ioDec, 1912.] Fodder Crops for Northern Areas under Irrigation. 741 



In April or May the land should be again worked with the one-way 

 disc or cultivator to a depth of 3 or 4 inches if clean, or skim ploughed 

 if dirty with weeds, and the following mixture sown for dairy cows or 

 silage: — I bushel rye; ^ bushel dun peas; 7 lbs. golden vetch; and 

 \ bushel of barley or white oats. 



In many cases double the amount of rye and peas is sown on rich 

 land. The peas are sown broadcast, and the rye, vetches, and oats, or 

 barley drilled in to a depth of not more than 2 inches. A mixture 

 of half-and-half i)one dust and superphosphate, at the rate of 60 lbs. 

 per acre, with 20 lbs. of blood manure or sulphate of ammonia is 

 advisable, particularly on long-cultivated paddocks or poor land. If 

 the soil is deficient in lime, and, in addition, of a heavv character, 10 

 cwt. of gypsum (sulphate of lime) or Thomas' phosphate in lieu of bone 

 and super, will be found suitable. Quicker results are obtained if manures 

 are applied three to four w-eeks before seed is sown. Care should 

 be taken to sow the mixture while the land is still warm in order to 

 give the crop a good start before the cold weather sets in. The advan- 

 tages connected with the sowing of this combination of crops are many. 



CHINESE MILLET GROWN AT NYAH. 



In the first place a larger body of feed is produced as compared with 

 separate seedings. The peas and vetches being legumes supply nitrogen 

 in excess of their own requirements for the rye, oats, or barley, and the 

 latter then naturally make greater growth. 



A better balance ration is also secured, as the legumes supply a 

 larger proportionate amount of protein, which element of food provides 

 a larger milk supply or induces a better growth in lambs The rye 

 and barley provide the carbohydrates which make for the fats and the 

 warmth necessary to animal life. 



The rye, peas, and vetches are useful rotation crops, the former 

 owing to its greater rooting system, leaving more decaying organic matter 

 in the soil than any of the other cereals, thus supplying humus. While 

 all three have the effect of leaving the soil in better condition so far as 

 available nitrogen is concerned for following crops. 



Instances are on record of this mixture when cut yielding 28 tons 

 of green fodder per acre, and better returns can always be had from 

 cutting the crops than feeding off, though grazing is a practice often 

 followed. Cutting can, if good autumn rains have fallen, or irriga- 



