ripening, and fp) the straw is of great value in the winter both for bedding and fodder for stock. When cut early the straw is more valuable in every respect. W heat-growing should only be adopted here as part of a system of mixed farming, and can be well carried on in connection with lamb-raising and breeding sheep for mutton purposes. Wet harvests are a deterrent both in wheat and oat growing, but it is hoped that destruction and deterioration of grain may be minimised by the results of experiments now in progress at the State farm here, whereby the covering of stooks for weeks, if necessary, with cheap rye-straw caps devoid of grain is aimed at. In favourable years several weak flour wheats have produced heavy yields of large, soft, grain, weighing at a heavy rate per bushel, but their milling qualities were bad. Farmers are advised to try some of the Department’s crossbreds which are good yielders, less able to rust, and of high-class flour strength ; such as Jonathan and Comeback. The former has undergone severe trials during four years on all qualities of soils in the district ; the latter has not had the same trial as yet. Sussex, a wheat of fair strength, has given very good yields for several years, proving very suitable for the district. Power's Fife (a Manitoba of splendid flour strength) and the Blue Stems have also done very well, but should be sown earlier than the others on account of slow maturing. Zealand, Tardent’s Blue, Power’s Fife, and the Blue Stems (Minnesota, Haynes’, and Bolton’s) are recommended for hay wheats. In comparison with the drier districts with lighter soils the tillage of the soil is expensive, and strong teams of horses must be used ; but on the other hand the rains being more regular, larger average yields can be expected. However, the right varieties must be selected, the proper time and methods of cultivation adopted, before wheat-growing can reach its most profitable limits in New England. Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. T11 Forestry. Some PracricaAL NOTES ON FORESTRY SUITABLE FOR NEW SoutH WALES. {Continued from page 637. ] J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. XVILI—continued. Trees other than Conifers and Palms: 4 Oaks. Japanese, Chinese, and Himalayan Oaks. Oaks from Japan and China should be especially encouraged, as they are very interesting. Speaking generally, oaks want a good depth of soil, which they cannot obtain in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, but there are thousands of places in New South Wales (coast and tablelands) where they should do well. L. Quercus acuta, Thunb. var. bambusefolia, Mast. Japan. Received as Q. bambusefolia. A small neat bushy species which never attains the dignity of a tree with us. L 30 d. 2. Y. Championi, Benth. Hong Kong. A handsome round-headed bush 4 to 5 feet in height, branching to the ground. Very slow growing with us. It has entire leaves with rusty under- sides. M 23. 3. Y. cornea, Lour. China. The acorns are used for food in its native country. In the Botanic a tall shrub or small tree. It has Gardens it is of rather straggly growth handsome transversely reticulate leaves, veins hairy underneath. The bark is covered with lenticels. M 14. 4. J. cuspidata, Thunb. Japan. With us a small tree, but it certainly does not have fair play, being in a place with shallow soil and dominated by large trees. : The foliage is ornamental ; the leaves are not large ; the margin of the apical half is serrate. The acorns, boiled or roasted, are regularly sold in Japan for food. See Sieb. and Zuce., /7. Japonica, t. 2. Wer: D. Y. glabra, Thunb. Japan. A small tree (cut back for reasons of space) with very large entire leathery leaves. It is the largest leaved Oak we have, and is specially handsome. B 712) = Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. The acorns are used for food in Japan. See Sieb. and Zucce., L/. Japonica, ts cots U6, 6. Y. glauca, Thunb. Japanto the Himalaya. The Kashi of Japan ; the Green Oak of lower altitudes of the Himalaya. A tree with handsome laurel-like foliage, which grows into a handsome tree ot medium size, with dense head ; but some of ofr specimens have had to be pollarded because they would occupy too much room. The timber is used in Japan for toolmaking. Used for bridges and for rough carpentry in Northern India. See t. 23, vol. 11, dann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. Brandis, Forest FI. 488, t. 65. M9) 15%: 15k: 7. Q. incana, Roxb. (@. lanvta, Sm.). ‘Grey or Ban Oak.” See t. 20, vol. un, Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. Grows into a large umbrageous tree in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, with handsome serrate-leaved foliage with white undersides. If is thoroughly at home in the Sydney district. It yields a useful tan bark. ‘The acorns are used in medicine in India, and are eaten extensively by monkeys ana bears. The branches are often lopped for fodder. WS ic 2 KEM 8: ly 25.0230" d, 35) c: 8. Q. lamellosa, Sm. (syn. Q. imbricata, Ham.), Himalaya. The “ Laurel Oak See t. 30, vol. ii, Azn. Bot. Gard., Calcutta ; Wallich, Pl. As. Rar. 11, 41, t. 149. At Campbelltown it grows tairly well, and is thus reported upon by Mr. J. McEwen, Superintendent of the State Nursery : — This tree was planted about twenty-five years ago; height about 20 feet ; habit rather loose and spreading ; trunk about 12 inches near the ground. Has not made half the growth of some of the large American species near by. A very distinct species. Has borne acorns more or less during the last ten years. It is much recommended for planting in the United States, and promises to be useful in the cooler parts of New South Wales. 9. Y. serrata, Thunb. Japanese “Silkworm Oak.” See t..16, vol. ii, Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. Our specimen is a very old tree, with bark almost like an ironbark. It is deciduous, with coarsely serrate foliage, reminding one somewhat of the Sweet Chestnut. Although our specimen is not the best, it is obvious that it is a valuable tree, very umbrageous, and well worthy of acclimatisation experiments. Bark used locally for tanning. The leaves are used for feeding the oak silkworm (Bombyx Yamamai). The timber is used for building purposes in Assam. ERY fe A CORRECTION. Tue titles of the two illustrations in the August Gazette, pages 636 and 637-—Quereus Suber, L.—have been transposed. That on page 636 should read as from Botanic Gardens, Sydney, and that on page 637, Camden Park. Sept. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 713 Sheep at Bathurst Experiment Farm. R. W. PEACOCK. Av the New South Wales Sheepbreeders’ Association’s Show, held in July, 1908, another practical demonstration of the results of the system of cross- breeding of sheep for export lamb and mutton was given. Twenty-four pens were exlibited, comprising in all sixty-one sheep. They represented first crosses, second crosser, and comebacks. A sheep from each of seventeen pens was slaughtered, and the carcasses exhibited in front of the pens, so that the quality of mutton could be readily seen. These, in conjunction with the live stock in the pens, afforded satistactory opportunities for the study of the various crosses. What could be expected from a mutton point of view was apparent, and those interested could, by inspecting the live sheep, form an excellent idea of the value of the crosses from a wool- producing point of view, a most valuable aid in the selection of breeding ewes. } The sheep were depastured under rather adverse conditions. The drought affected the younger sheep especially ; these could only be classed as good, and not prime. The older sheep were prime. The weights of both carcasses and skins are slightly in excess of actual weights, as they were weighed directly after slaughtering, and not allowed to cool ; they are comparative. The live weights given for the unslaughtered sheep are the average weights of the sheep weighed at the farm prior to leaving tor Sydney, and are comparable. Allowance should be made, when considering the table below, tor the individuality of sheep. Although they were chosen yery carefully as typical specimens, slight errors cannot be eliminated when figures are given for individuals only. For instance, the weight (20 lb.) of skin from hogget by Shropshire ram on Lincoln-Merino ewe is in excess of what could reasonably be expected, it being rather exceptional as regards its covering. Also the weight of skin, viz., 21) lb., from comeback hogget with a proportion of Southdown blood, was heavier than should generally be expected from such, this individual unquestionably leaning towards the Merino as regards its covering. The unslaughtered sheep will be shorn when the fleeces have made twelve months’ growth. Their weights, and a report upon their commercial values, wiil be published when available. The results of the slaughtering are in harmony with those of last year. (See Gazette, September, 1907, p. 741.) It is again interesting to note the effect of the greater infusion of the blood of the British breeds upon the weights of the carcasses, the second crosses being heavier than the first. 714 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Sept. 2, 1908. The decrease in the weights by the larger proportion of Merino blood in the comebacks is again noticeable. As regards attractiveness of carcass, those claiming Southdown, Shropshire, and English Leicester blood were ahead in the order given. The carcass of the weaner by the Southdown ram, from the Southdown-Merino ewe, was the most attractive. The plates give an excellent idea of the carcasses, the principal feature being a study in hind-quarters. The data obtained during the past Show will be valuable in conjunction with past and future results of a similar nature. The following are particulars of weights, &c¢. :— Breed. Age. | weete isle Skin. Fat. Hoggcts. y- m. lb. lb. lb. lb. Lincoln-Merino—.. es na ae sect de uel 143 73 163 123 Shropshire- Merino Bee = dan yale wlealgL 140 763 15 13 Knglish Leicester-Merino ue oe sel ely Lal 126 674 14 al Southdown-Merino & els i son le ad 126 713 113 13 Lincoln ram on Shropshire-Merino ewe 1) 157 80 1S 143 Shropshire ram on Lincoln-Merino ewe uh 140 75 20 10 Shropshire ram on Border Leicester-Merinoewe 1 11 161 854 16 113 Merino ram on Lincoln-Merino ewe lil 126 554 19 83 Merino ram on Shropshire- Merino ewe otal 120 59 5a 1 Merino ram on Southdown-Merino ewe lea et 120 584 213 Ss Merino ram on English Leicester-Merino ewe 1 11 105 48 Gey eee tees (The hogget skins had eight months’ wool.) Weaners. | Lincoln-Merino _... So ee ate See 1] 9] 424 17 7 Shropshire-Merino ie ce ee aac 1] 783 383 14 7 Southdown- Merino ane si ee ae 11 83 OO oes | lis 65 English Leicester-Merino Bes ia ie 11 89 424 | 133 6 Shropshire ram on Shropshire-Merino ewe... 11 | 974 ae 145 65 Southdown ram on Southdown-Merino ewe .... 11 | 93 51 | 1] 7 (The weaners had eleven months’ wool.) Lincoln ram on Shropshire- Merino ewe aie 1] 95% | Shropshire ram on Lincoln-Merino ewe ud 11 93 Second cross. I Southdown ram on Lincoln-Merino ewe oat ll 90% | Shropshire ram on Comeback ewe (Lincoln) ... ll 912 ) aan : ‘ = c bate » Third cross, Lincoln ram on Comeback ewe (Eng. Leicester) 11 892 Merino ram on Border Leicester-Merino ewe ... 11 97 ) ‘ \ Comebacks. Merino ram on English Leicester-Merino ewe 1] 92 Sept. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 715 POY E PRINT EF Firs! Cross Hoggets—age, 1 year 11 months. 1. Shropshire ram on Merino ewe. }. English Leicester on Merino ewe. 2. Sonthdown ram on Merino ewe. 4. Lincoln ram on Merino ewe. 716 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. i Second Cross Hoggets age, 1 year 11 months. Shropshire ram on Lincoln x Merino ewe 2. Shropshire ram on Border > Merino ram on Shropshire x Merino ewe (comeback | Sepé. 2, 1908. Leicester x Merino e Sept. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. rly First Cross Weaners—age, 11 months. l. Shropshire ram on Merino ewe. 3s English Leicester ram on Me 2. Southdown ram on Merino ewe 4. Lincoln ram on Meri 718 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [Sepe. 2, 1908. Three-quarter bred Weaners— age, 11 months. 1. Southdown ram on Southdown-Merino ewe. 2. Shropshire ram on Shropshire-Merino ewe. Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 719 Diseases of Fowls. [Continued trom page 656. ] G. BRADSHAW. CHAPTER XJ-—continued. Various Diseases—continued. Egqg-eating.—This vicious habit is quite common amongst fowls, and once acquired is difficult to cure, and at times the trouble is serious, for one or two hens may be laying, and the owner unaware of it, owing to the disap- pearance of the eggs as soon as laid. Many causes are assigned for this habit, such as the want of shell-making material, &. The principal cause, however, is from the accidental breaking of an egg. The hen tries this, finds it good, and then begins to peck at the whole article, which she breaks, and eats the contents, and repeats at every opportunity. The. suggested remedies are many and varied. Catching the culprit and with a file removing the sharp end of her beak, is a method adopted by some poultry keepers, with success. Keeping a plentiful supply of china eggs in the nests and throughout the runs has also been effective. A common method 1s filling an egg shell with mustard, made into a paste, and placing them in the runs. Aloes have also been used instead of mustard, while some breeders have been successful in curing the habit by leaving rotten eggs about; but im many instances all the above remedies have been ineffective, the hens leaving the artificial eggs, and continuing to eat the genuine ones. This habit, if acquired by a few hens in a run, may be responsible for the disappearance of every egg laid, and the losses due to it have been serious. The following is extracted from an article by a Sussex poultry breeder :— Sometimes the cock is the culprit, but the question of sex matters little. When egg rating breaks out it must be checked—for no eggs, no profit. There is no disease—for it is a disease—in the poultry world with so many infallible cures for it as egg-eating. But, prevention is better than cure: First, keep fowls well supplied with shell-forming material, so that shell-less eggs are not laid; also see that the nests have plenty of straw or litter of some kind, then there is less liability of the eggs being broken. It is very uncommon for a hen to drop her egg when on her perch, but eggs are often dropped in the run, and care should be taken to remove them immediately. Eggs should never be lying about within sight of the hens, especially when they are in confinement; often, for want of something better to do, they peck at them. Fowls at liberty seldom turn egg-eaters. The best cure, and I have tried a good many, is cutting the bird’s beak. The mandibles, both upper and lower, are quite soft, save for the edging of horn; this is hard enough: we often carry the marks of a hen-peck for days on our fingers, don’t we? Procure a fairly sharp penknife, and take the egg-eater between the knees. Now proceed to cut the point of the beak; do it very delicately, whittling away the hard, clear edge. Presently 720) Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. youl Illustration showing ovaries and stages in growth of egg. + Twin ovules: These joined drop into the oviduct, and become covered with the white and shell, forming a double-yolk egg. the blood will be seen showing through, then stop. Do the same with the lower mandible. On no account draw blood. Properly performed, the operation is quite painless to the fowl. What is the effect? The fowl cannot peck at anything hard any more than a man can bite with a sore tooth. She can eat soft food and pick up grains of corn, eat as well as usual, but if she attacks an ege the hard shell daunts her—it makes her beak smart, and she speedily desists. Presently the horn grows again, but by that time the hen. unless the vice is fairly established in her, has forgotten her taste for eggs. If egg-eating breaks out in a small pen, and there is no absolute certainty which is the culprit, cut the beaks of the whole pen Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 72] As to the other remedies, the most common is to fill an egg-shell with mustard and pepper and put it in the run. A hard-boiled egg just out of the boiling water is also said to be a cure, as it burns them. Fresh egg-shells given in large quantities is an American remedy highly spoken of. In fact, there are any amount of remedies. I have said nothing of specially constructed nests. These are so made that when the egg is dropped by the fowl it rolls out of sight. The difficulty is to make a nest so con- structed comfortable enough for a hen to lay in it. On the whole, the egg-eating- preventing nest is no good. The only absolute safe way of curing an egg-eater is to wring her neck. Do not let the vice go on; always be or the look out, and if it breaks out, cure it at once. A whole flock of hens may be ruined as egg-producers if this is not done. There is, as I have said, a choice of remedies. and the poultry-keeper has only himself to blame if he loses many eggs by egg-eating hens. Egg Organs.—The — egg- z producing organs of a hen are very delicate, and sub- ject to a number of com- plaints, which have probably increased since the inception of the egg-laying competi- tions, as evidenced in the conductors’ reports, which usually tell us how many hens died during the month, and in almost every instance “from ovarian troubles.” Realising this, it is well breeders should be acquaint- ed with the nature and function of the egg organs. Anyone who has dissected a hen is, no doubt, familiar with the cluster of small eggs that are found in her intestines; they resemble very much a bunch of : grapes, and vary in size and EG =i number. In a good-laying strain of hens they will often number a hundred or more. The section Organs and oyary of hen. where this rudimentary egg is Puen eee 5 C of 2. Gall bladder. 13. Ovary. formed is called the ovarium. 3. Spleen. 14. Ege. It will be noticed that all these 4. Gizzard. 15, Ege entering oviduct eggs are covered separately with dD, .0- Duddenuis ae Refund ala rae oh 6. Panereas. i viduct. a filmy and transparent sac, and 7. Intestine. 18. Egg passing through oviduct. connected by a very narrow stem 8, 8. Free extremities of cceca. 19. Oviduct. to the ovary of the hen. These % 9. Opening of ureters. 20. Cloaca. li tary ; are in the very 10. Heart. 21. Opening of the oviduct. rudnunentary eggs are in the very 11. Stomach. 22. Margin of anus. first step of egg-formation, and their number controls the laying capacity of the hen in the finished product at the end of her laying period. They are the supply upon which she draws. They mature one at a time, growing larger and larger, and gradually separating from the cluster, and when matured in the ovarium, they detach themselves, their weight causing them to fall into a funnel-shaped tube, which leads direct to the oviduct. In the passage from the ovarium to the oviduct. the egg travels an average of 24 inches, and in a well-fed healthy hen, they follow one another very rapidly. 722 =Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. During this state, the egg consists of nothing but the yolk; the white is added later. This is added to the yolk in successive layers, and is drawn or secreted from the blood- vessels in the oviduct. It is a thin, sticky fluid, and, were it not for the sac which covers the yolk, the two would quickly form into one mass. A second sac is added during its passage to the oviduct, which greatly strengthens it. These sacs will be found to be very adhesive; they can be pricked with a needle, and the very moment the needle is withdrawn they will close up tightly, and prevent the yolk oozing out; but if the egg is illowed to lie in any one position for a time, it will adhere closely to the shell, and cannot be separated from it without breaking. The germ, which is the existence of the future chick, lies very close to the yolk. This is why it is advisable to turn eggs intended for hatching very frequently, thus preventing adhesion, which, of course, is fatal to the germ. The germ is held in its place on the yolk by what appears to be two twisted cords, which are embedded in the white. They are of an albuminous character, and very strong, serving to keep the germ in its place when the egg is in motion, and also to keep the germ uppermost during the entire period of incubation, so that it will receive, all other conditions being correct, the required amount of heat—no more and no less. When the egg is about half-way through the oviduct, it becomes covered with the two sacs found just inside the shell. They lie close around the egg until they approach the large end, where they se parate and form what is so familiarly known as the air-cell. Ina newly-laid ege the air-cell is very tiny, and as the egg advances in age the air-cell becomes larger. This is due to the contrac ting of the entire mass within the shell—caused by evaporation. Atter the egg has advanced well down into the oviduct, it becomes covered with the shell; but the shell, like the albumen or white, is added by a system of secretion from the blood-vessels of the hen. Very frequently the hen lays what is called a ‘* soft-shelled ” egg. Some advance the theory that this is due to lack of grit, oyster-shell, or other ‘ shell-forming ” substances. This is untrue. The real reason is this: Over-stimulation results in the excess of ova matter, and, as the eggs are continually advancing, two of them drop. inte the oviduct on the same day. Only one becomes coated with shell, and, naturally, in its advancement, the second egg is laid without the shell. Condition powders and stimulating foods are the real cause ef th's trouble, and we have also noticed that it can he caused by improper feeding, overfeeding one day and protracted starvation the next, and so on. ce Another result of stimulating feeding is the double ege, often called double-yolk.”’ This, in fact, is really a double ecg, Shite and all. ‘The cause of this is that when the eggs are maturing too fast, two of them fall into the oviduct together, and are encased in one shell, each one of them having a complete white and yolk of its own. If incubated and hatched (which they seldom do), they produce one of the monstrosities seen in con- sequence, such as a chick with more than two legs, &c. Of course, these never live. It requires about twenty-four hours for the shell to form, but very often a second ovum rests against the first just before the latter is laid, and, when complete, it presents a flat. crooked, or dented shell—this according to the position in which it lays against its pertectly- shelled mate. Of the many freak eggs met with, probably the tiny, marble-sized egg is the most frequent. After the hen has exhausted her supply of ova, her secreting organs are still actively engaged producing albumen and shell. This results in the tiny egg, which is only a she!l. covering a quantity of the albumen. This egg has never been attached to the ovary, which accounts for its size and the absence of the yolk; and is, of course, unhatchable under any condition. Very often we hear of the complaint of a strictly fresh egg being ‘‘ rotten.” This is cause’ by the oviduct being too fat; the egg cannct force its way through the fat, and if retained for two or three days in this position, the body heat of the hen will cause it to become addled. Eqg Passage.—Protrusion of the oviduct, or egg passage. is occasionally met with in the poultry yard, and usually with old, over-fat hens. It is caused by the straining to expel large eggs, and is evident at a glance. The organ should be washed with warm water, oiled, and with the finger gently returned, keeping the hen’s head downwards, so as to favour the simple operation. After this, a dose of castor oil is recommended. Further treat- ment is very rarely required. Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 728 Eqg Passage, Inflammation o/.—Inflammation of the egg passage sometimes occurs In connection with an egg-bound hen, or it may result from over- stimulating food. The disease 1s a serious one, its effects being witnessed in the action of the fowl, which has a constant desire to strain as if an egg was to be laid. The fowl stands about with wings dropped and feathers ruffled, while the underparts are hot, and the comb and wattles less red than normal. Cases of this sort are rarely curable, although there are instances when half a teaspoonful of sulphate of magnesia in warm water has done good. When this remedy is tried, a little salad or sweet oil should be dropped into the vent, the head being held down when this is being done. | oe | inches, Seat 6 b) Db “ in every case. eg GL 2 single-furrow ploughings, at 7s. 6d.. ae Ol 0 3 harrowings, at 8d... a Pe ny: ayn Ono 2 rollings, at 8d. ee ay) he 3 Drawing to station, at Id. per bushel Abe Foe Oe e . £3 18 9 Cutting up corn stalks ... maf gre Uae soo. WP ds £4 0 3 per acre. 50 bushels of corn, at 2s. 6d., at station ... 6 5 O Profit (to cover cost of manure, ifany) ... £2. 4 9 per acre. Cost of Producing a Crop of Wheat for Hay in the Hawkesbury District. : £ os. d. Q) 0 4 2 single-furrow ploughings, at 7s. 6d. 3 harrowings, at 8d. 2 rollings, at 8d. Drilling crop with mac chine - Sat Seed, ih bushels, at 3s., pickling, 6d. Cutting with binder &: asOoooooco —_ 0 ee) ne oe Stooking ee 0 Drawing to shed, 2 tons, ‘at 2 ) Rent, say, % year, at £1 Hee 0 0 2a Crop, 2 tons, at £2 47070 Profit, and to pay for manure, if any Boe sey ashi!) Cost of Producing Wheat for Grain in a Western Wheat Area. 5 5 Gb Ploughing (3-furrow) 04 4 sor OM nes: 3 at 8d. 0) 22520 Rolling, 1 at 8d.... OFFONS Drilling... ; side ef cea alan 4: Seed, r bushel at 38, 3 pickling, 6d. Nee - son UY BIE Cutting with binder Me OP rl Stooking x. OPP (8) Drawing to shed and stacking : OL 4: <0. Au hrashing and stacking, say (OP 0) Winnowing and bagging 0.2 20 Rent, say ... 010 O S14 S9 eredsh» °C! Yield, 16 bushels at 3s. ... Pye ts}- (0) 1+ tons of straw, at | Ds. per ton... 36 ae 015 O = = » Vd. 0 Profit to pay for manure, if any, and carting to station according to distance Sars oll MSae3d Norre.—These prices are based on actual costs—that is, the profit is not stated as made on the operation of ploughing, seeding, &e., but is included in the result. Costs must vary according to— 1. Loeal conditions of labour, &e. 4. Care in handling machinery. The state of ground and weather. 5. Area sown. 3. Price of feed and seed (if bought). 6. Class of implement employed. The cost of raising any other crop can be easily estimated from these figures. Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 735 Stack Ensilage. R. W. PEACOCK, Bathurst Experiment Farm. In building ensilage stacks the labour may be materially reduced by using a derrick as shown in illustration. The clutching dogs are made to tighten upon the material as the horse pulls, The points should be made of steel and polished so as to enter readily. Four stout posts at either corner of the stack would assist in keeping it plumb. The material should not be allowed to jamb at the posts to interfere with its settling. Stacks of green material very often tilt over to one side on account of uneven drying. The wind may dry one side more than the other and prevent its settling unitormly. A stack may fall over if not watched. A tarpaulin may be hung against the side to protect it from the wind. Water also could be applied to the drying side. Large quautities of fodder may be cheaply and effectively conserved by means of stacks. Constant pressure should be applied in the form of stones, bags of sand, or timber, whichever are the most convenient to minimise the waste at the top. - 2 so z 2 y=) Bre dies o ee z = | 6 cas g Oh ° Ro g Sie SS Gas F222 4 x alee x = aS | 4 q a = ao ea Sy 29°74 | 30:53 | 30°17 | 21:2 | 78:0 | 47°6 | 45°9 38 98 74 152 2°121 1914 41°3 1 16 24. 20 14 17 23 a ints & 1 D1 27 2 71 1 : Rainfaln, Lombs(s8) ~ 2 ea ea 0a 183! points. Dimes O “ats 1h Wo 28 200 nes! Mean for 16 years = 247 points. Greatest daily range of temperature, 40°5° on 12th. Frosts occurred on 17 days. Wirral N NE EF SE S SW NW AE er 2 1 ba] x a Th W. MERVYN. CARNE, Observer. 750 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. Rust in our Fruit Crops. EDWIN CHEEL, Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Tie rapidity with which these parasitic pests of our orchards and gardens are increasing, necessitates prompt and efficient attention, to prevent the further spread of these fungous diseases, and in the hope that some united effort may be taken to impress upon the minds of the growers the vast destruction that is taking place each year among some of their most important fruit crops, I feel it my duty to call attention to the ravages that is being made through allowing the unchecked spread of these parasitic fungi. Peach rust (Puccinia Pruni spinosa, Pers.). This is a disease which not only attacks our peach-trees, but also our plums, apricots, nectarines, and almond trees. It was first discovered in Queensland, in 1886, by Mr. H. Tryon, who forwarded the specimens to Baron von Mueller, who communicated them to Dr. M. C, Cooke for determination. During the period from December, 1890, to April, 1894, Dr. N. A. Cobb published a series of * Contributions to an economic knowledge of Australian tusts,” which may be found in this Gazette. In these writings, Dr. Cobb records the discovery of peach rust at Springwood, Pennant Hills, Rookwood, and at North Shore, near Sydney. In 1891, Mr. D. McAlpine, Vegetable Pathologist to the Department of Agriculture in Victoria, issued a special report on this disease, which was published as “ Bulletin No. 14.” In 1895, a further paper was published by Mr. McAlpine, which appears in the proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales of that year. In this latter paper excellent plates are given, showing the structure and germinating powers of the Uredo and Teleuto spores found upon peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and almond trees. In Mr. Mc Alpine's paper attention is drawn to the spread of this disease in Victoria, as follows :—Goulburn Valley, Murray to sea coast, and from Rutherglen to Wang Australia by Mr. J. G. O. Tepper, who forwarded them to Mr. McAlpine for identification. aratta. Specimens have also been collected in South Since the above records have been made, [ have found this disease infesting the aforesaid fruit-trees in Sydney, Penshurst, and at Goulburn, and have recorded their occurrence at these localities in the proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales for 1907. The most unfortunate part about these parasites is, that they are purely microscopic, and as such, are rarely noticed by the growers, except by the few who have been trained to look for them. When they are visible to the naked eye, on the upper and lower surface of the leaves, in the form of little brownish coloured pustules, the damage is then actually done, and there is little chance of trying to remedy the evil done at this period of the disease. Sept. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NASW. 751 The first noticeable signs of the disease may be seen about the latter end of December or early in January, when a yellowish appearance may be observed in the leaves. Following this will then soon be found the minute organisms which cause the symptoms mentioned above, hich, when microscopically examined, will be found to consist of countless millions of spores, ready to be blown through the atmosphere, for an attack on the next year’s crop. Soon after the appearance of the spores, the leaves of the trees affected commence to fall prematurely; even as early as February I have found some of the peach-trees at Penshurst to be almost denuded of their leaves. When one is reminded that February or March is but the end of the summer season or early autumn, it cannot but be admitted that this disease, which is the cause of the leaves falling off the fruit-trees prematurely, must have a very injurious effect on the constitution of the trees, as by the falling off of the leaves they are deprived of the most important organs of the plant, and as a consequenc+ the crops for next year are seriously affected, either by the trees bearing no fruit at all, or only small quantities of an inferior kind. It needs but little argument to prove that the enemies of cultivated plants are steadily increasing, and I think it can be easily shown that they will continue to increase so long as the conditions for which we are largely responsible, remain as they are at present. Because our fungus foes are increasing, it does not tollow that they should be regarded as a calamity, but it should be taken as a clear proof that we are pro- gressing, for as Professor Bailey, an eminent scientist, has said: ‘* Our enemies increase because cultivation induces changes of habits in wild organisms ; because it presents an ever-increasing variety of food, or host plants ; hecause the natural equilibrium or tension is destroyed.” It follows naturally, that the more we try to improve our fruits, flowers, or vegetables, or to change the habits of these plants to suit our modern requirements, just so much more do we disturb the equilibrium in nature, and thus we must expect to burden ourselves with the work of maintaining these changeable conditions by more or less artificial means. To enable growers of fruit or other crops,—not only in orchards but also in small gardens—to successfully cope with these diseases, it is necessary to first enlighten the growers, so that they may be able quickly and easily to identify the many diseases affecting their crops of fruit or vegetables. At present there is no systematic attempt to put information into the hands of the practical tillers of the soil, and until this is done we cannot hold anyone responsible who may happen to have these diseases in his garden or orchard. It is simply useless for one or two individuals to make an attempt to keep their fruit-crops free from these diseases when in the immediate vicinity their neighbours are careless and indifferent about the matter, and the only way to bring the results of the destruction of these minute organisms under their notice is to be fairly liberal in our supply of literature, giving the results of the — discoveries of scientists, and probable remedies for the destruction of the diseases. Another simple way to instruct the tillers of the soil would be for properly preserved specimens, representing the various phases of the diseases of plants, 752 = =Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. to be distributed in convenient centres of the State. From these it would be seen at a glance of what nature the fungous disease was, and the effect they have upon the crops. Accompanying the specimens there should be copious notes in pamphlet form provided for distribution among bond jide tillers of the soil, giving as nearly as possible the time of appearance of the disease, and the proper time to apply remedies for checking the same. If photographs could be obtained, showing tht appearance of the plants affected whilst in a fresh condition, additional interest in the specimens would be the result, and the growers would be thus enabled to more fully understand the disease and its effect. By a properly organised system of exchanges, between the principal centres of agriculture, horticulture, or fruit-growing districts, acting under instrue- tions from a properly equipped scientific central office, a good collection of the varicus diseases could be built up in the districts most concerned, and with remedies to check the further spread of these, the result would be of immense value not only to the growers themselves but also to the State at large. As a preventive measure to check the further spread of the peach-rust, the ** New Form of Bordeaux Mixture” is strongly recommended, which con- sists of the following ingredients :— Quicklime .. 4 1b. 6 oz. Bluestone euler of Couper) 4 lb. 6 oz. Molasses; ..., 4955.16) .; Wiaters 2 ... 22 gallons. Add the molasses to 13 gallons of water, then sl: me the lime and add 4! gallons of water to form a milk of lime. Pour this slowly into the sweetened water, stirring briskly in order to mix intimately, Next, in a third vessel (which must be of wooden material) dissolve the bluestone, and pour this into the previous mixture and stir well. The first application of the New Bordeaux Mixture for peach and plum rust should be immediately after pruning, say, July-August. The second application should be applied just before the buds burst. A third application should be applied when the leaves are halt developed. The appheation of this mixture is also beneficial if applied tor Peach-leaf curl. The application of potash manure is also very serviceable to check peach and plum rust. Nore BY Epiror. In 1892 I investigated these fungous diseases— Peach-rust and Peach-leaf curl, also the Shot-hole in apricots, and experimented with Bordeaux mixture, which certainly diminished tne pest. But the most efficacious remedy was undoubtedly found in adequately feeding the trees —100 peaches, nectarines and apricots—growing in sandy loam. I added one pound of sulphate of potash and half-a-pound of copperas (sulphate of iron) to the ordinary dose of six pounds of bonedust per tree, and these diseases absolutely disappeared in three years from the orchard. The subsequent years were notably dry ones, and, therefore, probably less favourable to the spread of fungous diseases ; but the very healthy appearance of wood, leaf, and fruit of all the trees convinced me that the addition of the above materials to the manure generally used on sandy soils for fruit is advantageous. T found some varieties of trees much more liable to these pests than others, and certain nurseries famous, or rather infamous, for sending out young trees badly infested. —H.C.L.A. =I fod) Sept. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. EDINBURGH AND EAST OF SCOTLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. Lectures on the Meat Industry THE absence of any systematic instruction in connection with the meat industry has often been remarked, and, when it is borne in mind that the use of meat as food is universal, this is all the more to be wondered at. There is scarcely any trade which does not see that its members have opportunities for studying the technical details of their business, and such an industry as butter-making, which, like the meat industry, is only a deyelop- ment of agriculture, occupies the principal place in the syllabuses of our agricultural colleges. There is every reason why the meat industry in all its multifarious branches should take as high a place and should form the subject of con- tinuous and systematic study ; and at the moment there seems to be a general desire on the part of those most interested, namely, the meat traders them- selves, that such opportunities should exist. There has not, however, so far been any organised attempts to translate this feeling into a definite project, and it is therefore interesting to know that a scheme has Just been arranged whereby education in connection with the meat trade will, for the first time in the United Kingdom, be placed upon an academic basis. This scheme owes its inception to Professor Robert Wallace, of Edinburgh University, and Principal of the East of Scotland College of Agriculture, Edinburgh. It is at the latter place that it is pro- posed to inaugurate the scheme by the establishing otf a lectureship on the meat industry. This has now been practically arranged, and the lecturer appointed is Mr. Loudon M. Douglas, whose writings in connection with the meat industry are well known. The series of lectures arranged will take place during next winter, and will embrace references to the history of the meat trade and its modern develop- ments, together with detailed accounts of the various departments of the industry, the construction of abattoirs, the laws aftecting the handling of meat, the diseases of animals used in the meat trade, pickling, preserving and otherwise utilising meat, with an account of the chemistry and bacteriology of the subject. Cold storage, m theory and practice, will also form the subject of many references, On the whole, the course proposed will aim at giving a thorough account of the industry, so as to form the introduction to the higher study of the subject in future sessions. As this is the first attempt of the kind which has been made, many will view it with great interest, and more especially those who may contemplate the organisation of a similar scheme in their own localities. 754 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Sep?. 2, 190°. Any turther information may be obtained from Mr. Loudon M. Douglas, East of Scotland College of Agriculture, Edinburgh, who will also be glad to hear from those in sympathy with the scheme, wherever they may be. It may be stated that the lectureship is supported financially by the Edin- burgh Master Butchers Association, whose President, Mr. Thomas G. Fisher, together with his colleagues, Mr. John Grays Wal and Mr. Brydon-Hoge, D.C., have, with many other members of the trade, taken a keen interest in the matter throughout. The Board of Education will also contribute their share of the expense, as will also the East of Scotland Agricultural College, Edinburgh. RIB-GRASS OR PLANTAIN. Wir reference to the fodder value of Rib-grass, referred to by Mr. Maiden in his article in the July issue, Mr. C. W. Bowyer-Smijth, Sutton Forest, writes :—‘t We look upon it as one of the very best milk producers, and T am sowing it now at my dairy farm, largely mixed with other pasture grasses. Of course, we arrive at these conclusions in a rough and ready way, but we have abundance of it in our paddocks and we see the cows eating it greedily, and at the same time they give us abundance of rich milk, and to us the inference is irresistible. IL have lately been sowing the following mixture of grasses where | have been burning off, viz. : Rib-grass ... a: i. ode pace Jiteyalll oy Paspalum ... oe ee = seg tet 5, Coecksfoot ... Bx, Aes 7 vpeealicome Mixed Clover éf ete Fae ee t ,, Seed is merely sown on the burned patches, and the ashes well raked over to cover the seed. THE SPRAYING OF FRUIT: 'REES. WE are in receipt of a booklet, “ The Spraying of Fruit Trees,” from Messrs. Anderson & Co., Sydney, describing experiments conducted in England with two spray-filuids manufactured by Messrs. Wim. Cooper & Nephews, Birk- hamsted, England. The efficacy of these fluids, known as V, and Vo, is being tested by the Department of Agriculture. Full reports will be published. Sept. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 755 Export of Grapes to England. Tne Department of Agriculture received advice from the Agent-General’s Office, London, regarding the excellent prices recently obtained for a shipment of grapes from Western Australia. The flavour of these grapes was pro- nounced by experts to be equal to that of the best English hot-house varieties. The variety which carried best was the Black Malaga. The white grapes, however, did not stand the journey so well, because they were packed when they were too torward. The temperature in the cool chamber of the vessel, about 40° Fahr., had been judged to a nicety, but the bunches were nearly all packed in cork dust, and the trouble was that when they were lifted out, the cork-dust packing achered to the fruit and could be removed only with ditticulty. Mr. B. Emanuel, of Covent Garden, who bought the whole consignment, says :—“ If each bunch had been wrapped in paper as the Cape grapes are, they would have landed in perfect condition. The Australian fruit is much superior to and of a better class than the Cape variety, and if the packing is well looked after at the other end there is a big future for Australian grapes in this country.” The grapes commanded a ready sale, and made trom &s. to 4s. a case, averaging from 12 Ib. to 18 Ib. In connection with the above, Mr. Blunno, Viticultural Expert to the Department, reports as follows :— The variety mentioned as carrying best, namely Black Malaga, is known here by this name. We have this variety at the Viticultural Station, Howlong. It is not grown by private table-grape growers, because so far they have been satisfied with the local market. Table-grape vineyards are all more or less smal', proprietors have not large means and cannot afford to take risks. The varieties grown are very few, viz.: Black Hamburg, Black Muscat Hamburg, White Sherry, and Muscat of Alexandria. These form the bulk. Towards the end of the grape season the Doradillo is marketed. A few years ago the Department of Agriculture imported several varieties of Chasselas ; they are excellent table grapes for sweetness and flavour, they are the earliest grapes to ripen anywhere, but in New South Wales have not met with mucb favour, because the bunches and_ berries are not showy. However, of late, some vinegrowers who obtained vines from Howlong have devoted more attention to them, and for the last three grape seasons I have seen Chasselas in the shop windows before any other grape. Besides the Malaga we also grow the Daria (Syn. Almeria) which is a shipping grape. There are other varieties of grapes in the collection such as Alicante, Trentham Black, Gros Guillaume, Syrian, Raisin des Dames, and Pearson's Golden Queen. The latter in normal seasons have a fairly elastic skin, and might carry over long distances, but we have made no experiments in this direction. Certainly they are not considered shipping grapes. Of the abovenamed varieties we have only a few vines of each, because they were planted for collection purpose. Most of the varieties enumerated are rather late varieties, and at Howlong they ripen towards the end of March. In the county of Cumberland and in the Hunter River Valley, they would be about three to four weeks earlier. The principal shipping table-grapes from Cape Colony are the Red and the White Hannepoort. We obtained a few cuttings of these last year and planted them at Howlong. 756 Agricultural Guzette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. Grapes from California are marketed in New York, Chicago, and Boston, and the quantities are on the increase. The value of table-grapes marketed in the cities of the Hastern States of America was calculated at two and one-half million dollars in 1906. The principal varieties grown and their respective proportions are :— Flame Tokay... a 60 per cent. Malaga oe 20 Muscat of Alexandria ) 3 Kinperor A mee < Ferrara ar Asal 20 i Cornichon —... Pali Black Morocco =e || Sultanina fs saad We have all the above varieties at the Viticultural. Station, Howlong ; the variety Ferrara is the Black Ferrar of our collection. The Flame Tokay grafts we ell on Rupestris du Lot in California ; at Howlong we grafted it on Rupestris Martin, on which it does well. A table-grape grower at Corowa was so pleased with the s samples of Flame Tokay which he had the opportunity of tasting at the Viticultural Station, that the following season (the season 1907) he took practically all the cuttings of Flame Tokay available for use as scions to graft on Phylloxera-resistant stocks. Monsieur Marés beheves that Flame Tokay is synonymous with Amar bou Amar, which in Arabic means “red father of the reds”; it originally came from Algeria. It was imported into California in 1857. ‘ 7 7m y \D my | yy f War Up WHEN IN NEED OF LABOUR FOR FARM OR STATION, Apply to—TnHe Direcror, INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT, CuHatuis Housr, Martin PLack, SYDNEY. EXPERIENCED farm labourers, strong useful lads, and married couples used to country life are arriving in New South Wales every week as assisted immi- grants. The Intelligence Department sends them promptly to agriculturists and pastoralists who have applied for their services, When on a visit to Sydney, farmers should make a point of calling at the Intelligence Department (opposite the General Post Office). Full particulars may be obtained, either by letter or personal call, as to how to bring out a relative or friend from the United Kingdom for £6 or £8, The Government Tourist Bureau, in the same building, explains, free of all charge, how to make the most of a short holiday. A SimpLe Tesr ro Distinguish PuRE Woo. GooDs FROM A Corron-WooL MIxTURE. Weicu a sample of the mixed fabric, then boil for twenty minutes in a LO per cent, solution of caustic potash or soda. This treatment removes the wool and a small percentage, possibly 5 per cent., of the cotton. Rinse, dry and weigh the residue, add 5 per cent., and the result is the weight of the cotton in the original sample. It is well to enclose the sample in a small sac k of cheese- cloth while boiling it in order to prevent loss of the cotton. —Dalgety’s Wool Review. ~I >a ~J Sept. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. Apple Report. Offices of Agent-General, 123 and 125, Cannon-street, London, E.C., 26 June, 1908. [ have the honor to forward herewith a short review on the season’s Sir, apple trade by Mr. A. J. Brisley. This gentleman acts as surveyor of frozen produce for a number of leading firms in London, and has the opportunity of seeing the apples arriving from all the States. I have the honor to be Sir, Your obedient Servant, The Honourable the Minister tor Tf Ae COGEHEAN: Agriculture, Sydney. IT wave the honor to submit the following report on fruit shipped from Australia and Tasmania. The last fruit shipped for the season has now been delivered, and I regret to state that the net result has not been financially satisfactory to shippers. The number of boxes sent from ‘Tasmania was about 485,000, and from Australia about 110,000 boxes. bis was rather less from Australia as compared with 1907, and more from Tasmania. The prices for apples from Australia averaged in this market all round about ls. per box less than the Tasmanians. Apples arrived generally in good condition, although in the early deliveries I found bitter pit prevail- ing rather extensively, but later on this was not so noticeable. The quality was not quite so good, nor were the apples so uniformly graded as last year. This applies more particularly to those from Tasmania, and in my opinion this is attributable to the fact that in their anxiety to get full freight shippers sent apples that were not of sufficiently good quality for export purposes. The fruit generally was well carried, at temperatures varying in different ships, from 35 to 42 degrees Fahr., but while I would not like to draw invi- dious distinctions, I must say it was carried better and more carefully handled by some lines than others. The packing is open to great improvement, as those on the top of the box when opened show the effect of undue pressure, and present a bruised appearance. Australian pears generally arrived in much better condition than those from Tasmania ; a number of the latter were condemned. The few grapes that were sent were fairly good. Cork-_ dust is the best packing for these. The passion-fruit was not a success. There is room for considerable expansion in the apple trade, but to make it entirely successful none but the best selected fruit should be sent. It should be very carefully graded and packed, and a popular price on the market 798 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Sept. 2, 1908. here would be 7s. per box of 40 1b. The favourite and best selling kinds of Australian apples for this market are (1) Dunn’s Seedling, (2) Jonathan, (3) Cleopatra, (4) Rome Beauty, (5) Munro Favourite. Apples realise the best prices from the first delivery till the middle of May, after which except for small specially selected choice marks, they do not as a rule fetch remunerative prices, as they come in competition with European summer fruits, straw- berries, &e. 25th June, 1908. (Signed) A. J. BRISLEY. Apples. Prices current at Covent Garden for the week ending 23rd April. Ssunces Smid: Australian—Pearmain — .. $i sa3))) (ll 0 to 13.0 Cleopatra - | Se Lb a0. Cox’s Orange Se Ses Lo Ory al G6 Jonathan : 23 Oe Low 10 Wellington r40Ib“box 19°16 |, 16 0 Tasmanian--N.Y. Pippin (Mi eeGs ele Alexander ee cl Orca ley et) veinette safe ies ee) AO are re IDA (8 Prices current for the week ending 14th May. Australian—Pearmain ... He a 9 0 to 10 6 Cleopatra... ae ae OOF el leO Cox's Orange Pe -, LO ea a0) Jonathan ... wn eal St) Oey TE 0 Wellington ... +o EE eS ST a3 SS EAG Tasmanian—N Y. Pippin af = 9205, ollaO Alexander ... oe ove ase ede) Reinette ... sy as S- Gre eon Prices current for the week ending 25th June. Australian—Pearmain _... an Ee.) Cleopatra Jonathan ... Dunn’s Seedling + ESQ Ge 20.86 Tasmanian —N.Y. Pippin a vat SDS ees LOR:G 7,5 W4aeO Nonpareil... a eel | oko eh WW Reinette 5¢ | a0) 8 0 Stone Pippin } e727. Gua One Sept. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. 759 Progress Report from Mr. W. W. Froggatt. (Mr. Froaearr was travelling on behalf of the Governments of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, in quest of means of combating the fruit-fly and codling moth pests, and other fruit and plant diseases. He has now returned to Sydney, and his complete report will be published in a Special Bulletin as soon as possible. | R.M.S. ‘“ China,” Red Sea, Sir, 23 May, 1908. T have the honour to furnish you with a brief summary of my investigations since IT posted my last at Constantinople. 5 I left that town on the evening of the 30th of April, bound to Cyprus, va Smyrna and Beyrout, reaching the former town on the following day, when I went ashore and went through the markets, where everything under the sun can be purchased—from old weapons to fruit and vegetables. All the latter were of the same kind and quality as those in the Stambul markets, to which Smyrna sends a large amount of produce. At Beyrout the cultivation of the mulberry is the chief industry, and the whole valley of the Dog River, and for some miles beyond the town, is nothing but mulberry plantations, while there were scores of silk-reeling machines and primitive hand-looms for weaving in the houses I passed through. A large quantity of fruit and vegetables is grown in the neighbourhood, and the whole valley was dotted with wells and pumps for irrigating the land. Large quantities of loquats were exposed for sale in the markets (some of rather fine quality), and all the trees in the gardens of the town were covered with nets to protect them from the birds. Green cherry plums were also sold in large baskets. Very small cucumbers and immature young squashes, with quantities of slender French beans, were the chief vegetables. The large, oblong Jaffa oranges were plentiful, with several small and poor varieties. Early on the morning of the 8th May we anchored off Larnica, and I joined forces with Mr. Clement Reid, of the British Geological Survey, who was visiting the Island of Cyprus to report upon its water supply, and travelled to Nicosia in his carriage, a distance of 26 miles, over a most barren strip of white, chalky mud and limestone hills and valleys. Wherever there was a bit of land it was planted with barley ; but until we came within a mile of the capital there was absolutely no shade or trees except a few Australian Wattles planted round the rest-houses and police stations. BE 760 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | Sept. 2, 1908. As soon as we arrived | presented my credentials to the Director of Agriculture (Mr. Saracomenos), and made an appointment to go out next morning and see the methods they adopted for catching the young locusts. The same afternoon we attended a reception at the High Commissioner’s, and left our cards. Next day [ had an interview with Sir Charles King-Harman at Government House, and obtained his authority to get Mr. Bevan, Assistant Director of Agriculture, to go eounel the agricultural centres of the island with me. With Mr. Saracomenos I drove out to the low, scrubby hills where the locust-catchers were at work sweeping the ground with large calico nets, shaped in front like a bow, so that the flat side was drawn over the surface of the ground, and the young hoppers fell into a small bag-like appendage at the bottom of the net, from which they were shaken into a small bag that the hunter carried tucked into his belt. We then went down to the Government Camp, and saw the method of buying them by weight from the hunters, who receive a slip giving the amount due to them, which they present at the Treasury for payment. The accumulated catch is shaken into a large sack, which is finally emptied into a pit of quicklime and covered up. Since the time of the British occupation of Cyprus, in 1879, active operations have been carried on against the locusts that breed in the rough, barren lands of the island, and which had, under Turkish rule, often devoured the greater part of the crops grown on the island. At first attention was turned to the collection and destruction of the eggs, and a tax of 7 to 8 okes of eggs (1 oke equals 24 Ib.) had to be paid to the Government by every able-bodied man on the island. This collection started on the Ist of June, and by the end of the year 138,422 okes of eggs had been brought in and buried. Each pod of eggs was found to contain 30 to 35 eggs, and each oke contained from 450 to 500 pods, so that the quantity of eggs destroyed made a total of 2,000,000,000. In spite of this work being carried out, on the following year the locusts did not appear to decrease, and the natives lost heart. In 188i it was decided to use Mr. Richard Muttei’s methods of pits and screens, and until 1897 this was the plan adopted, an income-tax being made law, the revenue of which was used for the expense of killing out the locusts. Screens were erected, and pits dug along the line of march of the locusts as soon as they emerged from the eggs and began to feed, and they were driven against the screens, from which they fell, and, moving downwards, encountered the pits, into which they tumbled, men with spades covering them over with earth and tramping them down when full. In 1883 the Government employed 2,631 men on the work of locust destruc- tion, and 7,543 screens were in use, most of which were in 50-yard lengths. In the following year 11,085 screens were in use, when the sum of money expended in this work reached to £14,746, and between the years 1881 and 1886 the sum of £66,841 was spent on this work. The Commissioner, commenting on this expenditure in his report, says :— “Large as this expenditure may seem, it is certain that it has already been recovered by the island many times over in the value of the crops saved. Sept. 2,1908.] = 24 to 170 Central-western Slope ne = 58 to 170 South-western Slope 55 113 to 99 North-western Plain 53 — 65 to 117 Central-western Plain e 123 to 73 Riverina a 20) to 79 Western Division $5 205 to 68 772 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Sept. 2, 1908. CLIMATOLOGICAL table for the month of July, 1905, compiled from daily telegraphed returns. TEMPERATURE. : no Station. a z z et] on as |, 7s | aa | ee [ Berry Farm 5 (imp ). ...| Judy’s Mischief College Nischien KirkhamJudy| Wollongbar Farm. 2. Kerry... Bratha’s Boy ... Aicme Chin...) Bratha 4th | Glen Innes Farm.. + Dexter Kerry. Wiatervallene pg al isa. c5. caiectassemras | sotsstewtacisebutianase | Grafton Farm : Punch. | Holstein .| The Hague ...| President .| LolkjeVeeman|H.A. College, Richmond @ a . Obbe Il =| Obbe Wollongbar Farm 2 * Available for service only, at the Farm where stationed. .| La Shrapnel. | Regulations under which the Government Stud Bulls are leased. Department of Mines and Agriculture, Sydney, Ist July, 1903. 1. Any Agricultural Society, Dairy Farmer, or a combination of Dairy Farmers, may, should the Minister deem it advisable, obtain the hire of one of the Government stud bulls for a period of six months if they guarantee payment for the service of thirty cows, or for shorter periods on special terms. 2. The fee, which shall be payable in advance, shall be at the rate of 5s. (five shillings) per cow for all bulls save Dexter- Kerries, and their fee shall be at the rate of 2s. 6d. (two shillings and sixpence) per cow. Bulls will in no case be forwarded until the fees have been received. + Available for lease, or for service at the Farm. IL Agricultural Gazette of N.S... | Sepé. 2, 1908. 3. Bulls leased will be transferred free of charge to any place not more than 100 miles by rail from the place from which they are transferred ; to any place distant more than 100 miles by rail, lease will be granted only on condition that the lessee pays all charges for the extra distance over 100 miles. In the case of bulls sent by sea, or partly by rail and partly by sea, all expense over the sum of £1 (one pound) must be borne by the lessee. The lessee must make all arrangements for, and bear all expense of, transferring a bull from the nearest railway station or port to the place where it is to be stationed. In the case of leasing a bull already stationed within the district, the new lessee must send for the bull and bear the expense of removal. 4. A condition of the leasing of the bulls shall be that the farming public be allowed to send cows to the bull at a fee of not more than 10s. (ten shillings) per cow, provided the bull’s list is not already full, but the total number of cows served must not be more than thirty for six months. 5. Hach bull shall be treated and kept in a condition to satisfy the Depart- ment, and shall be at all times open to inspection of authorised Officers of the Department. 6. A return showing the number of cows served, and distinguishing between cows owned by those to whom the bull is leased and the outside public, shall be sent to the Department at the end of the term. 7. All due care must be taken to see that the bull shall not have access to cows suffering from any infectious disease, special attention being given to pleuro-pneumonia and tuberculosis. 8. No farmer who is known to have p!euro-pneumonia in his herd shall be permitted to send cows to any of these bulls within three months from the date of the last outbreak. 9. In case of illness of a bull the Department shall be immediately informed. 10. The bull shall not be allowed to run with cows, but shall be kept in a special bull paddock, which must be well fenced, and each cow “in use” shall only be allowed to remain with the bull such time as will enable him to have connection with her twice. However, where necessary, in order to keep bulls quiet, special permission may be given to run with one or two specially- selected healthy cows. 11. Should any of the foregoing rules not be complied with, the Depart- ment shall have the right to remove the bulls at once, and all fees paid shall be forfeited. 12. Should a bull be wilfully neglected or badly treated, or Rule 10 be broken, the Department shall have the right to take any action desirable for the recovery of damages. 13. All applications for bulls should be made to the Director of Agricul. ture, Departinent of Agriculture, Sydney. AGREEMENT CLAUSE. In consideration of the loan of one Stud Bull ( ) for a period of If of do hereby agree to be bound by the conditions expressed in the foregoing Regulations. Dated this day of 190 Witness ,— Lessee. Iles Duty, Steanp: N.B.—This agreement must be signed on the day the bull is received by the lessee, and | One Shilling. | is to be returned by first post to the Director of Agriculture. } Y, EB tr Le Vol. XIX Part 10. he a Le ee 5 = ee TOBE Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper. Price SIXPENCE. vol; XIX. Part.10. OCTOBER 2, 1908. po tacUL TURAL Cul Vela ais OF NEV sOU TH. W ALES: Issued by Direction of THe Hon. JOHN PERRY, MP.. MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE. F. G. CHOMLEY, Sub-Editor. Hy Authority : SypneY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER [ a | , 1908. *28808 (a) Il Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. It is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Mew South GHales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same in separate pamphlet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. IBRARY COND ENERS@ etree ForRESTRY— PAGE. Some Practical Notes on Forestry suitable for New South Wales J: H. Maiden 781 CHEESE-MAKING ON THE Soutn Coast or New SourH WALES W. Graham 797 AN EXPERIMENT WITH LUCERNE AND PEA CULTURES... sue eo HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENT Farm— Feeding of Pigs aC ts a Ast ee LEEW. eBobtse 606 Monthly Weather Report... ae 2. W. Mervyn Carne 812 SHEEP FOR FARMERS f: fe He ae «iv. iy Gennys, 813 A PLEA FOR SILAGE IN THE WEST _.... se %. ©, C.-Bradly "825 Nove on Argemone mexicana... ie ee ... Jd. H. Maiden. 