Co-operatife Forage Exijeriments in Southern Victoria. 107 



out at the rate of 31"31 tons ])er acre. In the case of the Yellow 

 Globe a return at the rate of 47*50 tons per acre was secured. Both 

 crops were harvested as early as March. Left till full maturity in 

 June these yields would probably be increased by at least 50 per 

 cent. The crops were grown on upland soil of no marked friability. 

 On a second field, located on a friable peaty flat of easy penetrability, 

 the Long Red had developed to a very considerable depth in the soil, 

 and appeared to give a markedly superior weight to the Globe. Un- 

 fortunately actual weights were not secured, but appearances seemed 

 to indicate that the comparative yielding poAver of the two varieties is 

 largely a matter of physical soil conditions. On the shallower and 

 less friable soils the Yellow Globe will probably show the maximum 

 yield, while the Long Red will possibly show to advantage on soils of 

 the other class referred to. 



Protein Yielding Crops. 

 NoAV, nearly all the crops dealt Avith may be considered carbon- 

 aceous in character — that is, they are not crops containing large 

 amounts of protein. They may serve as the bulk of cattle food, and 

 supply the starch, the sugar, and the fat required, but do not contain 

 amounts of protein sufficiently large to maintain our cattle in the 

 most profitable condition. Now in addition to the raising of such 

 crops as those just dealt with, the dairyman should give some attention 

 to crops rich in protein. To feed exclusively with the foods just 

 dealt Avith, in which the amount of digestible protein is so small, 

 means less beef and less milk than that obtained under a properly 

 balanced ration. I am not going into the question of the principles 

 of feeding. My colleague of the Dairy Branch, Dr. Cherry, will in- 

 struct you in this direction, but I have mentioned a fcAV facts only to 

 bring out the necessity of raising all the protein we possibly can on 

 the farm. Experiment has shown that a dairy cow per day and per 

 1,000 lbs. of live weight Avill require some 24 lbs. of dry matter, including 

 13^ to 15 lbs. of sugar, starch, fat, &c., and 2 to 2| lbs. of digestible pro- 

 tein, and that the amount of the sugar, starch, fat, &c., in this ration 

 should exceed the digestible protein present by 5^ to 7 times. An 

 examination of most of the crops we have dealt with would sIioav that the 

 relative amount present of protein to the non-protein is considerably 

 smaller than this. We effect a saving in the purchase of this necessary 

 protein if we can produce a large part of it in the crops we raise on 

 the farm. Now there are crops which enable us to do this. The 

 value of lucerne and clover is Avell recognized in this direction, but 

 the list of such crops requires extending. With this aim in A'iew ex- 

 periments on a limited number of fields were attempted last season 

 with the cow pea, the soy bean, and the Florida bean. The first two 

 crops are extensively grown and highly thought of in America. They 

 are frequently groAvn together with some of the carbonaceous feeds, 

 such as sorghum, supplying as a mixed food the protein in Avhich the 

 sorghum is deficient. The seed, hoAvever, of both the coav pea and 

 soy bean appears particularly sensitive to excess of moisture and tem- 

 perature conditions. The heavy falls of rain and the low temperature 

 following the break up of the drought last spring came just after 



