• r '-">t THE FARMERS' HANDBOOK. 



obtaining this infection i- 1>.\ the use of soil from an old lucerne patch 

 where the plant has grown well. The soil should be in a dry dusty state, 

 and the seed should be mixed with it thoroughly so that there is no doubt 

 about infection taking place. The seed should then be sown with a drill or 

 broadcasted in the ordinary way. The soil should be dried in the shade and 

 the sowing of the seed carried out during the afternoon. Sunlight will kill 

 the organisms — hence these precautions. 



It is sometimes advisable to use very thin glue, passing the seed through 

 it and then dusting with soil obtained from the old lucerne patch. The 

 glue should be very thin and the seed only lightly coated. 



In some instances soil is taken from an old lucerne field and scattered and 

 worked into the proposed lucerne area, though this is a rather cumbersome 

 method. The Department supplies artificial cultures, but culturing weakens 

 the organisms, and a natural infection from the soil is always preferable. 



Summer Legumes. 



In this section prominence is naturally given to lucerne as the legume 

 most in ciiltivation, but an increasing number of plants of this family are 

 being utilised for a variety of purposes in the economy of the farm. Apart 

 from lucerne and clovers, the leguminous crops may be conveniently classified 

 according to the season of their optimum growth and climatic requirements 

 as follows: — 



Summer legumes — Cowpeas, peanuts, soybeans, and velvet beans. 



Winter legumes — Field peas, vetches or tares, and tick or horse beans. 



In districts with a severe winter climate, e.g., the tablelands, the winter 

 legumes given above require the summer season for their growth. 



Similar advantages to those which are derived from the use of mixed 

 pastures of grasses and clovers are obtainable from growing in combination 

 a leguminous fodder crop and a cereal. A good deal of judgment has to be 

 exercised in deciding on the most suitable combination. The exact time each 

 en >p takes to mature is an important factor, and it should be arranged so that 

 they will both give their maximum yield and be ready to harvest at the one 

 time. When grown alone many of these legumes creep along the ground, but 

 when sown with a cereal they stand more upright, and are consequently 

 easier to harvest. For use on the farm they can be made into excellent 

 hay, but there seems to be no demand for such mixtures on the New South 

 Wales market, and the presence of any foreign matter, regardless of its 

 feeding value, will reduce the price of the chaff. 



On account of their high feeding valtie and of their utility for soil im- 

 provement, the annual leguminous crops will always deserve a place in 

 general farming and will yet come to be regarded as essential in any system 

 of intensive farming in many districts of this State. 



Generally speaking, these crops are not as particular in their soil require- 

 ments as many other crops, growing well on poor soils as well as on many 

 acid soils to which clovers and lucerne are quite intolerant. These 

 characters make them all the more valuable from a soil-improvement point 

 of view. 