829 InpdIAN Cane (Saccharum officinarum) as A FoppER PLantr A. H. Haywood 830 Fertinity oF TEosinté (Luchlena luxurians) SEED GROWN AT BELIN- DIGARBAR EXPERIMENT FARM i? a> At, ae Peo Frepinc Mirkinc Herbs ae a ce H. R. Alexander 832 THe “ Dainty TELEGRAPH” FARRER SCHOLARSHIP Bhs ae Oo) USEFUL AUSTRALIAN PLANTS— Eriachne obtusa, R.Br., variety glabrata ; new variety J. H. Maiden 836 \e ©) S — ANALYSES OF SOILS FROM THE EDEN DiIstTRICT ef wah ee sis ie =e Report BY FRuir EXPERT ON LAND LYING BETWEEN GOSFORD AND > eee a) MANGROVE RiIvER ... ae Be at ae ee Ae SD) —. PHALARIS CoMMUTATA aor vere nite SA5 SBE Soe a OAS Iv Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Ocer. 2, 1908. PAGE. A Loca Market FoR LINSEED... J Beh re ony Ben to), PASPALUM DILATATUM AND CLOVER sae ae 2. CO. Be Sulius® 185i WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING AUGUST, 1908 ... ae S. Wilson 852 SEASONABLE NOTES Wheat Exhibits at Shows... on ae ... G. L. Sutton 858 OrcHARD Notes... ne aoe See Se 2a) We Je Allens 2s6i Farm Novres Hawkesbury District es Lee ae 2) EESWs (Rotts: 1665 AGRICULTURAL SHOWS .. ae a mr ae ye ce) 1008 ADVERTISEMENTS— Government Stud Bulls available for service at State Farms, or for lease, Pure-bred Pigs for sale. Dairy Bulls for sale at Berry, Wollongbar, and Belindigarbar. Fibre Plants for free distribution. Rams, Boars, and Poultry for sale. Teosinte Seed for sale. Cuttings of Indian Cane for sale. NOL XK PART. 10: OCTOBER 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Forestry. SomME PrRacticaAL NOTES ON FORESTRY SUITABLE FOR NEw SourH WALES. [Continued from page 712. ] J. H. MAIDEN, Government botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. EDS Trees other than Conifers and Palms : Urticaceze (Elms and Figs). For the purpose of this article I will call it the Elm and Fig family. It comprises many other genera than those I have chosen; for example, it includes the nettles. Very interesting trees are certain New South Wales members of this family, which are being dealt with in my Forest Flora of New South Wales. Dealing with the eight genera of trees I will bring under review in this article, the following two tables show the classifications adopted by eminent botanists :-— A. ‘Genera PLtantarumM” of Bentham and Hooker. Urticaceze— Tribus 1.—U/mee. Ulmus. Planera. Holoptelea. Tribus 2.—Celtidee. Zelkova. Celtis. Tribus 4.—Moree. Maclura. Morus. Tribus 5.—Artocarpee. Ficus. B. Engler’s ‘‘ PFLANZENFAMILIEN.” Urticales. Ulmace. - Ulmus. Zelkova. Holoptelea. Celtis. Planera. Moracez. Morus. Ficus. Maclura. 782 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Select Bibliography. Gamble, J. S.—‘* Manual of Indian Timbers” (1902 Edition). King, G.—The species of Ficus of the Indo-Malayan and Chinese Countries. Part 1— Paleemorphe and Urostigma (1887). Part 2—Syneecia, Sycidium, Covellia, ‘Eusyce and Neomorphe (1888).. Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard., Calcutta, 3. Loudon, J. C Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum. Vol. III, pp. 1342-1420. Mueller-—‘‘ Select extra tropical plants.” Sargent—“ Silva of North America.” Vol. VIJ. Weddell, H. A.--Monographie de la Famille des Urticées. Archives du Muséum, t. IX, Paris, pp. 592, with 20 plates. ULMACE. The Elms (l7mzs). There are about twenty species, confined to the colder and temperate regions: of the northern hemisphere, while the cultivated forms amount toa very great many. On this point Loudon, p. 1375, says :— These are very numerous, both in Britain and on the Continent ; and most of them. * have been selected by nurserymen from their seed-beds. Any one, Baudrillart remarks, who has ever observed a bed of seedling elms, must have noticed that some have large leaves, and some small ones ; some are early, some are late ; some have smooth bark, and some rough bark ; and some soft leaves, and others very rough ones. Some varieties are higher than others ; the branches take now a vertical, and again a horizontal, direction. In short, while botanists describe, and cultivators sow, they will find that nature sports with their labours, and seems to delight in setting at fault alike the science of the one and the hopes of the other. This is always the case with plants that have been long submitted to the cultivation of man. The cares that are bestowed upon them, the different situations in which they are placed, and the different kinds of treatment which they receive, appear to change their native habits. (See Dict. des Eaux et foréts, ii, p. 460.) Elms, speaking generally, require rich, deep, moist, alluvial soils in the coldest parts of New South Wales. The Elms of Tumut, for example, are remarkably fine. Elms seem to require cool winters for their proper development. I am sorry to hear that the fine Elms of Wagga Wagga are doomed. Beautiful to look at, they are becoming a prey to boring beetles. The summer heat and warm nights with insufficient accentuation of cold during the winter, appear to induce in these trees debility which renders them an easy prey to insects. Elms of the Old World. 1. U. campestris, L. The Common Elm of Europe. It extends to North Africa. See t. 232 of Bentley and Trimen’s “ Medicinal Plants.” The Common Elm does very well in Melbourne and Adelaide ; it succeeds far less in Sydney. In Europe it is very abundant, being used both in parks and for street and avenue planting. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 783 The timber of the Elm is tough, and remarkably durable under water. It was formerly employed in making water-pipes before these were superseded by iron ones. Coffins are commonly made of it in Europe. The dried inner bark is official in the British Pharmacopeeia, possessing mild astringent tonic and demulcent properties. ee epee Ulmus campestris, L. State Nursery, Camphelltown. 784 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. L 15. See photo of a tree, State Nursery, Campbelltown. Planted seven years, 12 feet high. There are many varieties or horticultural forms of the Common Elm. For example, we have the following in New South Wales :— U. suberosa, Sm. The Cork-barked Elm. See Sowerby, Lng. Bot. t. 2161. The bark of this form develops more or less thick and ridged corky wings. Ulmus campestris, L. var. umbraculifera, Trautv. State Nursery, Campbelltown. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 785 There is a tree in the Government Domain. UW. campestris vay. umbraculifera, Trautv. Ot the tree shown, which is in the State Nursery at Campbelltown, Mr. J. McEwen says, “ planted seven years, 12 feet high. The most compact and symmetrical grower of all the Elms.” See photo. At the State Nursery, Campbelltown, we have also the so-called varieties Chester and amplexicaulis. 2. U. scabra, Miller (Syn. U. montana, Withering). Here is an instance in which a name long in use in New South Wales must give way to the laws of botanical priority. Native of Europe, North Africa, Central Asia to China and Japan. This includes :— U. montana, Withering. The “ Wych Elm,” “ Scotch or Mountain Elm,” or “ Dutch Elm.” This is the native Elm of England. Bows were made of the wood of the Wych Elm, which were considered only second in quality to those of Yev, See Syme. Engl. Bot. t. 1287. . The Huntington Elm is placed by Loudon, iii, 1404, under UW. glabra, Mill (the Smooth-leaved or Wych Elm), variety vegeta, of which he gives U. montana vegeta as a synonym. This is, according to Loudon, by far the most vigorous kind of Elm propagated in British nurseries, “the fastest grower, and produces the best timber of all elms.” For an account of its origin see Loudon Joe, cit. There is a specimen in the State Nursery, Campbelltown. It is the fastest g: ower of the Elms in Sydney except the “Canadian Giant.” Also L 15. The photo is that of a specimen of U. montana in the State Nursery, Campbelltown. It is 22 years old. Mr. McEwen reports :—‘‘ Height about 50 feet; upright growth. Well suited for this district. All the Elms grow well here.” There is also a photo of a tine tree in the Government Domain. Ulmus “ Canadian Giant” is also a variety of montana, and is the quickest grower in Sydney. It is rather more spreading than the ordinary form, There is a specimen on the sloping lawn, nearest Government House, and looking towards the sea-wall. There is a photo of a specimen in the State Nursery, Campbelltown. “Planted seven years ; 12 feet ; steady growth.” (J. McEwen.) We have U. montana var. purpurea in Campbelltown, and it, ike many others, is listed by the Sydney nurserymen. It owes its name to the purplish leaves, but they do not colour well in Sydney. There is a specimen in the Government Domain. See photo of a tree, State Nursery, Campbelltown. ‘ Planted twenty- two years ago. Wide spreading halt. About 20 feet high.” (J. McEwen.) 3. U. parviflora, Jacq. (syn. U. chinensis, Pers). The Chinese Elm. I draw special attention to the fact that U. chinensis, bemg a later name, has been suppressed by modern botanists. The name is widely in use in New South Wales, and convenient, but we must drop it, whether we like it or not. 736 = =Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Oct. 2, 1908, It is native of Thibet and Northern China and is a beautiful species. It does well in Sydney. There used to be a fine plant at Admiralty House, but it had to be removed for structural alterations. The beautiful tree on the band-house lawn, Sydney Botanic Gardens, failed to unfold its leaves in the spring of 1905. The droughty years had been punishing it severely. Ulmus montana, With. State Nursery, Campbelltown. Oct. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N\S.W. 787 There is also a tree in the Garden Palace Grounds. See photo of tree in State Nursery, Campbelltown. ‘20 feet high. Planted about twelve years. Does well here. A fine tree.” (J. McEwen.) 4. U. lancifolia, Roxb. The Himalayan Elm. Native of the sub-tropical forests of the Sikkim Himalaya (Central and Eastern Himalaya up to 5,000 feet). Khasia Hills up to 5,000 feet, Chittagong and Burma. Bk. aeetens ls A oeit F Mate” = tre" SEE ANE Os aa Pe SSE ORT en oa eer et tras Bel OS Ae or is e 1 g oe Stree ae © Wise ea Smog Ulmus montana, With. Government Domain, Sydney. 788 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. “This is a large deciduous tree ; wood light red and hard.” (Gamble.) 5. U. Wallichiana, Planchon. See Brandis’ “ Forest Flora,” 432, t. 51. A large deciduous tree. Found in the Western Himalaya from the Indus to Nepaul in ravines at elevations varying from 3 to 10,000 feet. Ulmus montana, With., var.‘* Canadian Giant,” State Nursery, Campbelltown. Oct. 2, 1908.) Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 789 Gamble (op. cit. p. 627) speaks of it as a large tree with a fine timber, which deserves to be much better known that it is as a furniture wood. American Elms. 6. U. alata, Michaux. The “Wahoo” or ‘“ Winged Elm” of the United States. Ulmus montana, With., L. var. purpurea. Stite Nursery, Campbelltown, 790 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Figured by Sargent at t. 315 also at t. 235, of Bentley and ‘Trimen’s “ Medicinal Plants.” Called ‘* Winged Elm” in allusion to the corky wings of the branchlets. A tree of medium or small size which usually grows on dry gravelly uplands and sometimes in rich alluvial soil on the borders of swamps and banks of Ulmus parviflora, Jacq. (U. chinensis, Pers.). State Nursery, Campbelltown. Oct. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 191 streams. It is a native of the warmer United States, not extending to the Pacific. Sargent says that it grows to its largest size and most abundantly in the region west of the Mississippi River. It should, therefore, be easy of introduction into New South Wales. “The good habit, rapid growth, small size, and abundant foliage of the Wahoo make it a desirable ornamental tree, and it is often planted in the Southern United States to shade the streets of towns and villages.” (Sargent. ) 7. U. americana, L. he “White Elm” or “ Water Elm” of the United States. This is figured by Sargent at t. 311 of his “Silva of North America,” and Pinchot has published Circular 66 of his Forest Planting it. (U.S. Department of Agriculture.) It is a very large and graceful tree, and extends from Newfoundland here Leaflets concerning and there as far south as Texas. Like most Elms it flourishes best in deep, well-drained alluvial soil. At the same time it is very accommodating both as regards moisture, quality of soil and temperature. It is said to be very liable to borers in its native country. Its timber is valuable for cooperage, flooring, wheels, ship-building, and agricultural implements. It is, however, not durable. It is a specially valuable tree for ornamental and protective planting. — [ts seeds do not retain their vitality long, but it is readily propagated from suckers. 8. U. crassifolia, Nuttall. The ‘‘Cedar Elm” of the United States. Figured by Sargent at t. 315 of his work. A tree of medium or large size occurring in some of the warmer parts of the United States, ¢.g. Mississippi, Southern Arkansas, and Texas. In Arkansas it grows usually on river cliffs and low hillsides. * As it grows on the bottom lands of the rivers of Central Texas, the Cedar Elm, with its broad head of long pendulous branches, covered with dark green lustrous leaves, is one of the most beautiful and graceful trees of North America. It is occasionally planted as a shade tree in the streets of cities and towns in Texas, but except in Texas it is rarely seen in cultivation.” (Sargent. ) It seems, therefore, the lkelest of the American Klms to flourish in coastal New South Wales. 9. U. fulva, Michaux. ‘The Shppery or Red Elm” of Eastern North America. Sargent figures this tree at t. 314 of his celebrated work, and quotes U. ? pubescens! Walter, as a doubtful synonym. On the other hand, Pinchot in his Forest Planting Leaflet, Circular 85 (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture), treats of the Slippery Elm as U. pubescens without doubt. As these two eminent. American dendrologists and foresters differ, we will leave it at that. The vernacular names are owing tothe mucilaginous character of the inner oark and the reddish tint of the trunk. 792 = Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | Oct. 2, 1908. It is a native of Ontario, Canada, and occurs south to Florida, the Mississippi, and Texas, so that the tree may be reasonably expected to flourish in parts of New South Wales. It inhabits the banks of streams and low rocky hillsides, where it grows in deep, fertile soil. Its wood is heavy, hard, strong, close-grainec, and durable. It is, however, best known from the thick fragrant inner bark of the branches, which is mucilaginous, demulcent, and slightly nutritious ; it is. used in febrile affections and externally in the form of poultices. Sargent says 1t is in cultivation a handsome, shapely, fast-growing tree ; but he states that in public parks and streets its use is to be avoided, for once its identity is established it usually falls a prey to boys eager to devour the inner bark of the branches. This, of course, applies to American boys, and it is pre- sumed that Australian boys will be a long time finding out its toothsome- hess. 10. U. mexicana, Planchon. ‘The one species of Mexico, occurring in the Cordilleras of South-western North America. Mueller states that this elm attains a height of 60 feet, or perhaps more. 11. U. pendunculata, Fougeraux (U. levis, Pallas ; U. ciliata, Ehrhart). Europe and Asia through the middle zone. Stated by Mueller to be a fine avenue tree. 12. U. racemosa, Thomas. The “ Rock Elm” or “Cork Elm” of the United States. Figured by Sargent at t. 312. A large tree, native of Canada, through the Eastern United States as far south as Tennessee. Sargent says it grows on dry gravelly uplands commonly in company with the Sugar Maple. It attains its largest size in Ontario (Canada) and Michigan.. Its timber is heavy, hard, very strong and tough, close-grained and sus- ceptible of receiving a good polish, and Sargent says that the value of the wood of this tree threatens its extinction. He, however, points out that it is a handsome and distinct ornamental tree, which planters have too generally neglected. The Indian Elm ( Holoptelea). 1. Holoptelea integrifolia, Planchon. (Ulmus tategrifolia, Roxburgh.) The Elm of India, extending from the lowlands to sub-alpine regions. A large tree, with timber of good quality. Foliage deciduous. The above is taken from Mueller, ‘Select Extra Tropical Plants,” the tree being recommended tor New South Wales. I do not, however, know of a tree in Sydney. I will, however, try to introduce it. Gamble speaks of it as “a common tree, but of little importance.” It is. usually much branched or twisted. The wood is strong, but is used but little. Brandis mentions its use for building, carts, and carving. The leaves are lopped for cattle fodder. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 793 The Water Elms (Planera and Zelkova). 1. Planera aquatica, Gmelin. The Water Elm of the United States. Figured at t. 316 of Sargent’s work. A tree of medium size, native of Geep swamps in the Central United States. Comparatively rare and confined to the neighbourhood of the coast in the Atlantic and Eastern Gulf States. The Water Elm is very abundant in Western Louisiana and Southern Arkansas, where it attains its largest size (Sargent). Deciduous. It does not appear to be of economic importance, but it is an interesting tree suitable for.cultivation in swampy country in the warmer parts of New South Wales, and indeed up to a moderate elevation, 1. Zelkova acuminata, Planch. (Syn. Planera acuminata, Lindl.) Native of Japan. Deciduous. A small tree with us, in a damp situation ; a very old plant, and we cannot speak much in regard to one specimen, but it is certainly worthy of trial in cold, moist districts. E19: 2. Z. crenata, Spach. (Planera Richardi, Michaux.) The foliage strongly resembles the Elm, but the bark more resembles that of the Plane than that of the Elm. This and Planera may be grafted on the Elm (7reasury of Botany). Mueller (Select Extra Tropical Plants) gives the following account of it :—‘‘ South-Western Asia, ascending to 5,000 feet. In favourable localities a good sized tree, with qualities resembling those of the Elms. Growth of comparative celerity. Wood never infested by insects, also otherwise very durable, fine-grained, heavy and hard.” Tt forms a small tree with us, but it is in rather a well-drained situation. The allied Z. cretica, Spach, is restricted to South Europe. Resists severe frosts. Its tendency to form straight and tall stems and few and _ short branches is evident. Attains an age over 200 years ; rate of growth about 2 feet a year. The wood is pale yellowish and streaked, tough and elastic, neither rends nor warps, also under ground the wood is almost imperishable. Medwedieff calls this tree the Pearl of the Caucasian forests. The propaga- tion is either from seeds, or layers, or cuttings. (H. Scharrer.) U near D 2. The Nettle-trees (Celtis). 1. Celtis australis, L. The Nettle-tree of Europe. Native of South Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. The specific name australis means ‘“ Southern” and only secondarily ‘‘ Australian.” A tree of medium height, with smooth trunk and long flexible branches. The tree is deciduous, and the small greenish flowers are produced at the same time as the leaves. In New South Wales it stands dry and cold as well as hot situations, imitating Grevillea robusta much in this respect. It is not cultivated for avenues or specimen trees as frequently as its merits demand. It is a great favourite for this purpose in France and Italy. 794 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. “The fruit, which when ripe is blackish and resembles a very small withered wild cherry, is said not to become edible until the first frosts, and it hangs on until the following spring. It is remarkably sweet, and is said to have been the Lotus of the ancients. Homer says it was so delicious as to make those who ate it forget their native country. The berries are still eaten in Spain, and Dr. Walsh says the modern Greeks are very fond of them.” “The wood of the branches is elastic and supple. Its compactness renders: it susceptible of a high polish and when it is cut obliquely across the fibres it much resembles Satin Wood. It is used for furniture and carving, and its branches are extensively employed in making hay forks, coach whips, ram- rods, and walking sticks, according to Loudon.” (Treasury of Botany.) Gamble also draws attention to the conspicuous pores on a vertical section, and says that in Southern France, where the wood is much esteemed for oars, tool handles, sticks and other purposes requiring toughness and elasticity, this tree is cultivated in small closely-grown coppice-woods in order to meet such requirements. Here is a minor forestry industry available to many small farmers in New South Wales. Gamble says that in the Western Himalaya it is often planted to be lopped for cattle fodder. On these grounds alone the tree is worthy of extended trial in a cattle and horse- oreeding country like New South Wales. 2. C. occidentalis, L. ‘The Blackberry or Sugarberry tree.” Native of Central North America, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, extending from Canada to Florida, Figured in Sargent’s “ Silva of North America,” t. 317. The United States Department of Agriculture has published a Forest Planting Leaflet (Circular 75) dealing with this tree. It is usually characterised by a single stem with warty bark and a broad conical crown. It is a tree of good size. In the Middle West it is exten- sively planted for a shade tree, and it is recommended for admixture with other species in wind-breaks. It should be an excellent tree for our tablelands. It is but shrubby at Campbelltown, in our experience, Pinchot remarks that it will of course thrive better on a fertile soil than on a poor one, but the ability to grow on almost sterile soils is one of its best qualities. ‘It is characteristic of the tree to live and bear seed in situations where almost any other tree would die. In the more humid regions it grows on dry and sometimes almost barren soil, while in the semi-arid plains it thrives best along the watercourses. A limestone soil seems to be especially favourable. It will not endure swampy soil.” (Pinchot). It does not seem a specially valuable timber, but as a living tree for tree- less country it seems to be specially indicated. MORACE. The Mulberries (J/orws). 1. Morus alba, L. The ‘“ White Mulberry.” The Mulberry usually employed for silkworm culture. A native of temperate Asia. When wild or semi-wild the fruit is small and rather dry, but under proper cultivation the tree yields several very good varieties. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 795 Neither here nor in the United States has the silkworm industry attained commercial importance. The subject comes into the domain of the Entomo- logist, and there is a voluminous literature, even in Australia, concerning it. Several articles will be found in back numbers of this Gazette. The United States Department of Agriculture has published a useful ‘ Farmer’s Bulletin” No. 165, on “Silkworm Culture,” by Miss Henrietta Aiken Kelly, Special Agent in Silk Investigations, Division of Entomology. This lady studied the subject in France and Italy for a number of years. Most works on Sericulture also contain references to the cultivation of the White Mulberry, so there is no difficulty in obtaining access to literature, Bulletin No. 34 of the Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture, by George W. Oliver, is valuable. See also Mueller’s ‘ Select extratropical plants.” The White Mulberry is very hardy, standing much drought, is readily grown, both by seeds and cuttings, and although it seems a far cry for Australia to compete with the highly trained technical labour of France and Italy, poorly paid according to Australian standards, my view is that, in the course of years, practically every industry dependent on the cultivation of plants wil* be undertaken in this country of broad acres and many climates. So that the White Mulberry, one of the important trees of the world, is one whose cultivation should be undertaken (on a limited scale at present) in every district in which it can be persuaded to flourish. Then, when the right seri- culturists come along (and sericulture will probably be a ‘ petit culture ” in Australia for many years, an adjunct to the farm, for the young people, and those in feeble health) we shall not be confronted at the threshold with the statement that an all-essential factor—food for the silkworms—is not available. ED ay There is a variety (var. tatarica, Loudon,— -V. tatarica, L.) of the White Mulberry, known as the “ Russian Mulberry,” and Circular No. 83 of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (Forest Planting Leaflet) deals with this plant. See also L. H. Bailey, Bulletin No. 46, Cornell. Univ. Agric. Expt. Station. It is low and bushy, is a very hardy variety, and was introduced into the United States by the Russian Mennonites about 1875. “It will endure almost any amount of drought and neglect.” It is common now in the Middle West United States. It is stated that its wood is valuable, but I do not attach too much im- portance to that so far as New South Wales is concerned. It 1s certainly a valuable subsidiary silkworm plant, it is useful as a wind-break, and it promises to do well in bleak, cold, arid country. It does not appear to have been introduced into New South Wales, but I am taking steps to rectify the omission. 2. M. nigra, L. ‘The Black Mulberry tree.” See t. 229, in Bentley and- Trimen’s “ Medicinal Plants.” Native of south-western Russia and Persia. This is the tree which produces the luscious mulberries so much esteemed by many. It has large, coarse foliage, and given low-lying, damp situations, 796 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. it is not particular whether the climate is cold or hot. It flourishes in many parts of New South Wales, and seems equally at home in Tasmania and South Australia, in moist and dry climates respectively. If [ say too much about this tree I shall be poaching on the domain of the Fruit Expert, but [ have no hesitation in saying that the mulberry is, regrettably, a much neglected tree in New South Wales. 3. M. rubra, L. . “The Red Mulberry Tree.”* Figured in Sargent, ‘ Silva of North America,” t. 320. Native of Eastern North America and North Mexico. It appears to be the largest tree amongst the mulberries, and Sargent states it attains its largest size in the basin of the Lower Ohio River and on the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The fruit is at first bright red when fully grown, but afterwards becomes dark purple. It is inferior as an edible fruit since horticulturists have raised better forms, but as a beautiful shade-tree and also as food for silk- worms in the coldest localities of New South Wales, it is well worthy of cultivation by all lovers of trees. The Osage Orange (MJaclura). 1. Maclura aurantiaca, Nutt (Syn. Toxylon pomiferum, Rat.). “ Osage Orange.” Native of Southern United States. Usually in New South Wales it is only known asa hedge plant. I hope to deal with hedge plants for New South Wales in a subsequent article of this series, but would draw attention to the fact that in the colder parts of this State, in rich, moist, bottom lands, it becomes a medium-sized tree. Its elastic yellow wood is called Bow-wood, from its being used by the Indians for making bows. See also Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1894. Figure 88. At the same time—and this is a great recommendation—it 1s most accom- modating as to soil and climate. It forms the subject of a Forest-planting Leaflet, Circular 90, of the United States Department of Agriculture, where it is recommended as a timber tree. Mr. Pinchot says that in its native country it rarely succumbs to drought, and this ability to withstand aridity makes it one of the most desirable trees for planting throughout the Middle West United States. It is recommended for fence-post material, and is used “in the manufacture of machinery, waggon-felloes, insulator-pins, and tool-handles. Where the tree attains sufficient size the wood is used for railroad ties (sleepers).” Of course New South Wales is one of the principal countries of the world producing hardwoods, and the commercial importance of the Osage Orange as a timber tree, under our conditions, remains to be proved. But trees suit- able for arid conditions should always be persevered with. The fruit, like a coarse orange, is well known, and the plant itself is propa- gated readily from seeds, suckers, and stump sprouts. Its tendency to pro- fuse branching, which is an excellent character m a shade tree, is checked by close planting. The leaves of the Osage Orange are readily eaten by silkworis. MEO Ty 29%e: Oct. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. T97 Cheese-making on the South Coast of New South Wales. W. GRAHAM, Dairy Branch, Department of Agriculture. THE southern end of the South Coast of New South Wales is commonly known as the cheese district of this State ; although there are other districts where cheese is made successfully. Methods. In the endeavour to make a good saleable cheese, most of the factories and dairymen work on the Cheddar principle, and I think I am quite safe in saying that there is no other system so well adapted for this warm climate. To prevent loss, deterioration in flavour, and also have a good market appearance, we require a firm-bodied cheese, and in the Cheddar principle this is easily obtainable. Some dairymen still make on the old American acid system, but I am pleased to say that this method is gradually dying out. With this, as in all soft cheeses, where the climate is warm, the flavour goes off very quickly, owing to the excessive moisture they contain ; hence the keeping quality is not so good, A mild, clean flavour is what the market demands, and by the Cheddar system we are better able to produce cheese: of that class. Care of the Milk on the Farm. Too much attention cannot be exercised in the care of milk if we wish to produce a good-flavoured cheese. It is necessary that the cows’ teats should be washed, and any dirt sticking to the udder, or legs, should be removed before commencing to milk. The hands of the milkers should be washed regularly. The clothes of the milker should also be clean. Each cow’s milk should be strained immediately after the cow is milked. A good strainer should be used, so that all particles of dirt, hair, &c., are removed. A fine wire strainer is recommended, as it is a difficult matter to keep a cloth strainer clean, and very often they become a source of contamination, instead of being a purifier. Aération after Milking. Aération, when carried out in a clean atmosphere, is beneficial to the milk for cheese-making purposes. By aération food flavours, which taint the milk, are allowed to escape, and, although they may not be removed altogether, are much reduced. It also assists in the cooling of the milk. Aération is strongly recommended, as the benefit is great, but it should not be carried out if the operation has to take place where the atmosphere is not pure, B 798 Agricultural Cazette of N.S.IV. | Oct. 2, 1908, such as close to manure &e. A sketch of the which is one of the heaps, fowl pens, stables, Canadian Milk Aérator, cheapest and simplest of its kind, is shown in fig. 1. Fig, 1. Cand D Aérator can be set on The Canadian M.\k Aerator either of these two pieces, and placed on a stand A and B—Aérator to set on upright can. Cooling of the Evening’s Milk. By cooling milk we reduce the temperature, and by reducing the tempera- ture the activity of the germs that cause souring is checked. The most favourable temperature to hold milk for cheese-making purposes is 65° Fahr. A certain development of lactic acid is essential to keep the undesirable organisms in check, and it will be found that the best results will be obtained ar tvat temperature. It is to be regretted that there are not much better methods adopted in the cooling of the night’s milk than those which at present exist in the average South Coast dairy, In fact, insome places no attempt is made to cool the milk ; it is simply allowed to stand until the morning, when it 1~ generally in an over-ripe condition—it is impossible for any cheese-maker to make good cheese out of over-ripe milk—and the majority of complaints which arise are due to the fact that proper care and attention have not been given to the night’s milk. Every up-to-date dairy farmer should have facilities for cooling the night’s milk. The little expense incurred in erecting a small building to cool and keep the milk in would be returned in the increased price obtained for the product. A concrete tank in the ground to catch the rain-water from the roof of the milking shed, an elevated 400 gallon iron tank, asmall hand-pump, anda small spiral cooler are the necessary appli- ances. The water, after circulating through the cooler and performing the operation of cooling the milk, can be allowed to run back into the under- ground tank. A sketch of a small dairy and cooling apparatus, which are within the means of every dairy farmer, are shown in figs. 2 and 3, Oct. 2; N08. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 799 y/ Y} VERANDAH Fig. 2.—P’an of a small Dairy. ie) uw zi uw Is 7) uw 7) uw Ww ie O J WATER TANK SSS NN ee eS 0S SSS N = Fig. 8.—Milk-house and Co a a oling Apparatus SOO Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Starter. A good starter is beneficial in the manufacture of cheese, and at no time should the cheese-maker be without one. Practical experience has proved that a good clean-flavoured starter can be used at all times with good results. Cheese-makers often blame starters for faults in their cheese ; but if cheese- makers will use too much starter, or starter that is going off in flavour, then it is the cheese-maker’s fault, as a bad-flavoured starter should never be used on any consideration. With a starter with an acidity of ‘88 (which is the desired acidity), 1 to 2 per cent. can be used with safety, and will prove of great benefit to the flavour. © In preparing a starter, always select the best milk procurable. The first propagation should not be used ; in fact, it is never safe to use until the fourth propagation, or until a sharp clean nutty flavour is obtained ; and, if that desirable flavour is not obtained by then, it is just as well to throw it out and try another one. Once a good starter is procured—with care in selecting the milk, keeping the utensils which it comes in contact with during the preparation scrupulously clean, and keeping the starter in a clean, sweet atmosphere—it will keep for a considerable time. The beneficial points of a good starter are as follow :— 1. It is a cultivation of the germs which are so desirable in the manu- facture of cheese. 2. By adding the starter to the milk in the early stages of the process of manufacture, it retards the growth of all other organisms of an undesirable nature which may have gained access to the milk. 3. By using it judiciously, and by the careful manipulation of the rennet test before setting, it regulates the working of the curd throughout the day. 4. In cold weather it assists in the ripening of the milk. It also hastens the development of the acidity after the whey has been drawn off during the cheddaring process. 5. It helps to impart to the cheese the nutty flavour so much desired by the consumer. In preparing the starter, select good, clean milk, free from any feed flavour, and heat to a temperature of 200° Fahr., and cool quickly to a temperature of 75° Fahr., then add the culture kept from the previous day. Do not have the starter thick and curdy when it is required for use. When broken up it should run through a fine sieve without the least trouble. Always add the starter to the milk in the cheese-vat before the temperature has been raised to setting point, or it will have a tendency to float on top of the milk, and will not mix readily. The pure culture to begin the starter with may be obtained from the Dairy Branch, Department of Agriculture. The Rennet and Alkali Test. It is necessary to use some test to ascertain the ripeness of the milk before setting. Some use the rennet test, and some the alkali test. Some even do Oct. 2, 1908. | dgricuitural Gazette of N.S.W. 801 not take the trouble to use a test at all, depending simply on their sense of taste and smell. The latter is, however, a careless and indifferent method, and the rennet test is recommended, as much finer work can be done if the test is carefully manipulated ; and in the careful use of the rennet test lies the secret of uniformity in any factory’s output. The Use of Racks in the Vat. There is one thing I would like to draw the attention of cheese-makers to, and that is the use of racks in the vat in preference to the use of a drainer or cooler. Very few places that use the cooler have, as a rule, taps in the vat to whey off by, but draw off the whey by means of a syphon. Now, I have never yet seen a syphon that could be kept thoroughly clean, and every syphon that I have looked into had a thick yellow slime where the pipe is bent round. Then again, the drainer is made of wood, and the difficulty in keep- ing it clean is apparent, as every seam of the wood holds material for contamination, whilst the cloth that covers the curd in the cooler is resting on the curd, and in many cases it is not too clean. It would be much better to have a tap in the vat to draw off the whey, and a neat fitting rack to cheddar the curd on—one that can be taken out and placed in the wash-up tub and scrubbed ; and also, have a white canvas covering attached to battens to cover the whole of the vat, and Fig. :4.—A small Cooler and Starter-ean for which would never at any time preparing Starter. come in contact with the curd. The Technique of Cheddar Cheesemaking. The night’s milk and morning’s milk are mixed together in the vat, and the temperature raised to 86° Fahr. to find out the ripeness of the milk. To see whether it is ready to add the rennet, we have two tests, the rennet test and the alkali test,—either of these are fairly reliable if carefully taken. In taking the renne‘ test you are not testing the strength of tne rennet, but finding out how fast the lactic acid is developing in the milk. 802 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. (Oct. 2.51908. The Rennet Test described. Take 4 0z. of milk in a cup or glass, be sure the temperature is 86° Fahr., place a float in the milk, a piece of straw or a chip or wood, add one dram of rennet, and stir with a spoon for five seconds, then withdraw the spoon from the cup altogether, and note how many seconds the milk takes to coagulate, —when the straw ceases to twirl in the cup the milk has become thick. Take the number of seconds from when the rennet is added until the straw stops twirling. Now, for example, say we set at twenty seconds with the rennet test, and we found that the curd was slow in working (laid a long time before the whey was ready to draw), next day we would allow the milk to ripen a little more before setting, —that is, reduce the seconds on the rennet test from twenty to, say, sixteen ; or, on the other hand, if the curd worked too fast, set sooner, say twenty-two seconds. Thus it is the rennet test that is a guide to the cheesemaker and regulates the work through the day, inasmuch as he knows— by careful manipulation of his test—he can set his milk at the proper time, which will enable him to have a good firm shotty curd when the whey is ready to draw off. If miking a coloured cheese, add the colouring before adding the rennet, in the quantity of a quarter of an oz. to an oz. to 1,000 Ib. of milk, according to the shade of colour required. In setting the milk the quantity of rennet depends upon the strength of the rennet ; sufficient rennet should be added to coagulate the milk to have it firm enough to cut in from thirty to forty-five minutes, The quantity asa rule is from 3} to 4 0z. to 1,000 lb. of milk ; dilute the rennet in a little clean cold water, and stir into the milk; the stirring should continue from three to four minutes to ensure it being properly mixed ; the stirring should then cease and the milk allowed to set. If the cream shows a tendency to rise to the top, the surface could be agitated with the hand or a light piece of wood, but the moment coagulation shows signs of taking place, this should cease. After about 30 minutes has elapsed the curd should be tried to see if it is ready to cut. A good way to do this is to wet the finger and dip into the curd in a slanting direction, then on lifting it up if the curd breaks readily and clean off the finger it is sufficiently firm to cut with the curd-knife ; avoid cutting too soon when the curd is soft; it should be allowed to remain a little longer until it becomes firm. If the knives are used before the curd is sufficiently firm a good deal of waste takes place, because the curd being in a soft condition gets broken up, resulting in the fine particles of curd floating away in the whey. Use the horizontal knife first Jongitudinally, or up and down the vat; do not hurry the operation, and be careful not to break the curd by pushing it in front of the knife ; once with the horizontal knife is sufficient. Then use the perpen- dicular knife across the vat. and then up and down the yat. When the operation is complete the curd is cut into cubes of about three-eighths of an inch in diameter. If the milk should be working fast, necessitating the hurrying of the cooking of the curd, it will be found an advantage to cut tke curd finer; a second application of the perpendicular knife will be found to be an advantage. After the curd has been cut with the curd-knives, Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. $03 begin stirring with the hands; go round the sides of the vat and the bottom and remove any curd that may be adhering ; do not allow it to settle to the bottom or form in the corners; the stirring should be continued until the curd has finished cooking. After stirring with the hands for a little while at first, the agitator or rake could then be used. The stirring should be gentle at first to allow the cubes time to firm a little. Then, as the cooking process proceeds, the stirring should be more vigorous ; never allow the curd to run together in lumps, thus to ensure an even cooking right through the whole of the vat’s contents. To handle the curd by stirring roughly in the first stages of cooking, when the curd is soft and tender, the loss in fat will be considerable. By careful cutting and careful stirring the loss is very small, the colour of the whey should be more or less clear, not showing the white milky colour, as is the case when through rough handling a good deal of waste has taken place. The object of cutting the curds into cubes is that it expels the whey freely and allows these particles to become firm and properly cooked. In cooking the curd, gradually raise the temperature from 86° to 98°, 2° in the first ten minutes and 2° in every five minutes afterwards; thus the time taken from when the heat is first applied until it is raised to the proper cooking tempera- ture should be thirty-five minutes. The main object of cooking is the expulsion of whey from the curd, thus causing it to become firm and shotty. It is not advisable to raise the temperature too quickly, as then a skin forms on the outside of the cubes and the moisture is retained within ; thus a gradual heating process is necessary, causing the whey to be expelled and the curd to become firm at the same time. If it is found when the temperature has been raised to 98° Fahr. that the curd is not firming up as well as could be wished, raise the temperature a couple of degrees higher, say, L000] or, 10225 but never on any ovcasion is it advisable to raise it higher than 104° Fahr., as the risk of having a corky cheese is great, and a big percentage of the butter-fat is melted and lost in the whey. The time for wheying off should be'from two and a half to three hours after the rennet has been added, not sooner than two and a half hours if possible, and not later than three hours. To have sufficient acid to draw the whey off before two and a half hours, the chances are that the curd is too soft, and the matured cheese will show a pastiness when rubbed between the fingers, denoting insufficient cooking, and will go off in flavour very quickly. If, on the other hand, the curd remains in the whey over three hours, the curd becomes too hard, and has a tendency to make a tough leathery cheese. The correct amount of acid at wheying off should be indicated by the hot-iron test, showing threads from { to { of an inch. Draw the whey off through the gate or tap in the vat, lose no time in getting it off ; in fact, be as quick as possible. This is a critical point at this stage of the manufacture, and too much acid given at this particular time will result in a dry, mealy, bleached, sour cheese. So the cheese-maker has to be alert. Drain the whey off as quickly as possible, and throw the curd on to wooden racks placed in the bottom of the vat and hand-stir until the curd becomes fairly dry, then throw it together to give it an opportunity te mat or form into a solid mass. 804 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. The vat should be covered with a clean cloth or canvas covering to keep the temperature even. It is essential that the temperature should be kept at about 90° or 92° Fahr., so that the production of lactic acid is not checked. If the temperature is allowed to fall, the development of acid is checked, and the curd ~takes a much longer time to form into a flaky substance. Fifteen minutes after the curd has been thrown together, it should be cut into square or oblong blocks, about 18 inches by 6 inches, and turned over, and allowed to remain for an- other period of ten or fifteen minutes. Then if the curd is firm the blocks could be piled two deep; but if the curd is soft, they should be left single Fig 5.—Curd Rack. and turned over. The object of this process is to eject the whey from the masses of curd. The process of turning every ten minutes should be continued, never allowing the whey to form in pools between the blocks else the colour is likely to become bleached or mottled in places. In the course of about two hours from the time the whey was drawn, the blocks of curd will have assumed a smooth soft velvety feeling, and when tried on the hot iron will draw fine threads about 2 inches long. The object of matting the curd is to improve the texture. Cheeses made from a well-cooked curd that has been properly matted, when they are marketable, will always show a nice waxy texture so different to the soft pastiness that is always found in a badly cooked and improperly cheddared cheese. The curd should now be milled and spread over the bottom of the vat. ay a i ) tar ——SS== SS Fig. 6.—Curd Mill. The object of milling is to cut up the curd so that the salt will be evenly distributed through the curd. Unfortunately there are a large number of Oct, 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 805 mills which cut the curd too small. The pieces of curd should be, after passing through the mill, about } an inch in diameter. When the curd is cut too fine, too much moisture is drained from the curd when the salt is added, and the texture of the cheese is completely spoiled. After milling, the curd should be turned over gently at intervals of about three minutes, and should not be allowed to mat. This is called aérating the curd, the object being to allow any gas which may have accumulated to escape, and should be continued until the curd assumes a soft, silky, velvety feeling. The flavour of the curd can be very much improved at this stage by aérating longer, and the curd will develop that peculiar nutty flavour so characteristic in a good cheese. The salt should now be added, the amount is generally from 2t to 34 Ib. per 1,000 Ib. of milk. Of course, the quantity varies according to the thickness of the milk. Where —<—— =O wim, — St Fig. 7.—A Good Style of Cheese-press. the milk is poor, the percentage of curd is less, necessitating the use of less salt. When the milk is rich, the percentage of curd is greater, thus requiring more salt. It is therefore necessary to adopt a sliding scale during the season. Starting in the spring of the year, when the milk is poor in butter- fat, with 21 lb. of salt, and gradually increasing the quantity as the season advances and the milk becomes richer. Of course there are occasions when a little extra salt will be an advantage. For instance, when the curd is soft and moist a little extra salt will assist in draining away a good deal of the extra moisture ; or if the flavour is not good, a little extra salt will assist in retarding the effects of the bad flavour as the cheese ripens. The salt should be sprinkled over the curd and mixed thoroughly. Then three or four minutes should elapse, to allow the salt to dissolve, before putting to press. It will be found that the temperature will have fallen considerably from the time of wheying off until the period of salting. From 78° to 82° Eahr. is 806 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Oct. 2, 1908. about the proper temperature to press the curd at. Higher than 82° the fat is readily pressed out and lost. Lower than 78° the particles of curd will not adhere in a solid mass. When the temperature is too low—below 78 —the lactic acid has been unduly checked, and it is essential in obtaining a close-bodied cheese to have the proper amount of acid when the curd is put to press. When that is not present, the cheese is loose and full of holes ; when cut or bored with the trier they show ragged openness right through, It is impossible to press a cheese close if the temperature has fallen too low and the amount of acid insufficient. When the bandage is put on the hoops the ends should be turned in about 2 inches at the bottom of the hoop, and a cap put in tocover the whole of the bottom of the hoop. The unstarched seamless bandage is preferable to any other, as it is difficult to get a proper rind on the cheese with the starched bandage ; it should also be the proper width so that no wrinkles or laps will show on the finished cheese. The same amount of curd should be placed in each hoop so that each cheese will be of the same size, showing uniformity. When putting the cheese to press the pressure should be put on slowly at first and gradually increased. The cheese should remain for an hour, then they should be taken out of the press, the bandage pulled over the ends, the cheese turned and put back in the press. There they should remain with a good steady and continuous pressure on for at least twenty hours, When taken out after the twenty hours have elapsed, they should be wiped dry with a cloth and placed in the cheese-room. The cheese should be turned on the shelves every day so that the rind dries evenly and so that the moisture may not leak towards one end. Cheese-curing Rooms. Suflicient attention is not paid by cheese-makers on the South Coast to the cheese rooms, which in many places are without insulation, being simply weatherboard buildings, and some are not even lined inside. The loss that takes place through shrinkage must be great, not to say anything about the fat which is dripping from the shelves, in some cases, during the hot summer weather. The one great point in curing cheese is to prevent fluctuation in temperature, and the temperature should not rise above 65° Fahr. It is necessary to have the walls with at least 1 foot of insulation. Insulating paper, or malthoid, should be nailed on between the studs and the weather- boards, with a double row of studs inside, and paper, or malthoid, nailed between the studs and lining inside; the space between the weatherboards and lining should be filled with dry sawdust. The ceiling should be con- structed on the same principle, with a ventilator that can be closed or opened going up through the roof, and, should the floor not be of concrete, 1t should be insulated also. The windows should be double and the doors close-fitting, and of the same thickness as the walls. A room built ou these lines will be found to keep the temperature even, and, consequently, will prevent the loss and shrinkage already referred to, and repay in one season the additional outlay. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.iV. 807 Cheese-packing in Crates. The amount of handling that cheeses coming from the South Coast get in transit, and the condition they arrive in—after being rolled about the wharves and in the steamers’ hold without any covering—as a rule, is anything but enticing to the eye of the consumer. Cheeses that arrive on the Sydney market from Victorian and Queensland factories are packed in crates, and present a clean and neat appearance. How much more inviting to the consumer would our cheese look if packed in crates, not to mention anything of the damage which would be prevented thereby as compared with present methods of shipping! It is nothing unusual to see piles of cheese standing four or five deep on the wharves or in the sheds, and in warm weather it often happens that the bottom row is squashed out of shape, and sometimes rendered unsalealle ; in fact, it is indeed surprising that these indifferent methods should go on from year to year when a crate suitable for all requirements, to hold a hundredweight of cheese, can be obtained at a cost of about 10d. or Is. AN EXPERIMENT with LUCERNE AND PEA CULTURES. Durine the latter part of last year, Mr. O. Halliger, Bective, near Tamworth, obtained from the Department of Agriculture a small quantity of Dr. Moore’s nitrogen-fixing bacteria, prepared according to this gentleman’s formula in the chemical laboratory of the Department by Mr. F. B. Guthrie. Writing to the Department, Mr. Halliger reports as follows :—‘The garden peas I inoculated have done wonderfully well. Two patches were put in and grown under precisely similar conditions. Every plant of the inoculated peas grew, some to a height of 4 feet 6 inches, and bore plenty of sound, large pods. The roots were covered with well-developed nodules, and on some roots they were very large. “Nearly two-thirds of the uninoculated plants died after being above ground for about fourteen days, the plants that did live were miserable and produced only a few small pods. The experiment with the Lucerne culture was a failure owing to excessive rain and floods.” Further trials of this culture will be awaited with interest. Mr. Keating, Public School, Bective, had an opportunity of visiting and inspecting Mr. Halliger’s experiment plot and confirms the statement regarding the excess of growth on the inoculated over the uninoculated peas. 808 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. | Oct. 2, 1908. Hawkesbury Agricultural College and Experiment farm. FEEDING OF PI6s. [Continued from page @42. | H. W. POTTS. X. Cowpeas. Soy Beans. Velvet Beans. Witn the exception of lucerne, we are unable in this climate to grow any permanent leguminous crop as a change of feed for pigs. In mixed farming the value of cover crops in replacing the fallow is now being generally conceded. It is necessary to differentiate from those used as catch crops and for green manuring. Cover crops check evaporation, prevent the soil baking, also the loss of plant-food by excessive rainfall in washing the soil or leaching, and they afford green, succulent food for stock. Plants belonging to two groups are available for this purpose. The first are those known as the legumes, which possess the specific function of assimi- lating or storing nitrogen in the soil. They include clovers, cowpeas, Canada field peas, vetches, soy beans, velvet beans, lupins, and Beggar weed (Desmo- dium tortuosum). The second group are non-leguminous and embrace rye, wheat, barley, oats, buck-wheat, rape, and mustard. The cowpea is looked upon as the most useful. It forms a succulent, relishable, nutritious forage for sheep, cattle, and pigs, during the hot summer months. At that period all other palatable fodders of high protein content are not available and the natural grasses and herbage are dry. Cowpeas as a drought-resisting fodder stand unrivalled. They have been used in India and other aotoriously dry countries for centuries. They have acclimatised well here. The roots of the plant, like that of lucerne, penetrate deeply into the subsoils, in a vigorous fashion searching for plant-food and moisture, and at the same time opening up the subsoils and rendering them porous and available for the storage of moisture and air. The roots attack the stores of phosphoric acid and potash, dissolving them for their own use as well as for subsequent crops. The characteristic nodules of legumes are found freely distributed along the roots, and in these the bacteria are engaged in assimilating atmospheric nitrogen and promoting nitrification ; inert plant-food is made soluble and a source of root nourishment. The roots and stubble are ploughed in with the excreta from the grazing animal, It is approximately estimated that the former alone give to each acre 24 lb. nitrogen, mostly gathered from the air, and return 6 Ib. phosphoric acid, and 15 1b. potash, largely drawn from the subsoil, and in a Oet--2) 1908.) Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 809 form readily assimilable by the next crop. The organic matter provides humus and increases the moisture-holding capacity of the soil. Whilst the plant is growing the thick rich spreading foliage covers the ground, arrests evaporation, stops the growth of weeds, and keeps the soil in a loose friable condition, Tt is an ideal cleansing crop and pays its way in furnishing stock fodder, and in addition the soil is enriched with humus, nitrogen, potash and phos- phoric acid, fertility is restored, and the land effectively manured for a main crop. In short, to use a familiar farmer’s phrase, the land is brought into “oood heart.” As a food for stock, particularly pigs, during the latter part of summer we have had abundant evidence of its flesh-producing capacity, and, as with lucerne, its power to provide a suitable intermixture of lean flesh in bacon and pork. Young pigs, 3 months’ old, when building up frame and tissue, make excellent progress on cowpeas balanced with rye, wheat, barley, pota- toes, or maize. The ration can be modified to suit the needs of the animal as it approaches the fattening stages. The foliage of the plant may be utilised for providing green forage, or allowed to ripen sufficiently for hay or silage, or the beans can be used as pig-feed. As a fodder, the yield per acre varies, and is determined by the variety grown, soil, cultivation, and. climate. At this College quantity has ranged from 4 to 12 tons of green feed per acre. The composition will average as follows :— Water ... sis od ee .2.1, 04 percent. Dry matter nce ee : Sac VG st The dry matter contains :— 100 Baie) a Hee ade Sie a5 “4 per cent. Protein ey ons coe Seeded, ‘ Carbobydrates ... a Ka Se ee ae re Mineral ash ... Fac oe ek 7 Nutritive ratio se eroroe It will be noted that it closely resembles lucerne in feeding value, and can be fed with equally good results. It contains nearly double the digestive nutrient of oats, and 40 per cent. more than maize. ‘Tests have demonstrated that pigs fed on cowpeas, with maize, have produced a high-class bacon. Owing to changed soil conditions and environment the cowpea has varied from time to time, hence there are many sorts. Over thirty from America and India have been tested on this farm. Variation ranges between two distinct classes, one class being upright in growth, compact, bushy in habit, and without runners ; the other producing long, trailing vines, or runners, and spreading well over the soil. The first or bush varieties are noted for their heavy, quick growth, and succulence. Amongst these the following have proved most successful on this farm—Poona and Chinese Mottled. In hot dry districts, with a sparse rain- fall, cowpeas take longer to mature. The best sorts are those of trailing or recumbent habit. They possess a deep root-growth and are better enabled to withstand drought. The sorts recommended are—Black, New Era, Clay, Whip-poor- Will, and White. It should be remembered that cowpeas readily alter their habits in response to local conditions of soil and moisture. 810 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Oct. 2, 1908. The seed-pols range in length from 4 to 16 inches. These, with the seeds, are of all sorts, shapes, and colours. Each sort varies in time of maturing, habit of growth, ripening, and other features. It is best to select tested varieties for the main crops and to conduct tests with new sorts on a small scale. The most satisfactory variety subjected to a series of trials here for the past six years 1s Poona, an upright, bushy plant, of vigorous and dense erowth. This was originally imported by the late Mr. Farrer, from the De- partment of Agriculture of India. We have had a yield as high as 10 tons to the acre from it. Cowpeas revel in heat and sunlight, and will thrive on a wide range of soils; generally they do best on light soils, The hght sandy loams at this College have always afforded good returns from this plant. The only soil in which it will not respond is that which is constantly wet. In all cases the soil should be deep, well drained and mellow. On impoverished soils the crop is one of the safest and most certain reno- vators. Being a hot climate plant it is necessarily very susceptible to frost, and planting should not commence until frosty weather has passed. November is usually the month to sow the main crop, although successful crops have often been secured from October sowings. | Fresh sowings may be continued until February. ‘The soil must be well cultivated and brought into a fine condition of tilth. Where manure is required, the best stimulant to rich growth can be secured from an application of fertilisers affording phosphoric acid and potash. This is supplied by the following :— Superphosphate ... 200 Ib. Muriate of potash ... 100 Ib. per acre spread broadcast. In some soils—clay loams—it is found essential to release plant-food by dressings of lime at the rate of + to 1 ton per acre. The best practice is to sow the cowpeas in drills 2 ft. 6 in. apart, the seed 6 to 8 inches from each other, and covering with soil about 2 inches The use of a maize drill fitted with a plate baving 32-inch holes facilitates sowing. Cowpeas germinate quickly on moist, well-prepared soils. The whole crop grows rapidly and evenly. Shallow cultivation should be followed once a month with scuffler or cultivator until the plant is developed. Of late years the practice of sowing climbing varieties of cowpeas with maize or sorghum has been adopted with very good returns. The yield per acre, in many instances, has been doubled. For conservation as silage this class of crop is becoming increasingly popular, especially the combination of maize with cowpeas, seeing the increase of proteim by the latter assists to balance the food constituents. In using the crops for hay the best time to cut is when the first pods begin to ripen. Like Red clover it is liable to heat if carted and stacked too early. The cut hay should be lett exposed to the sun for a few hours, and then put into cocks for thirty-six to forty-eight hours. Care should be observed in drying not to allow the leaves to become brittle. If the hay be too moist when stacking it is likely to become mouldy. — It should be carefully stacked and protected from the weather. Oct. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 8\1 The following statement of the analyses of cowpea hay and lucerne ha S y \ Me shows their resjective merits for stock feed :— Moisture. | Protein. | Fat. Carbo-hydrates. Ash. | per cent. | per cent. | per cent. per cent. per cent. Lucerne Hay 43° 6°95 16°48 2°02 42-62 7°49 Cowpea Hay oe 10°29 | 19°72 | 4-04 45°15 9-10 Soy or Soja Bean. This plant comes from Japan, and of late years has attracted attention as an annual leguminous plant which produces the richest of all beans in protein and fat. It closely resemb'es the cowpea, is of bush form, erect, hairy, branching freely and growing to a height of 2 to 5 feet. The seed pods are clustered on the main stems and branches, are | to 2 inches long, and coutain from one to three seeds or beans. They give a greater yield of beans than cowpeas. They are not trailing in habit, hence are more easily harvested. They mature early, but last longer than cowpeas, and afford a longer season for pigs to feed on them. Either the green forage, hay, or beans should be associated with other foods owing to their richness. In feeding the bean it should not be more than one-fifth of the total ration. As high as 10 bushels of beans to the acre have been harvested here. These are classified as the richest of all natural vegetable foods, and should be used to strengthen the ration in protein. With their aid pigs can then be fed with potatoes, maize, barley, rye, or other starchy foods. As a green forage crop they are highly appreciated by pigs, and afford a more nutritious diet even than cowpeas. The plant can be converted into hay in a similar way to that of cowpeas. As silage it has been found most successful when mixed with twice its weight of green maize. The Soy bean requires a good loamy soil well drained, although like the cowpea it is adapted to a wide range of soils. A deep, firm, well-ti led, moist seed-led is required here. It should be ploughed toa good depth about the end of July or beginning of August and worked (harrowed and rolled) to a fine tilth. Should fertilisers be required, use that recommended for cowpeas. The seed should be sown when all chances of frost are over; as a rule the beginning of October is best when some warmth is in the soil. Sow in drills 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 feet apart. One plant should be permitted to grow every 6 inches. From 8 to 10 lb. of seed per acre is needed, Shallow cultivation should follow until the plants are well grown. The quickly maturing plant and pods ripen in from seventy-five to ninety-five days. It is a good drought resister. Asa food for pigs, either as beans, green forage, or hay, it has a high reputation. The animals fatten quickly, are always thrifty, with strong appetites; the hair and skin acquire a glossy look, and the skin feels as if they were fed on oil meals. 