ic Aug., 1908.] A Farm in the Making. 497 



At some distance below the st\es is the farm manure pit to which the 

 drainage runs from all of the shedding, to be distributed later over the 

 cultivation as required. The pit is bricked, 30 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 

 6 feet deep, and looks roomy enough for a large farm ; still it could have 

 been duplicated with advantage to permit of the better rotting of the 

 bedding litter which is carted to there. This bedding is mainly composed 

 of rough swamp grass, and serves us purpose both cheapl\ and effectively ; 

 but the toughness of its fibre is almost equal to flax, and more complete 

 rotting would improve it as manure. 



Character of the Soil. 



The area occupied by the buildings and yards, together with the land 

 reserved for further extensions of them, and a portion of a 50-acre paddock 

 avijoining the shelter sheds, constitutes about the whole of Sparrovale that 

 is aLx)ve the flood line of the Barwon River. The rest — about 600 acres — 

 is now being channelled on the surface for irrigation, laid with underground 

 piping ever}' 5 chains for draining, and protected with levee banks from 

 the river in its ordinary floods. 



All of this 8,000 odd acres of swamp land that is now in possession ot 

 the Trust has always been more or less subject to inundation after ever} 

 heavy rain. The Barwon, with its tributaries, the Leigh and Moorabool 

 Rivers, flows through fertile and settled countrv ; and each flood bringing 

 down with it a quantity of the mixed surface soil from the several water- 

 sheds, has left it as a deposit over all this area. Just after a flood 

 this silt is a slimy brownish yellow mud that appears only to smother the 

 vegetation beneath it ; but as it dries it cracks and crumbles, the grass 

 (principally water couch) forces up through it. forms fresh surface roots, 

 and flourishes anew. Where the rush of the flood has been in any wa}' 

 hindered by higher ground, the eddving of the water has resulted in a 

 heavier silt deposit ; and, as the whole area of this swamp is slowly getting 

 more shallow, these portions are graduallv coming less within flood mark 

 and assuming more of the character of the higher land adjoining. It i.> 

 intended that one of the first steps towards the reclaiming of the lowei 

 swamp land will be the forming of ridges in suitable positions to assist in 

 this natural silting work. 



As has been mentioned, it is evident that at some period all this ground 

 was under sea-water ; for a shell deposit of varying depth underlies the 

 silt everywhere. Below the shell is clay ; above it is first light clean sand 

 of 6 to 10 inches; then a heavv black loam of 4 to 6 inches; and then 

 about the same depth of the brownish silt. This is the formation on the 

 lower parts of the race-course land which have been under water on everv 

 occasion of flood. The shell here varies fi'om 6 to 20 inches and more 

 m depth ; and in making the main effluent channel the shell taken out has 

 been u.sed to manure the larger portion of the 50-acre paddock near the 

 shelter shed, being distributed at the rate of 60 loads to the acre. All 

 through the surrounding district this shell is used by the farmers for 

 manuring, its selling price being about 3d. per load in the pit. The black 

 loam would appear to be formed bv the gradual decomposing of the 

 vegetable matter in the overlving silt ; and after draining, when turned 

 over and worked, it breaks down as free as could be desired. 



Drainage, Irrigation, and Cultivation. 

 Prior to beginning the work of draining on Sparrovale samples of 

 the soil were submitted to analysis, and salt was found to be present \(:.) 

 such an extent that doubts were expressed as to the land proving suitable 



