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MONEY IN LUCERNE

THE LAST WORD IN ALFALFA

CULTURE BY SOUTH AFRICAN EXPERTS

AND PRACTICAL FARMERS.

SECOND EDITION-GREATLY ENLARGED.

[COPYRIGHT.]

g

MIDLAND PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO., LTD.,
(PUBLISHERS OF THE "MIDLAND NEWS AND KARROO FARMER")

CRADOCK, CAPE COLONY.

CONTENTS.

Pag*

" Lucerne Growing as Fodder for Stock " in Cape Colony ... 1-2O

(By Edgar H. R. Evans and Oscar E. G. Evans.)

" Ostrich Farming on Lucerne " ... 21-27

(By Oscar E. G, Evans.)

' ' Lucerne in Natal "... ... 28-35 -

(By L. Acutt.)

" Lucerne in the Transvaal " ... ... ... 36-47

(By Joseph Burtt-Davy, F.L.S., Government Botanist.)

"Dodder and its Eradication "... ... ... 49-52'

(By Dr. Eric A. Nobbs, late Government Agricultural Assistant )

" Other Enemies of Lucerne" ... 52-53

(Various.)

" Lucerne and Dairy Farming " .... 54-59'

(By R. Silva Jones, late Government Dairy Expert.)

" Feeding Lucerne to Stock " ... 60-62

(By F. Franks.)

"Lucerne Hay" 63-66

(By E. Richards.)

" Unfermented Hay " ... ... ..^ ';..*..; ... ••• 66-67

(By Herbert J. Collett.)

"Good Tips" ... ... 67-69

(By R. A. Hockly.)

" Lucerne for Sheep, Goats, Pigs, etc.... 69-77

" The Trade in Lucerne " ; ... '. ... ... 70-75

'• Lucerne Mems " ... ... ... 76-82

" Manuring Lucerne " (Government tests) ... 81-82

" Lucerne Profits " ... 82

" Feeding Value of Lucerne "... ... ... 83-85

(By R. W. Thornton, Cape Government Agricultural Assistant.)

" Lucerne Implements " ... ... 86-87

" Housing Lucerne " ... . .,.,, ... 88

(By R. Gavin.)

MAIN LIBRARY-AGRICULTURE D«PT.

2

«

58

3 PREFACE.

A GR1CULTUEISTS are realizing more and more that Lucerne
-**• is a determining factor in successful farming Some men

.are slow in adopting new ideas, but these are being convinced
by the best of all arguments — ocular demonstration. Although
advance in Alfalfa growing has been comparatively slow in the
past, it is now going ahead by leaps and bounds. Time was when
the imagination of the farmer was captivated by large holdings and
when he measured the value of his farm by the distance of the
horizon. To-day a more practical criterion is demanded, and the
test of value is the number of acres in Lucerne or capable of growing
it under irrigation. Indeed, about the only properties being enquired
for just now7 are Lucerne propositions.

That there is Money in Lucerne is generally admitted, and if
proof were wanting it is to be found in the fact that many a farmer

.after feeding his own stock is able to sell hay to the value of thou-
sands of pounds annually. The problem that remains, therefore, is
how to raise Lucerne and convert it to the best possible use ; the

•object- of this work is to solve the problem by bringing before farmers
the advice of practical men, based on South African experience, and
the research of scientific experts.

Eight years ago we published a pamphlet on the growing of
Lucerne, consisting of Prize Essays w7hich had been published in
the Midland-News ; it won the approval of all seat-ions of the farming
community, and wras very highly recommended by the late Mr. Cecil
Ehodes, who purchased a number of copies for distribution amongst
farming acquaintances. That edition sold out rapidly, and a second
has been long in contemplation, but the difficulty of collecting

: material from different parts of South Africa, prepared by men com-
petent to deal with (the subject, has consumed more time than we

.anticipated. Our -desire w?as to make the work as comprehensive
and up-to-date as possible, and we thought a little delay prefer-

.able to the publication of incomplete and undigested data on such a
vital subject.

The present edition is the only work on the subject written from

: South African experience and published in South Africa. It has

.been written by the most successful growers in various parts of the

•sub-continent, but it is possible that farmers who read it may find their

•experience varies from that set out in this book ; it is also possible
that some novices may not find in it all the information they desire.
We therefore invite readers to communicate their experiences or
wants to the Editor of the Midland News, when their problems will
receive the attention of the best authorities on the Lucerne industry.
The revolution which Lucerne has wrought in stock farming

ihas not yet been fully realized. Some farmers, as we have before

575042

PREFACE.

stated, have been able to feed their stock and yet sell large quanti-
ties of Lucerne hay ; many farmers are, however, bitterly repenting
that they ever sold a pound of hay, and are declaring they will not
part with a single bale in future, even if they have to keep it for
three or four seasons, and we have no doubt the effect will soon be
seen in the quality and quantity of meat and dairy produce in the
market, and in prices being steadied.

The fact that there is Money in Lucerne is inducing farmers to
put money into irrigation, which will be a permanent asset of the
country.

We have betn at pains to make this edition of " MONEY IN
LUCERNE " as complete as possible and to apply not only to tbe
Cape Colony but to the whole of South Africa. While at present
there is practically no experience of Lucerne growing in the Orange
River Colony and Ehodesia, we trust that if another edition of this
work is called for we may be able to gather the results of experience
in those parts. Meanwhile farmers in those Colonies will find in
" MONEY IN LUCKUNI-: " practical advice which will help them
under any conditions; we shall be glad to hear the results of their
experience.

We take this opportunity of acknowledging the kindness of
many contributors for information given for the benefit of their
f el low-f aimers.

INDEX.

ALFALFA— History of, 1-36.
ACRE— Seed per.

—Yield per.

— Ostriches per.

B

BALING HAY, 65.
BEES AND LUCERNE— Effect

on Seed, 76.

BREAKING New Ground, 38.
BROADCASTING, 40.

C

CEREALS vs. LUCERNE, 9-13.
•CHICKS — Change from Lucerne
to Veld, 24.

—Diseases of. at Oudtshoorn, 27.
CLIMATE- thrives in, 1-36.
-COST of growing Lucerne, 13.
-COWS— Stall feeding, f>6.

—Mixed Rations, 55.

-Testing Milk Value, 57.

— Starvation ruins Milk Glands.

—Shelter for, 58. [58.

CUSCUTA— See Dodder.
CUSTOMS on Lucerne, 75.
CUTWORM, 2.
CULTIVATING in Transvaal, 42.

—Natal, 28.

— Cape Colony,

DAIRY COWS on Lucerne. 13.
—Rationing, 61.
— St'ill-feeding of, 56.

— Milk-production, 54, 50.

— Unsweated preferable for, 65.

— New Zealand results. 54.

—Op bias, 8
DISADVANTAGES of Lucerne

Growing, 16.
DODDER— Life history, 4, 5, 49.

—Varieties of, 50.

—How to eradicate. 5, 51.

— Illustrations of, between 50

and 51.

—Compulsory eradication, 79.
—Where proclaimed, 79, 80.

DONT'S AND MUSTS—

for Lucerne growers, 46, 47.
—Don't damp Hay before feed-
ing it, 65.
DOUBLE WATERING Seed

Bed, 67.

DISTRIBUTION of Lucerne. 36.
DRY CULTIVATION, 39.
DROUGHT— Provision agnst., 19.
Lucerne, 40.

E

ENEMIES OF LUCERNE—

-Caterpillars, 45, 52.

—Leaf-spot, 45.

—Dodder Jsee Dodder).

— Locusts, 52.

-Mites, 53.
EXPORT OF LUCERNE, 73, 74.

F
FATTENING— Sheep, 8, 13, 61,

-Pigs, 44. 77. [66.

FEATHER— Effect of Lucerne

on, 27.
FEEDING— to Cows, 56.

—to Horses, Sheep, Cattle, &c.,
6-62.

-Pigs, 61.

—Poultry, 61.

—Horses and Sweated Hay, 65.

— Hay not to. be damped, 65.

—Rations and Grazing, 66.
Hay, 77.

—Effect on Lucerne, 6.

GALL SICKNESS & Lucerne, 61.
GOOD TIPS, 67.
GRASSES— Troublesome, 2, 8.
GRAZING— How to manage, 8.

— Sheep, 8.

— Ostriches, 9-14.

— Slo3k generally, 60, 62, 69.

—Preparation of Stock for, 69.

—Enriches Soilv59, 78.

INDEX.

GROUND— Preparation of, 2, 21,
-Natal, 31. [67,

—Transvaal, 38
—Levelling, Importance of,

31, 67.

—Double Watering Seed Bed,
-Drainage, 38. [67.

H

HARDY LUCERNE, 40.

HAY (LUCERNE)— Difficulties
of making, 44.

-When to cut, 9, 63, 66.

-How to make, 64, 66, 68.

—How to stack, 64, 68.

— Heating, 65, 69.

— Judging condition, 64, 68.

-Baling, 65.

— Unfermented, 66.

—Yield per acre, 14.

—Hay and Dry Lucerne, 63.

—Keeping qualities, 17, 63.

—Feeding value, 44, 17, 69.

—Cost of making, 14, 26.

—Market value, 14, 43, 66.

—Making in Natal, 34.

—For the Military, 71, 75.

—Value in Protein, 77.
HISTORY OF LUCERNE, 1.

and Distribution, 36.
HONEY, 76, 77.
HOVEN, 8.

I

IMPORTS— Decline of, 71.

— from Oversea, 72.

-Value of, 72, 73.
INCREASED PRODUCTION, 70
INNOCULATING SOIL, 46.
IRRIGATION— 6, 7.

—Silt, 6.

—Winter Watering, 7.

—Furrow Construction,

-Flood Water, 7.

— Misapplied, 11.

—Cost of, 13.

—to counteract Frost, 37.

—in Transvaal, 42.

—Double Watering, 68.

K

KARROO SOIL, 1.
Climate, 1.
L

LEAVES— Most nutritious, 77.
LEVELLING Ground— Imple-
ments for, 31. 39, 67.
LIME— Necessary in Soil, 2.
LONGEVITY of Luce r
LUCERNE—

—History and Distribution of,
1-36.

— Most suitable Climate for, 1.
- „ „ Soil, 1.

—Saving of, 3, 40, 41.

-Irrigation of, 6, 7, 37, 68.

-Yield of, 6, 43.

—Frost, Effect on, 6.

—How to Graze, 8.

—Hay, to make, 9.

—Cost of Growing, 13.

—Lucrative use of, 13, 23.

—Disadvantages of, 16.

—Land, Value of, 15.

Carrying capacity of,
15,23,25.

—In Australia, 15, 16

—Advantages of, 16.

—Locusts dislike it, 16, 69.

— Vleis and Dry Lands, 17, 18.

— Selling of, discouraged, 18.

—Stacking, 19, 6-1

—Danger from Fire, 19.

— Versus Cereals, 9-13.

-Versus Veld, 24.

—Profits of, 25.

-Effect on Feather, 27.

-In Natal, 28,

—In the Transvaal, 36.

—Varieties of, 40.

—as Nitrogen Storer, 45.

— and Milk production, 55.

—and Gallsick, 61.

—Where most grown, 71.

—Honey, 76.

—Imports of, 71-75.

—Exports of, 73-75.

—Housing of, 88.

INDEX.

M

MANURING— Experiments at
Government Station, 81.

—Effect of Phosphates, 81.

—Strength of Dressing, 81.

—Costs of Manure, 81.

—Increased yield from, 81.

—Effect on Weeds, 81.

—Potash, 81.

—Information wanted, 81.
MUSTS AND DON'TS, 46, 47.

N

NATAL— Lucerne Culture in, 28.
—Commission to C. C., 28.
—Ween en Irrigation Settle-
ment, 29.
-Best Soil, 29.
-Rainfall, 29.

—Time and Method of Plant-
ing, 31.
—Irrigation, 32.

and Drainage, 32.
—Haymaking, 34.
—Lucerne, Value in, 35.
—Imports and Exports, 72-73.
NURSE CROP, 3, 42.

O

OSTRICHES— Grazing of, 9-14.

—Number to Acre, 14, 25.

—Farming of, 21,

—Watering of, 27.

-In Natal, 34.

—Dry Lucerne for, 66.

—Ration vs. Grazing, 66.
OUDTSHOORN SEED, 4, 40.
OVERSTOCKING, 68.

PADDOCKS— Size of, 25.
PROTEIN Experiments, 78.

—in Hay, 77.

PIGS AND LUCERNE, 77.
PROVENCE LUCERNE, 40.
POULTRY and Lucerne, 61.
PROFITS—

—On Grazing Ostriches, 25.

— Lucerne Hay, 14, 43.

POITOU LUCERNE, 40.
PLOUGHING, 2, 39.
PROBLEMS— Mr. Evans ques-
tioned, 24.

R

RATIONS— Lucerne and Crushed
Mealies, 55, 69.

—Green and Hay, 61.

—Versus Grazing, 66.
ROTATION CROPS, 46.

SEED— Old preferable, 4.

—Where to obtain. See Advts.

—Dodder in, 4, 50.

—Varieties of, 40.

—Quantity to sow, 67.
SHEEP— Fattening, 8, 61.
SOIL— Karroo, 1.

—Black, 1.

-Limy is best, 2, 38.

-Depth of, 2.

—Inoculating, 46.

—Manuring of, 81.

—Suitable in Transvaal, 38.

—Iron Soil inimical, 38.
SOWING— When to sow, 4, 68.

— When to sow,Transvaal, 40, 41<

-In Natal, 32.

—Quantity per acre, 3, 40, 67.

—Broadcast and Drilling, 3, 40.

—With Nurse-crop, 3, 42.
STACKING HAY, 64.

—Ventilation of Stacks, 64.
STOCK- CARRYING Capacity oi

Lucerne, 60.
SWEATING Experiments, 65.

T

TAMWORTH Lucerne, 40.

TRADE IN LUCERNE—

-in Cape, 72.
— in Natal, 73.
-in 0. R. C., 74.
— in Transvaal, 74.
—in Rhodesia, 75.
—Census Returns, 70, 71.
— Decline of Imports, 71..

INDEX.

TRANSVAAL— Lucerne in, 36. W

—Parts best suited for [WEEDS— Fatal to Lucerne, 40.

Lucerne, 37.
TURKESTAN Lucerne, 40.
TWENTY THOUSAND ACRE
PATCH, 37.

V

VENTILATION Stacks, 64.

—How to Eradicate, 8, 68.
— Noxious Weeds Act, 79.

Y

YIELD OF LUCERNE, 6, 43.
WINTER WATERING, 7.

ERRATA.

Hoven — P. 8, woven should be hoven.
Cuscuta — P. 4, cascuta should be cuscuta.

ADVERTISEMENT INDEX.

Page.

Elaine & Co., Port Elizabeth, Cypher Incubators i.

Jas. Lamb, Port Elizabeth, Produce Dealer ... ... ... i.

Malcomess & Co., East London, Lucerne Machinery ii.

Malcomess & Co., East London, Samson Windmill iii.

Mangold Bros., Port Elizabeth, Lucerne Implements iv.

Howard Farrar, Robinson & Co., Port Elizabeth, Implements v.

Stephen Fraser & Co., Pt. Elizabeth, Lucerne & Grass Seeds, &c. vi.

J. 0. Collett, Tafelberg, Ostriches, Horses and Cattle ... vii.

Mosenthal & Co., Port Elizabeth, Lucerne Seed ... ... vii.

F. W. Baker, Willowmore, Breeding Ostriches vii.

A. P. Myburg, J.P., Pearston, Law Agent and Auctioneer ... viii.

Abe Bailey, Arundel Stud, Arundel ... ... ' ix.

"African Monthly," Grahamstown ... ... ... ... x.

Oscar E. G. Evans, Melrose, Eastpoort Siding, C.C., Ostriches xi.

Gingell, Ayliff & Co., Port Elizabeth, Lucerne Seed ... ... xii.

W. Thomas, Port Elizabeth, Lucerne Seed and Machinery ... xiii.

W. Seccombe, Coifs Harbour, N.S.W.. PaspalumDilitatum... xiv.

" Times of Natal," Maritzburg, Natal ... xy.

" Agricultural Journal & Mining Record," Maritzburg, Natal xv.

C. Starke & Co., Ltd., Mowbray, Seeds xvi.

C. J. Hewlett, Graaff-Reinet, Trees, Plants and Seeds ... xvi.

Butler Bros., Cradock, Stationers, Booksellers, &c. ... ... xvi.

John Daverin, Port Elizabeth, Produce ... Cover (back)

Arthur Mills & Co., Cradock, Chemists & Druggists „ (inside)
" Midland News and Karroo Farmer," Cradook... Front „

LUCERNE GROWING

AS FODDER FOR STOCK.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Lucerne
Growing, compared with the Cultivation of
Cereals, especially in the Karroo, or Lucerne
Growing as Fodder for Stock.

(THE FIRST PRIZE ESSAY, BY EDGAR H. R. EVANS
AND OSCAR E. G. EVANS.)

I UCERNE has been cultivated for the last 2,000 years. It was
*** known too, and appreciated by the Romans, their name for
it was herbamedica. Botanically it is known as Medicago • >
It is rated by the progressive Australians as the " King of Fodder
Plants." In Mexico, the United States, and the Argentine Repub-
lic it is known as "Alfalfa," and is extensively grown in all those
great stock countries. The area under its cultivation, in all three
countries, including Australia, is yearly increasing by leaps and
bounds. It is well known that the prosperity of several districts
of countries, such as California, Hungary, the north of Italy and
south of France, depends upon their lucerne fields to a large extent.
Cattle, horses, ostriches, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, fowls, turkeys,
geese, ducks and game of all kinds thrive astonishingly well upon
it, even alone. Every animal that grazes, in fact, will relish and
thrive upon it. It grows best in hot countries, where the climate
is dry, and it can be periodically flooded. Sub-surface water will,
if constantly present, kill it right out, yet in dry, well-drained soils
it is difficult to drown it by over irrigation.

KARROO CLIMATE AND SOIL SUITABLE.

There is no portion of the Karroo too cold to grow lucerne
well. It thrives 1,100 feet above the sea level. Along the coast-
belts it will even produce food for stock all the year round, especi-
ally if'iTrigated during the winter. There is no doubt that lucerne
can be grown both to better perfection and with less trouble upon

^LUCERNE CULTURE.

the generality of Karroo soils than upon the black soils of coast
and grass districts. In the black soils the growth of numerous
weeds and grasses militates severely against the monopoly of the
soil by the lucerne. In the reddish and yellow soils of the Karroo,
on the other hand, there is comparatively very little weed and grass
growth to hinder the complete establishment of lucerne upon the
soil. This is a strong point in favour of Karroo soils for lucerne
growing. There is still another point in their favour, and that is
that most Karroo soils are well supplied with lime, whersas the
generality of black soils are deficient in lime. Lucerne is a great
lime feeder. It glories in a sub-soil with lime in its composition.
The deeper the soil in all cases the better,, but a depth of three or
four feet even will grow very good crops of lucerne for many years.
On shallow soils, however, manuring may in many instances have
to be resorted to after a few years. R )ck near ths surface is very
bad — nearly as bad as constant water near the surface. Some of
the best lucerne soil in the Karroo that we know of lies along the
Sundays River and the Grsat Fish Rivar, especially whan* these
rivers are near the sea in the lower districts.

PREPARATION OF GROUND.

The ground upon which lucerne is sown ought to be ploughed
as deeply as possible, and brought to as fine a tilth as possible
with the harrows, to make an even seed bed for the fine seed. i-The
ground should not slope so much as to cause the water to run. mver
the surface without penetrating; it more than a couple of inches,
nor should it on the other hand be too dead level, especially in clay
soils, where drowning may take place in some spots of the field.
.A gentle fall is the most suitable, ensuring sufficient penetration,
and at the same time no unnecessary wash and lodgment of water.
The yield from lucerne on very sloping ground is almost »//, com-
pared to that on ground with just a very gentle slope. In fact, on
very sloping ground, it would pay better to grow some grain crop
than grow lucerne. But on ground of the right tilt, we calculate
that lucerne pays us at least five times better than growing wheat
on the same ground. Where grasses are troublesome, the ground
should be extra well ploughed and harrowed. Manuring land for
lucerne is seldom or never practised in Oudtshoorn, which is at
present the greatest centre of lucerne culture in 'South Africa.
New ground especially requires no manure to grow the best crops
of lucerne. >Ve here, prefer the " ridging system " for flooding
lucerne. The ridges can be made with an ordinary 75. Eagle
plough, at the same time that the ground is ploughed and prepared
for sowing. A single breasted J plough would be even better than
a 75. plough for making the ridges. Some people make the ridges
with beams bolted together in the form of a triangle ; but we pre-
fer the plough, as the ridges made with a plough are more substan-
tial and durable.

FIRST PRIZE ESSAY. 3

SOWING.

The quantity of seed sown per acre varies very much in dif-
ferent countries and different localities. In France, for instance,
.-as much as 30 Ibs. of seed is sown t > the acre. One acre measures
-exactly 4,840 superficial square yards ; roughly about -70 yards by
70 yards. From 30 Ibs. an acre in France, we find as little as 2 to
.3 Ibs. per acre sown by some Australian farmers in laying down
sheep pastures. We know of a Colonial farmer in the^Graaff-
Reinet district whose standard is about 8 Ibs. 'to the acre. But
personally we have found here-that it is safer to 'allow a good mar-
gin for loss of young plants through cut- worms, earth-fly, drought
and other thinning out causes, and we have adopted the following
quantities per acre broadcast as a safe standard, viz., 15 Ibs. to the
acre in freshly broken virgin soil, and 20 Ibs. on old grain lands
where plant food is scarce and weeds are plentiful. Lucerne is far
better sown broadcast than in drills or rows. ' If Drilled on a large
scale, the inevitable weeding i; would 'entail constant and heavy
expense, even if done by horseThoe; " Where 'grasses of the root
propagating kind are troublesome, the seed 'should be 'sown extra
thick (say 25 Ibs. to the acre), to enable the' young Wcerne crop to
smother the grass in the struggle for mastery. The seed should
not be covered too deeply unde'r the soil. An ordinary medium
heavy bush harrow will cover the seed quite deep enough. Indeed,
if sown during a rainy month it ''needs no covering with the har-
.iows at all, but will germinate and root 'splendidly simply lying
uncovered upon the surface. Some people prefer to sow lucerne
along with wheat, or barley, or oats, reaping the grain crop when
ripe, and leaving the lucerne then in sole possession of the ground.
If a " non-stooling" variety of wheat, like Italian (Blauwkoorn),
or Defiance (Kaalkop), is sown, it is certainly beneficial to the young
lucerne, especially if the ground sis an old weedy grain-field. The
wheat checks the growth of the, numerous tap-rooted weeds, and
thus gives the young lucerne crop a better chance for rooting and
establishing itself. We do not recommend the sowing of lucerne
with either barley or oats. They " stool" too much, especially oats.
English oats are nearly as bad as grass for choking out a field of
young lucerne. The very lest time for sowing lucerne in the Midlands is
Certainly in the rainy season, that is from February to the end of April.
At this season the nights are dewy, and the dry scorching winds of
October to December are avoided. Lucerne germinates, and in its
younger stages thrives far better under successive showers of rain,
followed by dewy nights, than under the most highly approved
methods of scientific artificial irrigation. We disapprove of the
usual method of first watering the ground, then ploughing it, and
s nving the seed in this moist ploughed ground to germinate with
o.ily the moisture in the ground. The surface of ploughed ground
—unless at once rolled with a heavy roller — dries out so rapidly,
that the delicate seedlings are very apt to wither and die for want

4 FIRST PRIZE ESSAY.

of surface moisture. In fact, a large percentage of seed sown ini
this way is very apt to make a false start at germination and then,
die, having only just burst the outer shell of the seed, when the-
surface moisture has given up. Hence we strongly recommend
sowing in the rainy season. It is far better to sow lucerne seed in
quite dry ploughed ground, just before the rainy season, and leave-
it thus for the rains to bring up when they come, than to sow it in
the ordinary way in damp ploughed ground, and trusting to irri-
gation to bring it up and help it through the critical first two-
months. Lucerne may be sown all the year round Q|, course, but
for the reasons above stated, we recommend only the rainy season
for sowing it, even where there is an unlimited supply of water
handy for irrigating it.

Seed of one or two years old is, as a rule, better than quite
fresh seed. Fresh seed has more hard grains in it than old seed,,
and consequently a higher percentage of the old seed will germi-
nate. The bulk of the seed grown in this Colony is grown at
Oudtshoorn, and is of excellent quality when got from reliable
growers or seedsmen. Oudtshoorn seed of excellent quality, and
at a price considerably cheaper than English or imported seed, can
be got in large quantities from Mr. W. Thomas, of Welbedacht,
Oudtshoorn. Mr. Thomas is the only seller of lucerne seed, that
we know of, who guarantees what he sells to be free from " dodder"
seed. We have already sown some two thousand pounds weight
of Mr. Thomas's Oudtshoorn seed and have found it to germinate
well, and perfectly free from the dangerous seed of "dodder."
Good, reliable English seed can be got*for Is. per lb., in quantities
of 50 to 100 Ibs., from Messrs. Gingell, Ayliff & Co., Port Elizabeth.
The ordinary seedsmen charge exhorbitant prices for lucerne seed
in small quantities. Our advice to intending growers of lucerne-
is to buy reliable seed in quantity from reliable sellers. This is
far the cheapest in the end.

DODDER.

Cascuta epithymum, or lucerne " dodder," is out and away the
worst enemy the lucerne grower has to contend with. There are
several kinds of dodder known by the tribal name* of cuscutaceae.
The particular variety that attacks lucerne is called cascuta epithy-
mwn. Dodder, in appearance, is a stringy sea-weed looking mass
of leafless threads and small pods twisting round the stems and
covering the lucerne infested. Dodder is a parasitic plant which
attaches itself to, and lives upon, its host plant, the lucerne, to
which it clings, sucking the life completely out of it and spreading
from plant to plant, like a yellow sheet of fire, until the entire field
is utterly and hopelessly destroyed. The germination of dodder is
effected, like that of other plants in general, in the earth. The
slender and simple radicle descends into the earth ; if it finds no
lucerne plant near it, it dies. If it finds one, it surrounds the stem

LUCERNE CULTURE. 5

•of the lucerne, and from the points of contact proceed hollow tuber-
•cles, or suckers, which suck the juice elaborated by the plant
:attacked. The dodder root in the soil then becomes obliterated
,and dies, and the dodder lives from that time forward by its
suckers only. Dodder destroys lucerne attacked either by depriv-
ing the plants of their nourishment or by strangling them in their
folds. It is difficult to guard against dodder on account of the
•rapidity of its vegetation, the facility with which it passes from
plant to plant, the abundance of its seeds., and the double power
which it, possesses of germinating either in the earth or in the cap-
sule. The seed of dodder resembles that of lucerne, but is consi-
derably smaller. Passing lucerne seed through a sieve having a
mesh that will allow only the dodder and smaller lucerne seeds to
go through, is said to remove dodder seed from lucerne seed. But
since the staying behind of even one dodder seed is the means of
introducing it into a field of lucerne, where it may spread to a dan-
gerous extent before its presence is discovered, we recommend the
greatest care in the purchase of lucerne seed, and we would not
touch lucerne seed known to have dodder, in it, even if it passed
"through ten thousand sieves. Since dodder seed is difficult of
•detection — at any rate to the inexperienced — the buyer is entirely
in the hands of the grower or seller of the seed. It therefore
behoves the intending grower of lucerne to be very careful in the
purchase of his seed. If he is wise he will not buy small quanti-
ties of seed from shopkeepers who do not deal largely in seeds, and
•have therefore no 'kseed reputation11 to lose. Careful watch should
be kept over all young fields of lucerne so as to detect the first
.appearance of dodder before it has spread, since one single plant will
spread over the largest field of lucerne in a very short time if not
checked. Dodder in a lucerne field is as pleasant as fire in a hay
stack. It is very expensive and troublesome work getting rid of it
-effectually. Where dodder has broken out in a field of lucerne the
following plans of dealing with it have been reccmmended : — Cut
away the lucerne on and outside of the dodder, carefully removing and
-destroying it ; then spread farm-yard manure six inches thick (when
trodden down) over the whole area cleared. It is said this will kill
the dodder. We doubt it. All depends on the thoroughness with
which the dodder is destroyed wherever visible. Another plan
recommended is to saturate the whole of the infected portion of the
lucerne field with a solution of sulphate of iron (green copperas),
<one pound to the gallon of water. . This, it is said, will kill the
dodder and not injure the lucerne. We doubt it. We know an
Oudtshoorn grower of lucerne who had dodder break out in his
lucerne, and he told us (in spite of the copperas and other 4k sure
cure " methods tried by him), it had cost him over a hundred
pounds attempting to get rid of the dodder, and he had not then
succeeded ! Prevention is better than cure, saith the old proverb,
and care exercised in the purchase of lucerne seed is the only
method of prevention, and the only safe method.

