160 MOZAMBIQUE 



2s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. per bale, compared with 6s. in 

 Lourenzo Marques. 



Lucerne is an irrigation crop — that is to say, 

 unless it is grown under irrigation it is probably 

 not worth growing at all. Mr. Burtt-Davy, 

 Government Botanist of the Union Department 

 of Agriculture, discussing the relative merits of 

 irrigation versus dry lands in the Transvaal, 

 wrote : " My conclusion is that, though on such 

 soils (heavy clay loam with pot-clay subsoil) dry 

 land lucerne will not be a success as a forage or 

 hay crop, it gives a useful amount of early spring 

 and late autumn grazing." The latter considera- 

 tion scarcely appeals to Lourenzo Marques with 

 its evergreen pastures. At the same time lucerne 

 is one of the best drought-resisting plants in cul- 

 tivation, sending its roots deep down into the 

 subsoil in search of moisture. The argument for 

 irrigation is based on the greatly increased yearly 

 revenue, corresponding to a greater interest upon 

 capital outlay, the cost of establishing a stand 

 being on the whole the same in both cases. 



Lucerne, being a deep-rooting plant, requires 

 well-drained land, and should not be planted on 

 swamps or water-logged clays unless first drained. 

 The best soil for lucerne is a deep, rich, calcareous 

 loam, lime being its dominant manurial ingre- 

 dient. When levelling the ground for irrigation 



