498 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 Aug., 1917. 



trucks, could fill up and run it direct into tlie holds of the waiting grain 

 ships. Under the present war conditions, it might have to be placed in 

 gigantic receivers on the harbor frontages, and these permanent silos 

 would do away with the expense of making the temporary stacks, which 

 have cost large sums in material and labour. 



It will be seen from the above that further information is desirable 

 on several points, such as the following: — 



1. The percentage of moisture in samples of harvested grain from 

 all the chief grain-producing districts of the Commonwealth should 

 be ascertained. 



2. The degree and rate of absor])tion of moisture from the air of 

 moist climates, by " dry " grain, completely protected from rain, but 

 freely exposed to the air, should be definitely determined. 



3. Cole's experiments on the effects of moisture and carbon dioxide 

 on the rate of multiplication of grain weevils, should be repeated and 

 amplified under Australian conditions. 



To carry on such investigations, and any other that might suggest 

 itself in the further progress of this inquiry, we would urge the desira- 

 bility of engaging the services of a man having the requisite qualifica- 

 tions, and able to devote his wliole attention to the work. 



ROOTING DEPTHS OF PLANTS. 



A study of the growth and development of the roots of plants is of 

 practical interest. Certain systems of planting and cultivation have been 

 practised, because experience has shown them to be the best, often with- 

 out the reason being known. Study of the soil and of the roots of plants 

 throws light upon some of the difficult problems of crop production, and 

 leads to better farming. 



Wheat and oats do not spread out their roots so far horizontally as 

 do the roots of most other cultivated crops, but penetrate deeper into the 

 soil. 



Grass is a soil maker and a soil protector. No other crop equals the 

 perennial grasses in producing such an immense growth of roots in the 

 upper layers of the soil, and the roots of some varieties of grass also 

 penetrate deep, being exceeded in this respect only by one other class of 

 crop, the perennial legumes. 



Lucerne is the deepest rooting plant of the cultivated crops. It makes 

 only a small fibrous growth of roots in the upper soil, and is almost 

 entirely a deep-feeding plant. 



As a soil maker and improver no other plant equals it, because, in 

 addition to the deep-root system opening up the soil and drawing supplies 

 of mineral food from the lower layers, the plant by the assimilation of 

 nitrogen throu,gh its roots enriches the soil in this invaluable ingredient, 

 and is thus a soil enricher. 



The study of potato and sugar beet roots suggests the necessity of a 

 deep stirring of the soil in preparing a seed bed for planting these crops. 

 The root system of the potato indicates that the plant, although requiring 

 a thoroughly cultivated soil, feeds near the surface, while the tap root 

 of the sugar beet penetrates more de«ply. 



Such observations as have been made on the roots of trees seem to 

 indicate that the root systems vary considerably, and the observations 

 may lead to the suggestion that certain trees would be better than others 

 for planting alongside roads and in cultivated fields. — Agricultural News, 

 Durban, 15th March, 1917. 



