840 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Dec. 2, 1920. 



From the above table it appears that under the soil and climatic conditions 

 at ISTyngan deep ploughing not only does not pay, but is really detrimental. 

 This is explained by the fact that owing to its low humus content the soil is 

 of poor water-holding capacity, and deep ploughing, by opening it up and 

 further drying it out, aggi-avates this defect. The soil is also so deep that 

 deep ploughing has the effect of allowing thorough percolation of rain into 

 the lower layers, and much of this moisture is out of reach of the following 

 crop until the soil has become compacted again. 



Subsoiling is for these reasons unnecessary, while sub- surface packing has 

 only given good results in isolated years. 



Request for March Flies. 



An attempt is being made by the Director-General of Public Health to 

 prepare a survey of the March flies of New South Wales, and he will be 

 grateful to any Agricultural Gazette readers who will forward undamaged 

 specimens, together with particulars as to the date of capture, the locality, 

 the name of the animal or plant upon which the insect was captured, and 

 other general information as to prevalence or otherwise at different seasons. 

 A similar request was made on behalf of the Director-General several years 

 ago, which resulted in much valuable information being obtained. 



March flies, or horse flies as they are sometimes called, may be caught 

 around horses and cattle. Specimens should be as little dam.aged as possible; 

 if placed in a match-box with a little tissue-paper they may safely be sent 

 through the post. 



Specimens and information can be forwarded to Dr. E. W. Ferguson, 

 office of the Director-General of Public Health, Macquarie-street, Sydney. 



Sea-weed as Manure. 



Sea-weed is extensively used as manure in the Channel Islands and other 

 parts of the world. It is usually cut off" the rocks or gathered on the shore, 

 and carted direct to the field where it is applied in the same manner as farm- 

 yard manure. Sometimes it is stacked in heaps and allowed to dry before 

 use, or the stacks may be burnt and the ashes alone utilised. 



As a general rule sea- weed is used for spreading over pasture land; it 

 apparently imparts a salty taste to the pasture and increases its palatibility 

 to stock. When used on cultivation land it is seldom ploughed in, but is 

 usually allowed to lie on the surface till the rain has washed most of its 

 fertilising ingredients into the soil beneath, the turning under of the weed 

 apparently making the soil too cold for early crops. 



Sea-weed is frequently mixed with farmyard manure and applied to the 

 land with that manure in winter and early spring. — A. J. Pinn, Inspector of 

 Agriculture. 



