Journal of Agriculture. [8 Jan., 1908. 



rams that have been voffered, showing that care has been exercised to main- 

 tain high quality in this branch also. 



On the whole the stock is good and perhaps above the average, judging 

 from appearances, and if the same care in breeding is taken in the future 

 as has been in the past, and the scales and tester introduced into the 

 milking shed, a few years should bring the dairy stock up to a very high 

 standard. 



Implements. Machinery, and Outbuildings. 



There is nothing verv striking in this line on some of the farms. Mr. 

 Mogg stands out particularly as having all the machinery required for the 

 proper cultivation of his land and for harvesting. The same can be said 

 of his farm in regard to outbuildings. A well-kept shed is provided for 

 the storage of the implements, and, more than that, he sees that they are 

 put in when not in use. On the other farms, with the exception of drays, 

 buggies, and waggons, although fair shed room is provided, the imple- 

 ments are less conspicuous there than in the paddock in which they were 

 apparently last used. Nothing gives a worse appearance to a farm than 

 seeing implements all over the place. 



In a district where lucerne is, and can be. grown so successfully it 

 is strange that I came acro.ss only one cultivator. A cultivator, whether 

 disc, spring tooth, or rotarv disc harrows, is a great help. It not only 

 assists in getting the ground ready, but it is good on the lucerne pasture 

 as it disintegrates the roots causing a much better stool of the plant and 

 at the same time loosens and enlivens the soil. By doing this the life of 

 the lucerne is considerably prolonged especially on land that has been 

 grazed. 



Water Supply. 



In this matter. Nature has done a great deal for the district, but with 

 one exception little has been done by the farmers concerned to supplement 

 the natural facilities. There were streams and .springs on all the farms 

 visited, and with little trouble and expense a supplv could be had for all 

 time. It is a great saving when water is available in everv paddock, as 

 stock do better when a long distance walk to water can be avoided. One or 

 two of the springs were about drv at the time of mv visit, whereas 

 if a dam had been made, there would have been an adequate supplv. 



Mr. Kerr is the exception alluded to, and he has one of the best 

 water supplies I have seen, having two 400-gallon tanks, on stands, 

 supplied by wind mill from the river and laid on to house, garden, stables, 

 dairies, calf paddock, &:c. He also has the river running through his 

 property, and a very fine channel off -shooting from the river higher up 

 that he uses for irrigation purposes. 



Cultivation. 



There appears to be room for all round improvement in this branch. 

 Lucerne is perhaps the best fodder known, but this plant will not thrive 

 e\erywhere, and in these cases it is well to grow something that will — for 

 instance, a paddock of rape which, besides being a soil restorer, will 

 fatten a lot of lambs. Where the milk is separated and pigs fattened, 

 mangolds, carrots, or some other root crop could be grown to advantage. 

 If this were done brood sows (which are verv scarce) could be kept at a 

 nominal cost, and consequently a better class of pig raised than I saw. 

 A man never sells his best pigs, and so buyers really have to take a lot 

 of rejects or runts. These do not thrive or grow into monev like well-bred 



