lo Aug., 1 9 10.] Tin- Ovens River Valley. 503 



bred from. Take the Shorthorn- Ayrshire cross or the Ayrshire- Jersey 

 cross in cattle, or the Merino-Lincohi cross in sheep. The individuals of 

 such crosses are often excellent in themselves, but no stud breeder would 

 use one of them as a sire. Furthermore, if amongst draught horses cross- 

 ing the Shire and Clydesdale produces the best draught geldings, it is 

 necessary to keep the two breeds pure and distinct so as to alwavs have 

 the essentials for crossing. 



Finally, all evidence and experience appear to point to the folly of con- 

 tinuing on the unknown road at present being followed by Victorian 

 breeders, and to indicate that the same course .should be followed in 

 draught-horse breeding as has been followed with such conspicuous success 

 in the breeding of other classes of stock, viz., to breed to pure and con- 

 stant blood lines, insuring such purity and constancy by the keeping of 

 breeding records in the form of a Stud Book, registering the two breeds 

 distinctively. The advantage of the entry to such a .Stud Book would 

 prove an effective discouragement to the (continuance of the present " lucky 

 bag ' ' practice. 



THE OVENS RIVER VALLEY. 



Report on St. John's Wort, Dredging, and the Fore.st Flora of tfir 



District. 



Alfred J. En^art, D.Sc, Ph.D., F.L.S., Government Botanist and 

 Professor of Botany in ^Jie Melbourne Universitv. 



These three matters are so closely connected that it would be best to 

 discuss them simultaneously. For instaiK^e, any measures taken to deal with 

 St. John's Wort must take into account the condition in which the land is 

 left by dredging. Further, the dredging operations require the use of 

 large quantities of timber as firewood, hence the forest resources are of 

 importance. Finally, the only use to which land which cannot be culti- 

 vated can be put in districts infested by St. John's Wort, is to grow 

 timber, but such use will only be profitable when the timber is grown 

 under proper forestry conditions and suitable trees selected and planted 

 instead of the matter being left to chance. 



St. John's Wort. 



To the account of this weed given in the Weeds and Poison Plants 

 of Victoria, pages 17 and 18, a few additional facts can be added. As 

 previously stated, it is easily suppressed by cultivation and gives little or 

 no trouble so long as the land is kept under crops. It is a common 

 practice, however, to crop the land year after year without manuring until 

 it is exhausted, then allowing it to run wild. On such land, in a year or 

 two, the weed is naturally more vigorous and abundant than anywhere 

 else ; but if the land is allowed to lie idle, it might just as well grow St. 

 John's Wort as any other weed. The tiny, black, hard seeds appear to 

 be able to lie dormant in the .soil for a few years, the limit being probablv 

 eight or ten years. At any rate, twelve year-old seed failed entirely to 

 germinate. Fresh seed can, however, be carried on the feet of stock or 

 other animals to uninfested ground. The seed is not carried by the wind 

 to any extent, and it is doubtful whether birds aid in its spread. 



The following special points are worthy of mention : — The weed vrill 

 not grow under pine trees, especially when planted at the distances usual 

 in forestry. In thin scrub it will grow, but is neither abundant nor 