6 LUCERNE CULTURE.

IRRIGATION OF LUCERNE EIELDS.

It may safely 'be laid down as an axiom that lucerne in its very
young stages should not be irrigated. The best germination and stand
of lucerne is always found on fields which have been brought up by
rain. Although lucerne has been found to be one of the very few
plants that will continue to grow and to flourish under constant,
and repeated irrigation, yet it is injurious to flood it until it has
attained at least a couple of inches of growth above the ground. As
with all fine garden seeds, too early flooding of the small plants
seems to cake the surface soil and stunt them. The surface soil
being caked seems to have the effect of cutting oft' the necessary
air supply and surface moisture, and the young crop will, as a rule,
become a pale sickly green or yellow, instead of having the fresh
green and the vigorous growth of a young crop in loose unirrigated
ground damped by successive showers of rain. Flooding lucerne
in its early stages (especially in dry weather) is always injurious.
Lucerne in its early stages is as delicate as in its matured state it
is hardy. Frost will quite destroy a field of young lucerne in its-
second, third or fourth ..leaf, if it happens to be standing in loose
dry ground. Frost, however, has little cr no effect upon the very
youngest lucerne if the surface soil is quite moist. We have stated
that to irrigate young lucerne is bad, but to save it from destruc-
tion by frost, when the surface is very dry, it has to be irrigated to
moisten the surface. Therefore, to avoid this dilemma, do net sow
it later than the end of March to the middle of May. There is no
prescribed rule as to the. periods between each watering for lucerne.
Much depends upon the porosity and absorbtive power of the soil.
For instance, in sandy soils' one application of water will yield a.
growth of green food for a- considerably longer time after it than
would one watering on a tight clay soil. Generally speaking, the
more often it is watered the more it will yield. In Oudtshoorn we
are informed the lucerne fields are flooded about once in two months,
and that only if there is sufficient water to do this. In some dry sea-
sons there is not sufficient for this. In Karroo soil of a sandy allu-
vial nature, such as is found along the banks of the Great Fish
and Sundays Rivers, we should say that even only four waterings
a year would be sufficient to produce constant growrth, and an enor-
mous quantity of green fodder, probably 12 to 15 tons of valuable
green fodder per acre per year, and it may be much more. On rich
soil and with plenty of moisture lucerne will yield from 30 to 60
tons of green fodder per annum. But this yield is unusual and
should not be calculated upon except under heavy manuring.
Lucerne wall yield good crops of fodder even when irrigated with
quite brack water for years in succession, though, of course, the
fresher the water the better. In applying flood water to lucerne it
is advisable to let the very muddy water pass unused for about
five or six hours after the first rush down the river. Very silty
water will kill lucerne in those parts of the fields where there are:

FIRST PRIZE ESSAY. 7

hollows. Ploud water, if very muddy, should be applied to prin-
cipally those fields that have the greatest amount of slope. On
fields of about the right gentle slope this deposit of fine mud does
not so readily take place as on quite level ground and hollows. By
running the most muddy of flocd water into a drain, where it is
brought to a comparative rest for a few hours, it will have precipi-
tated quite 50 per cent, cf the fine silt held in suspension, and will
be quite safe to use even en dead level ground. No harm at all, in
fact every good, will result to lucerne that has been irrigated with
the most muddy of flood water, if the surface cf the soil is harrow-
ed or scarified thoroughly immediately the surface is dry enough
to admit of this operation. We strongly recommend the frequent
flooding of lucerne fields during the winter months where wrater is
available. If lucerne is freely irrigated during the winter months
the moisture strikes down deep in the soil, and the crop will give a
very much greater yield during the ensuing summer than if no win-
ter irrigation had been given it. On gcod deep alluvial soil, lucerne
fields that have been freely irrigated during the winter months will
continue to yield good growth of green fcdder even right up to
midsummer (Christmas time) without any irrigation during the
spring or e'arly summer, however dry it may be. There is no point
of mere importance in laying down permanent lucerne fields than
that of seeing that all the furrows are in sound working order. As
a lucerne field is valuable in proportion to the frequency with
which water is! applied. to it, the loss of valuable time and water
arising from the bursting or flooding over of badly constructed
furrows seriously reduces the yield of fodder from such a field in a
given time: 'Distributing and regulating gates should be substan-
tially erected at every point, where the laterals branch off from the
mains. The great object, especially in the case of flood water, is
to make the greatest possible use of the water every hour that it
runs, since it does not continue to run long.

IRRIGATION.

The best way to ensure this is to construct large main furrows
(fully six feet wide) from the weir in the river, to carry as large a
quantity in as short a time as possible, and see that all the furrows
are in thorough repair for rapidly and economically distributing
this large stream while it lasts. If the furrows are small, and not
in- proper repair, it is waste of time attempting to make any real
use of flocd water. It is a mistake to suppc.se that only perennial
streams, strong springs, or large dams will ensi re profit in lucerne
growing. For instance, one of the most valuable of the very valu-
able Oudtshoorn lucerne farms depends almost entirely upon flood
water for irrigating the lucerne. During the recent severe drought
at Oudtshoorn the water furrows on this farm never had a drop of
water in them for six months ! There are also some veiy valuable
lucerne farms we know of in the Graaff-Remet district which

8 LUCERNE CULTURE.

depend entirely upon flood water. The valuable lucerne ground
upon the Sundays River Estate is also entirely dependent upon
flood water after rains. The increased use of flood water along the
larger periodical Karroo rivers would cause them in time to become
absolutely perennial streams. This is the experience in other
countries.

HOW TO GRAZE LUCERNE.

Sometimes a young crop of lucerne will, appear to be. entirely
mastered and smothered by weeds. Don't get scared and plough it
up because it is "a failure.1' Turn sheep or cattle (tollies are the
best) into the field, and leave them there until they have apparently
smashed down and pulverised the weeds, lucerne and all. Don't be
afraid they will trample the young lucerne under the weeds to death.
Leave the stock on this weedy, .fjk^d till it is literally bare ground
in appearance. Then turn out 4fo stock and at once apply the
water, and you will be surprised to find the lucerne showing up
faster than the weeds. Repeat this treatment every time the weeds
threaten to cover the young lucerne, and the lucerne will steadily
master the weeds and take sole possession of the ground. We
know of people, who have not understood this, who have ploughed
up young lucerne fields, thinking they were a failure, when, if
treated as described, they would have developed into flourishing
fields. Running the mower over young weedy lucerne of course is
the correct treatment ; but where this cannot be done, the stocking
plan above described answers the purpose nearly as well.

Stock should never be allowed to continuously graze on lucerne.
They should be removed from the paddock as soon as the crop is
eaten down to three. or four inches above the ground, then apply
the water to this paddock, turning the stock into the next paddock
ready for grazing, and s o on in rotation.

Sheep and cattle turned on short succulent lucerne are apt to get
woven or " opblas." This rarely happens to stock upon lucerne
nearing the flowering stage. Stock that are accustomed tj eating
lucerne should never be put into a field of short succulent lucerne
straight from a dry karroo or grass camp. Let them in by degrees.
Sheep placed in lucerne paddocks to fatten, if left to run in the
paddocks day and night, can usually be turned off fat in from three
to four weeks from date of putting the in into the paddocks. Cattle
take a longer time. An Australian writer (vide Agricultural Journal,
Vol. X., No. 10, page 565) estimates one acre of lucerne "will fatten
eight to ten sheep. Since lucerne can be grazed some six to seven
times a year, one acre would thus produce feed enough to fatten
sixty to seventy sheep per- annum. In districts where "fever"
amongst sheep is apt to occur, it is advisable to choose from April
or May up to 1st of January for fattening Merinos on lucerne. The
hot months, when damp, are bad. Shedding sheep regularly at
nights in fever season is said by many to be a preventive to fever.

FIRST PRIZE ESSAY. 9

CSheep that are rapidly putting on fat on lucerne seem very liable
.to fever. Where ostriches are kept on lucerne it is generally better
.(though not perhaps absolutely necessary) to place cattle, horses,
•or sheep on the field after the birds have stripped the leaves and
tops in order to feed down the stubble to about four or five inches
.above the ground. This practice has the advantage of being a
strong check upon weed growth. The weeds are left standing by
•ostriches, and are pounded down by the stock while clearing the
lucerne stubble. This process is a very fair substitute for mowing
the fields for stubble and weeds. It is, however, always advisable to
leave the late autumn growth of lucerne as long as possible for winter use,
.and to protect the crowns of the plants from severe frosts. If this
is done it is astonishing what a quantity of valuable, green fodder
.is yielded by lucerne fields during the winte"r and early spring.
In this way too the soil is shaded during the winter, and the
winter irrigation moisture penetrates better, and is better retained
for the ensuing summer.

MAKING LUCERNE HAY.

To make the best hay the field should be cut when the first
: flowers commence to appear. If allowed to go until in full bloom,
•or until after the plants have finished flowering, the stems become
hard and woody, and unfit to be eaten by stock. During dry hot
weather it is better to cut for hay making in the afternccn. I et it
lie in the swath until the leaves are thoroughly wilted, but net dry
,-and brittle ; then rake in windrows and leave it awhile, and remove
it from the windrows directly to the stack or to the barn. The
tstack is preferably made near or upon the field where the crop is
•cut, because every time the hay is handled the leaves drop from the
stalks. The less it is shifted about the better, since the leaves are
"the most palatable and nutritious part of the hay. The art of
making good lucerne hay is to be acquired by practice rather than
by following directions, as the quality depends upon putting it in
: stack when just sufficiently cured to keep without heating, and is
yet green enough for the leaves not to drop off. This happy mean

• can be acquired only as a result of practice. We therefore recom-
mend those who intend to make this hay in any quantity, to go and
see lucerne hay-making in operation in the field by someone having
the necessary experience.

LUCERNE GROWING vs. CEREALS IN THE
KARROO.

To tegin with, the rainy season of the bulk of the Karroo

• tomes at the wrong time of the year for the sowing and reaping of
wheat. We propose to discuss wheat growing principally, as it is
;the cereal most largely grown under irrigation in the Karroo. The

10 LUCERNE CULTURE.

opinion expressed by many progressive farmers in Victoria (Aus-
tralia) is that uthe man who grows wheat under irrigation is m&d.'7"
Of course what is meant by this is that far better results can be-
got from good ground under irrigation than by growing wheat
upon it. Crops. such as potatoes, fruit trees, lucerne, vines, tobacco,
&c., under irrigation on gocd soil will yield far greater returns per"
acre than wheat growing. These special crops, however, all require
more ca>re and skilled labour than -cereal growing, hence, in our
opinion, there is a general run on cereal growing — the lazy man's
crop.

We have been cften struck with a curious, antiquated idea
prevailing amongst the generality of Karroo farmers, that if a man
has good ground under irrigation, he '" must grow wheat to make
his own bread, and thus save buying it." The fact that he would
be able, taking one year with another, to purchase five bags of wheat
by growing lucerne where he would only have raised one bag of
wheat, does not seem to trouble this "grow your own bread " far-
mer. We have recently heard of a Cradock farmer, with magnifi-
cent ground and water supply for lucerne growing, who has beeiL
growing wheat year after year, and only making a bare living out
of it. He was asked recently why he did net try lucerne growing-
He replied that he once did have a small patch of it in his lands,
and found the infernal "boschje" a great trouble tD eradicate from
his wheat lands ! He is probably still busy irrigating wheat crops
for locusts and rust spores. It is the uncertainty about cereal grow-
ing in the Karroo that knocks the bottom out of it. If the fruitless-
expenses of the years of failure be taken into account, the occasional
successful crop that is reaped has generally cost as much or more
than it sells for. We repeat that in cereal growing the expense is
exactly the same whether a crop is reaped or nothing is reaped. If
a proper profit and loss account were kept over say seven years of
wheat growing in the Karroo, it would 'be more readily seen by
farmers how. poor the average return is, and how much better it
would pay them to turn their valuable lands over to the use and
support of their livestock. Instead of doing this, however, with
the perversity of human nature, they go on, year after year, grum-
bling at the "rottenness of agriculture,'1 while at the same time
allowing hundreds and often thousands of pounds worth of valu-
able stock to perish for want of food in "droughts, around the very
borders of their grain lands, inside of which a rust-eaten crop of
wheat stands bleaching and withering, and worthless. Often the
crop reaped would not pay for the hides of the stock tint have been
allowed to perish outside the fence, because inside the fence that
blessed cereal crop was standing on the ground, the half of which
would have produced fodder enough to have saved ever/ head of
stock from perishing for want of food. Good ground under irriga-
tion in the Karroo is far too valuable to sow year after year with
wheat, barley, oats, mealies and pumpkins.

FIRST PRIZE ESSAY. IT

LUCERNE FOR THE KARROO.

The growing, of cereals should be left to those parts of this-
CoLny and neighbouring States where they can be grown whole- -
sale upon the slopes and hill sides for miles and miles at a stretch,
without artificial watering, and depending solely upon seasonable-
rainfall. Regions blessed with these natural features are naturally^
adapted to cereal growing. These features are possessed by some-
of the coast districts of the Western Province — Malmesbury
and Koeberg districts for instance — and some of the coast
districts of the Eastern Province, and also the conquered ter-
ritory in the Free Sta'e, The arid Karroo does not possess them,
and instead of trying to coerce the, Karroo into grain producing, it
should be made to carry crops more suitable to its peculiarities of
climate, soil and rainfall. . Lucerne is just one of these crops.
Where lucerne won't grow in the Karroo, cereals certainly will not.
Cereals cannot, generally speaking, be grown in the Karroo with-
out irrigation. Irrigation means the construction of weirs, dams
and furrows, levelling and grading of lands, and the yearly mainten-
ance of all these works.. Wheat can be grown in such quantity,,
and so cheaply in the natural wheat regions just referred to, that
the wheat grown under irrigation- in the .Karroo cannot profitably
compete. We grant that it pays the Karroo grower of irrigated
wheat better to grow wheat during a succession of years of drought,
than it does during good years, because wheat is then a better price,
but this state of affairs at best is. merely temporary, being due to-
the shortfall of production in the natural wheat regions of the
Colony and neighbouring States. One or two good seasons would
again see .wheat at such prices as can only mean loss, or at best,
very little profit, to the Karroo grower of irrigated wheat ; for the
increased demand, due to shortfall, will create a stimulated produc-
tion from the natural wheat regions referred to. For the various
reasons we have just, reviewed, and because nature can never be
coerced, cereal growing in the Karroo, even in favourable years,
will never be more than an uncertain " head I win " and " tail you
lose " sort of undertaking. It follows that all large Government
irrigation schemes in the Karroo, based upon the growing of grain,
and especially wheat, are more or less foredoomed to failure. Van
Wyke's Ylei scheme has already proved to be a failure for wheat,
growing, for which it was mainly undertaken. The Steynsburg
(Thebus) scheme, if undertaken, 'will probably be the next failure
as regards wheat growing. As a wheat growing scheme the Dou-
glas irrigation scheme is foredoomed to failure at the prices paid to
acquire plots of ground upon the site of the scheme, and the water
rate imposed. It will require some far more profitable crop than
grain growing to enable the Douglas scheme plot holders to work
at a fair profit. The only consolation left to the taxpayer is that-
lucerne growing, or fruit growing, will most probably, ere long,
super-cede wheat growing upon "the sites of these Government

12 LUCERNE CULTURE.

irrigation schemes, and thus eventually become a source of real
profit and benefit to the country. With regard to the Slagter's
^Nek Scheme upon the Fish River, mooted from, time to time these
twenty years, we do not suppose that any sane Government Com-
mission would ever seriously recommend it after a careful inspec-
tion of the nature of the bulk of the ground lying below the
proposed site. There are dozens of far more promising sites and
•soils for large irrigation schemes within this Colony than the
Slagter's Nek site. To proceed with one subject, we assume that
it will .be readily granted that, to grow cereals in the Karroo gener-
-ally, irrigation has to be resorted to. Since lucerne is well known
to flourish better under irrigation than cereals do, clearly lucerne
-answers better to the peculiar conditions existing in the Karroo
than do cereals. Lucerne appears to te a plant " manufactured to
•-order " for the Karroo and arid countries like it. All those coun-
tries of the world where lucerne has become to be regarded as " the
-King of fodder plants " are arid countries like the Karroo, princi-
pally devoted to stock farming on a large scale, and subject, like
the Karroo, to protracted periodical droughts. Lucerne is in its
/.glory in just such countries, when" it is periodically flooded and
then grazed or cut with the mower. The rainfall of the Karroo, or
.at any rate the bulk of it, is sufficient to give it this periodical
flooding by taking the water from rivers, or conserving it in large
^dams filled from the rivers during the rainy season.

PROFIT AND LOSS— CEREALS vs. LUCERNE COST OF
RAISING WHEAT.

We now propose to compare the profit of cereal growing under
irrigation with that of lucerne growing under irrigation in the
Karroo. We believe we are making a liberal estimate when we i fix
the average yield of wheat under irrigation in the Karrco at about
five bags of 225 Ibs. each, per acre, per annum, taking a series of
years of failures and successes. Mr. John Eaton, of " Droogvlei,"
in the Malmesbury district (about the best wheat district in the
natural wheat region of the Western Province), a good farmer of
long experience, writing to the Cape Times iii 1886, estimated the
previous five years average yield of wheat per acre at 1\ bushels,
.equal to about two bags of 225 Ibs. each per acre. Again, from
tabulated reports of wheat yields from several coast districts of this
•Colony, the average yield was only six to eight bushels per acre,
•equal to about \\ to two bags<of 225 Ibs. each per acre. The gene-
ral average yield of wheat even in the United Kingdom, under
scientific and heavy manuring, sure rainfall, no locusts, compara-
tively little rust, is only 29 to 30 bushels, or about seven to eight
bags of 225 Ibs. each per acre per annum. So that our estimated
Karroo average (taking the good years with the bad) of five bags
• of 225 Ibs. each per acre, per annum, must be admitted, we think,
'Ao be a very liberal estimate for a comparison between the profits

FIRST PRIZE ESSAY. 13*

of wheat and lucerne growing in the Karroo. Of course individual
yields of 10 and 12 bags, and more, per acre have been obtained in
Karroo, but we are dealing with practical averages here. We
have before us some figures on the '* cost of wheat growing " in
the Karroo, which appeared some time ago in the columns of the
Midland News, The writer, who claimed to be a practical farmer,
showed from actual account kept that wheat cost him just about 6s.-
per bag of 225 Ibs. to produce. To arrive at the average clear*
profit per acre, per annum, we shall assume that the five bags of
wheat weighing 225 Ibs. each (average yield of one acre) fetch an
average price of say 22s. 6d. per bag on the market, realising the
sum of £5 12s. 6d. Deduct from this the cost of these five bags at
6s per bag as shown, making a total of £1 10s. Od., leaving a net or~
clear profit of £4 2s. 6d. — say (for easy calculation) £4 Os. Od. per-
acre, per annum.

Now, personally we have never} even in fair years, been able
to make £4 per acre clear profit at wheat growing here, still less to-
average it. Nevertheless we take £4, as shown, to be a fair and
liberal estimate of the average net profit per acre, per annum,
derived from wheat growing. We now come to the profit per acre-
derived from lucerne growing for stock. By way of preliminary
we may state that when once lucerne fields have been properly laid
down and established, the yearly expense is almost solely confined
to the mere cost of applying the water to them. On fields properly
laid down, this should not exceed 5s. per acre, per annum.

COST OF GJU3WING LUCERNE.

We begin by quoting actual figures of results obtained recently
by a leading Graaff-Reinet grower of lucerne, whose lucerne fields-
depend entirely upon periodical flood water diverted from the Sun-
days River by means of a weir across the river. This gentleman
informs us that during last year (1898) of terrible drought through-
out the Midlands, he made in six months (June to December)
£1,300 from fattening hamels, and £700 from making butter — a
total of £2,000 in six months from about 150 acres of lucerne.
Deduct from this say the six months expenses of milking and tend-
ing the cows, and tending the hamels in the paddocks, say £100-
for this and 2s. 6d. per acre on 150 acres for water leading during:
the six months, amounting to £18 15s. Od., making a total extreme
for the six months of £118 15s. Od. This will leave a profit balance
of £1,881 15s. Od. from 150 acres of lucerne in six months, being a
clear profit of £12 10s. Od. per acre in six months, or £25 Os. Od.
per acre per annum, as against £4 Os. Od. per acre from wheat
growing. This is between six and seven times as much as from
wheat growing. This too during a very severe drought. This
same farmer in the year 1895 made from one ten-acre field of lucerne -
under dairy cows, at the rate of £5 per month, per acre, from butter,,
equal to £60 per acre, per annum — this is of course exceptional.-

.14 LUCERNE CULTURE.

'This gentleman was making ,£70 per month from butter in a

• drought when without lucerne he would have been quite unable to
make butter at all. Lucerne makes the finest deep yellow
'"gilt edge1' butter that fetches highest market price, and yet
•so little is known of "the King of fodder plants,1' that many
.farmers have a hazy idea that it gives butter a peculiar and bitter
. flavour !

Grazing ostriches upon lucerne paddocks is equally as profit-
able as making butter or fattening sheep upon this crop. In Oudts-
hoorn, where there are some 25,000 acres of ground under lucerne,
the standard or average capacity of . lucerne fields for ostriches is
. considered to be about ten birds to the morgen, or five birds to the
.acre all the year round. Double this number during the summer

• could be run on lucerne, but to be on the safe side the number is
limited to the above. The Oudtshoorn grazing is worthless, and.
they have to depend entirely upon their lucerne fields for keeping
their birds. The statistics for 1898 ..show that in that year there
were 48,888 ostriches in Oudtsh^prn, and these aye all entirely dependent

.on the lucerne. This represents about one-fifth of the total number
-of birds in all ths other districts of the Colony put together. Now
selected birds (having feathers above the average of the ordinary
•stock' of the country) will yield, on lucerne at least '£3 per -pluck-
ing psr bird, clear of marketing fees. As birds, running on lucerne
can be plucked regularly every -eight months/ Htfthotit any Damage
to the wing, three pluckings can-be g'ot in t^q.yea^s, yielding a
total of £9 psr bird per two 'years. This is a't/ the: ratp qf ^4 10s.
per bird p?r annum. We may sttite'fhat our bfrds 'have $$& con-
siderably better than this, but their 'quality is:conssiderat)ly>bijv(4
the average. Since one acre of 1 lucerne will carry five -birds all the
year round, and each bird will "yield at least £4 10s. per annum,
we have a return of £22 10s. per acre, per annum, less 5s. per acre
expenses water hading, leaving a clear profit of £22 5s. per acre,
p?r annu.n, from ostriches grazed on lucerne. This is between five
arid six times as much as from -wheat growing. Again, let us
tike the making of lucerne hay as compared ' With wheat grow-
ing. One acre will yield from each cutting 'about 1^ to If
tons of cured hay, which means about eight tons of hay per acre,
per annum. But to be quite within the itiark, 'we take only five
ions of 2,030 Ibs. each per acre, per annum. Lucerne hay sells in
Port Elizabeth at from 4s. to 5s. per 100 Ibs. Take it at even 4s.
psr 100 Ibs. average. At this price the five tons would realise £20.
Deduct from this the expense of water leading at 5s. per acre, and
-expanse of cutting and curing the five tons at 5s. per ton in stack.
This would amount to £1 10s. expense, which, deducted from £20
(amount realissd from sale of hay), would leave a clear profit of
£18 10s. psr acre, psr annum, from making lucerne hay. This is
from four to five times as much profit as is derived from wheat
growing, and in weight it is about two or three times as much hay
.as is obtained from one acre of oats.

FIRSTS PRIZE ESSAY. 15

VALUE OF GROUND UNDER LUCERNE.

Even in Queensland and Victoria, where there are hundreds of
thousands of acres of the most fertile grazing land, lucerne fields
.are found to be very valuable. At a recent auction sale of lucerne
land at Bacchus Masch, in Victoria, 9 acres brought £40 per acre ;
7:1 acres adjoining were sold at £60 an acre; 9 £ acres at £38 ;
23 acres at £37 ; 40 acres at £30 ; 5 acres at £"lO ; 4^ acres at
£41 10s. ; 5| acres at £37 10s. ; and 17^ acres at £40 per acre;
being an average for 122 acres of a little over £37 per acre. If
lucerne knd is found to be so valuable in fertile Queensland and
Victoria, how much more valuable ought it not to be in the arid
Karroo, where it would be the means - of saving hundreds of thou-
sands of pounds worth of valuable stock during one severe drought.

The average value of ground under lucerne in Oudtshoorn,
with a fair water supply, is about £100 per morgen, or £50 per
acre. Ground under lucerne on the Sundays' River Estate has
recently fetched at public auction £70 :per morgen, or about £35
p?r acre. The water supply on this estate is 'periodical, being'fkjod
water only. The water is diverted from Sundays River by means

• of several sneezewccd weirs, about five fest high, across the river.

ii! 'f •

COLONIAL, EXPERIENCE.

We quote from the A gyicnltuml Journal, Vol. VIII., No. 5, p. 121,
Mr. Richard Gavin's own words, giving the stock carrying capacity

• of his little farm cf only 95 morgen, in Oudtshoorn, most of which
is under lucerne. Mr. Gavin says : — " I may mention I was the
first to farm with luierne in these parts, having tri£d in 1863, and

• imported a quantity c f seed in 1866, which cost landed 2s. 6d. per
Ib. I had made thousands of pounds (out of it) before my neigh-'
•bours took to it. Now it is an acknowledged fact that lucerne has
been the making of Oudtshocrn. , As an- example I may merition
that on my farm here of 95 morgen (about 201 acres) I have at pre-
sent, in prime condition, 105 oxen, 17 cows and calves, 10 horses,
.550 ostriches and a lot of slaughter sheep, and have already saved
.about 20 tons of lucerne hay for. winter, with about five morgen

under wheat and oats, and .could feed double the -number of stock at
present, but am always careful not to overstock, for fear of a dry
; summer.'1

We know of a Karroo farm in the Graafi-Reinet district, new

• owned by cne of the leading and progressive farmers of that dis-
trict, which was not worth more than £3,5<'0 at the outside valua-
tion before it was taken in hand by its present owner. Previous to
being taken in hand by its present owner, it was let at £90 per
annum, and were it not for a small shop or store upon the premises,
even this rental could not have been paid by the tenant.

