Feb. 2, 1920.] 



Agricultural Gazette of X.S.W. 



103 



The Season. 

 The .season was one of the driest on record at each centre excepting 

 Tenterfield, and yields were con.sequently not heavy anywhere. The .season 

 was too dry at Pallamallawa for all varietie.s excepting two extremely early 

 ones recently introduced from America, while all varieties failed at Tamworth 

 from seed malting in the ground and giving a very low c;ermination. At 

 Inverell the .season was disastrous to maize throughout the district, and 

 scarcely any grain was harvested anywhere. Large areas of seed malted in 

 the ground and produced nothing, while most of the sowings that germinated 

 gave no grain and very little feed. The plots gt Tenterfield and Llangothlin 

 suffered during the dry morit?j of January, but not to the same extent as the 

 plots of other di.stricts. 



The Plots. 

 Inverell, — The.se were .sown during the third week oi November, in a 

 paddock composed of red soil (chiefly) with a little black. The .seed was 

 sown in dry land, but a thunderstorm of 1^ inches a week later gave a good 

 germination on the red soil, Vjut a poor one on the black. The sowing was 

 done ^vith a maize dropper, single grains being dropped every 18 inches in 

 drills 4 feet 6 inches apart. The crop was intertilled three times, and hand- 

 weeded. The rainfall during growing period amounted to 6 inches at the 

 post office, about 1 mile distant. All varieties matured some grain. The 

 plots were unmanured. The results were a.s follows : — 



PaUamallav:a. — The sowing here was done on 2-1-th September in red 

 loamy soil which had produced a good crop of maize in 1917. The land was 

 ploughed in the autumn, and again in August, when it was also harrowed. 

 Sufficient moisture was conserved to give a good and even germination, but 

 there was not enough rain during the growing period to save the crop. The 

 plots were unmanured. Only two varieties were harvested, ZSTorth-westem 

 Dent and United States Xo. 13.3. each yielding a bu.shel per acre. The 

 remaining varieties were fed to stock. 



Tamworth. — Two sowings were made in the Loomberah district — on black 

 and on red .soil. The moisture in the land at sowing time gave a very low 

 germination, and the bulk of the grain malted. The plots were unmanured. 

 Xo cjrain was harvested here. 



