lo Oct., 1908.] 



The Growing of Fodder Crops. 



617 



can make no claim to being specially adapted for this crop, and a good 

 return here would fall much below the average of other more favoured 

 <listricts. The fact, however, stands that in the neighbourhood of these 

 farms all others this season who followed the broadcast system of sowing 

 have had next to no returns from their land, the crop in many instances 

 being too short to be cut and having to be pulled by hand to gather it. 



Before the cutting of the first crop was commenced Mr. W. Baker 

 made his second sowing on 20 acres of virgin fallowed land, of which 

 about 16 acres was low-lying, tussocky land, usually water-logged and 

 boggy in winter, and a harbour for snakes and rabbits in summer. The 

 remaining 4 acres were on slightly rising ground of a strong dark soil, 

 bordering on some stony land, and which broke up fairly loose and mellow. 

 The whole of the land which had been broken up about twelve months 

 previously and re-ploughed twice subsequently, was now disced, and re- 

 worked with a spring tooth cultivator. In the first week in January it 

 was manured with i cwt. of bone dust to the acre and sown with 18 lbs. 

 of maize per acre. Twelve acres were sown with the drill, as before, 



A MORNING SUPPLY FOR THE HERD. 



and four with a small drill attached to the plough handles. This machine 

 was described in the March issue of this Journal. Its work in this in- 

 stance was very satisfactory. The remaining 4 acres on the rising ground 

 were sown with 2 bushels of maize per acre, broadcasted, in order to 

 make the demonstration, if anything, more complete. The result was 

 that fully twice as much fodder, proportionately, was cut from the drilled 

 land as from that sown broadcast. 



As the rainfall during the period when these maize crops were growing 

 was very light in most districts, the monthly total registered on Mr. W. 

 Baker's farm is of interest. As the two farms are only seven miles apart, 

 and the intervening country is similar in contour, the records of one may 

 be taken as approximately correct for the other. 



Inches. iqoS. 



1907. 

 May 

 June 



July ... 

 August ... 

 September 

 October 

 November 

 December 



Inches. 

 .. .81 

 •• -45 



19.97 



