MISCELLANEOUS CROPS. 603 



way to use the broom millet seed is to grind it to a meal and use up to 10 

 per cent, in the morning mash. Taking into consideration the factor of 

 palatahility when used in this way, it might be advisable to start with a 

 smaller percentage at first. 



Stalks and leaves. 



The plant cannot be recommended as a particularly useful one for feeding 

 purposes. While young, a certain amount of sugar exists in the sap, but 

 this soon disappears, and by the time the brush is cut the stalks are more or 

 less dry and pithy, and contain a large proportion of fibrous matter which is 

 unpalatable. For this reason very little use is made of them beyond turning 

 stock in after the harvest to feed upon the leaves. The refuse should 

 afterwards be cut up with a heavy disc harrow, or cornstalk cutter, and 

 ploughed under for manure. 



Prospects. 



As the demand for broom millet in the Sydney market is limited, it is not 

 wise to undertake the cultivation of extensive areas, unless the product is 

 properly prepared and suitable for export. For this purpose, prime brush 

 only should be baled ; and if the necessary details in harvesting and curing 

 have been observed, there is no reason why millet should not be exported in 

 a wholesale and profitable manner. On almost every farm the implements 

 to plant and cultivate the crop are found. It will not pay any farmer to 

 obtain the necessary apparatus to treat his brush unless he intends to grow 

 the crop for a number of years. When prepared to do this, and he produces 

 and sends to market millet of the best quality only, it will be found a very 

 remunerative undertaking. 



Those interested in the subject of broom-making on the farm may be 

 referred to Miscellaneous Publication, No. 1,753, copies of which are obtain- 

 able free of charge on application to the Under-Secretary and Director, 

 Department of Agriculture, Sydney. 



SUGAR CANE.* 



For profitable production, sugar cane inquires a ueep rich soil that is 

 capable of supporting a heavy vegetative growth for a number of years, a 

 warm atmosphere, and a substantial rainfall. The soil should be porous and 

 friable without being sandy, and it should be thoroughly well drained, 

 either by reason of a suitable subsoil or of the natural fall. The temperature 

 should not only be mild, but there must be freedom from frost, and the 

 rainfall should be well distributed throughout the year. The belief that 

 sugar cane flourishes best near the sea because the saline particles conveyed 

 by the wind are congenial to the plant may be well founded, but perhaps 

 better reasons for the exuberant growth near the sea are the moisture that 

 accompanies a sea breeze even in the driest weather, and the freedom from 

 frost that the sea ensures. 



* Condensed from Farmeis' Bulletin, No. 139, "The Culture of Sugar Cane," by 

 A. H. Haywood, Manager. Wollongbar Experiment Farm. 



