Agricultural Gazette of N .S.W . [Jan. 2, 1920. 



Elephant, Para, and Guinea Grasses at Wollongbar. 



In April, 1!)IS, the work of planting 2-acre blocks of Elephant, Para and 

 Guinea grasses was carried out under the direction of the Agrostohigist. 

 From the start all thres grasses gave great promise, and they later atiorded 

 a valuable lot of feed during the past summer and winter. 



The Elephant grass gave the greatest Imlk of feed, and showed remarkable 

 drought resisting powers. When young it was greatly relished by the milch 

 cows, and had a stimulating effect upon the milk yield. During the winter 

 the lower portions of the area were affected by frost, but the grass made a 

 good recovery. 



The Para grass completely covered the ground, and formed a dense mass 

 of succulent feed, which remained sreen throughout the winter. It was more 

 frost resistant than the young Elephant grass, and stood the dry weather 

 very well. 



The Guinea grass maintained its reputation, but supplied the greatest 

 amount of feed when other grasses are generally plentiful. It was noticed, 

 after the grass hS,d seeded, that a quantity of seed had germinated in the 

 spaces between the rows (6 feet apart), and it is anticipated that the area 

 will be completely covered in this way. 



The success or failure of the whole of these grasses depends upon the 

 manner in which they are treated. They should be kept fed off, and not 

 allowed to become coarse. This especially applies to Elephant grass. 



These trials have demonstrated that tlie growth of these grasses is a most 

 rational way of supplying feed for both winter and summer in this part of 

 the North Coast, supplemented, of course, by other grasses and fodders. — 

 A. H. Haywood, Manager, Wollongbar Experiment Farm. 



Great Britain's Increased Use of Fertilisers. 



It is not generally recogniserl how largely the British farmer availed him- 

 self of artificial fertilisers during the war. For the first time for many years 

 the demand exceeded the supply. Sulphate of ammonia, of which formerly 

 we had to export a lai-ge surplus, was especially largely used, the consumption 

 by farmers in the United Kingdom rising from 80,000 tons before the war to 

 269,000 tons in 1919. The consumption of superphosphate rose from 560,000 

 tons in 1915-16 to 750,000 tons in 1919 ; while that of basic slag rose from 

 321,000 tons in 1915-16 to 540,000 tons in 1919. These figures demonstrate 

 more vividly than any words the great increase in the use made by British 

 farmers of the aids to crop production now at their disposal. — -Journal of the 

 Board of Agriculture, England. 



"Tfl\yK you for sending along the various pamphlets on fruitgrowing, ttc; 

 also f<jr the Ar/ricultural (iazette. T am inclined to think that producers 

 generally would have more quality and better results if they made more use 

 of the Department of Agriculture." — A Pennant Hills Subscriber. 