812 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. { Oct. 2, 1908. Velvet Bean. So far this leguminous plant has only been grown in an experimental way to test its capacity as a fodder, but sufticient data have been secured to warrant extended trials for its use as green summer forage, for green manuring, and as a cover crop, Its leading drawback is that it requires a long summer for its proper development, as itis a native of India and thrives well in a hot, dry climate. Both plant and bean are useful as fodder for stock, and pigs relish the food and provide good returns on it. It grows freely on light, sandy land, pro- vided it is fairly well drained. When moisture is available with summer heat the plant produces enormous yields. Under ordinary conditions it will give a return above the weight of cowpeas per acre, The plant grows in a trailing state and produces vines running from 20 to'30 feet in length ; they twine around any obstacle, and are often grown in conjunction with maize. It is aheavy cropper and has been known under favourable conditions to produce 30 tons of green forage per acre. ‘The seed may be sown in the warm districts in October. The roots go well down into the subsoil and necessarily require a deeply ploughed soil. The seed should be sown in drills 3 ft. 6 in. apart with a space of | foot between each. The best fertiliser is :— Superphosphate .. 150 Ib. per acre. Sulphate of Potash ... eon! POU E ee Bas Cultivation should be pursued as long as the plant growth will permit. Owing to the entangled nature of its growth it is difficult to cut for stall green feeding or hay. It is therefore best used as a grazing crop, and the pigs should be turned in to eat it off. Montruuy WEATHER REPORT. HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, RICHMOND. Summary for August, 1908. Air Pressure Air Moisture | Evaporation | ad ere re. lores : Z . aare (Barometer). Shade temperature | (Saturation = 100), (from Water Surface). 2 Dee || 0 =f . | iy n|O . % % : % | @ ayer |i a al etl Sldqg #lg=o> © a a o | 2 a |-as $ ® d aes —_ $/89 3Spea Ps a S a leeclemal cate il) ces BS q a | 2Q S.,0l(HOumHa SS $ eo & Sia eecoe |e 2 |e Orel Be 2 | Ss | oes leseoloeak 4 ee = Pe lbs==ier feta afte este | ce r= ie ee =| BS joeiaise ven ae : Ras 7 poset = 29°40 | 30°52 | 30°13 | 30°0 | 76°0 | 52°45 |} 51°62 | 47 | 94 79 “211 2°776 2-231 6 3 137" | 19 | 22 TY OMS Y/ 4.7) | : a » > OB. ieee ALC 991 Points ... 39 84 46 92 8 31 54 15 8 2 9 58 223 103_ yrs points. Rainfall... { OHS as Ae) OC Gn Gy Vaal Cima suhoberory, ms Mean for 16 years, 212 points. Wind SCENE ASUS WLI ENA, TAO 3 Thunderstorms on 10th and lith. Greatest daily range of temperature, 36°2° on 31st. Frosts recorded on 16th, 19th, 21st, 24th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th. > ad The excellent rains recorded for the first half of this month have greatly improved the prospects of a successful spring. W. MERVYN CARNE, Observer. Oct. 2, 1908. | ee. a Agriculturait Gazette of N.S IV. 813 heep for Farmers. R. H. GENNYS, Glen Innes Experiment Farm. Farmers who combine other industries, such as the growing of cereal crops, with sheep breeding should secure a flock that will give them the best net return annually per sheep. Having but very limited areas, as a rule, the increase must be got rid of quickly, so that early maturity is a very important feature, and lamb and teg mutton raising is chiefly aimed at; this is quite in agreement with the meat export trade, which always prefers the early maturing carcase. Wool is a secondary consideration, but must not be overlooked in the mothers of the lambs, which may be shorn for several seasons. What the lamb and mutton trade requires as well as early maturity is quality of meat more than quantity. The weights required in lambs being from 28 lb. to 40 lb. not more, anything beyond this is too heavy and would probably be termed teg or weaner mutton, for real lambs should be suckers up to the time of being slaughtered, and should be taken from their mothers at about 4 months old in order to give the latter time to properly recuperate before being mated again. Rams to be wsed.—As the British breeds point to the earliest maturity they should be used principally as the sires of the lambs, and of whatever breed should always be a PURE-BRED of the best description and constitution, as he will then be likely to impress his qualities on his offspring. For lamb and inutton raising he should have the mutton points well developed, some important ones being :—-Good shoulders and broad withers, deep, full chest and brisket, good girth measurement, wide back with well sprung ribs with good loins, broad dock and deep full twist ; with the other male attributes that should be possessed by all sires—such as masculine heads, wide nostrils, good scrags, and wool of stronger type generally than ewes of the same breed. The Ewes should possess a good carcase, but effeminate in character, with good digestive organs, well developed hind-quarters and good udders, obvious points necessary for producing a good supply of milk for the speedy develop- ment of the lambs. In all cases the ewes should be bred in the district or a similar one, so as to thrive well under all local conditions, as the way they thrive must in a great measure be reflected in their offspring. Young ewes should be bred from in preference to older sheep, but in a well-developed crossbred should have two teeth up before being mated. In merinos generally it is advisable that the four-teeth should be up before breeding from them. When big-headed British rams are used with merino ewes, attention must be Cc 1908. 3 2 [ Oct N.S.W. elte of ltural Gaz ucu Agr IOYIOM OUNEW-HJOUNS v ‘Auesoid WEYL QUsla no ee ae OR a OTe SELES “(wep e4}) OUTIeW porg-eing ec eee es ees ee SPRISSLER (@1]U989) aes “(ols ay) WEY YLoUNS posq-eing (4ye1) Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 815 given at lambing time to assist any ewes requiring aid, and in any case it pays to be very watchful of the flocks at this season, for the percentage of lambs may be increased considerably thereby. Mating.—It is generally admitted that ewes in rapidly increasing condition, but not too fat, are likely to be most prolific. Under average conditions a ram should be mated with not more than sixty ewes ; he should be in strong condition, but not too fat. If he should be very fat and lazy—when con- venient, yard the sheep at night for a week or so. Lambing.—Vhe ewesshould be in good condition, but not too fat. They should be on good pasture from the time of lambing until lambs are weaned or sold. The lambs must be well supplied with milk all the time or early maturity cannot result. Lamb-marking, &e.—Lambs should be ear-marked, detailed, and castrated at from 10 to 20 days old, as they recover much quicker from operations than when older. The latest method is to sear off the tails with a red hot iron instead of cutting them off with a knife. The former method saves much loss of blood, and consequently little or no check is received from the operation, Lambs do not appear to sulk after searing as they do after cutting off the tails ; the cut dries and heals quickly and is less likely (being drier) to be attacked by flies. If a disinfectant is used, such as Stockholm tar or a sheep dip, do not put it on the seared part, but smear it on the wool adjacent thereto. One of the objects of searing is to dry up the wound ; that of tar, &e., to keep flies away by the smell near it. When searing make the iron very hot, but do not press too heavily. A moderate time in taking the tail off makes the operation more complete. The principal advantage in searing is claimed to be that it checks loss of blood and consequently prevents any check in development, which is such an important point. Castrate lambs with care and at an early age. Avoid frosty or very hot weather if possible. Be careful to use a clean knife. Do not use a knife for other purposes before thoroughly cleansing it. A clean wound in the scrotum heals quickly. Use Stockholm tar or other disinfectant on the cut. If any dirt is introduced on the blade suppuration may supervene, delay healing, and may check growth, Percentage of Lambs.—TYaking for example pure-bred merino ewes pro- ducing 75 per cent. of lambs, the average British ram on merino ewes would give about 5 per cent. more, or 80 per cent, The British ram on a crossbred (British ram on merino ewe) would be about 10 per cent. more, or 90 per cent., while several of the pure British breeds would go 100 to 150 per cent. Food during rearing of Lambs.—It is most important that the ewes and lambs should have good feed continuously, that no check may occur which would more or less defeat the object of early maturity in lamb-raising. Something more than natural herbage is generally required. Good introduced grasses such as Perennial and Italian Rye, Prairie, Kentucky Blue, Timothy, and the like should be provided. Lucerne for spring and summer topping, and rape and Red clover for the winter and early spring are hard to beat. Care must be taken, however, in putting sheep or cattle with empty stomachs on the three latter fodder plants for the first time, or hoven may result. Neither should they be put on on windy and wet days at first. Get them 816 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Pure-bred Lincoln Ram, age 22 months, showing staple of wool. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricuiturai Gazette of N.S. 817 gradually accustomed to the change by putting them on with fairly full stomachs for a few hours a day ; they will then be fairly safe. Lucerne, clover, and rape are all good preparations for wheat, and the droppings of the sheep provide valuable manures and greatly help to keep up the fertility of the land. Rape is a capital crop for topping stock and improving the quality of the meat—it has been found that from 60 to 100 Ib. of superphosphate will about double the yield of green fodder of rape, and much of the manure can be returned through ploughing in the later growth for the benefit of wheat, besides adding organic matter to the soil. Cultivated Pastures.—Land that has been heavily stocked, no matter how rich at first, must become gradually depleted of phosphates on account of stock, and especially young stock, appropriating so much in the composition of their carcases, which is not returned again to the land in their manure. The phosphates, then, must be returned to the pastures by top dressings occasionally with phosphatic manures if their fertility is to be kept up. The clovers which may be sown with all pastures will probably keep the land well supphed with nitrogen. Burning pastures, as a rule, is to be discouraged, as this gradually depletes the soil of organic matter, and makes the grasses sour ; the sweeter and shallower rooted grasses will also have their roots destroyed, and the grass seeds that would have renewed them will be lost ; it will also be found in wheat paddocks that continuous burning of stubble will gradually lessen the nitrogenous contents. Stocking heavily for rank, sour grasses is preferable to burning off. Change of food is very valuable to ewes and lambs, and keeps them in health. The point is to keep them improving from their birth until they are weaned, for then both the weight and the quality will be there at an early age. For stock grazing on succulent growths, like rape, lucerne, turnips, &c., access to a convement paddock withdry grasses is advisable. The drier foods help to make a better balanced ration, and to a great extent helps to prevent hoven and scours. In New England a farmer must not depend on the natural grasses, for while they put on flesh for a few months in the year, they are really at no time fattening, and are certainly not succulent enough for young lambs. Introduced grasses and fodder plants must be provided. On this farm pastures of lucerne, cocksfoot, Perennial rye, Red clover, Kentucky Blue grass, and Timothy, have given encouraging results during the first few years, and all merit longer trial in the hope of getting a good mixture of pasture grasses for New England soils. A small patch of Phalaris commutata also promises well, but it is too early yet to say how it will stand close feeding. Lambs must be young and prime to fetch good prices, and be fit for freezers. Merino Jambs and wethers do not make good sheep for oversea ; they have neither the shape nor the colour liked, and, as a rule, they mature but slowly. The British-Merino half-breds generally have mutton of very good quality— probably the bess liked of all—but it is the experience here that those that have the largest proportion of British blood attain the weights required much earlier. These might be termed second crosses, and the mothers of them—to pay the farmer best as he shears them—should be of the long-woolled breeds ; 2, 1908. [ Oct. ette of N.S.W. ~ ~ ltural Ga PUCU r AG 818 LRP PRB ILS, a i *S1ayieM OULleW-uloouly Oct. 2, 1908.) Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 819 the Lincoln-Merino so far has proved the best wool cutter of all that have been tried here, with the Romney Marsh and Suffolk Down close together next ; both the Border Leicester and English Leicester are shaping well in the wool line, but have not been tried long enough here for comparisons. The point is, the breeding ewes should have their wool taken into consideration, but not at the expense altogether of their carcases. Weight of Lambs at Four Months Old. The Suffolk-Merino in the first crosses over four years trials are, on the average, the heaviest, with the Romney-Merino second. In the second crosses, so far, the Romney x Suffolk-Merino and the Shrop- shire x Lincoln-Merino are very close together ; on the average the Romney x Suffolk-Merino are the heavier. Neither of the crosses, however, in shape and quality are comparable with the Southdown x Lincoln-Merino or the Border Leicester x Suffolk-Merino. The latter have such splendid backs and well sprung ribs ; the former Southdown x Lincoln-Merino are chubby, short- legged, and compact a butcher’s lamb all ever ; but the weights.are not as good at the age as the cross mentioned before thein. Now, all the breeds are good when suitably mated and able to adapt the n- selves to their environments. What does best generally pays best, and ch will probably have a place in the varied climatic and soil conditions of our State. The mutton and lamb trade is a most important one, and the farmer must consider what the trade wants ; and it is evident it is not the pure merino, and the latter is not the small farmers’ nor the lamb-raisers’ sheep. Why ? The cross-bred lamb for freezing is worth about 1d. per lb. more than merino lamb ; the pelts of crossbred are worth fully twice as much, and the wool at auction in many cases fetches as much as merino. Some people think that lamb and mutton, no matter how well chilled or frozen, cannot compete against home-killed meat in England. Well, if the report of an eminent authority, Mr. Samuel Rideal, is to be believed, this conception is clearly erroneous. The report is as follows :— II.—Lamb and Mutton. The second part of this inquiry deals with the relative value of hard-frozen Australian lamb and mutton as against home-killed meat. For this purpose Welsh lamb and English mutton were bought at Smithtield market on the Ist January, 1907, and com- pared with Australian lamb killed early in October, 1906, and with Australian mutton also killed about the same time, but shipped by a different steamer. The particulars of these four joints are as follows :— G.—A leg of prime young Welsh lamb, being a cross between the Welsh and Radnor strains, weighing about 5 lb., brought to Smithfield market for sale on Ist January, 1907. H.-—One leg of prime Australian frozen lamb, of the well-known ‘‘ Champion” brand, weighing about 53 lb. It was shipped by the ‘‘ Tropic,” which steamer arrived in London on the 18th December, after a voyage occupying about fifty-two days, during which the meat was kept at a temperature of about 20° Fahr. The lamb- had subsequently been kept in the Victoria Dock Store, at a temperature of about 16° Fahr. The tab attached to the leg indicated that the lamb was of grade 4 (7.¢., weighing between 42 and 50 lb.), and certified that the carcase was perfectly sound, free from disease, and suitable for human consumption. The lamb was loaded on steamer on October 27th, 1906, and was killed probably about a fort- night or three weeks prior to that date. Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. [ Ost. 2, 1908. Lincoln Suffolk-Merino and Suffolk-Merino Hoggetts, Oct. 2, 1908. ] Agriculturai Gazette of N.S.W. 621 feng. of gone apa 7 Pure-bred Romney-Marsh Ram. J.—One leg of English mutton of the Leicester breed, bred and fattened at Taunton and offered for sale on the Smithfield market on lst January, 1907. The sample leg weighed about 9 lb., and was fully representative of the characteristics of the Leicester strain. K.—One leg of Australian frozen mutton of the well-known ‘‘Champion” brand. It was shipped by the ‘ Runic,” which arrived in London on the 24th December, the dura- tion of the voyage, temperature, &c., in the case of sample H applying also to sample K. The Australian leg of mutton also weighed about 9 1b. It bore a tab, indicating that the mutton was of grade 65 (7.e., between 60 and 65 lb.), and in- cluding a certificate similar to that on sample H. The mutton was killed about the middle of October, and was put on board steamer on 5th November. It has frequently been alleged in the past that frozen meat is more wasteful than English, that it diminishes in weight more in proportion during the cooking process, has more refuse parts, which cannot be consumed, and less dripping and gravy. These objections have been refuted from time to time, and were specially reported on in the “Hospital” in 1896, dealing with New Zealand mutton. Since that date no further tests have been brought to notice. I, therefore, according to your instructions, repeated these baking tests with the above legs of Australian lamb and mutton, and followed the detailed methods of baking in every particular as in the former trials. My results are as follow :-— | G H J K Welsh Australian English Australian Lamb. Lamb. | Mutton. Mutton. | Ib. oz. lb. oz. lb. oz. lb. oz. Weight when delivered 4 15 5d 7s 8 10 Sano Weight when taken from oven __.... Reclama 5 2a 4 15 6 133 6 Ti Weight of slices suitable for hospital diet.. 2 135 3 82 4 43 4 6 Weight of bone and waste ... ae 1 O88 Ls 2 4 ils Pure bone 0 9 0 8% Loe 0 13 Dripping see Be Bae O 4) 0 4; 0 11g 1 O84 Gravy in dish after carving... 0 13 G2 0 OF 0 3k Gravy under dripping 0 0% 0 Of 0 04 0 0% 822 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Gr an eee Romney Marsh sheep feeding beneath bananas. This breed is very suitable for the coast and makes an excellent farmer’s sheep, WOOD. Getting up of small wool clips. Many farmers are losing up to a penny a pound in their wool by not paying sufficient attention in preparing it for market. There are cases where it might just as well be put into a bale with a pitchfork and trodden down. Practically everything goes in together— fleece, bellies, locks, dags, short and long staple, fine and coarse, merino and erossbred. Now what can a buyer make out of this? How can he tell the proportions of each in a bale! The consequence is a low value all round can only be risked and many will not bid for it at all. It is not advocated to make too many sorts of a small clip, but it always pays to keep your fleece wool by itself and also to skirt off any stained or injured parts. If the wool is a good length, which it generally is in farmer's crossbreds, make two classes of it—first combing, which should be the majority of the fleece and of course the finer portion, then all the coarser portion should go into second combing, but there is no hard-and-fast rule and judgment must be used ; but make the two sorts as even as possible in each, that is the point, and any fleece that is not fit for either should be cast out and put into a bale or bag by itself. Do not make an uneven lot for the sake of any fleeces. Dirty and matted fleeces must always come out; tender staple should rever be put with strong. The bellies should always be kept by themselves, and it is better to remove the stained parts from those of wethers. Pieces. —Where the clip is of moderate size it is always best to make the pieces into ‘‘ firsts” and ‘ seconds,” keeping the large and bulky ones for firsts, the remainder being the smaller and the dirtier portions for seconds. The locks should be always put by themselves. Now in a farmer’s clip there may be some very small lots, say of bellies or locks, but they can be put into bags and kept separate, and it will pay to do it ; all that is required is a little common-sense and trouble. Sew everything up neatly and brand bales or bags legibly in more than one place with stencil ink, with a letter to signify sex as well as sort of wool within. Oct, 2.1908.) Agricuiiural Gazetie of N.S.W. 823 Shearing.—During shearing, if possible, do not keep sheep long without feed, as if cold or wet supervenes many may die. Dipping for Ticks, ete.—Do not attempt to dip in very cold weather or if it is likely to rain. Many sheep have been lost after dipping in heavy rains, though it was summer time. Putting them throngh when overheated is also bad. In the early morning with the promise of a fine day ahead is the best time, so that they can get warmed up and feed before night. Sheep in mixed farming operations are very valuable and keep up the fertility of soils in a cheap way. They are a valuable source of income both from the sale of the wool and excess of sheep. They provide meat for home use as well as lambs for market. They eat off weeds, tread in stubble, and manure the cultivation land ; also eat off rank growths, when advisable, to the great benefit of themselves. As before stated the merino is not the small farmer’s sheep but the large grazier’s. The merino is a wool sheep and the very best. The mutton sheep is the crossbred, with a dash of the merino for wool improvement—this is the farmers’ sheep. True crossbreds try fences more severely than merinos. But why have bad open fences! Good ones are a heavy first cost, but they last a great many years and return good interest all the time and save worry and annoyance to the owner and his neighbours. It must be impressed on breeders that quality in lamb and mutton must be paid attention to, to obtain best prices. The question of the meat export trade is of great importance to this State, and one that is capable of attaining vast dimensions, if what is required is produced and improved methods are carried out. Advantages and Disadvantages of Crosses. Lincoln-Merino Cross.—The Lincoln has proved an excellent sheep for crossing with the merino. The wool on the crossbred is excellent ; its weight, length of staple and lustre giving it great value. It is unlikely that any crossbred will surpass it. The mutton, somewhat coarse and tallowy in the Lincoln, is improved in the cross with the merino. The shape of carcase when slaughtered is not all that can be desired, though generally weighty. They are not exempt from fluke or foot-rot. English Leicester-Merino Cross.—The pure bred English Leices‘er is one of the oldest breeds, and has been used with great effect in the improvement of several other breeds. The cross with the merino is much fancied. They require abundance of succulent feed. Rough pastures would not suit them. They possess a shapely carcase, with mutton of very good colour, with a fleece of fair weight and fine lustrous wool. They are not exempt from fluke nor foot-rot. Their small fine heads are an advantage when crossing with merino ewes, and there are few deaths in consequence during parturition, Border Leicester-Merino Cross.—The pure Border Leicester is a bigger and heavier sheep as a rule than the Engiish Leicester—more leggy with a lighter middle piece, which indicates that the proportion of offal to dressed carcase will be light. They have a good carriage, are active and hardy, being 824 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. able to thrive much better than the English Leicesters on rough or scant pastures. Their heads are long and narrow, nose aquiline. The sharp protuberances of the eye-caps are apt to do damage to the uterus in lambing. The wool in the cross is of good length and quality, though rather light. Lambs in the cross mature quickly, have good backs, and generally of very desirable shape. ‘They are likely to take a prominent place in lamb-breeding Romney Marsh-Merino Cross.—The pure Ronaney is a large heavy sheep with wool of demi-lustre which, when crossed with a fairly fine yolky merino, produces a wool of much value ; also makes a fine heavy wether at an early age and produces good marketable lambs in the cross with the merino ; but they are rather lacking in the shape desired by the trade. No country except the desert should be without the Romney Marsh, for it thrives where others cannot do well, viz., in the low swampy, coastal, regions, as well as in poor hilly country where fluke and foot-rot abound. ‘The constitution that enables this breed to resist these terrible scourges will make the Romney breed desirable wherever these diseases are found. Like other sheep, however, they suffer from worms. Shropshire- Mering Cross,—The Shropshire is a mutton sheep well-known to fat-lamb raisers. As a shapely sheep with good mutton and early maturing qualities he is to be reckoned with. The wool of the pure-bred is much improved by crossing with the merino. The rams if allowed to get too fat are very lazy and slow at mating time, and a good deal of difficulty is ex- perienced with the ewes—especially merinos when crossed with them—as their heads are large. ‘The Shropshire belongs to the Downs or black-faced breeds. Southdown-Merino Oross.—Vhe Southdowa is a true mutton sheep, not so heavy as the Shropshire or Suffolk, but a better shape in the hind parts than either ; it is unsurpassed for the quality and flavour cf its mutton ; the cross with the merino is compact and shapely, though small, and much sought after by butchers. The wool of the pure-bred is somewhat harsh, short, and fleece is light, but becomes softer and better when crossed with the merino. The breed is hardy and sprightly, but not exempt from foot-rot. The head is small, and the progeny of the cross with the merino gives little trouble during parturition. Suffolk- Merino Cross.—Last, ut perhaps by no means least, is the Suffolk sheep for crossing. The lambs from this cross are amongst the heaviest of all the half-breds. The Suffolk is not a handsome sheep, neither does the quality of the mutton come near the Southdown, but it does weigh. The wethers from this cross also attain a great weight and size. The fleece of the pure-bred is of fair quality only, but in the cross with a fairly fine merino the improvement is wonderful, and experts pronounce it to be one of the best of the Downs half-bred wools yet produced. |The Suffolk (pure) is a big, long sheep, with large black bare head and legs. The mutton is fair, fat and lean being well mixed. The ewes are prolific and good milkers, therefore first-rate mothers. Comebacks, if bred judiciously, are useful sheep for either mutton or wool, according to the purpose for which they are required. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 825 A Plea for Silage in the West. Cc. C. BRADLY, Mungeribar, Narromine. ONE of the greatest difficulties against which this State has to contend, in her efforts to obtain for her products a favourable footing in the world’s markets, is her inability to maintain a regular and continuous supply. Just as we have struggled into a position to command attention, a disastrous drought will decimate flocks and herds, supplies will shorten, export becomes out of the question, and in severe visitations our stock become so reduced that a considerable time elapses before we are again in a position to compete Crop of Sorghum being cut for Silage. for the favour of foreign markets. In the meantime, of course, our rivals have been making the best use of their time, and we find ourselves shouldered out. It is indeed most unfortunate that a country like ours, in many respects the most favoured on earth, whose pastures are of such superlative excellence, and whose climate so mild, that over vast stretches stock may be depastured at large and brought to the pink of condition throughout the whole year, should be subject to these disastrous visitations. However, we cannot alter the natural conditions of the land, and in the natural order of things it is quite apparent that we shall always be more or less subject to droughts. It behoves us then to cast about for a practical method of mitigating their dire- ful influence. Modern methods and practices suggest in the first place two palliatives: Irrigation, and conservation of fodder in good times to tide us over the bad. Irrigation as yet we know practically nothing of, except 826 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. experimentally, and what little we do know from local experience is not too reassuring ; however, that is probably due in part to our lack of experience, and without doubt, much will yet be done by irrigation in localities where it is possible to procure or conserve the necessary water, still there will always remain huge tracts where irrigation will never be practicable. In these parts much may be done without irrigation by producing and_ storing sufticient quantities of fodder in the good years, for there are really few parts of the State where this may not be done in a normal time. Much has been written of the unwisdom of allowing the luxuriant growth of grass and herbage to go to waste in a good season when stock are quite unable to keep it down, and men who, for the most part, spend their lives in an office chair, read a few miscellaneous agricultural publications, and acquire their knowledge of the country by travelling through it in a mail-train, abuse the poor landholder, who has spent a lifetime in learning his business, for not cutting this superfluous growth and converting it into hay or silage. These men do not know the difticulty, expense, and disastrous results to the pasture of doing what they advise. We know a number of men who have cut large quantities of grass hay and stacked it, but they have never persisted in the practice, in this section of the State at all events. Experience points to the fact that in almost all cases it will be found far more economical and profitable to cultivate fodder crops suitable to the district on prepared land, and cut and handle them in the regular way, Hay is better than nothing, but silage is better than hay for most purposes where breeding stock are concerned. Ewes will rear good lambs and the lambs will afterwards do well on silage, whereas dry hay is practically use- less in suchacase, The influence that a good reserve supply of succulent fodder in the form of silage exerts on the management of a holding is far reaching. Not only is this influence felt in absolute drought, but the knowledge that the supply is there to be called upon if necessary, will affect all the methods, the stocking, the class of stock carried, ete. The tendency at present is towards smaller holdings, and in these dry districts where large runs have been the order of the day, the small man, with 2,000 to 3,000 acres, is slowly but surely taking possession. This is the man to whom silage is going to prove an immense boon, and it needs no great foresight to predict that in the next few years almost all of these men will be insuring themselves against loss in this way. The tendency is in that direction, The prejudice and doubt as to its value are disappearing, and everywhere one hears inquiries as to the results obtained and methods employed by those who have pioneered the practice. One of the greatest sources of revenue to the small holder is going to be fat-lamb raising for the export market, and with our capricious rainfall one never knows whether he is going to have sufficient succulent feed to lamb his ewes on—often indications are so bad that he is afraid to join the rams at all. Such has been the case to some extent in this and other districts during the present season, a great shortage in the lambing is the result, and in many instances where the rams were put in a high mortality both, at and after Oct. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 827 lambing has followed. This is not the only aspect of the case, for to make a decent living from holdings of this class it is necessary to stock up to the full carrying capacity of the land, and when the rains fail, if only for a com- paratively short time, the stock has to be reduced to such a degree that they will not return anything like a sufficient income. Furthermore, the owner has usually to quit at whatever his stock will bring, and when the rains come stock up again, at a comparatively high figure. It will be readily seen how a sufficient standby of silage will change this—even matters up—and give one confidence in his operations. The idea of the expense of installing the necessary conveniences prevents many from embarking on the undertaking, but this need not be at all heavy. Probably what has kept silage from coming into more general use is the notion, rather prevalent among farmers, that it requires a great amount of ty ea a eS Pecanee wt agg 2} lem Fibro-cement Silo. Capacity 110 tons, being filled by means of a cutter and blower driven by a 10h p, steam engine. skill and experience to ensure success. This is not the case at all, for experience points to the fact that so long as the crop is cut at the right stage and put together with ordinary care, be it in stack, pit, or over-ground silo—chaffed or unchaffed——success must result, the amount of waste being inversely pro- portionate to the amount of care exercised. It is quite natural that being a new thing to most, and having heard reports of failures, farmers have in the past hesitated in risking their crops by attempt- ing to ensilage them, but now with silos scattered all over the country, in every district, it is so easy for them to see for themselves. As to the merits of any particular method, opinions are varied. Each, doubtless, has something to recommend it, and only a man’s particular conditions and requirements can determine for him the most suitable plan. There is no question but that a modern above-ground tub silo of substantial construction is the least wasteful ; and where, from the nature of a man’s 828 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. Oel eT QOSe =) operations, as dairying, it will be kept in constant use, this plan will pro- bably prove most suitable. On the other hand, in the case of the average sto:k farmer, where the supply is simply held as a reserve in case of drought, and may only be drv2zwn upon perhaps once in five years, we hold the opinion that the simpler, if somewhat more rough and wasteful, method of pitting will be found most economical. This is our experience. Stacking we do not approve of except where facilities for making & pit are not to hand. It is much more wastetul and more costly in the handling. One of the cheapest forms of silo now in use is the fibro-cement style. With our own labour and cutting our own timber on the place, we erected a 110-ton silo of this class at a cost of £55 2s. 6d.: a No. 13 Ohio cutter and blower requiring LO-h.p. to drive it, cost a further £42; and we can grow, harvest, and fill into it an average crop of sorghum or maize at a cost of ts. 6d. per ton, including interest on the plant employed exclusive of the silo SOV PRISIEE RWS Filling a Pit Silo. A pair of bullocks may be seen on the extreme right of the illustration pulling the load off; the team and waggon pass over the sorghum already in the pit, which assists to consolidate the silage. itself. Whether these silos will stand the test of time we cannot say. The other method adopted here is the ordinary scooped pit, and we incline to the opinion that this will prove the most economical method for the majority of stock farmers. A convenient size for ordinary needs is 100 ft. x 25 ft. x 10 ft. deep, ends battered to 3 in 1. It can readily be put down with ordinary tank plough and scoops, the sides being trimmed down as straight as the character of the soil will allow, with a pick. The capacity will be 390 cubic yards, at 6d. per yard will cost a fraction over £9, will last for many years, and hold about 200 tons of made silage to the level of the ground. Pits, however, should always be heaped up another 4 or 5 feet and rounded off so as to ensure the silage being well above the ground level after it has settled. We can fill this class of silo without chafting at a cost of 2s. 9d. per ton, including cost of growing crop, &c., as before ; chaffed it will cost the same as the tub silo. The cost of emptying differs but little in either case. Oct. 2 as tB0e | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 829 Where sheep are to be ted it will probably always pay to chat? the coarse growing crops, as the waste in feeding is much greater with the long stuff. The pit should be filled well up above the surface of the ground and allowed to settle for a few days, then a little old straw spread on the top if convenient, and about 18 inches of earth scooped back on top; it can stay there —let us hope for years—until required, and will open up good and succulent. Particularly in Barley grass country there is usually a grassy strip round the edge of the wheat crops that is cut in cutting the firebreaks and roads. Many farmers keep this grassy hay for their own use, either because it is unmarketable or because they strip the rest of the crop for grain. The result is invariably trouble during next ploughing season from the grass seed getting into the horses’ mouths and jaws and preventing them from doing well. It is false economy to use this stuff for chaff, much better to burn it, so why not scoop a pit and turn it into silage ; it is an experiment that will cost little and I am sure will not be regretted. NOTE ON Argemone mexicana. J. H. MAIDEN. [ Previous references, —1891, Jan., p. 32; Mar., p.125; Apr., p. 175; 1895, Mar:, p: 157; Apr., p. 227; 1897, Jan. p. 3; 1899, June, p..490; 1901, June, p. 645. ] This weed known as “ Blue Thistle,” ‘“ Yellow Pe yppy,” “ Mexican POPPY, ‘ “ Devil’s Fig,” ‘“‘ White Thistle,” “ Binniguy Thistle,” “Prickly Poppy,” i widely looked upon in New South Wales as one of the few weeds without any redeeming feature. In the Cape of Good Hope Agric. Journ. (April, 1908, p. 493) the follow- ing statement appeared :— Mr. Bergh (Modder River) moved :—‘‘ That Congress [Farmers’ Congress, 1908] recommends to Government the necessity for removing from the list of noxious weeds the plant commonly called Mexican Poppy.” Seconded by Mr. Haarhoff. Mr. P. Nel (Beaufort West) moved, as an amendment :—‘‘ That the Government be informed of the diversity of opinion between farmers as to the value or otherwise of the Mexican Poppy as a fodder plant, and that they be requested to appoint experts to make immediate investigation.’ On a vote being taken, the amendment was negatived, and the motion agreed to.” On inquiry of the Under Secretary for Agriculture at Capetown, the follow- ing information was elicited : With reference to your letter of the 15th May last, relative to the above subject, | am directed to inform you that the principal reason advanced by those wishing to have Mexican Poppy (Argemone meaicana) withdrawn from the list of noxious plants i is that in their opinion it is not only not injurious to, but will even, in certain seasons, serve as food for stock. This statement it will be noted i is not an official one by the Department, but emanates from the farmers themselves. Now I want to give even Blue Thistle its due, and if any one will show cause why this weed should not be exterminated I shall be very glad to hear it. I particularly desire evidence that stock eat it, not an odd nibble, but use it as food. D 830 = Agriculiural Gazette of NSW [ Oct. 2, 19U8. Indian Cane (Saccharum officinarum) as a Fodder for Dairy Cattle. A. H. HAYWOOD, Belindigarbar Experiment Farm, Grafton. Tus cane was probably first introduced to the Clarence by the Sugar Refining Company. Owing to its peculiar characteristics it has not been grown for sugar production, but it has been grown for fodder for some years by several river farmers who testify to its value. Its merits as a fodder do not appear to be known generally. In recommending cane to dairymen it must not be in- ferred that it is as nutritious or as desirable for the produc- tion of milk as some other fodders; its greatest qualifica- tion is that it is available all the year round and provides green succulent food at times when other feed is scarce. Statements have been made that cane when fed to cows lowers the fat percentage of the milk. The writer’s ex- perience, extending over two years, with daily tests by the Babcock test of milk produced by cows fed mainly on cane, is that the test is not aftected any more than it is when feed- ing exclusively on any other single food, in which case the health of theanimaleventually sufters and the test is thereby Indian Cane (Saccharum officinaruim). lowered. Furthermore, feed- ing tests conducted at the Wollongbar Experiment Farm demonstrated that a ration of cane and bran was eaten by cows with greater relish and gave equal results in milk yield and test as when fed on a ration of maize, silage, and bran, Oct. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 831 Description of Indian Cane. The plant grows to a height of 12 feet to 15 feet ; the stems are pale yellow, tender, about the thickness of sorghum, the rind is not so woody or indiges- tible as the ordinary sugar-cane; the base of the leaves is devoid of the minute prickles found on some varieties of cane, such a variety for instance as No. 14, which is injurious to stock when much used. Some cuttings of Indian Cane were planted on this farm on 3rd December, 1907, 5 feet apart inrows. At the end of June, 1908, this cane had reached a height of 8 feet, and the number of canes to a stool totalled 40, and the aver- age weight of each stool 30 Ib. Its resistance to frost was manifested during June when exceptionally heavy frosts occurred which bleached the leaves of the adjoining varieties, viz., Mauritius Ribbon and No. 14, while the Indian Cane remained green. An important feature of this cane is the slender upright stems with soft rind, which renders it easily eaten by stock, without being chatted. The dairy-tarmer of the Clarence and Richmond having suitable soil and location, with a couple of acres of this cane, has in it the best substitute for ensilage and a safe standby summer and winter. If used in conjunction with other fodders possessing higher protein con- tent, we have a good milk producer, but when used alone the tendency is to fatten at the expense of the milk yield. October is the best month for planting. FERTILITY OF TEOSINTE (Huchlena luxurians) SEED GROWN AT BELINDIGARBAR EXPERIMENT FARM. From tests made by Mr. A. H. Haywood, Manager of the Belindigarbar Experiment Farm, near Grafton, with Teosinte seed, it has been found that 78 per cent. germinated. The light and immature seeds were removed by winnowing. This is an extremely satisfactory result, as this very valuable forage plant does not mature seed in the cooler parts of the State. Supplies have hitherto been drawn from bot climates outside New South Wales. As a green fodder for dairy cattle it is strongly recommended. 832 = Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Feeding Milking Herds H. R. ALEXANDER, Experiment Farm, Wollongbar. Wirn the exception of the cows of town and subarban dairymen, the teeding of dairy cattle in this State has so far not received the attention it deserves. Every year our dairy farmers are becoming more convinced of the advan- tages to be gained by growing and conserving sufficient fodder at least to carry their stock in fair condition through the winter and dry summer periods. Nothing could be more disheartening to the dairyman than to see a fine spring opening out, and his cows too low in condition to allow of the respond- ing at once in milk with the new growth of feed. When grass becomes plentiful the poor cow takes some considerable time to come properly on in her milk. This means a falling off in cows’ milk yield for this particular lactation period, Further, a cow low in condition is liable to go down under a too liberal supply of fresh young grass. On the other hand the fed animal being in good heart and having no con- dition lee-way to make up, increases at once in her milk flow with the spring grass. Knowing this, the farmer should feed not only his milkers but the dry cows as well. Under our New South Wales dairying conditions the farmer must regulate his cows and fodder crops to suit his particular district. The cows should be bred so that the majority areat full profit during the period at which, on the average, it is found feed is most abundant. The balance of herd could then be bred to calve at intervals throughout the year. To maintain a reasonable milk revenue at the period when the majority of cows are dry, say June to August, a good plan is to have all heifers replacing culled cows bred to calve at this time of year. By so doing, milking being slack, the heifers can be breken in, udders attended to, &c., without undaly upsetting the yard routine. These heifers would not be again bred to bull till November or December, and would then work in with the main herd. To allow of economical management this regu- lating of dairy herd is advisable; less fodder is required to feed dry cows than milkers. Further, a small, comparatively treshly-calved lot of cows can be given every attention, an abundance of feed, and be made to milk heavily right through the winter without the farmer incurring any additional labour expenses, In the lower South Coast grass feed is found to be most abundant from September to December. During January and February, having seeded, grass is usually somewhat dry, and failing good rains to stimulate a fresh growth, the milk flow will show a considerable shrinkage, unless the cows’ feed is supplemented with some green fodder. Oct. 2, 1908. } Agricultural Gazette of N.S.IV. 833 The South Coast farmer should, by growing crops, prepare for feeding his dairy herd trom January, and to continue from then, if need be, right through the winter months. On the best managed properties a regular supply of green fodder could not always be maintained even during very favourable seasons. There would always bea break between the summer crops of maize and sorghum and the winter crops of oats, &e.; the gap between winter crops and spring grass would also call for attention. To tide over these or other bad pericds reserves of fodder are necessary. Stacks of oaten, lucerne, millet or meadow hay, and silage made from any of the crops already mentioned, should be on every farm. Of all crops suitable for dairy-cow feed, lucerne and maize are the best. While maize flourishes on the South Coast, lucerne is only grown in isolated places, and in many instances with indifferent success. Lucerne hay is the ideal concentrated food for the dairy cow. Lucerne, fed in conjunction with either green maize or silage, makes practically a complete, home- grown milk-making ration. Every dairy farmer having a suitable piece of land would profit by growing a few acres of lucerne. To have a regular supply of maize and sorghum for cow-feeding from January, begin early in October by sowing a section of paddock sufficiently large to feed milking herd for one month, sowing as seed in this case one of the early maizes, such as Ninety-day or Early Leaming. Follow up this sowing at an interval of, say a fortnight, with another. section of paddock, using in this case seed of Hickory King, Red Hogan, or any other tall growing maize. Also sow at this time the main crop of corn for ensilage making. Another sowing of maize could be made towards the beginning of December. From December to January,a suitable piece of land being available, as a catch crop a sowing of Ninety-day maize would, provided frosts held off, give a good cutting of green feed by April; this crop could be off the land in ample time t» allow of ploughing and sowing for late crop of barley or oats. During spring months two sowings of sorghum should also be made. Sorghum grows slower than maize, and though not so good a milk-making food, has the advantage of holding out after frost much better than the corn crop. Sorghum should come in as the fodder to follow maize. Amber Cane variety is good for early feed. Planters’ Friend being the better winter stand-by, will cut fresh, though frost-bitten, well into June. As there is always a risk of losing part of crop through heavy rains, it is advisable to either cut, bind and stook, or make into silage any sorghum required for feed after the month of May. Maize and sorghum yield enormous quantities of fodder to the acre, and are the South Coast farmers’ principal siloing or ensilage crops. Cowpeas are often recommended as a heavy yielding summer fodder crop. In warmer localities cowpeas undoubtedly are valuable. On the lower South Coast the writer's experiences of this crop grown on good land were far from profitable. 834 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Oct. 2, 1908. For a summer catch crop Hungarian millet is a success, can be harvested within ten weeks of sowing, yields a fine flaggy hay much relished by calves and cattle ; it also makes excellent silage. For winter green feed, oats and Cape barley hold pride of place. Of the varieties of oats, when a crop of hay is looked for, Algerian is the best, being comparatively free from rust attack. Tartarian is the better variety for actual green feed, also makes a good hay, but is very liable to rust. Cape barley is relished as a green fodder by stock ; has no value as hay on account of the dangerous and disagreeable beard. Rye flourishes better on poor country than oats or barley. As a green food stock eat it readily ; has no value as hay. When oats or barley receive a fair start, and are fed off when from 6 to 8 inches high, as many as two, and, during very favourable seasons, three feedings can be got from the one sowing with an additional ton to the acre crop of hay from the oats. When cut with a scythe or mower, oats cr barley die out during frosty weather, If a subsequent feeding or hay crop is desired, cows must be allowed to do the mowing by grazing. In feeding off allow the milkers from an hour to an hour and a-half every morning on the crop. Some farmers herd the cattle while grazing, confining them in rotation to certain sections of crop. This had better be done when paddock has been sown at intervals of a week or fortnight, the green stuff being more advanced in growth on the early-sown portions of the field. When crop is all of one sowing and growth the cows may be left to themselves for the usual hour ; they are too busy feeding for this short period to wander far and trample under foot much of the green stuff. Cows fed in this way, and given a reasonable allowance of hay at night, will freshen up wonderfully in their milk. Oats being a soft bulky food, cows ration needs building up with a more concentrated fodder. Hay assists in regulating the bowels, thus preventing scouring, and in a way balances the ration, In the south winter crops can be sown from March to May, and for early spring feed as late as June. To obtain best results when feeding cows it is advisable to chaff and feed all fodder from troughs. In feeding chaffed ensilage troughs are absolutely necessary. When cattle are fed in this way their allowance of ensilage, maize, or sorghum can be balanced up to a full milk making ratio by the addition of concentrates, in the form of lucerne, oaten, or meadow hay, bran or oileake, as the case may be. To obtain best results from a milking cow this balanced ration is necessary. A cow may be being fed as much ensilage as she can eat and still not be milking up to what her average would be if running on good grass. Ensilage, green maize, or sorghum are the bulky cheap appetite satisfying foods, but are deficient in protein—the necessary milk making element. To get this protein for a heavy yield of milk from say ensilage, the cow would have to do the impossible and consume perhaps twice the weight of fodder she was capable of eating in the twenty-four hours. Oct: 2, 1908. } Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 835 To balance the ration the feeder reduces the bulky food, substituting an equal weight of the more expensive concentrated article and keeps on adding this food rich in protein and reducing the bulky, while the cow responds by increasing in her milk flow. When this point is reached no further addition of expensive fodder would make the cow milk any better. During winter and dry spells every tarmer should endeavour to feed his fresh milking cows a balanced ration. This ration is not needed in the case of dry stock or cows nearly dry, they can be kept in good condition when fed solely on ensilage. However, as very few farmers have troughs the only alternative is to feed in the paddock. By feeding ensilage or bulky food at night, and hay during the day, or vice versa, fairly good results will be got. If possible choose sheltered hilly country for the feeding ground. Lay the fodder out in long thin lines ; if dumped out in heaps, the cattle trample and spoil fully half the feed. Change direction of lines daily, this helps keep fodder clean. During wet weather let the cows have the fodder as fresh from the slide or cart as possible. Cattle will not eat sodden hay or other food that has been lying out in the rain for hours. By chain harrowing the manure on feeding ground during damp weather, dung is broken up, rubbish cleaned away, and the growth of grass on such places when spring sets in will be greatly accelerated. Grow fodder, and in abundant seasons conserve the surplus. The days of dairy squatting are done. Good dairy country becomes dearer and more difficult to obtain every year. To make ends meet the farmer must get more milk from his cows; this can only be done by feeding. No matter how well bred an animal may be she cannot milk without a liberal supply of food. THe “ Datty TELEGRAPH” FARRER SCHOLARSHIP. THE regulations to be observed in connection with the above Scholarship originally provided that the first examination, which is to be held in December next, was to be open for all first-year students of the Wagga Farm School only, and the second, in December, 1909, was to be open for similar students of the Bathurst Farm School, and so on, in alternate years. It has now been decided that the Scholarship will be thrown open for competition between the students of both farms at Wagga and Bathurst at each examina- tion, and further, that the successful student will be allowed to take his second year at any of the Agricultural Schools, the Hawkesbury Agricultural] College, and the Wagga or Bathurst Experiment Farms, provided he has already spent one year at one of those institutions. 836 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Oct. 2, 1908. | Useful Australian Plants. J. H. MAIDEN, « Government Botanist and Director, Botanic Gardens, Sydney. No. 97. Hriachne obtusa, R.Br., variety glabrata ; new variety. Botanical Name.—Eriachne, already explained, this Gazette, January, 1905, page 26 ; obtusa, Latin, blunt, or obtuse, referring to the appearance of the spikelets when in fruit. 3rown, in his original description (Prodromus 184), speaks of ‘ glumis glabriusculis acutissimis perianthio obtwsiusculo brevioribus.” This obtuse appearance is well brought out in the figure of the normal form figured in this (azette for January, 1891, page 27, in which a specimen, probably of dry country origin, is depicted. It will be observed that, in the new variety now figured, the spikelets have a more acute appearance. Botanical Description (B.F). vii, 632).—A variable grass, usually | to 2 feet high, often branched in the lower part. Leaves narrow, flat, or subulate, glabrous, or the lower sheaths sprinkled with rigid hairs. Panicle loose, sometimes much-branched and 4 inches long, sometimes almost reduced to a raceme of half-a-dozen spikelets. Spikelets ovoid, about 2 lines long, appearing acute when young, assuming the obtuse aspect when in fruit. Outer glumes membranous, acute, with fewer nerves than in most species (usually five) sprinkled on the back and ciliate with a few long hairs, rarely quite glabrous. g, more obtuse, rarely with a minute point, densely Flowering glumes about as long ciliate to the top, and sprinkled on the back with spreading hairs. Palea entire, slightly hairy. Grain much flattened. Value as a Fodder.—* fairly good pasture grass, suitable for sheep ; it is variable as to height, but generally branches much from the base, and before seeding makes a good leafy bottom.” (Bailey.) Mr. P. Corbett, of near Wilcannia, calls it ‘‘No. 8 Wire Grass,” which sums up his view as to the value to pastoralists of the normal form, The variety is rather a wiry grass and although it is eaten by wandering stock, it is too scarce to pronounce an authoritative opinion in regard to its fodder-value. Habitat and Range.—Found in all the States, except Tasmania and Victoria. Believed to be exclusively an interior species until discovered in L897 in the Port Jackson district. AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE MOF INS AW. OCT. 2.9 79058. ERIACHNE OBTUSA, R. BrR.. VARIETY GLABRATA.) Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 837 This variety, tor which the variety name glabrata is proposed, was discovered by Mr. W. Forsyth near Rose Bay. Owing to the spread of Sydney in this direction it cannot now be found in this locality and is believed to be exterminated. Fortunately the same observer has found it a few miles north of Port Jackson, at no great distance from the sea, and this discovery leads one to hope that additional coastal localities connecting the (Jueensland ones may be found. It is an almost glabrous form, with no woolly hairs on the base of the stem as in the desert forms ; the outer glumes are quite glabrous, and the hairs on the flowering glumes are shorter and more oppressed than in the typical form. See a note by Mr. Betche and myself in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales for 1897. Speaking generally, this is an interior or dry country species. In Queens- land, however, as in the case with so many of our western plants, it approaches the coast. The type was obtained from the tropics or the Endeavour River, &e. (Cook and Banks), or from Gulf of Carpentaria or Arnheim’s Land localities. EXPLANATION OF PLATE. 1. Entire plant, natural size. 2. Upper portion of panicle. 3. A single spikelet. a. Persistent outer glumes. b. Deciduous flowering glumes. c. Paleas of the two flowering glumes. 4, One of the two flowering glumes with palea and grain. 6b. Flowering glume. 6G. Ralea- d. Grain. 838 ~~ Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Analyses of Soils from the Eden District. SampLes of soil from the following places were submitted to Mr. F. B. Guthrie for analysis and report :— i= Soil Samples. Parish of Bimmil :— Bag marked No. 1—Soil 4 inches deep. ) Shown on parish map 2—Subsoil about 18 inches deep \ thus ay Bea (ti) 3—Soil 4 inches deep. | t 2) 4—Subsoil about 24 inches deep. ( ae son (2) 5 —Soil 5 inches deep. ) AG (3) 6—Subsoil 14 inches deep. \ ed 7—Soil 18 inches deep, overlaying ) drift about 9 inches deep. / 8 —Soil overlaying drift referred to not less than 36 inches deep. \ do some Cd) Fe (Alluvial). Parish of Victoria :— Bag marked No. 1*—Soil 6 inches deep. ) Shown on county map 2*—Subsoil 12 inches deep. Jj thus fi eee 3*—Soil over 3 feet deep, alluvial. do SoH LO Parish of Wallagaraugh :— Bag marked No, 4*—Soil from Nadgee Swamp from 10 to 30 feet deep. Shown on county map thus ... Bee ce see ane Parish of Pambula :— Bag marked No. 5*—Soil taken from portion 209, 8 inches deep. Shown on lithograph. Parish of Yowka :— Bag marked X!—Soil 2 inches deep. } Shown on parish map X*—Subsoil 15 inches deep. thus Bde ae pty Parish of Nullica :— Bag marked A—Soil, stony, 12 inches deep, overlying slate formation. Shown on parish map thus... aie se ae sas aes This sample may be taken as representing a large area of land in the parish of Nullica and other parishes south. The following are the analyses accompanied by a soil report :— Sample marked No. 1. Locality of soil—Eden district, parish Bimmil. Nature and depth of soil—4 inches, light loam. Colour of soil—Dark grey. Reaction of soil—Strongly acid. Capacity for water—41°5 per cent., fair. Absolute weight per acre, 6 inches deep—1,615,674 lb. Capillary power—6'1 inches, good. Mechanical Analysis. Root fibres—‘00 per cent. Stones over + inch diameter ‘O00 per cent. Coarse gravel, more than ;'; inch diameter—-54 per cent. Fine Bee more than — inch diameter—12°54 per cent. Fine soil Sand—60-00 per cent. { Tnpalpable matter, chiefly clay—26-92 per cent. Analysis of Fine Soil. Moisture —1°39 per cent. Volatile and combustible matter, principally organic—5°65 per cent. Oct. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 839 Percentages of FPertilistny Substances. General value. Nitrogen— ‘050 per cent. (equal to ‘061 per cent. ammonia), deficient, equivalent to 807 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. Soluble in hydrochloric acid, specific gravity 1-1. Lime (CaO)— ‘146 per cent., satisfactory, equivalent to 2,358 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. Potash (K,0)—‘012 per cent., bad, equivalent to 193 lb in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. Phosphoric acid (P.0;)—‘042 per cent., indifferent, equivalent to 678 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. Report.—Speaking generally, the soil is sour and is deficient in plant-food. It isa light, easily worked, rather gravelly loam, and the present sourness will probably disappear under cultivation. It is advisable to add lime at the rate of about 8 ewt. per acre. It will require fairly heavy manuring in order to get the best results. When the land is sweetened it should grow any crop suitable to a light soil and the climate of the district. The ordinary green fodder crops, fruits, and vegetables, should do well. Sampie marked No. 38. Locality of soil—Kden district, parish Bimmil. Nature and depth of soil—Light sandy loam, 4 inches. Colour of soil—Brown. Reaction of soil—Faintly acid. Capacity for water —40°7 per cent., tair. Absolute weight per acre, 6 inches deep —1, 642,529 1b. Capillary power—5’6 inches, good. Mechanical Analysis. Root fibres—-00 per cent. Stones over + inch diameter—‘00 per cent. Coarse gravel, more than +); inch diameter—-26 per cent. Fine gravel, more than ;}, inch diameter—9°40 per cent. . -, { Sand—73°73 per cent ehmeseat { Impalpable matter, chiefly clay—16°61 per cent. Analysis of Fine Soil. Moisture—1°41 per cent. Volatile and combustible matter, principally organic—4‘49 per cent. Percentages of Fertilising Substances. General value. Nicrogen—‘065 per cent. (equal to ‘079 per cent ammonia), fair, equivalent to 1,068 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. Soluble in hydrochloric acid, specific gravity 1-1. Lime (CaO)—'154 per cent., satisfactory, equivalent to 2,530 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. | ; Potash (K.0)—‘014 per cent., bad, equivalent to 230 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. Phosphoric acid (P,0;)—‘041 per cent., indifferent, equivalent to 674 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. Report.