724 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



to tlie irrigation paddock, whicli immediately adjoins tlie factory. 

 One-half acre of land will suffice for 1,200 gallons of water a day on 

 an average throughout the year. In summer this quantity may be 

 more than doubled without difficulty. If the paddock is rectangular 

 in form the pipe is carried across to the further side, a bend is then 

 screwed on, and the pipe continued along the fence to the end. The 

 first day's water is thus discharged at the end of the paddock. Last 

 thing in the afternoon a shovelful of earth is thrown on the small 

 patch of whitish curd and fat which has accumulated at the end of 

 the pipe, and one length of the pipe is unscrewed. Everything is 

 then ready for the next day'fe drainage, when the operation is repeated. 

 When the whole of the pipes to the bend are successively unscrewed, 

 the bend itself is moved one length back and a fresh line of irrigation 

 begun about 15 feet from the former one. In this way irrigation 

 proceeds backwards and forwards across the whole width of the 

 paddock. The essential points are to run each day's water about 

 15 feet distant from that of the day before, and to cover up the curd 

 and sludge each evening. The time occupied amounts to not more 

 than five minutes a day. The pipes simply require to be loosely 

 screwed together by hand, a few drops leaking from a joint being of 

 no consequence. 



A few practical details may now be noticed. The sink should be 

 provided with a strainer to prevent the pump from stopping work, 

 and if the steam is laid on a handful of soda may be thrown into it 

 and the whole thing scalded out two or three times a week. On level 

 ground a pump or ejector is required, but in many factories the same 

 scheme may be worked by gravitation. The best arrangement is to 

 have the sink fairly near to the skim milk tanks. The space on which 

 the carts stand, and that under these tanks, is graded and paved to a 

 small pit in the centre, which is trapped and connected with the sink 

 by underground glazed earthenware pipes. The whole place may 

 then be hosed down each day as soon as the tanks are empty. The 

 irrigation paddock requires to be ploughed up or scarified twice a 

 year, and if suitable crops are grown a very valuable object lesson 

 may be given to the suppliers. I would suggest that half the paddock 

 be laid down to lucerne, and two crops a year be grown on the other 

 half. A mixture of oats and tares for the winter crop and maize or 

 sorghum for the summer crop will suit most districts, but the selection 

 of the crops may be left to the judgment of the manager. I mention 

 these because they are the most important ones for the dairying 

 industry generally. The crops should all be sown in drills three feet 

 apart, so as to allow room for the irrigation to go on between them. 

 An open drain 12 to 18 inches deep should be made all round the 

 paddock, so as to prevent water-logging in the winter. 



In some situations the pipes may be made to radiate from the 

 point where they enter the paddock. A double bend is used at this 

 point, and the line of pipes shifted each time so as to successively 

 occupy positions corresponding to the ribs of a fan. If possible, 

 however, the rectangular system first described is preferable. 



