646 Journal of Agrirulture. Yicioria. \ 15 Xov., 1919. 



The maize crop of America amounts to 3,000,000,000 bushels. Suppose 

 this maize were placed in 5-toii waggons and placed end to end, then 

 the line of waggons would extend for 50,000 miles — twice round the 

 world. The Victorian crop would extend, if put in similar trucks, from 

 Dandenong to Melbourne, and the line of maize waggons to hold the crop 

 of Australia would not reach to Albury. 



Eighty per cent, of this stupendous quantity is fed to stock. The 

 normal wheat crop is 900,000,000 bushels — nine times as much as the 

 normal production of Australia. Tlie oat crop amounts to 1,500,000,000 

 bushels — one hundred times our Au-tralian ])roduction. The hay crop 

 is immense. Last year it exceeded 85,000,000 tons. To visualize this 

 hay, imagine a stack 7 yards wide and 7 yards high stretching from here 

 to London. That would be 12,000 miles long. Such a stack would just 

 accommodate the American crop. .V stack from Melbourne to Adelaide 

 would hold the Australian crop. 



The cotton crop amounted to 16,000,000 bales. Cotton is one of the 

 competitors with Australian wool. The American farmers plucked 

 by hand from the heads of the cotton plants an amount of cotton ten 

 times as great as the entire wool clip of Australia. 



In addition to this, 5,000,000 acres are sown to lucerne. The fruit 

 crop of California alone is over 1,000,000 acres. Then from sugar 

 beet 870,000 tons of sugar were produced. 



Besides this immense production of crops they maintain nearly 

 five times as many stock as we do in the whole of Australia — 60,000,000 

 cattle, 70,000,000'pigs, 25,000,000 horses, and 50,000,000 sheep." 



This is what is meant by diversified agriculture. A great variety 

 of crop products and intensive production of animals in place of a one- 

 crop regime. This is the direction in which Victorian agriculture must 

 inevitably develop, for here lands are practically all settled, and in- 

 creased production must come from intensive production rather than 

 from multiplication of acreage under crop. 



IvTow let us consider a few instances where developments may take 

 place in Victoria. 



The Stock Industry. 



The total number of live stock in Victoria has not materially 

 increased during the past twenty-five years, and as long as we rely almost 

 exclusively on grazing it is not likely that the numbers will grow veiTv' 

 much. 



There are three avenues along which development may take place, 

 all of which will aid Victoria in carrying more live stock. 



1. Top dressing of pasture lands. 



2. The growth of forage crops. 



3. Developing irrigated agriculture. 



There are some 33,000,000 acres of pasture land in the State. This 

 area supports over 80 per cent, of the sheep and cattle of the State. 



Numerous experiments and practical experience have demonstrated 

 that, in the better-rainfall districts at least, a great increase in the stock- 

 carrying capacity of the i)astures would result from the expenditure 

 of a few shillings per acre on the application of ])hosphates to the soil. 

 In the North-east, the Western District, and particularly in Gippsland, 

 the application of a top-dressing of 1 cwt. of phosphate has caused a 

 marked improvement in the quality and quantity of.lierbage. 



