116 Jounuil of Afirindture. Victoria. [10 Feb., 1919. 



Only the best seed should be used, preferably that which has been 

 grown for root production. It should give germination of about 85 

 per cent.— about 2 lbs. per acre being required. The crop requires 

 five or six months to mature under favorable conditions. 



Digging. 

 The crop commences to ripen in March, the harvest extending from 

 then till May. A common mistake is to dig the roots too early or too 

 late. The proper time for lifting them is when they break across 

 with a short fracture, and are full of milky juice. They should not be 

 permitted to become dry and fibrous, or the chicory will be gritty ant' 

 tasteless. Another sign of the approach of harvest time is the yello"^ 

 ing of the lower leaves of the plants. The work of lifting the roo^ 

 should be carried out in dry weather, so that the roots may be kpt 

 clean. The method of lifting is usually to run a light plough furrw 

 along each row, thus exposing the roots, which may then be taken n_P 

 with strong forks. The tops should be cut off, but not too low-if 

 cut too low " bleeding " is likely to ensue. After the roots have 'Sen 

 thoroughly washed by revolving root-washing machines, if pof^^le, 

 their preparation for the market will be completed. 



Prepakation of the Root. 

 To dry the roots it is necessary to cut them into the thinneslpossible 

 slices, after which they are slowly dried in kilns, having revolv^g floors 

 and automatic turners. The chicory is then passed through si'^g? sort- 

 ing, and sifting machines, after which it is passed through tl roasters, 

 then on to the nibbling machines, then through the grinding r^ls? thence 

 through wire and silk dressers, and finally it is packed into 'idered air- 

 tight canisters. 



There is a good demand for the dried roots in Melbourn'i^d the other 

 capital cities, and now that the havoc caused by the wa^^s partially 

 suspended cultivation in France and Belgium, it would se"^ that there is 

 a golden opportunity for Victorian farmers to enter upo^'^^cor}^ culture 

 and retain a business which should be a lucrative one. 



In the grounds surrounding Brightlingsea Hall, in t ^oimty of Essex, 

 England, are a number of fine eucalyptus trees; tl® ^^^ ^- coccifera, 

 E. gunnii, and E. ernigera. Some of the specimer^^P"^^ *^® railway 

 station are between 20 and 30 feet in height, and/'^^"! a few hundred 

 yards of the sea. A little distance away are tree-'^ i^et m height and 

 18 inches in diameter; these are holding their c^ ^^ ^^^^ mixed woods 

 of beech, elm, larch, Scots and Austrian pinr where the grey-green 

 tops of the eucalypts peep out above the darl^^^^^ foliage of the in- 

 digenous trees. The trees Avere raised from^^d sown m 1886, and 

 sent from Tasmania to Mr. John Bateman.^o sowed the seed in a 

 sheltered garden bed. The resultant plants ^"^^^^.^'^s seeded, and the 

 seeds have been distributed throughout the <rounding country, as well 

 as supplying the Kew Gardens. 



