732 THE FARMERS' HANDBOOK. 



Wagga Experiment Farm the sheep running in the Danthonia paddocks kept 

 in better condition during the spring of 1919 than any other sheep in the 

 district. In fact, the Danthonias and the Stipas provided feed right 

 throughout the wheat districts, where the crops and introduced herbage 

 absolutely failed. 



It follows, therefore, that unless the large amount of herbage which gro*\s 

 in an ordinary season is conserved and not allowed to run to waste, the 

 farmer who owns herbage country alone is at a disadvantage compared with 

 the farmer who has native grass pastures ; though, if the excess of growth of 

 herbage could be conserved, the amount of feed thus produced would probably 

 be much greater than from native pastures. Yet very few wheat farmers 

 conserve such fodder, the causes of failure to do so being (1) want of labour 

 and machinery, and (2) a disinclination to provide for the future when 

 plenty of feed exists. The first is a legitimate objection, for the herbage 

 must be cut quickly when it is at its best, and labour must be readily 

 available. If the cutting is delayed or protracted, the vegetation loses its 

 nutriment, and becomes unsuitable, either for hay or silage. The labour is 

 required onlv for a short period ; a fact that makes it the more difficult to 

 obtain. Regarding machinery, very few wheat farmers, except those who 

 grow lucerne, possess the mowers or rakes necessary for cutting the herbage, 

 despite the fact that it would certainly pay to have such implements on 

 herbage country. Excess herbage can be conserved either in the form of 

 hay or pit silage. The latter method is recommended as the most economical 

 and practical one, and most of the herbage is particularly adapted for this 

 mode of treatment. Yet the number of farmers taking advantage of this 

 method in good seasons is ridiculously small, and thousands of tons of good 

 feed are going to' waste every year. 



A much increased carrying capacity of sheep would be possible in the 

 wheat-growing districts if the right methods were adopted The short 

 grasses and cereal crops are more adapted for grazing sheep than large stock. 



A limited number of large stock can, however, be maintained on such 

 crops as lucerne, Sudan grass, and introduced herbage in a good season, but 

 in a dry year under these conditions, hand-feeding or agistment must be 

 resorted to. 



Grass Seed. 



Strictly speaking, a grass seed is the grain with all the husks (or glumes) 

 removed. It is only in the case of a few genera, however, that the seed of 

 grasses as bought from the seedsman consists of pure grain without husk ; 

 usually some part of the husk remains attached to the grain and is only 

 removed with difficulty. Sometimes one side of the grain is exposed, as in 

 the Brome grasses ; at other times the grain is completely concealed as in the 

 Paspalum grasses. Jn the latter case it is extremely difficult to determine 

 from its appearance whether the so-called " seed " contains grain or not. 

 Very often the seed is harvested when immature and very little grain is 

 present. As a rule, ail seed which falls voluntarily or with little effort from 

 a grass plant is ripe, that is. it contains grain. Thus the " best hand- 

 shaken" paspalum seed that some seedsmen advertise means that the immature 

 seed was not stripped from the plant, but only the seed taken that fell off* easily. 

 Examples of unripe seed which is often placed on the market are Rhodes 

 grass, Kentucky blue, Sheep's fescue, couch grass, and sometimes even 

 cocksfoot. In such cases it is often advisable to test the grain of a few seeds 

 by pressing with the sharp point of a penknife ; a fair amount of resistance 

 is probable due to the presence of grain. 



