500 



rich and rainfall plentiful, and one to which farmers should pay 

 attention. It is not only valuable on account of the seed, but for 

 the fibre, which is worth about ^40 per ton. The seed should be 

 sown broadcast on well-worked soil, and either very lightly 

 harrowed in, or both harrowed and rolled, according to the con- 

 dition of the soil ; but it requires in every instance to lie very near 

 the surface, for if deposited more than half an inch deep it will not 

 germinate. It succeeds well in the Gippsland (Vic.) district, and 

 should be sown very early in the spring or autumn at the rate of i^ 

 bushels (56 Ibs.) for seed, and 2 to 2\ bushels for cordage pur- 

 poses. 



BROOM CORN. Is a variety of sorghum and should succeed 

 well in this colony. In addition to its well-known commercial 

 value for supplying the fibre for broom-making, it has to a large 

 extent the nutritive properties of the sorghum tribe, and thus forms 

 a useful fodder plant. The seed yield, too, is heavy, and is capital 

 food for poultry. The seed heads (stripped, of course, of the seed) 

 give the fibre for making the well-known American house broom, 

 dandy brushes, clothes dusters, etc. Its value depends on its length 

 and toughness, and these in turn depend on a proper selection of 

 seed and method of curing. It requires similar soil and culture to 

 corn, and the ground should be in good condition. It is frequently 

 planted in drills three and a-half feet apart, leaving the plants six 

 inches apart. September to November is the best time to sow the 

 seed. The varieties now in the market are : California!! golden 

 long-brush, growing from twelve to fourteen feet high. Improved 

 dwarf, an excellent variety, growing a fine brush of good length. 

 Long-brush evergreen, this variety grows about eight to ten feet 

 high, stands up well, and is entirely free from crooked brush. The 

 fibre is long and fine. This is a strictly green variety, and does not 

 get red in the field before it is cut. 



FIELD CABBAGE. Field cabbage may be cultivated either by 

 raising the young plants in a seed bed and then transplanting them, 

 or by sowing the seed in drills where the crop is to go, and thinning 

 out the young plants. The rows should be 3 feet apart and 

 the plants 18 inches apart in the rows. One pound of seed will 

 provide enough plants for an acre when sown in the seed bed. 

 From four to six pounds will be required for drilling. Grant drum- 

 head and Schweinfurt, a very early white variety, are the favorite 

 sorts of field cabbage. 



TuorsAxn-iiKADED KALE. This plant, a tall, branching variety 

 of cabbage, is, in the opinion of the Kditor of the GUIDE (iotinded 

 upon ten years' experience), one of the most valuable fodder plants 

 ever introduced into Australia. It produces more weight of fodder 

 per acre than any other known plant, it is relished by all stock, and 

 may be fed safely at all seasons of the year. It will withstand 

 drought to an extianidiiiarv decree, the writer having secured a 

 crop of 27 tons (weighed) from one measured acre in this colony in 