—A light sandy soil, of a brownish colour. The volatile matter consists largely of particles of burnt timber. It is a very poor soil chemi- cally, and will require fairly heavy manuring to get good results. Both this and No. | soil will benefit more from organic manures, such as bone-dust, dried blood, &e., than from chemical fertilisers. The potash, in which the soil is deficient, must be supplied in sulphate of potash or wood-ashes, if the latter areavailable. Should grow any crops suited to the district. 840 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Oct. 2, 1908. Sample marked No. 5. Locality of soil-—Kden district, parish Bimmil. Nature and depth of soil—Light loam, 5 inches. Colour of soil— Light gray. Reaction of soil—Acid. Capacity for water.—34'3 per cent., low. Absolute weight per acre, 6 inches deep—1,846,485 Ib. Capillary power—7°2 inches, good. Mechanical Analysis. Root fibres—‘00 per cent. Stones over } inch in diameter—‘00 per cent. Coarse gravel, more than ;'; inch diameter—°94 per cent. Fine Gravel, more than =, inch diameter—17°80 per cent. { Sand—60°70 per cent. i Impalpable matter, chiefly clay— 20°56 per cent. Fine sé vil Analysis of Fine Sor!, Moisture—’‘87 per cent. Volatile and combustible matter, principally organic 3°36 per cent. Percentages of Fertilising Substances. General value. Nitrogen— ‘043 per cent. (equal to ‘052 per cent.ammonia), deficient, equivalent to 793 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches deep. Soluble in hydrochloric acid, specitie gravity 1°]. Lime (CaO)—-086 per cent., fair, equivalent to 1,587 lb. in an acre of soil 6 inches » ~ 24,25, 26 Yass P. and A. Association .. Will Thomson sy 324525 Mudgee A. Society whi Ss ... H. Lamerton i ea cONecO Clarence P. and A. Society, ( rrafton . T. T. Bawden a B24 A256 Gundagai P. and A. Society ... A. Elworthy Soo ey os Gul Cooma P. and A, Association ... een Onin Wialtsleyg ang enol sap lonL Upper Hunter P. and A. Assoc., Musw ellbrook nid. PML Campbells, ols Apl. 1, 2 Bathurst A., H., and P. Association G. W. Thompson.. Mar, 31 Apl 12 Durham A. and H. Association, Dungog ‘ ... C. BE. Grant Marr 5, 6 Central Australian P. and A. Association, Bourke ... G. W. Tull ye O20 Murrumbidgee P and A. Association... _ A. F. D. White ... Aug. 24,25, 26 1 Plate. | Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. VOL oe Part 1. AGRICULTURAL i \ \ / if. | \ i Al FE ie \ AS es odie: fp Vj ZF Pats Sm \\\ LASS coh | 7 a ZY i; 7 1) ! \ iZ y 4 $ i = % A Me SO ate eS Hi # = UNS . as i i be gi Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper. ub aut iy his Price SIXPENC@E. Vol. XIX. Part 11. NOVEMBER 2, 1908. Pee ICULTURAL ZEEE OF NEW. SOUTH. WALES: Issued by Direction of THE Hon. JOHN PERRY, MP. MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE. F. G. CHOMLEY, Sub-Editor. Hv Authority: SYDNEY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER. e—3 *29714 (a) 08! IL Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. It is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Mew South Gales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same in separate pamphlet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. CONTENTS, ELECTRICITY AND AGRICULTURE... a fae Wet ce. Chery, Nore on Amsineckia echinata, A VERY BAD Weep J, H. Maiden A PERMANENT Pouttry Faro ... ae ane ... G. Bradshaw THe Use or NITRATE oF PoTAsH AS MANURE HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND ExprrRiMent FARM— Experiments with Swede Turnips ... A. H. E. MeDonald Students’ Score Cards CO-OPERATIVE Farm MACHINERY nha ats ie P. Quirk Monruoity WEATHER ReEporRT ... ae ... W. Mervyn Carne THe Atmac CoB Stun ... SULTANAS ON PHYLLOXERA-RESISTANT STOCKS ,.. M. Blunno STACK SILAGE ie bee hae io ie G. M. McKeown BoranicaLt Notes ee eA ee ide ...d. H. Maiden Useful Australian Plants, No. 98, Sporobolus aetinoclidus, F.v.M.; A New Suspected Poison Plant; A valuable Fibre Plant. Yanco I[rRIGATION Farm Nos ay, a Ao ie ae HN Ian Marker ror New Sourn Wates Honey 1N Great Britain THe Co-oPERATIVE MARKETING OF CITRUS FRUITS ... oe vk VETERINARY NOTES ae eh: the aN Jas. D. Stewart Injurious effects of Wild Tobacco Plants ; Mortality in Pregnant Ewes (Parturient Apoplexy) ; Outbreak of Mortality among Stock in Candelo District. PAGE, 869 891 941 946 IV Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING SEPTEMBER, 1908 OrcHARD NOTES... a 5A AGRICULTURAL Societies’ Snows ws Son ie ADVERTISEMENTS: — Government Stud Bulls available for service at or for lease: Pure-bred Pigs for sale. Dairy Bulls for sale at Berry, Wollongbar, and ” J? (2) Rams, Boars, and Sows for sale. Teosinte Seed for sale. Cuttings of Indian Cane. for sale. [ Nov. 2, 1908. S. Wilson W. J. Allen State Farms, Belindigarbar. PAGE. 948 954 956 VOL. XIX. PART 11. NOVEMBER 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Electricity and Agriculture. Wel Ps CHERIRWS Department of Agriculture. A FEW years ago Sir William Crooke in a Presidential Address to the British Association prophesied that the day was drawing nigh when resort to the aid of chemical science for the purpose of increasing the productivity of the soil and maintaining the supply of wheat would become necessary. Last year Professor Sylvanus P. Thompson declared that a shortage of wheat is already imminent. The available territory, at the present rate of production and consumption, he estimates as sufficient for 666 millions of people, and by the end of 1910 he reckons we shall have a wheat-consuming population equal to that number. ; It may fairly be urged that both these scientists take a pessimistic view. Not only have they failed to recognise the vast possibilities of the Australian continent and other countries which so far have but little developed, but the gauging of these possibilities is at the best a matter of rough conjecture. The Commonwealth potentialities are great now, but with the achieve- ment, for instance, of the projected inland sea, who can say how extensively they would be enhanced? That there are conflicting opinions regarding this scheme is of course admitted. Furthermore, it remains to be seen what effect changed conditions of holding land will bring about, both in old and in new countries. The trena of modern legislation in connection with the question of the best disposal of the land in the interests of the whole community, instead of for the advan- tage of a grasping few, cannot fail to have an influence on the general food supply. In the dictum of the famous scientist (Crooke), that ‘‘ starvation may be averted through the laboratory,” and, presumably, only through that channel, there is a somewhat gratuitous assumption that all other means are practically exhausted. It is the province of that class of social economist who looks more to the fuller utilisation of the existing circumstances, to show that we ought still to be a long way from the absolute necessity for adopting the scientific methods advocated for increasing natural production, Nevertheless, while not a matter of sheer necessity, it may still be recog- nised as a very desirable course to pursue. The application of such methods may be more advantageous than cultivating larger areas of land. In the advance of science it is possible, for instance, that the application of elec- tricity, chemistry, or other scientific treatment, to an area of 1,000 acres of wheat, might be more profitable, and entail considerably less labour than the ordinary cultivation of an additional 500 acres, which would thus remain available for other use. In this connection the scope of the present article is to collate the information bearing on the recent developments of electricity as applied to agriculture, both directly and indirectly. A 870 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. The main points dealt with in this paper are the following : (1) The fixing of atmospheric nitrogen by electricity in the production ot the fertilisimg agent known as Calcium Nitrates, by the Birkeland- Eyde process. (2) A second process of a similar character resulting in the production of the fertiliser called Calcium Cyanamide or Nitrolim. (3) The depletion of the Chilian saltpetre fields. (4) The direct application of electric light and heat to plants, under the Thwaite system of electro-culture, at the Royal Botanic Gardens, London. (5) Radio-culture in connection with the Thwaite system, and also apart from electricity. (6) The experiments of Professor Lemstrom in the direct application of the electric current to cultivated fields. (7) The French system of utilising atmospheric electricity in agriculture. (8) The preliminary electro-culture experiments of the United States Agriculture Department. (9) The recent experiments of Sir Oliver Lodge, Principal of the Birmingham University. (10) Preliminary investigations at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. (11) Experiments with electrified seed-wheat in South Australia, and with various seeds at Werris Creek. (12) The practicability of establishing nitrogen-fixing industries in Australia, and the probable forces available for generating the electricity. (15) Electricity in farm housebold life and in field machinery operations in other countries. (14) The same in Australia; lighting and motive power; at the Hawkesbury College ; anticipated extensive introduction of electric machinery in rural operations ; farm telephone systems in New South Wales. The Atmospheric Nitrate Works at Nctodden, Norway. Illustration from The World’s Work. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 871 1. Manufacture of Atmospheric Nitrates. BIRKELAND-EyYDE PROCEss. In October, last year, Professor Thompson, in an article in The World's Work, entitled, ‘When wheat fails,” shows how electricity may be utilised to produce the new fertilising agent, nitrate, with the object of ensuring the continuance of an adequate supply of grain. That nitric acid can be generated by the chemical combination of nitrogen and oxygen, by means of an electric spark, has been a known fact for more than a century, but the production of nitrates on a scale which promises to be of commercial advantage is a scientific achievement of very recent date, and Professor Thompson explains the processes. Ten years ago certain experiments Sir Wiliam Crooke was making in this direction strongly suggested a possible solution of the food problem. He came to the conclusion that if the supply of electric energy could be generated at a cost of 1-17 of a Id. per unit (7.¢., per kilowatt hour), nitrate of soda could be manufactured at £5 per ton. Chilian saltpetre, nearly 75 per cent. of the output of which is used for manuring wheat-fields, sells at the present time at more than double this price. Since the time of Crooke’s experiments, the fixing of atmospheric nitrogen has become an accomplished fact ; in Scotland and Germany in connection with mining products ; and, finally, in Norway a factory has been success- fully established where, under the name of Norwegian saltpetre, nitrates are directly produced from the atmosphere on a commercial scale. Discoveries made by Professor Kristian Birkeland in the course of certain investigations Ws = N L Dk Group of Birkeland-Eyde Electric Furnaces, each of 800 h.p. in connection with the phenomena of the Aurora Borealis, led eventually to further examinations into the action of a transverse magnetic field upon an electric arc, formed when an alternating electric current is passing between the tips of two conducting rods, the result being the production of pure nitric acid, The acid is absorbed by treatment with limestone and caustic lime, thereby producing nitrate of hme. This product is concentrated and packed in canisters. The Professor's collaborator in this achievement was Samuel Eyde, a Christiana engineer, 872 Agricultural Gazette of N.S JV. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Commencing with a modest experimental plant of only 25 horse-power, operations expanded rapidly, until a factory was built at Notodden, in the Hittersdal, with a horse-power of 2,400, supplied by the Tinntos Waterfall. Shortly after this came into operation it became necessary to increase the output tenfold in order to meet the demand for nitrates, and another water- fall, capable of 26,000 horse-power, was called into requisition. Other similar projects are now in course of development in Scandinavia, and a large water-power factory is also being erected in Italy. Interior of the Birkeland-Eyde Furnace. Showing the striking of the electric flame. The generating power at Notodden and Svaelgfos is produced at a cost of about 0°025 of ld., which is rather less than Sir William Crooke’s estimate of 1-17 of ld. The quality of the nitrate of lime is quite equal to that of Chilian saltpetre; and the Norwegian product can be manufactured ata cost of not more than one-half the price at which the Chilian article can be delivered at Hamburg or Christiana. 2. Manufacture of Calcium Cyanamide. The Birkeland-Eyde calcium-nitrate process has not been allowed to re- main in undisputed possession of the field. . Another method of fixing nitrogen is the formation of a substance called cyanamide by the electric heating of calcium carbide in a stream of atmospheric nitrogen. Calcium cyanamide is manufactured from the same quality of carbide as is used in making acetylene gas. Pulverised carbide is charged into retorts mounted in a furnace, and nitrogen is passed over the carbide. When the carbide is saturated with nitrogen the cyanamide is extracted in the form of a hard cake. After being cooled this substance is pulverised, and is then ready for use. It is placed on the market under the name of Nitrolim. Sometimes it is called “ Lime Nitrogen.” While its principal use is as a fertiliser to take the place of Chilian saltpetre, cyanamide is also used for making quite a variety of chemical products. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 873 Electric Furnaces at Odda, for producing caleium cyanamide. Ilustration from Nature. The energy required in the nitrogen-fixation process in the cyanamide form is stated to be only one-fifth that necessary for the Birkeland-Eyde nitrates. The industry was first started at Piano d’Orta in Central Italy, with an annual output of 4,000 tons, which has, however, recently been increased to 10,000 tons. Other factories are being established in Italy and Austria. At Almissa, in the latter country, an installation giving 50,000 horse-power is in course of erection, with an annual capacity for an output of about 18,750 tons. At Notre Dame de Briancon, in France, there are works with an annual production of 4,000 tons ; and at Westeregeln and Bruhl, on the German Rhine, 10,000 tons are produced. At Bruhl steam power is used on account of the cheapness of coal. At the Niagara Falls the American Cyanamide Company are building a factory with a capacity for 6,000 tons, to be later on enlarged for an output of 40,000 tons. The Cyanamide Works at Odda, in Norway, are the enterprise of a British company, which treats about the same quantity of nitrogen as the Birkeland-Eyde nitrate works at Notodden. At the close of this year they expect to be treating at the rate of 45,000 tons of nitrogen, and to still further increase it next year. In sandy soils, poor in lime, nitrolim is said to be unsuitable ; lime has to be added. With other soils it is generally satisfactory. 3. Depletion of Chilian Saltpetre fields. Less than sixty years ago the output of Chilian saltpetre was only 25,000 tons per annum ; the production during 1906 was 1,500,000 tons, and during 1907 the quantity exported was 1,740,000 tons. | Various authorities estimate that even at the present rate of consumption the supply will run out in from sixteen to forty-eight years. In view therefore of the depletion of the existing sources while there is an ever-increasing demand, the necessity for the establishment of the new industries is sufticiently apparent. 874 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Nov. 2, 1908. In connection with the question of nitrogen supply the potentialities of leguminous crops in rotation with grain, such as lucerne, clover, cowpeas, tares, peas and beans, are not overlooked. This system of culture is strongly advocated, but it could not be as extensive as the foregoing. General resort to it would inevitably reduce the grain area. 4. Thwaite System of Electro-culture. Not only indirectly is electricity a valuable aid to agriculture, as in the manufacture of atmospheric nitrates, but it has now been satistactorily demonstrated that the direct application of the rays of electric light has a powerful and beneficial effect in stimulating and accelerating the growth of plants. This fact was known immediately after the invention of the electric are by Jablockhoff, and nearly thirty years ago Sir William Siemens in England made conclusive tests in this direec- tion. Well-developed straw- berries of excellent flavour were exhibited by him at a meeting of the Royal Society in 1880. Berthelot in France, Lemstrom in Sweden, and Bailey in America, prosecuted further investigations of a similar nature with satisfac- tory results. But it remained for the experiments now being carried out at the Royal Botanic Gar- dens in London to solve more completely the problems of plant-growing under electric light, by means of what is known as the Thwaite system of electro-culture. The necessary agents in this system are (1) an ample sup- Thwaite Electro-Culture System Rear Side of the Are Light. et ply of violet or chemically From The Scientijic American. : . active rays, projected from powerful and moving are lamps ; (2) a supply of electrostatic current for the atmosphere and the plant roots ; (3) the plant environment of an atmosphere containing moisture and carbon dioxide, in the proportion common to fertile countries, and a temperature ranging from 70 to 80 degrees Fahr.; (4) an ideal fertilising agent ; and (5) an ample supply of water for the roots. The apparatus employed to fulfil these conditions is installed in an ordinary glass-house, and consists of a suction power gas plant, the engine of which is Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 875 The larger plants were stimulated into a vigorous growth by electric rays, under the Thwaite System at the Royal Botanic Gardens.—lIllustration from The Scientific American. connected with a dynamo, from whence the electric current is conveyed to the travelling arc lamp. An electrostatic machine, which charges the atmosphere, the plant and roots, is driven from the gas-engine crank shaft ; in fact, the whole requirements of heating, feeding, and lighting are supplied by the gas-engine. Excellent results have been obtained both with vegetables and flowers, and from three to four seasons are attainable during the year. In regard to the cost of working a glass-house under the Thwaite system, apart from the initial outlay it is said to be absurdly low ; indeed, it is asserted that the whole expense of the apparatus and its working is about one-third that of the ordinary glass-house process. Similar experiments to those of Mr. Thwaite have been made with a variety of plants at the Cornell University Agricultural Station in America. These have shown that the system does not benefit all plants equally, but that in regard to method of treatment they must be considered individually, and classified accordingly. The cauliflower proved absolutely unresponsive to the new stimulus under the conditions in this test ; while from the lettuce most striking results were obtained, plants of the best quality being ready for market ten days earlier than by the ordinary glass-house process. That electric light isa valuable aid in forcing and perfecting both market garden and horticultural produce is so far recognised that many American gardeners have already found its introduction distinctly profitable. 876 Agricultural Gazette of N.S IW. [ Nov. 2,°1908. Carrots: The two larger were grown with electric stimulus atjthe roots; the other two under ordinary conditions.—From The World’s Work. 5. Radio-culture. 1 fAnother problem which the Thwaite’s and similar experiments throw considerable light upon is the effect of {colour rays. While red rays stimulate growth very powerfully, blue rays have a marked retarding effect. For the horticul- turist whose greatest trouble is the fluctuation of the market this discovery may prove of great advan- tage. Valuable plantsabout to blossom at an unprofit- able timecan be transferred to the blue-ray house, and retarded for perhaps several weeks until a more favour- Effect of colour rays on young Oak-trees. Both plants are the able opportunity for dis- same age; that on the left showing fuller foliage and more posal arises. In order to vigorous growth, especially in the lower part, was grown under red light ; the other under blue light.—From The World’s Work. bring about either the re- tarding or forcing result, all that is necessary is to furnish the arc lamp with a screen of the required colour. Probably the retarding colour would be more frequently used by floriculturists than the forcing agent. Nov. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 877 Apart from the application of electricity, the study of radio-culture, or plant-growing under coloured glass, has occupied considerable attention for many years past. Very interesting experiments have been conducted at the Station de Climatologie Agricole de Jaivisy, mainly with red, blue, and green glass. It has been found that not only was development and growth affected, but that a change in the form of both flowers and leaves is possible. The Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica) sank into a state of suspended animation under the blue light ; in the control house, where plants were kept for comparison under ordinary conditions, it had increased fourfold in height ; in the green-house sixfold ; while under the red light it had attained gigantic proportions, having increased in stature fifteen-fold. Under this colour the natural sensitiveness of the plant was so abnormally intensified that the slightest touch or breath sufficed to make it instantly droop its stem and fold its leaves; in the green light the sensitiveness was practically unchanged ; while under the blue light the plant had become as stolid and as: tough as a cabbage. It is therefore apparent that although radio-culture has scarcely emerged from the experimental or suggestive stage, an expansive outcome les before it; and as coloured glass-houses are 50 per cent. more costly than ordinary glass-houses, an adaptation of the colour screens to the Thwaite electro-system: in ordinary glass-houses is bound to receive more attention. 6. Professor Lemstrom’s Experiments. While the Thwaite experiments consist of the application of both rays and current, and are confined to vegetables and flowers in glass-houses, those of Lemstrom are of a different character. They are open-tield experi- ments, in which only the current is applied, and rays form no part. In 1902 and 1903 Lemstrom carried out experiments at Newcastle in England, at Breslau in Germany, and at Atvidaberg in Sweden, and remarkable results were obtained. Strawberries under this treatment showed an increase of from 50 to 128 per cent., corn from 35 to 40, potatoes 20, and beet 26 per cent. Lemstrom came to the conclusion that an all-round increase of 45 per cent. over normal crops on land of ordinary fertility might be reckoned upon.. His method was a wire net stretched across the field a little above the surface. From a machine stationed in a building outside the field an electric current was made to traverse the net. Occasionally it was necessary to raise the net, as it must not be allowed to touch the plants. The current does not act during rain, and its application to the plants during brilliant sunshine- was found to be injurious. The cause of the improvement effected is somewhat conjectural, but. probably on the one hand ozone and nitric compounds beneficial to the plants are produced by the positive current passing from the points of the wire net to the earth ; while, on the other hand, the negative electricity passing from the earth to the points of the net stimulates growth by drawing up the sap from the roots. 878 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. In regard to the commercial side of the question, Professor Lemstrom takes for an example a 25-acre field of wheat. He puts the initial cost of the apparatus at £108, and the annual upkeep at £25. The increased yield of 45 per cent. in the first crop pays not only the upkeep, but two- fifths of the initial outlay. On larger areas the profit would be much greater, inasmuch as the cost of working does not increase in the same ratio. Four years have passed since Lemstrom published thése particulars, and as there is considerable modification in the system now in use in England by Sir Oliver Lodge, and decreased expense is usually the natural accompaniment of scientific advance, further information as to the cost of the later system is awaited with considerable interest. It was as the result of years of study in connection with his polar region voyages of research, in which he realised that the greatest plant activity was concurrent with the periods of greatest auroral vividness, that Lemstrom was led to the conclusion that electricity must be reckoned among the principal factors of plant life. It is said to have been demonstrated that the use of electrified seeds not only produces a larger quantity of successful plants, but that a greater pro- portion germinate. 7. Utilising Atmospheric Electricity. So far back as the year 1746 a Scotch scientist named Maimbray made experiments on the influence of atmospheric electricity on myrtle trees, and ina paper read last year before the Bristol Naturalists’ Society, reference was made to the mode of applying electricity to plants employed by a French ecclesiastical scientist, the Abbe Berthelon, in 1783. He used an apparatus for concentrating atmospheric electrical discharge upon plants, and demon- strated an improvement in the appearance of vegetation, and in the fertility of the plants. Contrariwise, Grandeau, in 1879, protected plants from the atmospheric electric influence, and showed that development was thereby greatly retarded. Coming to the present day, Professor Berthelot, in his experiments at the Mendon Agricultural Chemistry Station, compared the growth of plants at the top of a tower nearly 100 feet high with that of plants at the foot of the tower, and concluded that the greater growth at the higher level was largely due to the potential gradient in the atmosphere. French scientists have directed their attention particularly to this question of utilising atmospheric electricity, with successful results. The system is to set up a geomagnetifere—or kind of lightning conductor—in the centre of a field, and to connect with it a network of wires running through the soil. One trial of this kind showed an increase of 50 per cent. in a potato crop, while the improvement was still greater in the case of tomatoes, peas, and other plants. 8. Preliminary Experiments of the U.S.A. Agriculture Department. Experiments in electro-culture are being made by the United States Department of Agriculture, in order to determine whether any increased yield or hastening of maturity results from such treatment. The investigations Nov. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 879 are being conducted mainly with the object of enabling the Department to answer inquiries for information, rather than with the view of establishing systems of commercial utility. It is sought to protect market gardeners and others engaged in intensive culture from the unscrupulous representations of parties interested in the sale of electrical machines or patent rights. Field tests are now in operation at the Arlington Experiment Farm. The system differs from that of Lemstrom’s wire-netting arrangement. Instead of being just above the surface, the network is supported on insulators 7 feet above the ground. The network is heavily charged for several hours each day by means of a mica plate electrostatic machine. Areas on each side, not under the network, serve as controls or checks. In the last annual report of the Department, published last April, it is stated that the experiments have not yet progressed sufficiently for a definite report thereon, Experiments on a tobacco crop, by means of an electric current passed through the soil, brought no advantage to the crop. As before remarked, experience every- where seems to establish the fact that all plants do not respond to the same treatment. In regard to the cabbage and several other plants, Lemstrom explains that this inequality was found to arise from an insutticiency of water. 9. Sir Oliver Lodge’s Experiments. In the experiments which are being conducted by Sir Oliver Lodge, Principal of the Birmingham University, the current is also sufticiently overhead to admit of the free working of the crops by horses and vehicles ; and the system differs from that of Lemstrom, in having no close network. Wires are stretched across the field on poles. The generating power required is small ; a two horse-power oil engine, driving a small dynamo in an outhouse, gives suflicient current to fertilise an area of 18 acres. The current is thrown off by the main wires and cross wires, and is absorbed by the plants. Anyone walking beneath the wires can feel the effect on the hair of the head, and on the face. In the wheat area experimented on by Sir Oliver, the effects were visible from a very early stage. The plants were of a darker green, the stalk was superior, and gave a straw from 4 to 8 inches higher than that on the check area. In the case of Canadian Red Fife, the yield of grain was 354 bushels, as compared with 255 on the check area, an improvement of nearly 40 per cent. In the English variety the improvement was not so pronounced, being about 30 per cent. The produce of the electrified area sold in the market 75 per cent. higher than the other, and the bakers reported it a better flour. Notwithstanding all the evidence in its favour, it is, perhaps, somewhat early to accept electro-culture as a complete commercial success: but more than sufticient has been demonstrated to justify the matter being taken up in Australia. With our abundance of sunlight it may not appeal to us as strongly as to those in duller climates, but in one or other of its various forms it is surely worthy of our serious attention. Already some attempts have been made iv Australia, particulars of which are now given. 880 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. All who are interested in the closer study of this important subject of the utilisation of the electric current in the agricultural and horticultural indus- tries are recommended to obtain a copy of Professor Lemstrom’s ‘“ Electricity in Agriculture and Horticulture,” a handy little volume of 72 pages, published by the Electrician Printing and Publishing Company, Ltd., Fleet-street, London. Further details in connection with the experiments dealt with in this article will also be found in The World's Work ot October, 1907, and April 1908; in Nature of July 23, 1908; in- the Fortnightly Review of April, 1908 ; in the Scientific American of October 19, 1907, and February 22,. 1908 ; and in the Electrical Engineer of July 24, 1908. The latter is a contribution from the pen of Sir Oliver Lodge. 10. Preliminary Experiments at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. At the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, Professor Lemstrom’s experi- ments, as set forth in his book on “ Electricity in Agriculture and Horticulture,” have for some time been a matter of study ; but in the absence: of his apparatus, it did not seem practical to apply the tests. Recent developments reported, however, led to some interesting laboratory tests in the shape of pot experiments. Subsequently, attention was drawn to some results obtained from treating wheat with a high intensity current while in a solution of copper sulphate, and seed has since been subjected to this treat- ment at the College and planted out in the experimental plots. Framed samples of wheat plants, showing a great improvement in stooling and im general vigour, are on view in the visitors’ room. Further pot and field experiments are now in progress, with the object of testing the correctness or otherwise of the first laboratory experiments, but under conditions some- what more varied. When there have been sufficient repetition trials, definite conclusions will be arrived at and made public. With regard to the more extensive experiments in connection with the: direct application of the electric current to wheat fields, further details of Sir Oliver Lodge’s tests, and the arrival of the necessary plant for carrying out this kind of work, are being awaited, and, as soon as possible, it is pro- posed to treat an area of about 10 acres. 11. South Australian Experiments with Electrified Seed. Experiments with electrified seed have also been made in South Aus- tralia, near Yorketown, in the Yorke Peninsula, by the late Mr. George 3utterfield, and the results have been made public in a paper read at a meeting of the local branch of the Agricultural Bureau. It should be stated that unsuccessful attempts at the direct application of current to the soi] had been made. The seed to which electric current had been applied during from three to five minutes, in various degrees of strength, was then sown in different pots, while in one pot untreated seed was planted for comparison. There was an improvement reported in the plants from the electrified seed ranging from 55 to 80 per cent. This encouraged Mr. Butterfield to make an extended field trial, From one plot planted with seed electrified with the Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. S81 full strength of the machine for five minutes, a result at the rate of 20 bushels 44 Ib. per acre was obtained ; from another plot, planted with seed electrified to one-half the full strength for five minutes, the result was 18 bushels 40 lb. per acre; while on a check plot sown in the ordinary way, the yield was 16 bushels 10 Ib. per acre. Mr. Butterfield did not live to continue his experiments, but they were followed up by Mr. Charles Barclay, of Cor- ney Point, who is stated to have increased his own yield with treated seed on 60 acres by fully 40 per cent. Strangely enough, though he is reported to have treated his whole crop in the following year, no par- ticulars of the result appear to have been made available. The machine used for applying the current to the steeped seed appears Medical Coil Set; as used in the South Australian seed-electrifying to have been an ordinary experiments,—F rom block by Anthony Hordern & fons, Sydney. medical coil set, such as is used for rheumatism, and costing from £2 to £3. Other experiments have been made at Werris Creek, in this State, by a farmer, who is reported to have obtained very satisfactory results from various plants, the seeds of which had been electrically treated. 12. Question of Nitrogen-fixing Industries in Australia. In regard to the practicability of establishing atmospheric nitrogen-fixing industries in Australia, we certainly have not the extent of water-power like that employed in Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, America, and other countries with great waterfalls. Nevertheless it need not be concluded that we are destitute of the means of obtaining the necessary power. It is held by some that even in the hydro form available power might be obtained from the Barron Falls, the Tully River Falls, and the Wallaman Falls near Ingham, in Northern Queensland. The question is whether the falls are of sutticient per- manence ; and in this connection the representations, pictorial or otherwise, which we are accustomed to, are published more with the idea of attracting tourists to the district. What amount of power could be obtained therefrom would require careful consideration. 882 Agriculiural Gazette of NSW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Block kindly lent by Mr. J. M. McNaught, Manager of the Advertising Branch, Queensland Railways. However when people are prepared to venture their capital in an enter- prise we may ordinarily assume that the prospects are enticing, and in regard to the Barron Falls it is well known that a company is at the present time desirous of acquiring the Falls for power purposes. About seven years ago, when the Dawson Government came into power, it was discovered that an agreement of this nature had been almost concluded by the previous admini- stration, The new Government being adverse to it the negotiations lapsed. The power is not exactly claimed to be available to the full extent desired in Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 883 the natural state of the Falls; certain deviations would be necessary, and public feeling was against the project on the ground of spoiling or detracting from the original beauty of the place. In connection with similar power available in New South Wales, it will be remembered that over ten years ago a scheme was seriously considered for the purpose of lighting Sydney by electricity by means of power from the Colo Falls on the Grose River. Though not deemed sutticient for so big an enter- prise it is quite evident that a vast amount of power is obtainable from this source. Another source is the Snowy River. In a recent leading article the Sydney Bulletin says, “There are scores or rather hundreds of places on the Snowy, both above and below the (Dalgety) capital site* where turbines could be erected, and unlimited power transmitted.” It has been suggested that it might be practicable to harness our North Coast tidal rivers, which have a rapider current, and consequently a stronger force than those further south, with the object of wresting power therefrom for industrial purposes. It is by some objected that the cost: would be too great, but the matter deserves attention. It is certain that a vast amount of energy which could be utilised for generating electricity goes to waste from our artesian bores. According to the latest available information published by the Bureau of Statistics there are fifty-eight completed Government flowing bores, with an annual output of about 9,600,000,000 gallons ; and there are in addition over 250 private bores, the complete supply of which cannot be accurately stated. Such a diminution in the output of some of the bores has, however, lately been observed that a Commission has been suggested to investigate the matter. The question of utilising the artesian bores for power has been raised by others, quite recently by Mr. Symmonds, of the Chemist’s Branch of this Department, who is conducting the nitric acid experiments on the soil at the Moree Irrigation Farm. The problem of using the bore-water for both watering and power purposes, however, presents serious difficulties. But whatever threshing out this demands, the subject has undoubtedly occupied serious attention from scientific and other able writers, amongst whom may be mentioned Prof. Mason in America, and Mr. Gibbons Cox, C.E., of our own State. Further information in this connection, as well as on one or two other points dealt with in this article, is given by Mr. Symmonds in Bulletin No. 12 of this Department, copies of which can be obtained free on application to the Under Secretary for Agriculture. We have seen that the Cyanamide Works at Brubl, in Germany, use steam- power on account of the cheapness of coal. This raises the point whether alongside our large collieries, with their vast quantities of refuse coal avail- able as cheap fuel, such works could not be established in this State. There are several large coke-works where the refuse coal is treated, and here, too, a very large proportion of heat goes to waste which could be turned into steam power. * Since rejected. 884 Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Possibly also the power of some of the big mining works might be turned to further account in generating electricity for this purpose, in which case it could probably be effected with very little addition to the staff. Last, but not least, with the completion of the Barren Jack scheme, there are also vast possibilities for a grand system of generating elec- tricity which could be utilised for various industries. As the recent decision of the Commonwealth Parliament makes it highly probable that the Australian capital will be in this district, addition- al interest and importance attaches hereto. Stationary Transformer on a German farm, connected with Wherever the power 1S, a supply station. From this point the enrrent is transmit- nitric en is close at hand. It ted all over the farm.—From illustration kindly lent by : Siemens Bros., Ltd. is calculated that over every 9 acres of the globe there are 280,000 tons of nitrogen, which is the quantity that would be necessary to produce the equivalent to the present output of Chilian saltpetre. 13. Electricity in Farm household life and field operations, in other Countries. A notice of this kind would not be complete without some reference to the adaptation of electricity to farm-life, apart from its application to the soil. In America it has effected an agricultural revolution. The electric railway light lines have played a great part in this development. In a report on the subject of , Sy these lines most of the towns attribute great part of their progress to an increase of business from farms. Closer contact between town and farm is mutually advantage- ous, but it makes more in favour of the farm-house. As well as better and quicker transportation it means better social conditions, more fre- quent entertainment and | amusement, and superior edu- & Portable Transformer and Distributor on a German farm. cation. Illustration by Siemens Bros., Ltd. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. S85 Next in importance is the farm-house telephone. In the United States the ofticial weather forecast is communicated daily to every subscriber on the circuit. A few weeks ago we learned how warning of the ap; roach of a disastrous flood was conveyed to the settlers by means of the telephone, and how the heroic op erator lost her lite while remaining at hee post to complete her duty of com- municating the dread intelli- gence. On a farm in New York State electricity generated y > from wa! er-power saws timber, cuts up fodder, and lights the homestead and premises. At a sumumer hotel farm, 25 miles Portable Motor connected with Chaff-cutter in a Icft ona from New York, an electric German farm.—Illustration by Siemens Bros., Ltd. plant drives washing machines, bails swampy pools, crushes stone, and does lighting and lifting for the hotel; it also works a bottle-washer, churn, cream-separator, butter-worker, can- scrubb: r, and ice-crusher. Electric motors for farm travel and driving machinery, such as threshers, are said to be less expensive than steam-power. Two electrical com- panies in Kent aud Gloucester (England) are pushing a business with the farmers. In the Sonth of France, where water-power for generating the current is available, electrical farming is found to be profitable, and on the Continent generally they appear to be in advance of England and America in this respect. At Summern, a portable motor is attached to three machines and curs up in one hour 1,430 lb. of carrots, crushes 1,100 1b. of linseed cake, and lifts water to the stables. Disconnected, it goes to the fields where it drives a threshing machine and achaff-cutter. An electric plough used success- fully near Turin, travels 1,000 feet in eight minutes, turning three furrows at atime, at a good depth. In scientific farming pump- ing apparatus plays an impor- tant part. First we had the windmill pump ; now the elec- tric pump is the watering-pot of the south-west of the American States. Very fre- quently the windmill, gas, or other wetor is now employed SPs “= to generate the electricity. Land which formerly was ot Portable Motor attached to Winnower on a German farm. : Illustration by Siemens Bros., Ltd. little or no value is now of B 886 Agricultural Gazette of NS IV. [ Nov. 2, 1908. enormous value both for grazing purposes and for fruit- growing. In this section several illus- trations of electricity as appled to farm operations in ‘Germany are trom copies lent by Messrs, Siemens Bros., Ltd., London and Sydney. The extensive electric plant at the Hillgrove Mining Works, the power for which is carried froma water source 20 miles distant, was supplied by this Portable Motor attached to Threshing Machine on a German : farm. — Illustration by Siemens Bros., Ltd. firm. 14. Electricity in Farm household life and field work, in Australia. In Australia, electricity for illuminating or driving purposes is at present little used on farms or stations. In this State it has been installed on Sir Samuel McCaughey’s homesteads at Yanko and at Coonong, in the Riverina ; at Mr. R. J. Simpson’s station, at Morduval, near Quirindi ; at Mr. G. Binnie’s station, near Quirindi, it is used for pumping as well as for lighting ; on the estate of Mr. H. R. Denison, horse-breeder, near Guntawang, in the Mudgee district ; at Tooma, in the Upper Murray district, for hghting and driving ; at Butterboue Station, in the Warren district ; at Werrina, near Mungindi ; and at Conargo Station, in the Riverina. At the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, Richmond, in addition to the whole of the premises being lighted by electricity, the current is also utilised as a motive power for numer- ous purposes. ‘There is at the lighting station a storage battery, from which power is distributed to the motors in the dairy for separating milk, and driving churns, butter workers, and pumps; in the feed-room there is an 8 horse- power motor for cracking inaize, and another motor for shelling corn; a portable 8 horse power motor used for cutting chaff at the haystacks Plough worked to and fro in connection with two movable g Ht é aysti : ; 4 ; electric motors on a German farm. Illustration by reduces the risk of fire; silage Siemens Bros., Ltd. is also cut by electricity ; pumps at the septic tank driven by a motor raise 12,000 gallons of effluent laily a height of 24 feet ; wood is cut by this power,and in the carpenter’s Nov. 2, 1905. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 887 shop risk of fire amongst the shavings is avoided by heating the glue-pot by electricity ; the laundry is fitted up with electric irons, and there are electric fans in the dining-room; in the chemical laboratory an electric motor developes gas for heating, and the centrefuge for soil analysis is driven by electricity ; the lecture-room is heated by electric radiators, and electric hght is used for the demonstration lanterns ; in the poultry-yard the incubators are being made electro- thermic. In connection with the scheme for important irrigation works shortly to be established on a portion of the Hawkesbury Col- lege Farm, it has been decided that the pumping is to be effected by electric power. Additional machinery will be erected at the present lighting station to raise the pressure required to transmit the current to the pumping station. The rapidity with which in this country electric power and light is being taken on in all directions, except in the agrarian industries, is remarkable ; and we may conti- dently prophesy that, with the increasing perfection of this kind of plant, and with its superiority over the old systems, the conser- vative prejudice against its intro- duction by agriculturists and pastoralists will gradually be over- come. One great drawback to the more general use of the com- pact oil-engine dynamo is the pro- hibitive railway freight on the feeding material. The freight on kerosene and other oil is from two and a half to three or four times 5 i ing vari lances in the that on AoYl ng ; an Electric Motcr working various app - oO cultural produce ? Dairy, at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, according to the quantity and Richmond, N.S.W. distance. This militates against the efforts of engineers and supplying firms to push a business in the rural districts. In respect to spirit as a motor fuel the regulations of our Distilla- tion Act form another bar to the more general introduction of small power plant on farms. In Germany considerable latitude is given by the Government, SSS Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Electric Motor connected with ccrn-crusher, at the ‘Hawkesbury Agricultura! Colleg2, Richmond, ".S.W. and as farmers are privileged to manufacture white spirit for power purposes, we find that alcohol engines are in very common use. The necessary spirit is distilled from potatoes, Inajze, and other substances. Kvery farmer with a small alcohol or other engine and dynamo can not only generate lis own electricity tor lighting, but by running wires and using small electric motors power can be supphed anywhere within a reasonable distance. With anac- cumulator the plant can be shut down and ,ower be available independent of the generator. In the case of a suction-gas plant, either simple or with dynamo, charcoal can be used as fuel. The quantity required is very small, and most farmers could make their own supply. The majority of our Australian timbers are unequalled in their suitability for making charcoal. The suction gas-plant is the class of engine previously reterred to as being used in connection with the Thwaite electro-culture experiments at the Royal Botanic Gardens. As showing how it is regarded from an economical point of view, it may be Small “Ruston” Sucticn Gas Plant, consisting of Gas Engine and Gas Producer; will work on small quantity of charcoal or coke.—From block kindly lent by Messrs. Gibson, Battle, & Co., Sydney. 889 Nov. 2, 1908.1] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. mentioned that it has been recommended to substitute this kind of power at the works of the Hay Irrigation Trust. The small Ruston suction gas power plant illustrated in these pages is from a block supplied by Messrs. Gibson, Battle, & Co., Sydney ; also the small oil engine with dynamo, which is capable of supplying eighty-two electric lights of 16-candle power each, and of being used as a 2-h.p. motor. The Mather-Platt electrical pumping plant for the Menangle Water Works, an interesting account of which appeared in the columns of the Engineer, was supplied by this firm. There is one phase of electricity as applied to agrarian life in this country, which has undvubtedly caught on with thefarmerand grazier co —that is, the introduction of the that of “Mather & Platt’ High-Lift Pump and Motor. From block kindly lent by Messrs. Gibson, Battle, & Co., Sydney. telephone. One firm alone Anthony Hordern and Sons—do a business in farm and station tele- phones and material to the extent of fully £5,000 a year, with an increasing tendency. They have supplied extensive material for Brookong, Widgiewa, Cannonbar, Urangaline, Tarcoola, Coonong, Carrathool, Wilga Downs, Uardry, Groongal, Nangus, Cronga Peak, and other la: ge stations in the int+rior, some of which have over twenty telephones connected; and a large number of smaller stations and farms have been supplied. Oii Engine with Dynamo ; for 82 electric lights, 16 c.p. each. From block kindly lent by Messrs. Gibson, Battle, & Co., Sydney. 890 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. A very useful apparatus is the portable telephone, titted in a leather case with shoulder-strap, and carried on hoiseback or afoot. It is largely used by boundary riders and other station employees, who can thereby promptly report any urgent matter to the head station, or communicate with any part of the estate, by simply attaching it to a wire-fence, provided, of course, that the necessary connections have been made with this object in view. 1 2 Portable Farm and Station Te ephone (1) for hzrsetack; (2) for vehicle. From blocks kindly lent by Messrs. Anthony Hordern and Sons, Sydney. During the year 1906, the Telephone Branch of the Postal Department connected 347 farm and station telephones, and 554 during 1907. The total number connected with inland post-othces is now between 1,700 and 1,800. In addition t» these, the number of private lines is very large. On the Central-Western Slope, the Narromine, Peak Hill, and Trundle district is a perfect network of telephone systems. The north-western district is also well supplied, and, as an illustration of the value of this means of communi- cation, it may be mentioned that the postmaster operating at a small town in the Narrabri district was recently the recipient of a presentation in recognition of his services in frequently apprising the pastoralists and farmers in a large cireuit of the rapid rising of the rivers, caused by rains higher up and over the Queensland border. ‘The stock were quickly removed from the low-lying lands, and considerable loss averted. It reminds us of the more serious American incident previously mentioned. As surely as the telephone is so rapidly becoming a necessary adjunct to farm and station life and operations, so we may safely predict that the day will come when, from electricity generated on the premises or from supply stations, not only will farm dwellings and other buildings be lighted, but numerous housebold and field operations will be worked by the same power ; when the chaff-cutter and the sewing-machine will both be switched on. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 891 A list of electrical engineering and supply firms in Sydney is given here- under :—- Australian General Electric Co., Equitable Buildings, Sydney. Crompton & Co., Ltd., 56 Margaret-street, Sydney. Dick, Kerr, & Co., Ltd., 350 George-street, Sydney. Edison and Swan United Electric Light Co., Ltd., 58 Clarence-street, Sydney. Gibson, Battle, & Co. (Mather and Platt, Ltd., Manchester), 7 Bent- street, Sydney. Hayes, Oswald, 2 Hunter-street, Sydney. Hordern, Anthony, and Sons, Universal Providers, Brickfield Flill, Sydney. (Telephone and other electrical supplies.) Hungerford, R. B., 165 Pitt-street. India-rubber, Gutta-percha, and Telegraph Works, Ltd., 279 George-street. Lawrence and Hanson, 55 York-street, Sydney. Lohmann & Co., 9 Castlereagh-street, Sydney. Noyes Bros., 109 Pitt-street, Sydney. Siemens Bros., Ltd., 16 O’Connell-street, Sydney. Warburton, Franki, & Co., 167 Clarence-street, Sydney. Note ON Amsinckia echinata, 4 VERY BAD WEED. J. H. MAIDEN. Tue following letter has been received :—‘“ Per bearer, I hand you specimen of a weed which, for some two years past, has made its presence felt in wheat paddocks in the Yass district. It grows to a height of about 2 feet or more, and shoots out from one firm stem, It literally chokes the wheat, which is simply annihilated by the weed. Horses eat it with relish, and pigs will fight each other to get at it. I have been asked to ascertain if the weed is known to your Department, and, if so, the best means to have it eradicated (ploughing the ground seems to have failed in that direction) ; or you might be able to say whether it could be made into hay. Any information that you can furnish will be greatly appreciated. The specimen herewith was handed to me by Mr. Laurence Roche, of Nanangroe Station.” This is an American weed, with yellow flowers, belonging to the Borage Family, and named Amsinckia echinata, A. Gray. I know no common name for it, and it is not convenient to publish a plate of it just now. It was first referred to in the Gazette for January, 1905, page 27, and May, page 430. It was first recorded from Blayney, and later froin Wagga Wagga, so that it is surely spreading. It is getting a firm hold in the Yass district. The only way to deal with it is toeradicate it before it seeds It is a profuse seed-bearer, 892 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [| Nov..2,. 1908: A Permanent Poultry Farm. G. BRADSHAW. Introduction. In a series of articles on suburban poultry yards, of which this is the second, there is one condition which has been kept in view, viz., that each one dealt with should be of known stability. To those unacquainted with fowls and fowl-farming this provision may appear unnecessary, as farms of whatever sort, stock or crops, are considered to be established with the object of making a living and profit to those conducting them; and when farms are spoken of they are understood to be profitable, of per- manence, and stabilitv. From several causes it, unfortunately, is not so with farms devoted solely to fowls—not through the inability of hens to produce a reasonable profit, but rather to the undue booming which this branch of culture has, in the past, been subjected to, resulting every year in a large number of people without any experience going into the business, the larger percentage of them in one or two years abandoning it, and, in most cases, retiring with experience which had possibly cost them their entire capital. It needs no gainsaying that in most businesses there are a proportion of failures each year. Such may be due to sickness of the owner, unfair competition, losses through bad debts, mismanagement, or a score of other things. Indeed, within the last dozen years, quite a number of people who had failed in other businesses personally consulted me on the subject of poultry-keeping, leaving the impression that they regarded it as a sort of refuge for the destitute. One case is illustrative of others, the only difference being that of degree. A widow lady, a new arrival in this country, who had possibly seen something in the papers about the profits from fowls, consulted me on the possibility of an investment of some £200 in poultry-farming, this being the entire amount then left of her husband’s estate. She believed she had an intuition for managing poultry, but candidly admitted she had had no experience. My advice was ‘‘ Don’t.’?> However, she was one of those people who ask advice all round, then follow their own idea. Six months afterwards she brought a case of eges to the Government cold stores, which was the first time I learned that she had invested all she had in a farm in a Sydney suburb. Three months after this it was in the market, and within twelve months from its inception it was sold, £75 being brought out of the place. ; Within the following three vears the farm had three tenants, all of whom lost more or less money. At the present time it is a going concern, small, but affording a living for those working it: for the simple reason Nov. 2, .1908.| Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 893 that they did not consider themselves born poultry-farmers, but com- menced in a small way; had another occupation from which they made a living; gradually increasing their stock, thus gaining experience until the present time, when, with good, hard, constant work and long hours, they are making a living solely from the fowls. I have had letters from numerous people in employment, but who de- sired an out-door life, asking about the possibilities from a poultry-fari ; in one or two instances actually asking from how many fowls they could make a living. Such were always told that it all depends on what they call a living. Some people live on less than a £1 a week, while to others this amount would be starvation. Perhaps the most remarkable of these communications was that received a few months ago, and on a post card. a Melbourne suburb—and is certainiy It was dated from another State unique, as showing the ideas held by even well-informed people. The communication was as follows :—‘‘ In the interest of my health, I have been ordered to give up my present position in favour of an out-door life. Will you please inform me how much money is required to com- mence poultry-farming in your State; the best locality; and how to succeed ?”’ Here was a man who, probably, had served five years’ apprenticeship to a business; was obliged to give it up, and really expected to become proficient in another one at the expense of a postage stamp. Of all businesses poultry-farming is one that cannot be taught by post. Like instances are of regular occurrence. The widow of some city man, with a few hundred pounds, inquires as to the profits from fowls. At times the shopkeeper thinks the strain of over-keen competition is too much for him; the prosperous mechanic, and sometimes a newly-married couple with nothing definite about the future, have all thought of poultry- keeping, and in too many instances have indulged in it to satiation, 7.e., till their all was spent. My point in introducing the above matters is to dispel some false notions about the poultry business, and to disabuse the mind of many erroneous ideas about it. To make a living from fowls only, 7.e., poultry- farming, requires a special education and personal knowledge more than any other business; and such can be acquired neither by post card or other correspondence, but by actual practice and experience. Reading even the best poultry literature available will not make up for the lack of personal knowledge of the many details necessary to success. One other error should be pointed out. Those desirous of going in for poultry-farming frequently think it is a nice easy business; just the thing for a ladv; nothing to do but throw the grain to the fowls and gather up the eggs; it being often forgotten that the corn has to be purchased, and that even on the best-regulated farms there are many times when the eggs gathered will not pay the feed bill. Strictly speaking, poultry-farming is a twelve or fourteen hours a day work, and seven days in the week. Withal this, like other businesses, 894 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. has its successful votaries, the handicaps mentioned being discounted by the advantages of freedom from city worries, the out-door life so essen- tial to health and a sound mind, together with the extreme of satisfaction in that individual human craving of being one’s own master. These attributes, and the additional one of making a living by fowls, apply in every degree to the subject of this article, and safely warranting the compendious title of a Permanent Poultry lary. The Locality. Commencing at Sydenham, the junction station of the Belmore and Illawarra line, and proceeding to the terminus of the former, and to Penshurst, on the latter, there is an extensive V-shaped country, con- taining many thousands of acres. Striking a circuitous route from Penshurst along Forest, Bond’s, Belmore, and other roads, a good idea of the original state of the big expanse of country can be realised. The evidence shows that the district had been sparsely settled on in early days, the commercial object being the massive ironbark and other eucalypts ; the best of these yielded to the pioneer’s axe. Population increased; the later generation doing well out of the leavings of the early timber-getter. An attempt had been made at farming, and the remains of abandoned orchards implies that, even in the days prior to the advent of the fruit-fly, there were more remunera- tive means of making a living than by fruit-growing. Altnough the settlement in the district gradually increased, it was the extension of the Suburban line beyond Hurstville and the opening of the Sydenham-Belmore line which really brought population to the place. The immense forest with its occasional homestead and extensive area of bush is now largely open country, with hundreds of comfortable dwell- ings, to which are attached from 10 to 50 or more acres, and in the majority of instances owned by the occupiers. Fruit-growing to a small extent has been entered on. The principal operations are, however, market gardening; there being hundreds of acres of cabbages, peas, and like crops successfully cultivated for the Sydney markets. Pig-keeping and poultry-farming are also largely carried on; the methods which contribute to the success of one of the latter places being the object of this paper. Belmore-road, Belmore, is the address of the farm under notice—train to Penshurst being the first stage of the journey. From here the next instalment of the passage is by coach, v7d@ Forest-road to Peakhurst, a distance of some 3 miles. The passengers alight at the Peakhurst Publi School, a walk of 2 miles further, v7@ Bond’s and Belmore Roads, brings one to the farm of Mr. D. E. Staples. The Farm. The owner of the farm was originally a pig and duck farmer. These sections usually go together in the Sydney suburbs, chiefly from the fact Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 895 that ducks are gross feeders, and not so particular as to quality as fowls , Glebe Island and other offal, hotel and restaurant waste, and varied bulky cheap foods being most suitable. Mr. Staples commenced the above business some twelve or fourteen years ago, and made a success of it, but gave them up in favour of fowls, and, except a sojourn in South Africa, has been engaged in the business to the present day. The farm, like many others in the neighbourhood, consists of about 10 acres, and no doubt is a section of the subdivision of some of the big forest. Mr. Staples, being a practical man and knowing exactly the require- ments of fowls and the conditions of this country, did not take the advice of the poultry books to select a high and dry aspect, with a slope to some point of the compass. The fact is that Australian conditions are such that, rather than the dry elevation, the chief trouble to poultrymen is over-dryness. In England, with weeks of continuous rain and little sunshine, the high and dry situation is important, but conditions here are altogether different. We get our rain on but a few days in the year and the results quickly disappear. Indeed, often, even on a poultry farm, the dust will be blowing off the place the day following a 2 or 3 inch rainfall. The 10 acres constituting the farm is flat, neither is it on a hill, and had the site been any other place, there is scarcely a doubt but the results under the present owner would have been the same as before described, viz., a permanent poultry farm. The Runs, Houses, etc. The principal operations to the end of profit is egg-laying, and for this purpose 7 or 8 acres are wire-netted into large runs. As previously mentioned the heavy timber had been removed many years ago, the present state of the farm being a further growth of gum- tree saplings, reaching from 12 to 30 feet high, and from these the many gates, posts, and other woodwork of the-farm are made. Some of the houses are also made from the wood on the farm; in others second-hand timber and iron have been utilised. The hinges of the many gates and doors, fastenings, and other appurtenances connected with the business are all home made. Indeed, from a cursory glance, the wire- netting excepted, the bulk of the material to accommodate several thousand fowls was obtained on the place. The houses are the open- fronted ones, long since advocated in the Agricultural Gazette. The illus- tration shows one of these, a plain structure measuring about 15 feet long, 8 feet high in front, sloping to 7 feet at back, with a depth from front to back sufficient to allow five rows of perches, and capable of accommo- dating 120 to 150 fowls. In keeping with the inexpensive constructions, the water vessels are those advocated in the Gazette, namely, kerosene 896 Agricultural Gazette o, N.S.W. { Nov. 2. 