W 111. \ 1 Hl.l I UK. 265 



ring land. Further, Sudan grass and lucerne both thrive well there. 

 The value of the latter i^ well known, and it needs no recommendation. 

 A number of practical farmers are now extensively growing Sudan grass 

 solely f<T thr fattening of lambs, and are getting excellenl returns. 



In tlif north-west, ami in other' districts to a lesser extent, rain very fre- 

 quently falls during the summer months. I mi t fails during the \vheat-growin» 

 Beason. Where wheat alone is relied upon the year's income is partly or 

 wholly lost in a dry season, but where sheep have a prominenl place on 

 the farm a failing crop can be profitably utilised by turning the flock in. 

 The summer rains, on the other hand, produce an abundance of feed, 

 particularly if Sudan grass or a similar crop has been sown. 



In the past it has usually been taken for granted — as a result of habits 

 formed during our long pastoral history that sheep should be turned out 

 into the grass paddocks for their living. Such traditions are, however, 

 now dying, and many practical farmers are producing crops to increase 

 the carrying capacity of their land. 



Such crops are valuable in several respects. Sown crops invariably make 

 < I nicker and greater growth than natural herbage, even under the most 

 favourable conditions. This indicates that some crop should be grown to 

 produce succulent green feed for lambs about April or May. Such feed 

 promotes the rapid development of the lamb by increasing the milk flow 

 of the mother, and results in the early maturity of a first-class lamb. 



The growing of fodder crops is of great value, inasmuch as a large quantity 

 of feed is produced on a small acreage. On a good crop of oats, barley, or 

 wheat, from ten to twenty sheep can be carried per acre for a lengthy period 

 in the spring It is just at this period that the summer herbage is sprouting. 

 If heavily stocked at that stage, the young grass is eaten off as quickly as it 

 sprouts, and is prevented from making a strong growth. "Where a crop is 

 available on which the sheep can be kept at this period, the grass can be 

 protected until it has made a good growth, and a heavy body of feed is thus 

 provided that will carry sheep through the summer. Even on purely grazing 

 properties it is found that the carrying capacity can be largely increased 

 if the sheep can be kept off the grass at this period. 



Sheep are particularly valuable in controlling weeds, especially wild oats. 

 It frequently happens during spring that the oats cannot be entirely 

 destroyed. Even on the best-worked farms wet weather may prevent their 

 complete destruction. The farmer finds the haymaking at hand, and his 

 only possible means of preventing the oats on his fallow land from seeding 

 is to graze them off with sheep. When the returns from the sheep are being 

 taken into account due credit should be given for these indirect benefits. 



Fallowing in Relation to Sheer. 



The value of fallowing is now recognised by all capable farmers. 

 Fallowing, however, can only give the best returns when combined with 

 sheep, and it actually provides the. opportunities for keeping sheep. Where 

 fallowing is not practised the straw is burnt off and the land is ploughed 

 for the succeeding crop, but under a fallowing system it is not necessary to 

 burn the straw, for the stubble can be grazed with sheep six or seven months 

 after harvest. A great deal of the straw is eaten, and the balance is broken 

 and trampled into the ground, and is generally put into such a state that it can 

 be ploughed under easily without the texture of the land being interfered with. 



