10 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. 



Salt-bush. 



Co-operative experiments, conducted by the Government Agrono- 

 mist with the aid of farmers over a number of years, have shown the 

 merits of the undermentioned Australian varieties of salt-bush: — 



(a) Atriplex nuinviularia, Lindl. (Round-leaved or Old Man 



Salt-bush) ; 

 (6) Atriplex semihaccata, R. B. (H'alf-berried or Creeping 



Salt-busli) ; 

 (c) Atriplex halinwules, Lindl. (Haliinus-like or the Grey Salt- 

 bush) ; 

 {d) A triplex leptocarpa ; 



(ej Atriplex holocarpa, F. v. M. (All-fruited Salt-bush) ; 

 (/) Atriplex visicariinn ; 



{g) Atriplex angulata, Benth (Angular-fruited Salt-bush) ; 

 in regard to which the following points are noted : — 



(a) A perennial, erect shrub ; resists drought to a remarkable 



degree, reaching a height of 5 to 8 feet in four years, and 

 grows on very brack soils. 



(b) Habit of growth is prostrate and branching, forming a 



dense grow^th on the surface of the land. Also grows on 

 soils too alkaline to support any other form of cultivated 

 plants. It is a perennial, but some farmers are of opinion 

 that it should be treated as an annual in districts where the 

 winter is exceptionally severe. 



(c) A low bush creeping along the ground, described by some as 



a perennial and by others as an annual ; dependent pre- 

 sumably on the winter temperature. It is recommended 

 to sow this variety in the spring. 

 id) (e), (/), (g) These varieties are, more or less, annuals, and 

 although they make excellent stock feed, farmers prefer 

 the perennials. The Holocarpa (e) is highly recommended 

 by some farmers for land liable to be flooded. 

 All salt-bushes prefer moist brackish land, but are able to accommo- 

 date themselves to a great variety of conditions. Seed may be sown at 

 any time during the spring or summer months when the soil is moist. 



Manner of Planting. — Some people loosen the soil with a spade 

 or a hoe in patches some little distance apart, and six to twelve seeds 

 are planted in each plot, according to the size of the patch. Others 

 plough the ground and harrow the seed in. The bush will naturally 

 spread much faster on properly tilled land. The quantity of seed 

 required will vary with the distance apart of the patches or rows, as 

 the case may be. About 20,000 seeds go to the lb., so that ten seeds 

 every 2 yards means only 1{ lb. per morgen, while at 10 yards apart 

 about I lb. per morgen will be required. Various methods of planting 

 salt-bush seed are employed by farmers, and 1^ to 1| lb. is generally 

 used per morgen, or half that amount per acre. The seed is covered 

 from i to i inch deep (the shallower the better), and young plants 

 must be protected from the too-assiduous attention of live stock. 

 When once well established salt-bushes require very little care, beyond 

 being occasionally protected so as to permit them to f ower and resow 

 themselves. The ATistralian salt-bushes seem to possess a more vigorous 

 growth and seed more freely than our own, although some farmers speak 

 very highly of our Atriplex eapensi-s (Cape salt-bush) and claim that it 

 is more drought-resistant than any of the exotic species. Salt-bush 

 will also grow from cuttings, but this is a somewhat slow method. 



