lo Oct., 191 1.] To Start Farming. 699 



inches. The average yield last year was 14^ bushels; ami, th()uji;h this 

 average is only half that ohtained in England, large amounts of money are 

 made here out of wheat-growing. In the main wheat centres, a farm of less 

 than 500 acres is looked upon as small, and it is the area under cultixation 

 that each individual has, that assists in making the large returns. With 

 very little assistance, one man can j)Ut in and take off 200 to 250 acres 

 of wheat with a team of six or eight good horses and the machinery suit- 

 able for the purpose. The machinery will be found \fry difft-rent to that 

 used in Britain; the i)loughs here are multi-furrowed and capable of 

 turning over large quantities of ground in a day. The surface- working im- 

 plements, such as discs, skim ploughs, and harrows, arc made specially for 

 working land on a large scale and saving labour as much as possible. 

 Perhajjs the most important operation connected with wheat farming is 

 working the land for the conservation of moisture, and fallowing is a 

 general practice to this end. 



Fallowing to dry out or clear land is onK dune in tliosc districts with 

 a heavy rainfall. 



The use of artificial fertilizers is general, the most popular being 

 .superphos[)hate, bonedust, and Thomas phosphate The liist named gives 

 good results on soils containing lime, the bonedust on sandy hiams, and 

 the Thomas phosphate on the heavy wet clays. Other artificial fertilizers 

 are used in dairying and market gardening operations, and, owing to the 

 scarcity of farmyard manure, through lack of winter housing of stock, 

 will come more into favour in the future. 



Labour is one great difficulty and is hard to obtain in all pursuits, even 

 at high wages; consequently, the settler would be wise to go slow at first 

 and not depend too much on laliour outside his own familv. 



Distances from markets will at first appear a drawback, but that con- 

 dition will soon become accustomed to and not feared. Teams of twentv 

 bullocks or eight to ten horses are common and loads of wheat and other 

 I)roduce often amount to 5 or 10 tons. 



Stock generally are easily catered for, and stall feeding, except under 

 certain conditions, is not a general practice. The natural grasses, supple- 

 mented with hay feeding, and the genial climate, render stall feeding 

 unnecessary. 



Horses for farm work can be bought for from ^^25 to jQdo each, 

 according to quality; dairy cows from ^5 tO;^!2 each ; pigs from 8s. for 

 suckers to 30s. for slips. Farm maciiinery of all kinds (including har- 

 vesters, strippers, binders) is manufactured in \'ictoria and sold on easy 

 terms, in some cases extended i)ayments over three \tars bi'ing allowed. 

 The two former harvesting machines are well suited to \'ictoria luider the 

 jjrevailing climatic conditions. 



There are well established nur.series for fruit trees of all descriptions. 

 There is a g(K>d opening for pure seed farms, where seed that can be relied 

 upon for being true tr) type, and clean, could lie produced, and many 

 farmers wouhl be pleased to jiay 25 per cent, to 30 ])er cent, higher rates 

 than those obtained under ordinary market conditions for guaranteed 

 seed. 



'J'he Department of .\gri( ultun- has a staff of specially qualified men 

 whose dutv it is to givt- information to any one ai)i)lving for instruction in 

 i ruit-growing. wheat-growing, dairving. toba< < o and i>ol.ito gniwing. viti- 

 culture, stock, mainires, ^^c. 



