664 



'Journal of AgriciiHi(re, Victoria. [11 Nov., 1918. 



profitable sugar beet pro- 

 duction every year. Dur- 

 ing a period of twenty-five 

 years, the record showed 

 that there were eight sea- 

 sons when the rainfall dur- 

 ing the growing period of 

 the crop was between 6 and 

 8 inches, and that only in 

 ten seasons out of 25 were 

 the conditions good enough 

 to insure profitable crops. 

 This indicates the necessity 

 for supplementing the rain- 

 fall with irrigation ; and 

 irrigation promises to place 

 the Maffra area on a sound 

 agricultural basis. 



He had been very much 

 impressed with the value of 

 barley for a district such as 

 this. We could get two 

 bushels of Cape barley in 

 an average season for every 

 bushel of wheat; it being a 

 hetter drought resister than 

 wheat. Some varieties of 

 barley would not stand up 

 well, and we have not yet 

 learned as much about its 

 cultivation as about that of 

 wheat; nor have we learned 

 the best method of using it 

 for stock feeding or graz- 

 ing for either cattle or 

 sheep. It makes excel- 

 lent ensilage, and if grown 

 for such purpose would 

 yield from 40 to 50 bushels 

 in a good season. We have 

 reached 80 bushels on 

 Longerenong plots on two 

 occasions during the last 

 six years. Barley would 

 enable us to bring about a 

 diversified system of agri- 

 culture. We would have 

 to get away from our one- 

 crop system, diversify our 

 agriculture, and develop 

 our live-stock interests if we 

 were to aim at fully utiliz- 

 ing our agricultural re- 

 sources. 