The enterprising present owner took over this unpromising
farm amid the makings of several prophets who pr 'phesiod speedy

16 LUCERNE CULTURE.

disaster. He set to work and built a weir across the Sundays-
River, at a cost of about £500, by means of which he can now flood
from 150 to 200 acres of lucerne ground. Although before he built
the weir and laid down the lucerne fields 'a tenant could not pay
a rental of £90 per annum, without the assistance of the small
country "shop/1 the present owner has been offered £800 a year
rent for the same farm, and could let it at a rental of £1,000 a year
if he wished. Capitalising the rental of £800 per annum at 5 per-
cent., the value of this farm to-day would be about £16,000, as
against £3,500 before the weir and lucerne fields were in existence
upon it. An Oudtshoorh lucerne farm (Zee' Koegat), including a
stock of about 1,50) ostriches, was recently sold for the sum of"
£40,000. The property is only 3,268 morgen in extent, of which
about 800 morgen are arable.

There are immense fields of lucerne in Argentina, where it has
taken the place of the innutritions and scanty native grasses. In
the Corowa district alone (New South Wales) there are about 21,000
acres. There are individual farmers in Australia having as much
as 3,000, 4,000 and 7,000 acres of lucerne. A recent Australian
writer remarks : " There will be -a much larger average of lucerne-
laid down every year, as not only the value is so much appreciated,
but many owners who have let their lands on the half system for
wheat have made a condition that the last year the land should be
laid down in lucerne. I consider there is a great future before us
in this plant/' Having given a few instances of the value of
lucerne ground here and in Australia, and having shown what the
Australians think of " the King of fodder plants/' we now proceed
to discuss the

ADVANTAGES OF LUCERNE GROWING.

Lucerne fields, unlike cereal crops, are not destroyed by
locusts, rust, hail and drought. Locusts seldom touch lucerne, rust
does not trouble it, hail. may •batter but cannot destroy it like cereals.
If battered level with the ground by hail, in two weeks after there
will be waving a field of magnificent fodder, five or ten tons to the
acre. A hail battered wheat crop, two weeks after, would be but
a memory — and a sorrowful one at that. Drought that will kill
lucerne, when once it is properly established, will kill the hardy
Karroo itself ! A field of lucerne, when once established, will last,,
like a fruit orchard, for years ; and will require comparatively
little yearly expense and attention to maintain in a state of profit-
able production. In Oudtshoorn there are fields 15 to 20 years old
as good and better than they were ten years ago. In Graaff-Reinet
there is a plot of lucerne said to be about 70 years old — probably
self-sown from time to time. In New Mexico there are said to be
fields which have been under this crop for more than 100 years.
The revenue or profit from lucerne fields is both far greater and
far more certain than that from cereal crops in the Karroo. To the

FIRST PRIZE ESSAY. 17

Karroo stock farmer especially, lucerne is of inestimable value. It
is one of the hardiest, yet heaviest yielding of fodder crops. If
water cannot be given to lucerne fields for six or eight months no
harm results. In the case of cereal crops they would be destroyed.
When after six or eight months drought, water is again available
for lucerne, this accommodating crop is ready to commence vield-
ing enormous quantities of valuable fodder at once. With lucerne
there are no yearly or half-yearly ploughings and sowings, as in the
case of cereal crops. With the small area of 50 acres of lucerne at
his command, no Karroo farmer need kse a single head of stock in
the severest drought. With a mower and a horse rake he can cut
from this 50 acres, during one year, fully 250 tons of the most nutri-
tious fodder for feeding his stock during droughts. One ton of
lucerne hay would often be the means of saving £100 worth of
stock in a drought, and this one ton would only cost 5s. to cut, cure
and stack ! £100 return for a 5s. investment ought to be, in mining
phrase, a payable proposition.

Lucerne hay does not deteriorate if not used at once. Profes-
sor Wallace gives an instance in Australia where a stack of lucerne
hay was perfectly good, more than seven years after if 'was put up.
Lucerne hay is not eaten and destroyed by mice and rats as is the
case with cr.1 hay. The nutritive value of lucerne hay is, besides,
much higher than that cf oat hay. There is a curious notion
arncng most Karroo farmers th&t lucerne hay is " no good cMve "
for feeding to horses in herd wcrk. They fancy thc.t there must be
oat hay, barley, or mealies added to the lucerne hay to give " sub-
stance.1.1

On this point we quote the following remarks recently- appear-
ing in an American agricultural paper, the Louisiana Plainer . —
"Alfalfa hay is one of the richest foods for stock ; it takes the place,
in the farm dietary, of wheat, bran, cotton seed meal, &c. It is
suitable alone for young growing animals and horses at heavy work"
The italics are ours, and we trust that this quotation cf American
opinion and experience will dispel from their minds the erroneous
idea prevailing amongst most Karroo farmers as to the want of
" substance n in lucerne hay. We may here remark that the high
nutritive value of lucerne itself has been clearly demonstrated at
the well-known scientific experimental fields at Rothamstead, in
England, where over a period of six years lucerne yielded an
average of about 153 Ibs. of nitrogen per acre, per annum ; whereas
over a period of eight years vetches gave an average cf only 84 Ibs.,
Bokhara clover only 70 Its., and red clover only 14 Its. cf nitrogen
per acre, per annum, as against 153 Its. per acre frcm lucerne.

Lucerne growing may be carried on very profitatly on many
farms which to-day are considered " dry farms." There are thou-
sands of such farms, even in the driest portions of the Korroo,
which have fairly large watercourses or shuts, looked upon as dry
rivers because they have no springs rising in their bed, and conse-
quently are not perennial streams, but yet have catchment areas of

18 LUCERNE CULTURE.

fro.n 15 t^ 50 miles traversiig them. Gen3rally speaking, on the
banks of these sluits or " dry rivers " beautiful level stretches of deep
alluvial soil may be f jund. By erecting barriers across these dry
rivers in the form of eirth dims or stme and wire dams, the water
may be deviated from tlie channel formed by years of wash, and
turned out on the level stretches, which, if sown with lucerne, and
given a thorough flooding every time the rains traverse the water-
shed of the " dry river," would give large crops of lucerne, which
could bs cut in the rainy S3asons and stacked for use in times of
drought. At odd times a great deal of green " pickings " could be got
for ostrich chicks or for running sheep on. In this direction great
advances are being made in this country, and it miybe confidently
asserted that when full advantage has been taken of every spot
where lucerne can be profitably grown in this country, it will make
a difference of millions to the annual revenue of the Cape Colony.

There are also many spots in this country called " vleis,"
which always have a certain amount of rmisture in the soil, which
can be easily detected by the green appearance of the rushes and
other growth on them. By sinking on these "vleis" water is
generally found anywhere between 20 and 40 feet. Such sp=)!;s are
ideal for lucerne culture. Lucerne above all things abhors stand-
ing water about its stems. This kills it off very quickly. Nor
does lucerne thrive where standing water is to be found as near the
surface as two or three f 33'. There is the old saying that lucerne
does not like wet feet ; but if the water is 15 or 20 feet below the
surface, the lucerne will thrive excellently, and once the roots get
down to the moisture, good crops will continue to come on even in
dry times. Lucerne thrives and grows marvellously on the banks
of the Mooi River, in the Transvaal, where the water is only a few
feet below the surface, probably not more than from 2 feet to 10
feet, but here the water is supposed to be moving under the surface,
and not stagnant, which makes a great difference in its effect on the
lucerne.

The selling of their lucerne hay by stock farmers cannot be
too much deprecated. How often does it not happen that a farmer
sells his hay at 4s. or 5s. per 100 Ibs. in the early part of the season,
when everything looks promising for a good year, and by the end
of the season when a drought has developed r^e would pay double
and treble what he sold for to have the stuff on his farm. He then
cannot obtain it, as those who have it are requiring it to save their
own stock. Thus the farmer who sells his hay very often loses
hundreds of pounds worth of valuable stock through having sold
his hay, while the money value received for his nay would not cover
one-sixth or one-tenth of his losses in valuable stock.

It is a safe axiom for every stock farmer to stack and stack,
and continue to stack, every pound of hay that he cuts. In this
country of ours, with its fickle seasons, the day is as safe to arrive
as the sun is to rise in the east when the hnerne s',ack^ will bs a
god-send to him.

FIRST PRIZE ESSAY. 19

In view of the danger of fire, it is as well not to put too much
•stuff in one large stack. If there are thirty loads of hay, rather
build three stacks than one. In building your stacks, place them
so far from one another, that in the event of one catching fire it can
burn out without setting the next one alight. Thus, in the event
of a fire, you would save two-thirds of your hay by having three
stacks, whereas if all was in one stack the whole lot would be
swept off.

RESTING THE VELDT.

And, lastly, we would draw special attention to this very
important advantage of lucerne growing to the Karroo farmer. It
enables him to relieve and rest portions of his stock-tramped veld
by grazing most or all of his stock upon his lucerne fields during
the growing and rainy seasons, and thus allow the useful grasses
. and bushes to grow out and to seed for the much-needed improve-
ment and renewal of his pasturage.

He is thus enabled to put into practice the highly beneficial
" paddocking system" of grazing pastures, as practiced in Austra-
lia and elsewhere. This system of alternate rest and use has been
found to quadruple the carrying capacity of pastures. Thus does
! lucerne growing not alone yield in itself a far better yearly return
per acre than cereal growing, but it is also the means of bringing
.about a steadily increased stock-carrying capacity of the whole
farm.

There is no denying the statement that drought is the one
.great drawback to the Karroo, the main leakage through which the
Karroo farmer's profits filter away from time to time. Drought
may, in fact, be said to be the great consuming dragon of the
Karroo farmer's profits; there are few Karroo farmers, indeed, who
have not felt his terrible fangs. Surely the drawing of this dra-
gon's fangs should be worth the doing ! The providing of artificial
fodder for stock against drought is the only forceps that will draw
them. The man who allows his stock to perish for want of pro-
viding water would be looked upon as mad by the very man who
allows his stock to die by thousands for want of providing food.
It is, however, difficult here to distinguish between the sane and
the insane. It w^uld seem that a man is mad only when he
behaves differently from his neighbours.

Finally, then, we co.ne to the

DISADVANTAGES OF LUCERNE GROWING.

There is no doubt that the initial oui.iay required for properly
laying down permanent lucerne fields, of any extent is considerably
heavier than thit reiui;v:l for ordinary cereal growing. This
feature about lueerne gi*o;ving is perhaps, in the strict sense of the
term, not a disadvantage, yet it would h;vo Iho effect of deterring
.the farmer of limited inearn from taking up lucerne growing. As

20 LUCERNE CULTURE.

in the case of fruit orchards, the lucerne grower who has just
started must be prepared to wait a year or two for a return upon
his outlay.

Lucerne fields yield very little the first year, and not much the
second. From the second year onward lucerne becomes profitable,
although it is said not to be fully matured till about the fifth year,
Most Karroo farmers cannot afford to wait for a year or two for a
return upon outlay, and prefer to continue ploughing for cereals
year after year, even if five out of ten years they are only feeding
locusts and rust spores.

Yet it is precisely the farmer of limited means who stands
most in need of utilising to the very best advantage the means at
his disposal for extending his limited capital. The advantages of
lucerne growing are therefore of more importance to the farmer of
limited capital than to the well-to-do farmer.

Ostrich Farming on Lucerne.

PAPER BY MR. 0. E. G. EVANS, AND INSTRUCTIVE
DISCUSSION THEREON.

A T the meeting of the Cradcck Farmers' Association held in
-T^ October, 1907, Mr. 0. E. G. Evans1 paper on "Ostrich
Farming on Lucerne.1' was read, as follows, the writer himself
being unable to be present :—

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, —

I have to thank you for the honour you have conferred on me
by asking me to get up a paper on how to make money out of
lucerne.

By your syllabus I see you have relegated to me the handling
of this subject from the ostrich farming point of view. Gentlemen,
this is a very wide and a very elastic subject, and I can only very
diffidently put forward my views, which 1 hope will be of some
use to your Association as well as to my brother farmers.

PREPARATION OF LUCERNE LAND.

To begin with. I have to touch on the laying down of lucerne.
It is of paramount importance that ground where lucerne is to be
sown should be levelled off very carefully and given a very gentle*
slope, just enough for the water to flow (say about 3 or 4 inches in
the 100 yards). This is very necessary to obtain a good yield from
your lucerne. If your ground slopes tjo much, my advice to you
is to put down any other crop sooner than lucerne. For the reason
that lucerne once down is down for a number of years, and with
water leading continually, the ground becomes hard and no pene-
tration of moisture whatever takes place on these slopes. Not so
with cereal crops, as these are ploughed afresh every year when
down, and consequently, in leading water, the ground, though ever

22 LUCERNE CULTURE.

so sloping, is always in such a loose condition as to enable soakage--
of water to take place. On such sloping spots a gccd cultivator
even would be of little use, as when the ground is loosened it
would cnly tend to wash. Well, gentlemen, I have new cleared
the ground so far, that you will know that when I speak cf lucerne,
I moan lucerne grown en good, level lands and under gccd condi-
tions. I wish it clearly understood that I am not contending that
ostrich farming is the only way of making mcney out of lucerne
growing. I moreover do not wish specially to champion this par-
ticular method cf making money out of lucerne growing. As this-
branch has been relegated to me, I can only state my experience -
and views, and must leave it to those who have knowledge of other"
means of deriving a gocd return frcm lucerne, to judge for them-
selves the relative merits of the various methods of making money
out of lucerne. There is no mere marvellously accommodating
plant than lucerne, and there is money to be made out of it in
whatever way you farm it. For instance, there are climates and
altitudes which may not suit the ostrich, here yen could turn it to-
profitable account in dairying, fattening sheep, fattening cattle,
fattening and rearing pigs, converting it into hay for the market,,
or converting it into ensilage for your stock. I would only submit,
gentlemen, that where the conditions are favourable, farming
ostriches on lucerne is a very lucrative proposition. We have this-
corroborated by the figures shown in the income tax returns, where
it is stated that 75 per cent. (I think I am right in this) of the
farming population of this country who paid income tax last
year were ostrich farmers in the Oudtshoorn district, farming on.
lucerne.

A BUSINESS PROPOSITION.

It would seem to me, gentlemen, that the ratio of yield or
return in this branch of lucerne farming lies a good deal in the
hands of the farmer himself. The farmer has only to raise the
standard of quality in his ostriches, and he immediately raises the
level of his income. We all know that breeding by selection in
ostrich farming has only been in vogue for a decmde or so. There
are isolated cases where far-seeing farmers have bred by selection
a little longer, but I allude to its becoming a fairly general prac-
tice. An ostrich in the early days was valued as an ostrich, regard-
less of the quality of feather which it produced. To-day an ostrich,
is valued by the quality of its feather and the strain' it is out of,
quite as mlich as any thoroughbred sheep or goat is valued by the
quality of its fleece and the strain it is from. We find to-day that
hundreds of pounds are paid for good ostriches, whereas thousands
of common birds go begging in the market at £3 or £4 each. -

I would like to point out that since the advent of ostrich farm-
ing on lucerne, it is felt by the farmer that there is a great deal
more stability in the industry than before. It was a haphazard.

OSTRICH FARMING ON LUCERNE. 23.

business before when the farmer felt that with every little wave of
dryness his birds suffered and often died, while his clip of feathers
was immensely deteriorated. Under adverse conditions cf this
kind the industry could not forge ahead, as no farmer was going
to invest in expensive ostriches to improve his herd, while he was
thus subject to the tender mercies of our fickle seasons. I therefore
contend it is to lucerne growing we owe that keen desire and deter-
mination amongst farmers to improve their stock at almost any
price ; the farmer finding that the better the class cf his birds
the tetter is his income from his lucerne.

Now to ccrric to the L.S.D. In Oudtshoorn we knew it is
computed that you can keep 5 ostriches to the acie of lucerne.
This calculation is based on grazing the ostriches continually on
the luceine. If, instead cf grazing them continually, you graze
them for say rwo hours per day, and then remove them to a dry
paddock and there feed them on green lucerne cut up, you will find
that you ean keep this number cf birds fat during the summer
months, and yet spare sufficient lucerne to cut and convert into hay
to keep the birds on during the winter months and up to the time
that the lucerne again starts growing. So that under favourable
conditions and by judicious grazing and cutting, I feel that 5
ostriches to the acre is not an extravagant calculation. But yet,
gentlemen 1r> ratisfy the most supercilious critic we will reduce
the m,mbe] cf ostriches to 3 to the acre. Thus we will be allowing
ample maroin IV r the inherent weakness cf our country, instability,
which instability a^ain can in tuin be laid at the door of the irre-
gularity cf cur rainy cease r_s. However, this is by the way. We
all knew that ostriches of no particular pretentious to quality will
produce £5 per plucking en luceine. Then again it cannot be
denied that gcod ostriches will produce £10 per plucking and
more on lucerne. We will therefore again take the medium here
and calculate each ostrich to produce £7 IGs. per plucking.

It is usual when feeding on lucerne to pluck every 8 months
(I have done this all my life, and to- day have ostriches of 10 years
old still producing feathers which take their place in prize bunches).
Plucking every 8 months means \l pluckings per year. This at
£7 10s. per plucking means £11 5s. per ostrich per year. Calcu-
lating the low- rate cf 3 ostriches per acre of lucerne, this gives you
a return cf £33 15s. per acre. Put ycur expenses at £3 15s. per
acre, this will mean a nett return of £30 per acre of luceine.
Gentlemen, this is purely off feathers.

We now come to the increase in chicks. Where high-c'ass
stcck are kept this line gives a big return. One pair, or a set of
thue gcod ostriches will produce £750 worth of chicks in the year.
This pair or set of ostriches will thrhe en one acre of luceine, and
the chicks can te reared up to the age cf selling c n another two
acres c f lucerne. Thus fiom tLete three acres of luceine you get a
return of say (minus expenses) £700. Now it would be manifestly
unfair to calculate the return from your lucerne en this fabulous

24 LUCERNE CULTURE.

scale. Yet I wish to point out that where a well-established lucerne
farm exists with about t'OO acres of lucerne and hh'h-class ostriches,
you can safely add £10 per acre of lucerns, over and ab^va th3 sale
of feathers, to your income, from this direction, thus bringing
the total return to £40 nett per acre of lucerne.

PEOBLEMS OF PRACTICAL MEN.

At the November meeting Mr. Evans was present, and answered
the questions of a large and deeply interested audience.

Mr. E. T. Gilfillan asked the relative value of the product of
birds fed on lucerne and of others fed on good veld.

Mr. Evans thought the difference would be quite 35 or 40 per
cent- in favour of the bird fed on lucerne. Of cours-3 there was such
a vast difference between veld and veld, and between veld in one
season and another. The advantage of lucerne fed birds was that
their product was uniform ; the birds were always in good condition.

Mr. E. T. Gilfillan remarked that he specially said good veld.
What Mr. Evans said was borne out in the practical experience of
men in the Uniondale district, some of whom put the difference at
75 per cent.

The Chairman (Mr. Herbert Collett) said his experience was
that if the veld was very good, the product of the veld fed birds was
as good as that of lucerne fed birds.

Mr. Evans emphasised that birds on lucerne were in uniformly
good condition season in and season out ; that was where lucerne
scored. For instance, if birds were drafted from the veld to lucerne
when the former was going off, they got fat quickly, and the effect
was seen in the feather, which was not so good as that of the bird
constantly fed on lucerne.

The Chairman :• There is always the danger of leaving birds too
long on the veld, with a consequent falling off in the quality of the
product.

Mr. Davidson : But it the veld is good, do you think the differ-
ence in quality between veld fed and lucerne fed birds is sufficient to
compensate one for not selling his lucerne hay ? Would it not pay
better to sell the hay in such case?

Mr. Evans : There may be circumstances«in which it is better
t > sell your hay, but if you have valuable ostriches — which are the
only ostriches we should strive after — then it pays you to keep them
in uniform condition, to use all your hay and lucerne rather than run
risks of having birds lower in condition at one time of the year than
another, and so jeopardising the return from your feathers. If you
have a low class of birds, then it does not pay to feed them on lucerne,
and in such a case it is better to sell your hay and not to farm
ostriches at all. As far as returns from good and inferior birds are
concerned, there is as much difference as between those of Persian
s'rjep and Merinos.

Mr. H. Abrahamson : Is there not a danger of transferring
chicks bred on lucerne lands on to the veld?

OSTRICH FARMING ON LUCERNE. 25

Mr. Evans : No ; if the veld is good they will rather benefit by
tlie change. I have had long experience of this, and the result of ft
is that it has no prejudicial effect whatever. Of course I draw
the line at birds being taken from lucerne and placed on the dead
Karroo.

The Chairman concurred.

Mr. Abrahamson : Is the stamina of chicks reared on lucerne
the same as that of birds reared on the veld : would they stand a
drought as well ?

Mr. Evans said he had had his lucerne lands so dry that the dust
rose from them as from the veld, and he had had to feed on mealies
and prickly pear, but his losses had never been as many as those of
his neighbour. He had had hundreds of birds running on the veld,
and could not say they had suffered before anyone else's, and they
were all reared on lucerne.

Mr. Christian : How many birds may be run per acre of lucerne
watered in, say, the months of December, January and February?
The advantage of knowing this is obvious, because then we can esti-
mate the quantity of hay we shall require for the rest of the year,
and can stack accordingly.

Mr. Evans : I think you can run from 8 to 10 birds per acre of
lucerne, well watered and in good condition, and chey will keep fat
on it. During these months birds can hardly eat the lucerne as fast
as it grows.

Mr. P. Coetzee : What size paddocks do you recommend ?

Mr. Evans : From 10 to 15 acres. If you have 400 or 500 acres
of lucerne, I should say make your paddocks from 20 to 30 acres
each. I have only 100 acres, and my paddocks average 10 and 12
acres, with a few smaller ones for chicks or special purposes. My
breeding camps are 70 by 70 yards for a pair of breeding birds.

Mr. Coetzee : And when you iriigate your camps do you keep
the birds in ?

Mr. Evans : Only the breeding birds, not the others. Birds
tramp down the crown of the plants and harden the wet paddock so,
vwnich is the worst thing that could happen in a lucerne paddock.

In reply to Mr. Abrahamson, Mr. Evans said he put birds into

• the lucerne when it was from 9 inches to 12 inches high. The birds
stripped off the leaves and left the stems ; it was then his practice

• either to put in cattle to eat off the stubble or else to mow it and
stack it for cattle in the winter ; they eat it readily. He had tried
leaving it on the ground for manurial purposes, but it was a mis-
take, because the mower, raking it up, clogged the machine and
-spoiled the hay.

A PEOFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT.

At this stage Mr. Evans said that he noted that Mr. Christian
at the former meeting seemed to think the figures he gave in his
paper were extravagant ; he (Mr. Evans) had gone farther into the
subject, and now gave the following detailed statement.

LUCERNE CULTURE.
EXPENDITURE ox 20 ACHE PIKCU OF LUCERNE RUNNING 3 OSTIUCHES OF £2(>

EACH TO THIC ACRE AT PER ANNUM.

Suppose the birds graze for 6 mohfctls per year only, which is giving a big
margin for dry times, « ne cut from the 20 acres of ground will produce 20 tons of
hay, which (at 4 Ibs. of hay per bird per diem) will feed the G'J ostriches for <>
months. To cut this hay will cost as follows; —

Cutting 20 ncres Lucerne — 1 man and child, at 2s. for man and (d. for

child — to take 2 days at 2s 6d. per day... ... ... ... £ 0 5 (V

Horse Raking — say 1 man for 2 days ... ... ... ... ... 0 4 (>

Turning Over and Cocking— say 5 men, 2 days ... ... ... ... 1 U 0

Riding Hay out to Stack— say 5 men, 2 days' ... 1 0 O

Total cost of food for GC ostriches for 6 months ... £ 2 9 O

Water Leading for 1 ye.ir — say 1 man, 2 days each time, and 7 water-
ings per year — 4s. 7 times ... .. ... ... ... 1 S (>•

Furrow Cleaning - say 10 men, 2 days twice in a year ... ... ... 400*

Fence Repairs and Maintenance— say £2 per annum ... ... .. 200*

Plucking, Feeding, Quilling, &>•:. — say I native by the month, at 15-;.

and rations, say £20 per annum .. ... ... ... 0 O

Farming Plant— Light wagon .. £30 0 0

0 mules, £15 each 90 0 0

J lorse rake ... ... ... ... 10 0 0

Cultivator... ... ... ... ... 15 0 0

Mower 15 0 0

Trekgoed 500

Odds and ends ... 5 () ()

Total ... £170 0 0 -

Interest and depreciation on above £170, at 10% 17 .0 O*

Interest on Capital in ft/n/s — say 60 birds at £20 each -_^ £1,200 at 5% 60 0 (>
Interest on Capital in Ground - say 20 acres at £50 each == £1,000 at 5% 50 0 0

Total £15G 17 O

RETURN FROM 20 ACHES OF LUCERNE, RUNNING 3 OSTRICHKS TO THE ACUK

^ 60 OSTRICH KS.

Feathers from GO Ostriches, at £7 10s. per plucking and 1£ pluckings

per annum ,*- £11 5s. per bird £675 0 ()•

Chicks from 60 Ostriches -say 60 reared up to the age of 6* months.
From birds of £20 class, chicks are worth £6 to £ 10 each at
6 months. Say chicks are taken at price of £6 each and allow
15 to make up wastage and loss, thus leaving 45 for sale at
£6 each 270 0 0

£945 0 0

Deduct interest on capital in land, stock, farm plant and deprecia-
tion, also expenses of farming as above ... ... ... ... 156 17 0

£788 3 0
Thus^the nett return per acre works out at £ 39 9s. ••

Uuder fair circumstances more hay can be produced (at least 10 to 20 tons-
more) and more chicks can be reared and sold, and the wastage can never attains
what I am allowing.

OSTRICH FARMING ON LUCERNE. 27'

Mr. Evans said if gontlemen thought ho had over-estimated, he
would be glad to hear what they had to say. For the class of bird
he based his calculation on, he thought the figures were not exces-
sive.

Mr. Christian said at the last meeting the stock fanners prosint-
wanted to hear more about the value of lucerne, and seemed to think
the figures might he overdrawn. He would like to know the^
difference lucerne made to the feather — to quill, flue, length and
otherwise.

Mr. Evans replied that lucerne feeding toned up the feather
generally. The quill might be a little larger, but the flue would be
stronger and the lustra of the feather more brilliant.

Mi*. Coetzee : If you- run birds on lucerne, do vou water them.'
daily ?

Mr. Evans : It may seem very cruel, but I never water my
birds, whether on luceine or on the veld If in dry times I have to-
feed on dry hay, I give u, ration of prickly pear. In most of ray veld
camps, however, there is water, but I know for a fact that birds at..
the far end of the camp nover come tc water. I think ostriches are-
like springbucks in this respect. I have known springbucks to be-
fat after running on the veld for six months in drought without-
water.

Mr. Coetzee remarked that he had known ostriches run for six
months without water, but nevertheless they would drink freely
daily if given the chanc".

Mr. Christian said his experience in Albany district was similar
to Mr. Evans's in this regard.

The Hon. Secretary (Mr. J. Butler) remarked that when in
Oudtshoorn recently farmers were told that the ostrich men {here-
could not breed chicks any more ; that the average reared was only
5 per cent. It had not transpired whether that was owing to dete-
rioration of the stamina of the bird through being always fed on
lucerne, or through some disease arising through overcrowding, or
some cause peculiar to the district.

Mr. Evans repliad that this was due to overcrowding. He had
spoken to many Vets, on the subject, and they were afraid one of"
these days there would be an outbreak of some disease there owing.
to overcrowding birds in the paddocks. The water there passed from
one valley to another, carrying whatever there was of disease germs
with it. At present they in the Karroo were in the happy position
of having no infectious disease amongst their birds, but he always -
quaked lest something should turn up from Oudtshoorn.

