390 THE farmers' handbook. 



MAIZE.* 



Maize is the crop next in importance to wheat in New South Wales, which 

 of all the States of Australia has the greatest area of land suitable for its 

 successful cultivation. The expansion of maize-growing i- prevpnted at 



present, however, partly by the uncertainty as to the price, obtainable — the 

 market being essentially a local one — and partly by the greater certainty of 

 regular returns to be made from dairying. Indeed, since the advent of paspaluin 

 on the North Coast, rapid progress has been made in the dairying industry 

 to the detriment of maize production : but with the increasing number of 

 bacon factories, the growing impoverishment of the paspaluin pastures, and 

 the establishment of industries for the conversion of maize into glucose, 

 starch and alcohol, an increase in the demand for maize and a corresponding 

 extension of the area under the crop is expected in the near future. 



It is one of the easiest crops to grow on good land, as is evidenced by the 

 yields still obtained by the crude method of hoeing-in on stumpy or rung 

 alluvial land practised on some of our coastal rivers. Besides giving, on rich 

 bottom lands, yields of over 100 bushels of grain per acre, maize is one of 

 the most valuable crops for producing an abundance of green fodder (of 

 which a yield of 45 tons per acre has been recorded in New .South Wales 

 and extremely succulent silage, for which it is part'cularly suitable. In some 

 districts also, the "stover" (i.e., the stalks and lewes after removal of 

 the ears) has some value for late autumn or winter feeding. The value of 

 the grain for fattening stock has not yet been as fully idealised in Australia 

 as in the United Stat<-s of America, where over 30 bushels per head of 

 population are produced annually (less than 2 per cent, being exported), as 

 compared with an Australian production of less than 2 bushels per head. 



Seeing that over 90 per cent, of the maize of the Commonwealth is 

 produced in New South Wales and Queensland, there is always an appreciable 

 export from these States to the others ; but even the requirements of these 

 States we seem unable to supply, as in recent years the net imports into 

 Australia have been over 1,000,000 bushels per annum. 



Table showing Area under Maize. 1920-21. 



* H. Wenholz, R.Sc. (Agr.), Inspector of Agriculture. 