1908. A small poultry house. Nowe 21908.) Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 897 tins. These cut diagonally make two excellent water vessels capable of holding 2 gallons. But however cheap the above appliances and fittings are, the nest boxes are more So. The farm, irrespective of the eucalypts, is covered with a thick native scrub, and every few yards one goes through the large runs a nest of eggs, containing from one to twenty, can be seen in the centre of a bush. One of these is shown, not exactly in its natural state, as the bush had to be removed in front, and others bent down to facilitate the camera’s A nest in the bush. operations. Where a nest has been selected by the hens in a scanty scrub, a board, or portion of a sheet of iron, is bent over the nest to keep the sun’s rays from the eggs; although this is scarcely necessary, as all the eges are infertile, there being no male birds kept with the layers. Despite the fact of there being ample roosting-houses in every run, quite a number of the hens roost in the branches of the trees, and, for the entire laying period, have never been under cover. Withal this, every hen on the farm looked the picture of health. 898 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Hatching. The hatching is done on this farm mostly by ineubators. The owner says he cannot afford the hen’s time to hatch and rear chickens, as it pays him best to keep them laying. When any become broody, a few days is sufficient to cure them, and they usually commence to lay again in ten or twelve days. There is the further fact that those who use hens have otcasional ones which leave the nest before the hatch comes off, the whole setting and time of the hen being thus lost. The incubator-hatched chickens have the advantage of commencing life with a complete freedom from vermin, which is the great bane of chickenhood. The foster-mothers are all home made, simple, and effective. A breeding pen cf White Leghorns, Feeding and Rearing. “When the chickens are hatched I do not trouble with any of the faney mixtures,’’ said the proprietor. “‘On a farm where one has to make a living from fowls there is no time for these special foods. | Chicken mixtures are, no doubt, all right, but when I can rear 95 per cent. of those hatched on bran and pollard made into a crumbly state, what need is there to change for foods more expensive! I commence the newly- hatched chickens on bran and pollard, made into a crumbly state, with hot water. This I alternate with cracked wheat. With this plain, simple feeding they thrive well, and when the cockerels get as much as they will eat, they are in fit condition for the market at four or five months, while the pullets, through not being forced, are well constituted for a twelve months’ laying.” Feeding the Layers. “The layers are also simply fed, but no fixed rule, weather conditions governing the meals, while at other times a certain food may run out, and they have just to take whatever is available. Pollard and bran, with cut green stuff, and meat three times a week is the usual morning feed: Nov. 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 809 cut green stuff mid-day and wheat at night. The food is varied through- out the year, cooked vegetables such as beet, cabbage, and other like stuff I occasionally mix with the bran and pollard in winter, while maize and oats often take the place of wheat. Cut bones are sometimes given, while cut barley, rye, oats, lucerne, or other green stuff, all grown on the farm, is supplied daily all the year round.”’ Breeding for Layers. It has often been said that the show type and the laying type of fowl cannot be found in the same specimen. Mr. Staples’s large flocks of Orpingtons end Leghorns disprove this statement, for in both breeds there are scores of birds that would secure a place in any show-pen ; many of the Leghorn pullets, now from 10 to 12 months’ old, weigh from 53 to 64 lb. each; and although I did not see any Orpingtons sealed, the bulk of them were heavyweights, and true to type. Questioned as to how this A breeding pen of Orpingtons. size was secured, Mr. Staples’ reply was: “To secure 1,000 or 1,500 layers requires some hatching, and 1,000 good layers are always better than 1,500 bad ones. They eat very little more food and require less attention. If my stock only averaged 100 or 120 eggs for each hen, the farm would never pay me. The average of the entire flock is about 185 to 195 per hen, although many of them lay considerably over 200 eges each. My system is to put up several pens of pullets, and keep them there for twelve months. I keep a score card in the pen and record their eges each day. I soon find out those that lay best and lay the largest eggs, and breed from these only the following year. The great size of my ges Leghorns I attribute to this selection of the largest eggs, for large eges invariably hatch a large chicken, and a chicken which is large of its breed when hatched generally grows into a large hen. After 2 years of age, as layers, I dispose of them, as all profit is had from them by that time. I only keep Black Orpingtons, White Leghorns, and a few Silver 900 Agricultural Gazetle of N.SIV. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Wyandottes. All are bred big and lay big eggs, which top the market every time, and as I market from 200 up to 300 dozens weekly, a 1d. per dozen advance would be a £1 a week. Then when they have done laying eges they make splendid table birds; the three breeds have all fetched me as high as 6s. 6d. per pair for killing purposes. There is not much difference between the laying of the three breeds, still I think the Leghorns do best with me.” The illustrations of the breeding-pens show the type and size as men- tioned above, while those in the larger flocks are illustrative of the general stock of the farm. A mixed assembly. Ducks. In an earlier portion of this article it was stated that Mr. Staples had given up pigs and ducks in favour of hens only ; however, two or three years ago there was so much written about the wonderful laying of Indian Runner ducks, a number were secured. Although not up to expectations they are to be given another year’s trial, and if found not to be worth keeping, they will have to go. At present they are laying well, and the high price of ducks in the market is in their favour. A few years ago old ones of this breed fetched as low as 2s. 6d. per couple, now 5s. 6d. is the current rate. The illus- tration of the Runners show them to be of the correet type, whilst that of the six weeks’ old duckling is sufficient warrant that they are good thrivers. The ducklings are fed like the chickens, on bran and pollard mixed with hot water. They are kept out of any rain, given plenty of drinking Nov. 2, 1908. | Agriculiural Gazette of NSW. 901 Indian Runner ducks, six woeks old. Cc 902 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. water, but not allowed to get into any; grit and plenty of green food, with some meat, complete their ration until marketing time, Ineubators and Muscovy ducks are both used in hatching. Marketing. Mr. Staples is a shareholder and one of the Directors of the Poultry farmers’ Co-operative Society, and, naturally, markets his stuff there. In breeding, to get 1,500 pullets each vearsentails double that number of chickens to be reared, as, approximately, the half of them will be cockerels which have to be sold, Mr. Staples says, he likes to sell them at about four months’ old, for if the market is at all good they pay best at that age, Keeping chickens till they are 5 or 6 months of age is a risky business, they may get disease in the meantime; it takes a lot to feed them, and often they fetch no more at 6 months of age than they would have done at 2 months younger, Indian Runner ducks. The best price received the past year for cockerels was 8s. 3d. per pair ; the highest price received for hens was 6s. 6d per pair. The highest price ever received for eggs was in the drought or dear year of 1901, when he got 2s. 9d. per dozen for hen eggs; the lowest price received was 6d. per dozen on 2nd September, 1903, The lowest price received during the present year was 104d. per dozen ; the highest, 2s. 53d., in May last. Mr. Staples says that although prices for fowls and eggs are now very high, at the same time he made more money when the price was 50 or 60 per cent. less, from the simple fact that feed was then about half te price it is now, Apart from the above prices, which certainly are good, the laying of the fowls at his farm has become well known, and there is a good sale for stock birds and settings of eggs at considerably more than the market i rates, and this without any advertising Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 903 General. Mr. Staples says: “ My experience with fowls began when I was a boy, and I have kept them ever since. I have made a living from them for myself and family for many years, but not without hard work. To be successful in poultry-keeping one must have experience, plenty of eae and no fear of work. A man that has experience and is not afraid ¢ long hours, seven days in the week, can always make a living from Be I would not advise anyone to start poultry-farming who knows nothing about it, for if they have any cash they will soon lose it.’’ In the February, 1908, Gazette, a large poultry farm at Manly was described, and the methods which made it a profitable establishment. This one at Belmore is of considerably less dimensions, and the methods different, yet the owner has reared a large family on it, all showing that there is no hard-and-fast rule in nianaging Towls. Hatching, rearing, feeding, and marketing may be all different and successful withal. Tue Use oF NITRATE OF PoTASH AS MANURE. OrcHArpists who have been using nitrate of potash with sulphate of ammonia and superphosphates as manures in their orchards are somewhat concerned at the higher prices which are now being asked for the nitrate of potash, and inquiries have been made of the Department of Agriculture, as to whether an equivalent can be used in the form of sulphate of potash with nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia. For their information the Department has had prepared by the Chemist a report showing the relative value per unit of nitrogen, and per unit of potash with these manures at present value, and nitrate of potash at £30 per ton. Mr. Guthrie states that 1 cwt. of pure nitrate of potash contains 52 lb, of potash, and 153 Ib. of nitrogen. A mixture of 1 ewt. of sulphate of potash and 95 |b. (or practic ally 1 cwt.) of nitrate of soda, will provide these quan- tities. The cost of a mixture of | cwt. of sulphate of potash and | cwt. of nitrate of soda will be £1 5s. 9d., as against £1 10s., the cost of 1 ewt. of nitrate of potash. The unit values are as follow :— Nitrogen—in nitrate of soda, at £12 5s. per ton spo LD > Potash—in sulphate of potash, at £13 10s. perton ... 5/2 If we estimate the nitrogen and potash in nitrate of potash on the same basis, its manurial value would be only £22 per ton, as against £30 the price usually charged, In spite of this, it is preferred by some -fruit- growers even at the higher rate, and there is little doubt that it acts more promptly, and perhaps more effectively, than the similar ingredients mixed in a different form. The Department is now making inquiries to ascertain whether a supply of nitrate of potash can be obtained in Jarge quantities for the use of Fruit- growers’ Unions and others wishing to import large quantities direct, at a cheaper rate than the one now quoted. 904 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Hawkesbury Agricultural College and Experiment Farm. EXPERIMENTS WITH SWEDE TURNIPS. A. H. E. MCDONALD, Experimentalist. I.— Trials with Fertilisers. THE object of these trials was to determine the effects of different manures alone, and in combination with each other, upon the yield of turnips. The soil was a fairly open pipeclay loam, overlying a slightly stiff subsoil. It had been cropped previously with wheat for grain. Superphosphate gives the turnips an early vigorous start. Photo. talien one month after sowing. The preparation was similar to that adopted in field practice. The land was broken up in December, worked down into a fairly fine condition, and an occasional. harrowing given to maintain a fine loose surface, to minimise the loss of moisture by evaporation. At the end of February the land was lightly reploughed, and reduced to a fine condition for sowing by harrowing and rolling. The effect of this preparation was to leave the soil ia a condition suitable both for the crop and for good action of the fertilisers. The previous cropping had equalised the soil, and the thorough culture left it in such a state that the crop was able to utilise, to the greatest advantage, its inherent fertility. The pulverisation and deep working encouraged rapid diffusion of the fertilisers to every part of the soil, thus bringing them into close contact with the roots of the plants. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 905 The seed was sown in drills 2 feet 7 inches apart. Previous to sowing the plots to receive fertilisers were shallowly drilled, the fertilisers spread evenly by hand, and well mixed with the soil. The drills were then filled in, and the seed sown 2 inches deep. The variety of swede turnip sown was Skirving’s Purple Top, seed sown at the rate of 2 lb. per acre on 11th March. The soil was moist and in splendid condition. An even germination was obtained, and when the plants reached the height of 4 inches, they were thinned out to 8 inches apart. The cultivator was run through the rows about once a month, whilst the crop was growing, to prevent the growth of weeds and to check evaporation of soil moisture. The experiment contained eighteen plots, eleven of which received applica- tions of fertilisers of different forms, whilst seven consisted of unmanured plots arranged in such a way that eas h manured plot was adjacent to one ee Pe ote = Bey : ’ se (Ge ae 3 bY ates View showing the effects of superphosphate ; two months after sowing. receiving no manure. By adopting this system each manured plot could be compared with the adjoining unmanured one, thus giving a relable check on the results. The following rainfall was recorded during the time immediately preceding the commencement of the experiment and during its course :— Inches. Inches. February... oe eA G June xe er eee) March es ADH, July - 0206 April ; Sapte SLES) August... bea OO May ... ise O59 Moll 5. ..: 12°37 inches. good, and its regular o During the early part of the season the rainfall was distribution enabled the crop to make a vigorous start. During May, July, and August the falls were extremely small, and this, combined with the drying windy weather which occurred during the last two months, undoubtedly 906 Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. affected the yield to some extent. This was particularly the case with the unmanrred plots, which were rather backward in their early growth, and were, consequently, not so well developed when the dry weather set in. The turnips were harvested on August 13. Two drills in each plot 1 chain in length were dug, the turnips weighed, and the yields calculated at per acre. The results are given in the following table. EXPERIMENTS with Fertilisers for Swede Turnips. Planted on 11th March ; harvested 18th August, 1907. No. r Quantity Yield | Yield Increase Jecrease Ot Kind of Manuring. pas per Plot. | per Acre. iniyield: Asan | ewt. lb. ewt. qr. 1b. ton.ewt.qr. ton.ewt.qr. cwt. qr. 1 | Unmanured eh cael nee 1G OF AQ Onl OF MON Repay meee 2 Superphosphate ng Boal MOP Peds Ssh aT ONG) esa ee} | = nasser 3 | Sulphate of potash NSO oe Pea SRO) ARES yf eee ns) ON oe 4 | Unmanured Bie elt Goose 2, OV 25714) 4 0 wenderaee nal emcee 5 | Nitrate of Soda ae seo ell = eON Ore Gye OR EE CON CO) Oh eee 6 | Sulphate of ammonia... Seal Ol 95) selene 2 42 Gulia ZOD tae Ohl wena 7 | Unmanured _... ee etllll chicas Dy ee Sin, Mio Meoranncscee IRs 8 Blood... ie re nee 150 leer 2y ye? 913. 0 LB pall, [Careers OP |Notancludedtanethis experi-|orss2.0 | ceeeeeewes lle ceeeeeete ne |e a ceneae see ment, | 10 Unmanured... dere Peal Siceeiaee N= BV TOR a Aa cesses onl eee id Superphosphate ae ls ete nl rost ase SEN Seung el bans ae eeee eel paces | Sulphate of potash... soot iG POM) G2 Sh TAG 22 a een hee 123 Superphosphate : SON ae AO | eee rat et aN | fa ato de emilee clei ~ 7) Nitrate of soda a alee On| 2 OR20n aloe Sie! Delia | eee 13. | Unmanured ... sae Hal Wie Fee Ups Jeers Vi) AY BA i pee ape af Sulphate of potash... ger | molt, OA Serene: eee ee (re reel | Feseoses | Nitrate of soda ao ele (ON etl 28208 OM dao areee aee 10 1 \ Superphosphate Re Ee |e eoeet O09) ese eese Let ratiens;: cacy Mh eects cet 15< | Sulphate of potash — .. call? ebb 9 \Oail i Resonant lan eeekoae te i Sevaeens | Nitrate of soda 12, 10) 2° O16 41381348, Oeil eo aiceaaes 16 Unmanured... “hs yl eieecee ee elec 1S eal i meee 8 | if Superphosphate Pa steal Teea slOellt Saas otitis Oris gree. Nee toi het te che | ee 17 Sulphate of potash ... | |b ae) eee Os Wi aerersetor Jin Tass tie Ue te dere tented leaeeeiee Blood kedlne is ota Ree BOalh 2. 10,20) MSS se ie h wonTonen seme \ Superphosphate yee loll deste nema flee aaatatncnicd| Wacouwatscop: «He cc eace 18 Sulphate of potash fe] hel SOU Petccacnrecs Eaehc AD peace sees | Sulphate of ammonia... ales lay | 2 Oe Be Psa) Sete ls PA earn 19 Unmanured _... a 36] |Maeascoe LAI ZE PSOE 7s MON eeneccer otten | urate The results show clearly the value of manure. If the unmanured plots are considered it will be seen that, with the exception of one, the yields are comparatively low, and that, on the whole, they agree fairly well one with the other. The results from the manured plots are valuable, indicating as they do the influence exerted upon the crop by the different fertilisers. Prominently above others stand the results following the application of superphosphate. The greatest increase in the series was obtained on the plot manured with it alone, and wherever it was used in combination with other manures its influence cannot fail to be traced. The results go to show that a supply of soluble phosphoric acid is very essential to the turnip crop, owing, not so much to the quantity taken from the soil, but to the peculiar inability it appears to have, in comparison with many other Nov. 2, 1908. | Ayriculturad Guzetie of N.S IV. 907 crops, of utilising the supplies naturally existing in the soil. The super- phosphate supplied a readily available form of phosphoric acid, and the crop responded to its application with a largely increased yield. — It had a marked effect upon the young plants, inducing a vigorous healthy growth from the very start. Those plots treated with it could easily be detected by their robust appearance immediately they commenced to grow, and they maintained this lead right through. The quick early growth accounts, in part, for the increases in the yields. The early part of the season was moist, while the latter part was abnormally dry and the weather very cold. The plots treated with superphosphate had, however, taken full advantage of the early rains, and the turnips were well developed before the dry weather occurred, whilst those which had not received a dressing were slow in General view of fertiliser experiment. growing and did not derive full benefit from the favourable portion of the season, The application of potash and nitrogen seems to have had a beneficial effect upon the crop. This was particularly the case with nitrogen, but before drawing definite conclusions further tests are required. The results of these experiments are quite in accord with what we should expect in the case of a crop like turnips, which occupies the land for a short period only and is a gross feeder. It requires a considerable quantity of food constituents, and they must be in a form in which they can be used at once by the crop. Crops which occupy the land for long periods, such as wheat, give good yields on comparatively poor soil, largely because of the longer time in which the inert plant food in the soil may become available. This is not the case with turnips, and unless the substances required for its growth are present in a soluble condition in the soil, or are added by 908 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. || Nov: 2, 1908; manuring, the yield suffers considerably. Not only must the food constit uents be soluble, but they must be in a position where they can be utilised by the crop. It is a shallow rooter, and every effort must be made in the cultivation of the soil and in the application of manures to retain the plant food near the surface, where it can be readily drawn upon by the crop. Whilst manuring has been shown by these experiments to have such a marked influence upon the yields, it must not be forgotten that it is equally important to bring the soil into a proper physical condition. It should be ploughed deeply some time before sowing and lightly reploughed just previous to planting, as indicated in the beginning of this article. Afrer the crop has commenced to grow, the cultivator should be kept going until the leaves meet across the rows. This maintains a loose surface, which has the effect of lessening evaporation of moisture from the soil, much in the same way as a mulch of straw. Where the soil is allowed to become crusted on the surface, moisture quickly evaporates, but where it is kept loose and fine the moisture rises through the soil as far as the loose broken surface but no farther, and instead of being dissipated into the air is conserved in the soil and utilised by the plant. This intertillage also prevents the growth of weeds, which draw upon fertility and moisture, exhausting profitl ssly what should be retained for the use of the crop. In this State the stern fact must be recognised that dry periods will ever recur, and one ot the chief objects in all treatment of the soil must be the conservation of moisture in the soil while rain is plentiful, to enable the crop to maintain a healthy growth when the rainfall is scanty. Trials of Varieties. This experiment was carried out on a pipeclay loam, similar to that on which the trials with fertilisers were made, which had previously been cropped with wheat. The soil was prepared according to the system outlined in the fertiliser experiment. It was manured with 1 ewt. superphosphate, } ewt. sulphate of potash, and > ewt. dried blood per acre drilled in with the seed. Sowing was done on 28th February in favourable weather, and a perfect stand obtained. All the varieties were harvested on 25th July. The yields were estimated by harvesting two rows 1 chain in length from each, variety, and the results calculated at per acre. EXPERIMENTS with Swede Turnips ; planted 28th February, harvested 25th July, 1907, Name of Variety. Yield per plot. | Yield per acre. ewt. qr. lb. tons ewt. qr. Skirving’s Purple Top sai be: ne ae ah? Sd aes LM Neb iby & Sutton’s Champion Purple Top... a hs Ss Seale alana Or |e tl aa Anderson’s Imperial Purple Top... ac a ae ae Oe (I) 28} 14 lire Kast Lothian MAGIC eT NEA ORG eh ee MP dione UPMeS I Emperor Green Top ase ae Nae if ee eat ] 2) 39 10 230 Non. 2, 1908.) Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 909 Experiments with varieties of Turnips and Swede Turnips in 1908. The soil and methods of cultivation for this experiment were similar to those of the previous year, with the exception of the manuring. — Fifty-six Ib. of superphosphate and 28 Ib. of sulphate of potash were applied per acre. The calculated yields per acre were obtained by harvesting three rows 23 chains in length. The rainfall recorded during the experiment was :— Inches. Inches. March... sen TAGS June... ae 0.05) Aspnils =. coe econ July: ce: 3 Sat ci EOD Mayes: en OcaS August ey see 2A TED Total ae ... 10:06 inches. Previous to planting, 94 inches of rain fell in February. RESULTS of trials with Swede Turnips, seed obtained in New South Wales. Planted 9th March; harvested 19th August, 1908. Name of Variety. Yield per plot. | Yield per acre. 1 =, wh orb ors cwt. qr. tons cwt. qr. 15 16 13 Skirving’s Purple Top Kast Lothian : Anderson’s Imperial Pur ple Top. : Sutton’s Champion Purple Top Emperor Green Top SS ICT: 4 3 13 8 BOI: —HNwes ho Resutts of trials with Turnips and Swedes, seed obtained from England. Planted 9th March: harvested 19th August, 1908. Name of Variety. Yield per plot.| Yield per acre. ewt. qr. lb. | tons ewt. qr. Garton’s Improved Model Swede... OR ew s/i el Gene 3 Improved Keepwell Sao Onl tee Sel Be Improved Yellow Tankard Turnip GO) ANG UK 8) be Superlative Swede ; ss 38) Uo dy © 8 56 Improved Green Top Scotch Yellow ‘Turnip A Di PUSS |p hale a Improved Purple Scotch Yellow Turnip CO Peel gies (0). Ss 38 Old Meldrum Green Top Turnip 35 0) 14a|) one ome 910 SCORE Richmond, in connection with the judging by students of the products and_ stock. and wheaten hay are of stout card, 85 inches by 64 inches, Agricultural Gazette of NS. HAWKESBURY following printed on one side : . Weight and ‘general make up for market HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL Richmond, N.S. W. W. cards are in extensive use at the Hawkesbury STUDENT’S SCORE CARD. LUCERNE CHAFF. Scale of Points. Colour—Bright green preferred ; brown in sweated sample not. objected to Smell—F resh, sweet, appetising ; : iree frommustiness Length and cleanness of cut (>in. to { in. preferred), Fineness and softness of stem Percentage and condition of leaf - Purity — Proportion of Lucerne as compared with grasses, &c. : Cleanness—Freedom from dust, moulds, obje ction-| able weeds, Xe. TOTAL No. of Sample Name of Student Date Maximum Points. LNege2 2, 1908. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. COLLEGE, Student’s Estimate. Agricultural College, various farm The cards as used for judging lucerne chaff and oaten and have the Instructor’s Estimate. HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, Richmond, N.S. W. STUDENT’S SCORE CA RD. OATEN AND ow HEATEN Hay. eee eenee Seale of Points Tee) eee 1. Colour—Bright green preferred (according tomarket requirements) TG) iP sacetencee oe Nha scsiees 2. Smell— Fresh, sweet , appetising; free from mustiness ZO AIN Le ceatocns sey ale cue 3. Fineness of stem (for variety submitted) Seed atest] as cmedente 4. Softness of stem, not harsh or brittle Ds a Sip Meaccasaas Bikeeaneeteece 5. Amount and quality of leaf 2 Sige ell, acer penl | eee aenes 6. Amount and condition of grain (ripeness ai accor ding to market requirements) — e | LO igs a8 etceoan slit Yorceeersce 7. Cleanness—Freedom from dust, moulds, and im- purities UES ee | Byecoeecancol Will Mean sane? 8. Weight and general make up for market > dey lane Reeicopeed [Rikernechace Toran LOOM essen. No. of Sample Variety Name of Student Date Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 911 Co-operative Farm Machinery. P. QUIRK, Berry Stud Farm. Ar the Berry Stud Farm there exists in a small way all the necessary machinery for silage-making, the cost of which, at a low estimate, may be put down at £200, exclusive of the tub-silo. Now, while it is absolutely necessary that each farmer should possess his own silo or silos, the same necessity does not exist for each farmer laying out from £200 to £250 in special plant for cutting and elevating the fodder. When a farmer has a steam-engine or an oil-engine of 6, 8, or 10 b.h.-p., the other expenses for a cutter and elevator or blower are not so serious. Many farmers can afford, or feel justified in erecting a silo; but it is the cost of the necessary machinery that is keeping back silage-making on the coast. The arable land is there ; it requires only that means be devised to work this to the best advantage. I have talked and advocated a depdt of co-operative machinery for years: my aim being to suggest a means of placing in the farmers’ hands, at a minimum of cost, the same appliances as we have to carry out the work at the Govern- ment farm. The want of agricultural machinery is the great drawback to the farmers of the coast. It would cost from £250 to £300 to equip a farm with modern appliances. This first outlay is beyond the means of the average farmer, and what I most strongly recommend is a system of co-opera- tion, and institution of a depot of agricultural machinery. ' 6 | P| € | 82 | Sa loassighes 4 se a | aA ss] a | aS =| ne ea Ged ts eae a a eye i ere Sy eke ome ee eee : earl rc 29°61 | 3u°29 | 30°03 | 332] 848 56°6 57°4 39 | 94 63 “302 3835 4 7 | 20 17 | 16 25 | Pl 5 26 Rainfall’ = Points 23 3 25 1 13 13 2 1 2 18} Dates 5 6 7 12 3 L7G 205 22 30 Mean for 16 years = 171 points. N NE E SE S SW W NW 2 LO cece oes 1 10 Frosts Ist, 17th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th. Greatest daily range of temperature, £9°2° on 27th. = 58 points. bo Wind W. MERVYN CARNE, Observer, Nov. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 915 The Almac Cob Stud. THE Almac Cob Stud was founded in 1899 by Frank D. Brown, at Kiandra, in the southern part of the State of New South Wales. It is a very moun- tainous country, and the elevations range from 1,600 feet to 5,000 feet above sea level. At the lower and intermediate levels the valleys tall into the Tumut River, and this part gives very good feed for winter grazing. The higher altitude, which is 8 miles to the westward of Kisndra, is a mixture o* undulating plain country, and produces th» best of natural grasses for summer feed. The Norfolk cob and the Welsh pony are the breeds of hoses of which the Almac Cob Stud is composed. For foundation mares to start the stud, Mr. Brown purchased all those of thoroughbred and pure trotting bred and Welsh pony blood, with conformation, that met bis approval, and the result is to-day a very fine group of youngsters, from foals 6 months old to mares 7 years old, that are doing exceedingly well, and the Sydney and Melbourne show rings have seen the geldings brought from the Stud which have won prizes at both Shows and have been sold at a good remuneraticn to recompense the breeder. During the last two years Mr. Brown has been able to purchase about fifteen pure-bred cob mares from the States of Victoria an'l| South Australia, where they were bred by Mr. R, G. Wilson, who has imported sires and dams, and Mr, C. H. Angus, who also has imported sires and dams ; and from these mares Mr. Brown feels satisfied he will be able to show sta'lions bred in the State of New South Wales that will prove of good benefit im assisting others to advance in the breeding of true cobs. The pony mares were purchased from different States throughout Australia, and four very fine pony stallions have already been sold in different parts of Australia, and the result of the use of them is proving beneficial to pony breeders. We show the photographs of two of Mr. Brown’s cob stallions and one of his pony stallion ; also one of a pure-bred cob mare, a half-bred cob gelding, and a half- bred cob gelding shown in saddle with the owner of the Almac Cob Stud. Almac.—The first cob stallion Mr. Brown interested himself in, was bred in New South Wales by Mr. Thomas Cook, of Turonville, Seone. His sire, Flying Shales (imp.), Was a very superior horse and a most prepotent sire, and Almac, Champion Cob Stallion. 916 Agricultural Gazette of NS TV. [ Nov. 2, 1908. a very fast trotter, as in lis day he has trotted 17} miles within the hour. He was a horse of wonderful vitality, and proved himself a good sire at 28 years of age. All his stock have the best of dispositions, and Almac is indeed a very fine docile stallion, now rising 16 years old. The dam of Almac, Gipsy, was also bred by Mr. Cook, and her sire was Flying Shales, so you will note the result of inbreeding with a sire to his daughter, Almac is a beautiful rich dark bay with black points, and stands only 144 hands high, and when in condition he has turned the scale at nearly 1,200 Ib. His bone is over 8 inches below the knee, and to-day, as a 16-year-old, he is as sound asa bell. Almac won first prize for two years at Sydney Royal Agricultural Society's Show. Snowball. Sire, Bismark; dam, Tam-o’-Shanter. Snowball —A Welsh pony, bred in South Australia, and purchased from there by Mr. Brown. His sire was Bismark, and his dam by the celebrated Tam O'Shanter, the great progenitor of ponies in the State of Victoria, Although Snowkall is only 125 hands high, he is strong, and well able to carry 18 or 20 stone. He is now also 16 years of age and has proved himself a very valuable sire, and the constitution he has will probably see him live to an old age, as he runs with his mares summer and winter in the hills, and the country is as much like the mountain ranges in Wales as can be compared. Snowball won first prize at Sydney Royal Agricultural Society’s Show. Vim.—A pure-bred Norfolk cob, bred in Victoria by the late Hon. W. I. Winter Irving, M.L.C., who imported Vim’s sire, Detective, and his dam, Darwinia, from England. Vim is a chestnut horse, 14.3 hands high, and Nov. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. = 917 Vim. Sire, Detective (imp.); dam, Darwinia (imp.). shows great dash with beautiful action, and a very fast trotter. He won first and champion prize at Sydney Royal Agricultural Society’s Show. Vis.—A chestnut mare and a full sister to Vim, and she was bred in Victoria by the late Hon. W. I. Winter Irving, M.L.C.. Vis stands 14.5 hands high, is strong enough to pull a spring cart or hansom cab, and is a Vis, pure-bred cob mare. Sire, Detective (imp.); dam, Darwinia (imp,). very fast mare in harness, with beautiful action and a fine disposition. “She won the double at Sydney Royal Agricultural Society’s Show by annexing the dogeart class and the special for best cob in two-wheel vehicle. D 918 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Barnum, bay cob. Sire, Almack; dam, half-bred mare. 3arnum.—Bay gelding, 14.5 hands high, bred at the Almac Cob Stud. His sire is Almac, and his dam a thick-set mare, whose sire was a trotting horse and her dam a half-bred mare. This shows the class of horse produced by the first cross with the Norfolk cob Almac to a half-bred mare. Barnum has won two first prizes at Sydney Royal Agricultural Society’s Shows, one in saddle and the other in harness as a gentleman’s cob. He is a very rich dark bay, like his sire, and coming from a mare a little heavier than his sire he shows a bit more substance, but with it he has good pace and a kind disposition. George.—A dark bay horse, bred by the Almac Cob Stud, 14.3 hands high. The photograph showing him shows Mr. Brown, the breeder, in the saddle, and George is carrying 20 stone, and with it has won prizes at Sydney and Mel- pourne Royal Agricultural Society's Shows. George is also a son of Almac, out of a very well-bred, sturdy mare, bred on the Monaro country, a mare that one could ride or drive, as she was very hardy ; and George has also proved himself a very hardy useful George and owner, Sire Almac; dam, Monaro mare. animal in saddle or harness. Nov. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 919 Mr. Brown also has an imported cob stallion called Reality, an imported Welsh pony stallion named Vero, and a Victorian-bred Welsh pony stallion named Young Wonder, whose photographs we shall show in another article at a later date. The result of crossing the mares bred at the Almac Cob Stud by Almac with Vim has proved successful, and the same may be said of the cross of the ponies bred by Snowball to the other pony stallions. It is hoped that in a few years’ time the horses coming from the Almac Stud will be an object lesson to show what can be done by breeding from pure-bred sires to good conformation mares with some breeding, and retaining the fillies from each cross to stint back to other pure-bred sires of the same class, and after two crosses out, to return the third cross to the original sire, to still retain the conformation and keep the blood pure so long as a sire will prove himself prepotent. SULTANAS ON PHYLLOXERA- RESISTANT STOCKS. M. BLUNNO. Tuompson’s Seedless, a grape grown for drying purposes, very similar to the Sultana, has been grafted on phylloxera-resistant stocks at Howlong Viticultural Station with some success. In the year 1904 a crop yielding at the rate of 9,046 lb. per acre was obtained. This was no doubt an abnormal one, and has not been reached in any year since on any variety of stock. The stock which gave this yield was the hybrid Riparia x Rupestris No. 1014. As these abnormal crops may occur, they must be carefully excised from any data used for calculation, as it would undoubtedly mislead one into expecting such yields. The experience with seedless grape-vines grafted on resistant stocks is at present limited. There is no previous European experience to go on, as the Levant, the home of the seedless raisin industry, is one of the few vine- growing districts as yet free from the pest. At the Howlong Viticultural Station the results of experiments have been various, but so far no definite information is available. The experience of one grower near Junee is that the Sultana bears as well when grafted on Rupestris Metallica as on its own roots. It may with almost perfect safety be said that Thompson’s Seedless would behave in a similar manner. The experience at Howlong, and also in Victoria, indicates that the crops are rather erratic, and until more is known of their behaviour on phylloxera- resistant stocks it behoves intending planters to proceed slowly with putting out seedless grapes not on their own roots. It is very desirable that a more complete knowledge of their behaviour should be obtained, and in this connection vine-growers, in those districts suited to the Sultana, can assist the industry by conducting trials on a small scale and keeping a record of the results, and communicating the same to the Department. 920 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Stack Silage. G. M. McKEOWN, Wagga Experiment Farm, THE advantages of conserving green fodder in stacks consists in the economy of the process, the cost being nominal only. A further advantage is that where the crop is good or the growth of natural herbage is luxuriant, stacks may be constructed in localities so situated as to require cartage for short distances only. Such sites should, as far as possible, be chosen with a view to economical stacking or pitting and distribution of the silage whem being fed out, therefore this advantage will be gained by building where paddocks converge. A well drained site should be selected, and, if necessary, it should be levelled to ensure a secure base. The ground should be covered with timber evenly laid on the surface, or with a good bed of straw, to prevent moisture rising from the soil into the fodder. All surface water should be cut off. If logs are used as a bed, all space should be well filled with earth to prevent access of air into the bottom of the stack. So long as the weather is fit for cutting by mowing machine or reaper and binder, it will not matter if the material is wet at the time of stacking, as it will not suffer damage. In this point silage-making possesses a great advantage over hay-making, as in the latter case dry warm weather is essential to success. It is of the greatest importance that the base of the stack should be of right dimensions, so as to ensure the least possible amount of surface exposure and the exercise of the greatest possible pressure on the lower part of the stack by the upper portion of the material, therefore a careful estimate of the amount of available fodder should be made before commencing to build. It is inadvisable to build small stacks, owing to the greater waste consequent on the larger surface exposure in proportion to the quantity of material. A stack to contain 25 tons should be the least size that should be attempted, and where only this quantity of fodder is available, it will be found preferable to use a pit or a disused room or building if such is available, as in the latter case even a much less quantity may be conserved. The base of a 25-ton stack should be about 10 by 10 feet. About 45 cubic feet of good silage will make aton. Stacks to contain from 50 tons upwards will be found preferable owing to lower proportionate waste, and the larger they can conveniently be built the better. A base of 14 feet square will carry 50 to 60 tons, and 18 feet square will carry 120 tons, and so on in proportion if not built too rapidly. It is preferable to allow intervals for settlement, as by thus allowing time the stack may be more compactly built and the lift may be considerably reduced. Where a large quantity of material is available, the erection of two or more stacks may be proceeded with alternately, and thus no time need be lost. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 921 The best time to cut grass and other natural herbage is when it is in flower, and cutting may be continued as long as the crop is in succulent condition. It should be carted and stacked as promptly as possible so as to prevent loss of moisture. Wheat, barley, vetches, and peas should be in a similar stage of growth in the drier districts, while in coastal and other moist localities they may safely be cut in a more advanced condition, as in the latter case the fodder is likely to contain more moisture than is usual under the former conditions, and they do not dry off so rapidly after cutting. Wheat alone is of rather too dry a nature for successful conservation in stacks, therefore it will be found safer to conserve it in pits from which air may be excluded more effectively than is possible where stacking is adopted. Where natural grasses are to be conserved, pits will be more effectual than stacks, as, owing to the number of varieties of which most pastures consist, the periods of ripening vary so much that the earlier kinds lose much of their succulence, while others remain in a backward condition. In cases where trefoil or variegated thistles predominate, the stack system may safely be adopted, as both contain a much larger proportion of moisture than is to be found in the grasses, even where the latter are in their best stage of growth. In dry districts it will be found advisable also to cut sorghum and maize at an earlier stage of growth than is usual in the moister conditions pre- vailing on the coast, and to use pits or buildings in preference to stacks, as the comparative dryness of the fodder causes greater loss in stacks than that which occurs in the case of fodder plants of finer texture, which admit of more compact stacking than is possible with those of coarser growth. The chaffing of maize or sorghum is recommended, and therefore their conservation in a walled receptacle is necessary to secure the best results in quality and quantity of silage. The material if stacked whole, should be spread evenly, and if cut with a reaper and binder the bands should be cut and drawn so as to admit of more compact building and the more effectual exclusion of air. If the bands are left intact, there are liable to be considerable spaces between the sheaves if they are of full size. The butts of the sheaves should be placed outwards, each row binding the next, and the material should be well trodden from the start. Under no circumstances should material be placed trans- versely in layers, as by this means a large quantity of air will be admitted into the stack and loss of fodder will naturally follow. Special attention should be paid to the sides and corners, so that they may be as compact as possible. The sides should be kept plumb, and the corners well rounded off. The surface of the stack should be kept quite level while in the course of erection, as, if the middle be raised, the material when saturated with moisture has a tendency to slip outwards ; and an outward slip is much worse than an inward one, as it is difficult to remedy. Should an outward slip occur, it should at once be remedied by strong supports being placed on that side of the stack. Greater safety in building may be secured by the erection of a few posts with occasional pieces of timber secured to them horizontally on each side of the stack. 922 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. At the close of each day’s work it is advisable to apply some pressure to assist in consolidating the material, and some heavy timbers of good length will be found very useful for the purpose. The weights should be removed on resuming work, but on the completion of the stack they should be allowed to remain on top. The material should be thoroughly compressed by treading during the erection of the stack, and this opeyation will be greatly assisted where some support to the sides such as described is afforded. Pressure may be appled by mechanical appliances, or by placing heavy timbers, stones, bags of earth, &e., on the surface of the stack. Sutticient pressure should be used to ensure the thorough compression of the material in the upper portio 1 of the stack, which, in its turn, provides pressure for the lower portions. Failure to exclude air by insuttcient treading of the material, or by insufti- cient application of pressure to the upper portion of the stack, may cause spontaneous combustion, or, at any rate, considerable actual loss of material by overheating. Similar results may arise from the use of material which has passed the requisite stage of succulence. Should it be desired to take the temperature, a piece of metal pipe should be built into the stack, so as to admit of a thermometer being suspended, by means of a flexible wire, fairly in the middle of the stack. The thermometer can then be withdrawn when it is desired to ascertain the temperature. Fermentation commences at 90 degrees Fahr.; and, as it is undesirable that the temperature should rise above 150 degrees Fahr., more pressure should be applied should it appear likely that the limit will be exceeded. A stack, when built as high as possible, may be rounded on top and well covered with straw, so placed as to throw the rain off; or it may be covered with galvanized iron or roofing felt. The more permanent roofing is to be preferred in districts liable to heavy rain, and there the use of the latter material will be advantageous for protecting the sides. A stack may be opened and the fodder used in eight to twelve weeks after completion ; but sufficient for the day’s consumption only should be removed, as it is Hable to deteriorate when exposed to the air. A hay-knife should be used to cut it out. As little as possible of the opened portion of the stack should be exposed, and loss may be prevented by covering it with a tarpaulin or dry straw. The feeding value of silage will be greatly improved by a selection of varieties of plants, which, where possible, should be grown together for convenience in harvesting and stacking, and so as to ensure a more regular admixture of fodder plants possessing varied qualities. Thus, field-peas or vetches should be sown with oats, barley, or wheat intended for silage; and, apart from the added value of the silage, the leguminous plants will prove of value in fertilising the soil. The growth of crops for silage will prove of great value in combating the black oats pest, as, owing to the necessity for cutting such crops before maturity, weeds may be removed before the seeds can ripen. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 925 Where conditions are favourable for the growth of cowpeas, they may be sown with maize or sorghum, or in separate areas, and the respective crops mixed when stacking or pitting. Lucerne, also, may be profitably harvested from the area devoted to its separate culture, and mixed with any crop with which the growing period corresponds. For feeding cattle the quantity of silage to be used will vary with the age and size of the animals, and the quantity of natural pasture which is available. The nutrient value of the fodder will naturally vary with the crops com- posing the silage, but in most cases it will be found desirable to add to the ration some grain, oilcake, or bran, The silage ration will range from 15 to 45 lb. per day, according to the conditions described and the purpose for which the stock are fed. For sheep, the allowance should be 3 or 4 lb. per head, with about 4 oz. of grain per day where improved condition is sought. Where it is desired to conserve fodder in pits in the drier districts, it will be found that the cost of excavation is very moderate, amounting to about £5 for a 100-ton pit. Two of the sides should be vertical, and well trimmed, the other two having batters of 1 to 2, or 1 to 3, so as to admit of working the plough and scoop during the excavation of the pit, and for convenience in filling it with fodder after completion. In filling the pit, the instructions for stacking should be carefully followed, but the compression of the material and the exclusion of air will be found much easier than is the case in stack building. The work of consolidation will be greatly assisted by the passage over it of the teams conveying the fodder, which should be driven in at one end and out at the other. In large pits a horse and rider will do good work in trampling the fodder after it has been spread. The material may be extended a fair distance outwards along the deeper parts of the batters, and, if necessary, carried above ground as a stack to such a height as may be convenient. When extended far above the surface, pressure will be necessary to consolidate the upper portion; but if the excavation only be filled, covering with the earth which has been removed from it will exert sufticient pressure, while at the same time it will prevent the access of air. The durability of silage conserved in dry pits should exceed that of stack silage, as the outsides are not subject to the action of air or rainfall. On the Wagga Wagga Experiment Farm the cost of silage has ranged from 2s. 9d. per ton for natural herbage to 6s. for cultivated crops, 924 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Botanical Notes. USEFUL AUSTRALIAN PLANTS. J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director, Botanic Gardens, Sydney. No. 98. Sporobolus actinocladus, F.v.M. Botanical Name.—Actinocladus, Greek, actis, actinos, a ray (of the sun), a spoke of a wheel, &c.; clados, a young branch or shoot, the panicle branches being verticillate (rayed). Aboriginal Names.—“ Katura” of the Boulia natives (Queensland) ; ‘“Coocheramunda” of the Georgina natives, Queensland (Coghlan, quoted by Bailey) ; ‘‘Gnurinurn” of those about Lake Eyre, South Australia (Spencer). Botanical Description (B.FI, vii, 625),.— Stems 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves flat, tapering to fine points, glabrous. Panicle pyramidal, 3 to 5 inches long, the branches numerous, spreading, the lower ones, or nearly all, verticillate at regular intervals, the upper ones scattered, all capillary and shortly bare at the base, but bearing narrow, dense, spikelike partial panicles of 4 to 1 inch. Spikelets sessile and crowded (Nota bene !), nearly 1 line long. Outer glume very small, hyaline, almost obtuse ; second very acute, keeled, 4 to ¢ line long. Flowering glume similar, but longer. Palea divided into two from the base, even at the time of flowering. Seed enclosed in a loose pericarp. Note the verticillate branches of the panicle. Value as a Fodder.—A useful grass for the dry, hot districts of the State. Human Food.—Dr. Roth, late Protector of Aborigines, Northern Queens- land, points out that this grassis one of those species whose seeds are used as food, and gives the following account of the method of collecting and preparing it :— The grass is cut down, tied into small bundles, taken down to the nearest waterhole, and dipped under, just for a minute or two ; the bundles are next laid out to dry in the sun for a quarter of an hour or so, but to prevent the desiccation taking place too rapidly, especially on a very hot day, they may be covered over with some other grasses or bushes. When the moisture has been sufficiently removed, each bundle is firmly held by the stalk portion with one hand, while the head portion is gently brushed over and squeezed with the other, the seed so loosened being allowed to fall into the water contained ina wooden bowl beneath. The water is drawn off subsequently by tipping up the vessel, and so letting the fluid escape through the interdigital spaces of the hollowed hand, The seed itself is then dried again before being ground and made up into a ‘‘ damper.” Habitat and Range.—Found in all the colonies except Western Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria. It occurs in the dry western districts of New South Wales. The type came from Sturt’s Creek, Central Australia, and was collected by Mueller himself. Bentham also quotes :— Queensland.—Gracemere (O’Shanesy) ; Ballandool River (Looker). Central Australia.—Charlotte Waters (Giles). 2, 1908: NOV. GAZETTE OF W.S.W. AGRICULTURAL aM F SPOROBOLUS ACTINOCLADUS, Nov. 2, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 925 In the National Herbarium, Sydney, we have it from— South Australia.—Charlotte Waters (though not Giles); Oakden Hills Station, 100 miles north of Port Augusta (W. Gill); Lake Eyre (W, Bald- win Spencer), ““Gnurinurn.” “The blacks do not eat seeds.” This is, of course, contrary to what obtains in Queensland, according to Roth. Queensland.—Jericho, 300 miles west of Rockhampton (R. Simmons) ; Boulia (F, M. Bailey). A very common inland grass (F. M. Bailey). New South Wales.—Brewarrina (J. L. Boorman); Wonnaminta, Wil- cannia (Mrs. Kennedy). EXPLANATION OF PLATE. 1. Entire plant, half size. 2. Branch of the panicle, greatly enlarged. 3. Ultimate branch of the panicle. 4, Single spikelet, opened out, showing the glumes, the palea divided into two, and the seed enclosed in the loose pericarp. 5. Glumes and seed of the single spikelet. a. Outer glume. b. Second glume. c. Flowering glume. d. Palea divided into two from the base. e. Pericarp, seed taken out. J. Grain, without the pericarp. A New SvusPEcteD Porson PLANT. THE following letter has been received :— “ Wingecarribbee, Bowral, 5th September, 1908. “The Director of Agriculture, “T have the honor to forward to you, by this post, a sample of a lily or weed growing wild here, which some pigs were seen to be rooting up and eating the roots. “Several valuable pigs and some suckers that were just beginning to pick about died. One sow got very ill, and, after lingering for a week, recovered. The Inspector of Stock says that it is no disease the pigs had, but that they had apparently been poisoned, and suggests that I forward you a sample of weed. I shall be glad to know if anything of a poisonous nature is in the weed. It has a blue flower. curtis ML OOXaI Bae The root specimens are, in my opinion, Dianel/a, but I cannot determine the species with certainty without flowers or fruits. Déanella is an exceed- ingly common Australian plant belonging to the lily family. It has strap- shaped leaves and blue flowers. Nothing is known about the properties of the Australian species of Dianella, except that some have been occasionally used as fibre-plants. Certainly I have never heard of them as suspected poison plants before. On inquiry I find that Dragendorff mentions Dianella nemorosa, L., and D. ensifolia, Ait., as medicinal plants, and says the roots are used in cases of 926 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Dysuria and other complaints. He mentions further that the former plant is used in the Straits Settlements in the preparation of rat-poison, but does not state what part of the plant is used. There may, therefore, be some foundation in the report that the roots of Dianella ave poisonous, but. we should first ascertain the species. Dianella roots are long finger-like processes, in masses like a bundle of the old tallow candles strung together. Here is certainly prima facie evidence warranting a careful chemical investigation of the roots of these common Australian plants. A VaLuaBLE Fipre Pian (Aselepias semilunata). IN the Gazette for July, 1908, p. 585, is a note under the above heading. The plant being unknown in Australia I had, in the meantime, communicated with Kew and Mr. J. Burtt Davy, the Government Botanist of the Transvaal. The replies are now to hand. Mr. Davy says :— I do not think any reliance can be placed ou the statement that it has stood the winter of Johannesburg. During the last five years my correspondents and I have been energetically collecting Asclepiads, and A. semz/unata has not turned up in any of our Transvaal collections. I think it is very unlikely that it occurs with us. With the exception of thealien species A. fruticosa and an allied indigenous species A. rtvularis, it is doubtful whether any of ours are of use as fibre plants. We often receive samples of the silky seed-hairs, from persons who think they may be useful as a substi- tute for cotton, but as they lack the ¢yist and are inferior to cotton, 1 do not see how they can be of any commercial value. If we turn to the Kew Bulletin we get the following information :-— “ Fibre from Uganda (Asclepias semilunata), N.E. Br., Asclepiadez.” Mr. M. T. Dawe, Director, Scientific and Forestry Department, Uganda, has for- warded for the Musem a sample of fibre prepared from the stems of this plant, which attains a height of 2-5 feet, and is found in Nile Land, Lower Guinea, and South Central Africa. A report on this fibre appeared in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, Vol. 111, No. 4, 1906, p. 316 (Kew Bulletin of Mise. Information, No. 9, 1906, p. 397). The reference in the “ Bulletin of the Imperial Institute” is to an article entitled “The fibre of Asclepias semilunata trom Uganda.” A chemical examination of the fibre is given and the paper, which cannot usefully be briefly abstracted, should be referred to. The concluding paragraph is as follows :— The fibre of Asclepias semilunata therefore appears worthy of further attention in Uganda, especially if the plant is abundant or can be easily cultivated. In this case efforts should be directed to the production of a uniformly long fibre, as the value of the product in this form will be much greater than if a considerable proportion of short fibres is present. The short fibres would probably only be commercially useful in the event of the technical experiments, to which reference has been made, proving successful. The evidence so far available points to the fact that this plant belongs to a tropical country solely, viz., Uganda, a British Protectorate of Central Africa, north-west of the Victoria Nyanza, and not far from the Equator. Acclimatisation experiments are proverbially full of surprises, and whether the plant will flourish in any part of New South Wales is a matter for experiment. If it does do so in any locality, then the cost of production of the fibre and the demand of this particular kind will have to be gone into. Nov. 2, eee Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 927 Yanco Irrigation Farm. V. J. ALLEN. Tae starting of this, the first irrigation farm, by the Department of Agriculture, under the Great Northern Murrumbidgee Irrigation Scheme, is the beginning of the utilisation of the surplus waters of the State. Ic is one of the most, if not the most impor- tant work which the Government has yet undertaken, as it is hard to estimate the value which will be derived by the people of Australia from the wedding of the water to the land. As years go by and the population increases, the conservation of water and its application to the land must of necessity receive the attention which it deserves. Irrigation—what does it mean? A method of producing or increasing fertility in soils by an artificial supply of water. Up to the present its value has not been understood by the people of Australia. We have the land, which, with the aid of water, will produce any crops that can be grown in a semi-tropical country. We have the water, flowing on and on to the ocean by the millions of cubic feet annually in years of plenty and in years of drought; yet we have always said “‘sufticient unto the day is the evil thereof,” and so far have been entirely satisfied with ourselves during years when the rainfall has been good, congratulating ourselves with the fact that with a fair rainfall Australia is one of the best countries in the world, where cereals and fruits will grow to perfection, and stock can be seen fat all the year round, excepting— yes, I am sorry to have to use that word— excepting when the rainfall falls below our requirements. In many parts of the State a very little suffices to produce ample feed for stock, and we have soil on which wheat will mature and yield splendid crops on a 10 to 12 inch rainfall. Most of our wheats and fruits, however, are grown where the rainfall averages from 14 to “D4 inches. When droughts occur, which they do with unfailing regularity, they find us quite unpre- pared to withstand their severity, with the natural result that the loss of stock is enor- mous during such years. In a large country Panoramic view of Yanco Irrigation Farm. 925 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. like Australia it may be found difticult to make provision which will ensure against losses in isolated places in our interior, but by making the most of our rivers and artesian water supply, not on}y can we save the most of our stock during dry years, but fruit-growing, dairying, pig and lamb raising may be carried on successfully, placing us in a position to defy the drought, and the result would be that wide tracts of what at present may be classed as almost desert land may be tarned into a productive farming country, on which hundreds of thousands of people will yet make their homes, on areas. of from 10 to 100 acres of land. Showing tne country betore clearing. The starting of the Great Northern Murrumbidgee Irrigation Scheme is: one which, when completed, will provide sufficient water to irrigate large tracts of land lying between Narrandera and Gunbar, and should prove an untold blessing to the whole of this southern country ; and the Government, by initiating this irrigation farm at the present time, will be in a position to: supply considerable valuable information to inte nding settlers in the near future, or when the Barren Jack dam and the channels will be so far completed, as to be able to supply water for lands under this scheme. The place will be an object lesson as to what will grow on this particular soil. A good assortment of grape-vines, fruit and nut trees, have been planted. Hay and fodder crops have been sown, and the Department is desirous of showing what can be grown on this land, which is classed ¢ second quality, there being large tracts of the better soil lower down thie canal, but where it would be difficult at present to obtain water. The present site has the advantage of being easily seen from the train, which in itself is a great advantage, as the public have a good view of the: Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 929 A large Box tree felled. 