The Chairman said they in the Midlands had the advantage -
that they could turn their birds out on the flats.

Mr. Evans said many Oudtshoorn farmers did not expect to-
rear more than 25 per cent, of their hatches, but they were a well-
contented people there, and satisfied with that.

This ciosed the discussion.

Lucerne in NataL

(Bv MR. L. ACUTT.)

A LTHOUGH this King cf Forage Plants has been grown in the
•**' Cape Colcny for many year?, it is only recently that it has
engaged the attention cf farmers in Natal and been grown on any
large scale. It is true that it has been gvown in small quantities
and in different localities for some considerable time, and its value
as a forage plant has been recognised, and fair supplies of green
lucerne have found their way to the chief local markets, but until
recently, one may almost say within, the last two years, no cured
lucerne hay has been offered for sale. The reasons for it not having
been produced on a larger scale appear to me to have been :

(1) The first trials did not happen to be upon Ihe most suit-
able soil and under the most favourable conditions as regards
climate and water supply.

(2) Difficulty in obtaining a satisfactory stand, owing to dry
•seascns, want of knowledge as to the right time of seeding, unsuit-
able preparation of the land and want of know edge as to treatment
and cultivation after sowing.

In consequence, farmers, after giving it a trial and not meeting
with success at once, have abandoned it as a main forage crop in
favour of the more cer ain oathay and mealies.

Some few years ago, however, attention was called to the suc-
cess attending the cultivation of lucerne in the valleys below the
Weenen Irrigation Settlement. This was still on a small scale,
but in spite of distance from market (some 45 to 50 miles of ox
wagon transport over bad roads to reach Estcourt railway station),
it was found profitable to send cured hay to market.

Farmers in the Weenen Irrigation Settlement took the matter
up, and the soil and other conditions being favourable, met with
success, but even so recently as two years ago, the largest field
under this crop was only 18 acres in extent. The results were
most satisfactory, and knowledge as to preparation of land and
time of seeding were gained.

COMMISSION TO CAPE COLONY.

In January, 1903, the L;nd Board of Natal decided to send a
•ComiiBsion to ths Caps Colony to visit the lucerne districts, and
obtain information with regard to lucerne and irrigation, and the
: suitability of lucerne as a crop for the lands of the farmers on the

LUCERNH IX NATAL. 29

settlements under the contr :>! of the Board, of which settlement the
Weenen Irrigation area already mentioned is one.

The Commission consisted of Mr. R. Yorke Worthington, of
Weenen, and myself, and we received eveiy attention from the
Agricultural Department of the Cape Colony, and visited Robertson
(Breede River), Oudtshoorn, and the Strathsomers Estate on the
Sundays River.

SOME RESULTS.

Our joint report on our tour was published in the Natal Agri-
cultural Journal. Lectures were given at the different settlements,
and a great impetus was given to the enterprise as the result,
partly of the information so given, and partly, and perhaps mainly,
by the object lesson which the settlers had before them in the small
fields already under lucerne ; and, although ths time was short,
a good deal of land which was being prepared for crops of oats,
mealies, potatoes and tobacco for spring planting, was hastily got
into condition and sown with lucerne in March and April.

As a result of Mr. R. Yorke Worthington's observations during
our tour in the Cape Colony, he and his partner acquired a large
property at the junction of the Bushman's River with the Tugela,
and are sowing lucerne on a larger scale, and probably have some
200 or 300 acres under crop at the present time, and are already
harvesting and marketing a large quantity.

The farmers on the Weenen Irrigation Settlement have very
good prospects before them ; they will be connected very shortly
with the main Railway System of the Colony by means of a narrow
guage light railway, their, land is evidently suitable for the growth
of lucerne, and there is an ample water supply.

It is safe to say that at present over 1,000 bales of cured hay are
being marketed monthly, and this must be considered satisfactory,
as we have not a field which can be, in a Cape Colony sense, con-
sidered " established " —that is, there is no field in which the
plants have become deep rooted, and consequently no field is pro-
ducing what it may be expected to do in a year or two's time.

The quality of the cured hay so far marketted is, I am assured
by dealers, equal to any they have ever handled.

SUITABILITY OF LUCERNE FOR DIFFERENT LANDS.

Undoubtedly the best land for the growth of this crop in Natal
is that formed at the bends and deltas of rivers from detritus
resulting from the denudation of the land in what is known as.
thorn country, which covers a large area, and the soil of which is
fertile, but in places too steep and stony for cultivation, and besides,
where arable, the rainfall is too low to sustain crops. This hnd
more nearly resembles the Karroo of the Cape Colony than any
other, and I consider that the flats which exist on the banks of the
rivers in this " thorn " country consist of soil which will be found

,30 LUCERNE CULTURE.

.as fertile as the best land in the Cape Colony on which lucerne is
.grown Such land is very limited in Natal, and is bound to com-
mand a high price in the near future, wherever it is within prac-
ticable distance of a railway.

On any other land which can be irrigated, lucerne will pro-
bably be found to be one of the most valuable forage crops which
•can be grown.

Bi t it must be remembered that lucerne is not a crop which
• demands irrigation, as it is claimed for it that it sends its roots
down far enough to reach permanent water, and so becomes inde-
pendent, to a great extent, of rainfall ; this point is largely over-
looked in South Africa generally, and so farmers look to irrigation
.as absolutely necessary to the successful culture of lucerne. The
point of course is, that without rainfall at the proper time while
the plants are establishing themselves, where irrigation is not
practicable there may be disappointment and failure to get a good
stand, as a hot wind after sowing, or a few days of very dry wea-
ther may prevent the germination of the seed, and so the season
may be lest, but it is worth persevering in, to ultimately get a full
field, and there are many stretches of deep rich soil, where irriga-
tion is impossible, but where the rainfull is sufficient, if only the
initial difficulty of establishing the lucerne can be got over.

So far as climate is concerned, I consider it probable, 'from
the great range of temperature under which the plant is grown all
over the world, that it will grow anywhere in the Colony where the
soil conditions are favourable. It grows well on the coast, on hill
sides without irrigation, but is, as might be expected, difficult to
•establish.

The following! 'remarks by Professor C. A. Zavitz, of the
Experiment Department of the Ontario Agricultural College,
-Guelph, Canada, will.be found to be of use to intending lucerne
farmers :—

" It is found that in some localities and on some farms the
alfalfa proves successful, while in others it is sometimes a
total and sometimes a partial failure. The causes of the
failure seem to be pcor seed, killing out the first winter,
and unfavourable conditions of the subsoil. The character
of the top soil does not seem to exert as much influence as
that of the subsoil ; the best results are generally obtained
where the subsoil is a gravelly or sandy loam, and is natur-
ally well under-drained."

It is impossible for anyone to say what lands will suit lucerne
other than the class cf land already experimented upon, and I

; should therefore advire, where it is proposed to cultivate lucerne,
that the land be tested by digging small pits to ascertain the
character of the subsoil which, according to the authority quoted

.above, is such an important factor.

LUCEFNE IN NATAL. 31

PREPARATION OF LAND.

There is nothing particular to be said under this head. A

very fine seed bed is necessary, and the same cultivation which is

ordinarily done for any small seeds will cf course do for lucerne,

only, as the crop is such a permanent one it is worth while going

to a little more trouble.

At the Weenen Irrigation Settlement I have seen land pre-
pared for sowing in a manner which left very little room for
improvement, and lucerne farmers can get full information on this
point from Weenen settlers, or from other parts of this book.

While, however, the preparation of the land for lucerne seed
differs little, if at all, from that for any line seed, the matter of the
levelling of the ground before sowing is of the utmost importance.
In the first place, the more perfect the levelling the better will the
mowing machine do its work, and the closer will it cut — a very
important point. Again, the more even the land is, and the freer
from lumps and hillocks, the more easily and thoroughly can it be
irrigated with a given supply of water. It will be said that this
equally applies to any other crop, and this is so, but whereas with
annual crops the yearly cultivation, ploughing and harrowing in
preparing the land for the next crop will bring the land into a
more level condition year by year until it is perfect, with lucerne
once planted there is no chance of levelling hillocks, or doing any-
thing to the surface ; therefore, that which in the case of other
•cr ps can be spread over years, must, as regards lucerne, be done
as much as possible before sowing. Very great attention is paid
to this point in the Cape Colony. At Weenen I saw the ground
being levelled by a heavy railway rail being drawn over it, a team
being hitched to either end, and this appeared to me to be a most
•effective way of doing the work.

TIME OF PLANTING.

In the districts where Income has been grown s;> far.jApril is
• decided upon as the best month for sowing or drilling, and it is
found that only by sowing about this time of the year can a good
stand be got. I saw a field which was sown in January which
was a perfect failure, while some adjacent fields sown in April
were looking splendid and would crop by the following Septem-
ber or October. For untried districts it is impossible to say which
is the best time to plant or sow. I have heard of some January
sowing on our coast lands which did very well. In America I
find, on reference to books on the subject, that sowings are always
made either in the early spring or late autumn.

METHOD OF SEEDING.

Whore the land is fairly clean, sowing broadcast is to 'bs much
preferred to planting in drills, as it covers the ground more quickly

I.; ('ERNE CULTURE.

when sown than when planted in rows ; any few bare places show-
ing can be filled up by scattering a few seeds and raking them in.
In land which may be expected to produce a heavy crop cf weeds,.
as in the case on our coast lands, it is considered preferable to
plant in drills a foot to 15 inches apart, the land can then be more
effectively kept clean.

Some experimental plots put in on the coast were planted
with Japanese millet between the rows ; this acted as a protection
from the sun and wind, and proved successful. In sowing also,
oats are often sown with the lucerne as a " nurse crop," but the
plan is not favoured unless under special circumstances, such as
exposed situation, sand drift or great heat rendering it necessary
to provide protection for the young plants.

Most of the sowing which has come under my notice has been
done by machines, which work with the most marvellous accuracy
where the land has been properly prepared, and when the weather
is favourable, that is, neither too dry nor too wet,

IRRIGATION.

. I may just touch on this point, but 'as the whole industry of
lucerne growing is in its infancy, very little is known as to the-
best times to irrigate, how much water to use, etc., for in the pre-
sent lucenie districts the supply of water is practically unlimited,
At present water appears to be led on to the ground in quantity
after every cutting unless there happens to be rain, but there is a
feeling that irrigation may be overdone, and some of the best far-
mers are providing for drainage, as some patches of soil already
showed signs of becoming water-logged ; and probably, as time
goes on, much less water will be used.

CULTIVATION.

So far nothing has been done to the fields in Natal after they
are once sown and the land well covered, that is, there is no cul-
tivation by ploughing or harrowing between cuttings ; I can there-
fore only give some information on this point for the guidance of
farmers, which I selected from standard works on the subject.

Professor J. C. Haney, of the Kansas Agricultural College,
writing of the use of the disc and harrow on alfalfa, says :—

"It is demonstrated beyond doubt that alfalfa must have some
cultivation to secure its best development. Statements of
what it is possible to do for this plant with the disc or other
harrow can scarcely be credited without demonstration.
But cultivation with these will make alfalfa succeed in
many places wheie it is now pronounced a failure, and will
increase the yields and permanency ; after the first season's
growth the alfalfa has rooted so deeply that it will withstand
a surprising amount of surface disturbance. A thorough
harrowing with a sharp harrow the spring after seeding and

LUCKRNK IN NATAL. 33

after each cutting, .especially if the surface soil is dry and
crusted, will do a surprising amount of gcod. After the
alfalfa is two or three years old, the disc harrow can be used,
and the alfalfa should be disced at least each spring just as
it starts. Disc both ways with the discs set nearly straight
and weighted, then harrow down smooth. The disc destroys
all surface rooted plants, and does not injure the deep,
sturdy rooted alfalfa. The cutting and splitting of the
crowns invigorates the growth and thickens the stand.

"Our first experience in discing alfalfa was in 1898; afield
had been seeded to alfalfa in the dry year of 1894, and a
poor stand resulted, crab grass was thick and the stand of
alfalfa so thin that it wras not worth keeping. Late in March,
1898, this field was harrowed with a disc harrow, the discs
sharp and set at as great an angle as possible ; it wras imme-
diately cross disced with the discs set the same way. The
ground was thoroughly pulverised and the alfalfa apparently
destroyed. It soon started, branched out quickly, and we
made three good cuttings from the field that summer. In
1900 we wrent a step further in discing alfalfa.

" Two fields of alfalfa two years old were disced— one field was
disced March 28th. The first cutting made May 31st, disced
June 6th; the second cutting for hay made June 25th,
disced June 27th ; the third cutting of alfalfa made August
13th, and the alfalfa disced for the fourth time on August
25th. The last cutting of alfalfa was made September 13th.
This shows four discings and four cuttings of alfalfa on
'iip-land in a dry year. The alfalfa in both fields made fine
late full growth, and went into the winter in good condition.
From these experiments wre feel safe in recommending disc-
ing all alfalfa of two years standing or more. Make the first
discing early in the spring, and then disc immediately after
each cutting. If the stand of alfalfa is fair to good, set the
discs at a slight angle. If the stand is poor, and the growth
of crab grass thick, set the discs to cut deeply. Discing is
of as much value to alfalfa as cultivation is to corn."

The foregoing will not perhaps commend itself to the present
lucerne growers in Natal, as there would appear to be no imme-
diate necessity for cultivation between crops, but later on I think
such cultivation will be advisable, as the plants will probably show
a tendency to form tussocks.

AYhere, however, lucerne is grown on up-lands without irriga-
tion, the directions quoted are invaluable, for they show how a
field of lucerne which has come up badly, and which is crowded
with coarse grasses, and which is apparently a total failure, can be
brought into a good yielding condition without doing all the labour
of ploughing, preparing seed bed and sowing over again, besides
saA'ing perhaps a whole year in time.

34 LUC3RXE CULTURE.

HAYMAKING.

With regard to this important operation, we have very littb
to guide us, nor can any experience gained in one or two district*
enable us to lay down a hard an:1 fast; rule for the whole Colony.
The clLmte varies so much within a few miles, or rather the rain-
fall so varies, that one mm may be able to harvest successfully in a
certain way, while his near neighbour would suffer heavy loss if he
harvested in the same way. One thing is very certain, and that is
that, even in the driest districts of the Colony, a considerable
amount of shedding will be necessary tj protect the crop and
ensure its being properly cured in all weathers, and in this res-
pect we must look forward to our hay-curing costing us imre than
it does in the Cape Colony, with a rainfall of only a fe.v inches a
year against our average of some 40 inches. The wet weither at
times will seriously hamper harvesting operations, in spite of any
amount of shed room, and probably in wet seasons losses by wet
will be by no means infrequent.

MARKETS.

Of course our lucerne growers, looking forward, do not figure
on the prices now obtainable being maintained, and they do n >t
view with any alarm the almost certainty of a considerable drop in
price. It is considered thit if a farmer cm g3t £4 a ton for cured
hay on rail, it will give a better return per a:re, and f >r the capital
employed, than feeding it to stoek, but as we gei more experience
this view may not prove to be corre:t. But let the price drop, as
it is bound to do, and it will pay farmers to go in for ostriches,
which are doing fairly well in some districts of the country.

I do not think we can look tj Johannesburg as a market which
will absorb a large quantity of lu:erne, as I believe the Transvaal
will be able to grow all the produce of this deszripti >n which may
be required, but an almost unlimited amount of this fodder can be
used in Natal so soon as the pri:e drops sufficiently to stop importa-
tion. We have a large stock-raising country within 20 or 30 miles
of the lucerne country, and towards winter stock is to be bought
which would probably not go through the cold weather, but which
would fatten in the warmer clim1- te of the thorn country with good
feeding on lucerne.

Again, it is not unlikely that! stock farmers would find it to
their interest to supplement their own grown supply of winter
fodder with lucerne, as being, if not actually weight for weight
cheaper, calculated with their own stuff to make a better balanced
ration.

The above are a few of the outlets for our lucerne which occur
to me, but it is such a universal food that ther> are doubtless
countless other ways in which it can be used, aid I do not f.-ar
that lucerne will drop in price below the figure which farmers are
at present quite expecting to face.

LUCERNE IN NATAL. 35

ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER CROPS.

The first and perhaps main advantage is the quick return.
1 have before me the certified figures of the return from 18 acres of
lucerne, which show that within 11 months of seeding, produce was
sold to the value of £107, or nearly £6 per acre, besides which,
the first crop, with which there was much self-sown oats, was fed
to stock, as it would not make marketable hay. The crop, after
this return was taken, was then in a condition to give a cutting
every 5 or G weeks, and the return for the next 12 months would
be more than doubled. Compare this with other crops ; after-
reaping the farmer would have had to plough and harrow his land
again, and wait nearly a year before getting any further return,
and probably have to spend a heavy sum in manure.';

ENEMIES.

The two great enemies of the Natal farmer, locusts and hail,
do not seriously affect lucerne. Locusts will not touch it at all,
while as regards hail, there may be one severe storm in a year, and
this storm, it' it caught the lucerne when it was approaching the
cutting stage, would ruin that crop, one out of perhaps seven or
eight which would be harvested in the year.

Lucerne requires no annual expenditure for manure as most
other cr >ps do.

Again, when once " established,1' a long spell of severe wea-
ther (whether of drought or wet, to which our climate is so liable),
which w>)u!d be fatal to almost any other crop, would scarcely
affect lucerne, o:- only temporarily.

CONCLUSION.

In olering these notes on Lucerne in Natal, I feel that they
are very meagre, but the cultivation of lucerne on a farm scale
is of so recent date that very little experience has been gained
which c xild be collected for the benefit of intending growers.
1 trust, h >W3ver, that whit I put forward will tend to increase that
interest in the crop which is already considerable. I would say
that frjm whit I can see, and gather from works on lucerne, the
South African climate is most suitable fjr the crop; and when
farmers have disabused their minds of the idea that lucerne can
only be grown 'on land which can be irrigated, and realise that
th n-e is ,\ 0,-iv-at future f jr lucerne on our up-lands, I feel confident
that in a bw years thousands of acres will be under this crop, and
that very few laraa- in any part of the Colon.: will be found with-
out their field of luc T::C.

LEONARD ACUTT, J.P.,

Member Natal Land Board,

Ton gunt. Natal.

Lucerne in the Transvaal.

BY JOSEPH BURTT-DAYY, F.L.S.,

(Government Botanist, Transvaal Department of Agriculture

HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION.

1 IX1 ERNE is one of the oldest of our farm crops to have
*^ been brought under domestication. It is a native of Cen-
tral Asia, and was intrcduced into Europe by the Persians
when they invaded Greece under Xerxes in 590 B.C. From
Greece it was carried into Italy and Sicily. In North Africa
it is known by its Arabic name of " alfalfa," which indicates that it
was introduced there from Arabia, during one of the several inva-
sions by the Arabs. Under the same name it was carried into Spain,
probably by the Moors. When the Spaniards conquered, and set-
tled in, Mexico and Chile, they took alfalfa with them, and it soon
became one of their most important crops. From Mexico or Chile
then* carried it into California. The date of its introduction into-
Argentina is not clear, but it has not been grown on the present
large scale for more than about 20 years ; it is probable, however,
that it was grown there on a smaller scale for many years before.

California and the other South-western States of North America,
Argentina and Mexico are now the largest growers of lucerne. It
is also produced successfully in parts of Australia, especially along
the Hunter River and in the Tamworth District.

CLIMATE. ,

It is thus evident, from the history and distribution of lucerne,
that it is primarily a crop of warm temperature countries. A closer
inspection of the areas of cultivation also shows that it is grown
most successfully in arid and semi-arid countries, often on the bor-
ders of deserts, as well as actually within them where irrigation
can be applied. In the Colorado Desert of Southern California,
where the average rainfall is only two inches per annum, crops of
lucerne six feet in height are secured under irrigation.

Lucerne also thrives both in colder and more humid climates,
being grown in England, in Canada, and in the North-eastern

LUCKUNK IX THE TRANSVAAL. 37

United States, in some places with a rainfall of 65 inches ; but
under these conditions it does not, and indeed cannot, give such
-satisfactory results as in regions of greater warmth and more sun-
shine. It is essentially a sunshine-loving plant ; but a certain
.amount of frost, while it retards growth, does no harm to the stand.
Any danger of injurious effect from a severe frost may be reduced
by the application of, a winter irrigation.

IMPORTANCE.

The wide distribution of lucerne is an indication of its import-
ance, but anyone who has seen the enormous stretches of country
in California and Argentina, which are devoted almost exclusively
to this crop, cannot fail to be impressed by it. One California
grower alone has no less than 20,000 acres under lucerne.

Governor Hoard of Wisconsin writes: — " No one more liter-
ally abets the growth of two blades of grass where one grew before
than he who effectively urges the cultivation of alfalfa upon those
who are strangers to it, and no one is more truly working for the
benefit of agriculture, the basis of all prosperity, than he who pro-

• claims its excellence as the foremost forage."

Its value lies in its high nutritive qualities, its heavy yield, its
perennial character, and the longevity of well-cared-for stands.

PARTS OF THE TRANSVAAL BEST SUITED
TO LUCERNE.

In general terms it may be stated that lucerne will grow any-
where in the Transvaal, provided the soil is suitable. But it would
not be safe to start laying down large areas, even on suitable soils,
in every district in this Colony.

The most satisfactory results have been obtained on the deep,
alluvial soils, in the valleys of rivers having their rises in, or

- having tributaries from, the Dolomite. There are some excellent
lucerne lands of considerable size along the Yaal and Mooi
Rivers.

On the western slopes of the Drakensberg, in the eastern por-
tion of the Carolina, Ermelo and Wakkerstroom districts, the
attempts at lucerne growing have not been very successful, and it
is possible that Dutch clover (Tvifolium repens) will there give better
results. At Piet Retief, however, a few good crops of lucerne have
In1 en grown.

On the Springbok Flats in the Waterberg District, in parts of
ZoutpanVuei-o; West, and in much of the South-western Transvaal,
a good deal of diilr.-ulty has been experienced in establishing stands
of lucerne on dry land, on account of the uncertainty of the rainfall
and the intensity of the heat during dryspells, which burns up the
seedlings. When irrigation can be practised this trouble need not
be feared.

3b LUCERNE CULTURE.

SOILS.

The roots of the lucerne plant penetrate to great depths in
search of plant food and moisture, and it thrives best where the soil
is sufficiently deep and permeable to allow it to do this.

Deep, alluvial loams of medium consistency (neither exces-
sively light and sandy nor very heavy) give the best results. Shal-
low soils produce poor crops and the stands are but short-lived.

The chemical composition of the soil has some influence on
the succeeding crop, but not as much as is sometimes supposed ;
good crops are produced on soils of very diverse chemical charac-
ter. Lime is a valuable adjunct to a lucerne soil, but soils not rich
in lime may produce good crops, other things being favourable.

Among the Romans, and at the present day in Provence, iron-
stone soil is considered inimical to the good growth of lucerne.
This may not be due to the presence of an excess of iron so much
as to the impermeability of the comparatively thin stratum to-
which ^he iron is mainly confined, as in parts of England. Whe-
ther both or only one of these factors cause the trouble, we find
that lucerne does not succeed where the form of iron deposit known,
as Transvaal " oo'klip " occurs near the surface.

Poor, light, sandy soils are not conducive to the production of
good stands of lucerne.

Sour, peaty soils, such as are found at high altitudes in some-
of our eastern districts, have not, so far, proved satisfactory.

The land must not be swampy. The water-table (upper limit
of the ground water) should not rise nearer the surface than six
feet, even in summer. Stagnant water causes the roots to rot ; the
lucerne root is most sensitive on this point. Some plots of low-
land at the Botanical Experiment Station, Pretoria, have been
entirely drowned out, although the water did not stand on the-
surface.

PREPARATION OF THE LAND.

My experience is that newly-broken veld is unsuited to lucerne,
and this view is confirmed by the experience of American growers.
It is particularly the case in the Transvaal* where the veld is so
full of deep-rooted perennial weeds which are not removed nor
killed by the ordinary surface plough, but which are rather stimu-
lated to more vigorous growth. This applies more particularly to
sour veld. The land should either be fallowed or cropped for the
first season with some cleaning crop such as manna or toff-grass ;
American growers recommend that this l:e done for at least two
seasons.

In order that the seedlings may find sufficient moisture to carry
them over a period of dry heat between rains, it is necessary that a
thoroughly deep and fine tilth should be prepared, which will
retain the moisture. Some growers consider that as much care is
required in the preparation of the soil for lucerne as for an onion

LUCERNE IX THE TRANSVAAL. 39

seed led. For this purpose deep ploughing, followed by the sub-
soiler, is desirable.

Great care is required in levelling the ground so that the water
may flow over it evenly and uniformly. If there are e.evatkns in
the field the lucerne plants on them do not receive an equal propor-
tion of the water, and the stand becomes uneven with a resulting
reduction in yield. The excess cf water, which then fltws into the
hollows, runs off and is wasted ; it does net benefit these pknts
which it reaches, whereas if evenly distributed there need be no
waste.

IRRIGATION VERSUS DRY LANDS.

Wherever it is possible to do so, lucerne should be planted
under a well-laid- out irrigation scheme rather than en dry land.

In parts of California and Argentina it has been found prac-
ticable to grow lucerne without irrigaticr.. It has been suggested,
therefore, that in the Transvaal, where irrigation water is scarce,
and where summer rainfall is by no means inconsiderable— much
higher, in fact, than in the lucerne belt o)f California/ — it might be
possible to grow it ES a summer crop, without irrigation'; we have
therefore been carrying out an extended series cf experiments to
deteimine this point. At the Botanical Experiment Station, Skin-
ner's Couit, Pretoria, we have stands of lucerne on unirrigable land
whiolr are new 4^ years old, and which have given as many as four
light cuttings in a favourable season, though only two were obtained
in the dry summer of 1907-C8. The growth of the plants on this
soil, whioh is heavy clay-loam with a pot-clay sub-soil, has never been
as vigorous on the unirrigated as on the irrigated lands, and the
cuttings are never heavy. This is partly due to the fact that on
dry land the growth is less succulent than on the irrigated field,
but the yield of hay is also less. My conclusion is that though on
such soils dry-land lucerne will not be a success as a forage or hay
crop, it gives a useful amount of early spring and late autumn
grazing. At Pctchefstrocm, on a poor, thin soil overlying an iron-
stone gravel, the growth has been far less satisfactory. On the deep
alluvial lands of the Yaal River near Yereeniging, dry- land lucerne
sown two years ago has made an excellent growth, and yielded
several cuttings of hay. At eight months from seed I found speci-
mens 28 inches high, and bearing 3G stalks from a single crown.
A good crop has been obtained this season on dry lands in the
Kaap River Yalley, near Barberton. Before we can draw final
conclusions from these experiments, it will be necessary to sec how
the stands persist.

The subject is worth continued and persistent experiment.
The amount of irrigable land in the Transvaal is so limited, and so
much of it is required for other crops, such as v\Lc^l u:d winter-
forage, that it would be a great advantage if good dry-land stands
of lucerne could be secured. Although the results so far obtained

-10 LUCERNE CULTURE.

are generally disappointing, it should be remembered that it is one
of the most difficult crops to establish. Success is being had in
the growing of lucerne in the parts of the United States where not
more than three years ago it was deemed impossible to make it
live; we may, therefore, yet attain success with dry-land lucerne in
South Africa.

VARIETIES.

The Transvaal Department of Agriculture has tested all the
principal varieties and strains of lucerne known. Of these the
best results have been obtained with Australian seed from the Tarn-
worth and Hunter River Districts, and with Oudtshoorn seed. The
Oudtshoorn seed sent to the Transvaal has so often been found to
contain quantities of dodder and other weed seeds that our farmers
naturally hesitate about purchasing it, even at a lower price than
that paid for imported seed. Australian seed has usually been
qu >ted at higher figures than any other. Almost equally good is
the Provence strain, grown in the South of France ; the Poitou seed,
from the North of France, has not given such good results, and is
probably, bstter suite:! to a more humid climate.

