11 June, 1917.] TM Sunflower. 379 



equable teiiiperatures were experienced, and the sliglit difference between 

 the highest and lowest daily readings is remarkable for the month, 

 which is generally Victoria's warmest period. Very few districts experi- 

 enced high maxima, Boort being the only place where the temperature 

 reached 100 degrees. Except in the eastern parts of (iippsland, the 

 rainfall was in excess of requirements. March would have been exceed- 

 ingly dry were it not for heavy general rain on 29th and 30th, due to 

 tropical influences, the heaviest falls occurring in the upper north- 

 east division, the Mallee and northern country being below average, 

 also all southern districts except West Gippsland. The month was a 

 very mild one, although frosts were severe and frequent in parts, and 

 caused some damage to the potato crop. Ploughing was, at end of 

 month, almost general throughout the State, except in a few places 

 where the want of a good rainfall had delayed the preparation of the 

 soil for seeding purposes. The dairying industry was in a highly satis- 

 factory condition, due to the increased supplies of milk consequent on 

 the abundance of grass and water; but the mice plague has done, and is 

 still doing, a tremendous amount of harm to hay, wheat, and oats, and 

 shows no prospect of diminishing notwithstanding the various methods 

 adopted to destroy this pest. 



H. A. HUNT, Commonwealth Meteorologist. 



THE SUNFLOWER. 



CROP WORTH EXPERIMENTING WITH. 



Oil-producing plants have come in for more attention of late years, 

 especially those, such as the sunflower, that are easily cultivated and 

 from which a good return may be expected. 



HeliantJiiix aniiiiiis is supposed to be a native of Mexico, and to 

 have spread throughout all the temiperate and sub-tropical zones. The 

 cultivation of the sunflower is easy. From 6 lbs. to 8 lbs. of seed is 

 required to sow an acre. The seed should be planted an inch deep, 

 and when the plants are a foot high they should be earthed up, and 

 need then receive no further attention. In Russia the seed is sown in 

 drills 2 feet apart, and the plants are afterwards thinned to give about 

 12,000 plants per acre. Up to 16,000 plants have been successfully 

 grown on an acre of land in England. It seems advisable to have 

 rather wider rows — say, 28-in. — and to space the plants 15 inches 

 apart in the rows. Horse cultivation can be carried out with this space 

 between the rows. To,pping the plants is recommended in order to 

 increase the yield per acre. 



The sunflower does best on rich calcareous soils. On reallv eoo'^' 

 land the yield per acre should be son^ething like 50 bushels; and 1 

 bushel of seed yields approximately 1 gallon of oil. The white-seeded 

 variety is said to yield more oil than the dark-seeded kinds. 



At the Moumahak: (Xew Zealand) experiment farm last season a 

 dark-seeded variety, Russian Giant, was successfully grown. The seed 

 was planted in October, and the crop was ready to harvest early in 

 March. 



