>24 Journal of Agriculture. [8 April, 1907 



preferable to those wider and flatter. A greater surface is exposed to 

 the influence of the sun and wind, and the roots are working in a more 

 aerated soil. 



Onion seed may be sown for transr)lanting. The seed should be sown 

 thinly, and pressed firmly before covering. Seed mav also be sown to use 

 green in spring. Cabbage and cauliflower plants may be set out. and 

 seeds of earlv varieties sown. The cabbage requires a well enriched soil, 

 stable manure being considered bv market gardeners the best manure for 

 the purpose. The ground .should be deeply worked, and the manure mixed 

 well through. 



A sowing of earlv peas should be made. Provision for staking the 

 plants is considered necessary bv most market gardeners, especially during 

 winter. Ground should be prepared for successive sowings. Moderate 

 manuring is preferable to heavy for the winter, the latter producing a 

 superabundance of haulm. 



Divisions of various garden herbs mav be planted out. Seeds may be 

 sown of annual herbs that will stand frost, and of various salading plants 

 that may be required. 



TREE PLANTING AND FOREST PRESERVATION. 



Alfred J. E-ivart, D.Sc, Ph.D., F.L.S., Government Bolamst and 

 Professor of Botany in the University of Melbourne. 



In Mr. Reed"s admirable article on this subject in the December num- 

 ber of the Journal of Agriculture, due stress is laid upon the importance 

 of this question as a factor in the agricultural future of Victoria, and 

 a list of the advantages to be derived from systematic tree planting' 

 and preservation is ' given. In addition to these advantages, how- 

 ever, two others are worthy of mention, especially as they rarely have 

 their proper importance attached to them. They are the influence of 

 trees in maintaining the fertility of the soil, and their anti-spasmodic 

 action on rainfall. 



The Influence of Trees in Maintaining the Fertility of 



THE Soil. 



This action is three-fold in character. The deeply penetrating roots 

 which most trees form over a part at least of their root-system draw up 

 water from the deeper layers of the soil, to which the roots of ordinary 

 crops do not penetrate. This water contains all the mineral constituents 

 of the plant's food in varying proportions, and these salts are very 

 largely stored up in the leaves and bark as waste products after the}' 

 have been utilized. In this way they ultimately reach the surface of 

 the ground again, while the leaves, bark, and fallen dejecta of the tree 

 slowly rot and add to the percentage of humus in the soil, so increasing its 

 capacity for holding water. 



Ordinary crops have comparatively s,hallo\v root-systems as compared 

 with most trees. Thus the roots of barley and mustard usually penetrate 

 to a depth of i vard, while those of the perennial clover and wheat 

 mav extenrl to :; yards beloAv the surface, and those of the everlasting pea 



