lo May, 1 910.] l^oug Lang Fodder Crop Competition. 



crop with favourable weather, showing- then eijual to 5 tons 6j cwt. 

 per acre. 



Tiie ntx: farm in^jjected was that of Mr. D. Gardiner of Lang Lang. 

 The maize crop was of Hickory King and Sydney Fiat Red varieties, sown 

 broadcast at the rate of 2 busliels to the acre without manure at the end 

 of November. There was no noticeal>le difference between the varieties 

 under this svstem of sowing, the crop being about 8 feet high, with close- 

 growing stalks, fine in stem, narrow in leaf, and with almost no .sign of 

 cobbing. The soil here is a rich loam and free in texture; and the seed 

 had germinated well, making a large bulk of fodder, Imt of poor quality. 

 The crop, however, was at its test, and cut equal to 22^ tons per acre. 

 The other acre was of mangolds antl ])umpkins ; both verv fair crops and 

 in good condition. Xo manure had been used on either. The mangolds 

 Avere sown about the end of November, in rows about 28 inches apart, and 

 . t the rate of 3 lbs. of seed to the arre. Long Red, Long Yellow, and 

 •Globe varieties each being tried. The last were, if anything, the best : 

 .and on the whole, the crop showed equal to 21^ tons to the acre at this stage. 

 As on each of the other farms, the pumpkins were a mixed sowing of 

 •different varieties. About ij lbs. of seed per acre were sown, in rcAvs 

 8 feet apart, and the plants thinned as required t(i give them room. As 

 a crop, thev v.'ere but half grown, but showed e jual tf> 16 tons 8 cwt. yier 

 acre when seen. 



The farm of Mr. T. Patullo of Yannathan was next dealt with. It 

 adjoins the Lang Lang Creek, and the soil is a dark friabU- loam of 

 exceptional qualitx . The .maize crop was of Svdney Flat Red, sow-n 

 broadcast on 24th November, at the rate of 50 lbs. to the acre, and fairlv 

 evenly distributed. It had made a very ])rofuse sappy growth, running 

 from 10 to II feet high, with thick stalks; but the cobs had not yet 

 developed. Some Ninet\' Day maize sown beside it was about_ 8 feet 

 high with heavy stalks and a fair proportion of cob, .ser\ing to demonstrate 

 the quality and productiveness of the soil. The greater portion of the 

 crop had been beaten down by the recent rain, the big succulent stalks 

 being too heavy for the roots to support in such free soil. For height, 

 thickness of stalk, and evenness, this was an exceptional crop of broadcast 

 sown maize; and it weighed at the .rate of slightly over 21 tons per acre. 



None of these broadcast maize sowings had been gi\en an\- further atten- 

 tion as regards cleaning either the crop or headlands, and there was a 

 heavy growth of weeds all through them, up to 3 and 4 feet high, and 

 full of .seed. Besides this, both here and on Mr. Wildes' farm adjoining, 

 a large portion of the land is a wilderness of weeds and thistles, tons of 

 which are allowed to ripen their seed and foul the land, when they might 

 Ije advantageouslv ensiled for stock fodder. The land being so extremel\ 

 fertile, it is an impossibilitv under the present working conditions for the 

 weeds to be kept in check over the amount of ground that i.s being culti- 

 vated bv each owner. It is land admirablv adapted to intense cultivation 

 in connexion with dairy farming. Mr. Patullo was unfortunate in having 

 put half of his acre section in with a late .sowing of oats; which, at the 

 time of inspection, had made little headway — not enough to be considered 

 as fodder in such a competition. All crops have to be estimated on their 

 appearance at the time of judging, and not on their future possibilities ; 

 and the more forward a crop is, the better must be its chance of gaining 

 points for its owner. 



The rest of the acre section was in pumpkins, and this crop was also 

 the least forward of its kind inspected. The fruit, however, had set 