The Turkestan and " Hardy " varieties have been tried repeat-
edly, but have not proved satisfactory in a single instance ; as a
rule the Turkestan starts spring growth later in the season than
any other sort, and has given a lighter yield per acre.

Many persons suppose that the alfalfa of California, Argen-
tina and other Spanish-speaking countries is a different variety,
but this is not the case.

DURATION OF STAND.

One of the valuable characteristics of lucerne is the long life of
a well-grown, well-kept stand. In the States and in Provence its
usual duration is from 10 to 25 years. Professor Coburn reports a
field in New York State that has been mown successfully for over
60 years, and I have- heard of similar cases in Mexico and Cape
Colony. In France it has been known to flourish for more than a
century, and in Mexico it is stated that there ate fields which have
been continuously productive for over 200 ye.irs. But where care
is not taken to prevent or check the growth of Aveeds. the stand
rarely gives a profitable yield after 7 or 8 years.

It is natural that such a deep-rooted and long-lived plant
should not come to maturity the first year. As a matter of fact it
is not till about the third year that the full crop is secured.

SOWING.

On irrigated lands lucerne may be sown either in drills or
broadcast. On dry lands it should only be planted in drills.
15 Ibs. will drill an acre, but broadcasting requires 25 Ibs. ; at Is.

LUCKRXK IX THE TRANSVAAL. 41

per Ib. this means a erst of 10s. per acre more for broadcasting
than for drilling. In addition to this, drilled lucerne sometimes
uives a much larger yield per acre than that which he.s been
broadcast, so that the advantage is all in favour of drilling.

On dry lands the drills should be 9 inches to 12 inches apart,
as the plants do not spread much, but under irrigation it, is desir-
able to space the rows to 15 or 18 inches on account of the tendency
of the crowns to branch laterally.

Weeds are fatal to good stands of lucerne ; it is therefore of
the greatest importance that the seed used shall be absolutely clean
.and free from weed seeds. Where so much seed is imported frcm
abrcad there is danger of introducing new and noxious weeds.
There is also a tendency to dump on the South African market any
old seed of po; r germinating power which will not sell readily in
other countries ; where such high prices are paid for imported
seed, it is wasteful to buy any but the best. Lucerne seed of 90
per cent, purity and germination, for which Is. per Ib. is paid,
actually costs Is. 1-Jd. foi every pound of the seed that grows.
"Where only 9d. per Ib. is paid, but the combined germination and
{unity do not exceed 50 per cent., the actual price is, of course,
Is. Gel. for every pound of the seed that grows. It is therefore
much cheaper to buy good seed, of high purity and germination,
at Is. per Ib., than poor seed of low germination, at 9d. per Ib.
But it is not inly u qr.estkn of the actual cost of the seed; pc or
seed gives a poor stand, and a poor stand gives a poor crop. V\ ith
a permanent crop like lucerne the stand should be as perfect as it
is possible to make it, in order to secure full returns.

On irrigated land which is absolutely clean of v\eeds it may
sometimes do to sow in early spring, thus getting the stand estab-
lished before the weeds have much chance to get ahead. Many of
our weeds wait, till summer is well advanced before starting vigor-
ius gr will. This course is, however, very risky, for there is danger
from late spring i'r, ;sts, and there is sometimes as great a tendency
for the lucerne plants not to "come away " quickly as there is for
the weeds to grow slowly ; the same influences afiect both; if the
IIK erne pushes ahei d, the weeds are apt to do so too.

Our experiments carried on during some five years, in every
dis rict in the Transvaal, on practically every kind of soil, and in
almost every month of the year, show that sowings made during
the latter part of summer and early nitumn, from the middle of
.January to the middle of 3,!arch, give far the best stands ; by this
time the weeds are harmless, having passed their prime and
•••xhaustiii£ themselves with seed. The lucerne seedlings continue
Crowing as long as there is any moisture available, until late on in
the winter, and are thus well prepared to rush into vigorous growth
wi;h I ho first warm weather of spring. This does not mean, how-
ever, that one can even then afford to sow lucerne in foul land. A
•certain proportion of weeds will appear in the cleanest of land, but,

42 LUCERNE CULTURE.

these will be mastered by the lucerne if the Jailer is given a fair
chance ; but it is a fatal fallacy to suppose that lucerne is str. ng
enough to overcome any and rll weeds. This is not the case ; in
fact, this crop is more seriously injured by weeds than most crops
of which we have had experience.

IRRIGATION.

The amount and frequency of the irrirati >ns must depend
largely on the character of the soil.

On heavy, black-turf land I find one irrigation per crop is
sufficient if applied immediately after the last cutting ; this means
one irrigation per month, as I average one crop per mon'.h during-
the season.

On the lighter, red loams of the Irene Estate. Mr. Van dor Byl
finds it necessary to give two irrigations per crop, or one in about
two weeks.

Paradoxical though it may seem, it is often bcvt'er to irrigate
during a light rain or in cloudy weather, than d iring hot, dry
weather. There is thus less loss of water by evaporation, and t he-
water soaks deeper into the soil.

But in a capricious climate like that of the Transvaal it would
not do to wait for cloudy weather before irrigating. Irrigate as
soon as the crop is off the land, but do not hesitate to do so because
the weather is threatening rain or is rainy.

By irrigating immediately after a crop is removed, a new
growth is star led without delay, and the loss of moisture which
would otherwise inevitably follow the baring of the surface, is
checked.

NURSE CROPS.

Owing to the fact that lucerne does not give heavy crops iu
the first year, there is a great temptation to sow a nurse crop with
it. in order to get some crop oil the land the first season. It is also
supposed that the nurse crop will protect the young lucerne plants
as it does with a crop of ;i seeds M in Europe.

In this as in many other cases, however, theory is not con-
firmed by experience. The theory may be correct as far as it goes,
but the trouble is that it does not go far enough. In climates
which suit lucerne best, a nurse crop takes too much moisture out
of the soil, so that the lucerne seedlings suffer. This is our experi-
ence in the Transvaal, and it is abundantly confirmed by that d
American growers.

CULTIVATION.

I have a 'ready referred to the injuri:.us effect of weeds. - It
remains to discuss the best method of treatment to avoid their
growth. I know that some farmers pooh-pooh weeds, and consider"
that it is not worth while to remove them ; this is one of the mail-

LUCERNE IX THi: TRANSVAAL. 43

causes of failure with this crop. I have already shown that with
careful treatment the life of a stand of lucerne may be anywhere
from 25 to 100 years. It is evident, therefore, that such a crop is
well worth a little extra care. When we consider that it takes
three years to reach full maturity, and that a good stand will yield
ten tons of hay per acre per annum, worth here at least £4 per ton,
a little care and attention which will save the necessity for plough-
ing up and replanting, with the corresponding loss of crop, is well
worth the little extra cost. J

Our most successful growers use some of the many forms of
cultivator, which can be run down the rows as soon as the soil is
dry enough after each irrigation. A harrow is then run across the
field at right angles. This loosens the surface soil and checks
evaporation, at the same time that it kills the seedling weeds which.
have been started by the irrigation. Surprising though it may
seem, I find that the yield of crop is greatly increased by a single
cultivation. Owing to the large amount of farm work to be done'
during the summer, it is not always possible to use the cultivator
'after every cutting ; but I find that three or even two cultivations
will sometimes suffice, if a harrow is used after each of the other
cuttings.

One great advantage of drill over broadcast sowing is the
greater ease and less cost required to keep the crop clean of
weeds. Our 4^-year stand is as clean to-day as when it was first
put in, and with no more care or expenditure than could be
applied on any farm.

It is important that we should clearly understand that lucerne
is an expensive crop to lay down and to keep in condition, that it
will not give the best returns without care and attention, and that
it does not pay to neglect the crop.

YIELD.

The great variations in our seasons, the extremes of heat and
cold, moisture and drought, produce great fluctuations in yield in
a crop like lucerne. A normal crop under ample irrigation should
give six to eight cuttings per annum, yielding eight to ten tons of
hay. I have known of heavier returns.

After the war, the first growers of lucerne made grod money
by selling green lucerne in the bundle, on the markets of Johan-
nesburg and Pretoria. With the rapid increase in production and
the decrease in demand owing to the reduction of the military
forces the price quickly fell. Only those with exceptionally good
facilities, and close io the market, now find this method of market-
ing profitable.

A good deal of money is still being made by the sale of baled
lucerne hay, from £4 10s. to £7 10s. per ton (colonial) being
realised. But here again the demand is falling while the supply
is increasing, and soon we may expect that only those who are par-

44 LUCERNE CULTURE.

ticularly favoured by being close to a market will find it profitable
to sell baled hay.

The sooner we cease to depend on the direct sale of our lucerne,
-either green or baled, the better. The sooner we come to the point
of making our lucerne 'l walk to market on its own legs," as the
Yankee expresses it, the sooner shall we be on the highroad to suc-
cess. The most dependable and most profitable use for most of the
crop grown in South Africa is to feed it to our own stock, on the
farm on which it has been grown. In this way we do not impoverish
our land unduly by taking away everything from it and returning
nothing to the soil, as is the case where the whole crop is sold off
the land.

FEEDING VALUE.

Lucerne is rich in protein elements, which go to form muscle,
blood and bone. When fed with maize corn, maize fodder, oat hay,
roots and other fat-forming foodstuffs, it makes one of the most
valuable rations for all farm stock. In America it is found that
the cheapest way to make pork is to allow the pigs to run in the
lucerne pasture.

Lucerne may be cut and fed as green forage, made into hay or
pastured. It will not stand heavy pasturing, and great care must
be used lest the animals get hoven or op-blatis. Cattle and sheep
.are particularly liable to bloat if pastured on a young growth of
lucerne, or while it is wet with dew. Horses and pigs d;> nut seem
to be injuriously affected by it. For horses and da in- cows kept in
town, a plot of lucerne is one of the most profitable garden and
orchard crops. In the orchard it acts as a fertilizer to the fruit
trees.

LUCERNE HAY.

Lucerne hay is undoubtedly the m >st useful form in which
this valuable crop can be preserved, and the safest in which it can
be fed. But unfortunately it proves one of the most difficult crops
to make into hay. Lucerne stalks retain their moisture long after
the leaves are dry ; in drying, the leaves become so exceedingly
brittle that they are easily broken up into a powder in the handling,
before the stalks are fit to bale. If, on the other hand, the crop is
baled while too damp, the bale becomes mouldy within, and its
Yalue is seriously reduced.

Shade drying has given the most satisfactory results, and is
adopted by many of the larger growers.

It is impossible to give a hard and fast rule as to the length
of time the cut can remain in the field before raking up and carting
to the drying shed. This will depend on several factors — cloudi-
ness of the sky, humidity of the atmosphere, weight and succulence
of the crop, etc. — and can only be learned by experience.

In many cases it is found desirable to horse-rake the morning-
mown swath into windrows the same afternoon : that mown in the

LUCERNE IX THE TRANSVAAL. 45

afternoon, the following morning. The windrows may then be-
raked into cocks in 24 hours, and these carted to the drying shed
in another 24 to 36 hours according to the state of the weather. In
the drying shed it is allowed to remain from 8 to 10 days or so ; if
very dry and brittle, a showery or damp morning is selected for
baling, when the hay is generally sufficiently flaccid to allow of its
being baled without too much loss by breakage.

In America where the crop is mainly fed on the farm it is
customary to stack the hay, but in the Transvaal baling is gener-
ally practised, as it renders the crop so easily handled for market.
When baled there is less danger of injury from the weather, and of
loss of crop in feeding, but it is perhaps more difficult- to prepare
for baling than for the stack. Baled hay only occupies about one-
third the space required for stacked hay.

DISEASES AND PESTS.

In the Transvaal our young stands of lucerne are sometimes
• 'at.cn down by a green caterpillar, the larva of a yellow moth known
as Colin clcctva. The Government Entomologist recommends the
use of a light brush-harrow or roller to crush the caterpillars.

The lucerne leaf- spot (Pscudo-peziza medicaginis) is also abun-
dant, and must have some injurious effect on the crop. By burning;
off an infected crop while the plants are young, this disease may be-
greatly reduced and kept in check.

Dodder or love-vine (Cuscuta) is a serious parasitic pest, which
often causes much loss to growers ; fortunately we have but little
of it here. It is introduced by means of seeds among the lucerne
seed, and when once thoroughly established proves difficult to
eradicate. When it is once seen, no time should be lost in burning
all infected plants, by which means it may be kept in check.

AS A GREEN-MANURE.

For improving the soil, lucerne is one of the best crops that
can be grown, and for this purpose it may be planted in orchards.
Like other leguminose/ crops, it has the power of acquiring nitrogen
from the air, by means of bacteria living in symbiotic relationship,
on its roots. This nitrogen is then deposited in the soil.

In the Transvaal lucerne fields I have rarely been able to find
many bacterial-nodules present on the roots, and often none at all.
The largest crop of them which I have seen was in the field of the
Hon. J. A. Neser, M.L.A., at Klerksdorp, in a moist, light, sandy
loam. On transplanting some of these plants, together with a good
deal of the soil surrounding them, to the Botanical Experiment
Station, Skinner's Court, Pretoria, the lucerne grew, but the old
nodules gradually disappeared, and very few new ones could be-
found.

46 LUCERNE CULTURE.

Artificial inoculation of soil and seed, with bacterial cultures,
lias so far failed to produce any effect with us. Our lucerne
.appears to thrive just as well without the bacteria as it does in
.other countries with them.

As a rotation crop, for improving the soil, the principal
drawback to lucerne is that it takes so long to reach full maturity.
In spite of this, it is extensively used in America for this
purpose.

SOME CAUSES OF FAILURE AND ESSENTIALS

OF SUCCESS.

The following list of " Dont's " is adapted from Professor
Ooburn's " Book of Alfalfa.11 and is well worth consideration by
intending growers, though we are not prepared to give an unquali-
fied endorsement to some of the items, such as No. 11 :—

1. Don't sow any nurse crop.

2. Don't sow on freshly ' ploughed land, no matter how care-
fully prepared.

3. Don't let weeds or grass grow over six inches high without
•cutting.

4. Don't cut when wet with rain or dew.

5. Don't let lucerne stand if turning yellow ; cut it.

6. Don't sew old seed.

7. Don't sow less than 25 Ibs. per acre (if broadcasting), one-
.half each way.

8. Don't sow on land that will not raise 250 bushels of potatoes
per acre.

9. Don't sow twenty-five acres at first ; sow five.

10. Don't pasture it for the first year, better wait till the third
year.

11. Don't put any of the rotten kraal-manure anywhere but on
your lucerne plot.

12. Don't use fresh manure.

13. Don't depend on nitrogen bacteria or on inoculated soil
from other fields.

14. Don't let water ever stand en it.

15. Don't let it go if the stand is poor and ihin, but disc in
more se;-d.

16. Don't be afraid you will kill it by discing or ham wing.

17. Don't re-plough the land ; disc it.

18. Don't try to cut for hay until the lucerne takes the field.

19. Don't sow on any land nut well underdrained.

20. Don't leave you/ lands rjugh ; use a roller or a pl:.nk float
itj level and smooth.

21. Don't give up if you d::n't at first succeed ; try again.

LUCKRNK IN THE TRANSVAAL. -17

Ail Ohio lucerne farmer, also quoted by Professcr Cobrrn,
Drives the following additional advice :—

I have known about alfalfa from boyhood ; been familiar with it
Tor thirty years, and have grown it successfully en many soils, from
.a stiff clay, upwards. The failures which I have seen have been
accounted for by the non-performance cf seme of the essentials.
There are certain " musts,11 not kt shoulds,11 to be observed to secure
success. Here they are from my experience.

First of all the seed must be pure, of high germinating power,
and of the highest possible vitality. If 1 doubted my own pro-
ficiency in these determinations, I would consult the nearest State
Experiment Station. I have had occasion to consult Government.
Experiment Stations, from New Jersey to Wisconsin, on various
subjects, and in every instance have met with prompt and valuable
— and sympathetic — assistance. \

The soil must have lime, either s as one of its natural consti-
tuents, or lime must be added. If the soil is deficient, then the
lime must be incorporated with the soil some months before
.seeding.

The land must have sufficient drainage, either natural or, as
in the care of clay and heavy clay-loams, artificial.

The land must be fertile to a depth of at least nine inches.
Hey i >nd that depth the taproot in its search for water will take care
.f itself.

48

LUCERNE CULTURE.

Dodder and its Eradication.

(BY DR. ERIC A. NOBBS, Agricultural Assistant.)
Reprinted by permission of the Cape Agricultural Journal

WITH the extension of lucerne cultivation and the increasing
demand for seed more and more is leing IK aid of the danger
of dodder and the havoc caused by this pest in our finest and most
valuable lands. Many farmers are still ignorant of the appearance
of the plague, but they are not likely long to remain in this blissful
state, as information 'is constantly received of its occurrence in
fresh kcalities. Once seen it cannot be mistaken.

For those Ftill unfamiliar with its appearance it may best be
described as a tangled mass of thin yellow or brown strands, resem-
bling the tassel of rij ening mealie cobs, but spread upon the
ground twining round ihe stems of lucerne or other herbs, bearing
dense clusters of white or pinkie h flowers possessing a sweet but
sickly scent.

To understand its habits, its simple life histx ry must be known.
Supposing the seed to be sown akng with ..r.cwne en a new piece
of land, it germinates just as do all other seeds, but scmewhatmore
slowly than does the lucerne, a provision whereby the presence of
the host is assured when the dodder needs it. Like all other
flowering plants, dodder begins by sending down a little root into
the ground, but the shoot which springs upward is a single smooth
stalk or thread bearing no leaves. The young dodder in its growth
gyrates round and round, in the direction opposite to that of the
hands of a watch, feeling, as it were, for a lucerne plant to grip.
Should none be near, ihe posterior parts of the stalk die off, and
the front portion grows out, thus actually creeping over the ground
in search of its prey. On finding a suitable host, the dodder laps
itself round the stem, and developes a number of processes, tech-
nically haustoria, which pierce into the stem and, forming an inti-
mate connection with the vascular system of the green plant,
proceed to suck from it the sap, taking sustenance and growing at
its host's expense. The root of the dodder disappears at an early
stage. The dodder grows rapidly, and sends out branches, which
in turn clasp other plants, and so spreads like fire through the
crop. The rate of growth, encouraged by all the forces which
should go to the nourishment of the crop, is extraordinarily rapid,
and any fragment broken off is capable of continued growth pro-
vided it reaches a suitable plantion which it can live.

50 LUCERNE CULTURE.

There are so ne hundred or more different kinds of dodder
known to botanists, each of which is parasitic upon a single species
or upon a restricted lumber of plants, but not upon anything indis-
criminately. The generic name is Cuscuta, and in Europe the
commonest species are C. Euvopaea, C. epilimun and C. e pithy mum.
The last named was first reported in the Cape Colony at Graaff-
Reinet in 1895. In America twenty-five species are known, of
which, on lucerne, C. Arvensis is common in the eastern States, and
C. epithymum in the west ; hence these are to be speeially looked
for in seed introduced from those quarters.

In South Africa there are quite a number of dodders. Those
above mentioned have been introduced with seed, and are only too
frequently found amongst lucerne. Besides them there are native
sorts, such as C. Africana and C. apptnlicnlata, which occur natur-
ally upon wild bushes in the veld. These often attack lucerne, to
which, however, they do not appear to be quite as fatal as are the
other varieties. But these two last named possess one characteristic
making them more objectionable than the other dodders, the
seed is more nearly equal in size to lu?erne seed. This ren-
ders it impossible to be removed by thj recognised process for
cleaning lucerne seed, that of passing it over sieves of twenty
meshes to the inch, which allows imst ordinary didder to pass
through and retains the smallest lucerne seed. It is, therefore,
more than ever important to us, especially when buying Col uaial
seed, to insist upon it, as a reasonable precaution, that the seed \\\is
collected from a dodder- free crop and kept free from contamination
with dodder in threshing, bagging or elsewhere. No cleaning
process is likely to remove these large seeded dodders. Though
less harmful than others, these sorts are none the less to be avoided
at all costs. These faets rend3r it all the more imperative that
dodder whenever bund should be destroyed.

The general question of the quality of seed sold, as used
throughout the Colony, is receiving much popular attention at the
present time. It is coming more and more to be felt 'that, while it
is obviously impracticable to define exactly what is seed fit for s Vw-
ing and what is not, yet there should be some means of ascertaining
readily the quality of any particular sample. Following upon the
lines already adopted in foreign countries, it is proposed by legis-
lation to provide facilities for the proper examination of seed
leaving it to the individual discretion of vendor and buyer whether
to make use of the opportunities provided. Certificates will b-
issued stating the results of analysis of samples up. on which the
buyer may depend, and whereby the true value of the s:wl may be
accurately assessed.

In the particular case of lucsrne a special examination for the
presence of dodder is requisite. For this purpose a certain arbi-
trary standard has been adopted by all the leading seed testing
laboratories, whereby it is laid down that if a sa.nple properly

DoJdar (Cuscuta Epithymum, Murr.j on Lucerne.
Note the twining stranls and cl ister 3! flowers. Half natural size.

Dodder (Ctiscntn appendicidata). Half natural size.

Microscopic section of haustorium of Dodder, showing the sucking organ piercing the stem
of the host and its vessels forming an intimate connection with the vascular fibres of
the attacked plant. Multiplied thirty diameters. -> >\ > > \ »' ,'**, \"

J '' ! °,* , >,•» ,

i

Lucerne Plant.

DODDER AND ITS ERADICATION. 51

drawn from bulk and weighing one kilogram (two and one-fifth
pounds) is free from dodder then a certificate to the effect that that
sample is t3chnically dodder-free may be given. Conceivably, a
seed or two of dodder may be yet present in the bulk, but the
chances are over 476,000 t ) 1 against it, as that is the average
number of lucerne seeds in a kilogram.

Besides the lurking danger in the seed used, dodder, as stated,
occurs on many wild plants in the veld, and is liable to be spread
thence to cultivated lands by means of animals, blown seed, or the
current of streams. But experience has shown that accidental or
natural introduction is much less common than artificial infection,
•either through seed or from implements brought from foul to clean
land through unintentional human agency, irrigation water and
the like.

I

M

&

Lucerne and Dodder Seed. Actual size. (.1) Fair sample of Lucerne, imported.
(b) Ctisciita ai'vtuisis, foreign origin, (c) Cuscuta trifolii, foreign origin.
(;) C:is:uta ap/>e:tdiculata, mdi-jjuous.

When small spjts of dodder are found either on lucerne or on
wild plants they should be taken in hand at once, if possible before
Howe ring. An effective method is to cut the lucerne close to the
ground, clearing up the surface and drawing everything from a
yard beyond th? edge of the attested patch to the centre, and there
burn it. If moist or otherwise incombustible, the heap may first
be sprinkle:! with pirafin. Under no circumstances should the
cut siu.? be carried away, as in so doing, fragments are sure to fall,
and so disseminate the disease. If in flower there is danger of ripe
seed n >t being burnt. After a week the spots should be carefully
<'.\aminecl lest a fragment has escaped destruction and be spreading
again.

Another system i* to spray the patches after they have been
cut and allowed to wither somewhat, with a 10 per cent, solution,
1 Ib. to 1 gallon of wat->r, of sulphite of copper (blue vitriol, blue-

52 LUCERNE CULTURE.

stone) or^of sulphate of iron (green vitriol, copperas). Wooden
utensils should be used, as metal would corrode. Strong7 brine is-
also successfully used. These poisons, of course, kill the host
plant down to the ground, as well as the parasite, but the lucerne-
will spring up again. Arsenite of soda, as supplied by Govern-
ment for the eradication of prickly pear, is also effective when
sprayed over the affected patch. A solution of 2-J per cent., 1 Ib.
to 4 gallons, kills the dodder, but also destroys the lucerne, which
must be re-sown after one or two floodings have washed the poison
out of the ground.

In the case of a whole patch or field being over-run with dod-
der, the only procedure to be followed is to graze it down close,,
plough the land over, and for two years cultivate crops other than,
lucerne on the land.

But prevention is preferable to cure, and the use of only seed'
guaranteed free from dodder is imperative. Watchfulness with
regard to the presence of dodders on the veld is also an obvious-
precautionary measure.

The cauticn c.nd activity ( f the public in their own interest
would no doubt he quickened by the proclamation of dodder as a
noxious weed, thus entailing its compulsory removal within a
limited time after its discovery. This course has been followed in
the Divisions of Oudtshcorn and Cradock, where dodder is now
noxious in the eyes of the law, as well as by ccmmon consent. The-
assistance of the public in the enforcement of the Act would be a
potent aid in restricting the spread of dcdder, and it is to be-
wished that other districts would follow the above examples.

In conclusion, it is requested that ppeciirens cf dodder, both
from wild plants and from lucerne, may be sent for identification
to the Agricultural Assistant, Capetown, in order that a complete-
collection of the forms occurring with us may 'be made, and their
relative frequency approximately estimated. . There still remains-
much to learn about dodder.

Other Enemies of Lucerne.

Dealing briefly with this subject in his Prize Essay in the-
Midland News, Mr. F. Franks says :—

LOCUSTS trouble lucerne very little; the brown ones eat a little-
if they sleep on it, and the red-winged ones eat rather more ; but
it seems to disagree with them, much in the same way as it does
with cattle (new to it), viz., by blowing them up.

CATERPILLARS and beetles tackle it a little, eating mostlyl in.
patches and sometimes eating all the leaves ; they often destroy
very young lucerne put in in October, November and December
and the early part of January. The best thing for them and! you.
is to roll them with a heavy roller.

OTHER ENEMIES OF LUCERNE. 53

i Another method we know to have been tried with success is to
«cut the lucerne when badly infected with caterpillar and turn it
into ensilage.

If the caterpillars are troublesome in small patches of lucerne
only, they may be effectively dealt with by spraying. The spraying
solution, with which the greatest success has been obtained, con-
sists of Paris Green, at the rate of 1 Ib. of Paris Green, and from
150 to 200 gallons of water, with the addition of 2 Ibs. of freshly-
slaked lime. This mixture is sprayed directly upon the plants,
.and must be renewed if washed off by rains. These chemicals are
very cheap.

MITES. — A correspondent wrote to the Agricultural Journal in
'-Sept., 1907, as follows :—

Under separate cover I am sending you a bottle containing a
number of very minute insects. This little pest has attacked a
patch of about seven morgen of lucerne, and every square inch of
.ground seems to be alive with them. They suck all the juice out
of the leaves and retard the growth. Can you suggest any simple
remedy for getting rid of the n ? Do you think irrigating at short
intervals will remedy the evil ? '

Mr. C. B. Lounsbury, Government Entomologist, supplied the
following memo : —

The specimens were all dead and somewhat decomposed when
they reached me, but I am unable to distinguish them from the
•common Bryobia Mite, Bryobia pratensis. Information in regard to
this insect as a fruit tree past was given in the Agricultural Journal
for August, 1903. We hive noticed it in small numbers in lucerne
near Capetown, and last year a report of serious injury to a small
patch reached us from Steynsburg. In America the creature is
called the " Clover Mite," and doubtless it is found there on
lucerne, as it is known practically all over the country ; lucerne
and clover, be it understood., are allied plants. But it is not
recorded as a pest of any importance to lucerne, and last year an
enquiry to the entomologist of Colorado, in which State lucerne is
extensively grown, brought a reply t) the effect that it was not
known to affect lucerne in his area. The fact is mentioned because,
from the Cape experience alone, the creature appears capable of
giving a g >od deal of trouble. That it does not in Colorado is
hopeful. The climate of the State is dry, lucerne requiring irriga-
tion always, and dryness seems very favourable to the rapid multi-
plication of the mite. Though to be found in almost every garden
around Capatown, where the climate is a relatively moist one, it
never does much injury. It may be inferred from this that irriga-
tion af, short intervals, as suggested, will tend to keep down the
numbers.