20_h.p. Ploughing Engine at work breaking up the soil. 930 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Nov. 2, 1908. farm while travelling, and it is easy of access for those who wish to visit it, lying as it does within a few hundred yards of the Yanco platform, where all trains stop. There is no acc -ommodation at this place yet, but visitors may leave Narrandera at midday, have an hour and a half on ‘the farm, and, returning, reach Narrandera at 2°30 p.m. Contractor working buck-scraper. The problem which will be the best industry to follow on this land willdepend largely on the person and the soil. It should be an ideal place for the dairy- inan, as there is no soil which will produce heavier crops of corn, sorghums, c., than the rich, heavy soils, found in many parts of the area which it is proposed to irrigate, and not unlike part of the present Irrigation Farm. Then there are some of the lighter and mallee lands, on which lucerne will grow to perfection, which will be the home of the sheep and pig enthusiasts. Almost any of the soil will produce good crops of cereals, vegetables, tobacco, &e. Horse breeding should prove very profitable here, where plenty of green feed can always be relied upon. If cne or two irrigations can be given to wheat land it will make the difference between a good crop of, say, six bags to the acre and no crop, or only two or three bags ; in fact, there are great possibilities for those who fh ah tage Lah fei hae op as Bs +e Bhegey Yedy Home-made leveller at work; an invaluable implement. Nov. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 931 Staking out the orchard and vineyard. will do the work thoroughly, that is by the combination of a thorough system of cultivation and watering; but it must not be forgotten that too much water supplied by irrigation results Just as disastrously as drought. It is intended to find out how the various crops do on this soil, and it is quite possible that experiments in pig and sheep raising on a limited scale may be made later. For instance, it might be well to know how many sheep could be kept on 20 acres of lucerne, or how many pigs on 10 acres. Also how cows would milk when fed all the year round on lucerne, sorghums and corn, either in the green or dried state, or as silage. Horses for working the farm are necessary, and therefore a few foals will be raised each year, and everything done that will help to make this farm of the most practical use to the man who is seeking information for the Holes dug ready to receive fruit-trees. 932 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Nov. 2, 1908. Planting the vineyard. purpose of settling on these lands. It is a question whether any grasses will ever produce the same amount of feed as lucerne, corn and sorghums, but Rhodes and other kinds will be tested. The work of grubbing and clearing the timber (pine, box, and boree) from the land was started in April, and completed about the Ist of June. The ploughing was started simultaneously with the clearing. This latter Planting fruit-trees. Nov, 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S JT. 933 (clearing) was done by day labour, and the roots taken out to a depth of 20 inches. The ground was particularly hard at this time, as no rain had fallen for months, and conse- quently the expense of clearing the soil was considerably more than it would have been had the soil been moist. The breaking of the soil was done by a large scarifier, which was drawn by two large traction engines, standingabout 500 feet apart. A cable from each of these was fastened to the searifier, and the latter was drawn across the space alternately by the engines, each engine moving up after each round made by the scarifier, This machine did not turn up éheleuib: soil, but broke it up to a depth of from 18 to 20 inches, and would have gone deeper had it not been that the ground was so hard and dry. That portion planted to vines and trees was worked both ways with the machine, but the lucerne, wheat, oats and barley ground was only worked — The first tree ese ad Unisiereay Tss/papon once. The traction engines and scarifier were kindly lent to the Department by Sir Samuel McCaughey, and without these we would have had a very difficult task in breaking up the soil in time for planting this season. After the land was all broken up, the work of breaking the lumps and filling in old channels and preparing the land for the several crops, trees and vines, was no small contract, and it was not until July that we finished sowing the hay crops, which comprise the following :-— 4 acres malting barley 13 acres John Brown wheat 3. ,, skinless barley 1 ,, Plover wheat 7 ,, Algerian oats 10 ,, Bobs wheat aN f i E a Ales a We... * . ? a bie Home-made crowder at work making the channels; a valuable implement. 934 .dgricultural Gazette of N.S.W. |.Vov. 2, 1908. Thirty-three acres have already been sown with lucerne, some of which is up nicely, and all the above crops are making fair headway, notwithstanding the fact that they were sown very late. The orchard and vineyard are laid out in six different blocks, and 30 acres of vines of different varieties, in which are planted 10 acres of Sultauas, 10 acres of Gordo Blancos, 5D acres of Zante cur- rants, and 5 acres of RRcnrted table-grapes. A small block of about 6 acres was planted to nuts; a good many of the walnuts being im- ported from California. The almonds and wal- nuts were planted alter- nately in the rows, so that later, when the walnuts require more space, the almonds can be removed. Central Tableland ... ... Cowra Soo ar Mudgee Pail Be Southern Tableland a Goulburn) =-ee067 55 Nimity belle 22 55 North Coast es on Kempsey) cae. a Kempsey 36 a Hunter and Manning ... CamdenHaven 82 55 Jerry’s Plains 33 ee Metropolitan i ee Rarramabbaneeaie = Parramatta 36 i South Coast... Sci poe eicton 77 5 Bodalla 33 Between the 26th and 30th, two high and two low pressure systems travelled across the continent. The first “high,” represented by only one isobar, was shown on the 26th over New South Wales and the South Island of New Zealand, and was associated with fine, clear, and quiescent weather conditions. The “low” which appeared on that day, was situated over the southern districts of the continent, from Esperance to the Great Bight, and controlled fresh to strong northerly winds for the most part, but strong south-westerlies on the south-western seaboard, and a strong westerly gale at Eddystone in Tasmania. Moderate to rough seas also occurred between the Leeuwin and Wilson’s Promontory. By the 28th, the incipient high pressure had passed off the main land, but the rear isobars of the depression were shown running along the coastal districts from Clarence Heads to Hobart ; and showery weather obtained south from Jervis Bay. In proximity to the “low” was the advance portion of the second anticyclone, on the north-east side of which had appeared a rather pronounced depression. During the night of the 28th, or early on the morning of the 29th, as the result of this. distribution, some “severe squalls and rain, with scattered thunderstorms, were experienced along the coastal and north-eastern districts of New South Wales, as also in south- eastern parts of Queensland. The path of the centre of the high pressure which had attained the barometric value of 30°47 inches, was well to the south of the continent. This circumstance assisted in the development of severe wind and sea conditions on our seaboard, ve 952 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [Wov. 2, 108. The distribution of rainfall over the various subdtvisions of the State during September, 1908, was as follows : Departure from normal. Average Points. Below. Above. Western Division from 133 to 13] North-western Plain a 142 se ol Central-western Plain - 17 an 84 Riverina ne 52. = 69 North-western Slope Be 148 - 21 Central- western Slope a5 136 ~ A] South-western Slope » 12 to 204 — Northern Tableland . 313 ‘, 44 Central Tableland * 141 =a 266 Southern Tableland i” 356 - 147 North Coast ee 405 A 306 Hunter and Manning ~ 438 - 234 Metropolitan a 16 a 237 South Coast a S| 3 205 REMARKS. During the month of September, a considerable deficiency in rainfall was experienced over the greater part of the central and western districts of the State. From Tibooburra, in the far north-west, to Barringun, conditions were very dry, no rainfall whatever having been recorded. Amounts in excess of the normal were reported from the southern border districts, the greater part of the south-eastern quadrant, and from the North- western Plain and Slope and Nortbern Tableland. Out of all the coas al stations, Sydney, and one or two places on the extreme South Coast, alone had totals above average. TEMPERATURE. Speaking generally, temperatures for the most part were below normal. The highest registration for the month was 93 degrees on the 28th at Bourke, but carlier in the month (between the 14th and 17th) all the inland subdivisions had stations which experienced minimum temperatures either at or below freezing point. COMPARISON WITH INDTA. The following is a statement showing a brief comparison of the chief meteorological elements over India, together with Australia as far as data are available, for the month of September, 1908 :-— Departure from normal. GeneraliConditions precounes Temperature. (referring to State as a whole). inches. | degrees. Simla (India) Bae 0-00 | +0°'1 Normal. Sydney (N.S.W.) ... — 03 —1°] Above on southern border and greater | part of slopes and tablelands ; other- wise generally below. Dry on N.W. border. Melbourne (Victoria) — 04 —1l'1 Rain above average, except central south. Adelaide (S.A.) © .:. +01 -—3:1 Above; very heavy in northern in- | terior ; Northern Territory rainless. Perth (W.A.) ed — 08 | —0°4 Above in extreme S.E., below else- | where, especially in S. W. Nov. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 953 The above table shows that, with pressure and temperature practically normal in India, the rainfall also has equalled the average amount. In Australia, however, temperature and pressure were both below normal, excepting in Adelaide, where the latter element was slightly above. Rainfall in excess of the average was experienced in South Australia and the south-eastern districts of West Australia, as also over the greater part of Victoria and southern borders, slopes, and tableland divisions of New South Wales, but otherwise the monthly totals were in defect, and in parts very dry. ‘CiimavroLocicaL Table for the month of September, 1908, compiled from daily telegraphed returns. TEMPERATURE. | ; o S| Station. 3 = 5 a | 2 2 . FI ae fe ee) 2 | 2/28 | Be sil 3¢ gfa|e8 | se iee| 8 185 Seo Naas eer || Se ee cst Ss | 25 3 os 3g .mme | ae — | <& A | 4A A Ao = Walgett ie dais ...| 80°16 | 71°3 | 44°6 89 | 28 30 | 16 9| 0-61 Bourke ae aes 4 BOLD) 76:63) 41-1 1-935 |) “28 She 7 9 | O18 Wilcannia ... wee ..-| 30°08 | 67°9 | 41-9 | 83 11 32 16 7 | 0°48 Wentworth ... ae adi eens 66:0 | 43-2) 80 | 25 24 17 4 | 2°38 IBERY Goa ed S53 tee] 30305")|'6950) 3827) 83s | 2 29: 145.15, 16) 15 |: 1 19 Deniliquin” =:..) 7 ~.. ...| 80°03 | 63°4| 42:0) 77 /12&25) 31 G25 109 Albury as ae ..., 80°06 | 6L°1 | 40°7 | 73 | 12 30 15 ll | 3°34 Forbes a ae Joa OIG G28) 42:0) la7Onl 26 32 16 LE Las Dubbo ae sie .... 30°07 | 66-9| 40-7) 81 | 26 31s 216 14 | 1°47 Clarence Heads sn ...| 80°14 | 68-0 | 53-1} 76-) .14 45 |16,17, 30] 0} 1:65 Port Macquarie... ...| 30°08 | 68°3 | 48:0} 75 3 40} 15 O| 2:04 Newcastle... Bee ...| 30°06 | 64:7 | 51:0] SO /26&28 42; 21 | O} 1°91 Sydney i sat ...| 30 028] 65:6 | 49°9 | 81-9} 25 {| 42-1) 15 0 | 3:028 Jervis Bay ... we see 80°04. | 58°8 | 48°4] 68 j10&21) 41 | 15 Oy) Sa Eden ... ee ote eal Wisse een alle louse aetna: ae sia -* Corrected to 32 deg. F. and M.S.L. 954 Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. [ Wor. 2, 1908. Orchard Notes. W. J. ALLEN. NOVEMBER. Cultivation.—It is most important that the cultivation of the soil should receive special attention at this season of the year, as by keeping the ground well worked to a depth of several inches it prevents evaporation. After each “rain or irrigation the whole of the orchards and vineyards should receive a thorough cultivation immediately the ground is dry enough, Do not wait until a hard crust forms on the top of the soil, but put on all available help and have the surface broken up immediately. Keep the trees and vines well worked around with a fork hoe or pronged fork. The plough should never be brought into requisition at this time of the year, except, perhaps, in a very wet, cool district ; but the soil should be kept stirred to a depth of four or five inches with a good cultivator, Summer Pruning may be started this month, and it is well to go over and regulate the growth of all young trees, thinning and shortening back where required, that is, where the tree is growing too thick, and pruning or pinching back so as to keep the tree evenly balanced and symmetrical, This early summer pruning is more for young trees, to aid in directing the growth to that part of the tree where it is most required, Pruning of citrus trees may be continued wherever not. completed. Pruning and manuring of passion-fruit vines may be’ carried out during the early part of this month. ~ Whenever Thorny Mandarins show signs of cropping too heavily, it will be well to prune them a little more severely, as well as removing some of the fruit from the tree, so that the latter will not overbear and exhaust itself this season. If allowed to overbear the fruit will be small and almost worthless. Budding of citrus trees may still be carried on. Trrigation.—W here irrigation is practised, a thorough watering should be given to all trees towards the end of the month. This should be the second watering of the season. Be most careful to keep the water confined to the furrows, as wherever the land is flooded it is likely to become hard. As soon as the furrows are dry enough to work, cultivate the orchard twice, and loosen the soil around any young trees with a fork hoe. Spraying.—All citrus trees attacked by the Maori or other fungous diseases should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. In applying a spray like Bordeaux mixture to citrus trees it will be found advantageous to apply it in a small quantity at a time, in two successive sprayings, rather than one heavy appli- ‘ation, Which may run off the surface of the young fruit. Nov. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 955 Never fumigate trees for several months after they have been sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, as, if they are so treated, all the leaves will fall off, many of the smaller twigs, and occasionally the top part of the tree, will be kalled. If it is desired to spray citrus trees with Bordeaux mixture for any of the different fungous diseases which attack them occasionally, it would be well, wherever the trees require fumigation, to treat the trees for the scale pests first (if fumigation is to be practised), after which they may be sprayed as many times as is necessary, without fear of damaging them—that is provided they are in a good healthy condition. Fruit-ly.—In districts where the fruit-fly has been troublesome in previous seasons, particular care should be taken to pick up and destroy all fallen and fly-infested fruits, and boil them, in order to ensure the destruction of all larvee which may be contained therein. Set kerosene traps as soon as the fly appears. At present these are the only sure ways known of helping to keep down this pest, and I would urge upon growers the importance of doing their best in this respect. Codling Moth.—Every care should be taken to destroy the codling moth, which makes its appearance about the time the apple-trees finish blooming, lays its eggs on the young fruit,and leaves, and after hatching works its way into the apple, and within a few weeks emerges and lowers itself down to the ground by a silken thread, and immediately seeks shelter by crawling up the tree and getting into any crack or underneath any old loose bark, either on the tree, or props, or any loose rabbish which will provide a hiding place. The orchard should, therefore, be kept free of such rubbish, and all trees bandaged at a height of about 10 inches from the ground. The grubs will harbour in the bandages, which should therefore be removed every ten days and all grubs killed. Pick up and destroy all fallen fruit. Continue spraying with arsenate of lead or arsenite of soda. A Inspectors have now been appointed in different parts of the country, with instructions to see that all growers are using every reasonable precaution to keep the codling moth and fruit-fly in check ; but we hope that by this time every grower is convinced that it is to his own interest to co-operate with his neighbours in using every means to stamp out these pests, and I feel sure that if they will work with a will the fruit industry will soon be in a much better position than it has been in the past. Dishudding.—See that all superfluous growth is removed from the roots and trunks of all trees and vines, so that the new growth will be confined to the development of limbs and canes which have been selected to form the main arms and branches of such tree or vine. It is regrettable to see suckers growing from the roots of many trees and vines which could, with a very little trouble, have been removed, when such misguided energy? would have gone towards the development of the tops of such plants. 956 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. (Vow. 2 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHOWS. SECRETARIES are invited to forward for insertion in this page dates of their forthcoming shows ; these should reach the Sub-Editor, De ‘partment of Agri- culture, Sydney, not later than the 21st of the Petite previous to issue. Alteration of dates should be notified at once. Society, i 9 8 0 Secretary Date. Lismore A. and I. Society snd tic sine ... T. M. Hewitt . Nov. 11, 12, 13 Berry Agricultural Association... ack vee ... A. J. Colley 57) 24s 2Oe 26, D7 1909: Dapto A. and H. Society G. A. McPhail ... Jan 13, 14 Kiama A. Association. -: fee SAG 7 Ke RR. Somerville... ,55-26; 271 Alstonville A. Society .. se ... W. W. Monaghan Feb. 3, 4 Wollongong A., H., and L. Asavc iation ay ... H. We Philpotts.-4)95,, 4;.0516 Moruya. A. and P. Society see ... John Jeffery Oval Shoalhaven A. and H. Associ: tion, Nowra Henry R auch LON Guyra P , A., and H. Association Bad me a) UC all7/ Kangaroo Valley Sa eH en Williams bay SeeL9 Manning River ‘A. and H. “Association, ‘Taree. . S. Whitehead Ap eh D4) Gunning P., A., and I. Society W. T. Plumb ya AS Nambucca A. and H, Association, Macksville .. M. Wallace Sa np eR AG Tenterfield P., A., and M. ... EF. W. Hoskins ... Mar. 2 to 6 Bega A., P., and H. Society : Me A, Ziiegel 55 By a! Bellinger River A. Association . re Ss. Hindmarsh. Ae is et sy Nepean District A., H , and I. Socie ty, Penrith —... ae J. Smith 3 4D Berrima District A., H., and I. Society, Moss Vale... I. Cullen ... vue psn “Se OO Molong P. and A. Association see sits ... Charles E. Archer ,, 10 Campbelltow n Agricultural Association ... Fred Sheather ee OM Tumbarumba and Upper Murray P. and A. Society... E. W. Figures ye Ose lal 3owraville A. Association : tes ; ... C. Moseley 3 LN 2 Crookwell A., P., aud H. Society . M. P. Levy he Gloucester Show oe Newcastle A., H., and 1b “Society Gulgong A. and P. Association.. Inverell P. and A. Association... Camden A., H., and I. Society Cobargo A., P., and H. Society ... Edward Rye i 566 Op Ne ae Soo. ts ds (Hore 56 ... J. Mellveen , ... C, A. Thompson ... . T. Kennelly Blayney A. and P. Association .. : . EK. J. Dann en 23594 Hunter River A. and H. Association soe (On dieelals Guar, 59. 20, oes LO Yass P. and Re ‘Association ... Will Thomson DASE Oc) Macleay A., H., and I. Association j ee Weeks .. Syn eel Dass AGS Warialda P. and A, Association Rae B. Geddes yy 2 2451205,26: Mudgee A. Society ee x 7 Lamerton BH aE sy OAs} Clarence P. and A. Society, Grafton oe ... -. Lf. Bawden 3 ds 25596 Gundagai P. and A. Society : ... A. Elworthy oso Murrumburrah P., A., and I. Association . J. A. Foley a Seo Cooma P. and A, Association C. J: Walmsley .... ;,; 31, Upper Hunter P. and A, Assoc., Muswellbrook Bathurst A.,.H., and P. Association . J. M. Campbell .., G. WW. Thompson.. be n=} ~ bo Apl. 1, 2 Mar. 31 Apl. 1, 2 Royal Agricultural Society, Sydney . H. M. Somer . Apl. 6 to 14 Orange ne and P. Association eo \Veulanner he date, goer 2iaeos Durham A, and H. Association, Dungog wh a K. Grant . May 5, 6 Central Australian P. and A. Association, Bourke aoe W. Tull vee * ype LOT20 Forbes P., A., and H. Association yy A. Read . Aug. 18, 19 Murrumbidgee P. and A. Association, W agga LW agga A. F. D. W Hite: . ae Grenfell P., A., and H. Association [l Pte jj . Geo. Cousins 15 24,25, 26 eel Sept. 1 Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. Vol, XIX part 12. ce a ~ i 4 4 a | rs Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by Post as a Newspaper. Price SIXPENCE. go MTS ey Ys Ny) SE ep i we Supplement to “Agricultural Gazette,” December 2, 1908. NOLICE. The terms of subscription to the Agricultural Gazette are— Per annum, . = 8. da ; Within the Commonwealth of Australia (post free) 5 0 New Zealand and Fiji (by post)... as tie 256 British New Guinea 5 se He Se AiG All other places 3 oe eae o.0k GauO The Gazette will not be sent free to any person or place except to Public Libraries, Schools of Art, Exchanges, and Newspapers. For your convenience an Order Form is attached. i ' ! t ' 1 1 1 ‘ 1 1 ! 1 t I 1 ! 1 i i 1 1 1 t I I I i 1 i] I i] b t t i] 1 1 t t 1 t ! t 1 ! 1 t { t 1 1 R i v 1 6 4 4 kg a ORDER FORM. ito To the Government Printer, Sydney. ee fei * . fy jj ‘ So wh ee > EE mee For ane enclosed 2a ie eS _.____please forward me the s Agricultural Gazette, postage included, fVOM .....-.-..-----cee--n--------» 1908, 3 for one year. : Mi SuUSEICIION 16 Go se ae ee 4 Name. SENSE 21 Saeko an 2 ¢ PLEASE 4 Write | ici Algrase es es eee ee ane ® State amount according to the above rates. Remit by Postal Note, Money Order, or Duty Stamps. POSTAGE STAMPS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Ma hy pn Ae 18 c Ete? MBAS sipelcaten tener aren wwewomeuvceeecaa *32114 Ate ah cia i eae ps sto iinet sy A # t * rae 4 tape Vol. XIX: Part 12. DECEMBER 2, 1908. peo OULTURAE CoE Zieh OS OF ME SOULE WALES: Issued by Direction of Peano, JOIN PERRY, MP, MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE. E. HARRIS, Aeting Sub-Editor. PJ ~ nie e Hv Authority: SyDNEY: W. A. GULLICK, GOVERNMENT FRINTER eS 1908. “32114 (a) II Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. Registered under the Copyright Act, 1879. It is hereby notified that all matter contained in the Agricultural Gazette of Mew South GHales is protected by copyright. Newspapers desirous of republishing any articles may do so, and are merely required to make the usual acknowledgment. Contributions are only accepted upon the terms that the Government may subse- quently publish the same tn separate pamphlet form or otherwise. 4th June, 1894. Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. CONTENTS. ForESTRY— Some Practical Notes on Forestry suitable for New South Wales J. H. Maiden Tue Type AND CoLour or THE Mopern JERSEY M. A. O'Callaghan EXPERIMENTAL T'esT oF TREATMENTS FOR WoRMS IN SHEEP AT GLEN InneES EXPERIMENT FARM Datry SCIENCE ScHooL At BERRY Notes ON VARIETIES OF FRUIT GROWN AT VARIOUS DEPARTMENTAL ORCHARDS ae os i ye =k ee Werden GRASSHOPPERS UseFuL Farm IMPLEMENTS oe a ot A. H. Haywood UseruL AustraLIAN Puiants (Sporobolus pulchellus)... J. H. Maiden Tue ComPosITION OF GREEN MAIZE AND OF THE SILAGE PRODUCED THEREFROM .... ee abe H. E. Annett and E. J. Russell THE CHEMICAL CHANGES TAKING PLACE DURING THE ENSILAGE OF MAIZE aS ae ut a Bas ead erussell ‘‘ WonDER WHEAT”: AN AMERICAN WHEAT STorY ... PrersonaL: Mr. F. G. CHOMLEY ... THE AMERICAN APPLE INDUSTRY aa a ... G. Bradshaw AnotHeR Bap Weep For New SoutH Watrs—-‘‘SpoTrTepD GOLDEN THISTLE ” ee ae) ns iy op _.. J. H. Maiden THRIPS es is ad a me ee W. W. Froggatt THe Encusa RoyaL HorticutturRAL Sociery’s EXAMINATIONS IN HorricuLTURE PAGE, 981 QR5 986 1007 1008 1010 1011 1019 1027 1027 L028 1029 1030 1031 IV Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. PAGE. A Liqguip Manure For TOMATOES — sae ae ae .. 1032 THe Preservative Action oF Bortc Actp IN Burrer mite sae L033 HAWKESBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE— Monthly Weather Report... ae ty: W. Mervyn Carne 1035 WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING OCTOBER, 1908 ... es S. Wilson 1036 ORCHARD NOTES ... ie ee A mn ... W.J. Allen 1040 Farm Nores— Hawkesbury District of me fe 3 SEW, Potts: 1042 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES SHOWS a ie: Ree eee ee O44 ADVERTISEMENTS— Dairy Bull for sale. Government Stud Bulls available for service at State Farms, or for lease. Pure-bred Pigs for sale. Xams, Boars, and Sows for sale. Teosinte Seed for sale. Cuttings of Indian Cane for sale. VoL. XIX. PNR tue DECEMBER 2, 1908. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. Forestry. SoME PracticaL Nores oN FORESTRY SUITABLE FOR NEW SoutH WALES. [Continued from page 796. ] J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, XIX—continued. Trees other than Conifers and Palms: The Figs (Ficus). Moracee. WE now come to the genus /icus or Fig, so called from the best known species ot the genus Ficus Carica, the edible Fig, The Port Jackson Fig (/icws rubiginosa), is illustrated and described in Parts i and xx of my “ Forest Flora of New South Wales,” in which work will appear all the New South Wales ones in due course, Many of the Figs have fruits which are eaten by birds and animals, and a few by human beings. Some of them contain caoutchouc (india-rubber) in their sap. Speaking generally, this substance is a tropical product, and the most likely portion of New South Wales for success with rubber- producing species is the north-eastern corner (Clarence to Tweed), but experimental work in this direction in New South Wales is only in its infancy at present. Figs are very useful trees for the warmer parts of this State, as a number of them flourish in the poorest soil, and are so tenacious of life that they may be hacked into shape with impunity. They, indeed, as a class, stand bad treatment to an extent which is fatal to the majority of trees. Many of them are hemi-epiphytes, that is to say, they spend at least a portion of their existence on or embracing other plants, not, however, penetrating their tissues as parasites do. Figs are propagated readily enough from seed when one can get it good. For example, it is easy enough to propagate /. macrophylla in that way ; F. rubiginosa (Port Jackson Vig) is rather uncertain, and /. Cunninghamii is very uncertain. F. Bennettii produces fruit every year in Sydney, but not a single seed in it has been seen so far. Figs in general are propagated from layers and cuttings, but to make a success of the work requires the technical skill and appliances of the nurseryman. I am specially indebted to Mr. George Harwood, Superintendent, Botanic Gardens, Sydney, for valuable information in regard to some of the Figs A 958 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. referred to in this paper. Indeed, I am often under special obligations to Mr. Harwood for the results of his long local experience in regard to the cultivation of exotic trees. 1. F. bengalensis, L. (syn. ’. indica, Roxb.) The celebrated ‘‘ Banyan tree” of India. See tt. 13 and &le. of vol. i, King’s Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. Native of Tropical Asia. . Sydney is just a little cold for it, although in the Botanic Gardens we have had a fair specimen for many years. People used to injure its aerial roots, soa few years ago I caused the ground a few yards from the stem to be enclosed with barbed wire. I am hopeful to make the tree form an arch over a pathway. It should do well on the Northern rivers. he ne 1. Ficus bengalensis, L. ( F. indica, Roxb.). Botanic Gardens, Sydney. It is one of the so-called “Strangling Figs,’ that is to say, it starts life on another tree, the seed being dropped on it by a bird. It grows, and finally envelops the original plant. Such Figs, of which our Port Jackson Fig is one, are said to be hemi-epiphytal. An interesting account of the celebrated Banyan tree of the Calcutta Botanic Garden will be found in Hooker’s “ Himalayan Journals,” i, 246 ; it originally sprouted on a Date Palm. Those who desire to pursue the subject of Strangling Figs further, may turn to Dr. Wilham Trelease’s paper on the subject in the 16th Annual Report of the Missouri Botanic Garden, p. 161. For an excellent account of #. bengalensis, see Gamble’s ‘ Manual of Indian Timbers,” 1902 edition, p. 638. L 17. See photo. of a specimen, Sydney Botanic Gardens. Dec. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 959 2. F. Benjamina, L. “ Weeping Fig”; ‘‘ Warringin” of the Malays. See tt. 52 and 83h of vol. i of King’s Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. One of the most beautiful of all species. Its branchlets have a graceful drooping habit. It is a native of Tropical Asia, including Malaysia (King says it is truly indigenous only in Timor, Sumatra, and Celebes), and is hence just a little tender in Sydney ; but on the Northern rivers it should flourish. In a sheltered situation in the Sydney Botanic Gardens it does sufficiently well to show how beautiful an object it would be under tropical conditions. 2. Ficus Benjamina, L. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Our tree has had to be cut back owing to theexigencies of space, and contemplation of many beautiful Figs in this garden which have had to be so treated makes one regret very much that there is in Sydney no area sufficiently large for a proper arboretum, where trees could live their lives with a minimum of interference. Hundreds of acres would be required. L 23 a. See photo. of a specimen in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. 3. F. Bennettii, Seem. “Dr. Bennett’s Fig.” Following is Seemann’s original description of this specially handsome species, whose original habitat is even yet a matter of surmise. The present plate and the description are furnished in the hope that we may be able to trace it. 960 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. I’, Bennettii (n. sp.) Seem. mss. in Herb. Mus. Brit. ; arborea; ramulis petiolis pedunculisque pubescentibus ; foliis alternis ovato-oblongis acuminatis basi cordatis, margine integerrimo undulato, glabris penninerviis, venis primariis utrinque 10-12, subtus prope axillas glanduliferis ; receptaculis axillaribus solitariis (an semper ”) pedunculatis globosis pedunculisque velutinis ; pedunculis medio 3-bracteatis ; bracteis ovatis obtusiusculis,—Viti, exact locality not specified (according to specimens cultivated at the Botanic Gardens, Sydney). I have named this fine species, which is allied to /. Gragatum, Forst., F. Moorei, Seem., EF. habrophylla, G. Bennett, and F. Tanensis, G. Bennett, in honor of my esteemed friend Dr. George Beunett, F.L.S., of Sydney, author of several well-known works on Polynesia. Branchlets stout. Leaves coriaceous, from 8-10 inches long and 4-6 inches broad. Petiole, 1 inch long. Peduncle, 10-12 lines long. Receptacle, 14 inch in diameter. (/7. Vitrensis, p. 250.) Mr. W. R. Guilfoyle, Director of the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, who made extensive travels in the Pacitic Islands, informs me that both this 3. Ficus Bennettii, Seem. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. species and that named P. pandurijyorme by W. Sharp Macleay, of Sydney, were first obtained by his father, the late Mr. M. Guilfoyle, of Sydney, trom Mrs. Geddie (wife of the Rev. Dr. Geddie), of Aneityum, New Hebrides, brought by a schooner to that island (of which it is not a native), and no one knows the original island to this day. The name Aennettii was originally applied to this Ficus by Mr. M. Guilfoyle, and adopted by Dr. Seemann. OS 4ikb, 1th. 23-9 sec photo. 4. F. brasiliensis, Linkl. A medium-sized, shapely tree, with rather a spreading habit. It does well with us. We have to cut it back each year to keep it in bounds. One of the numerous large-leaved Figs, with entire margins. It is semi-deciduous, and grows very dense in summer. L 5. Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 961 ” 5. Ff. capensis, Thunb. ‘‘Cape Fig.’ “ A good-sized tree, indigenous in the warm lower forests at Knysna andthe Amatolas. In tropical countries various species of Figs are commonly employed for roadside planting. They succeed better than most trees on dry, stony ground, and afford an ample and dense shade. They are propagated by simply planting a stake in the ground, watering, and protecting by a mud wall or otherwise. When once rooted they are able to withstand the most intense drought and heat. In a nursery, Fig trees are raised easily from layers and cuttings; with ditticulty from seed” (Hutchins, Capetown), 7.e., (J.H.M.) the difficulty is to get good seed. 6. Ficus Chauvieri, Hort. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. This Fig does not appear to be in New South Wales, and I am endeavouring to introduce it 6. F. Chauvieri, Hort. I cannot ascertain its botanical origin ; it seems to be related to F. bengalensis. It is a handsome, broad-leaved species, which does well in places, even in exposed situations. The two specimens that we have, have had to be cut back owing to the requirements of the Garden, otherwise they would have formed large trees. L 5,17. See photo, 962 Agricultural Gazette of N.S TV. [ Dec. 2, 1908. 7. Ff. columnaris, Moore and Mueller. The ‘* Banyan” of Lord Howe Island. The aerial roots of this tree ultimately touch the ground and form thick trunks. Some of them each cover 2 acres and more, Banyans can readily be. noted, on the island, even at a considerable dis- tance, amidst the surrounding arboreal vegetation, by the brown appearance of their foliage, which gives them the look of fading or dying trees. This species reminds one of /. macrophylla a good deal. Cattle eat Banyan leaves, and they are reputed to be good for dairy cows. See also /. macrophylla. Its habit causes it to furnish an excellent shade tree. L. 18. See photo, of specimen in Sydney Botanic Gardens. 7. Ficus columnaris, Moore and Mueller. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. 8. FF. Cunninghamii, Mig. “Cunvingham’s Fig.” This is a native of coastal Queensland, not occurring indigenously further south than 28° 8. “Beni” of the aborigines, according to Roth, who says that the natives of the Pennefather and Batavia Rivers make a reddish twine for dilly-bags from the dried inner bark of the roots. [t is a Fig which accommodates itself to the lower temperatures of coastal New South Wales admirably, and, although deciduous in most winters in Sydney, it flourishes admirably as far south, and it is an excellent addition to our ornamental trees. Indeed, in our climate, where the vast preponderance of trees is evergreen, a good deciduous tree is, in my view, a decided acquisition, Tole s5 0-20 bee see photo. of specimen in Government Domain. 9. F. cydoniefolia, Hort. A small tree, of erect habit, absolutely deciduous with us, and one of very few species so deciduous in the Sydney climate. Its Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultu. al Gazette of N.S.W. 963 leaves remind one ot those of the Quince, hence the specific name, which, however, I cannot trace. The origin of many Figs now under cultivation is exceedingly perplexing, and, as opportunities offer, I may draw attention to them from time to time. M .25: 10. F. elastica, Roxb. ‘ India-Rubber Tree.” Native of Tropical Asia. The sap yields some of the India-Rubber of commerce, “See t. 54 of Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. In my view this is the india-rubber producing tree most likely to be com- mercially successful in eastern New South Wales. From the photograph of 8. Ficus Cunninghamii, Miq. Government Domain, Sydney. the Botanic Gardens’ tree it will be seen that it will grow in Sydney, but it does not grow rampantly as an India-rubber tree should, and therefore it is only recommended for our warmer Northern rivers. In its native countries it is a gigantic tree, and is usually epiphytic. When we read of the very great size and abundance of this tree in the Indian Empire, and realise the fact that there isan enormous amount of native labour available, skilled in rubber getting, we see that the competition of New South Wales in the world’s markets (and even Australian) for rubber is exceedingly difficult. For an account of the cultivation of this tree and the extraction of rubber from it, with practical details, see Gamble, op. c7t., p. 641. L 21 ¢, 35. See photo. of specimen in Garden Palace Grounds. 964. Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. 11. F. gibbosa, Blume, Native of the East Indies. FF. cuneata, Migq., from the Philippines is a synonym. See t. 2, and vol, i of Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta, This is one of the trees which, in its native home, is epiphytic. Gamble (* Manual of Indian Timbers,” 1902 edition, p. 637) has the following interesting note concerning it. J It is curious that King should write of this species as a ‘‘ tree” and his statement is followed by the Fl. Br. Ind. Bedomme also calls it a tree, Brandis a large tree or epiphyte y pI oOo > 10. Ficus elastica, Roxb. Garden Palace Grounds, Sydney. and the ‘* Ceylon Flora” ‘‘ an epiphyte in a young state, finally a tree.” I have myself seen it growing in various parts of India, but never that I can remember as anything but a large epiphytic shrub, preferring to grow on other figs such as the pipal and banyan, or on walls or well-sides, and giving out a multitude of interlacing aerial roots. Talbot seems to share my experience. It is, however, strange that Roxburgh who lived long in the Circars, whereit is common, writes of it asa tree, and mentions a beautiful specimen at Ganjam. Its broad rhomboid scabrous leaves are characteristic. The leaves are used to polish ivory (Roxb.), and are given to cattle, being supposed to increase the flow of milk. This is a very variable species, and Sir George King recognises the typical form and three varieties. Our plant seems not to be different from the typical form ; its leaves are not scabrous like those of Mr. Gamble’s tree. Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 965 In the Garden Palace Grounds our plant is a sturdy tree of medium height, and nearly deciduous in winter in the very exposed situation in which it is. It is symmetrical, and very umbrageous in the summer. Certainly a valuable tree for park conditions. Leaves quite smooth and shining, almost ovate (no apex), and on the average, say, 4 inches long by 24 inches wide. Texture thin. U2kand4ce; L35c¢. See photo. of a specimen in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. 11. Ficus gibbosa, Blume. Botanic Gardens, Sydney, 12. F. glabella, Blume. This is a tree which, in the Sydney and Melbourne g ) ) h a) Botanic Gardens, has passed under more than one alias. It was labelled fF. lucida and also F. rubiginosa, var. lucida, Sir George King determined our plant to be /. glabella. F. glabella, Blume, is synonymous with /. nesophila, Miq., or, more correctly, it should be referred to as F. nesophila, F.v.M. (ex Mig. Ann. Mus. Lugd, Bat.). It is a noble evergreen Fig-tree, which is thoroughly at home in Sydney, It is umbrageous, hardy, handsome, and remarkably free from disease, L26. Photo. of specimen in Sydney Botanic Gardens. 966 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. 13 F. glomerata, Roxb. (syn. F. vesca, F.v.M.). “ Clustered Fig.” See t. 218, voL i, Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. “Clustered Fig,” or ‘ Leichhardt’s Clustered Fig”; “ Parpa” of the aborigines according to Thozet. The fruit is called “ Mu-char” by the aborigines at Cooktown (Dr. Roth). This isa large deciduous tree, native of the East Indies, and also of Queensland and Northern Australia. 2a ae ee RNS 12. Ficus glabella, Blume. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. In the Sydney district it is a small tree, and remarkable to us because of the position of the fruits, which are directly produced on the stem. They are often seen just above the ground. This phenomenon of the occurrence of flowers (and therefore fruits) on the trunks of: trees (in some kinds of trees they may be on the branches also), is technically called ‘ caulitlory.” Gamble, speaking of India, says: “The large fruits appear on the trunk and branches, are produced in profusion, red when ripe and edible, but usually too full of insects.” Dee, 2, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 967 As regards Australian trees, I wrote some years ago that the fruit, which is of a light red colour when ripe, hangs in clusters along the trunk and on some of the highest branches, and is used as food by the aborigines. Mr, C. Hedley (Proc. RS. Qd., v) mentions that the Port Curtis blacks feed on them, and at the same time states that the settlers make excellent jelly of them. Palmer makes a similar observation. Perhaps this Fig is referred to in the following passage, written about 1770 :-—“ To the northward we had a kind of very indifferent fig (Fieus caudiciflora), growing from the stalk of a tree.”—(Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, p. 299.) This was confirmed in the Journal of Botany, 1901, p. 4. The ripe fruit is eaten, and is good either raw or stewed (Gamble). Brandis, however, says : “In times of scarcity the unripe fruit is pounded, mixed with flour, and made into cakes.” This tree possesses an astringent bark ; this, as well as the fruit, which is considered to have similar properties, is prescribed in hematuria, menorrhagia, and hemoptysis. The dose is about 200 grains. The fruit, filled with sugar, is considered to be very cooling, and the small, blister-like galls which are common on the leaves, soaked in milk and mixed with honey, are given to prevent pitting in smallpox. Ainslie tells us that ‘* from the root of the tree, which in Tamil is called Attievayr, there exudes, on its being cut, a fluid which is caught in earthen pots, and which the Vytians consider a powerful tonic when drunk for several days together.” In Bombay the sap is a popular remedy, which is locally applied to mumps and other inflammatory glandular enlargements, and is used in gonorrhea. (Dymock, Materia Medica of Western India.) The leaves are used in India for cattle and elephant fodder (Gamble). Bird-lime is made in India of the milky juice of this tree. The timber, like that of Figs in general, is of little value ; but the tree, from the way in which the fruit grows, is one of the most interesting of trees to many people, and is therefore worthy of a place in the garden of a lover of trees. Tne: 14. F. habrophylla, G. Bennett. Native of the New Hebrides. See Bennett’s “Gatherings of a Naturalist,” p. 341. Nomen nudumthen, but description furnished by Seemann, /7/. Vitiensis, p. 246. F. habrophylla, G. Bennett, op. cit. ; arborea ; ramulis, petiolis receptaculisque velutino-pubescentibus ; foliis alternis obovato—oblongis integerrimis attenuatis basi cordatis penninerviis, venis primariis utrinque 15-17, glabris ; receptaculis axillaribus geminis pedunculatis obovato-obtusis pedunculo medio articulato 3-bracteato, bracteis ovatis acutis.—Tana, New Hebrides. Cultivated in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, New South Wales. Branchlets stout. Largest leaves from 12-15 inches long and from 6-8 inches broad. Receptacles as large as those of the ordinary garden Fig. This is the tree probably referred to by Mr. Guilfoyle (see F. Bennettit) as having been named F. panduriforme by the late W. Sharp Macleay, and distributed under that name. It is of the F. Bennettii character, but less umbrageous. The leaves are exceedingly large in a young state, and are softer than those of F. Tanensis, and less bullate than in that species. The bases of the leaves are more or less cordate and the margins of the leaves are more or less toothed, which is accentuated towards the base. ‘The size of the leaves is now about I foot to 15 inches, and 5 inches wide. Formerly they were 2 feet long. M 17. (Amongst the Palms.) 968 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. [ Dec. 2, 1908. 15. F. Harland, Benth., China. See p. 115 and t. 148 of vol. i, Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta, Sir George King suspects that it may be only a form of F. fistulosa, Reinw. This has proved an admirable tree for the Sydney district, standing the sea-air well. It is hardy, shapely, and umbrageous. It is one of the few species that loses all its leaves for a short time. They are broadly-lanceolate, entire, smooth, and of the same colour on bother surfaces, say 5 inches long and half as wide, but rather variable as to size ; small-fruited. The tree can be readily trimmed to one trank, but naturally forms a dense growing umbrageous tree, with branches close to the ground. L 1, 17, 18, 22, 23. See photo. 15. Ficus Harlandi, Benth. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. 16. F. laurifolia, Lam. Tropical America, The tree in the Garden Palace Grounds is the largest specimen we haye. It is about 30 feet high, It does not form a single trunk, but a large agglomeration of several large: branches. It is well named laurel-leaved, and it has unusually long leat-stalks. It will certainly flourish in Sydney. It is just inside the Garden Palace grounds, to the left from the Marble Fountain in the Middle Garden. A second specimen is in the same border, 100 feet away. See photo. 17. F. macrophylla, Desf. ‘The Moreton Bay Fig.” This tree is thor- oughly well-known to people in the Sydney district. Dee. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 969 16. Ficus laurifolia, Lam. Garden Palace Grounds. To hear some people talk, all Moreton Bay Figs should be banished from the Sydney district, but it does not seem to be realised that it is one of the best trees ever introduced to Sydney. It will grow amongst rocks where scarcely anything else will grow, and it will stand being blown upon by fierce winds and being hacked about and otherwise ill-used. I admit that it can be put in the wrong place ; but a Moreton Bay Fig with plenty of room, so that it can live its life, is one of the most beautiful of trees, while its foliage and fruit are nutritious to stock, and its umbrageous head affords a grateful shade. 970 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. | Dec. 2, 1908.. [ have drawn attention (Agric. Gazette, 1893, p. 609; 1894, p. 206) to- the value of this tree to dairy farmers. The observations were original as regards Australia, though I afterwards found that leaves of other species of Ficus are used for feed in parts of India. Jearing in mind the way in which these and other native Figs flourish exceedingly in the poorest soil, that cattle devour the leaves and branchlets greedily, that they will submit to persistent hacking back to an extent which will kill most other trees, it seems a matter for consideration that these trees should always be planted for shade purposes on dairy farms and they should even be planted as a reserve of fodder in stony, sterile places where no grass will grow. L 15 ¢, 18, 34. See photo. 17. Ficus macrophylla, Desf. 3otanie Gardens, Sydney. L8. F#. Moorer, Seemann. This species seems to have disappeared from the Sydney Botanic Gardens, and I republish the original description in order that it may be recovered, as it is probably in Sydney. PF. Moorei (n. sp.), Seem. mss. in Herb. Mus. Brit.; arborea ; ramulis pilosulis demum glabris; foliis alternis petiolatis ovatu-oblongis acuminatis basi subcordatis, margine integerrimo undulato, glabris penninerviis, nervis primariis 7-13 (costaque in stirp. junior. purpureis) ; receptaculis axillaribus geminis pedunculatis obovatis glabris, pedunculo medio incrassato 3-bracteato, bracteis ovatis obtusiusculis.—/. sanguwiner- vium, Hort. I. Cooperi, Hort. ex Regel, Index Semin. Hort. Petropolit, 1866, Dec. 25.1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. O71. p-89 (?).—Samoan Islands (according to the records of the Sydney Botanic Gardens). Branchlets stout. Petiole 15-2 inches long. Blade of leaf from 10-12 inches long, and from 44-5 inches broad. Peduncle about 4 as long as the petiole. Receptacle 6 lines in diameter. I have named this species in honor of my esteemed friend, Mr. Charles Moore, Director of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Dr. Bennett writes,—‘‘The plant is sold here at Sydney under the name of /. sanguinervium, from the midrib and primary veins being of a purplish colour, but as this peculiarity is only seen in very young specimens, and disappears as the plant grows older, it would be an objectionable specitic name.” I atm almost sure that /’. Cooperi of our gardens, lately described by my friend Dr. Regel in the Seed Catalogue of the Petersburg Garden, must also be referred here as a synonym. Dr. Regel was good enough to send me a leaf, which agrees tolerably well with those of the specimens from the Sydney Gardens. (Seemann, fora Vitiensis, p. 249.) 19. F. natalense, Hochst. ‘‘ Natal Fig.” According to Mr. Hutchins, late Chief Conservator of Forests, Cape Colony, this is a handsome tree, affording a dense shade, that has been success- fully planted in the streets of Capetown. It resists the south-easters well. a ‘ oy Gh 3 ml 87 fs & iy. ge on ? a tas : ‘ it Ast ie ¢ Got prea ye 20. Ficus nymphefolia, Mill Botanic Gardens, Sydney. 972 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [Dec. 2, 1908. So far as I know, this tree has not been introduced into Australia, though steps are being taken to rectify the omission. 20. KF. nymphefolia, Mill. ‘Tropical America. A. broad, large-leaved, shade-giving, large, prominently veined species. — It is a handsome plant, and distinct species. It would be a very large tree even in the Sydney district, were it not that exigeneies ot space require it to be cut every year. M8. See photo, 21. F. panduriforme, Macleay. (See fF. Lennettii, above.) T am anxious to recover this Fig for the national collection ; it is probably somewhere in Sydney. The following species have somewhat similar names :— Pandurefolia, Hort. Par. ex Mig. in Hook. Lond, Journ. Bot., vi (1847), 546—hirsuta ( Brazil). Pandureformis, Mig. Ann, Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. ii, 299—=heterophylla (Tropical Asia), but we do not appear to have either at present. See also Ficus sp. (below). 22, F. Parcelli, Veitch, Veitch’s Cat. of Pl,, 1874, p. 17; figs. pp. 8 and 9 It is figured in Flores des Serres, xx, 13 (1877). A handsome stove plant received through Messrs. Baptist and Sons, of Sydney, whose collector, Mr. Parcell, discovered it in the South Sea Islands. The leaves are handsome, as large as those of Hicus elastica but thinner in texture, and profusely blotched with irregular patches of cream-white (our plant shows patches of purple, in addition. —J.H.M.) on a green ground; itis still in use as a stove decorative plant.—(Hortus Veitch’, 1906, p. 260.) The above is written for English readers. In Sydney it forms a small tree, though tender, The coloured variegation of the leaves and fruits is very pretty. It is a very desirable ornamental tree for the Northern rivers. The reference to F. elastica may be perfectly true as regards plants under glass, but not of plants growing in the open air in Sydney. It is a totally distinct class to #. elastica, with which it should not be compared. F. Parcelli is soft leaved. We have a tree from the Admiralty Islands, either a distinct form or pro- bably conspecific with F, Parcelli. The foliage is greener and it has rather larger leaves than those of F, Parcelli. Our tree is younger than our speci- men of FL Parcelli, but the leaves are much larger at present (perhaps because of its youth, as the leaves of Figs are yery commonly larger in the case of young trees), though leaves of #. Parcelli have, exceptionally, been seen as large. L 5, 23. F. parietalis, Bl. (Syn. F. acuminata, Bot, Mag. t. 3282, non Roxb.) See also Plate 8 of King’s Monograph, vol. i, Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. Native of the Malayan Peninsula and Archipelago. With us a small, bushy tree, with small, nearly ovate leaves, drawn out to along point. Leaves dark green above, pale green below ; veins very prominent underneath ; the leaves underneath are rough. The fruit is bright yellow. L 6a. Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 973 24. F.religiosa, L. ‘ Peepul” or “Pipal.” The “Sacred Fig Tree sof India and Ceylon. See tt. 67a and 84 of vol. i, dan. Bot, Gard., Calcutta, The sacred “Bo” tree at Anuradhapura, in Ceylon, which was brought from North India and planted in 288 B.c., is probably the oldest, or nearly the oldest tree in the world, historically known. (Emerson-Tennant, “Ceylon,” ii, 613, quoted by Gamble.) The sacred tree at Budh Gya, under which Gautama Buddha sat, is only now represented by a successor, .3 24. Ficus relig’osa, L. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Gamble describes this Fig as usually epiphytic, bat without aerial rocts. It is one of the best known of Indian trees, it is commonly planted in villages, and held sacred both by Hindus and Buddhists. By Hindus the cutting of a Pipal tree is looked upon as a great sin, so that it is rarely felled, and though it is very destructive to forest trees it is difficult to get it cut. B 974 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. | Dee. 2, 1908. It is, however, largely lopped for cattle, elephant, and camel fodder, but chiefly by Muhammedan attendants. Gamble states that it (like #. bengalensis) is sometimes found enveloping the Date Palm, as in the Saharanpur Botanic Garden. The Pipal does remarkably well in the Sydney district. It is a deciduous tree, readily recognised by its long, acuminate, graceful leaves. It is well worthy of cultivation in Eastern Australia. U4e; M3; L4,15¢, 19, 25, 29. See photo. of (tree not in full foliage). Pie ee eee ® 4 “AA da bi rid (n, hee yb | BUENAS ARIUS tithe C.. 25. Ficus rhododendrifolia, Miq. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. 25. EF. rhododendrifolia, Miq. Native of the base of the Sikkim and Bhutan Himalaya and Khasi and Pegu Hills, India. See tt. 58 and 83m (for details) of vol. 1, Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. One of the most beautiful of all Figs for the Sydney district. _Pendulous in habit, and very dense foliaged. With us a small tree; but in warmer places with better soil, there is no doubt it will become a large tree. Leaves Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 975 entire lanceolate-acuminate, shiny above, dull underneath, 6 inches long with under 2 inches broad is a common size. L 18 ¢, 22 f. See photo. 26. F. Roxburghii, Wall. Himalaya and Burma. See t. 211 (also frontispiece), vol. 1, dan. Bot. Gard., Calcutta, A moderate-sized tree in India, A fine species, with large heart-shaped leaves, and conspicuous masses of large figs growing on the trunk. The fruit is eaten, and is fairly good. The ieaves are used for fodder. (Gamble.) With us it is only a shrub; it has grown 6 or 8 feet high in Sydney, but like many of the tropical Figs its wood decays and the plant eventually perishes. In India it is one of the Asiatic species with largest leaves, and its large fruit is abundantly borne on the stem; the naming of our plant may be quite correct, for it is grown in unnatural conditions. The leaves of our plant are very dark coloured (reddish cast) when young, and distinct in that respect from any other Fig growing with us. M 30; L 32 b. 27. & Schlechteri, Warburg in Tropenpflanzer, vol. vil (1903), p. 582; figured on p. 583. A complete botanical description is given on page 582 in Latin and in German. For some years previously caoutchoue was imported to Sydney from New Caledonia and this caoutchoue was believed to come from a Banyan Ficus, supposed to be Ficus prolixea, Forst, From the material collected by Schlechter this is found to be an error; the source of the caoutchoue is the tree described as F’. Schlechteri. The tree is closely allied to Ficus retusa, L. var. witida, the common Banyan tree, and has entirely its babit, but while the caoutchouc of the Banyan tree is worthless, the caout- choue of /. Schlechter is of excellent quality. The tree is found throughout the whole island of New Caledonia, on all kinds of soils, but always in single specimens. It is also a native of eastern South Asia. The price of its caoutchouc was, in November, 1900, 3s. 5d. per lb., and in Hamburg 3°65 marks per 5 kilo. Our larger tree in the Sydney Botanic Gardens is only 4 feet high at present, but it promises to do well in the Sydney district. Sydney people will most likely compare it with F. rubiginosa as regards its foliage, but both sides of the leaf are glabrous. 28. F. Tanensis, G. Bennett. New Hebrides. See Bennett’s “Gatherings of a Naturalist,” p. 341, Nomen audumthen ; but description furnished by Seemann’s, Tora Vitiensis, p. 248. F. Tanensis, G. Bennett, op. cit. ; arborea; ramulis petiolisque glabris ; foliis alternis petiolatis ovato-oblongis v. obovato-oblongis abrupto-acuminatis basi cordatis integer- rimis glabris penninerviis, venis primariis utrinque 8-10; receptaculis axillaribus geminis longiuscule pedunculatis globosis basi in pedunculum attenuatis puberulis demum glabratis, pedunculis puberulis basi 3-bracteatis, bracteis ovatis acutis.—Tana, New Hebrides. Cultivated in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, New South Wales. Branchlets stout. Leaves from 6-8 inches long, and from 3-4 inches broad. Peduncles as long as the petioles. Receptacle as large as a cherry. 976 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. With us a small tree, with large, broad, strongly-veined leaves. Sydney is undoubtedly too cool for its full development. It is alhed to F. Bennettii, which grows very much more vigorously with us. M 12. 7S te i Vogelit, Mig. Tropical Africa. a A small vigorous tree, with large entire smooth leaves, many of which are a foot long and 6 inches wide. Petiole long. The midrib and main lateral veins conspicuous. 80. Ficus sp. Botanic Gardens, Sydney, There is no doubt that, given good soil and plenty of shelter, this would become a large tree in the Sydney district. L, 33 ¢ (at the back of a large tree of Greviilea robusta). Following are some interesting trees in the Sydney Botanic Gardens, the specific names of which are uncertain at present. 30. Ficus sp. A noble tree with aerial roots. Leaves nearly ovate, blunt pointed, the average dimensions about 3 inches long by 2 wide, dark coloured, and very shiny above, paler below, veins not specially prominent except the midrib. Both surfaces quite smooth. Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. Dri We have no sturdier tree in the garden. It is exposed to the sea air Da and north-easters, and is obviously a grand species for this situation. 22 (near F). See photo. 31. Ficus sp. A small tree, yet the stem is a foot in diameter as it has been cut back many times owing to the exigencies of space. It is a native of the South Sea Islands, but like so many plants from that region in this garden, we haye no more definite locality for it. The leaves are lanceolate, with a blunt point, about 4 inches long and 2 wide, thinnish, both sides smooth, paler underneath, margin entire. Bears a profusion of small fruits, spotted in a young state L 8 (near the statue of ‘‘ Summer ”). 32. Ficus sp. We have a tree 10 feet high, and slender. Its leaves are now 15 inches long, with a maximum width of 3inches. Formerly they were at least 20 ches long, broader, and more panduriform (fiddle shaped) than they are now. The tree forms one of the interesting species of the garden. I cannot trace its origin at present. It has been variously labelled 7. panduriforme and F’. heterophylla, L. £. (which it is not). Compare note on /. panduriforme, Macleay, above, p. 972. NEIei 33. Ficus sp. This is another species I have not been able to trace. It was a present from Dr. (now Sir John) Hay, of Sydney, a well-knowa plant connoisseur. Its origin does not appear to be known, Our plant is about fifteen years old. It is planted ina warm border and is a slender tree, 12 feet high (it has been lopped), with striking (to us) lanceolate leaves up to 11 inches long by 2 broad; channelled above, entire, perfectly glabrous. L 5. 34. Ficus sp. Known in the Sydney Botanic Garden as the ‘“ White- barked Fig,” and raised from seed many years ago from a supposed /. rwbi- ginosa (it may not be F. rubiginosa at all) in the area now known as Cook Park. It has been very iargely distributed during the last few years by nursery- men and others. It is quite distinct from typical F. rubiginosa, the leaves being narrower, more lanceolate, and with no sign of rustiness. It more readily forms a handsome tree than the latter species. The fruits are small (apparently a little smaller than those of 7. ruwbiginosa) and yellow. Its habit is more pendulous than rubiginosa. There are three specimens in the Garden Palace Grounds, viz. :—One ad- joining the small fountain (with a basin) not far from the Domain ; a second 978 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dee. 2, 1908. a little north of the main flight of steps, and overlooking the bank ; the third on the lawn a little to the nor:h of the Governor Phillip fountain. See photo. \s % et Sah y bers ap SO Wa ae xe 34. Ficus sp. Botanic Gardens, Sydney. I desire to invite attention to the following species which, it would appear, should be introduced into New South Wales :— F. cordifolia, Blume. Native of Java. Gamble, “ Manual of Indian Timbers,” 1902 Edition, p. 64, refers to it. See also King’s remarks at p. 180 of vol. 1 of Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. F. lanceolata, Ham. Native of Burma. See t. 224 of vol. i of Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. F. quercifolia, Roxb. Native of the Malayan Peninsula. See t. 95 of vol. iof Ann. Bot. Gard., Calcutta. Dec. 2, 1908.] © Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 979 The Type and Colour of the Modern Jersey. M. A. O'CALLAGHAN. THE two illustrations given will serve as an interesting study for some of our Jersey breeders and judges. If either of these animals were exhibited in New South Wales, especially at country exhibitions, there is little doubt but that they would be passed over by the judge and classed as grade Jerseys owing tc the amount of white showing in their colour, and more especially owing to the positions in which the white patches are placed. As a rule we are accustomed to see any white patches confined to the flanks and underneath From “ Hoard’s Dairyinan.” Golden Ferns Sensation. Grand Champion Jersey Cow at National Dairy Show. Owned by A. B. Lewis, Virginia. portions of the body ; but here the streak of white, in one instance, extends right from underneath the forearm to the shoulder, while in the other there is a large patch of white on the shoulder, a large star on the forehead, and a considerable amount of white on the right thigh and flank. Yet these cows won first place in competitions of considerable consequence; the one was a Grand Champion in the Jersey Cow Class at the United States National Dairy Show, which was held in Virginia, while the other was First and Champion in the Jersey Cow Classes at the Oxford County Show, and is the property of that well-known breeder, Lord Rothschild. As a rule, one prefers to see whole coloured animals winning first piaces in Jersey classes ; but, if we bear 980 Agricultural Gazette of N.S IW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. in mind that only about 10 per cent. of the original cows placed in the first Jersey register, in the Island of Jersey, were without white markings, we will not be surprised when an animal of undoubted pedigree is presented bearing white marks. Do what we can to breed whole coloured animals, now and again our very best cows will throw back and give us calves showing a considerable amount of white. Types :-—The Enelish-bred cow “Sultana 24th” is a very good illustration of what we recognise as the vigorous or English-bred type of Jersey—an animal that is considerably stronger and more robust-looking than her island- bred sister. It is this robust type that we so much need in Australia, because we require the animals for use only. Their beauty is a very second- ary consideration to the dairy farmer. With him ‘ Handsome is as hand- Photo by F. Babbage. Jersey Cow, Sultana 24th. First and Champion at the Oxford County Show. The property of Lord Rothschild, Trigg Park, Herts. some does,” and the Jersey cow which does not yield a large quantity of butter fat has no beauty in his eyes, even though her head may be beautiful and her frame deerlike and handsome. The American cow illustrated is also the strongly constituted type—though carrying very little flesh at the time this photograph was taken. If judges of Jerseys at New South Wales Shows can be induced to place the dairy type as the first consideration—provided, of course, the animals are pure bred, —we shall have, in time, produced an animal fulfilling all the requirements of the modern dairy farmer. Dee. