3Iai/ 2, 190S.] Agricultural Gazette of N.SJF. 387 



Forage Crops on Black Soil at Moree 



Irrigation Farm. 



A. E. DARVALL. 



No. 1 Sorghum. 



In the Western States of America the up-to-date cattle rancher not only cuts 

 and stacks large quantities of the natural grasses and wild oats that grow in 

 abundance in good seasons, but also sets aside a tract of level land — usually 

 some 300 or 400 acres in extent — adjacent to the ranch house on which 

 to grow fodder crops under irrigation for his stock. As it — the house — 

 is always built near a river or strong spring, he usually has plenty of water 

 for this purpose, but if not he conserves the rainfall by making a dam across 

 the mouth of a neighljouring valle}' with a good watershed, by sinking wells 

 and pumping constantly with windmills or oil engines into a reservoir, or, if 

 he is lucky enough to be in an artesian belt, by putting down a bore ; but 

 water he must have, and usually managf-s to get in some way, if not he sells 

 his ranch to a " tender-foot " and looks out for another where he can get as 

 much as he requires. Having got water he grows lucerne, maize, oats, 

 cowpeas, ifec, stacking or turning them into ensilage in good years, and 

 accumulating a store of food that will carry his stock over a series of bad 

 ones and keep them in good condition in the autumn months when grass is 

 scarce. In this countiy many squatters still trust to luck, and when a drought 

 comes they either have to sell the majority of their stock for what they will 

 fetch in an over-stocked market, or send them long distances by road or rail 

 to fresh pastures that they have to rent at high prices, probably losing a good 

 many head on the way, and not improving the condition of the rest. Now, 

 with the money tlius lost in one bad year, the squatter would probably find 

 that he could fix up an irrigation scheme by one of the above methods that 

 would last him a lifetime, and carr}^, at any rate, the majority of his stock 

 through any drought. 



To this end, it is hoped to carry out a series of experiments on this farm by 

 which the best forage crops, and the cheapest method of growing them, may 

 be ascertained. 



The first trials were commenced in November last on land that had been 

 cropped with millet in 1905, and oats 1906. It was ploughed with a disc 

 plough to a depth of about 7 inches and cross-harrowed, bringing the soil 

 to as fine a tilth as possible ; it was then sown in three blocks with a 

 Planters' Friend drill, the rows being 3 feet apart. No. 1 block with 

 Saccharatum, No. 2 Planters' Friend, and No. 3 with Amber Cane. These 

 were all sown on 13th and 14th November, and as on 2nd December they 

 showed no signs of coming up, the land being fairly dry, they were given an 

 irrigation, furrows being ploughed down every third row with an ordinary 

 hand plough, which was run back in the same furrow in order to as far as 

 C 



