318 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



FORAGE EXPERIMENTS 



Forage crop experiments formed a new line of investigation in the 

 field operations of the Brancli of last year. The value of sucli 

 investigations in the interests of the dairy industry will be recognised. 

 Maize has been the one annual crop tried in Southern Victoria as a 

 summer fodder for dairy cows, and e^en this crop appears to be 

 grown for this purpose to a very limited extent. The facts that have 

 come out in the results of the experiments disclose the adaptability of 

 Southern Victoria for a very wide range of crops, and the possibility 

 generally of producing immense yields. Reference again to the plan 

 of experimental forage fields, to which attention was directed earlier 

 in this paper, will indicate the system on which the crops were grown. 

 The system adopted of growing a number of plants of similar 

 characteristics side by side, under exactly identical conditions of soil 

 and climate, enabled the comparative yields of such crops to be 

 obtained. The following figures show the comparative yields of 

 maize, amber cane, Kaflftr corn, Egyptian corn, and Planters' Friend, 

 taking the average of a large number of fields : — 



All these crops, with the exception of maize, belong to the 

 sorghum family. Kattir corn and Egy])tian corn gave lower yields 

 than maize. The yields, however, from the amber cane and Planters' 

 Friend were higher than those of maize. Both amber cane and 

 Planters' Friend are spoken of very favourably by the great majority 

 of growers, and from the larger yield, greater palatability and 

 greater endurance of hot, dry spells seem by many to be preferred to 

 even maize. An additional claim to priority over maize, in the 

 opinion of many possessed hv sorghums, is the large yield obtainable 

 as a second cut. The following results of a second cut in a field 

 which may be considered typical of a large area in (Tippsland are 

 interesting in this respect :— 



Returns per Acre 



from Second Cut. 

 Tons. 

 Amber Cane . . . . 10 26 



Kaffir Corn .. .. 10-36 



Egyptian Corn . . 8 78 



Planters' Friend . . 1260 



There is every evidence that both amber cane and Planters' 

 Friend will be extensively grown as summer fodders in the South of 

 Victoria. The limits of this paper will not allow of my going into 

 detail on the results of the forage experiments. These have been 

 fully treated of in a separate publication, but I would specially direct 

 your attention to one crop which I am sure will be taken up as a 

 favourite through the whole of the South. I refer to the Japanese 

 millet. Remarkably quick in growth, fine in stem, of good leafiness, 

 nutritious, and highly palatable, it gave great satisfaction in nearly 

 every instance in which it was grown, and I consider it a most 



