98 



Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



weights. In many other cases, neglect, the encroachment of stock 

 and other causes, had spoilt results from an experimental point of 

 view. But in face of many failures, there still remained a number of 

 fairly complete fields, due to the great interest and great care of a 

 few fine men who recognised the value of the work attempted, and 

 assisted us to their utmost. It is from their fields that I have 

 gathered the facts I am going to place before you in this paper. 



The accompanying plan shown will give some idea of the system 

 adopted in lapng out the fields. The whole field embraced, approxi- 

 mately, an acre of ground. There were three kinds of fields, laid out on 

 exactly the same plan, but differing somewhat in the crops they carried. 



PLAN OF EXPERIMENTAL FORAGE CROPS 



SECTION 



NAMES OF CROPS SOWN •''"' ' 



Ambeb Canc 

 Ttosivre ~ 

 EcvPTiNN Corn 



TOTAL LENGTH 218 F: 



The Plots as shown on the Plans are strips 2l8 feet long of different widths. On the Plan they arc 

 shown as running from East to West, and are numbered 1 to 10. Each Plot is sown with a different kind of 

 seed. Crossing the plots from North to South are 8 manured and unmanured bands or strips all of equal width, 

 viz. 27 feet 3 inches, and 200 feet long. These strips are marked on the plan A. B.C. up to H. B.C.E.F. and 

 H. are manured each one differently. The strips A.D. and G. shown by the shaded portions of the plan are not 

 manured. These unmanured strips serve tor comparison with the manured strips. The manures that have 

 been sent with this plan and are marked with the letters corresponding to those on the plan are very carefully 

 spread broadcast on the strips, B.C.E.F. and H. before any of the seeds are sown and harrowed in. The seeds 

 are afterwards drilled in across the strips. Thus the manures are applied in this direction \ The seed on each 

 plot drilled this way — 



I have called these X, Y and Z respectively. An examination of the X 

 plan shown here will explain the system. It will be seen that on this field 

 ten crops have been tested, side by side ; the crops are : — Maize, Amber 

 cane, Teosinte, Egyptian Corn, Kaffir Corn, Pearl Millet, Mangels, 

 Beet and Lucerne. There are twelve rows of maize, eight rows of 

 amber cane, and a varying number of rows in the case of the other 

 plants. The crops, in all cases, run in parallel rows east and west. 

 Crossing these rows, at right angles, and running north and south, are 

 shaded and unshaded strips extending, in each case from the top to 

 the bottom of the field, and passing through all the crops tested. The 

 shaded strips represent the portions which have received no manure, 



