lo June, 1910.] Maize for Fodder — Last Seasofi's Results. ^g-j 



crops grown on " Flowerfield. " the dairy-farm of Mr. F. E. Lithgow, 

 which is also at Coldstream, but nearer to the station. This farm is on the 

 rich black flats of the Olinda Creek ; and these, too, are possible of being 

 irrigated by gravitation. Excepting that in an exceptionally drv ^iinimer 

 the grazing paddocks on these flats may be flooded, very little use is made 

 of the water supply. The crops shown in the photograph have had neither 

 water nor manure applied to them. 



Flat Red and Hickory King maize were sown at the end of November. 

 Both varieties made good growth, for, when weighed at the end of March, 

 the former showed equal to 21 tons i2f cwt. per acre, and the latter, to 

 24 tons 6J cwt. per acre. When the photographs were taken neither crop 

 was nearly matured, and there still was a lot of growth in the Flat Red 

 when It was weighed. 



Mr. Lithgow keeps a very good class of York.shire pigs, with which 

 he has taken numerous prizes ; and a few acres of his flats are usuallv 

 planted with jjeas and potatoes for their use. 



Both Mr. Lithgow and Mr. Towt make a specialtv of pure Avrshire 

 cattle, and a photograph of some of Mr. Towt's stock is shown on 

 page 394- 



III.— LN THE YARRA GLEN DISTRICT. 



IF. YoKJiger, Dairy Supervisor. 



There has been a decided improvement in the methods adopted in the 

 cultivation of maize throughout the Yarra Glen district during the past two 

 seasons. In order to encourage dairy farmers to adopt the inter-cultivation 

 of this fodder the Dairy Supervision Branch of the Department of Agri 

 culture in 1908 dfstributed several varieties of seed maize to dairymen, 

 gratis, on condition they were drilled in 3 feet apart and cultivated at 

 intervals as required during the growing period. In .some ca.ses artili'.i?! 

 manure was also distributed free of cost. In that year only three dairy 

 men in this district (Messrs. Hunter, Boyd, and Downer) accepted this 

 offer, and their crops turned out highly satisfactory. On adjoining 

 farms, crops sown on the old-fashioned broadcast system were practically 

 failures in almost every instance. 



This season, at least half the dairymen here drill-sowed their maize, 

 and although in many instances the work of inter-cultivation has not been 

 carried out as regularly as desirable, still the results all go to prove the 

 advantages of up-to-date methods. On those farms where thorough inter- 

 cultivation has been practised excellent crops have been obtained. The 

 best crops are those of Messrs. A. M. Boyd, " Tralee," Yarra Glen, and 

 Mr. P. Downer, Steel's Creek. 



Mr. Boyd has 5 acres of maize of different varieties, including Hickory 

 King, Yellow Dent, Victorian Flat Red, and Y'ellow Moruya. These 

 were sown in drills 3 feet apart in November and Decem.ber, and cul- 

 tivated at intervals of two and three weeks — until the plants had reached 

 a height of 4 feet. No manure was used. The several varieties have 

 now reached a height varying from 6 to io| feet, and the whole are 

 thick-stemmed and well cobbed, making an excellent crop. Fifty pounds 



