742 



j oiirnal of Ag) 



iJii 



Victoria. [lo Dec, 191 2. 



lion applied. l)e begun eight weeks after sowing, though full growth will 

 not obtain until four weeks later. 



If sheep only are to be fed. 3 lbs. of rape (Dwarf Essex variety) 

 can be added, but where it is intended for cows and silage rape is not 

 recommended. If. however, rape is sown, it should be broadcasted after 

 the other seed is sown, and lighl\' harrowed. It is not unusual to find 

 twelve to sixteen sheep fattened per acre on this fodder mixture, and 

 either for cows or sheep feed will be available right up to the end of 

 the spring. Meantime a .second paddock should be under fallow for 

 a spring crop with a view^ to a: supply of green succulent fodder for the 

 early and midsummer, so that no check in the milk supply or growth 

 of lambs will ensue. The most suitable crops for this purpo.se are the 

 Millets, Japanese, German, and Chinese, or White Millet. The first- 

 mentioned is the hardiest, and gives from 6 to 10 tons of green fodder 

 per acre. It should be sown after the danger of frosts is passed, in 

 October and Novemlier, at the rate of 9 11)S. of seed per acre, in drills 



LUCERNE, MILLET, AND MAIZE CROPS. 



2 feet apart and 3 inches in the drill. Care must be taken not to 

 put the seed down too deep, or it will perish, an inch to an inch and 

 a half being the best depth to sow. The scuffler should be used between 

 the drills until the crop is well established, commencing soon after the 

 rows are well defined. This crop if cut before the seed is formed will 

 come again two or three times if it gets rain or water after cutting and 

 cultivation with the scuffler is followed, as soon as the land is sufficiently 

 dry for the purpose. It can also be grazed if required, but the yield 

 will not be so great if this course is followed. Any surplus can be 

 made into fair hay or silage for cow feed. German Millet grows a 

 finer straw, and gives a lighter yield, but makes a nice hay, and makes 

 excellent grazing for sheep, seeding at the rate of 7 lbs. per acre is 

 sufficient, broadcast. Chinese or White Millet should be sown in the 

 same Avay as Japanese, and treated in the same manner, giving a heavy 

 yield. The .seed from all the millets is readily bought by seed mer- 

 chants. The rrop should be readv for the flrst-cut, about the middle 