Lucerne as a Factor in Dairy
Farming.

BY R. SILVA-JONES,

(Late Government Da:'ry Expert).

' I 'HE age of providential trust in the weather, and the all-too-
scanty and irregular rainfall cf this Celery, is slowly but
surely passing away ; the lessen is teing leaint and realised that
we must stcre what surplus water we get and lead it in the dry
seasons, which after all are regular, whilst the Met enes are not.
What better confirmation cf this lessen can we have than by the
result of actual experiment and the dearly bought experience of
others who are busily engaged in the cultivation of lucerne to-day.

In New Zealand, statistics show that in a period of ten years-
the exports of agricultural produce have almost doubled them-
selves. Ten yeais ago the figures steed in rcund numbers at (en
millicns sterling, but retuins just to hand show they have risen to
nineteen and three-quarter millions sterling — the major portion
of this grand total being brought up from products of the dairy.

I quote this example at the outset to show what can be done
by strict attention to detail, and with a set determination to
increase the products of the country, and improve their position
financially.

From the same report I gather 'that ten or fifteen years ago
New Zealand was in the same undecided condition as to " will it
pay" as we are to-day; and although, judging from the current
report, there is still room for huge improvement and development,
one can still see a determination to ensure that development and
general improvement.

Lucerne growing is to be one of the chief elements of that
coming development in so far as the future of the Cape Colony is
concerned, and this article will be limited to that development and
improvement in so far as the dairy industry is concerned only.

Firstly, I may say, to touch upon the salient points, it enables
a larger number of cows to be kept on any given area than previ-
ously ; secondly, the feeding of milch cows— I am assuming.

A FACTOR IN DAIRY FARMING. 55

lucerne to be trie principal and most economical of ccw feed— gives
one not cnly a better ccnditicn and a more healthy ccr.diticn, but
it gives one the absolute control of the calving period, which is in
itself cf inestimable value to the dairy farmer, besides which a
herd of cowrs trusting to the veld for sustenance will net bleed &nd
increase regularly during time of adversity ard dici^ht; en the
other h&nd again cows fed reasenably and the feed pi.t lefcre them
in a proper way will thrive year in and year cut, increase quicker,
and give a more handsome return, which will peimit of dairy
industries creeping up in our midst to the benefit of the producer,
the crerirery and the public. At present it is net to our credit
that in a lovely cttt'c ecuntry like ours we aie cnly able to support
the barest minim n. of cieameries, and those working to excess for
a short f ericd. and \ rc.ctically more or less closed down for the
remainder of the yei.r.

Luce:ne of aM ci\ p3 gives the heaviest >ield. and can be had
to feed in ihe fivsii given state for many months of the year, and
when OMCO thoroughly e3t--iblisliL\l detie:- tj a certain degree the
perk.dic;il drurghis uf shortor duralion, i.iul is th?:-efo:e a centainty
to the cl..iryman : and if one point is essential mere than another to
the milk i reducer it, is regularity in fax! supply fir his milch
cows. It c,:.nnot be gainsaid on this most important score that any
economical food can approach lucerne. Bfesides the extraordin-
arily hi avy crops in a fresh green state, the farmer can save his
surplus in the form of

HAY AND SILAGE,

eaeh of which form of fodder hc.s its cwn special merit. Whilst
touching en this side of the question, il might be w-eil to counsel
a 1 milk producers to rrcst thoitughly thrash out and argue the
merits and demerits of this form of winter feeding. I myself
advocate it to the utmost as a milk producer, but yet on the other
hand knowledge and care are essential in using it, as there is a
possibility of trouble ensuing by careless use. Lucerne, in the
form of hay, is excellent as a life- sustaining and fattening food,
but it is not a food that tends towards a heavy secretion of milk,
while green lucerne and ensilage, being a food of a highly nitro-
genous nature, requires a slight admixture of a carboydrate to
balance the whole food to prevent waste through the excess of one
food constituent over another. To balance this excess, I cannot
recommend a better admixture than crushed mealies ; they are,
I think, the most economical to the farmer.

Lucerne as a factor to dairying has a most far-reaching and in
every sense beneficial influence upon regular milk production. If
the milk supply were heavier, more regular and more certain, it
would afford great stimulus to co-operative dairying. It is not
that we have not the cattle in the country sufficient to create and
support these industries, but that, they have been bred, speaking

56 LUCERNE CULTURE.

generally, with quite another object in view— transport — and their
value as a producer of milk quite lost sight of. But now that the
days of transport are practically over, attention must be given to
deriving income from our cattle through a different channel — the
dairy — and it is not the work of a day or a year to transform our
cattle into good dairy stock ; it must come. gradually, by careful
selection and culling, together with good feeding and improved
treatment.

I make bold to say that we have in this Colony a most excel-
lent foundation in our present stock from which to build up, by
selection and weeding out, a really good, profitable and creditable
dairy cow, in a shorter space of time than people imagine.

It may b3 argued as to why lucerne should be such an impor-
tant factor to dairying as to be the cause of such a revolution
amongst the cattle of the country, and perhaps the question might
be a little difficult to solve if it were not that the wishes and
inclinations of cattle owners are towards improvement in their
general herds, and increased milk production from their cows,
more early maturity in their bullocks, and more economical method
of manipulating and disposing of their product, and with such an
asset in hand it is more or less an easy matter to show how lucerne,
the chief of cattle foods, becomes such a mighty factor.

MANAGEMENT OF COWS.

To commence with, to feed properly requires accommodation
in the form of some style of shelter, or stalls fitted with mangers in
which to feed, and the bar? fact of providing shelter for cattle
when it is required is of itself a great advantage and a step in the
right direction. It is estimated bythose^in a pDsition to make
such a statement that in the case of a cow of about 1,000 Ibs. live
weight, of every 100 Ibs. of food eaten, 60 Ibs. are required to main-
tain the heat of the body, to replace wasted energy and tissue,
leaving 40 Ibs. for the production of meat and milk. Extremes of
cold and exposure to rain naturally call for a greater supply to
maintain the heat and energy of the body, which means that the
reserve, so to speak, for the manufacture of meat and milk is at
once called upon, and little or nDthing is left for the making of
any products from which the farmer reaps profit. This is espe-
cially the case during the winter when food is scarce, and looked
at in this light, it is really wonderful that so many cattle survive
what they have to pass through, to say nothing of yielding any
profit to the owner.

IMPORTANCE OF SHELTER.

It is only shelter from the cold rain and biting winds which
will obviate this and prevent the natural tendency of reduction of
temperature in the body of the animal and increased call on the

A FACTOR IN DAIRY FARMING. 57

margin I of food i supply, which ought to go to the making of milk
and meat. To feed milch cows, in any part of the country where
the variations of temperature are extreme during the year, without
the requisite shelter and stalling is to my mind false economy,
and creates a huge waste of food stuffs. But, at the same time,
remember that stabling or sheltering can easily be overdone at the
•expense of the constitution of the beast, and therefore they should
•only be stalled when absolutely necessary ; one does not wish to
make cattle too susceptible to any sudden change of weather.

Thus it will be seen that sheltering is an advantage, from an
•economical point of view of food, from increased milk supply, and
from a point none the less valuable, that of much closer observa-
tion ; every time they come in to be milked they are tied up and
come much closer under personal attention than otherwise. If a
•cow is a little off-colour when brought in and tied up, and she
refuses food or eats sparingly, it is probable that an approaching
illness can be obviated, where under other circumstances it would
not have been observed till the cow was actually showing more
.acute symptoms of the sickness itself.

Cows, to give a maximum return, must be looked upon as
delicate pieces of machinery and treated accordingly, and each indi-
vidual cow should be treated and fed in accordance with her own
peculiarities. Can this be done otherwise than by feeding and
housing? The cows become quieter and more docile when s'.all-fed
daily, which all tends to greater, more even and regular milk pro-
duction.

BREEDING FOR THE DAIRY.

Then comes the greater and deeper question of selection and
the culling out of cows giving inferior and non-paying results to
make room for cows that will recompense the owner for the atten-
tion and feed bestowed. In most kraals, now-a-days, you find that
out of a certain number of cattle the return for the dairy is made
out of the few cows ; the remainder are not only a loss individually,
but help to eat up the pofit made by the few. This is a condition
of things that cannot be tolerated, if the dairy industry is to go
forward and take the place it ought to amongst the chief assets of
the Colony. Weeding out the inferior stock can only be satisfac-
torily done, and an average of value stack with any degree of
-certainty, when the cows are kept in a thrifty condition all the year
round. It entails a certain amount of labour and time, but repays
for it tenfold in a very short time. Weighing the amount of milk
given at each meal, and making periodical tests for butter fat with
the Babcock tester, is the only way to define the actual value of a
cow as a dairy cow. Varying conditions throughont the herd make
the attempt to arrive at any definite value of the cow as a factor in
dairying quite useless and futile, unless the herd is kept in a
thrifty condition — I do not mean fat, as that is the other extreme —

58 LUCERNE CULTURE.

it is only then that a series of tests really and actually becomes of
any intrinsic value. Without such conditions prevailing, one runs
the serious risk of weeding or culling out cows by their perform-
ance at the pail or test, when in reality had the cows an opportunity
to assert their value as dairy cows they would often not only be>
retained in the herd, but would be kept and looked upon as the^
prizes of the herd.

VALUE OF GOOD FEEDING.

Experience has shown there is the possibility, in fact the
probability (especially in heavy milkers), that when cows have-
once baen reduced to a poor, almost starving condition, the milk
glands become inactive and the blood exceedingly poor, and the
animal never, in so far as milk production is concerned, recovers-
herself ; that although to all outward appearances she may havj
recovered from th? ordeal, h:r milk yield will never return, t'i ;
milk glands having suffered to that extent that nature? cannot repair
the d image done.

At every turn one see~> fresh proof the value of main "ai. 11112;
milk cows and bre?ding cattle in an even, thriving, healthy condi-
tion, and that it is only neces.-ary for them to have sets-back to
reduce tlro.n from the profit to the loss side by events that man.
cannot a.wjys control, such as occasional sickness, without our
aiding the process as at present by want of a'ton.i ;n, feeding and
shelter.

When a cow is in full milk her nervous system is working at
high tension and requires help, shelter and food to prevent a break-
down ; with it she will continue to work as a machine converting
food into milk and meat t ) the profit of her owner and as an asset
to the country at large.

Is it reasonable to expect that a cow at the commencement of
the winter season in a low and miserable condition, carrying a calf
which has also to be fed and nourished until it is dropped, will do-
well in early spring? Why, the winter is almost on her again,
before her system is sufficiently nourished to be able to give any
yield of milk at all. It is at the early spring, after the winter is.
over, that the cows are required to be in the pink of a milking,
condition to be ready when the grass shoots with her utmost yield
of milk. Cows farmed under these conditions are the ones that
will yield the profit.

One too often hears a farmer say that he keeps his cows to
feed him and his family, and that they -must do the best they can
under the prevailing conditions, but if the cows he keeps enjoyed
only a tithe of the comfort that the owner enjoyed, how much better-
would that cow be able to support the farmer and his family.

While on this point, a subject well worth mentioning is the •
provision of shelter by clusters of trees in the centre of the camph-
or paddocks, to help the cattle to be better able to protect them-

A FACTOR' IX D-AIRY FARMING. 59>

selves at their leisure from the sun's rays, or the sudden change to
cold which one gets in the Colony practically from one year's endi
to another. Under prevailing conditions the sob she.ter th..t a
cow can get either from the sun, the rain or the wind is a six cr
seven-wired barb fence !

These few ideas indicate but a tithe of the benefits to bc-
derived from the proper and reasonable feeding of breeding; cattle,,
which causes lucerne to be such a factor in dairying, and it behoves
all those who possibly can to lay down lucerne lands. Not all can
do it ; the hilly condition of the land and the soil formation may
be adverse, but to them other crops are available. Lucerne in a.
country like this can never be a glut in the market, for if the mar-
ket is glutted for direct sale, the feeding of a farmer's own stock
and the indirect protit thereby derived is always open to him.
I believe, in fact I am sure, the indirect profit is greater and far-
more beneficial in the long run than that derived from the direct
sale. Of course it takes greater time to realise, but to balance all
this your stock reaches m.iturity earlier, and the manure obtained
by this system of farming is (,f no little value and importance,,
when by this practice tho far.niM1, while cropping his acres, can.
greatly improve his soil value

I would like to see lucerne plr.ntecl on every available piece of
ground possible, whether under irrigation or net. Naturally l he-
crops are heavier under irrigation, but eveii without it, given:
reasonable cultivation, gor.d crops can be assured even in dry
weather.

The changes that will arise from the extensive use of
lucerne by the dairy farmer of this Colony have in a very
detailed way been shown to be unbounded, and the beneficial
results that will arise to the milk producer and the Colony at large'
as a producing state must be enormous. When this development
and improvement have taken place and the raw article is produced
very greatly in excess of the present, then will be the time for
co-operative advancement. I ask you does it appear reasonable on
the face of it to sell off one's crops while one's own stock is wither-
ing away for the want of proper sustenance ?

Feeding Lucerne to Stock.

1 N addition to the value of feeding lucerne to ostriches, which is
1 exhaustively dealt with in the opening article, experience shows
the king of fodder plants may be fed to almost any stock with
-advantage. Following is the experience of Mr. F. Franks, con-
tained in his Prize Essay which we published a few years ago :—

CATTLE.

Oxen will fatten in from 13 to 16 weeks if grazed on lucerne,
and in a much shorter time if fed on lucerne in stalls ; this of

• course is owing to their taking less exercise ; but there are many

• drawbacks to feeding in stalls. First, the expense of erecting
them ; another is the worrying of flies, and another the expense of
the attendant, as they take a great deal of attention.

The best way of fattening oxen is in connection with other
stock, such as birds. The oxen are put on after the birds, so it
depends upon what the birds are allowed to leave, how many oxen
can be fattened on the morgen.

Great care must be taken when putting oxen or cows on lucerne
(or on a fresh piece) for the first time. They should not be allowed
to stay for more than 20 minutes at a time, and if they have never
been on lucerne before, they should not be put in hungry. As a
rule, if they have never seen it before they will not eat large quan-
tities the first time. In all cases they want careful watching, and
the trocar always handy.

To show how much risk there is, Mr. Probart, of Graaii-
Reinet, told me that some of his milch cows had as many as three
holes in them, and hardly a single one's skin was whole or without
hole.

Dairy farming pays well on lucerno ; the milk is perhaps lower
in quantity than when fed on meadow grass or barley (green), but
the quality is superior. The above remarks as to stall feeding and
loose apply equally here.

100 morgen of lucerne should keep 100 cows with the other
stock.

It is much more economical to keep the cows out of the
Jucerne and feed them in the kraal in mangers ; the lucerne has
-only to be mowed and ridden on, it should not be chaffed, as they

FEEDING LUCERNE TO STOCK. 61

will then eat too quickly. When starting, give mostly lucerne hay
and very little green lucerne ; when they are quite accustomed to
the green lucerne, a good ration for milk is three parts green and
one part hay ; when dry reverse i this, c* Large calves! should have
half-and-half.

HORSES >ANDMULES.

If not wanted for fast work lucerne hay is a splendid feed
alone, but if they do fast work a little grain should also be given.
Yearlings and two-year-olds thrive better on lucerne fields, with
at night and morning a little hay, than on anything else ; of course
the latter when not in work.

It is the cheapest food that can be bought (grown in this
country), as none of it is wasted like forage, half of which is
generally under the manger.

SHEEP.

Thirty miles from the coast sheep fatten and do well on
lucerne, but nearer than this lucerne farmers are bothered with
gall sickness, which when the sheep are feeding on lucerne is very
virulent.

They fatten in from six weeks to two months, and scale up to
75 Ibs. The same care must be taken with them as with cattle as
they are very prone to hove, and in their case the trocar is very
dangerous.

Sheep are fattened in connection with birds and cattle, and we •
often put on after harvesting and before watering.

Breeding pedigree sheep would, I should think, pay well on.
lucerne, as they would grow to perfection.

PIGS.

I have fed pigs in a sty on lucerne alone, and I cannot say
they do well.

In America they go in for fattening pigs, running on the •
lucerne. They put from 10 to 15 pigs on an acre for six months,
in which time (weighing 400 Ibs.), when put on, they gain another
100 Ibs. each. 1,000 Ibs. of pork are worth there 50 dollars
or £10 8s. 4d.

POULTRY.

Fowls and turkeys on a fairly large scale fattened on lucerne
will be found to pay and do handsomely, fattening very quickly,
and a large number can be fattened on a comparatively small piece.

At night they roost in a galvanised iron house on wheels with
broad tyres, and a pair of shafts or a pole for the horse or two-
mules to move house and poultry to pastures new The house -
should be moved when the poultry have retired for the night^and^
before they settle on the perches.

< LUCERNE .CULTURE.

The house must be kept perfectly clean to guard against
.disease. The best way to do this is to thoroughly clean it every
morning, and to syringe the inside with strong dip and water.

The poultry should be moved at least once a week. A little
.trouble will be experienced at first in getting the birds into the
.house, but when once taught no trouble will be ^experienced with
,the rew arrivals.

Ducks and geese eat more that they are worth.

Breeding thoroughbred fowls on lucerne is expensive. For
;this it would be necessary to keep a piece of lucerne (say ten
morgen) for this purpose alone.

This would have to be divided into wire-netting camps for the
separate lots and breeds, and in some cases netted overhead, each
camp to be not less than a quarter of .an acre,i or 30 yards by
40 yards.

Light moveable houses should be made, and only half the
•camps used at one time. The land should be laid out and used in
;such a way that camps not in use can be watered in one piece, so
as net to risk i'ccding camps in use.

Lucerne Hay

(BY R. RICHARLS, PAYVILLE.)

'T'lIE chief object in writing these notes is to give growers of
lucerne some idea of the difference between lucerne hay and
<lri>d lucerne, in order that they may appreciate the difference
in the quality, which is very essential.

It is universally admitted that lucerne is the most valuable
food we have for horses, sheep, cattle, ostriches, etc., but if we are
to take full advantage of the fact, we must be able to store quanti-
ties of this valuable fodder as an insurance against the terrible
periods of drought by which this country is afflicted. In a word,
we must convert our surplus lucerne into hay, and not merely into
dried lucerne, which deteriorates by keeping. I wish to distin-
guish very clearly between the two articles. There has been, and
indeed still is, a confusion of terms ; the word ''hay1' as applied to
dry lucerne is a misnomer. Properly cured hay does not deteriorate
with keeping; the dried article dees. When growers become bet-
ter acquainted with the former, they will prefer it t:> -the latter.
It has come to stay, and is destined to make .sheep farming a suc-
ctess even during the most severe dry spells. Lucerne is of more
value to the country than all the diamond mines, in that it becomes
the personal asset of the man who plants it ; he reaps the imme-
diate advantage, and when this is multiplied throughout the
whole agricultural community, the State benefits by the general
prosperity. Besides, what a pleasure it is to a man to be able to
feed his stock during drought. The farmer who can do this must,
of course, store his surplus instead of selling it for the sake 'of
turning over the money at the moment.

HOW TO MAKE HAY.

To^nake lucerne hay, cut when the flowers appear ;sit should
not have too much flower, for as the plants go up into flower the
stalks get hard and thick, and the leaves fall off at the bottom. To
get good hay you must have all the leaf, and if cut too old, lucerne
will not make good hay.

64 LUCERNE CULTURE.

If cut in summer it must be left one day before raking, and
then rake while there is a little dew, this keeps the leaf on. Then,
put it into pooks or cocks of about four feet wide at the bottom,
and build up cone shape with forks. Usually it should be left
about four days to dry, according to the weather, before stacking.
If your fields are sown in sections, then make your pooks on the
ridges between the sections ; this mode keeps the sections clear.

When pooking, work your lucerne — say the outside ridge to
the second one, then half of the second section lucerne to the same-
ridge, and the other half to the third ridge ; then from the fourth,
to the third ridge again. This brings the two rows of pooks on
the two ridges of one section ; this saves a lot of tramping to your
lucerne when carting to stack, and keeps the traffic on one section.
Change about your pooking every cutting from one section to
another.

CARTING TO THE STACK.

When carting to the stack, first see that the lucerne is in the
right conditicn. To know this, open the pook to the centre, then-
take a few stalks in your hand, pass between your finger and
thumb, and see that the skin does not rub off ; if it rubs off it is
not yet ready to stack. Should the ground be very wet, and the
pooks be damp at the bottom, then turn them over fcr a couple of
hours in the sun before riding in.

STACKING.

Say for a stack eighteen feet by thirty, firct make your " sted-
dle " eighteen by thirty, of wood or stone, to keep the hay from
coming in contact with the ground. Next make a flue nine inches-
square from one side to the centre of the steddle ; then take four
pieces of wood (say two inches by two and fifteen feet long, or
according to the height required of stack), and nail to them small
raps about nine inches long and nine inches apart, thus making a
flue or ventilating shaft to go up the centre of the stack, connected
with the end of the bottom flue. This is a measure of safety against
over-heating.

To start your stack commence in the centre by the upright
flue, placing say six feet of hay around the flue at the centre, slop-
ing gradually to the sides. This will draw any heat to the centre
flue. Always keep your stack high in the centre ; this will keep-
the rain from penetrating. The flue must always be kept shut at
the top to make good hay, only to be opened in case of stack over-
heating.

To test a stack take an iron rod ten feet long, half-an-inch
thick, made with a sharp flat point at one end, with a bow handle.
Thrust this rod into the stack, about six feet from the centre flue
and about six feet high, leaving it overnight ; in the morning this-
will give you the temperature. It will also give you the control of

LUCERNE HAY. 65

your stack, and save you from colouring the hay too dark. Good
hay must be light chocolate in colour, with a good odour.

The proper time for sweating hay in a stack of the dimensions
.given should be two months. This is to bring it to hay. By
leaving it longer it still improves up to six months.

Hay stacked and sweated as recommended above may safely be
pressed into bales 3 feet by 16 inches to any weight required for
export, or for packing away in stores. This class of hay will keep
perfectly sweet and good for years.

Following are the results of lucerne only one month in the
stack, and then pressed into bales of five different weights : — First
bale 80 Ibs., second bale 90 Ibs., third bale 100 Ibs, fourth bale
120 Ibs., fifth bale 130 Ibs. The first two bales did not get mouldy,
but did not have the odour of good hay : the third bale smelt
•tainted ; the fourth and fifth bales were both musty after they had
been pressed nine days ; the size of bales was 3 feet by 16 inches.
Lucerne sweated to this stage should not be pressed into bales over
75 Ibs.

Following was the result of lucerne unsweated, pressed and
packed away under sail for ten days almost air-tight : — Bales
averaging 100 Its. (size of bales 3 feet by 16 inches), then exposed
for one week. On opening them found from the end to six inches
in it looked green and fresh, but when opened to the centre it was
mouldy. This trial was made in view of export. The above trials
show that that hay must be thoroughly cured to be safe for export.

HAY AS FEED.

For feeding horses, we find that horses work much better on
sweated hay. They eat it very freely, there is no waste, and they
thrive much better and do with less water.

For feeding cows in milk, dried unsweated lucerne is almost
.preferable for making butter ; it answers almost to green fodder.
It should be cut a little younger for cows than for horses ; if baled
it should not be pressed heavier than 70 Ibs. Calves thrive on
sweated hay if not cut too old. In no case must it be made wet
.before feeding either for cows or calves, or the result might prove
serious, as wetting creates gas and blows up the animal. Should
.any animal blow up. put a piece of chain about six links to form a
bit and fasten it on to a halter ; put it into the animal's mouth ;
this will keep the mouth sufficiently open to let the gas escape.
A piece of ordinary trek chain will do.

DRIED LUCERNE FOR OSTRICHES.

This must be cut, just before it comes into flower ; this will
give you soft leafy fodder. When dried it will shrink very much.
It should b? rather dry before putting into stack. Cutting out of
,st;i;"k to feed birds, it should be cut up wi'h chaff-cutter and put

66 LUCERNE CULTURE.

into feeding troughs, sprinkling with water. According to my
knowledge, one morgen of lucerne by cutting will feed as many
birds as two morgen, with birds running on it as they tramp and
pick out all the young buds. Of course this means an extra run .
for birds and a little labour for cutting up, but it pays.

Unfermented Hay.

(By HERBERT COLLETT.)

Following is an extract from a paper en the subject read by
Mr. Herbert Collett to the Oradock Farmers1 Association on
October 4th, 1907 :-

Hay-making should begin in October if the fields have been
watered after the winter. As a rule we wait for the buds to form
and just a few flowers t j appear before mowing ; don't wait longer,
as the hay will grow coarse and stalky, especially if the field is at
all thin. The first crop of the season is an exception to the rule ;
don't wait for it to bud or flower, but cut when high enough, or
you will lose a lot of time, for owing to the cold nights in Septem-
ber it takes longer to flower, and the straw gets hard and stalky.
This first crop will not be so heavy as the next three during the
hot summer months, and the next two again during the autumn
and nearing winter will be light. These two crops, the last in
particular, do not flower, but make excellent and saleable hay,
being very leafy and soft.

For selling make green coloured hay, as it commands the best
price and is safer to make if you let it get thoroughly dry, and ride
it on to stack while damp with dew in the morning, taking care
not to have too much dew oil a cloudy morning, or on the other
hand, if no dew do not touch the hay until there is or you will lose •
all the leaf.

In hot weather it is safe to rake into wind-rows the second day
after mowing, and in the afternoon of the third day examine the -
straw or stalk, which should be quite dry before the dew gets on
it, and ride it on to stack early on the fourth morning. If the
straw is still damp on the afternoon of the third day it will be too -
wet next morning to ride on, rather give it another day.

Just before riding on to stack rake the rows into small cocks,
this saves labour and the dew gets well mixed with the hay. Good
green hay has lately been selling at 4s to 4s. 3d. per 100 Ibs. free
on rail, or 6s. to 6s. 6d. on the Johannesburg market, which is
equal to 4s. and 4s. 6d. here.

A fair average to expect from your fields would be about one •
ton to the acre per cutting, when the fields are well established.
Some fields often get grassy in the rainy season, and this mixed ,

UNFERMENTED HAY. 67

hay is not saleable, so it is best to keep it separate or at one end of
the stack, it will be useful feeding for your cows and horses when
the bast hiy is sold. It is a saving of labour to allow the cows and
horses to fe?,d at the stack, and economy to allow the ostriches to
pick up the leaves round the stack when the cattle are taken away.
It is als > convenient to arrange your stacks in such a position
as to albw sUck fro n your different veld camps to have access to
thsm when required, and for ostriches I find it is a good plan to
slice off all round the stack with a sharp spade. This method of
feeding leaves very little waste, as the stuff falls immediately round
the stack and cannot be tramped upon. This I find better than
chaffing the hay in the machine and throwing it out into the dust.

More Good Tips.

(By R. A. HOCKLY.)

