3o8 



Journal of Agriculture. 



[8 May. 1808. 



leave till earlv in the year, several successive invasions ha\-'ng swept over. 

 The Aoung vines responded readily to the application of water, and have 

 made excellent growth. A considerable extension of the area of resistant 

 stocks has been ai'ranged. This would have been planted earlier but for 

 the complete failure of the cuttings be'ng grown outside for the purpose. 

 This season at the head station there is not onlv a good percentage of strikes, 



SHIRAZ GRAFTED ON RUPESTRIS METALLICA (CAPE). 



but the rootlings are exceT)tionall\ xigorcus. As no artificial waterings 

 could be given here owing to the fact that the dams were empt\ , the satis- 

 factory condition and growth of these cuttings are all the more surprising. 

 The \oung \ines planted out permanently last spring are thriving well, and 

 trellising is now being erected to enalile the maximum of suitable wood to 

 be obtained. In future, the whole of the nursery .stock will be grown at 

 'iVahgunvah where there is an ample water supply. 



Farm. 



This district, like most of the State, has passed through an exceptionally 

 dry stason, with a spell during January of extreme and long-continued 

 heat. Old res'dents aver it has been the worst season here for over fifty 

 \ears, and there is very little feed an\ \vher( . 



Earh' in the \ ear the summer cr(ij)s. whicb had suffered from the in- 

 vasions f.f Icxrusts, began to drv uj). On 22nd January, both the maize 

 and .sorghum had to be cut, and owing to the adverse conditions the yield 

 was only about a ton to the acre. Rain fell on the last day of that month 

 and started die sorghum into a vigorous second growth. On the 23rd March 

 and following davs this was cut, and yielded over four tons to the acre as 

 the second crop. Both these cuttings were converged into silage, without 

 which it would have been impossible to (\arry on. The value of drilling 

 in these crops and keeping the intervening spaces well worked was never 

 more satisfactorilv demonstrated than in these plots, and even such returns 

 in the present season are due to this cultivation. Several severe cases of 

 .■^orghum poisoning, entailing considerable lo.s.ses of stock, have occurred in 



