10 Jan., 1919.] Field Day at Longerenong College. 45 



LONGERENONG AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



FIFTH ANNUAL FIELD DAY. 



Valuable Field Experiments. 



(Abridged from the Wimmera Star.) 

 Despite the unpleasant weatlier conditions which prevailed, there was 

 a very large gathering of farmers and others interested in agriculture at 

 the Longerenong Agricultural College on Saturday afternoon, when the 

 fifth annual field day was held under the auspices of the Horsham 

 Agricultural Society. The long lines of motor cars drawn up in the 

 avenue were eloquent testimony to the prosperity of the farmers, of the 

 fertility of the district plains, and of the progress made in wheat grow- 

 ing during recent years. Amongst the visitors were the president and 

 several members of the Kupanyup Agricultural and Pastoral Society, 

 and farmers from Murtoa, Jung, Vectis, Walmer, Pimpinio, Minyip, 

 and other parts of the district. The visitors were welcomed at tHe 

 entrance to the experimental fields by Mr. A. C. Dreverman, the prin- 

 cipal of the college. 



An Instructive Exposition. 



The Superintendent of Agriculture (Mr. A. E. V. Eichardson, M.A., 

 B.Sc.) then gave an introductory address, in the course of which he ex- 

 plained the objective of the experimental work, and described some of the 

 results achieved during the past five years, after which he showed the 

 visitors the experimental plots, the while he gave explanatory details. 



Mr. Eichardson said that the experimental plots were conducted by 

 the Department of Agriculture, in co-operation with the Council of 

 Agricultural Education, with the object of finding out the most profit- 

 able system of crop rotation for wheat in the Wimmera, the kind and 

 quantity of the various fertilizers which would give most profit, 

 the best varieties of wheat, barley, and forage crops to sow, the 

 best rates of seeding, and times of sowing for wheat, and to improve 

 wheat varieties by selection and cross-breeding, and to raise improved 

 types of seed for distribution amongst farmers. The essential factors 

 for the successful growth of wheat had been well worked out for 

 Wimmera conditions. Still there were many farmers who did not 

 strictly observe the fundamental principles in the raising of their crops. 

 In order to make the matter perfectly clear, he proposed to review 

 briefly these principles, and to show their application to local practice. 

 The rainfall to date, 11 months, at the college was 14-J inches. It "was 

 what one would call a dry year. The rainfall was 3 inches short of the 

 ' average, and the spring rains had failed. ISTotwithstanding this, there 

 were crops in this district w'hich would exceed 30 bushels to the acre, 

 and the 350 acres of wheat on the college farm would probably 

 average more than 30 bushels to the acre. This result has been obtained 

 by the use of moisture-saving fallows. Bare fallowing was the first and 

 fundamental requisite for the successful cultivation of wheat in a dry 

 district. This was recognized by the Horsham farmers, for quite 90 per 

 cent, of the w'heat sown in the Borung county was sown on fallow land. 

 In marked contrast to this was the county of Weeah, where this year 