We extract the following from a thoughtful paper dealing
with the whole subject of lucerne growing, read by Mr. R. A.
Hockly before the Fort Beaufort Farmers' Association. Mr. Hockly
tells us the double watering of ground before sowing is a good tip,
giving the young plant a splendid start without the necessity of
watering until il is better able to stand the hardening of the surface
soil which so often follows. Mr. Hockly grows a good stretch of
lucerne and has had much experience. We make the following
extracts : —

Don't spare any trouble in levelling the ground and in work-
ing it up into good order, by thorough ploughing and cultivating
beforehand. I have found that a good plan is, after you have
levelled your ground sufficiently, to plough it thoroughly well after
a good rain or watering ; then leave it for about a week to let the
surface ground dry out a little, then water it again, and as soon as
ever the ground can bear the weight of the oxen, go over it with a
spring-tooth harrow until it is all nicely worked up, then follow
with zig-zag harrow until fine enough for the seed ; then sow your
seed at the rate of about 20 Ibs. to the acre, harrow again twice
over, to be followed by a light roller generally the next day, so as
to let the ground get a little dry on top, otherwise the roller presses
the wet ground down too tight, giving it a crinkly appearance,
which on drying out gets very hard and bad for the fine seed to
come through. By this method you get your seed sown under very
favourable conditions, as the subsoil, with the two waterings, is
mud wet underneath, and will supply moisture to the young tender
plants for a considerable time ; this is a great advantage, as it is a
set-back to have to water very young lucerne, the ground gets hard
set and the plants suffer.

68 LUCERNE CULTURE.

Granted that you have a water supply, I would advocate sew-
ing in the latter part of the winter, when the moisture in the
ground from the two waterings should keep the plants going until
such time as the spring rains are due. The weeds are of course
worse than in the autumn, but this need not tether anyone ; the
main thing is to get the lucerne up well, the weeds can be kept
down by running the mower over the field whenever they threaten
to choke the lucerne, which will eventually oust the weeds alto-
gether.

A young field should be carefully treated, grazing it very
sparingly until it is well and strongly rooted. Many a good field
has been ruined by running stock on it too freely during its first
season. It is better to run 100 ostriches on a field for a week than
to put 50 on it for a fortnight. Remember that it is a crop not
living for just one season or two, so that it is worth while giving
it the best treatment.

The best time to mow the crop is just when the blossom buds
are full and odd flowers showing here and there in the field. As
a general rule what you mow down to-day would be fit to rake
to-morrow and put into cocks the next day, the thickness of the
crop and weather being taken into consideration. When raked the
stuff should be tough to the feel and before the leaf makes any
outcry in the hand.

The hay cocks should be well put up and combed out nicely
so as to allow the water to run off in case of rain, and not made too
small. Allow these to stand about four days on the land before
riding into shed or stack, leaving it there four weeks before baling.
Stacks should be at once thatched with grass, which will keep the
lucerne nice and bright. The long sweet grass, of which we had
such a quantity last year, makes excellent thatching material.

Hay-making under normal conditions is a fairly easy matter,
but it is when you have blistering hot days,1 and again at others
frequent thunderstorms and muggy weather following, it is then
that it is all one knows to turn out good, sweet hay. If the stuff is
too damp to put up in the early morning, a good plan is to gather
it together making it more convenient to pack up quickly when
sufficiently dry.

A good test in deciding as to whether stuff is fit to cock or not
is to feel the weight of the hay on your pitchfork. This will indi-
cate to you if fit or not almost better than the feel of it to the hand.

In packing cocks on to wet ground they can with advantage be
shifted on to another spot after say two days, which will give them
a chance to dry out. This is quickly done with three or four men
shifting each in turn by putting the forks underneath and lifting
them bodily to another spot. It is surprising how very wet the
ground becomes under the cocks when perhaps it looked dry
enough when they were put up. It is better to put up hay into
cocks if rain is threatening even if not quite fit. and then open

MORE GOOD TIPS. 69

them up again when the weather is clear, in this way often saving
a crop from getting wet.

In slacking the hay ought to be springy, so that a man stand-
ing on the stack ought to be able to make it shake down to the
ground ; that is always a safe sign. Another way of testing your
stack is to drive a hay fork into it, leave it for 20 minutes, then
draw it out and rapidly pass your hand along the handle, which
ought to be smooth and slippery even if warm, but if it feels sticky
then your stack is heating and likely will have to be clawed to
pieces again.

Lucerne gives first-class feeding for ostriches and horses,
dairy cows give a good and rich supply of milk when fed on it,
and small stock all thrive on it. A lamb a month old running on
lucerne will manage without a mother, and grow up without that
stunted look that the Australians call poddies.

There is no better feed for a beast in low condition than
lucerne hay. To feed very poor cattle on oathay does little good ;
I think that their digestive organs are so weakened from want,
that they are unable to derive the benefit from the hard, dry food,
whereas with a soft food like lucerne thay are better able to
digest it.

To Fatten Sheep and Goats.

Following is the experience of Mr. W. E. Murray, of Graaff-
Rsinet, on how to fatten sheep and goats on lucerne :—

First give the animals a teaspoonful of Cooper's dip and salt
(1 of Cjoper's dip to 10 of ground salt). Put them into a field
when full and leave them there till sold. It is fatal to kraal them
at night ; they must never get hungry, if so they eat. too fast and
blow.

There is nothing to touch green or dry hay for ostriches.
The leaves can be put in bales and saved for ostrich chicks.

If hot water is poured on the leaves after adding a little bran
or mealie meal, it is splendid food for pigs and f nvls.

Lucerne hay can be chopped to feed ostriches when it is dry
and they require feeding. It can be chopped for horses but not
for cattle. Feed the cattle from the stack; if chopped they just
swallow without chewing, which is apt to cause a stoppage in the
intestines, resulting in death. There is no doubt lucerne hay
produces good, rich milk, and dairymen will be well rewarded by
using it.

If one has plenty of water, lucerne can be mowed five times a
year, then there will be good feeding for the winter, so that ten
acres of lucerne is equal to fifty acres of other stuff. What is more,
locusts do not care for it and will leave it to the last.

The Trade in Lucerne

Census Statistics.

Unfortunately there are practically no statistics available as to
the rapid development of the lucerne growing industry.

When we were preparing the first edition of this work we
elicited a promise from the Government that provision would be
made in the next census for the collection of statistics regarding
lucerne. The only statistics obtained in 1904, however, were of
the "bundles" of lucerne, and of course this item is of very little
practical value. The iciurns given were, for

The Colony proper 14,097,271

Native Territories ... -... 16,358

Techuanaland 8,900

Total bundles grown . . . 14,222,529

The Director of the 1904 Census observed :—

;t A comparison of the produce returns for 1904 with these for
1891 reveals some remarkable changes in the. quantities returned
in Sections I. and II. under the different headk Thus wheat shows
a drop from 909,163 muids to 561, 102 muids ; the return of tobacco
is less by one-half, and Kafir corn, rye, pumpkins and mangolds
all show a decline. On the other hand, more oats, oathay, potatoes,
onions and clover are produced than in 1891, and the extent to
which lucerne h?.s grown in popular favour is indicated by an
enormous increase in the amount produced.

" More than one-third of the lucerne of the Colony and nearly
one-fourth of the tobacco is grown in Oudtshoorn, the figures being,
tobacco 1,214,324 Ibs., lucerne 5,839,320 bundles. It will l:e seen
that tb.3 d?crease ia the mangold and beet produced is much more
than balanced by the increase in lucerne and clover."

We extract the following figures from the 1904 Census
Returns and give them for what they are worth, not because we
think them at all reliable, for some of our largest growers would
find it difficult to calculate how many bundles of lucerne they cut
in a year, and even if that were possible it would only be a partial
indication of the value of the crop, as it would take no account of

THE TRADE IN LUCERNE. 71

.the lucerne fed of? by stock. However, the districts reported as
.growing over a quarter of a million bundles of luceine in the
previous year were as under :—

Bandies.

Oudtshoorn 5,839,320

Ladismith 1,212,005

Middelburg 891,182

Robertson 768,900

Graaff-Reinet 730,500

Cradock ... 528,820

Uitenhage ... ... 453,434

Bedford 338,655

Queenstown 268,067

Hanover ' 258,250

'The total for the Native Territories was as under:—

Bundles.

East Griqualand 13,110

Tembuland 1,148

Transkei 1,930

WalfishBay

Pondoland 170

Bechuanaland 8,900

A further indication of the increase in lucerne cultivation is
: found in the comparative" returns of hay presses, of which the
whole Colony appeared to possess 44 in 1891, and 893 in 1904.

Although lucerne has been grown in South Africa for half a
century or more, -it has only recently become an important
article of commerce. For a couple of generations farmers and
townsmen kept patches of lucerne for green food for cows and
horses, and as such it was sold on the morning markets, but there
was no trade in lucerne hay. During the last few years, however,
storekeepers have come to stock baled lucerne hay more extensively
than they formerly stocked oathay, because it is more conveniently
handled and is not as much bothered by mice, etc. Many far-
mers, too, have done remarkably well in supplying the military,
some happy growers' cheques for a single contract running over
four figures.

DECLINE OF IMPORTS.

South Africa appears to be developing its agricultural
resources fairly well according to the following statistics supplied
by the Statistical Bureau dealing with Fodder and Forage, the
imports of which are given for the last five years as under :—

1903 £152,234

1904 47,589

1905 31,311

1906 11,687

1907 5,211

72 LUCERNE CULTURE.

PORTS OF ENTRY.

The total quantity of lucerne imported into British South
Africa during 1907 through the different coastal States was as
under :—

Cape Colony £ 103

Natal 11,016

Delagoa Bay

Beira 12

£11,131
Total for 1906 ... £16,235

In the classified list of exports through the different coastal.
States, lucerne is not separately specified.

CAPE IMPORTS OF LUCERNE.

In the second Annual Statement of the Trade and Shipping of
the Colonies and Territories forming the S. A. Customs Union/we
find the following statement of the trade in lucerne, extracted from,
the Customs Returns I—-
IMPORTS FROM OVERSEA..

1907- 1906.
From V.ilue. Value.

New South Wales £22

South Australia £29

France 35

Argentine 46 349

£103 £378
South African Produce ' 7

£110 £378

This shows that as far as the Cape is concerned there is no-
longer any trade worth speaking of in importing lucerne, the total
imports being less than 40 tons weight last year and less than 115
tons in the previous year.

But comparing the weights given with the values, we find the
declared value of the lucerne works out as under, per 100 Ibs. :—

s. d.

New South Wales, 1907 ... 11

Argentine, 1907 ... 27

1906 ... 32

South Australia, 1906 ... 56

We have taken our figures as they appear classified under
Fodder and Forage, but the great differences in value lead us to
infer that lucerne seed has been wrongly included in some cases-

THE TRADE IN LUCERNE. 73-'

under this heading. This is confirmed by the value of the imports
of lucerne credited to France, which figures at 1,160 Ibs. of the
value of £35, or say 7fd. p3r lb., which would b3 about the value
of Provence seed. The statistics of seed imported do not specially
mention lucerne, which presumably is included under "Seeds :.
garden, vegetable and field/'

CAPE EXPORT OF LUCERNE.

The statistics showing the export of lucerne are as follows :—

To 10:7.

United Kingdom £ 6

German South West Africa 1,457

Portuguese East „ 171

West „ 238

Ships1 Stores 12

£ 1,884
Other States in Customs Union .. 27,444

£29,328

1907 is the first year in which the returns have treated lucerne
as a special line apart from "Fodder — all other than oathay."

The abDve figures sli3w that the Cape is already creating a,
valuable export trade in lucerne.

NATAL.

Apparently the Natal statistics are prepared on a different
system from those of the Cape. We find the Natal imports of
lucerne have been as under :—

From 19C7. 1906.

United Kingdom £ 27 £

New South Wales 39 49

South Australia 2 7

Victoria 4

Argentine 10;948 15,805

£11,016 £15,865
South African Produce 2,807 446

£13,823 £16,311
This return shows a satisfactory decrease in imports from

oversea, and a six-fold increase in imports from countries in the

South African Union.

Natal also exported lucerne to Portuguese East Africa to the

value of £83. and to other countries in the Customs Union £421.

74 LUCERNE CULTURE.

ORANGE RIVER COLONY.

ORANGTA IMPORTS

of lucerne are reported as under :—

From 1907 1906.

Australia ... ... £ - £ 130

Argentine 3 101

Other Countries

South African Produce ... 9,068 7,910

Total ... £9,071 £8,141

It thus appears that the imported article has practically no
chance in the inland markets.

THE EXPORTS of lucerne from Orangia are not separately speci-
fied, but the total Fodder and Forage exported "other than hay"
(the returns do not state oat hay) was, for 1907 £2,404, and
1906 £4,834.

TRANSVAAL.

The Transvaal's dealings in lucerne are thus stated :—
IMPORTS.

Prom 1907. 190P.

United Kingdom £ £ 28

Australia 3 5

New Zealand 2

France 239

Argentine... 29 1,037

£271 £1,072
South African Produce ... 15,749 14,183

£16,020 £15,255

Here again the figures show the import trade of lucerne from
oversea has been killed, for the chief item figuring last year
(France £239) is evidently lucerne seed as, calculating from the
weights given, the value works out at just over 7d. per Ib.

The value per 100 Ibs. of the Argentine article imported in
1906 works out at just over 2s. per 100 Ibs., and that for the South
African product at 4s. 8d. per 100 Ibs.

Be it also noted that the Transvaal exported lucerne last year
to the United Kingdom weighing 837 Ibs. valued at £4, or rather
over a penny per Ib. ; she also exported to other States in the
Union 11,944 Ibs. valued at £43, or nearly 7s. 4d. per 100 Ibs. We
can only assume that these figures included lucerne seed.

THE TRADE IN LUCERNE. 75

SOUTH RHODESIA

<unly classifies its imports of Fodder and Forage under three heads,
•Chaff, Hay and " all other." Consequently we have no means of
ascertaining what her consumption of lucerne is, but as the total of
.all three classes only amounted to £518 in 1907, and £663 in 1906,
the market is evidently extremely limited ; the total exports of
fodder and forage figure at £17.

NORTH-WEST RHODESIA

•'imported £16 worth of Fodder and Forage of all kinds in 1907,
.and £61 in 1906, and exported none.

Customs Payable on Lucerne.

The Customs Union tariff on lucerne is 2s. per 100 Ibs., with
ra rebate allowed on the produce of the United Kingdom, and reci-
procating British Colonies of 2d. per 100 Ibs

LUCERNE FOR THE MILITARY.

Stores for the British Government are, however, imported free
of duty, and therefore the lucerne hay of other countries for the use
of the military can be imported free of the above duty.

The military, nevertheless, recognise the desirability of using
the South African article when they can procure it at satisfactory
prices, and in recent seasons have improved their system of buying.
They now buy large quantities of lucerne hay from farmers direct
and pay for same when passed by the Army Service Corps, accept-
ing the weights signed for by the Railway Department.

Lucerne Mems.

Lucerne Honey.

1 N the Kansas Board of Agriculture report, the following refer-
1 ence is made to the fertilization of lucerne flowers by bees and.
the production of honey : —

The lucerne blossom is so constructed that it is impossible for
it to fertilize itself ; the pollen cannot fall upon the point of fertili-
zation, but must be carried to that point by some agency. From-
the shape and size of the blossom, it is not probable that cross--
fertilization could be safely accomplished by means of currents-
of air.

It becomes evident, then, that outside agencies must be called,
upon, and the plant must provide for these agencies. The agents-
in this case we find to be insects, and the reward offered by the-
plant for favours rendered is a sweet drop of nectar ; that is, the-
flower in an enticing way places a tempting sip of nectar in such a
position that when the insect has favoured the flower with a few
grains of pollen, unconsciously brought from an adjoining blossom,
and just as unconsciously icft. the coveted sip may be enjoyed. It
is evident, however, that the first tlower vjsited will not be crors-
fertilized.

A hundred seed pods were gathered from a field twenty-five
miles away from any other known colony of bees, and another hun-
dred pods from a field less than one-half mile from a large apiary..
The pods of these two groups were counted, and it \vas found that
the pods taken near to the bees averaged two- thirds greater number
of seeds, and showed seed larger, plumper, and more uniform in
size. And while the bees were conducting this valuable seed-
making work, they were likewise garnering a quality of honey
which, submitted to all known chemical tests, has proved itself
e^ual if not superior to any other.

It has been my observation, further, that lucerne will yield
the greatest quantity of honey under circumstances which tend to-
give the plant the most vigorous growth. If the plant is upon
upland, dry weather will affect tli3 secretion of nectar before it will
in a valley where the roots of the plant extend to tho water.
During a dry period bees will fl}r over fields in bloom to a field
which is irrigated and beginning to bloom.

LUCERNE MEMS. 77

The greatest activity in apiculture in this State is to be fcund
in the lucerne regions. In the lucerne-growing portions of the
State the average yield per hive in 1898 exceeded 60 Ibs., while in
portions of the State where lucerne was not a prominent factor in
honey production, the bees did well to procure a livelihood for
themselves, without furnishing a surplus for their owners. Some
hives situated in the lucerne region were able to yield that season
.a surplus of 200 Ibs. of comb honey.

The conclusion of the three years' study, briefly stated, are,
that the highest returns from the lucerne meadow are to be secured
by an early spring cultivation of roots with the disc harrow and a
-summer visitation of the blossoms by the honey-bee.

Lucerne for Pigs.

A correspondent of the Texas Fanners' Advocate writes thus on
•cutting lucerne for hogs :—

We want to again call the attention of Kansas farmers to the
profit to be made by specially preparing lucerne hay for hogs. In
bulletin No. 95 we give the results of our experiments with lucerne
hay for fattening hogs. These experiments showed that early cut

. and carefully cured lucerne hay fed with grain gave a gain of 868
pounds of pork per ton of hay fed, and lucerne hay cut late and
poorly cured, with the loss of many leaves, gave a gain 'of 333
pounds of pork per ton of hay fed. The fattening hogs fed on
lucerne hay made rapid gains and had that slick, smooth hair and
thrifty appearance shown by amimal.s fed on oil meal. No other
feed has yet been tested that has secured such results at so low a

• cost as lucerne hay.

The experiments show strongly the value of carefully curing

.the hay. The early cut, well-cured hay produced 535 pounds more
pork pjr ton than the late cut and poorly cured. This dii!eience
will pay for all the additional labour needed to produce the best
quality of hay and then have a large profit.

It is the protein in hay that produces the large gains, and the
lucerne should be so handled in curing as to secure the greatest

. amount of this material. To do this the first care should be to save
the leaves. Geo. L. Clothier, in " Forage and Fodders " (quarterly
report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture), has given a com-
pilation of many analyses of lucerne and shows lucerne leaves to
contain 22.6 per cent, protein and the stems 6.3 per cent. The hog
raiser wants to save all the leaves possible.

A comparison will show the value of lucerne leaves. Gluton
meal contains 21 per cent, of protein, lucerne leaves 22.5 per cent.,

.and bran 16 per cent. It is not uncommon to go into a field where
.lucerne hay is being made and find- from one-third to one-half of

78 LUCERNE CULTURE

the leaves scattered and lost, and a ton of carefully dried leaves-
contains as much protein as 2,800 Ibs. of wheat bran. The leaves
make up almost one-half the weight of the whole plant, A heavy
rain will wash away from one-third to one-half the protein in.
lucerne.

Direction cannot be given for making lucerne hay, because the
weather, thickness of stand, and other conditions vary so much,,
but cut and handle so as to cure with as little handling and expo-
sure as possible.

Our experiments show that fattening hogs need about one ton
of well-cured lucerne hay writh each 250 bushels of grain. Stock
hogs should be fed two or three times this amount-
Early cutting produces the best quality for hogs, and also for
cattle and sheep. In recent digestion experiments with lucerne
the chemical department of this station found the following differ-
ences :—

Total Digestible

Lucerne. Protein Protein

per cent. per cent.

Cut when 10 per cent, of stalks

were in bloom ... ... 18.5 14.5

Cut when half the stalks were

in bloom 17.2 12.9

Cut when in full bloom ... 14.4 11.4

The digestible part is all that produces gain. Wheat bran
contains 12.3 per cent, of digestible protein, and these trials show
that the earlier cutting was worth one-fifth more, ton for ton, than
bran.

Both fattening and stock hogs should be fed regularly twice
a day through the winter with all the choice, early cut, carefully
cured lucerne hay they will eat. ; This quality of hay is just as-
valuable for steers, cows and young stock aa it is for hogs, but it is .
often impossible to save all the crop in good condition, and as only
a small quantity is needed for hogs, we urge lucerne growers to
take unusual pains to secure enough for their hogs that is cut at
just the right time and perfectly cured.

Enriching the Land.

The Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, in an instruc-
tive pamphlet, points out that the excellent results observed to
follow putting land down to lucerne for three or more years, leads
to the conclusion that it enriches the soil. In a certain sense this
is the case. The practice of seeding run-down land to lucerne,
and leaving it in lucerne for several years before breaking it up
again to plant other crops, has been the salvation of a great part of
Colorado, and yet it does not follow that the lucerne plant does not

LUCERNE MEMS. 79

require a large amount of plant food. There are but few crops
which will equal lucerne in its draft upon the resources of the soil
in which it grows, but while other crops gather their food from a
depth of 2, 4 or 5 feet, lucerne gathers its food from depths rang-
ing from 6 to 12 feet— so on the assumption that the lucerne plant
has no greater power to gather its food than the wheat plant, for
example, it has, owing to the greater depth to which its roots pene-
trate, from three to four times the depth of soil to feed on. This is
an essential advantage, especially if the upper portions of the soil
from which the wheat plant is t:> draw its food has already been
partially exhausted by repeated cropping, as has been the case in
many instances in this State. That the plant requires a large sup-
ply of plant food is very evident, for we find it contained in the
plant, but its little feeding roots which gather this food are almost
wholly below the depth at which ordinary crops feed, so this
portiou of the soil is resting while in lucerne.

Compulsory Eradication of Dodder (Cuscuta).

This has been declared a noxious weed, in the following divi-
sions of the Cape Colony :—

Aberdeen Jansenville Robertson

Albany Ladismith Somerset East

Bedford Middelburg Steynsburg

Clanwilliam Murraysburg Tarka

Coles berg Oudtshoorn Uitenhage

Cradock Prince Albert Uniondale

Graaff-Reinet Queenstown Worcester

Act 17 of 1907.

The old Noxious Weed legislation was found to be insuffi-
ciently drastic to deal with Dodder, and last year a Bill was intro-
duced to give greater powers to Divisional Councils to promptly
and effectively take measures to exterminate it. The Act was
promulgated on the 17th September, 1907.

The following are the principal provisions of the Act : —
Clause 1 empowers Divisional Councils to petition the Gover-
nor to bo vested with the additional powers conferred by the Act.
Upon receipt of such petition the Governor shall declare the Act
in operation in the divisions, and the following provisions shall be in
form and effect and read as one with sub-division 6, part 1, of the
Divisional Council Act of 1889, viz. :—

(a) The Secretary . . . shall in ... respect of the weed
called '' Xanthium Spinosum11 (bur- weed) or any other weed or

80 LUCERNE CULTURE.

plant which the Governor may . . . have required . . . to he dealt
with . . . cause to be published a public notice in the English and
Dutch languages, warning all owners and occupiers of land within
the division of the liability they will incur under this Act by
neglecting to eradicate or destroy the noxious weed or plant named
in such notice.

(b) Upon publication of such notice it shall be the duty of
every owner or occupier in such division upon whose land the
.noxious weed or plant referred to in such notice is found, to eradi-
cate or destroy the same forthwith, . . . and unless such owner or
occupier shall before a date to be fixed in such notice assign good
, and sufficient reason to the satisfaction of the Council for not com-
plying with the notice . . . such Council is hereby required to
employ all labourers necessary for eradicating or destroying the
said weed or plant, and all the costs and charges thereby incurred
shall be recoverable from such owner, or occupier, with costs, . . .
-or, ... the said Council may, if it think fit, sommon such owner

• or occupier ... to answer for his neglect to eradicate or destroy
-. such weed or plant, and upon proof of his neglect such owner or

• occupier shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence under this Act,
. and shall upon conviction be subject to a fine not exceeding twenty

pounds and such owner or occupier shall be liable to the same
penalty for every week or part of a week during which he shall fail,
, after his first conviction, to comply with the notice aforesaid.

In the eradication of noxious weeds it shall be an offence to
place such weeds in any river or in any defined water causes.
Any person contravening this section shall upon conviction be
liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.

Act 17 of 1907 has already been proclaimed in the following

• divisions :—

Aberdeen Jansenville ' Queenstown

Albert Knysna Riversdale

Alexandria Kuruman Robertson

Aliwal North Komgha Somerset East

Beaufort West Ladismith Steynsburg

Barkly East Laingsburg Stockenstrom

Bedford Malmesbury Swellendam

Bredasdorp Molteno Tulbagh

Cradock Mossel Bay Van Rhynsdorp

•Colesberg M arrays burg Vryburg

Fort Beauf eft Oudtshoorn Willowmore

Xjordonia Prince Albert Wodehouse

. Hay Paarl Worcester

LUCERNE MEMS. 81

Manuring Lucerne.

At the Government Experimental Station at -Robertson, some
interesting experiments in testing the effect of manures on lucerne
are being carried on.

In the Karroo it is generally assumed that owing to the rich-
ness of the soil there is no occasion to manure it, and old lucerne
lands are known to continue to yield prolific crops after many years
of repeated cuttings. The result of the experiments, however, goes
to show that, marvellous as is the return from an acre of established
lucerne, the yield may be greatly increased by the addition of
suitable manure.

At Robertson a plot of lucerne was given 800 Its. of super
phosphate per acre. The strength of the dressing was what is
known as 33-35, that is it contained that percentage of phosphate.
The cost was £4 10s. per ton or £1 16s. per acre. The manure
was applied ear]y in the season. Oft' this plot the yield was five
tons more than off the unmanured area, and this at £5 per ton gave
a return of £25 for an outlay of £1 16s. on manure, or hay was
produced at under 8s. per ton. The actual figures are : Total
weight of four cuttings, no manure and 800 Ibs. suoer sulphate,
5,320 Ibs. and 17,20'J Ibs. lucerne hay per acre respectively.

But another most important effect is produced by manuring
with suitable manures. The more luxuriant the growth of lucerne,
the more certainly are the weeds smothered, and the kweek
grass that so infests many lucerne lands has no chance in getting
established. Those who have not studied the effect of manures
might naturally infer that what was good for the lucerne was good
for the kweek, but it is not so. Different orders of plants require dif-
ferent food, and whilst grasses (graminia) require nitrogen, lucerne
and other leguminous crops (tcguminosa) by the aid of bacteria fix
atmospheric nitrogen and require chiefly phosphates, potash and
lime ; when supplied with this food they grow so much more rapidly
and luxuriantly than the grass, that the latter gets no chance.

In the wide field of agriculture there is nothing more danger-
ous than to generalize from a particular. The chances are that
most of our Karoo soils contain sufficient potash and lime to grow
most abundant crops of lucerne, yet is is conceivable that some
potassic manure, used along with super phosphate, might give
profitable returns. In some cases, too, basic slag might be better
than super phosphate, and doubtless in many instances smaller
dressings than 800 Ibs. per acre would be more remunerative. All
these points, however, can only be ascertained for each farm by
experiments conducted thereon. The general principles of manuring
are perfectly well known to science, but their application to parti-
cular cases can be ascertained only by experiments or actual tests
in the particular case.

We trust some lucerne growers will also try experiments
for themselves and let us have the results of their experience. The

82 LUCERNE MEMS.

figures given above certainly go to show that the last word has not.
yet been said in the cultivation of lucerne, and that those who>
have already found money in lucerne may still go one better.

Lucerne Profits

(By the Director of Irrigation.)

