202 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



At the earliest possible time, when money can be found for the 

 purpose, a Government irrigation farm should be established. In 

 connection with such a farm, there should always be a small area 

 devoted to experimental work, where different crops should not only 

 be tried, but the same crops irrigated at varying times and results 

 carefully tabulated and published over a series of years. The main 

 object of such a farm should be to make it pay, and demonstrate the 

 financial advantages of irrigation. 



The reports of the Heads of Branches deal thoroughly, though con- 

 cisely, with the work of the department, consequently it remains only 

 for me to discuss the most prominent points in these reports. The 

 straitened state of the finances of the country has prevented money 

 being granted for more extended field investigations and for system- 

 atic experiments and research, which would have led to the more 

 rapid development of the agricultural resources of the countr3^ Yet 

 the reports show that as much solid work has been done as formerly, 

 and, except for heart-burnings on the part of individual officers who 

 well deserved increased pay, the de)>artment has not seriously suffered 

 from this year of retrenchment, except in the cases of experts who 

 have left it for various reasons, and whose places have not been filled. 



The Chemical Branch. 



In the Chemical branch the most important new work undertaken 

 in the field was the forage experiments in the southern areas, which 

 undoubtedly point to the possibility of greater varieties of forage 

 crops being grown than has formerly been the case. Maize as a 

 forage crop was almost the only one hitherto thought of, while it is 

 now demonstrated that several others are quite as good if not better, 

 and have been found to excel maize both in bulk and feeding qualities. 

 The work involved in these co-operative experiments is ver}' con- 

 siderable, and the expense to the State is by no means a small item 

 before correct information can be collected. It is, consequently, 

 much to be regretted that numbers of faiuners after having 

 agreed to experiment, and the plots had been put in under the super- 

 vision of an officer of the department, the seed and manure being 

 sup{)lied by Government, deliberately cut the crops before results had 

 been obtained, rendering the wdiole experiment useless. On the other 

 hand, the department is deeply indebted to the greater number who 

 loyally carried out the experiments to the end, taking a great deal of 

 trouble in cultivation as well as assisting in every way to obtain 

 correct results. 



All dairy farmers should read Bulletin No. 6 of the Department* 

 or the article on the subject by Dr. Howell which appears in the July 

 number of the Journal. Experiments in the field also show that poor 

 land in the moister areas can be successfully brought into paying 

 cultivation by the use of artificial manures, although these lands 

 could not hitherto be profitably cultivated without manure. The 

 demonstration of this fact is of an immense importance, considering 

 the great extent of this class of soil in the State. 



