Noo. 2, 1908.] Agricultiiml Gazette of N.S.W. 921 



The best time to cut grass and other natural herbage is when it is in 

 flower, and cutting may be continued as long as the crop is in succulent 

 condition. It should be carted and stacked as promptly as possible so as to 

 prevent loss of moisture. 



Wheat, barley, vetches, and peas should be in a similar stage of growth in 

 the drier districts, while in coastal and other moist localities they may safely 

 be cur in a more advanced condition, as in the latter case the fodder is likely 

 to contain more moisture than is usual under the former conditions, and they 

 do not dry off so rapidly after cutting. 



Wheat alone is of rather too dry a nature for successful conservation in 

 stacks, therefore it will be found safer to conserve it in pits from which air 

 may be excluded more effectively than is possible where stacking is adopted. 

 Where natural grasses are to be conserved, pits will be more effectual than 

 stacks, as, owing to the number of varieties of which most pastures consist, 

 the periods of ripening vary so nmch that the earlier kinds lose much of their 

 succulence, while others remain in a backward condition. In cases where 

 trefoil or variegated thistles predominate, the stack system may safely be 

 adopted, as both contain a much larger proportion of moisture than is to be 

 found in the grasses, even where the latter are in their best stage of grow th- 

 in dry districts it will be found advisable also to cut sorghum and maize 

 at an earlier stage of growth than is usual in the moister conditions pre- 

 vailing on the coast, and to use pits or buildings in preference to stacks, as 

 the comparative dryness of the fodder causes greater loss in stacks than that 

 which occurs in the case of fodder plants of finer texture, which admit of 

 more compact stacking than is possible with those of coarser growth. 



The chaffing of maize or sorghum is recommended, and therefore their 

 conservation in a walled receptacle is necessary to secure the best results in 

 quality and quantity of silage. The material if stacked whole, should be spread 

 evenly, and if cut with a reaper and binder the bands should be cut and drawn so 

 as to admit of more compact building and the more effectual exclusion of air. If 

 the bands are left intact, there are liable to be considerable spaces between 

 the sheaves if they are of full size. The butts of the sheaves should be placed 

 outwards, each row binding the next, and the material should be well trodden 

 from the start. Under no circumstances should material be placed trans- 

 versely in layers, as by this means a large quantity of air will be admitted 

 into the stack and loss of fodder will naturally follow. .Special attention 

 should be paid to the sides and corners, so that they may be as compact as 

 possible. The sides should be kept plumb, and the corners well rounded off. 

 The surface of the stack should be kept quite level while in the course of 

 erection, as, if the middle be raised, the material w'hen saturated with moisture 

 has a tendency to slip outwards ; and an outward slip is much worse than an 

 inward one, as it is difficult to remedy. Should an outward slip occur, it sliould 

 at once be remedied by strong supports being placed on that side of the stack. 

 Greater safety in building may be secured by the erection of a few posts 

 with occasional pieces of timber secured to them horizontally on each side of 

 the stack. 