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 951 Experimental Test of Treatments for Worms in Sheep at Glen Innes Experiment Farm. Mr. R,. H. Gennys, Manager of the Experiment Farm, Glen Innes, having recommended that a certain proprietary drench for lung-worms in sheep be tested upon some infested sheep at the Farm, it was approved that the opportunity be embraced to carry out a series of experiments in connection with the various methods usually recommended for the treatment of lung- worms in sheep. In pursuance thereof Mr. Max Henry, M.R.C.V.S., Government Veterinary Surgeon, was instructed to proceed to Glen Innes and make necessary arrangements to carry out the work. Mr. Henry was directed to divide the number of sheep at the Farm into various lots, so that the following treatments might be tested in an equal manner, viz. :— Dosing with Proprietary Drench No. 1 and Proprietary Drench No 2; by intra-tracheal injections ; by fumigation ; and by feeding on artificial grasses. A certain number of the infested sheep were to be retained under ordinary natural conditions as ‘control animals.” Also one sheep from each lot was to be specially marked, in order that a record of its weight might be kept during the test. As the sheep were also found infested with stomach and intestinal worms, Mr. Henry extended his observations to the effects of the various treatments upon these parasites. A few days before the conclusion of the test, two drenches were dispensed in accordance with the Departmental formula for the arsenical drench, and were forwarded to the Manager of the Farm, to be given to two infested sheep that were not under treatment. An accident, however, occurred whilst drenching one of the sheep, and the animal died soon afterwards. This was unfortunate, as accidents of this kind very seldom occur, and the arsenical drench has been used so long and by such a large number of stock-owners that its efficiency in dislodging stomach worms cannot be questioned, and as a rule, sheep suffer no inconvenience from this treatment, providing the ingredients are mixed an] the drench administered in a proper manner, It is generally recognised that complete expulsion of worms infesting the lungs of sheep is difficult to accomplish by medicinal remedies, but the im- mediate result of the intra-tracheal injections and fumigation is the expulsion by coughing of a number of the parasites, and temporary relief afforded. One need only carefully open up the bronchial tubes of lungs badly infested with the thread worms and observe the tangled masses of myriads of these parasites occluding the lumen of the passages, to appreciate the fact that successful results are only obtainable by treatment prolonged and systematically applied. Probably the most effective treatment of all is the administration of the arsenical drench to destroy worms infesting the stomach, followed by a 982 Agricultural Gazette of N.S... [ Dec. 2, 1908. liberal allowance of nutritious food, and sulphate of iron and salt lick ad /ib. It is also most desirable that the preventive measures recommended in the Agricultural Gazette of October, 1900, should be applied, as far as practicable, as the accepted doctrine that “prevention is better than cure,” is well exemplified in connection with worms in sheep. Mr. Henry’s report, summarising the results of his observations at the recent experiment, is attached herewith, Next year it is proposed, should conditions be propitious for the purpose, to continue to carry out a further series or tests of the different methods of treatment in respect of these parasites. The assistance of stock-owners and persons interested in this work will be gladly availed of by this Department. JAS. De SLE WARE. MIRIGOVeSS Chief Inspector of Stock. Stock Branch, Department of Agriculture, 29th October, 1908. I nave the honor herewith to submit my report on the experiments recently carried out at Glen Innes on “ Lung-worm in Sheep ” These experiments were commenced on 19th September, 1908, at the Experi- ment Farm, Glen Innes, when forty-three sheep, got together by Mr. Gennys, the Manager, as being affe:ted with “lung worm,” were in one way or another, brought within the scope of the experiment. The sheep were mixed merinos and cross-breds, forty-two about 11 months and one about two years old, the property of the Experiment Farm and of Mr. Davidson, a neighbouring farmer, who very kindly provided them for experinental purposes. 992 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. ‘“S Kaisha” oe ... Making good growth ; good for fruit. ‘“Dundonald’+: 7.2 Se a Pe _ fair =f “ Montgamet” ... if : fair Py no a “Rivers Large Red”... ce good Me very fair ,, “California Royal ” i. very good,, no +s “Temple’s Moorpark” ... - Fy ace fair ‘Angoumois lata? “eos. = 2 no Fe “ Large Orange ” ie a ss F poor * * Roman ” 45 ne - as os fair os “ Twuizet” ae Ane ne as a no a “Camden Pale Superb” a as * poor = Figs. The following three varieties of figs have fruited; they were planted in August, 1905 :—‘“ Verdal Longue,” “San Pedro White,” “San Pedro Black.” Nectarines. “Stanwick.”—Bloomed 27th August. No crop. “Spencer.” —Bloomed 27th August. No crop. “ Hardwicke.”— Worked on peach stock, and 12 years old. Fruit large, roundish, inclining to oval ; skin pale green, with red cheek. Slightly red at stone; freestone. Suitable for dessert, canning, and drying. Bloomed 27th August; ripened 3rd January. Free from disease ; good crop ; good quality. A very good late variety. “ Trrewarra.”’— Worked on peach stock, and 12 years old. Fruit, medium and above in size; highly coloured; flavour splendid ; freestone. Suitable for dessert. Bloomed 7th September; ripened 3rd December. Free from disease ; very light crop. “ Rivers’ Early.”—Worked on peach stock, and 12 years old. Fruit of largest size ; skin, light yellow, marked with red; rich crimson in sun ; flesh tender and juicy ; rich flavour ; freestone, suitable for dessert. Bloomed 7th September ; ripened 7th December. Free from disease ; medium crop ; a very good variety ; inclined to be a shy bearer. ‘“« Victoria.” —Bloomed, 7th September. No crop. ‘“¢ Newton.” —Worked on veach stock, and 12 years old. Fruit, very large, round ; flesh white, sugary ; flavour, rich and delicious ; freestone ; suitable for dessert. Bloomed 7th September ; ripened 20th January. Free from disease ; good crop ; good quality ; good variety. “ Milton.”—Worked on peach stock, and 12 years old. Bloomed 7th September; ripened 6th January. Similar to Newton ; earlier. “ Dryden.”—Bloomed 7th September. No crop. “ Balgowan Late.”—Bloomed 7th September. No crop. “ Hunt’s Tawny.’—Worked on peach stock, and 16 years old. — Fruit, medium to large, round; skin, pale orange and deep red; flesh, orange Dec. 2, 1908. | Agriculturat Gazette of N.SW. 993 coloured ; flavour, rich and juicy ; freestone ; suitable for dessert. Bloomed 7th September ; ripened 10th January. Free from disease ; crop large ; quality poor. “Goldmine.” —Fruit of very large size; skin purple, with bright, bronzy red ;. flesh, sugary and melting, cream coloured; freestone; suitable for dessert ; small stone. Bloomed 10th September; ripened 13th December. Free from disease ; small crop; good variety. Cardinal.” —-Worked on peach stock, and 7 years old. Fruit, large and briliant in colour; fresstone; suitable for dessert. 3loomed 10th September ; ripened 9th December. Free from disease; crop, medium ; good early variety. ‘Lord Napier.” —Worked on peach stock, and 16 years old. Fruit, medium to large, inclined to oval ; skin yellowish, covered with vermilion ; freestone ; suitable for dessert, canning, and drying. 3loomed 5th September ; ripened 8th January. Free from disease ; good crop; good variety. “Meek’s Scarlet.”.—Worked on peach stock, and 12 years old. Fruit, medium to large, oval, dark red; freestone. sloomed 7th September ; ripened 8th January. Free from disease ; good crop; good quality. “New White.”’—Bloomed 7th September. Cannot recommend for here. Cracks open in the rain, “ Klruge.”— Worked on peach stock, and 12 years old. Fruit, medium to large, roundish; skin greenish, dotted with red; flesh, fine grained and rich in flavour ; freestone ; suitable for dessert. Bloomed 10th September ; ripened 23rd January, Free from disease. Grapes. “Mrs. Pearson’s Golden Queen.”—A mid-season variety of strong habit, re-worked on wine grapes, and more suitable for trellis than stakes. Berry of medium size, round, amber in colour, and with tough skin ; flavour, slightly Muscat ; quality good. Free from disease. All the vines were sprayed with sulphuric acid solution in August ; again, the second week in September, with Bordeaux mixtare (winter strength) ; and, again in November, with the latter mixture (summer strength). “ Temperano,”—An early dessert variety of strong habit, re-worked on wine grapes, and suitable for trellis. ‘The bunches are large, regular in form, but rather loose. Berry of large size, round, amber coloured, tender, soft, juicy ; flavour, fair; quality fair. Free from disease. ““Red Portugal.”—-A late dessert variety of medium habit, re-worked on wine grapes. The bunches are long and fairly compact. Berry of large size, oblong, reddish black, tairly tough skin ; flesh, firm; flavour, very good ; quality first-class. This is a very fine grape, and free from disease. “Lady Downe’s Seedling.” —A late dessert variety of strong habit, re-worked on wine grapes. Bunches long and slender, rather loose. Berry of fairly large size, roundish, oval, black, thick-skinned, firm flesh; flavour, rich ; quality only fair. This variety is not well-adapted to this locality. 994. Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. “Green Gascoigne.’— A. large dessert variety, of strong habit, worked on wine grapes. ‘The bunches are large, spreading in form and fairly compact. Berry under medium size, round, amber in colour, with fairly tough skin. Flesh juicy ; flavour middling ; quality middling. A very heavy cropper, and more suitable for trellis than stakes. ‘*Snow’s Muscat Hamburgh.”—A_ mid-season, dessert variety of strong habit. Bunches long and loose ; berry large; oval; deep purple; skin tender; flesh juicy and with a muscat flavour. Quality good. Free from clisease. “Gros Colman.”—A late dessert variety of strong habit, re-worked on wine grapes. Bunches of medium length, branching and_ fairly compact. Berry large; round; purplish black ; tough skinned ; | flavour fair ; quality fair ; free from disease. A heavy bearer and a good show grape. “Duke of Bucecleuch.”—A mid-season dessert variety of strong habit, re-worked on wine grapes. | Bunches of medium length, spreading and fairly loose. Berry medium ; round; amber in colour; fairly tender ; sweet and juicy ; flavour good; quality good; free from disease. Fruits well here ; should be grown on trellis. “Centennial.” A mid-season dessert variety of strong habit, re-worked on wine grapes. Bunches of medium length and fairly loose. Berry very large ; round; amber in color ; skin fairly tender; flesh firm; flavour only fair ; quality good; free from disease. Not bearing heavily here. Should be grown on trellis. “Gordo Blanco.”—A late raisin and dessert variety of medium habit. Bunches fairly long; shoulder compact; berry large ; roundish ; light yellow ; skin fairly tender; flesh firm, with muscat flavour; quality good ; fairly free from disease. One of the best white muscats. “Syrian.’—A_ late dessert variety of strong habit, reworked on wine grapes. 3unches long, branching and fairly loose. Berry large; oval : white ; skin tough ; flesh solid ; flavour fair ; quality fair ; free from disease ; bunches large ; heavy bearer. Requires trellising, “ Calabrian Raisin.’—Similar to Doradillo. “Blue Imperial.” A mid-season dessert variety of strong habit. Bunches large and long, spreading; berry large, roundish, blackish purple; skin fairly tender; flesh juicy. Flavour good; quality good. Crops well. Suitable for trellis. “Black Ferarra.”—A late dessert variety of strong habit, re-worked on wine grapes. Bunches long, branching, and fairly compact. — Berry large, roundish, black ; skin tough ; flesh firm ; flavour good ; quality good; free from disease. Should be on trellis. “ Mrs. Pearce’s Black Muscat,”—Not fruited yet. “Royal Musecadine.”—-An early dessert variety of medium habit, re-worked on wine grapes. Bunches long and loose. Berry small, round, greenish yellow; skin tender; flesh juicy; flavour sweet ; quality fair. Free from disease. Dee. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 995 “Grand Turk.” wine grapes. Bunches long and shouldered. Berry large, roundish, black ; A late dessert variety of very strong habit, re-worked on skin tough; flesh firm; flavour good; quality good; free from disease. Medium cropper on stakes. More suitable for trellis. “ Jerusalem.”—Very similar to Grand Turk. “ Waltham Cross.”—A late dessert variety of strong habit. Bunches long and fairly compact. Berry large, oblong, amber in colour ; skin fairly tough ; flesh firm ; flavour good ; quality good. Free from disease. Requires trellising. “ Black Tokay.” —A late dessert variety of medium habit, re-worked on wine grapes. Bunches of medium length, spreading and fairly compact. Berry large, round, black ; skin fairly tough; flesh firm and of good flavour ; quality fair. Free from disease. A very heavy bearer. “¢ Malaga.” —Not fruited yet. “Crystal.’—A late dessert variety of medium habit. Bunches of medium length and fairly compact. Berry large, round, pale amber ; skin tough; flesh firm ; flavour fair ; quality fair. Free from disease. “Gros Maroc.”—A late dessert variety of medium habit. 3unches of medium length and slightly tapering. Berry large, rounded, blue-black ; skin fairly tough ; flesh firm. Flavour very good. Quality very good. Free from disease. Bears well. Fruit very attractive. “Red Prince.”—A mid-season dessert variety of medium habit. Bunches of medium length and fairly compact. Berry large, round, deep. red ; skin fairly tough; flesh firm ; flavour good ; quality good. Free from disease. A noble looking grape. “Gros Guillaume.”—-A late dessert variety of very strong habit. Bunches long, shouldered and loose. Berry large, round, black ; skin tough ; flesh tender ; flavour good, quality good. Free from disease. “ Alicante.” —A late dessert variety of medium habit. Bunches of medium length, tapering and fairly loose. Berry large, oval, jet black ; skin tough ; flesh tender ; flavour good ; quality good. Free from disease. “ Daria.” —Not fruited yet. “ Cornichon Blanc.”—Not fruited yet. “ Royal Ascot.”— An early dessert variety of medium habit. | Bunches of medium length and compact. Berry of medium size, round, black ; skin tender; flesh firm and juicy; flavour good; quality good. Free from disease. “Flame Tokay.”—A late dessert variety of medium habit. Bunches of medium length and compact. Berry large, oblong, red; skin fairly tough : flesh firm ; flavour very good. Quality very good. “ Doradillo.”— A late dessert variety of medium habit. Bunches ot medium length, well shouldered and fairly compact. — Berry of medium size, round, and amber in colour ; skin tough; flesh firm ; medium flavour and quality. Free from disease. ‘“‘ Black Hamburgh.”—An early dessert variety of medium habit. Bunches of medium length and fairly compact. Berry of medium size, roundish and black ; skin tender; flesh juicy; flavour fair; quality fair. Free from disease. 996 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. BATHURST ORCHARD. Cherries. “De Boppard.”—Upright, vigorous growth ; first time trees fruited; a few specimens only, hanging chiefly in pairs. | Medium to rather above medium size; oval, flattened on side ; stalk medium length, set in a deep and rather narrow cavity; red, mottled with a lighter red; flesh very light pink, stained with red radiating from the stone ; juice pink ; stone not large, with flesh adhering. Lacking flavour, and split, which may have been caused by 25 points of rain just as fruit ripened. tipe for market 4th October, 1907. “ Noir Precoce de Strass.”—Tree fairly vigorous. Heavy crop; hanging in fours and threes; small oval, flattened on side ; stalk medium length in shallow cavity; red, becoming very dark red as fruit becomes dead ripe ; flesh reddish pink, rather soft ; juice pink; stone large in comparison with size of fruit; very little flavour ; cracked from rain just at ripening time ; ripe for market 4th October, 1907. Too small for sale. ‘“ Bigarreau Reverchon.”—Trees stunted, delicate, spreading ; heavy crop, mostly hanging singly ; fruit large to very large ; stalk short, stout ; rounded heart-shape, slightly flattened on side; dark red with small brown specks and brown spot at apex; flesh firm, light red showing white veins ; juice light red; stone medium size. A good marketable cherry and carries well, but trees are too delicate. Ripe towards end of December. “ Black Tartarian.”—Trees stunted, spreading ; heavy crop, fruit small ; hanging in twos and threes, much clustered together ; stalk varying much in length ; heart-shaped, dark red, almost black when dead ripe ; good flavour ; flesh dark, juice red, fairly firm, but does not travel well. Ripe 20th November, 1907. “ Bigarreau de Hollande.”—Trees spreading, stunted; heavy crop, fruit large, handsome, rather acid flavour; firm, but shows bruises badly, which affects its sale; flesh yellowish white. Ripe 10th December, 1907. Very similar to Napoleon. “ Elton.” —Tree small, upright, making small but healthy growth ; heavy crop, hanging singly and in pairs ; stalk slender, about 1} inch long ; fruit rather above medium size, pointed ovate, flattened on side ; rather soft and liable to bruise in carriage, which spoils it for market ; yellowish, slightly mottled with red; flesh whitish, juice clear; stone rather large; flavour good. Picked 14th November, 1907. “ Bigarreau Rockport.”—Trees spreading, small, making little growth ; heavy crop ; fruit small, roundish, flattened, yellowish, almost covered with a red speck at apex ; hanging singly and in pairs ; stalk short, rather stout ; flesh soft and whitish ; juice clear, no flavour. Picked 18th November, 1907. Too small and soft for market. “Centennial.” —Heavy crop; fruit firm, medium size. Ripe end of December. Dee. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 997 “Black Heart.”—Trees stunted, spreading, heavy crop; very small fruit. Worthless. “Governor Wood.”—Vigorous, spreading, heavy crop, hanging in twos and threes; stalk short; fruit medium size, roundish heart-shaped ; yellow, partly mottled with bright red ; flesh yellowish; juice clear; stone small ; good flavour ; bruises too much for. market. Ripe 27th November, 1907. “ Florence.” —Upright, spreading, heavy crop, hanging in pairs ; stalk slender, of medium length; fruit small; light red, turning much darker on hanging after ripe; flesh whitish ; juice clear ; good flavour ; stone rather large ; carries well. Ripe 6th December, 1907, but would hang a week later. “ Bigarreau de Mezel.”—Trees vigorous, upright, spreading. No crop, 1907. “ Bigarreau Napoleon.” —Upright, sagging with weight of crop; making very poor growth; very heavy crop, mostly in pairs; stalk rather short ; fruit small, long, heart-shaped; glossy yellow, nearly covered with light red ; firm, but shows bruises very badly, which makes it difficult to market. Ripe 4th December, 1907. “Werder’s Early Black.”—Spreading, vigorous; fair crop; hanging singly and in pairs ; stalk about 14 inches long; fruit small, heart-shaped, flattened on sides; dark red, turning nearly black when dead ripe ; flesh dark, juice purple. Ripe 12th November, 1907. Had complaints from buyers that fruit went wet in boxes when held a couple of days. “ Twyford.” —Tree vigorous, upright, spreading ; heavy crop ; fruit hanging singly and in pairs; stalk slender and long; fruit rather above medium size ; roundish, heart-shaped, flattened; flesh whitish, tinged with red near skin ; juice clear; firm enough for market if picked in time; yellow, mottled with bright light red ; flavour good. Ripe 11th November, 1907. “St. Margaret.”—Trees rather stunted; heavy crop; fruit medium to large. Ripe end of December. ‘‘Bohemian Black Bigarreau.”—Upright, fairly vigorous, heavy crop, mostly in pairs ; stalk medium ; fruit large, heart-shaped, dark red, firm ; flesh and juice purple ; stone not large; flavour good, sub-bitter ; marketed well. Ripe 10th December, 1907. “ Bigarreau Jaune de Drogan.”—Tree upright (sagging with weight of crop); heavy crop, hanging in twos and threes ; stalk rather long in narrow deep cavity ; fruit large, round, obtuse, flattened on one side ; whitish yellow, nearly covered with a glossy lively red; flesh nearly white; fairly firm ; juice clear ; flavour rather acid. Ripe 11th December, 1907. “ Karly Rivers.”—Tree vigorous, upright, spreading ; heavy crop, hanging chiefly in twos and threes, stalk about 14 inches long ; fruit above medium to large, roundish, but broader than it is long; dark red, flesh dark red, and though appears firm, gives trouble in packing; juice purple. Ready for market 9th November, 1907. “ Belle d’ Orleans.”—Somewhat stunted, upright, spreading ; heavy crop, mostly hanging in twos; stalk long; fruit small, roundish, hearted-shaped, and flattened on sides ; glossy yellow, almost covered with bright light red ; 998 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908 flesh whitish, stained with light pink; juice clear; very insipid to taste ; too soft for market. Ripe 12th November, 1907. “ Black Hawk.”—U pright, vigorous ; heavy crop, stalk medium to short ; fruit large, dark, almost black ; flesh dark, juice purple ; soft, but toughens atter picking ; rich flavour. Ripe 25rd November, 1907. “'Toronto.”—Upright, fairly vigorous; heayy crop, banging in twos and threes ; stalk medium ; fruit small, heart-shaped, flattened on sides ; dark red ; flesh dark red; juice dark red ; soft, and too small for market. Ripe 25th November, 1907. Not mentioned by authorities. “ Frogmore Bigarreau.”—Upright, vigorous ; heavy crop, hanging in twos and threes ; stalk short in shallow cavity ; fruit roundish, slightly flattened, medium size, bright glossy yellow, partly mottled with light red; flesh clear yellowish, juice clear ; fairly firm, but looks as if it would show bruises ; lacks flavour. Ripe 23rd November, 1907. “Black Kagle.”—Upright, fairly vigorous ; heavy crop, hanging mostly in pairs ; fruit medium size, heart-shaped, dark red, with spot at apex; flesh red, streaked with white ; juice red ; good flavour, but rather small and soft for market. Ripe 29th November, 1907. “ Bigarreau.”—Tree stunted, spreading ; heavy crop, mostly in pairs ; stalk medium length in shallow cavity ; fruit medium to large, rounded obtuse, heart-shaped ; slightly flattened on one side; yellow, partly covered with a lively red blush and mottling; flesh yellow, good flavour, fairly firm, but shows bruises slightly. Ripe 9th December, 1907. “ Brant.” —Upright, spreading, fairly vigorous; heavy crop, hanging in pairs, stalk medium length ; fruit small, roundish, flesh reddish, and juice nearly clear; both skin and flesh darken on hanging after ripe; firm and good flavour, but too small for market. Ripe 25th November, 1907. “ Duke of Edinburgh.”—(Not mentioned by authorities), Tree stunted, upright, spreading with weight of crop ; too small and soft for market ; very sunilar to Belle d’ Orleans. tipe 9th November, 1907, “Kirtlands Mary.”—Tree stunted, heavy crop, fruit small, light glossy yellow, partly covered with red; flesh yellowish, juice clear ; firm and fair flavour, but too small for market. Ripe 26th November, 1907. “ Bedford Prolific.” Upright, vigorous ; heavy crop, hanging in twos and threes, stalk long, fruit medium size, rounded, heart-shaped, dark red, fairly firm; flesh red. Ripe 30th November, 1907. “ Llewelling.”—Stunted, upright; fair crop, hanging singly; stalk short and stout in deep narrow cavity ; fruit rounded obtuse, heart-shaped, with suture sunk on one side and discernible right round; medium to large dark red with many small brown specks; flesh dark red. A very firm cherry, and should market well, but the trees are too stunted to carry payable crops. Ripe 12th December, 1907. Apples. “Wagener.” —Heavy crop. “Twenty Ounce.”—Fairly upright, vigorous; fruit oblate, conic ; large, yellowish green, with faint dull red streaks on one side; cavity deep, with Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of NS. 999 some russet; stem medium; basin deep, rather narrow and abrupt; eye closed; core axile, flesh greenish white, sub-acid. Bitter Pit rather bad. Picked early for cooking on this account. “ Melon.”—Tree rather small ; fruit roundish, one sided, medium to very large; yellowish green, with a delicate red blush and splashed with deeper red; cavity wide and rather deep; stem medium; basin narrow, eye shut ; flesh white; flavour good. A dessert apple. Fair crop. “Lord Nelson.”—Tree spreading ; fruit oblate, conic ; large, pale greenish yellow, striped and splashed with two shades of red; cavity wide, shallow, sometimes rusty ; stem short, basin shallow, eye flat, closed ; core abaxile ; flesh coarse, yellowish white. Only fit for cooking. Heavy crop. «« American Summer Pearmain.”—Tree rather upright, dense; fruit conic ; medium to rather above ; yellowish green, faintly striped with dull red and many light dots; cavity wide, stem long, basin fairly deep, narrow and abrupt: eye closed, core axile; flesh white; flavour good, sprightly. Ripe from 30th January, 1908. “Emperor Alexander.”—Spreading, vigorous, stout growth; fruit oblate, conic, large ; yellowish green with red blush, showing a faint stripe through it ; cavity deep and wide; stem rather thick, fair length ; basin rather shallow, eye closed ; core abaxile ; flesh greenish white, woolly, poor flavour. Only fit for cooking. Ripe 16th January, 1908. Heavy crop. “ Carolina Red June.” —Tree large, spreading, vigorous ; fruit oblate, conic, angular ; medium to large; yellow, almost covered with a lively red ; cavity vide, stem short, basin narrow, deep and ribbed ; eye partially open, core abaxile, flesh white; flavour poor. Ripe from 30th January, 1908, to 15th February, 1908. Heavy crop. Only fit for cooking. “ Gravenstein.”—Trees spreading, very little growth, stems and branches twisted; fruit oblate, irregularly angular; small to medium ;_ yellow, mottled and striped with two reds ; cavity wide, shallow ; stem short, fleshy ; basin mostly shallow; eye closed or partially so; core abaxile ; flesh yellowish white, flavour good ; good early dessert. Ripe from 14th January, 1908. Crop very light. “Lord Suffield.” — Upright, fairly spreading, vigorous ; fruit oblate, conic, medium to large, whitish green with grey dots. Shows bruises easily. Cavity narrow, russetty ; stem medium ; basin shallow, slightly plaited ; eye closed ; core abaxile ; flesh white, flavour acid. Ripe 14th January, 1908. An early cooking apple. ‘Robinson’s Seedling.”—Tree spreading, fairly vigorous ; fruit conic, truncated, small to medium ; yellow, nearly covered with red and red stripes ; cavity wide and rather deep; stem rather long, basin medium, eye open or partially so; core abaxile ; flesh coarse, woody, greenish white. Heavy crop, ripe 12th February, 1908. . A showy looking dessert apple, but its very poor quality would condemn it when known on the market. “ Margil.”—Tree spreading, ravher stunted; fruit oblate, conic, small ; greenish yellow, almost covered with a dull red; cavity rather narrow and deep; stem medium to long; basin shallow, eye closed; core abaxile ; 1000 Agricultural Gazette of N.SW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. flesh greenish white, flavour good. Heavy crop. Ripe 14th Febraary, 1908, An excellent dessert apple, but rather small for market. “Ribston Pippin.’—Tree spreading, vigorous; fruit irregular, conic, medium to large, dull yellowish green, splashed and blotched with dull red on one side ; cavity wide, with some russet ; stem short, basin medium, eye erect ; core abaxile; flesh greenish white, flavour good. Attacked by Bitter Pit. Heavy crop. Ripe 27th January to 10th Feébruary, 1908. An excellent dessert apple, but not of very attractive appearance, and falls from tree very badly. “ Adams Pearmain.”—Spreading, rather stunted; fruit oblong, conic, medium, a few only very large ; yellowish green, shaded dull red and many light dots ; cavity narrow, angular; stem medium ; basin abrupt, wide ; eye closed or partially so ; core abaxile ; flesh rather woolly, white. Heavy crop, picked 12th February, 1908. “Ben Davis.” —Fairly upright, large tree, but making little growth ; fruit roundish, conic, small to medium ; yellowish green, nearly covered with bright red and red stripes ; cavity medium, stem medium, basin medium but abrupt ; eye closed, core axile; flesh dense, rather tough, whitish ; poor flavour. Heavy crop. Picked from 18th February, 1908. A poor quality dessert apple. “Claygate Pearmain.”—Spreading, rather stunted; fruit conic, medium size ; yellowish green, with a pale red blush and stripes, many light dots ; cavity shallow, wide; stem short, thick ; basin rather wide and abrupt ; eye open ; flesh granular, yellowish white, sub-acid, good flavour. Ripe from 16th February, 1908. Fair crop. ‘Blenheim Orange.” Spreading, fairly vigorous; fruit large, oblate, angular ; fair crop ; drops very badly before it colours at all. “ Cox’s Orange Pippin.” —Tree upright, fairly vigorous ; fruit oblate, conic, medium size ; greenish yellow with a red blush and red stripes and many light dots ; cavity very shallow ; stem short and often fleshy ; basin shallow, slightly plaited ; eye closed and core abaxile ; flesh white, flavour excellent ; Water Core prevalent; a few specimens only on the trees. Ripe 21st February, 1908. An excellent dessert apple but irregular bearer. “ Worcester Pearmain.’”—Tree vigorous, fairly spreading ; fruit oblate, conic, angular, medium to large ; green, nearly covered with a dark red, ob- scurely striped and some light dots ; cavity wide with a green russet ; stem short and thick, basin shallow, eye closed; core axile; flesh white, good flavour ; fair crop; ripe 30th January, 1908. “Cellini.” —Spreading, fairly vigorous; fruit conic, oblate; flattened at base and apex ; small, greenish yellow, mottled and striped with red ; cavity shallow ; stem short and rather thick ; basin shallow, plaited ; eye open, wide segments ; core axile ; flesh white, poor flavour ; heavy crop, picked from 27th January to 20th February, 1908 ; only a poor quality dessert. “Scarlet Queen.”—Tree fairly spreading, vigorous ; fruit oblate, small, yellowish, nearly covered with lively red and red stripes; cavity medium ; stem medium; basin narrow, slightly plaited, eye closed ; core axile ; flesh Dec. 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1001 greenish white, fair flavour ; heavy crop; picked from 12th February, 1908 ; a fair dessert apple, but rather too small for market; not mentioned by authorities, but identical with Scarlet Queen of Wagga Experiment Farm. : ‘““Charleton Pippin.” —Tree fairly spreading, vigorous ; fruit oblate, flat- tened at the base and apex ; medium size ; yellowish green with russet and green dots; cavity shallow, stem short, basin abrupt, rather deep ; eye slightly open ; core axile ; flesh white, flavour good ; light crop ; ripe 10th February, 1908 ; it lacks colour as a dessert apple ; not mentioned by authorities. ' ‘Hoary Morning.” —Tree vigorous ; fruit conic, medium to large, yellow, covered with two shades of red stripes and splashes and a thin white bloom - cavity narrow, stem short, basin deep and narrow; eye closed; core axile ; flesh yellowish, sub-acid flavor. Ripe 14th February, 1908 ; fair crop ; a good dessert apple. ‘Cornish Gilliflower.”—Fruit oblong, conic, very large ; dark green, shaded and striped with dull red on one side ; cavity rather deep ; stem rather long, basin shallow ; eye closed ; core abaxile ; flesh greenish white ; attacked by Water Core and Bitter Pit ; no specimens ripened. . “Cowell’s Red Streak.” —Tree upright, vigorous; fruit conic, symmetrical small, yellow, partly covered with red mottling and faint red stripes ; cavity rather deep, with a little russet ; stem medium, basin shallow, plaited, eye closed ; core abaxile ; flesh white, fair flavour. Water Core prevalent. Heavy crop. Ripe 22nd to 3lst January, 1908. Too small for market. | Not mentioned by authorities. ‘Smoke House.”—Tree spreading, vigorous ; fruit oblate, large, yellowish green, with many light spots, thickest about the eye; cavity wide, rather shallow, with distinct ribs ; stem rather long; basin wide, shallow, plaited ; eye closed. Bitter Pit slightly. Picked early for cooking to avoid Bitter Pit. ‘““Stone’s Seedling.”—Fairly oblique, spreading, vigorous ; fruit oblate, conic, large, yellowish, nearly covered with red stripes; cavity wide ; stem medium ; basin narrow ; eye closed, or partly so ; core abaxile ; flesh yellowish white ; flavour fair. Bitter Pit very bad ; destroyed whole crop. “ Brittle Sweet.”— Upright, vigorous ; fruit conic, even in outline, large, yellow, with many light dots, smooth ; cavity medium, russetty ; stem short ; basin rather deep, not wide, slightly plaited ; eye closed, or nearly so; core axile ; flesh, tender, white, fair flavour. Water Core prevalent. Light crop. This apple lacks colour, as described by Downing. “Lake.” —Upright, vigorous; fruit oblate, conic, small to medium; yellowish green, with red and red stripes on one side; cavity narrow; stem short ; basin narrow and deep; eye closed; core axile; flesh granular, white, fair flavour. Water Core prevalent. Ripe 16th February, 1908. A few specimens only. Soon goes soft after picking. ‘Richard Love.”—Very large, conic, irregularly ribbed ; green, sometimes with a faint reddish blush ; cavity wide and deep; stem medium; basin furrowed, rather deep ; eye partially closed ; core axile ; flesh greenish white ; flavour acid. Fair crop. Picked 18th February, 1908. Not mentioned by authorities. 1002 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dee. 2, 1908. “ Beauty of Kent.”—Upright, vigorous ; fruit oblate, conic, irregular, and 1ibbed towards the eye; large, yellowish green ; cavity shallow, wide, with light russet ; stem short; basin narrow; eye closed; core abaxile ; flesh greenish white. Bitter Pit prevalent. Light crop ; picked early for cooking to avoid Bitter Pit. “ Duchess Oldenburg.”—Upright, small growth; fruit oblate, flattened at apex and base ; large; greenish yellow, striped With red ; cavity deep ; stem medium ; basin rather wide, abrupt; eye closed; core not large, axile ; flesh tender, greenish white ; flavour rather good. “ Chenango Strawberry.”—Upright, dense, vigorous ; fruit conic, oblong, pinched in near apex, medium to large, yellowish white, mottled and splashed with red and some light dots; cavity deep, angular; stem medium; basin rather wide and deep ; eye open, or partially so; core axile; flesh greenish white ; flavour good. Bore few good specimens only; ripe 4th February, 1908. “ Mank’s Codlin.”——Tree small upright; healthy but light growth ; fruit conic, small to medium, whitish green, sometimes with a red blush ; cavity, wide, shallow ; stem, short, thick ; basin, narrow, irregularly plaited ; eye, closed ; core axile; flesh, greenish white; flavour sub-acid ; heavy crop ; rather too small an apple to class as a cooker, and too acid for dessert ; ripe, 14th January, 1908. “ King of Pippins.”-—Upright, vigorous ; fruit, oblate, conic, flattened at top and bottom, medium size ; yellow, striped with red and many light dots ; cavity, shallow, wide ; stem, short, thick ; basin shallow, wide ; eye open ; flesh white ; fair crop; falls badly, Ripe from 8th February, 1908. “ Family.” Upright, vigorous ; fruit, oblate, conic, angular, medium size ; yellowish green, nearly covered with red mottling and stripes and many light dots; cavity deep and wide; stem rather long; basin narrow, slightly plaited ; eye closed ; core axile; flesh greenish white ; flavour sub-acid ; ripe from Ist February, 1908 ; fair crop. An attractive dessert apple, Early, but soon goes mealy after picking. Reinette Fawbs d’Accuba.”—Upright, vigorous ; fruit roundish, some- what conic; medium to large; pale greenish yellow, nearly covered with red blush and red streaks; cavity deep; stem medium; basin narrow, slightly plaited ; eye closed ; core axile; flesh yellowish white, sub-acid ; fair crop ; goes soft soon after picking. Not mentioned by authorities. ‘‘ Washington.” Upright, spreading ; fruit roundish, varying from oblong to oblate, large to very large, yellowish green, sometimes with a few dull red stripes and a slight bloom; cavity shallow; stem short, fleshy ; basin abrupt and fairly deep; slightly plaited; eye closed; core abaxile ; flesh greenish white ; Water Core and Bitter Pit. “Kerry Pippin.”—Upright, vigorous; fruit oblate, slightly conic, small to medium, yellowish-striped and mottled with dull red; cavity narrow ; stem medium; basin wide, rather shallow; eye mostly closed; core axile ; flesh yellowish-white, poor flavour. Ripe 30th January, 1908. Heavy crop, too small for market. Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1003 “« Tuscaloosa.” —Fairly spreading and vigorous ; fruit conic, oblate ribbed, showing mostly at the eye; large yellowish green, with light grey dots and whitish bloom; cavity small, slightly russety; stem short ; basin narrow, not deep; eye rather large, closed; core axile; flesh yellowish green. Attacked by Bitter Pit and Water Core. “Tsham Sweet.”—Upright,vigorous. Fruit oblong, conic, very large, green, nearly covered with dull red and streaks of red ; cavity wide and deep ; stem medium; basin rather deep, open or partially closed; core axile ; flesh yellowish, fair flavour ; attacked by Bitter Pit; fair crop. Ripe from 12th February, 1908. Not mentioned by authorities. “ Grange’s Pearmain.”— Upright, vigorous. Fruit oblate, slightly ribbed ; large, yellowish green, with small grey dots ; cavity deep, wide, russety ; stem rather short; basin deep; eye closed; core axile; flesh white ; bad with Bitter Pit and Water Core, which prevented it ripening properly. “ Huon Pearmain.”—Tree rather spreading, vigorous ; fruit conic, some- times oblate ; large, yellowish green, partly covered with light red, showing light dots ; cavity wide and deep; stem medium; basin rather narrow and deep ; eye sometimes open ; core axile; flesh yellowish ; flavour good ; heavy crop. Ripe from 10th February, 1908. A promising dessert apple. “ Kentish Fill-Basket.”—Fairly spreading, vigorous. Fruit conic, oblate ; very large ; greenish yellow, and small light specks, with thin white bloom ; cavity wide ; stem medium to short; basin deep, plaited; eye closed ; flesh greenish white, acid flavour; fair crop. Ripe 6th February, 1908. Large cooking. “ Peasgood’s Nonsuch.”—Fruit round, oblate, large; light green with red blush and stripes and light spots ; cavity wide and rather deep; stem short ; basin wide, eye open. Picked 28th February, 1908. Heavy crop. Suitable only for cooking. “ Trivett’s Seedling.”— Upright, vigorous ; fruit oblong, small to medium ; greenish, nearly covered with red and red stripes ; cavity narrow, rather deep ; basin fairly wide, abrupt, and rather deep; eye closed; core axile ; flesh white, fair flavour; heavy crop. Ripe 5th February, 1908. A dessert apple, but rather small. “ Fall Beauty.”—Fruit oblate, flattened at apex and base, very large; green with slight dull-red blush ; cavity shallow and small, stem short, basin some- times ribbed, eye partially open; core axile; flesh greenish white ; flavour acid. A cooking apple. Not mentioned by authorities. “Mrs, Fergusson.”—Upright, rather stunted; fruit conic, very small, yellowish green, striped with red; cavity small, stem short, basin plaited, rather deep, eye closed ; core axile ; flesh woolly, white, flavour poor. Heavy crop. Worthless on account of small size. “York Imperial.”—Vigorous, fairly spreading ; fruit oblate, conic, and ribbed towards the eye; large, greenish yellow, glossy; cavity wide, stem mostly short, basin deep, eye closed ; core axile ; flesh greenish white, flavour fair ; bore few specimens only ; cooking. Ripe 16th January, 1908. Soon went bad after picking, 1004 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [Dec. 2, 1908. ‘* Nelson’s Codlin.” —Upright, fairly vigorous ; fruit oblong, conic ; small to medium ; whitish yellow, glossy, skin smooth; cavity deep, russety ; stem medium ; basin narrow, rather deep ; eye closed ; core abaxile ; flesh greenish white ; rather acid, cooking; fair crop. Ripe 26th January, 1908. “ Cullender.”—Spreading, stunted ; fruit oblate, conic, very large, green, almost covered with dark red blush, and a few: light dots ; cavity wide, stem short, basin deep ; eye partially open ; core abaxile ; flesh greenish white, tough, acid ; a poor quality apple, only fit for cooking. Ripe 7th February, 1908. Not mentioned by authorities. Pears. “ Clapp’s Favorite.’— Upright, rather stunted ; fruit acute pyriform, large, yellowish green, with dull red blush and many brown dots ; stem medium, set at an angle ; basin shallow ; eye partly open; flesh rather coarse, white ; flavour fair ; dessert or cooking, Ripe 8th February, 1908. Tree bore few specimens only. “Willam’s Bon Chrétien.”—Upright, vigorous; fruit ovate pyriform, large ; greenish yellow, turning to waxen yellow ; when ripe, skin sometimes with a brown blush and many grey spots; surface uneven ; basin plaited, shallow; eye partially closed; flesh melting; yellowish white, juicy ; excellent flavour ; dessert or cooking, evaporating. Ripe from Ist February, 1908, Heavy crop. “ Monchallard.”—Fruit obliquely pyriform, rounded at stalk, large; greenish yellow, many greenish brown specks; stem in slight depression; basin shallow, wide ; flesh coarse, white ; poor flavor. Tree bore few specimens only. “ Howell.” Upright, stunted ; fruit acute pyriform, turbinate, medium to large ; yellowish green ; stem medium, set at an angle; basin wide, shallow , eye open ; flesh greenish white ; fair crop. Picked 5th February, 1908. “ Chaumontel.”— Upright, rather stunted; fruit long, obtuse, pyriform, large ; yellowish, with many brown dots ; stem rather long, set obliquely ; basin very shallow; eye open; flesh coarse, white; flavour poor. — Fair crop. “ Sheldon.” —Upright, vigorous; fruit roundish, oblate obovate, large ; green, with many brown specks; bore few specimens only. Picked 17th February, 1908. “ Fertility.’—Stunted, upright ; fruit obtuse pyriform, turbinate, small ; yellowish green with many brown dots; stem short, set obliquely ; basin shallow, eye open; flesh coarse, greenish white; fair crop. Ripe 4th February, 1908. “ Petite Margaret.” —Tree very stunted ; fruit roundish pyriform ; small, yellowish green, uneven ; stem about | inch long inserted in slight depression on one side; basin shallow, eye closed; bore few specimens only; ripe 5th February, 1908 ; not mentioned by authorities. “ Peach Pear.’—-Fruit obtuse, pyriform, turbinate, small ; green turning to yellow with a mottling of russet spreading from’the stalk ; stem long ; Dec. 2,1908.| Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. 1005 basin shallow, plaited ; eye open; flesh melting, juicy, white; flayour good ; fair crop; a good dessert pear, but clashes with Bartlett, to which it is inferior. Ripe 8th February, 1908. Plums. “ Hale.”— Vigorous, fairly obliquely spreading ; fruit roundish, medium to large ; greenish yellow ; stem slender ; suture part way round ; flesh greenish golden, juicy ; flavour good ; stone cling, medium. Ripe 14th January, 1908 ; light crop. “ Kelsey.” —Tree vigorous, fairly obliquely spreading ; fruit conic, ovate with obtuse point, medium to large ; greenish, with light blue bloom ; cavity rather deep ; suture raised on one side, distinct half way ; flesh greenish gold ; very little flavour; stone cling, small. Ripe 21st February, 1908. “Giant Prune.”—Tree upright, vigorous ; fruit oval and slightly necked ; very large ; purple with grey dots, turning a very deep purple when fully ripe ; cavity slight; stem fairly long, suture distinct half way; flesh melting, juicy ; greenish gold ; flavour good ; stone free, fairly large ; bore few specimens only. Ripe 7th February, 1908. This variety has not proved good for drying. “ Fellemberg.”—Rather stunted, spreading; fruit oval, oblate, slightly necked, large; dark purple with blue bloom and many brown spots and markings ; hardly any cavity ; stem medium ; suture distinct half way ; colour golden ; flesh golden ; flavour good ; stone large, free; light crop; ripe 25rd February, 1908. “ Coe’s Golden Drop.”—Spreading, rather stunted ; fruit oval, one side pro- trudes beyond other at apex, necked ; large to very large ; colour golden when ripe ; light crop. “Pond’s Seedling.” —Tree rather stunted, upright ; fruit oval, slightly necked, large, red with a light bloom, cavity slight ; stem fairly long ; suture fairly deep half way; flesh rather dry; colour reddish gold ; fair flavour, stone free, medium size; heavy crop; a handsome plum. Ripe 17th February, 1908. “Kirke’s.”—Fairly spreading, vigorous ; fruit roundish, oval, above medium ; dark purple with a blue bloom; barely any cavity ; stem medium, suture scarcely distinct ; flesh greenish gold, very sweet ; stone free, above medium size ; very light crop. Ripe 12th February, 1908. “ Burbank,”—Fairly spreading, vigorous ; fruit roundish, conical, with a distinct point; small to medium; green, covered with purple to a grey bloom ; cavity fairly deep, stem slender ; slightly raised on the side; flesh juicy, greenish ; fair flavour; stone free, medium to small ; heavy crop. Ripe 14th January, 1908. “ Bavay’s Green Gage.” —Fairly spreading, vigorous ; fruit roundish oval, medium size, greenish yellow, with a light bloom and many light specks ; cavity very slight ; stem rather short : suture raised on one side, distinct half way ; flesh greenish gold, very sweet ; stone clings, rather small; fair crop. Ripe 25th February, 1908. D 1006 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. “De Montfort.” Spreading, vigorous; fruit roundish, medium; purple with brown specks and veins; cavity medium, stem fairly stout ; suture distinct part way; flesh fairly firm, greenish gold; fair crop. Ripe 14th January, 1908. “Prince Englebert.’—Upright, fairly vigorous; fruit ovate, flattened on sides, medium to large ; blue with light blue bloom and many grey specks ; cavity shallow, stem medium ; suture distinct® half way; flesh dry, golden, acid ; stone almost free, large. Ripe 2nd February, 1908. Heavy crop. ‘Purple Gage.”—Spreading, fairly vigorous; fruit roundish oval, slightly ovate ; medium, purple with blue bloom, and many brown dots ; cavity slight, stem long; suture sunken half way; flesh greenish, fair flavour; stone partial cling, small ; fair crop: fruit rather too small for dessert. ‘“‘ Belle de Septembre.”’—Tree upright, vigorous ; fruit roundish, small, blue, almost black, with blue bloom ; flesh, soft, watery, greenish golden ; fair flavour. Ripe 7th January, 1908. Heavy crop. “Yellow Egg.”—Upright, thick, stocky wood; fruit oval, flattened on suture side ; large, bright yellow with thin whitish bloom, and many light dots ; cavity rather deep, stem medium, suture sunken half way; flesh yel- lowish ; fair flavour: stone clings, rather large. Ripe 12th February, 1908. Light crop. “ Washington.” — Vigorous, upright, thick wood ; fruit oval, oblong, some- times roundish, flattened on suture side ; large, yellowish green, many light dots, thin light grey bloom ; shallow cavity, short stem ; suture distinct half way; flesh melting, juicy ; greenish gold ; stone almost free, rather small ; light crop. Ripe 3rd February, 1908. Shows bruises very badly. “Gold.” —Upright, healthy, but small; fruit round, small; golden glossy cavity fairly deep, stem medium ; flesh juicy, greenish gold, fair flavour ; fair crop. Ripe 30th January, 1908. An attractive plum of Japanese type, but. too small to be of commercial value. GLEN INNES ORCHARD. Apples.—Taking them as a whole, these trees continue to make satis- factory growth. The year a fine, sturdy lot of trees, very even in size, and they present a very attractive appearance, and are admired by all who see them. About 50 varieties blossomed last year, but only about a dozen carried fruit. Those which cropped the heaviest were the “ Buncombe,” followed by ‘“ Jonathan”; “Rome Beauty,” “ Cleopatra,” “ Five Crown,” “ Stone Pippin” and ‘‘ Munroe’s Favorite” carried some fruit, but did not crop nearly so heavily as the first-named two varieties, which two were also quite free from any disease, while most of the others suffered in a greater or less. measure from Powdery Mildew, Dec. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S. 1007 Apricots. —These pution a very strong growth again, but the crop was frozen after it had set. Cherries.—Some varieties are doing fairly well, but generally speaking the trees are not doing well in this orchard, and I fear they will not prove a success in this class of soil. Peaches. —These also put on very heavy growth, and, like the apricot crop, the young fruit was completely destroyed by frost. Pears.—These trees are doing fairly well, making satisfactory growth, and are a nice sturdy lot of trees. Plums and Prunes.— Most of these trees are making satisfactory growth, but have not carried any fruit yet. The frost destroyed all the fruit on the early blossoming varieties last season. Grapes.—A few of the American varieties have done exceedingly well, but some of them are not correctly named, and therefore I cannot mention the varieties until they have been identified. There is, however, a big demand by local residents for the cuttings, and we are unable to supply half of what are required. Berries. —Only one red raspberry has proved of much value, but as this is not true to name I cannot give the correct designation until we have succeeded in identifying it. Gooseberries and Currants have proved failures on the light soil. Shelter Trees.—The Oriental Planes and Pinus Insignis have made very satisfactory growth, but the Walnuts are failures. The Cedrus Deodara are making fair growth, while the Osage Orange is doing well. GRASSHOPPERS. Lerrers of complaints of damage done to crops, and appeals for advice, which annually reach the Department at the commencement of the grasshopper season, are now being received, and the repetition of the advice given by the Government Entomologist for the treatment of this plague will not be out of place at the present time. Mr. Froggatt is of opinion that the most effective method is the spraying of the young hoppers with kerosene emulsion. One gallon of water should be boiled with a half pound of hard soap, to which sh« vuld be added 2 gallons of kerosene. This should be thoroughly well mixed by pouring from one bucket to another. Water should then be added in the proportion of 6 gallons to every gallon of the mixture. This emulsion should be sprayed on when the grasshoppers are in the young stage, and preferably when massed closely together. When they reach the flying stage little can be done to deal with the pest. 1008 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. Useful Farm !mplements. A. H. HAYWOOD, Grafton Experiment Farm. Furrower for Corn-planter. Tus attachment fitted on to the Farmers’ Friend Corn-planter has reduced the cost of growing maize considerably on this farm. Its introduction has saved the cost and labour of one man and two horses during corn-planting operations. The furrower is simply constructed by riveting two hillers or mould-boards off a Planet Jr. cultivator on to a standard (as shown in diagram). Furrower attached to Corn-planter. The furrower standard is bolted into the socket of the wheel standard (which is discarded), A furrow is thus opened in advance of the seed-drill and can be regulated to any depth. With it the drill works steadier than with the wheel ; the clods are thrown aside and a fine moist seed-bed prepared. The scribe or marker is, of course, used in combination to mark out drills. Potato Raiser. There is nothing new about this, as it has been on the market for a long time, but it is doubtful if a cheaper device can be had for potato harvesting. It is specially recommended to the small grower. It does not cut the tu- bers, and in clean ground does excellent work. One man with two horses can keep six men picking and bagging. It does equally well in raising sweet pota- toes. The raiser prongs can be fitted on to the ordinary Howard plough after the share and mould-board are removed. Dee. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1009 The Furrower. The raiser attachment may be bad from Messrs. Lassetter & Co., Sydney, at a cost of 17s. 6d. A Potato Raiser. 1010 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. Useful Australian Plants. J. H. MAIDEN, Government Botanist and Director, Botanic Gardens, Sydney. No. 99. Sporobolus pulthellus, R.Br. Botanical name.—-Sporobolus, Greek, sporos, a seed, bolos, a throw with a casting-net, in allusion to the grains, which are on the outside of the panicle, as if they had fallen or been thrown out ; pulchellus, Latin, pretty, the grass being ornamental when in flower. It is, indeed, one of the most beautiful of all grasses. Botanical description (B.Fl. vii, 623) :— Stems tufted, 6 inches to 1 foot high. Leaves chietly at the base, flat or keeled, broad or narrow, rather rigid, bordered by rigid cilia tuberculate at the base. (Note the remarkable cilia. See Figure 5.) Panicle loosely pyramidal, 2 to 5 inches long, with numerous capillary spreading branches verticillate at regular intervals. Spikelets pedicellate, not 4 line long, shining. Glumes almost hyaline, rather obtuse, slightly keeled, the second outer empty one and the flowering one nearly equal and similar, the lowest empty one about half as long, narrow but obtuse. Palea very readily splitting in two. Grain globular, enclosed in a loose hyaline pericarp. Value as a Fodder.—A. useful fodder plant, but little specific information as to its value is available. Habitat and Range.—\t extends from New South Wales to northern Austra- lia. As regards New South Wales, it is found in the dry north-west. The type came from northern Australia in the sense of somewhere between the Endeavour River and the Gulf of Carpentaria. No doubt ‘ North Coast,” R. Brown, and Endeavour River, Banks and Solander, as quoted by Bentham, are the co-types. Bentham also quotes :— North Australia.—Upper Victoria River, F. Mueller; Fort Darwin, Schultz No. 112; Escape Clifts, Hudse. Queensland.—Kennedy District, Daintree ; Elliot River, Bowman ; Peak Downs, Slater. The National Herbarium, Sydney, contains co-types of this species colleeted by Banks and Solander and also by Robert Brown. IXPLANATION OF PLATE. 1. Entire plant. 2. Branch of the panicle, greatly enlarged. 3. Single spikelet showing the glumes, the split palea and the ripe grain enclosed in the loose pericarp. 4, Glumes and grain of the single spikelet : a. Outer glume. b. Second glume. c. Flowering glume. d. Palea split into two. e. Pericarp, grain taken out. f. Grain without the pericarp. (Note its globular shape.) >. Part of the leaf, much enlarged, showing the rigid marginal hairs (cilia). DOS: DEC. AGRIGULTURAL GAZETTE OF N.S.W. AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE." ORAWN FOR THE “ Br. R. PULCHELLUS, SPOROBOLUS Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1011 The Composition of Green Maize and of the Silage produced therefrom. HAROLD E. ANNETT, B.Sc. (Lond.), S.E.A.C., Dre., Indian Department of Agriculture, AND EDWARD J. RUSSELL, D.Sc. (Lond.), Rothamsted Experiment Station, late of the South Eastern Agricultural College, Wye. Introduction. THE process of making silage is an ancient one,! and the scientific investiga- tions date back at least to 1873, when Weiske,? at the Proskau experiment station, showed that there was a loss of carbohydrate, fibre, and protein in making silage from sainfoin and other crops. It was, however, by no means general till after the publication, in 1875, of Goftart’s remarkable success with maize silage at Burtin, in the barren district of Sologne (Loire-et-Cher),* Both Grandeaut and Barral> analysed Goffart’s silage ; the former noted the production of volatile and non-volatile acids, and labelled them acetic and lactic acids respectively, in which practice he has been followed by most later analysts. Five years later Kellneré demonstrated by careful quantitative measurements that the decrease in protein was accompanied by an increase in the amount of “amide” nitrogen. In his experiments about 28 per cent. of the nitrogen was lost, but in a subsequent paper’ this was traced to volatilisation of ammonia during manipulation of the sample. Kellner considered, and probably correctly, that no nitrogen is lost in the free state from the silo. Much attention was given to the subject in the wet cycle of years ending in 1883: Fry’s letters appeared in the Agricultural Gazette and Mark Lane Express for 1883 and 1884, and were reprinted in book form in 18858; numerous papers, scientific and practical, were published in 1884 and 1885, and in the latter year a commission sat under Lord Walsingham to collect evidence and report thereon.? Experiments were also made at 1 See, e.g., Johnston, rans. Highland and Agric. Soc. 1843, new series, 9, 57. A good historical account is given by Jenkins, Journ. Roy. Agric. Soc. 1884, 20, 120. 2 Quoted by Voelcker, Journ. Roy. Agric. Soc. 1884, 20. 3 Sur la culture et Vensilage du Mais-fourrage (Memoire présenté a la Société centrale d’ Agriculture de France, 1875). On p. 8 he says: ‘‘ Lorsque j'ai acheté le domaine en 1840...huit malheureuses vaches et cent vingt brébis composaient tout le cheptel d’alors et vivaient misérablement...aujourd’hui le méme domaine nourrit abondamment soixante- huit bétes 4 cornes, six chevaux, et trois cents moutons.” He had about 300 acres. 4 Ibid. p. 39. > p. 50 and Part 2, p. 24. 6 Land. Versuchs-Stat. 1880, 26, 447. Mangold leaves were used. 7 Kellner and Sowano, Land: Versuchs-Stat. 1889, 37, 16, also Kellner, Chem. Zett. 1890, 14, 905. 8 Sweet Silage, 1885, Agric. Press Co., London. : 9 The Evidence and Report contain interesting accounts of the methods of making silage, its place in the economy of the farm, and its value here and elsewhere. 1012 Agricultural Gazette of NS.W. [| Dec. 2, 1908. Rothamsted.! The scientific papers were mainly analytical, and did little more than confirm the earlier results. Weiske and Schulze2 made maize silage in barrels and observed an increase in the amount of ether extract ; they supposed this was due to the conversion of sugar into lactic and butyric acids, both of which are soluble in ether. Analyses were published by Kinch,? Lloyd,4 Richardson,® Smetham,6 Voelcker,’? and the late Dr. A. Voelcker,§ and served to correct a number of misconceptions that had arisen. As silage never became general in England there have been only few papers published here since 1885. Meanwhile the subject was being taken up in America. In most parts of the States maize is a far more popular crop than roots, and silage provides the stock with their succulent food in winter. A vast amount of work has been done at the different stations. It is only necessary to mention the investiga- tions of Jordon!) and Armsby!! on the digestibility, which proved con- clusively the loss of nutritive value ; Woll,!2 Hills,13 Collier4 and King! on the loss of dry matter ; King!5 on certain physical questions involyed ; and Babcock and Russell!6 on the bacteriological aspects of the question. The composition of Green Maize. For some years past it has been the practice at the Wye College to grow green maize as a fodder crop and make a certain quantity into silage. The original idea was to see if silage could to any extent take the place of roots, which, on the light chalky soil of the College farm, are often dificult and sometimes expensive to secure. It may at once be stated that green maize was found to be valuable, but silage was only economical in exceptional seasons.!7 The maize was cut during October as opportunity offered, chopped into pieces, and filled into the silo, a cylindrical wooden structure 12 feet in diameter and 17 feet high, standing in an extension of the barn. ol — x a BS 3% fy < “Ss Rp x ~ os 3 ray 5 0 te A efor é Aa = 2 5 % i a = (a) Mature plants Hal S395 an 10°75)) 1272) 152\ 55:58") QEsOW |/5142 | 11°97 | 5°74 | (6) Immature plants ...) 12°70 | 4°76) 11°00 11°76 | 1°67 | 53°29 | 25°63 | 5:32 | 11°74 | 4:57 Composition of Silage. Some months after filling the silo, the sacks were recovered and their contents weighed and examined. The silage had a brownish-green colour, but otherwise the pieces looked unaltered. It hada pungent smell suggesting butyric acid, and was acid to litmus. Numbers of bacteria were present, including Bac. subtilis and others, but there was no mould of any sort. The composition is curiously constant, showing far less fluctuation from year to year than does the original maize. ThABLEMO: AVERAGE percentage composition of maize silage. | | ‘erage 1901. | 1903. 1904. 1905.1 1906. Average of all. Dry matter sis 3 Pal Lalo 12°20 | 13°79 13°56 13°32 12°99 Ether extract! ... sg 33 “16 10 83 “56 29 “B9 ‘Total nitrogen! x 6:25... ...| 1°38 1°35 1°65 1°69 1°30 1°45 Nitrogen-free extract |... Fea 20708 5°67 5°15 Daz 5°61 5°38 Fibre i sens aco ele 4566 4°13 5-06 5°06 _ 5°20 4°82 Ash ss Fey see ss Hs By abst) “93 92 “98 | ‘Total nitrogen... 500 ae °213 216 | 265 269 208 234 Protein nitrogen ... ae rf aa oil 1) 156 “181 ‘O89 37 Non-protein nitrogen ) (by difference) ae °. of total N. present | as non-protein a a6 aaa 095 109 ‘088 ‘119 “103 | 43°8 | 41°] 32°8 57:2 43°72 Nitrogen as NH... a oe Scie 003 | “006 ‘O14 “006 007 Nitrogen as amide ore eel en | | ‘007 | 010 ‘001 006 Sugar sae Ne ats 5% raul) | eral scl nil nil nil Furfurol obtained he Bo Seciaal eee SOO 1°87 2:26 see 2°04 Volatile acid (as H.SO,) ae Aes ly; 07 03 side ‘09 Non-volatile acid (as H,SO,) ...! fs “30 68 Bee See “49 The figures for total and non-protein nitrogen and ammonia are all somewhat too low because we have not been able to avoid loss of ammonia during sampling. We reduced loss as far as possible by starting the several nitrogen determinations in the wet silage immediately the sample was drawn. The ether extract figures are only approximate. See experimental part for details. Dec. 2,1908.) Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1015 When silage is pressed it readily yields quantities of a brownish juice of very complex composition. The amount and nature of the nitrogen compounds in 100 c.c. of typical sample of this juice were as follows : Total nitrogen Bie ssae well Nitrogen as NH, a ... ‘030=18°6 per cent. of total Nitrogen as amide _... a LOLS S ie eas 3 Nitrogen as amino acid aa (089-0053) es " Nitrogen not accounted for... ‘0O28=17'4 ,, as A list of the more important compounds present in silage appears in the accompanying paper. It comprises a number of acids containing no nitrogen, which probably have no actual feeding value; among these are formic, acetic, butyric, caproic, and hexoic acids, two hydroxyacids, lactic and malic, and also succinic acid, There are also simple nitrogenous compounds, amino acids, basic diamino acids and amides, the feeding value of which is not yet ‘settled, but is certainly less, and probably much less, than that of protein. Finally there are amines which are actually injurious, though whether they normally occur to a sufficient extent to do any harm may be doubted ; cases have come to our notice, however, where animals have not thriven on silage, and the trouble may very probably be ascribed to these bodies. It is common to speak of the large amount of “amides” present in silage, but Table 3 shows how very small the quantity really is. Amides occur to a smaller extent than ammonia, and to a still smaller extent than amino-acids. They form only about 5 per cent, of the non-protein nitrogen, and in view of this fact it is highly desirable that the practice of regarding all of the non- protein nitrogen compounds as amides should be discontinued. The losses going on during ensilage. On comparing the composition of silage with that of the maize from which it was formed it is possible to discover what has been the loss during the process. An exact quantitative comparison is rendered impossible by the difficulties of sampling and of preventing loss of ammonia, but it is quite clear that a considerable amount of dry matter has disappeared during the process. The loss is not uniform throughout the silo, and no two bags give exactly the same results, but the average of our experiments during 1905 and 1906, set out in Table 4, shows its general distribution. It will be noticed that the fibre is practically unaltered in amount, and we have confirmed this observation by microscopically examining sections of maize and of the silage afterwards produced. We found that the epidermal cells had undergone no change in the silo beyond a certain amount ot shrinkage; even the stomata were unaltered. Similarly the vascular bundles were intact. The nitrogen-free extract suffers most. Direct tests showed that the sugar disappears almost entirely, The fail in the furfurol indicates a decrease in the amount of cellulose, 7.2., the less resistant cellulose, which alone falls into this group; this was confirmed by microscopic examination, which showed that many of the cells of the mesophyll were completely disintegrated. 