June 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 385 



IVJany failures in lucerne growing have arisen from the ground being dirty 

 with weed growth, the young plants being choked out in their eaily stages. 

 To free a j)lot from weeds it is advisable to sow a couple of broadcast crops. 

 This will allow many weeci seeds to germinate and the plants to be smothered 

 by the crop, and the cultivation in itself will germinate and kill others. 

 Deep ploughing is not generally advised, and bringing the soil to too fine a 

 tilth has also been found inadvisable, as the soil has then a tendency to run 

 together and choke the little seedlings, and weed growth is encouraged ; while 

 left in a rougher state the small clods protect the youngs lucerne seedlings, 

 ^nd the subsequent harrowings are more effective. 



After sowing 12 to 16 lb. per acre broadcast, the seed should be w^ell 

 harrowed in. Harrowing with a brush is not advised as the seed is often 

 pulled into heaps ; the lever harrow is the most serviceable. To secure the 

 best results, sowings should be made from March to June. Spring sowings 

 generally meet dry weather conditions and difficulty is experienced in 

 keeping weed growth from overwhelming the. young seedlings. 



When the plants have attained their third pair of leaves the root 

 development should^ be such that harrowing to conserve moisture and to 

 control weed growth could be carried out without damaging the plants. 



Once the plot is established the plants should be stimulated at least once 

 a year with a dressing of superphosphate at 2 cwt. per acre. After every 

 •cut the plot should be well harrowed to keep the moisture in, tu rlisturb any 

 insects, and to check weed growth. 



,A Novel Experiment. 



Ten dairy farmers at Oxford, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., who had learnt how to 

 produce clean milk, agreed in 1915 to visit ten other farmers in the 

 neighbouring district of Kelton to see what kind of milk they could produce 

 in sheds they had never before visited. Tables showing the bacterial content 

 of the milk produced by the Oxford farmers on the Kelton farms are 

 compared with tables showing the bacterial content of the milk produced by 

 the Kelton farmers themselves, and demonstrate in a remarkable way the 

 improvement which can be effected by care in milking and subsequent 

 handling of the milk. — Journal of the Board of Agriculture, London. 



Superphosphate or "Basic Super." 



Basic superphosphate is guaranteed to contain 20 per cent, citrate soluble 

 phosphoric acid. Superphosphate contains 17 per cent, water soluble 

 phosphoric acid, J per cent, citrate soluble, and ^ per cent, insoluble phosphoric 

 acid. 



At 10s. 6d. per bag for superphosphate, and 12s. 6d. per bag for basic, the 

 manurial value of superphosphate is very much greater than that of basic 

 ■.superphosphate. — F. B. Guthrie. 



