242 Journal of AgriniUurc, Victoria. [25 April, 1917. 



Unfortunately, our distance from the heart of Empire, and tlii' 

 scarcity of tonnage, makes transport extremely difficult. 



Nevertheless, we cannot foresee what may happen in the Northern 

 hemisphere this year. Another disastrous season would involve Europe 

 in serious consequences, in which case, despite the transport difficulties, 

 there would be an urgent call for the whole of Australia's surplus 

 products. 



It is Australia's duty to go right ahead, and produce foodstuffs to 

 the limit of her capacity, even if portion of them have to be stored until 

 transport difficulties are less acute. 



The three great sources of wealth to Australia are the pastoral, 

 dairying, and wheat industries. 



The Pastoral Industry. 



The strength of a chain is determined by the strength of the weakest 

 link. 



The number of sheep that caji be permanently maintained in Aus- 

 tralia will depend on the reserves of fodder available in the driest seasons. 



By making ample reserves of fodder, conserving and developing the 

 water resources, harnessing the rivers, an,'l extending irrigation settle- 

 ments, the loss of stock which has characterized the droughty seasons of 

 the past can be mir, gated, if not wholly jirevented. 



The stock-carrying capacity of the country could be immensely 

 increased by adopting in the better rainfall districts the practice of 

 growing fodder crops for feeding off with sheep, and by top-dressing the 

 natural ijastures. We know the immense value superphosphate has been 

 to the wheat-growing industry. Since the introduction of superphos- 

 phate, the prosperity of the farming community has gone ahead b}' leaps 

 and bounds. 



When the top-dressing of pasture and grazing lands, especially in 

 the moister districts of the State, becomes general, the stock-carrying 

 capacity of the.se lands will be immensely increased. Experiments on 

 the top-dressing of pastures, carried out by the Department for the past 

 four years, show that the stock-carrying capacity of ordinary grazing 

 land can be increased from 50 to 100 per cent, by the application of 

 suitable combinations of phosphate and lime. 



Our Australian soils are noted for their deficiency of phosphoric 

 acid, and many Victorian soils, especially in Gippsland, are deficient in 

 lime. Top-dressing of natural pastures with phosphates, or with phos- 

 phates and lime, is practised by an occasional land-owner. When the 

 practice becomes general, a new era of prosperity for the grazier will be 

 ushered in, and the numbers of stock maintained from year to year will 

 be immensely increased. 



Dairying. 



The dairying industry suffered a severe set-back during 1914, when 

 many valuable cattle were lost through shortage of fodder. Export 

 values for dairy produce were never better than at present, and in view 

 of the scarcity of freight it is highly desirable that our raw foods should 

 be exported in the tabloid form of butter and cheese, in which form 

 the freight charges are but a fraction of the total value of the produce. 



In spite of the attractive export rates ruling for dairy produce, it is 

 not possible to increase immediately, to any material extent, the number 



