26: 



] ournal of Agricultiirc 



[lo April, 1909. 



Mr. Glasgow deserves great credit for the splendid condition of all 

 his farm stock, especially when it is considered that this is a very dry 

 summer indeed for South' Gippsland. His two-year-old heifers were really 

 fine, and when one realizes that they were all reared on whey — which is 

 not generally considered very good stuff for successful calf rearing — it 

 speaks well for his method of feeding calves. 



One thing that impressed me more than anything else was the lack of 

 anv attempt to conserve the farm yard manure. On all the farms the 

 absence of a compost heap was marked, and the manure was allowed to 

 lie about for the fowls to scatter and to be blown about by all the dry 

 summer winds. Since the advent of artificial manures, farmers have come 

 to look on their stable and cow-yard manure almost as a nuisance instead 

 of one of their best assets, and it is a great pit} they do not take more 

 trouble to properly conserve it. 



Considering the smallest farm visited consisted of 320 acres, the small 

 amount of culti\'ation done seemed remarkable, ranging from 17 acres on 

 the winning farm tO' 40 acres on Mr. Williams' farm (about 640 acres). 



Mr. Williams and Mr. Olsen lost points by not being able to show any 

 two-year-old or yearling heifers, which is, to my mind, an important 

 item, as they are very necessary to replace the older cows in the herd when 

 they are culled for age or other faults. 



Mr. Williams had some very nice maize sown in drills ; also a fine crop 

 of potatoes, and a good crop of broad beans grown for his pigs. He had 

 the timber on the farm ready for building a silo. His stock were not in 

 nearly such good order as the other two farms, and I think he would have 

 been wiser to ha\'e begun feeding his maize earlier in order to avoid his 

 cows losing too much condition before the winter sets in. 



Mr. Olsen also had some good fodder crops (maize, pumpkins, 

 mangels, and potatoes). His cows were in splendid condition, and seemed 

 to be well cared for. 



The garden at Mr. Glasgow's was exceptionally neat, and the roses 

 made a very fine show indeed. I was also pleased to see a tennis-court 

 on this farm, which shows that the members of the family manage to have 

 some time for recreation and pleasure. 



There was some room for improvement on all the farms in manure con- 

 servation, recording yields and testing, cleanliness, and sanitation of pig- 

 stves, larger areas and more variety of cultivation. 



