394 tiu: farmers' handbook. 



On the Clarence and Richmond Rivers the main crops should be late 

 varieties', sown in November and December. Such crops nearly always yield 

 well owing to the monsoonal rain- of February and March being fairly 

 dependable. Further south, on the Macleay and Manning rivers, and along 

 tlie lower North ('oast, sowing usually commences at the beginning of 

 September and continues till November. Later sowings than this usually 

 take leaf b'ighl badly. 



On the South Coast October is the best month, and this month also sees 

 the bulk of the sowing completeon the Northern Tableland, in the North-west 

 (Jnverell district), and the South-west (Tumut district). In the western dis- 

 trict, the bulk of the maize should be sown either towards the end of Sep- 

 tember or in December, in order that tasselling or flowering shall not fall 

 during the hottest part of the summer. On the Murrumbidgee Irrigation 

 Area a December sowing stands the biggest chance of success. 



For green fodder or silage, maize can usually be sown a month or six weeks 

 later than the latest safe time for sowing grain. 



Methods of Sowing, 

 1. Ploughing-in. — This is a method which is largely used in some districts, 

 but which cannot be recommended except when the land has been well pre- 

 pared, and is in good tilth and not weedy. There may be some justification 

 also for using this method when the land is of a heavy nature, and has been 

 beaten down by rain. Either single or multiple ploughs are used, the latter, 

 of course, ploughing the whole ground, and the seed being dropped by hand 

 behind the plough in every fourth or fifth furrow. If the ground is scarcely 

 moist enough to germinate the grain, sowing should be followed by a rolling, 

 and subsequently by a harrowing. The ploughing should only be shallow, 

 especially on heavy ground, or during early spring, so as not to turn too 

 much covering on the seed. 



-. The Maize Drill. — The maize drill is easily the most satisfactory method 

 of sowing. Single- or double-row drills may be used, and the depth of 

 sowing regulated by raising or lowering the runner wheel. The rate of 

 seeding can be accurately regulated by the use of plates, with various sizes 

 and numbers of holes, and a heavy press-wheel behind the planter box presses 

 the soil round the seed, and ensures immediate germination if the soil is 

 moist. Drills can be had with fertiliser attachment, and a scribe or marker 

 for marking the position of the next row. Some double-row drills are also 

 fitted with check wire for sowing in " squares " or " checks," dropping from 

 two to four grains per hill. This method can only be used in rectangular 

 paddocks, and where the ground does not slope badly. It is, perhaps, an 

 advantage in weedy ground, in that cultivation may be given in two 

 directions. A disadvantage of most double-row drills is that the distance 

 between the drills is fixed, and they cannot be used where a greater width is 

 required. 



Sometimes a home-made marker is used for marking the rows, five or six 

 rows being marked at a time. Using marked sticks of equal length at the 

 ends of the field is also a handy way of getting straight rows of any desired 

 width with the single-row drill. A small lister furrow-opener on the front 

 of the drill is very useful on trashy ground. Deeper listing may be obtained 

 by ploughing furrows, and then planting in these furrows with the drill. 