1016 = Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. The protein suffers considerably, though not in reality as much as the nitrogen-tree extract. Hydrolytic decomposition, complicated by bacterial action, takes place, and altnough there is not much, if any, loss of free nitrogen, the new nitrogenous compounds are less valuable as food than the protein. TaBLeE 4. | Mean losses in the silo, 1904 and 1905. | Nitrogen- | Total Protein | ens Dry Ether : mh AC 5 Fur- matter. jextract. ae Eubre: nitrogen. nitrogen. a aaa Ash: furol. ee ieee Put in... . 100 100 100 100; >). <100).) 100-5100), 3100 100 Brought out .. 64 | 84 45 92 74 |. 45 183 | 86 68 | DO Loss ...| 36 16 55 Siu 26. 55 | A 14 32 Gain Ps | te Boe ace tor | ' $3 aH | | The figures show an absolute loss of nitrogen, but we are satisfied that a certain amount of ammonia is given off during sampling, and we have no evidence to show how or to what extent losses of nitrogen occur in the silo. In laboratory experiments on silage made in bottles we only observed losses of nitrogen when air was admitted, and this did not happen in the silo. The figures given for the loss in ether extract are quite accidental, since the value obtained in any particular bag depends on its position in the silo ; the bags in the top half showed a considerable loss—32 per cent. on the average—those in the /ower half showed an average gain of 6 per cent. The ether extract of silage contains a number of soluble acids which obviously wash downwards. Further, since these acids are derived from the nitrogen-free extract or protein of the maize it follows that no comparison is in any case possible. A similar downwash occurs with the soluble ash constituents, the upper bags losing on an average 17 per cent. and the lower bags gaining 2 per cent., hence the average figure given in Table 4 is of no value. The in- soluble ash constituents are of course not liable to this movement ; but their amount is so small and variable—depending partly on the presence of stray soil—that the experimental error becomes too large to give the calculations any value. The general nature of the losses outlined above is probably the same in all silos, though the actual amount varies: our losses are higher than those observed by American investigators, but there is considerable difference between American and English maize at the time of cutting; ours is much less mature, and contains a lower proportion of nitrogen-free extract. When a farmer makes silage on a large scale he often wants to know what loss takes place in his silo. The most convincing way of demonstrating this is, of course, to bury weighed bags of material as we have done, but a sufficiently accurate result can be obtained by assuming that the fibre under- goes no change, or only a 5 per cent. loss, and calculating on this basis the Dec. 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1017 amount of each constituent that should be present. This method is much better than another which is sometimes used—viz., to assume that the ash is unchanged in amount, and to use it as the basis of calculation ; in the first instance, as we have just seen, the soluble ash is liable to wash downwards, and in the second place the percentage of ash is so small that a trifling error in sampling or determination very considerably affects the result. Of course there is in any case the difficulty of getting the average composition of the green material and the silage, which is only got over by taking a number of samples. In our experiments more than one-third of the total dry matter was lost, including more than half the nitrogen-free extract and the protein ; in the latter case some of the decomposition products, the amino-acids, etc., remained in the silo, so that the actual loss of nitrogen was only 26 per cent. The fibre appeared to undergo no change. Experimental details. Analytical Methods.—The determinations of fat, total nitrogen, fibre, etc., were all made in the ordinary manner. Non-protein nitrogen was estimated by Stutzer’s method, the substance is boiled with a mixture of copper hydrate and glycerine, which dissolves the non-protein but leaves the protein in the insoluble residue. The method is no doubt open to objection, because some proteins may dissolve and some insoluble non-protein bodies, ¢.g., the purin bases, may remain insoluble. But when used for purposes of com- parison, and not with an idea of getting absolute results, we consider that it gives quite valuable information. To determine the quantities of nitrogen present as ammonia, amide, and amino-acid respectively, we adopted the very elegant methods used by Drs. Horace Brown and Millar, described in the Transactions of the Guinness Research Laboratory, Vol. I, Part 1, 1903. We have found them work very satisfactorily with our substances. The furfurol obtained on distillation with hydrochloric acid was converted into its hydrazone and weighed. Krug’s method of working was adopted, but we prefer not to attempt expressing our results in terms of any particular pentosan. It is well known that several groups of bodies give furfurol on distillation, including pentosans, celluloses (the so-called “ oxy-celluloses ”), glycuronic acid, etc., but that certain members of the groups yield instead non-volatile hydroxy-furfurols, and hence cannot be estimated in this way. In view of the fact that the furfurol yielding bodies of green maize have not been carefully examined, we prefer to give the experimental figure only, and in the Tables have given the actual weight of furfurol obtained from 100 parts of substance. No doubt the less resistant or “oxy-celluloses ” are responsible for much of the furfurol. Method of Procedure.—The maize was cut up, roughly dried at about 80 C., ground in a coffee mill, and reduced to a fine powder in the Maercker mill. Drying could now be completed, and samples taken for analysis. A different scheme had to be adopted for silage. As the bags were recovered from the silo they were weighed, brought to the laboratory, and 1018 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. samples taken as speedily as possible for the various nitrogen determinations. But no matter how quickly we worked we could not altogether avoid loss ; our figures for total nitrogen and free ammonia are therefore low. Still, the loss is much less than if the samples had been dried before the nitrogen was determined, for the nitrogen found in the dried material is always less than one expects by calculating from the amount in the original wet silage. It will be observed that in three cases the difference is approximately equal to: the amount of ammonia present in wet silage, but in the other cases it is. much greatei Samples | to 4 were drawn from the 1905 silage, sample 5 was taken in 1906, and sample 6 comes from a silo on another farm. Another sample of silage was quickly drawn for the determination of the volatile acid. It was distilled in steam, and the distillate titrated with standard alkali. The results are only approximate, the higher acids come over so slowly that the distillate never really becomes neutral. The non- volatile acid was estimated by titrating the residue in the flask, but we soon gave up this determination because of the difficulty of getting a sharp end reaction. TABLE 5. PERCENTAGE of nitrogen in the dry matter of silage. Sample 1. | Sample 2. Sample 3. | Sample 4. | Sample 5. Sample 6, Calculated an rE Pliese Leo0eul) eeal0 2°41 2°15 1°58 2:31 Found Nat Hee ade a 1°42 161 119 1°24 1°45 1°70 tr Seis a aa ahs : | ESE Loss during drying a te “48 49 1:22 9) os? ‘61 Ammonia found i in wet silage . 4] ‘36 33) “94 ‘Ol | ‘07 A third sample was dried, ground, and used tor the estimation of ether extract, fibre, ash, and nitrogen-free extract. The ether extract results are only approximate ; samples continue losing weight for days in the extraction apparatus. Some of the acids are only slightly soluble in ether ; the colouring matter also dissolves with difficulty. The bulk of the sample was then used for qualitativeexamination.—(Journal of Agricultural Science.) Dee. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1019 The Chemical Changes taking place during the Ensilage of Maize. EDWARD J. RUSSELL, D.Sc. (Lond.), Rothamsted Experiment Station. When the green parts of living plants are cut up and packed in a loosely covered vessel allowing entrance of air, mould soon makes its appearance and decomposition begins ; the mass becomes alkaline and is ultimately converted into black humic bodies quite unfit for cattle food. But if air is excluded the change is fundamentally different ; no mould developes, the temperature rises, the mass takes on a greenish-brown colour and characteristic odour, it becomes acid, and for a long period is suitable for cattle food. The former is. a putrefactive change, the latter gives rise to silage. The general chemical changes known to take place during ensilage are the conversion of sugar and similar bodies into carbon dioxide and water, the production of volatile acetic and butyric acids and of non-volatile lactic acid, and the conversion of protein into non-protein! material. Several hypotheses have been put forward to account for the silage changes, and to explain why the product keeps so long. According to one—perhaps the commonest—fermentations set up by micro-organisms. evolve so much heat that everything is killed and the mass becomes sterilised. Another view is that certain thermophilous organisms bring about the observed changes.2 Wollny3 considered that the lactic and acetic acids were formed by bacteria, but that the rise of temperature was a respira- tion effect. On the other hand, Pasteur’s work on anaerobic respiration led Fry to conclude that the changes are not due to bacteria at all, but to the cell, and are the result of the altered conditions in which the cell now finds itself. In absence of air oxidation of sugar does not go as far as carbon dioxide and water, but stops at alcohol and acetic acid. This view has been developed by Babcock and H. L. Russell5 in an important paper published in 1902 ; they found that silage could be made perfectly well in the presence of ether or chloroform, and they therefore conclude that bacterial activity cannot be an essential factor in the process. No acid was produced in this case, however ; but acidity appeared when the cells were not killed, and the longer the cells lived the more acid was formed. 1Sometimes called ‘‘ amides,” but it is highly desirable that this term should be dropped. The word ‘‘amide” has a definite chemical significance, and many of the nitrogenous non-protein bodies in plants are not ‘‘ amides” but amino-acids, ete. 2 H.g.—Griffiths, Chem. News, 1894, 70, 273: see also Lafar, Tech. Mycology, p. 262. 3 Die Zersetzung der Organischen Stoic, 1897. 4 Sweet Silage, 1885, Agric. Press Co., London. > Centr. fiir Bakt. 1902, 9, 81. 1020 = Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2,.1908. The first of these hypotheses may be dismissed at once, since silage invariably contains bacteria and is never sterile. Bacteria must, therefore, obviously play some part, even if only a secondary part, in the process. It is equally clear that the living cell is an active agent. Silage is always made from living plants, and the cells live for some time after they are put into the silo; the breaking down procesyes can still go on, though they may be modified by the absence of air, but the building-ap processes depending on light and air are stopped. Three sets of agents—the living protoplasm, enzymes and bacteria appear to be involved, and no hypothesis is satis- factory which fails to take account of all three. The green maize and the silage dealt with in the present paper were produced at the Wye Agricultural College, where a large part of the experimental work was done. The method of making the silage is described in the preceding paper ; the details of the separation and the analytical results are in the experimental part of the present one. The substances produced during ensilage. On comparing the weights of the various groups of constituents of green maize put into the silo with those of the silage brought out, it is found (see article, “The Composition of Green Maize,” &c.) that (1) there has been practically no change in the fibre ; (2) all of the sugar and some of the less resistant celluloses disappear ; (3) carbonic acid is evolved and a number of acids appear, which were not before present; (4) the ‘“ protein” nitrogen compounds, 7.¢., those forming insoluble compounds with copper hydrate, are reduced to about one-half ; (5) the non-protein nitrogen compounds, 7.¢., those forming soluble copper compounds, practically double in amount. The changes undergone by the nitrogenous compounds are well seen in the juices pressed out from maize and from silage respectively ; the latter contains more substances reacting with nitrous acid and with phosphotungstic acid than the former. Relative weights, Weights in 100 c.c. of juice. total N.= Fresh maize Silage juice, Fresh maize Silage juice, grams grams. juice. juice. Total nitrogen SS ‘0677 16) 100 100 N. liber ated by H.N. Orn i, “O183 “OS9 vay 55 N. precipitated by phospho tungstie acid Be “O108 060 16 37 The relative amounts of the different groups of nitrogen compounds in silage vary somewhat, but the juice referred to in the preceding table con- tained in 100 ¢.c.:— Grams. Percentage, total=100. Nitrogen as ammonia —_... me 6030 18°6 Nitrogen as amide... = syn OA: 87 Nitrogen as amino-acid... Soo. AUS 46°5 Nitrogen not accounted for .. 042 26-2 Total ae cello 100 : Jn the apparatus designed by Drs. Brow n and Millar (Trans. Guinness Research Lab. 1903, 1, 30). Dee. 2,1908.| Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1021 These results indicate the general nature of the changes ; we can, however, get more definite information by ascertaining what compounds are actually present. The following have been isolated by the author from silage :— Alcohols. Fatty acids. Hydroxy-acids. Dibasic acids. Ethyl. alcohol Formic acid Lactic acid Carbonic acid Acetic acid Malic acid Succinic acid n-Butyric acid Isopropylacetic acid Hexoic acid (either n-caproic or isobutylacetic acid) Nitrogen compounds. Mono-amino acids. Diamino acids. Basic compounds. A mixture which could not Histidine Ammonia be separated. Reactions Lysin Pentamethylene diamine indicate Ornithin Betain (trace only) glycocol Adenin alanine and others Another purin base not identified In addition there was some gummy matter, some lecithin, a fragrant oii, a little humus, besides the usual celluloses, protein, oil, ete. The following were sought for, but could not be found :—Aldehyde, higher alcohols, glycerin, arginin. Many of these are altogether absent from maize, e.g., the volatile acids, lactic acid, etc. ; others are found, e.g., the amino acids, but to a much less extent. This list does not include all the constituents, for indications of other bodies were obtained ; but it will be found sufficient to give a fairly accurate idea of what goes on in the silo. The agents producing the changes. It has already been stated that there are three possible agents likely to be involved in bringing about changes in the silo, viz., living protoplasm carrying on its vital functions, particularly respiration, enzymes which, though origin- ating from protoplasm, can, nevertheless, act independently of it, and micro- organisms. The relative parts played by these three cannot be ascertained by direct experiment because of the impossibility of sterilising pieces of living maize ; hence the effect of the cell alone, apart from organisms, cannot be investigated. The method adopted in the first series of experiments was to pack into bottles (which make very good miniature silos) pieces of (A) living maize, to get the total effect of all three agents, (B) maize killed and sterilised with toluene, which still allows enzymes to act, (C) maize killed by heating to 98° C., when enzymes and living organisms are destroyed, but not spores; certain organisms may, therefore, develop, (D) living maize inoculated with silage juice containing large numbers of the organisms actually occurring in the silo. In all these cases the bottles were closed to prevent entrance of air, but provision was made for the escape of gases. Further, in order to observe the effect of admitting air, some of the bottles containing living maize were simply plugged with cotton-wool (E£). The bottles were then kept for five months at 20° C. in an incubator. At the E 1022 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. end of the period the bottles were opened and the contents examined. The results may be summarised as follow :— Air excluded. Air admitted. A B C D E Protoplasm, en- Enzymes only acting. | Protoplasm and en-. Protoplasm, en- (Living maize). zymes and casual (Maize and toluene.) | zymes killed : spore- zymes and silage organ- : organisms all acting. forming organisms isms present. (Living maize). present. (Maize heated (Maize and silage to 98° C.) juice.) Silage formed. |Noobvious change. No obvious change. Silage formed. Putrefaction. No mould. No mould, | Little mould. No mould. Much mould. Some dry matter No loss. | Little loss (12%). | Some loss (25%). | Much loss lost (25%). (60%). Mass becomes No change. | No change. Mass becomes Mass becomes. acid. | acid, alkaline. Volatile acids None formed. None formed. | Acetic and butyric None formed. (acetic and acids produced. butyric) formed. Protein changes | Protein changes No change. Protein changes to Non-protein to non-protein. to non-protein. | non-protein. | changes to protein. No loss of No loss of No loss of No loss of Nytrogen nitrogen. nitrogen. nitrogen, | nitrogen. lost. It will be observed that the characteristic silage changes ; the production of the silage odour and colour, of volatile acids, and the conversion of protein to non-protein, occur only in A and D, where living cells are kept out of contact with air. If cells and organisms are killed, but enzymes are allowed to act, only one of the changes takes place—the conversion of protein to non- protein. If spore-forming organisms alone survive, as in C, none of the silage changes occur. The Volatile Acids —Since these are formed only in A and D, and not at all in B or C, their formation must be attributed either to the living protoplasm of the maize cell or to casual organisms ; their invariable and rapid production in A (this experiment was repeated a number of times) appears strongly to indicate that they are formed by the living cell. Further, their non-occurrence in E shows that they arise only when the living cell is deprived of oxygen. They may, therefore, be regarded as products of anaerobic respiration. But, although the living cell is probably the primary agent, the organisms also play a part in either producing or modifying them ; the acids in D, where organisms were introduced, were somewhat different in character from those in A. Complete separations were not attempted, but the silver salts of the mixtures contained the following percentages of silver :— Mixture in A Mixture in D (living maize only). (living maize+silage organisms). Bottle 1... a 56°56 l 60-2] Bottle 2... we POTD ZY Silver acetate contains 64°65 per cent. and silver butyrate 55:40 per cent. It appears that more of the lower homologues are present in D than in A. Dec. 2, 1908. ] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1023 The mixture found in the silo consists mainly of butyric and acetic acids, but there occur also formic acid and some of the higher acids. Formic acid and the higher acids are known to be the products of the bacterial decomposition of cellulose, and as cellulose disappears during ensilage one can safely attribute part of the volatile acid to organisms. These decompositions are, however, quite secondary. The conversion of protein to non-protein,—Unlike the formation of volatile acids, the decomposition of protein does not depend directly on the living cell, for we find it going on in B, where the cells had been killed by toluene. It does not, however, occur in ©, where the enzymes had been decomposed, and this change is therefore to be attributed to enzymes, which can act not only during the life but also after the death of the cell. The amount of change observed was— A (maize only). B (maize and toluene). Protein N. put in : eh B56) 100 100 Protein N. brought out.. ao | 75 ! 89 | See | 25 1] | Protein N. converted into non-protein. The quantity of protein decomposed is less when the cells are suddenly killed by toluene than when they continue living for some time, but this is quite consistent with the general facts of enzyme action. The killed cells contain only the amount of enzyme present at the moment of death ; action must therefore stop as soon as this has acted on the protein in its immediate vicinity ; moreover, the toluene may retard its action. In A, on the other hand, fresh quantities of enzyme can always be made so long as the cell lives, and the presence of a little acid is known to be favourable to protein hydrolysis. Further evidence of the presence of enzymes capable of decomposing protein was obtained by studying the changes in sterilized maize juice. Some green maize was cut in October, at the time the silo was being filled. It was pressed, and the juice, to which 2 per cent. of toluene was added, was kept at 25° C; after some time it was found to have undergone a consider- able amount of hydrolysis, for there was a great increase in the compounds decomposed by nitrous acid and in those precipitated by phosphotungstic acid. Action has been more vigorous than in the last experiment, probably because diffusion has gone on better. | In fresh maize juice. After being kept at 25°. Total N. Se | 100 100 N. liberated by ‘nitrous acid.. 2 27 39 N. in phosphotungstic acid precipitate 16 oo As 2 per cent. of toluene was found to keep the juice sterile (for no growth was obtained on inoculating a little into bouillon), this hydrolysis can only 1024 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec.. 2, 1908. be attributed to enzymes. It is therefore evident that the maize put into the silo contained enzymes capable of hydrolysing the protein of the cell even after the cell is dead. The change that has gone on in the silo clearly indicates that such a hydrolysis has actually taken place, and is to be regarded as the primary cause of the decomposition of protein during ensilage. In the first place, the average general grouping of the nitrogen compounds in silage (see p. 1021) is much the same as that in the hydrolysed maize juice just referred to ; nitrous acid liberated 551 per cent. of the total nitrogen in each case, and phosphotungstic acid precipitated 37 and 33 per cent. respectively. In the second place, typical products of proteolysis occur in the silo, When protein is hydrolysed by tryptic enzymes the products include mono- and di-amino acids (lysin, histidin, &c.). When nucleo-proteins are hydrolysed the purin bases are obtained in addition. All these compounds are found in silage. It would not, however, be correct to ascribe the whole change to enzymes. The organisms present are not without action on the nitrogen compounds, and certain bodies e.g., amines characteristic of bacterial action—are found in the silo. But the bacterial changes appear to be secondary, and not an essential part of the process. The Influence of Free Oxygen on the Process.—Vhe effect of allowing tree oxygen to have access to the maize in E (see p. 1022) was to alter the product completely. There was a great development of Penicillium, which did not appear when air was excluded. The mass became black and had a musty smell ; it was alkaline and appeared to be free from acetates and butyrates ; there had been an increase in the amount of protein, indicating that some had been formed from the simpler non-protein material, presumably by the mould. The general changes were :—- Dry matter. | Protein nitrogen. Non-protein nitrogen. | Total nitrogen. Ruteiny » 17°95 197 “104 301 Brought out < 7°00 | 238 ‘O41 219) Loss sate a 10°95 — ‘041 0638 *022 Percentage loss ... 61-0 Bas 615 7:3 .s gain...| 5c 20°8 It will be remembered that in A and B, where air was excluded, the protein had decreased 25 and 11 per cent. respectively, whilst here it has increased 21 per cent. The change in the non-protein substances was also shown directly by determining the amount of nitrogen liberated by nitrous acid. In the case of good silage juice, more than 40 per cent. of the total uitrogen is set free by this reagent ; while only 7 per cent. is liberated from juice expressed from the black, alkaline, mouldy layers found at the top of the silo, stretching 155 per cent. was the mean amount obtained from silage juice; the actual amount, however, varied considerably in different samples from 38 per cent. to about 65 per cent. Dec. 2,.1908.) Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1025 down as far as the air can enter. Again, some fresh silage juice, which gave up 38 per cent. of its nitrogen on treatment with nitrous acid, was allowed to become mouldy ; after three months only 18 per cent. was set free. The disappearance of non-protein, and the formation of protein, indicates that the moulds and other organisms have utilised the simpler substances as food, and built them up into complex cell constituents. A similar chan known to take place when farmyard manure is stored. The chemical effects following on the admission of air can be ascribed to ge 1s the course of respiration in the cell, which now remains normal, so that butyric and acetic acids are no longer formed in quantity, and to the development of mould, which appears in the black, decomposed layers at the top of the silo as far as oxygen can get in, but not lower down. Indeed, the absence of mould is characteristic of good silage, though it is very difficult to explain. Penicillium is reckoned among the hardiest forms of lite: It seems able to grow almost anywhere, and to tolerate bodies that would be fatal to most other organisms, yet it cannot grow in the silo, and at a certain distance down it stops absolutely short. On the dividing lne, where the black, mouldy layer ends and the good silage begins, the author has often found pieces of maize 1 inch long, one end of which was strongly acid and free from mould, while the other was alkaline and had a growth of Penicil- lium. It would appear that there is some actual inhibiting agent produced in the silo when oxygen is absent and not formed when oxygen is present, though no doubt the absence of free oxygen in the silo is also a cause why mould does not develop. The Course of the Process in the Silo. Putting together our results, it is possible to sketch out fairly completely what happens in the silo. When the cells are put in they are alive and their vital functions continue. Respiration goes on and sugar, &c., is used up, but in absence of air oxidation is not complete, and intermediate bodies— alcohol, acetic acid, butyric and other acids—are formed, in addition to carbon dioxide and water. The tryptic enzymes of the cell act on the protein forming the usual hydrolytic products—amino acids, diamino acids, We. ; from the nucleo-proteins purin bases are produced in addition, The heat developed during these processes cannot be dissipated, as it usually 1s in the living plant by the evaporation of water, because water vapour cannot escape from the silo; instead, it raises the temperature of the mass. Respira- tion is accelerated by the increased temperature, but, as no more material is being elaborated, and only decomposition is taking place, the process soon comes to an end. The cell then dies for want of more substance to break down ; it loses its turgidity and becomes flaccid, causing the mass to settle down. ‘The temperature also steadily falls. The decomposition of the protein, which had also been accelerated by the rise in temperature, can continue even after the cell is dead, because the enzymes when once formed 1'The maximum of 33° to 37° C. (91°4° to 95°6° Fahr.) observed in the Wye silo was always reached in about five days; there was then a slow but regular fall. 1026 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | Dec. 2, 1908. are not dependent on the life of the cell—in other words, it is an autolytic decomposition. Some of the products formed in the above changes inhibit the development of mould, and the general conditions obtaining in the silo are unfavourable to putrefaction Tne mass therefore remains good for food for a long time. It is, however, not sterile. Certain bacteria are always present and attack the softer celluloses (but not to any extent the resistant ‘ fibre”) producing the humus, some of the fatty acids, and probably the succinic acid present in silage. They also carry several stages further the decomposition of certain of the nitrogen compounds, and produce those bodies which cannot be sup- posed to arise from tryptic hydrolysis of protein. Thus pentamethylene diamine is a well-known decomposition product of lysin ; ornitbhin is known to arise from arginin, and the absence of the latter body may be due to its decomposition into ornithin and urea, which would further change into ammonium carbonate. In the following scheme are set out the changes as the author supposes them to take place. The lactic and malic acids might have arisen from the amino acids or from the carbohydrate material; the present experiments do not enable one to decide this point. On the above hypothesis the changes essential to the production of silage the disappearance of sugar, the formation of volatile fatty acids, and the hydrolysis of protein—are all considered to be the result of the activity of the living protoplasm or of the enzymes of the maize cell. The other changes, due to the bacteria invariably present, are considered to be of purely secondary importance, and merely have the effect of complicating the product without greatly altering its nature or even masking the primary changes. —(/Journal of Agricultural Science). See ES eee ee. io tee: eden ae yas 2 a Dec. 2, 1908. | Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1027 “Wonder Wheat’: An American Wheat Story. PARAGRAPHS have been in circulation in the Press recently concerning won- derful returns from wheat grown in Alaska, It was asserted that the Alaska wheat will yield 200 bushels to the acre, and conjectures have been made of the results when the wheat-producing countries of the world are sown with this fabulous grain. Many inquiries have been made of the Department of Agriculture respecting it, and it is possible that efforts may be made to sell small] quantities of this, or a similar alleged wheat, at exorbitant prices. The Departmental Wheat Experimentalist states that the variety referred to is the well known “ Miracle” or ‘“‘ Mummy” wheat, which belong toa group of wheats known as Poulard, Turgid, or Rivet Wheats (botanical name of which is 7’ritecum turgidum), to which also belong the better-known Austra- lian Poulard, and Galland’s Hybrid. Many of this family have the habit of producing compound or divided ears, and because of this habit they are called Miracle, or wonderful wheats ; sothat the name Miracle is not confined to one variety, but is given to any variety of this class having divided or branch- ing ears; this habit of producing compound ears is likely to lead the person not familiar with these varieties to believe that extraordinary yields would be obtained from them, but they are by no means prolific, and only yield in a very moderate manner. Their value for milling is low, the flour being rich in starch, and poor in gluten, dark and unsuitable for bread-making, except when mixed with much ““stronger ” flour. This group of wheats is by no means new to Australia. Under the names of Young’s Bearded, Hen and Chickens, Mummy, Miracle, and Egyptian, different varieties have been growing in this country since the early days of wheat-growing. Some of these varieties are rust-resisting ; one of them under the general name Egyptian, because of its rust-resisting character, was fairly generally grown on the east coast, just after the prevalence of rust made the cultivation of common bread-wheats impossible in those districts. PersonaL: Mr. F. G. CHOMLEY. Reapers of the Gazette, whilst regretting that Mr. Chomley is severing his connection with the Agricultural Gazette, will be pleased to learn of his promotion to the position of Manager of the Experiment Farm at Yanco. Mr. Chomley has acted in the capacity of Sub-editor of the Gazette for nearly four years. 1028 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. The American Apple Industry G. BRADSHAW. * THE late immense arrivals of American apples have been responsible for a good deal of notice in the daily papers, mostly reflective on the grounds that we can grow every variety of apple in this country, and did the Sydney cold store warehousemen only cater for this trade there would be small need for the thousands of pounds worth of Californians. In relation to the American apple crop, the Agricultural Department of the United States estimates that the average throughout the entire country will be about 58 per cent. of a full crop, as compared with 44 per cent. of a full crop for the previous year. The great centres of the apple industry in America are in New York State, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, and the Pacific coast. In these widely scattered regions the apples are brought to the centres of distribution and consumption, and what is not sold or shipped at the time of harvest is placed in cold storage for use until another crop comes in. This State, which is credited with being the pioneer of refrigeration, is slow to realise the possibilities of cold applied to products other than meat, for even before our orchards are harvested, negotiations are opened with other countries for supplies to keep us going until our next crops ready. Appended are the wholesale prices realised in the Sydney markets for this season’s first arrivals. Apples-—American. per bushel case. per bushel case. s. s. se s. Canada Reds ... 12 to 15 Spitzenburg ... 14 to 15 ted Permains 2.2 7 12). 15 Delaware Reds 13 Mo Pippins soem oa LO. Hoovers Seals Jonathans pee ort beeree al b5) Commerce tens alo Winesaps Beh Lies ll) Baldwins Feo The first apple shipment to England the present season from America, was put on the Covent Garden market at the end of September, Baldwins fetching but 10s. per barrel (containing about 25 bushels) as against 13s, for a bushel of the same variety here. Dec. 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1029 Another Bad. Weed for New South Wales. J. H. MAIDEN. Scolymus maculatus, L., the ‘“‘Srporrep GOLDEN THISTLE.” Botanical Description.—An annual large herb with slender roots and much branched stems, especially at the base. Stems slightly villous, winged nearly to the base with the broad decurrent bases of the leaves. Leaves alternate, stiff, lanceolate in outline, green and shiny, variegated with white spots and margins, crowded at the base, but becoming gradually more distant and shorter on the stem, sinuate-lobed, with thickened margins and irregular strong and sharp marginal prickles. i Flower-heads solitary and terminal on the stalks, enclosed in leafy bracts longer than the flowers, and in a tew rows of pungent-pointed involucral bracts. Flowers golden yellow, all uniformly ligulate. Receptacle conical, scaly, the chaffy scales partly enclosing the achenes. Achenes without any pappus. It is closely allied to Aentrophyllum lanatum (Carthamus lanatus), from which it is chiefly distinguished by the winged stems and branches. It may be looked upon, by non-botanists, as a coarse edition of that plant, which is figured in the Gazette for May, 1894, p. 298. Occurrence in Hurope.—A long description of the plant is given in Miller and Martyn’s “Gardeners and Botanists’ Dictionary,” but this is a description of the appearance of the plants, without economic notes. The only note of interest in this Dictionary is that Johnson says: “I saw this plant in this year (1633) growing in the garden of Mr. John Tradescant, sen., at South Lambeth, London.” This shows that the plant was already cultivated in England in 1633. In W. Miller’s “Dictionary of English Names of Plants” it is called ‘“‘Spotted Golden Thistle.” In the ‘‘ Gardeners’ and Botanists’ Dictionary” it is called “Annual Golden Thistle.” It was evidently cultivated only for its beauty, but not for any economic value. Indeed, I cannot find any redeeming feature except its picturesqueness. It is a native of the Mediterranean region. It has not been hitherto recorded as a naturalised plant in any of the Australian States so far as T am aware. It may originally have been a garden escape. Occurrence in Nev: South Wales.—‘‘ This thistle has been known to me for the last fourteen years or more in the neighbourhood of the cattle track, which is on the main stock route through Warrah, from Breeza to Sydney, vid Merriwa. I have never seen it anywhere else. We, of course, destroy it and prevent an abundant growth ; otherwise I feel sure it would soon take possession. Nothing will either eat it or approach it ; it is, in fact, the most worthless and most dangerous plant I have ever met with belonging to the thistle family.”—(George Fairbairn, Australian Agricultural Co., Warrah, Willow Tree. ) Mr. Ogden, manager of West Warrah, knew of the plant for several years prior to the 1902 drought. 1030 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [ Dec. 2, 1908. Mr, Windeyer Thompson says it occurs at Miller’s Creek, under the Liverpool Range (property of Messrs. Reid Bros.) ; Walhallow, on the Mucki River, Quirindi, and that it is said to have been in the district for sixteen or seventeen years, The Warrah Shire Council, Murrurundi, are taking steps to proclaim it noxious, The only way to exterminate it is to eradicate it not later than the flowering stage. If it be allowed to seed it will get a still firmer hold, and from Mr. Fairbairn’s testimony it is a most dangerous weed. The allied Scolymus hispanicus is a native of countries at or near the Mediterranean Sea. The young roots and tender shoots of this biennial herb serve as a culinary vegetable, much like salsify; the aged root acts as a diuretic. It is known as “Scolyme d’ Espagne,” or “ Cardillo,” or “Tagarninas” by the French ; “‘Cardouille,” near Montpellier (France). It has largely gone out of cultivation in France, but a full account of it will be found in “ Le Potager d’un Curieux” (Pallieux and Blois). THRIPS. W. W. FROGGATT. Iv a letter to the Department of Agriculture, a correspondent states that hundreds of apple-trees in the Marstield district—full of bloom—had not set a single apple owing to the prevalence of thrips. The apple most affected wa “Granny Smith.” The question of thrips in the flowers of different fruit trees is a very interesting one. It is stated that in certain districts around Sydney the flowers of the trees, from no apparent cause, do not set ; and though the tree may be covered with bloom, not a single fruit sets through some fault in the fertilisation. It is a well-known fact that several species of ‘black fly” (7Vhrypide@) teed upon the pollen of the flowers they infest, and the question is asked as to whether these tiny insects swarming in the opening flowers eat all the pollen, so that none comes in contact with the stigma, and the whole flower withers and drops off without maturing into a fruit. It seems hardly likely that all the pollen would be destroyed ; we would rather expect to find that cross fertilisation would be caused by the presence of multitudes of these insects. They might, however, attack the stigma above the ovaries; and if they sucked the surface off, it would not be able to receive and assimilate the pollen that should fall upon its sticky surface. The flowers submitted by the correspondent, though being a second bloom, were full of small thrips in all stages of development, which is apparently the same species that attacks the rose in our suburban gardens. The thrips propagate by means of eggs laid in clusters, probably upon the back of the twigs of the apple-tree. Spraying in winter before the buds open, with a caustic spray, such as lime and sulphur, would be probably one of the best methods of clearing them off the trees before they could get into the flowers. Dec. 2,1908.| Agricuitural Gazette of N.S.W. 1031 The English Royal Horticultural Society's Examinations in Horticulture. Tue Minister of Agriculture has received advice from the Agent-General for New South Wales in London to the effect that, on the invitation of the Government of the United Provinces of India, the General Examination of the Society in the Principles of Horticulture is to be modified so as to fulfil the local requirements, and a first examination will be held in April, 1909, at Saharanpur. This has suggested the possibility of other countries and districts considering it desirable to enter candidates for a similarly modified examination, in which case the Council would doubtless be prepared to organise it. The examiners are leading horticulturists in England, and for examinations abroad, will be assisted by suitable experts acquainted with the special horticultural conditions of the various countries desiring to adopt the English tests. The General Examination is now an acknowledged standard of qualification in Horticulture in Great Britain, and it is thought it may be of similar advantage and assistance in New South Wales. Other details arranged will be communicated on application for the examination, but the following prospectus as arranged for 1909 will indicate its general lines and the sort of knowledge required. If it should be considered desirable to adopt this proposal locally, the Department of Agriculture will be willing to communicate with the English Society, which would also greatly value the suggestion of the name and address of a competent person in Great Britain versed in the horticultural conditions of this country, who could be asked to co-operate with the examiners appointed by the Society. The following is a prospectus of the examination :— Royat HorricuLTuRaL Society. GENERAL EXAMINATION. Candidates must be 18 years of age or over 18. Hlementary Principles On which horticultural practice is based. 1. Soils, good and bad : their mineral composition, chemical nature of fertilisers and their respective values. Lo The physiological values of water, heat, and air in plant growth. 3. The structure of seeds and their modes of germination ; the chemical phenomena of germination ; the movements of seedlings and the uses of them. 4, The functions of roots, their anatomical structure ; hindrances to healthy root action and their remedies. 1032 10. as Agriculturai Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. The uses of stems. and branches; the anatomical structure of ordinary dicotyledonous and of a monocotyledonous stem. The physiological functions of leaves, and the action of light upon them. ‘The structure of tubers and other subterranean stems ; the structure of bulbs and buds ; the general phenomena of vegetative multiplication. The physiological processes undergone in growth and development; the = 7 5 . . . . . structure of an active cell, and the process of cell division and the formation of tissues. os The structure of flower buds and of flowers ; the methods of pollination, natural and artificial. The process of impregnation of the ovule, and the formation of the embryo and endosperm. The classification and description of fruits ; the changes and development during ripening. The general characters of the commoner families of plants in cultivation. The origin of species. Horticultural Operations and Practice. Surveying and landscape gardening ; elements of. Choice of site for garden. Description and use of implements under each head. Operations connected with the cultivation of the land, with explanations and illustrations of good and bad methods; digging and trenching, draining, hoeing, stirring the soil and weeding, watering, preparation of seed beds, rolling and raking, sowing, transplanting and thinning, potting, planting, aspects, positions and shelter, staking, earthing and blanching, ete. Propagation, elementary principles; cuttings, buddings, and grafting, stocks used, layering, division, branch pruning, root pruning, old and young trees and bushes, training. , Fruit culture: Open air and under glass, small fruits, apples and pears, stone fruits; gathering and storing, packing, marketing, selection of varieties, etc. Vegetable culture: Open air and under glass. Tubers and roots, green vegetables, fruits and seeds, rotation of crops and selection of varieties. Flower culture: Outside and under glass. —, Manures and their application. Improvement of plants by cross-breeding, hybridisation and selection. Arboriculture: Trees and shrubs and their culture. Tnsect and fungus pests: Prevention and treatment. A Liguip Manure FoR TOMATOES. 1. Two parts nitrate of soda, one part dried blood, four parts superphos- phate of lime, and three parts kainit. 2. One-half part nitrate of soda, one part guano, and one part superphos- ’ 5 ) phate. Sulphate of armmonia can be used in lieu of the nitrate of soda and dried blood in the first-mentioned mixture. Apply 1 oz. to a gallon of water once a week as soon as the first fruit has set and begins to swell. — - See Dec. 2,1908.] a ao . Sele | nk al eret eon mee etal ee | a= Zip ive, eis, gs, Weal cas Walgett 96 31 32 9 ] 1-i4 Bourke 103 30 Sl 9 2 0:76 Wilcannia 103 30 40) 10 0 0°75 Wentworth 101 30 at 9 1 2°81 1S ER \ coe y Be E 105 30 22 |1&20) 10 1:39 Deniliquin... ss _.-| 30°08 | 75°4 | 49:07} 101 30 308) 20 6) 1:03 Albury ap m 30:06 |720|466| 95 | 31 | 3: 2 | 5 1°50 Forbes ve “fae a a OsO9 M428) d0s3 95 30 32 10 4 0°45 Dubbo oe Ee ..| 30:06 | 79:8 | 48°7 97 |30&31| 3 7 a 0°35 Clarence Heads en 30°19 | 71:4) 55:1 79 |19&26| 3: 9 1 1:26 Port Macquarie 30°!1 | 69°9' 504 +81 6 38 | 19 ] 0°52 Neweastle ... oe ..| 30°08) | 70°3 | 54°3:| 91 30 41:0 10 0 1°44 Sydney ye as _.| 30092) 70:6 |53°7| 90:5) 7 | 45:1) 9 0| 1:333 Jervis Bay ae ae) BOLOT Goel | ole | #80 dl 42°0| 20 Oleh * Corrected to 32 deg. F. and M.S.L. 1040 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [| Dec. 2, 1908. Orchard Notes. W. J. ALLEN, DECEMBER. Exporting Apples.—\t is time to make arrangements for space in boats if fruit is to he sent to Europe this coming fall. It would be well for those who have a good crop to arrange to send a trial shipment, be it ever so small, either in conjunction with some person or company who are exporting, or better still, through the medium of the Fruit Growers’ Union. Trrigation.—Where irrigation is practised it will be found necessary in most cases to give the soil a good soaking this month. Where young trees or vines are being watered, see that the soil is well soaked around their roots, and as soon as the ground is dry enough after the watering, cultivate the land thoroughly and work around the trees and vines with a fork hoe. Fruit Curing.—Apricots will be-the principal fruits for curing this month. See that the fruit is perfectly ripe before picking ; then cut them evenly, fumigate, and put them out in the sun with as little delay as possible. Do not cure them too much, but take them in when yet quite phable, after most of the moisture has left them. Pamphlets on curing fruit may be had on application to the Department of Agriculture, which will give all details in connection with this important work. (Fruit drying, Miscellaneous Publica- tion No. 919; Canning and Bottling, No. 999.) Cultivation.—All orchard land should be kept free from weeds, and to this end the horses and cultivators should have but little rest this month, as an orchard neglected for a few days will soon be covered with a coating of summer grass which will take many a hard day’s work to eradicate ; and couch grass spreads rapidly when left undisturbed. Where there are bad patches of couch grass, they should be ploughed up and harrowed on a very hot day, as the roots soon die when exposed to the sun. Passion vines which have been properly pruned and manured during November will now be putting on good growth and blooming freely. This fruit will be ready to meet the demand at Easter, when it usually finds a ready sale at good prices. Pests.—Keep a strict lookout for pests, and if trees have not been fumigated or sprayed, as the case may be, the grower should lose no time before beginning to fight them. For scales on citrus trees December, January, and February are good months for either spraying or fumigating, but for fungus diseases it is gener- allv best to spray once before the tree blooms and again as soon as_ the fruit has set, rather than leaving it until now. In many cases, however, later Dec. 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1041 sprayings are both beneficial and necessary. The grower should not neglect to either fumigate or spray all citrus trees so as to ensure clean fruit and healthy trees, but do not treat trees that are weak and out of condition, else they may be damaged. Complaints have been made by a few orchardists, of the burning of the foliage, after spraying with arsenate of lead. As there are several brands on the market, it would be well for orchardists to apply the spray to a section of a tree of the different varieties in the orchard, as by making such tests one is enabled to ascertain if the mixture is too strong; and, if so, the Pd quantity of arsenate of lead may be reduced, so that no scorching or damage to either leaves or fruit will occur. Some varieties are more tender than others, and by carrying out experiments as described above, the grower will know to reduce the strength of the arsenate of lead when spraying such varieties. The first spraying to be given just as the petals are falling, should be the strongest application, while for subsequent sprayings, the quantity of arsenate of lead may be reduced to 1} Ib. to 50 gallons of water, and it may be found that for some brands of arsenate of Jead, 2 lb. to 50 gallons will be quite strong enough for the first application. By testing the spray on a few trees before proceeding to treat the orchard, the possibility of damaging foliage or fruit may be avoided. Oodling Moth.—Keep a strict watch over bandages on the apple, pear and quince trees, and see that all fruit is picked up and destroyed either by feeding it to stock immediately, or boiling or burning it : but not by burying it, as a few of our careless growers have tried to do. It is to the interest of every grower to see that every grub is destroyed before it can fly. The man who buries his fruit is only breeding moths for himself and his neighbours, and therefore it is hoped that in the interests of the fruit industry, any growers found resorting to this means of disposing of their fruit, will be reported to the Inspectors and made an example of. We hope that growers will assist the Inspectors in every way possible, and where they know of those who are trying to evade the Act, they will report them. Fruit Fly.—As soon as this pest makes its appearance set kerosene traps around the trees or hang them in the trees. These traps are tins about 5 or 6 inches square, 2 inches deep, with a half inch of kerosene in the bottom. Pick up and boil or burn all fallen and infested fruit every day. Pineapples.—In tropical districts pineapples may be planted if moist weather prevails. Suckers are the best to plant, being much the strongest and earliest to arrive at maturity. Being great feeders, a dressing of strong nitrogenous fertiliser will promote rapid growth and fine fruit. While the plants are young, cultivation must be thorough but not deep enough to cut the feeding roots, which are near the surface. Bananas and other tropical fruits may also be planted during the rainy season, The dry weather on the coast is still the cause of great anxiety to most of our growers, and in many cases the prospects for the coming season’s citrus crops are anything but promising. 1042 Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. Farm Notes. « HAWKESBURY DISTRICT— DECEMBER. He We s2OmMiES: We are haying another spell of dry weather, and although not quite unseasonable, it has suited most of the farmers in the Valley and enabled hay-making of cereals to be conducted successfully, The yields this year are far ahead of those of the last two seasons. The rainfall has been more eenerous, although far from the normal. During 1906-7 we had a little over 16 inches, and this year 224 inches have been registered so far, On the flats, hay crops have given up to 24 tons to the acre, whilst on the uplands + to 1 ton to the acre crops are not uncommon. These weights chiefly apply to the early sown crops. The first cut of lucerne provided a fair return, but owing to scarcity of rain now the crops are almost dormant. Where it 1s intended to increase the area under lucerne, a favourable opportunity now offers to turn in the stubble of the hay paddocks, cultivate thoroughly, and grow a crop of cowpeas. The land must be clean and naturally fertilised, ready for laying down in lucerne during the wet months of autumn. It will be advisable to add 1 ton of gypsum to the acre prior to sowing the cowpeas. Maize.—Owing to prevailing hot westerly winds, the young crops of maize are being subjected to severe conditions, in addition to the absence of rain, Our only hope of relief is from occasional thunderstorms. Every oy portunity should be seized to practise shallow cultivation, to stir the surface soil between the drills, in order to establish an effective earth mulch and check evaporation. The supplies of subsoil moisture are almost exhausted. Whenever rain falls, be it light or heavy, the cultivators should be brought into use immediately afterwards to conserve moisture, It is only by assiduous attention to this work that a crop will be secured with our present outlook. It will be necessary to make provision for future sowings of maize for ensilage up to the end of this month, in order to provide food for the winter The following varieties may be planted :—Red Hogan, Golden Beauty, Hickory King, and Early Mastodon. Should the season prove favourable, a satisfactory yield of grain may be expected from any of these. Millets.—The crops of this useful fodder sown in September are not promising, owing to the scanty rainfall. Where they are drilled it will be necessary to keep up constant cultivation to ensure a medium crop. Fresh sowings may be made this month. Dec. 2,1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 1043 Sorghums.—In the past we have relied on sorghums to furnish us with a good stand of green fodder for early winter, in fact into July. The special feature to be remembered is that sorghum is not adversely affected by early frost, as is the case with maize. It is wise to make provision this month to meet the demand for green food at a period when all other fodders of a similar nature are scarce. What is not eaten as green fodder can be readily converted into ensilage or cut and stooked to dry as hay. The land may be cultivated and got ready at once, brought into fine tilth and manured, as for maize. When the young plants appear above ground cultivation must be continued right through the early changes. The delicate nature of the young plant is well-known, and more attention is required with it at that stage than is needed to stimulate the young life of maize. Cowpeus.—This plant provides a juicy appetising class of food for stock during the months of February and March, when other fodders are either dry or out of season. All classes of stock soon become accustomed to this fodder and thrive well on it. The outlook points to provision being necessary for green feed in the middle of summer. We are evidently facing a dry hot season. Cowpeas thrive on light sandy soil, and are hardy, drought resistant, and profitable. The crop may be grazed, and as such it is most usetul. It can also be converted into hay or ensilage, so that should the forecast be otherwise than that quoted, the fodder can be conserved. The soil should be brought into a fine condition and manured with super- phosphate from 2 to 3 cwt. to the acre. The peas may be planted in drills 3 feet apart, with the seed 6 to 8 inches distant. From 7 to 10 lb. of seed is needed per acre. The best varieties to grow are Poona, Black, Warren's Extra Early, Warren’s New Hybrid, Whip-poor-will, Iron, and Clay. Pumpkins, Melons, Squashes, Marrows, and Grammas. ~Further sowings may be made for the purpose of raising stocks to preserve at the end of summer for winter feed. The dry weather necessitates constant attention to the plants now growing. All require mulching. ee NEC oni = 1044 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. | Dee. 2, 1908. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES’ SHOWS. SECRETARIES are invited to forward for insertion in this page dates of their forthcoming shows ; these should reach the Sub-Editor, Department of Agri- culture, Sydney, not later than the 21st of the month previous to issue. Gloucester Show ... aa, er Newcastle A., H., and I. Society Gulgong A. and P. Association... Inverell P. and A. Association... Camden A., H., and I. Society Cobargo A., P., and H. Society Blayney A. and P. Association... Hunter River A. and H. Association Yass P. and A. Association Macleay A., H., and I. Association ... Edward Rye ... C. W. Donnelly ... 5 tetedda Cler< soe J. Mellveen . ©. A, Thompson ... T. Kennelly . H. J. Dann 5 OS dg lel, lke Will Thomson . E. Weeks... Alteration of dates should be notified at once. . wee 1909. Society. Secretary. Date. Dapto A. and H. Society G. A. McPhail ... Jan 13, 14 Kiama A. Association —... oat a Rie saa) Hie is SOMerVIl ea. see Os ea Gosford A. and H. Association... me a ... W. E. Kirkness... ,, 29, 30 Alstonville A. Society... ar ... W. W. Monaghan Feb. 3, 4 Coramba District P., A., and H. saciety _ i. He He Hindmarsh) \,,) 43,4 Wollongong A., H., and I. Association a on Bs Wie Phil potts!cen +55: 500,80 Moruya A. and P. Society =f John Jettery san ay Opell Shoalhaven A. and H. Association, Nowen Henry" Rauch ¥en ct LOSS Guyra P., A., and H. Association e aan Saiakey Gabyoee nods sar LOS SLIT Pambula A., H., and P. Society - fr Bs Wilkins... ales Kangaroo Valley ... abc He - reo HG. Walliams) ajg00 SSL Wyong A. Association... Sr 2 a: 3 J. ©. Martin= ae 55) 919))20 Tamworth A. Association Ect sae sa .. J. R. Wood noe ah | ona Central Cumberland A. and H. Association .. ... Hi; A. Best ese tn es AS) Manning River A. and H. Association, Taree . S&S: Whitehead =. ., 24:25 Gunning P., A., and I. Society... ae as We WaPlumbr Sea e2oeco Nambucea A. and H. Association, Macksville M. Wallace Jae gh OO Tenterfield P., A., and M. we Mt a ... F. W. Hoskins ... Mar. 2 to 6 Bega A., P., and H. Society . W. A. Ztiegel -... 53) 3504. Bellinger Riv er A. Association .. : ses. Hindmarsh... 45 ose4580 Nepean District A., H., and I. Sosiety. Penrith > Perey Jesmithens: onto Berrima District A., H., and I. Society, Moss Vale... I. Cullen ... tei Gok) Seo. Bombala Exhibition Society... er ae co WG bweedier-.. 4,5 010 The P. and A. A. of Central New England, Glen Innes George A. Priest... ., 9, 10, 1] Molong P. and A. Association ... AOE ... Charles E. Archer ,, 10 Campbelltown Agricultural Association ... Fred Sheather ... ,, 10, 11 Tumbarumba and Upper Murray P. and A. Society... E. W. Figures... ., 10, 11 Bowraville A. Association ... C. Moseley sat Le Crookwell A., P., and H. Society . M. P. Levy ILE ee 11, 12, 13 11, 12, 13 16, 17 16, 17, 18 17, 18, 19 18, 19 hi ae Dee. 2, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of NSW. 1045 Society. Secretary. Date. Warialda P. and A. Association ae ah ... W. B. Geddes ... Mar. 24, 25, 26 Mudgee A. Society ae 506 ee 15 ... H. Lamerton Seb ae a AE Clarence P. and A, Society, Grafton ... oH pou du dig dehy cele Ags pan eb Ods. Oe Gundagai P. and A. Society... fs 542 Pe eAeEworthy 2.2 os) oOsoL Murrumburrah P., A., and I. Association _... ... J. A. Foley A Abs Sill Cooma P, and A. Association ... si ee oe Crohn Walmsley sq yo, Apis 2 Upper Hunter P. and A. Assoc., Muswellbrook ... J. M. Campbell ... Mar. 31, Apl. 1, 2 Bathurst A., H., and P. Association ... Bae ... G. W, Thompson.. Mar. 31, Apl. 1, 2 Royal Agricultural Society, Sydney ... ae sd MevSomer >... AplrGiton4: Orange A. and P. Association ... ae ae ... WW. Tanner soe es) ceo Narrabri P., A., and H. Association ... ne Vie reEvOss ty 2728229 Durham A. and H. Association, Dungog sist ... C. E. Grant ne Maya da Central Australian P. and A, Association, Bourke ... G. W. Tull aGeiset lO sec0 Corowa P., A., and H. Association .., Ae ... J. D. Fraser so Yaunee, IL/S alts! Forbes P., A., and H. Association... see eee CAG Read Pee me ltcys a Murrumbidgee P. and A. Association, Wagga Wagga A. F. D. White ... ,, 24,25, 26 Parkes P., A., and H. Association iat an ... G. W. Seaborn Ap | Pans PAS Grenfell P., A., and H. Association ... ae ... Geo. Cousins AE Teel Clr ; Sept. 1 [1 Plate. | Printed and published by WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, of Sydney, Government Printer and Publisher of the State of New South Wales, at Phillip-street, Sydney. Dairy BULL FoR SALE. Department of Agriculture, Sydney, 2nd December, 1908. AT GRAFTON EXPERIMENT FARM, SHORTHORN: NOBILITY: calved 21st December, 1905 ... ave Price, £15. Sire, Royalty ; dam, Tilly. —— — <> — ——— Other particulars on application to the undersigned. EAC. AN DEK SO Under Secretary. I Agricultural Gazette of NSW. [ Dec. 2, 1908. [ ADVERTISEMENT. | Government Stud Bulls available for service at State Farms, or for lease. Breed. Name of Bull. | Sire. Dam. Stationed at— Engaged up till Shorthorn ...| Dora’s Boy _....) Cornish Boy .... Lady Dora ..| Berry Farm ae ~ + ...| Royalty ..| Royal Duke Il. Plush ...| Tuckurimba (near) 7 Apl., ’09. OCoraki). e ..| Pansy Duke ...| Earl March .. | Pansy 4th ...| Wollongbar Farm. y! A | March Pansy ...| Earl March... | Australian Gratton Farm... - Pansy 5 Royal Hampton| Soliman .... Orange Blos- | Berry Farm = 10th (imp.). som 23rd. Jersey ..| Thessalian II ...) Thessalian’ ...) Egyptian Coraki ... ...| 8 June, 709. Princess 5 .. Golden Lord ..., Golden King .. | Colleen Wagga Exp. Farm . me | Sir Jock . Omelette’s Pride Lady Tidy 3rd) Berry Farm a * | (imp.). , .| Berry Melbourne) Melbourne —.... Rum Omelette) Berry Farm * Guernsey . Gentle Prince.. Rose Prince .. Gentle ---| Ballina ..: on ovdiuliveueGoe of .| The Admiral ..| Hawkes Bay . Vivid... .. | Wollongbar Farm | ! - Prince Milford..| Rose Prince .. | Flaxy ...| H.A.College, Richmond . a | Vivid’s Prince...) Rose Prince... Vivid .| Wollongbar Farm. | " .; | Prince Edward..| Rose Prince... Vivid ... Woodburn :..| 21 Aply09: = ..| Star Prince ...| Calm Prince .. | Vivid ...| Berry Farm ...| 17 June, “09: 65 ...| Prince Souvia...| Vivid’s Prince. | Souvenir ...| Wollongbar Farm. * Red Poll | The Judge | Barrister | Lovely 8th .... Grafton Farm . Ayrshire .... Don Juan | General... .... Judy 9th ...! Bathurst Farm ...| 4 55 ...| Royal Prince ..| Curly Prince ..| Rosie 5th...) Grafton Farm il * Auchenbrain Howie’s Spicy | Another | Berry Farm = Spicy Jock Robin. Mayflower (imp ). ie ..., Judy’s Mischief | College Mischief, KirkhamJudy| Wollongbar Farm. 5 AF ...| Jamie’s Ayr _Jamie of Oak- | Miss Prim...) Wollongbar Farm. 5 bank. 5 ...| Emerald’s Mis- | Prince Emerald | Miss Prim_ ...) H.A.College, Richmond! _ chief. at ohalp Decks Sane wa -Danieliis=. allot ..-| H.A.College, Richmond “ Kerry ... .... Bratha’s Boy ...; Aicme Chin ..| Bratha 4th | Glen Innes Farm... 1 5 ae ...| Rising Sun _...| Bratha’s Boy ...| Dawn ..-. Bathurst Farm = Dexter Kerry | Waterville We Rcemane ochsace M tien sansa i Gratbonslanmn Punch, | | Holstein .... The Hague .| President veel LolkjeVeeman H.A. College, Richmond * 9 .... Obbe IT | Obbe .... La Shrapnel.... Wollongbar Farm S 5 ....| Hollander ...| Bosch Ili ..| Margaretha ...| Berry Farm sy | * Available for service only, at the Farm where stationed. + Available for lease, or for service at the Farm. Copies of the Regulations under which the Government Bulls are leased may be obtained on application to the Under Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Sydney. [SS S | $35, “it lI i 35185 00258 17 iM | | New York im Garden | 32