486 



Journal of A oricuUme. 



[lo Aug., 1909. 



the year round. None of the grasses are sufficiently deeply rooted to with- 

 stand the effects of our normal dry summer. They do not wake into suffi- 

 cient activity until the rain comes in autumn. Consequently, we find that 

 the grazing capacity and the number of stock carried on the farms in this 

 region is strictly limited. Cultivation clianges all this. Oats and other 

 fodder crops can be grown with the assistance of the winter rainfall, and 

 ripen before the dry weather of summer sets in. The weight of fodder, 

 whether preserv'ed green in the form of silage, or dry as hav, is at least three 

 times as much as the land will carry from the best natural grasses. Work- 

 ing up the land allows the rain to penetrate more deeply into the subsoil. 

 The growth of deep-rooted leguminous crops becomes a natural process of 

 subsoiling, anrl enriches the land with nitrogen collected from the atmo- 

 sphere. Increased fodder means increased stock-carrying capacity. This 



MESSRS. THAIN BROTHERS SILO. 



means increased animal manure incorpoxated with the soil, and, in addi- 

 tion to this, the essential artificial phosphatic fertilizers can be added 

 much more readily to cultivated land than the ordinary pastures. On many 

 of the stations in the county of Ripon it was boldly prophesied that break- 

 ing up the soil would ruin the pasture, yet these stations are carrying 

 more sheep than ever, while at least one-third of their area is under wheat 

 each year. Recently, at Beaufort, I was informed bv Mr. Stewart that on 

 one 50-acre paddock he has grown .rape and wheat for nine years in suc- 

 cession — five years wheat and four of rape. This year's wheat promises 

 to be the best of any. 



Many more examples might be given of the complete change which can 

 be brought about in the productivity of land by means of cultivation. The 

 comparatively heavy rainfall for the whole of the area under consideration, 

 as compared with the lighter rainfall of the wheat-growing districts, makes 

 for luxuriance of growth of leaf, size and weight of crop, without 