All the calcareous soils of the Karroo and the fertile alluvial ..!
valleys nearer the coast, which have been formed with the washings
brought down by the Karroo rivers, are eminently suited to the
cultivation of lucerne, provided the soil is not too shallow, nor
"brak," and is well drained. Lucerne in the Cape Colony responds
to irrigation and cultivation to a degree hardly credible, and !
unknown elsewhere. For many months I have been endeavouring,
to collect information and authentic statistics regarding the culti-
vation of this crop, which will ultimately be of some value to
farmers. Disregarding extraordinary out-turns to which specially
favoured localities give rise, I think it safe to say that the average
net profits accruing to a lucerne farmer amount to from £9 ••
to £20 per acre per annum, these rates being based upon the
sales of baled lucerne hay. If lucerne is not baled, but used on
the farm for feeding stock, the profits are still greater. According
to a statement made by a well-known ostrich farmer at one of the
meetings of the Cradock Farmery1 Association, a net profit of £30
per acre of lucerne per annum can be made. In my present argu-
ment I am content to assume a modest profit of £10 per acre per
annum only. Now, with such returns in. view, it is obvious that
farmers are encouraged to lay out capital on irrigation works and
in laying out their lands to lucerne. Where there are natural pos-
sibilities, the capital cost of the works is paid for within a year or
two, but even more ambitious and expensive schemes, costing £20
to £30 per acre irrigated, become feasible and financially sound.
One great fact must be borne in mind, viz., that lucerne once
established on suitable soil continues to give its full yield for an
indefinite number of years, and while doing so is continually
improving the soil, Again, whilst lucerne is now being grown .
mainly for hay, and sold in Johannesburg or to the military
authorities, or otherwise for feeding ostriches, farmers have yet to
realise the great value of lucerne for almost every kind of stock,
large or small, also for poultry. The farmers in the Western
States of America are growing wealthy by feeding lucerne to cattle,
horses, pigs, sheep, poultry, and even bees, and there is no reason
why this country should not do likewise. It is evident that far-
mers are now waking up to the advantages of irrigation in parts
where immediate and handsome profits are the reward of enterprise,
but in the tracts in most urgent need of irrigation, largely owing .
to the conservative and backward state of the farmers settled there,
much education and encouragement are required before things are -
as they should be. — 1907 Report.

Lucerne : If s Feeding Value.

(By R. W. THORNTON, Government Agricultural
Assistant.)

SPEAKING at the quarterly meeting of the Zwart Ruggens
Farmers1 Association on the 27th October, 1908, Mr. R. W.
Thornton, Government Agriculturist, said :—

The reason for choosing this subject is, firstly, because Oraaff-
Reinet is a good stock district, and secondly, because your district,
like most o'; the Midlands, suffers from drought at different times,
.and quantities of foodstuffs are purchased from time to time. What
I wish to point out is the absolute necessity of changing diet for
our stock or the use of

COMPLETE FOODS,

and secondly, to find out the relative value of different fodders
offered on the market at different times, so as to enable us to see
which is the cheapest for us to purchase for any special purpose.

Practically the only two complete foods we have are milk and
• eggs. These contain nitrogenous matter and non-nitrogenous
matter in the right proportion to each other that support animal life
in all its parts. By nitrogenous matter is meant roughly the
material which gives muscle and strength. The non-nitrogenous
matter is composed largely of starch, sugar and fats, which produce
heat and force. The proportion between nitrogenous and non-
nitrogenous digestible constituents in a food is of the greatest
importance, as upon this the economical and successful feeding of
animals depends. This proportion is called the albumenoid or
•or nutritive ratio. By working out this ratio from the analysis of
any food, its value for any special purpose such as fattening stock,
growing feathers, etc., can be arrived at, and by the unit system of
valuation the actual money value of a food can be ascertained. In
the unit value albuminoids are worth three times the value of
starch and sugar, and the . fat two-and-a-half times the value of
starch and sugar.

,-84 LUCERNE CULTURE.

FEEDING VALUES OF LUCERNE CUT EARLY
AND LATE.

Thus in an over-ripe sample of lucerne we have 10 per cent,
of albuminoids, 19.5 per cent, of carbohydrates, 1 per cent, of true
fat, and 84 per cent, of dry matter. This gives us 52 units of
digestible matter, which at a shilling a unit gives us £2 12s. per
ton. Lucerne cut at the right stage, when just coming into flower,
gives us 12.3 per cent, of albumenoids, 31.4 of carbo-hydrates, '9
per cent, of crude fat, and only 76 per cent, of dry matter. This
lucerne gives us 71.55 units of digestible matter, value £3 11s. 6d.
per ton, which shows a distinct advantage over the lucerne at
£2 12s. a ton, though in all probability these two will both fetch
the same price in the market, though the one is far more valuable
for feeding than the other.

DIET FOR DIFFERENT CLASSES OF STOCK.

Then, taking the actual feeding of stock for any special pur-
pose, there are several questions to be considered. First, taking

SHEEP AND GOATS,

we wish to produce the best mohair and wool, especially for show
purpjses, at the smallest cost ; and secondly, to feed our rams with
a strength and energy-giving food, so as to get the greatest num-
ber of lambs and kids from good stock during the season. On
ordinary feeding a ram may give, say, fifty lambs. If this number
can be doubled by good feeding, we have doubled the value of the
ram. Then taking

POULTRY,

no matter what the breed or how well they are looked after, we
cannot hope to get the best results, as far as egg-laying is con-
cerned, if we do not feed with a suitable diet for egg production.
One such diet would be : — 1 part pea meal ; 3 parts bran ; 3 parts
pollard. Two ounces of this mash to be given to each fowl in the
morning, half an ounce of green bone at noon, and in the evening
two ounces of wheat. This food will not cost more than any of the
single ingredients present, but will force the fowls to lay double
the number of eggs, and therefore double their value. With
regard to

PIGS,

the object is to lay on ths greatest weight in the shortest time, and
also to secure good quality. For this purpose a mixture of two
parts of bran, three parts of barley, one oats, two mealies, and one
molassine meal will give the desired result, and pigs fed on this
mixture, at the rate of 5 Ibs. to every 100 Ibs. live weight, will give
a daily increase in weight of 1^ Ibs. to 2 Ibs. on every pig. Then
selling pork at 4|d per l.b. live weight is indeed a profitable
business.

ITS FEEDING VALUE. 85

CATTLE

also be fed on different rations for milk production with
^equally good results.

Before concluding, I may mention that at Glen Harry farm all
the ostrich chicks that are hatched are divided between the two-
brothers (-Messrs. W. S. and G. Probart). Those running partly on
the veld with very little lucerne, though coming from the same
hatchings, are doing far better in every respect than those running
on lucerne alone, again showing the want of a change.

The main object of my lecture is to point out to farmers that
when different fodders are being offered on the market, even if the
one be double the price of another, it is quite possible that the
mjre expensive cf the two is actually far the cheaper, owing to the
quantity of feeding matter contained.

In reply to Mr. Tom Murray, Mr. Thornton said that the best
combination for horses would be lucerne and oats; for cattle,
lucerne and mealie meal would be the best food ; for ostriches
mealies and lucerne would produce more fertile eggs than lucerne
alone.

The Government Agriculturist replied to a Roodebloem ques-
tioner, re feathers, to the effect that he had not yet had sufficient
:. proof, but from experiments on poultry it was demonstrated that
•one must have something to support the strength of the feather and
the bird, and therefore one must have something fatty.

Lucerne Implements.

The Cultivator Trial.

~1 UCERNE cultivation has produced a call for new implements,
^ } and as "queek" grass especially proved a troublesome weed,
Mr. H. J. Collett offered a £20 prize at the 1907 Show of the
Cradock Agricultural Society for an implement that would remove
it, the prize to be awarded after practical field trials conducted by
a special Committee assisted by Mr. Lawford, C.E., as expert
adviser. On the occasion of the trials the farmers present felt that
while the trial of competing implements had been very useful,
there existed a need for something better that had yet been
tried, and four enthusiastic lucerne growers soon guaranteed a
£100 prize for the best implement produced at the 1908 Show.

The prize of £100 was accordingly offered by the Cradock
Agricultural Society in 1907 for the best lucerne cultivator, the field
trial to take place in 1908. On Monday, March 2nd, 1908, there
was a big gathering of farmers from all parts of the Colony at Mr.
Hilton Barber's farm, Halesowen, to witness the contest. Eleven
implements were entered. The lands were not in a good condition
for the trial, being dry and tramped hard by the birds during
the drought, but upon the day's work the honours fell to Mr.
Llewellyn Roberts (a practical farmer who has also invented a
patent gate and fencing machine), with an implement consisting of
two gangs of spiked rollers following each other, and in turn
followed by a spring tDoth harrow attachment, which can be put in
and out of action at pleasure. This harrow is fitted with teeth
specially designed not to cut the lucerne roots, and it is claimed
that on ordinary ground it will give a perfect tilth 6 to 8 inches
deep.

In their report the Judges say :— •

The following implements took part in the trials :

Messrs. Dunn & Co.'s " Sandow " ; Mr. A. L Grobbelaar's new spiked roller
Messrs. Howard Parrar, Robinson & Co.'s disc Cultivator with spikes attached,
and " Champion " Cultivator No. 7 ; Messrs. Malcomess & Co.'s " Martin " Cul-
tivator, No. 1, and the same firm's special double action cutaway disc ; Messrs.
Philip Bros.' " Sandow "; Mr. L J. Roberts' new patent double rotary digger
-vrith harrow attached ; Messrs. M. 11. Steytler's " Osborne," smooth disc ; Mr. W.
Thomas's " Martin/' with seven tynes, and the same make with nine tynes.

LUCERNE IMPLEMENTS. 87

We, the undersigned Judges, unanimously award the First Prize to L. J.
Roberts's Cultivator, the " Lucerne King." We consider this 'implement does
excellent work, cultivating to a good depth and leaving the ground in a fine state
of tilth with a good even surface. It is a well designed implement, strongly con-
structed and of excellent material. The arrangement for lifting it out of the
ground is ingenious. This consists of a long lever with a clutch, which hooks
into the wheel and causes the team to lift the teeth and raise the implement on
to its travelling wheels. The draft is heavy, but is compensated for by the good
thorough work it does. We consider the spring tooth harrow attachment almost
unnecessary, and its removal would reduce the high cost of the implement.

(Signed) E. T. GILFILT.AN.
H. J. COLLETT.
MONTAGUE GADD.
GEO. B. RAYNER.
R. A. HOCKLY.

It was felt during the contest, however, that no one implement
was likely to prove the best for old soils, and that with such vary-
ing conditions as we have in South Africa no single implement is-
likely to gain the monopoly. The trial was of the highest educa-
tional value, as practical men were well able^to see various types of
machines side by side and to discuss their good points, and bad in
design and construction. The trial was a severe one, and on the-
day's work and conditions the result was soon pretty shrewdly
guessed by those present.

88 LUCERNE CULTURE.

Storing Lucerne under Cover.

TV/fR RICHARD GAVIN, the father of lucerne farming in the-
* * *• Cape Colony, wrote to the first edition of this work his expe-
riences in Lucerne Haymaking. The following - advice on storing
hay under cover is yet of sufficient importance to be reproduced.
Mr. Gavin says :—

A house is the best to store lucerne hay in, for if there is only
one load dry it can be stored away and no trouble to cover it for
fear of rain. The second best plan to store it away is to make a
rick about 20 feet wide, build it up as high as it can be forked from
the wagons, say about 14 feet high ; build it nearly perpendicular,
but very little wider as it g( es up .; press it as close and firm as
possible by walking on the top ; slope the top the same as a flat-
roofed house and cover with iron in a similar manner, only that it
is not screwed on. When the iron is on, place long pieces of wood
across the plates, then places wire across the wood and fasten
weights to the ends of the wires ; also place a few pieces of wood
across the iron to make them lie smooth. When done in this way
there is no fear of the wind removing the iron, although it blows ,
strong. When the hay is required remove as many of the plates as
you think necessary, and cut the rick across in sections with a hay
knife, and there will be no waste of hay. My plan to build a hay
house is as follows : — It may be any width ; the walls about 18 feet
high ; pitched roof, with no loft ; door in the end, about 10 ft. wide
and 9 ft. high ; large windows on lee side, having the bottom of the
windows about 7 feet above the ground outside, so that the hay can
be forked from the wagons into the house. When the hay rises
above the level of the bottom of the window, it can bp forked from
that to the top of the house with ease. When the hay is required
to be taken out of the house commence at the door, cut across in sec-
tions with hay knife as with the rick, and you will find that there
will be no trouble in removing the hay. In having the door very
large, it can be used for wagons and live stock when not required
for hay. The floor of the house must be high and dry. The best
foundation for a rick is stone. A good plan to find out whether
hay is heating or sweating is to take a long bar of iron with a sharp
point and drive it into the middle of the stack. Leave it for about
10 or 12 hours, then pull it out, and if it is hot and wet the hay
should be removed at once, as it is likely to get damaged. If it is
not hot or wet it is all right. If hay is required to be chaffed for
ostriches, it is economical to have a large chaff-cutter worked by
horses or mules. I have had one for years which I work with four
or six hcr*es or irules, and I can vouch for the great saving of"
labour. If h cerre is crriTed and fed to ostriches green, a farmer-
can keep 100 birds, whereas he would not be able to keep 20 if
allowed to graze on th? same land.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

•: ' •

Ostrich Incubators*

CYPHERS

y?= Proved The Best

Where? Everywhere.-

= ELAINE & CO.,

AGENTS, '

PORT

Send your

O E> U e E

TO

JAS. LAMB,

THE

Old-established Produce Dealer,

Port Elizabeth,

IF YOU WANT SATISFACTION.

11.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

1DEJ7V COMPETITION.

The Martin's Machines are specially built for Lucerne fields, when
the surface is baked hard a,nd dry, and nre the only implements
which will perform this work without being specially weighted. We
maintain that it is impossible to design a machine which will work
with equal success, in hard dry ground and also in soft irrigated ground.

UJ

This implement has created the widest and most enthusiastic interest
amongst Lucerne growers. In soft moist soils and irrigated land this is
the finest Lucerne Cultivator made, the teeth swing loose on the disc, am
therefore the digging action is very gentle and does not damage the plants

MALCOMESS & CO., Ltd.,

Estd. 1870^

to consider '-whether you can afford
it, but make up your mind to-day
to buy -

A SAMSON

without delay, as it is the very

test —

WINDMILL

you can possibly buy. -

A FARMER well known in the Midlands writes to us
sending us a testim jiiial about 3 Samson Windmills he bought
from us, and says " by means of which I have REARED
4OO pounds worth of OSTRICH CHICKS

throughout the unprecedented drought.11 Write for parti-
culars and prices to

MALCOMESS&CO., Limited,

IV.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

MANGOLD BROTHERS,

Agricultural and General Engineers,
PORT ELIZABETH & BLOEMFONTEIN

Ransome's Cultivators.

First Prize, Port Elizabeth Agricul-
tural Show, 1908.

Latest Improved & most Up-to«date
Mill on the market.

l| Wood's 'Special' Lucerne Mowers.

Catalogues & Price Lists on application.

-

Whitman' New Model " Steel Beauty " SOLE MANUFACTURERS
Lucerne Baling Presses. OF ^ TH E

ROBERTS 'LUOERNE KING" OULTiVATOR

Winner of the £100 Prize
Awarded by the Cradock Agricultural Society, 1

ADVERTISEMENTS.

V.

Are t!ie L::tcs and m>>st Mcdirn patterns
( n the rna k^t.

</)

^

5

2

VI. ADVERTISEMENTS.

SEEDS.

TURKKST7SN

Free from Dodder. For dry and brak soils.

PROVENCE JaUGEHNE,

Free from Dodder. Highest germination.

For warm, moist soils.

A Clover variety. For poor sandy soils.
SHEEP'S BURNET,

Eaten by all stock. For cold, dry districts.

, or Southey's Tussock Grass,

A splendid grass for the Karroo.

Wool, Mohair, Feathers,

&c., &c.,

SOLD TO BEST ADVANTAGE.
LIBERAL ADVANCES. PROMPT SETTLEMENTS.

Stepten Fraser & Co., Ltd.

(Wholesale only),

Port Elizabeth.

j

ADVERTISEMENTS.

]. OWEN COLLETT,

Tafelberg Station.

Breeder of PURE DOUBLE FLUE OSTRICHES. Also others
crossed with the Barber strain. Valuable pairs on hand.

Breeder of CARRIAGE HORSES and COLTS suitable for Entires
to light class Mares.

Breeder of a HARDY TYPE OF BULL.

No loss in Cattle for years. Cross Devon with Africander.

LUCERNE SEED.

>

'BLUE CJ{OSS

is THE: BHST.

90 per cent. Germination. 971 per cent. Pure.

GUARANTEED FREE FROM DODDER.
WHOLESALE ONLY.-

ADOLFH MOSENTHAL & CO.,

PORT ELIZABETH.

Special Ostriches.

•Choice Pairs £50 to £100 per pair.
FT. W. B^K&F;,

-LAUGHING WATERS," WILLOWMORE.

Vlll. ADVERTISEMENTS.

(general

A. P. MYBURGH, J.P.,

a&mittefc law agent,

Sworn appraiser to the flfraster of tbe
Supreme Court,

AND

Address: P.O. Bex 4, PEARSTON.
Telegrams : ' ' My burgh. ' '

Stock bought & sold on commission.

Pastoral and AgricoStural Farms.

The rich valleys of the Vogel River and its tribu-
taries are still practically undeveloped. Bargains in
Farms suitable for irrigation by flood water may still
be had. The average rainfall in Pearston for the
last five years is 13.8. Pearston Farms are singularly
suitable for Ostrich and Angora Goat farming.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

ARUNDEL STUD, cic

(ABE BAILEY).

THOROUGH-BRED HORSES. HEREFORD CATTLE.
MERINO SHEEP

HOUSES :
CATTLE :

-> SIRES.

:— "STUART.11 Flora McDonald— Exile II.

(Hermit).
SIDUS." Slar.cf. Fortune— St. Simon.

CHAIN ARMOUR/1 Armour Plate— Patience.

S.A Stud Book No. 21. H.H.B. 19838.

" SAMSON.1' Perfection— Damscn. '

H.H.B. 22450.

SHEEP:- "THE WIZARD." Magician— Royal Dream-
Royal Hero.

Bred by Jas. Taylor, " Winton," Tasmania
Purchased Melbourne Stud Sheep Sales 1907,
for £500.

" CORDITE.11 Amberite— President.

Prizes won at tha tliree principal Shows exhibited at in 1908,

4 Championships, 2 Silver Cups, 19 First and 7 Second Prizes.

Our Hereford Cattle hold an unbeaten Record for 1398.

M. B. WEBB, Manager.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

VVWM^VVVV^VVVWSAA^

Free Specimen Ccpy on application. ;

There _i_s
only one

"African

1 Monthly."

S.

Over 100 Pages original African

literature every month. * ^ &

•

UNIFICATION.

Science, Art, Literature, Poetry, Fiction,

Music, History, Exploration, Travel,

Education, Politics.

> Subscription : 12s. per annum, including postage. 3

AFRICAN BOOK COMPANY, Ltd.,
Bex 51, GRAHAMSTOWN.

ADVERTISEMENTS. XI.

OSCAR E. G. EVANS,

\

MELROSE,

P.O. Eastpoort Siding,

Cape Colony.

BreeSer of tKe Celebrated e)trair\ of

"Dsuble Fluff" Ostriches

t£>inner of tKe J*\rsi Prige for tKe best one pound
toeigKt of Prime tOKite (9stricK peatfxers at tKe Premier
§Koio in ISoutK Africa (Port EligabetK) for six years
in succession, also most of tKe best prices in otKer
classes.

TOinner of most of tKe best prices at many otKer
<5Ko"Los in Cape Colony.

Breeder of (9stricKes registered in tKe ISoutK.
rican (E>tud BooR.

High-class Breeding Ostriches

ALWAYS FOR SALE ; ALSO

Chicks.

X1L

ADVERTISEMENTS.

SIPGRTANT TO LUCERNE GROWERS,

LUCERNE SEED.

fe.3

u C3-0

Every description of seed the farmer buys is liable to certain impurities
of various kinds and in varying proportions. Even when the greatest care
has been taken in harvesting arid dressing the seed, absolute purity cannot
be guaranteed ; and if this is the case when scrupulous care is exercised, it
needs no great stretch of imagination to picture what the result will be when
no special pains are taken to protect the seed from contamination or to free
it from imparities already present. Generally speaking, the smaller the seed
the more susceptiblo it is to adulteration, intentional or accidental. Grass,
clover an. I turnip seed, for instance, are more likelv to contain i;..p cities
than the larger ocreils, although defective germinating power is a> probable
in the one case as in the other. SD many varieties of the smaller seeds
resemble each other in size, shape and colour that detection of adulteration
is difficult, even to experts— it may be impossible to the naked eye -and this
similarity provides the careless and unscrupulous with opportunities for
profiting by indifference on the part of buyers. No description of seed appa-
rentlv is more subject to imperfections in purity and fertility than that of
lucerne. This, at all events, is the case as regards the America!) supply, and,
as a crop is grown extensively in the United States, and is, in fact, one of th«
O.5 $ : most important crops of that country, it may be concluded that the same
Ory « necessity for thorough investigation of the seed purchased exists n his
>>ES country. Lucerne is not grown on so large a scale in Great Britain as ir,
-0 .2 ought or is likely in future to be, but limitation of the area does not warrant
£ c "w indifference as to the character of the seed sown, and hence, in the light of
£ j2 American evidence, concerning the risk incurred in the selection of seed, it
o ~ 3 is imperative taat every pound of lucerne seed bought should ba tested as to

to* I purity and germinating power.

C <5 -2 ] Lucerne seed, in addition to being similar in appearance to many other
!P ^ o ; i^orts, is expensive, and the high price it commands may be regard =
ed as an extra incentive to trade negligence as to its purity. The
loss arising from the impurity of the seed supply has been so great in the
United States that the Agricultural Department at Washington and several
of the experimental stations deemed it advisable to en rry out systematic
investigations, and the result is some startling revel nl ions. The Washington
authorities, for instance, found in one pound of ^.ux-nie seed, bought pro-
miscuously, 32,420 noxious weed seeds ; in an »tlur 23.082 : and in a third
21,848. Of the first-named sample less than 5$ per ierit was lucerne, less
than 29 per cent, was germinable, and among its irnpuritieswere 5,490 seeds
of parasitic dodder Another of the samples contained only a fraction over
5 per eeiit. that would grow, while in a third the fertile lucerne seeds con-
stituted only slightly over 6 per cent, of the whole. The results of the
experiment stations were not quite so startling ; but at the Ohio Station it
was found that a pound of one lot of so-called lucerne seed contained 18,144
lambs' quarter or pigsweed seeds, and a similar quantity of another sample
j included G,4-JO seeds of crab-grass and 3,325 seeds of foxtail. The serious-
ness of the.-e impurities may be gathered when it is mentioned that seed
whrch was bought at 32s. 6d. per bushel actually cost 53s. when the foreign
seeds and worthless material were removed. Supposing that the samples
! referred to had been sown as they arrived on the farm— as doubtless they
I were in many cah:es -disappointing results were inevitable Not only would
I there be a poor crop of lucerne, but the land would be stocked with objec-
j tionable arid tenacious weeds which it would take years of incessant labour
to eradicate. The mischief that results from sowing impure seeds of any
description, therefore is riot restricted to a deficient yield of the crop intend-
ed, but the foundation is laid for tedious and expensive weeding in subse-
quent years. The danger incurred in the purchase of seeds emphasizes the
importance of procuring the supplies from reputable sources.

ill

y

co

M
M 3

II

2 to

3 «

n

13

Gingell, Ayiiff

Commerce Street, PORT ELIZABETH,

ADVHKTISBMBKTS.

W. THOMAS S UCERNE SEED,

Guaranteed Free from Dodder.

Horse Gears,
Chaff Cutters,
Mowers,
Side Delivery

Rakes,
Martin's

Cultivators,

Special Plows,

AND

All sorts Jof suitable Implements

FOR LUCERNE CULTURE.

O

Oueen Street, Cudtshoorn

*

Telegrams : " TIIOMAS,":Oiul(shocrn.

'ADVERTISEMENTS.

P asp alum

Dilitatum.

King of Pasture Grasses.

FARMERS, if you want to secure BEST RESULTS from this
Wonderful Dairying and Fattening Pasture, send to

HECTOR N. S1MSON,

]], Ritter's Chambers,

Berg Street,

Capetown,

Where you will secure...^

Seccombe's famous Hand
Shaken Seed,

Which is guaranteed genuine hand shaken from the
growing crop.

Samples, information and Wholesale quotations on application

to the Grower,

W. Seccombe,

CofFs Harbour, N.S.W.

ADVZr.TISEivIENTS. XV.

{Times of Iftatal

(ESTABLISHED 1851).

TWO EDITIONS' DAILY.

I PENNY.

"pHE "TIMES" has a large and influential circulation in the
Central and Norther a parts of the Colony, in the Border
Districts of the Transvaal and Orangs River Colony, and in East
Griqualand.

Covering such a large and important agricultural area it'is a
valuable medium for Agricultural Advertisements. Farmers,
Stock Breeders, Implement Makers and all classes of advertisers
testify to satisfactory results from its use.

ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION.

IRatal agricultural Journal
an6 /HMning 1Recor6.

"Cfxe ©ff icial Publication of tfve Department of Agriculture
and JMJnes of tfxe Hatal (government.

SUBSCRIPTION: 5s. PER ANNUM, POST FREE.
ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION.

The "Times" Printing & Publishing Co., Ltd.,

222, Church Street and Chancery Lane,

Maritzburg, Natal.

IYi. ADVERTISEMENTS.

C. STARKE & CO., Ltd.,

IM?ORV£RS OF DODDER FREE

^I^NEL SEEID

ALL VARIETIES OF

Agricultural Seeds. ^

Write for Lists. Telegrams: "Starke," Mowbray.

FRUIT TREES, ROSE TREES,
FOREST TREES, GRAPE VINES,

IN ALL THE LEADING VARIETIES.

VEGETABLE SEEDS, FLOWER SEEDS,
AGRICULTURAL SEEDS,

OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. pSstrS?

C. J. HOWLETT, Botanic Gardens, Qraaff-Reinet

Ibouse, Crabocfe,

[ESTABLISHED 1879],
CARRY THE BEST STOCK IN THE MIDLANDS OF

.Artists' JHaterials, (Stationery,

©ffice Recfuirenr\er\ts,

pancy C^ooSs, JHusic, Boofes.
Thirtieth Annual Price List of .

PERIODICALS

Will be sent on application.

Tiy them for FOUNTAIN PENS.

Various makes kept in stock.

RETURN TO the circulation desk of any
University of California Library

or to the

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ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS

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Our Reputation

**^*AAA**V>A^^MA<*^**i^^^WVVWVVVWVVyV^

Is based solely upon

THE EXCELLENCE OF OUR STOCK !

THE FAIRNESS OF OUR PRICES!
THE PURITY OF OUR DRUGS & CHEMICALS!

Tie careful and prompt attention we give to all orders, large or small !
HENCE OUR POPULARITY!

We pride ourselves specially on our " Veterinary Department,"
which is always kept right down to date. The latest addition to
our stock is

Malefern CAP5ULES,

which are now being used extensively by all the leading Ostrich
farmers in the country. They are made of pure soluble gelatin,
and each contains 1 teaspoonful of the finest Oil of Malefern. No
more messy pills to make with flour ! No uncertainty as to dosage !
Enormous money, time and labour savers ! Write for particulars
and sample.

LARGE STOCKS OF

Kamala, Carbolic Acid,

Malefern, Malefern Capsules,

Epsom Salts, etc., etc.,

Always on hand, at lowest rates.

Veterinary Instruments & Appliances

7* SPECIFICITY!

Distance no object ! CALL, WRITE or WIRE your Household
or Veterinary requirements to

ARTHUR MILLS & CO.,

CHEMISTS AND DRUGGISTS,

[Established 14 years.]