10 Feb., 1917.] Siience nnd I'loduction. 109 



Increase of the Acreage under Fodder Crops. 



No material increase in the numbers of our tiooks and herds can be 

 brought about unless more attention is paid to the growing of forages 

 for stock. Generally speaking, the amount of stock food that can be 

 raised per acre by cultivation is at least five times that afforded by 

 natural pasture. To permanently raise the numbers of stock k^)t in 

 the State it is necessary to sjseed the plough — to devote an increasing 

 acreage to such forage crops as barley, rape, pease, lucerne, millet, &c. 

 Hitherto the tradition of the Australian past has governed our actions — 

 that the sheep is an animal which will only pay when fed on grass. 



The results of experiments at Werribee and R.utherglen show con- 

 clusivelv that in districts with a rainfall of 20 inches or over, the growing 

 of fodder crops for feeding down to sheep is much more profitable than 

 the wasteful system of bare fallowing. Moreover, the stock-can-ying 

 capacity of the farm is increased and the fertility of the soil is conserved 

 — results of great importance from a national point of view. 



Inert (ise the Fodder Reserves. — The strength of a chain is measured 

 by the strength of its weakest link. In view of the occasional droughts 

 which affect Australia, the numbers of the flocks and herds that can be 

 kept will depend on the amount of fodder conserved to meet the seasons 

 of low productivitv. 



Rainfall records over long periods show that portions of Australia, 

 like manv other countries, are occasionally affected with dry seasons and 

 partial or complete crop failures. Fortunately, these droughts are not 

 frequent, but in the past they have always been associated with heavy 

 stock losses. A policy of deliberate conservation of fodder supplies — 

 hay, silage, and straw — conservation of water supplies, and extension of 

 water storages and irrigation facilities will alone enable the State to 

 fight a drought, and mitigate, if not entirely prevent, the losses of stock 

 which are the worst feature of droughts. 



Extension of Irrigation. 



As Victoria must look for future agricultural expansion in the direc- 

 tion of intensive culture rather than multiplication of acreage, it follows 

 that the extension of irrigation and the increase of water storages should 

 be systematically accelerated. Irrigated agriculture, with its certainty 

 of control over soil and crop, has infinitely more possibilities than dry 

 farming. Twelve thousand acres of irrigated land at Mildura support 

 a population of 6,000 souls, and brings in an aggregate revenue of half- 

 a-million sterling. Similar land devoted to wheat growing under dry 

 farming would not support much more than twenty families. 



When all existing streams in Victoria are harnessed, 750,000 acres, 

 possibly 1,000,000 acres, will be devoted to in-igation. The main factors 

 for success in settling such an area are — the acquisition of suitable laud 

 at a reasonable price, settlers with suitable experience and sufficient 

 capital, the building up of a systematic body of irrigation knowledge to 

 guide the settlers to success, and adequate and stable markets for irriga- 

 tion products. 



Development of Smaller Industries. 



Victoria offers, by reason of its soil and climat/e, and its comparatively 

 dense settlement, good opportunities for the successful establishment of 

 industries which have not yet secured a firm hold in Australia. In this 



