500 J ouriial of Agriculture, Victoria. [11 Aug., 1919. 



If possible the soil used fcr seed-beds shouM be sterilized. If means 

 for sterilization are not procurable fresh soil should be obtained. 



Old plants must never be placed on the manure heap ox ploughed 

 in, but should be carefully gathered and destroyed by fire. The seed- 

 ling plants should be sprayed as soon as they are strong enough to 

 stand the spray, i.e., when about two and a half or three inches high. 

 A suitable spray can be made up of 2 lbs. bluestone, 3 lbs. of lime, 

 and 50 gallons of water. A spraying with the same mixture just before 

 transplanting is also necessary. When in the paddocks, and the plants 

 have become established, a spray, composed of 6 lbs. bluestone, 4 lbs 

 of lime, and 40 gallons of water, should be applied. 



Care must be taken during spraying operations to direct the spray 

 so that the lower surfaces of the leaves will be covered. This is most 

 important, as the major portion of infection takes place on the lower 

 surface. In districts where the plants are staked, the application of tlie 

 spray will give better results than when applied to plants in bush 

 form. 



The crop should on no account be worked when wet by rain or dew 

 By so doing the spores will be carried by the hands, clothe.^', and tools 

 of the worker from diseased to healthy plants. 



THE MINERAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE DAIRY COW. 



By E. W. Murphy, Dairy Supervisor. 



Among domestic animals, the dairy cow is the most economical pro 

 ducer of human food. According to Jordan, the growth of a pound of 

 edible beef solids requires a food expenditure nearly seven times as great 

 as is necessary for the production of a pound of milk solids. The milking 

 oow, thei-efore, is to be regarded as a very efficient machine, and a com- 

 plete knowledge of her body's working is very desirable, so that we may be 

 able to adjust any disturbances occurring in the functioning of the parts. 



Owing to deficiencies of the soils of many areas in Victoria— defici- 

 encies aggravated by the extensive system of stock farming causing a 

 depletion of the surface soils — the pasture is unsatisfactory, and the 

 dearth of essential mineral elements becomes a limiting factor in the 

 productive capacity of the milking cow. 



Dr. E. B. Forbes, Chief of the Department of iSTutrition at the 

 Ohio Experiment Station, has been carrying out a series of most elabo- 

 rate and exhaustive experiments regarding the income and outgo of 

 mineral elements of the dairy cow fed on ordinary rations, and hi? 

 findings are in accordance with our practical experience here. He states 

 that almost nothing has been written on the subject, and it is ordinarily 

 assumed that animals fed chiefly on grass and hay receive and digest as 

 inucli mineral nutrients as is required by their maximum functional activi- 

 ties. The prevalence of this belief among practical and scientific 

 students of animal production seems scarcely to have been affected by 

 the existence of very many report? of malnutrition of just such animals. 



