15 -Nov., 1919.J The Economy of Silos. 691 



Silage Crop. — The 3 acres seeded for silage at the north end of Field 

 No. 2 yielded about 36 tons of green stuff, equivalent to about 9 tons of 

 haj; this amount and the green oats from Field No. 4 filled the all-wood 

 silo. 



Cultural Operations. — ^All fallows have been spring-toothed and 

 levelled down with spike roller. As portion of Field No. 2 was very 

 foul with wild oats, it was fed off with sheep prior to cultivating. This 

 should insure a cleaner wheat crop next season. 



No. 3 Field. — Barly and early maturing wheat in this field are 

 ripening rapidly and point to early harvesting. They are fairly well 

 headed and should give a fair yield. 



Graded Seed Tests. — In these the marked difference noticeable at 

 germination in favour of graded seed seems to have entirely disappeared, 

 and the quantity and quality of grain harvested will be watched with 

 interest. 



In the early sown plots of Sunset wheat the yield promises to be 

 light, whilst in the later-sown the prospects are good. In practically 

 all cases the early-maturing varieties have done best this season. 



Flax. — All flax plots are ripening evenly ; early sown is maturing well 

 and shows no ill-effect from drought. According to tests conducted at 

 the Glass House the water requirements of this plant from its flowering 

 stage are considerably less than that of cereal crops. 



Feeding-off Tests. 



The plots were graded as follow*: — On 15th inst., 25 weaners, 

 averaging 82.4 lbs., were put on Plot No. 30, and 26, averaging 83 lbs., 

 were placed on Plot No. 19. They were left there for twelve days, 

 when plots were cleaned up; the lambs were then weighed, and the 

 former showed an increased average weight of 7.8 lbs., and the latter a 

 gain of 6.0 lbs., a total increase of 351 lbs. for the lot, which at 5d. per 

 lb. equals £7 6s. 3d., or 2s. 9d. per head. 



It was noticeable that these sheep first ate out wild oats and other 

 grass before taking to the Wimmera rye-grass, which may have been a 

 little over-ripe. However, when they commenced to eat the rye-grass 

 they appeared to relish it. Possibly when acclimatised this grass will 

 do even better than it has in this test. 



A TOTE ON THE ECONOMY OF SFLOS IN FARM 

 MANAGEMENT. 



[The following article is reprinted from the Journal of the Royal 

 Agricultural Society of England, Vol. 79, pages 120-3. Except for the 

 difference in the time of the seasons the article applies equally to 

 Victorian as to English condition.] 



The most important problem of the present time for those interested 

 in Farm Management is how. and by what means, the increased wages 



