576 J ourn-al of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 Sept., 1918. 



or trefoils are in bloom, grass hay will be as good fodder as any serial hay. If 

 top-dressed with phosphatic or farm yard manure, good returns will be obtained 

 from grass hay; it has also the great advantage that mice will not work in it. 

 Cut 1 acre for each cow in the herd; it will keep until the next drought if pro- 

 tected from the weather. 



Pigs. — Supply plenty of bedding in warm, well-ventilated styes. Keep styes 

 clean and dry, and feeding troughs clean and wholesome. Sows suckling young 

 should be well fed to enable them to produce plenty of milk. Give young pigs 

 pollard and skim milk in separate trough as soon as they will take it, and keep 

 them fattening from the start to get them off as early as possible. Give a table- 

 spoonful of bone meal, or half that amount of mineral phosphate, per 100 lbs. 

 live weight in food daily. If pigs are lousy dress them with kerosene emulsion 

 or sulphur and lard, rubbing well into the crevices of skin, and disinfect styes. 

 Pig breeding and feeding should be very profitable for a long time to come, and 

 it should be safe to launch out now. 



Sheep. — Shear as early as the weather Avill permit, and avoid the usual exces- 

 sive dust in travelling to, and yarding at sheds. Burr and seeds also collect 

 on the fleeces if shearing be left until late in the season, particularly with 

 lambs. Shear all lambs intended to be held over — they thrive better and make 

 more growth through the ensuing summer and autumn. Fleeces from well- 

 bred sheep should be skirted with care, the better the class of wool 

 the greater the necessity. From fleeces that have become dry and earthy 

 on the backs, remove only the merest stains; there is little advantage in skirt- 

 ing these. It is better management to have ample tables and extra hands 

 skirtiag closely than to hastily tear off unnecessary wool and then employ men at 

 other tables to sort "broken fleece," ''flrst, " and "second " pieces, &e. All 

 stains must be removed from ewes ' fleeces, and pizzle stains from the bellies of 

 wethers. Keep separate all coarse fleeces from the finer sorts, and in merinos 

 the yellow and mushy from the shafty and bright. Skirt all hairy thighs from 

 crossbred fleeces. Avoid sending wool to market in long, round-sided bales, 

 known as ' ' sew-downs. ' ' Press in a box-press, forming square sides. Brand 

 bales neatly, on one side only, and not with sheep-branding oil, tar, or paint. 

 Stencil plates and branding ink can be obtained on application to the respec- 

 tive brokers. 



At first signs of scour drench with turpentine and oil. This preparation is 

 now procurable in emulsion form, and thus the fear of choking is removed. 

 If discharge be dark and accompanied with mucus, yard over night, drench 

 on an empty stomach, repeat again in about fourteen days, and in some cases 

 a third dose will be necessary. Change to new pasture if possible, or give 

 a little grain, whole oats for preference. 



Poultry. — The bulk of incubation should cease this month — late chickens 

 are not profitable. Devote attention to the chickens already hatched; avoid 

 overcrowding. Feed with dry mash. Also add plenty of green food to ration, 

 ordinary feeding to be 2 parts pollard, 1 part bran, and a little animal food 

 after the first fortnight. Feed ground grain, such as wheat, hulled oats, maize, 

 and peas, which should be fed in hopper to avoid waste. Grit or coarse sand 

 should be available at all times. Variety of food is important to growing 

 chicks; insect life aids growth. Remove brooders to new ground as often as 

 possible; tainted ground will retard development. 



Cultivation, 



Fakm. — Plant main crops of potatoes in early districts and prepare land for 

 main crop in late districts. Fallow and work early fallow. Sow maize and 

 millets where frosts are not late, also mangolds, beet, carrots, and turnips. Sow 

 tobacco beds and keep covered with straw oi hessian. 



Orchard. — Ploughing and cultivating to be continued, bringing surface to 

 a good tilth, and suppressing all weeds. Spray with nicotine solution for peach 

 aphis, with Bordeaux mixture for black spot of apple and pear, and with 

 arsenate of lead for codlin moth in early districts. 



Vegetable Garden, — Sow seeds of carrot, turnip, parsnip, cabbage, peas, 

 French beans, tomato, celery, radish, marrow, and pumpkins. Plant out seedlings 

 from former sowings. Keep the surface well pulverized. 



Flower Garden. — Keep the weeds down and the soil open by continued hoe- 

 ing. Plant out delphiniums, chrysanthemums, salvia, early dahlias, &c. Pre- 

 pare ground for digging and manuring for autumn dahlias. Plant gladioli 

 tubers and seeds of tender annuals. Spray roses for aphis and mildew. 



