556 



Journal of Agriculture. 



[lo Sept.. 1910. 



fertile valley between the township of Fern Tree Gully and Lysterfield, 

 and viewed from the surrounding hills makes a very pretty picture. There 

 are in all 922 acres in this property, which is divided into several pad- 

 docks ; 200 acres are rich black creek flats, and the remainder is more or 

 less hilly country and poorer in quality. 



The hilly country is still in its natural grass, but the flat land has been 

 sown with English grasses ; rye grass and white clover now predominating. 

 About 7 acres of the flat land are in lucerne and 60 acres of oats are 

 grown every year on the poorer hill land towards Lysterfield. By manur- 

 ing and early .sowing, the crops obtained are very fair, averaging 50 cwt. 

 of hay to the acre. Maize is sown each year on the creek flats and, as 

 might be expected, some very heavv yields are obtained. Several varieties 



■ ■ A.WKll A .^ I'i'JIDE. 



of maize have been sown, and no great difference is noticed in the growth, 

 the average of which will run from 15 to 20 tons per acre. 



The lucerne is cut, and fed to the cows in the stalls, as soon as the 

 grass is getting dry, and this keeps the milk supply up till the maize is 

 fit to cut. When this latter crop is matured, it is harvested to the silos of 

 which there are two overground, with a combined capacity of 120 tons. The 

 maize is chaffed and delivered into the silos by elevator, the power being 

 provided by a 6 h.p. oil engine. It is within the last three years that the 

 silos have been erected on this farm, and as the silage has gradually done 

 away with the necessity of growing mangolds this latter crop has been 

 gradually reduced. Mangolds constitute a splendid standby on the farm 

 where no silage provision is made, but the length of time they take in 

 maturing, and the work of cultivating and harvesting root crop-s, is so 

 much more tedious than with a fodder crop, like maize, that to some extent 

 the mangold is gradually being superseded, for dairy stock. 



