very fond of it especially so when made into hay. This 

 melilot grass is indeed a wonderful plant ; and if given a 

 decent show it would make a lot of what is at present use- 

 less sand become useful grazing country ; and the seed, not 

 being expensive, might easily be given a trial. Dr. Cherry, 

 of the Victorian Agricultural Department, speaks very highly 

 of this grass, and it is also strongly recommended by the 

 Tasmanian agricultural experts or green manuring. 



King Island is this year earlier with grass than any of 

 the districts I saw when traveling through Gippsland and 

 the western districts of Victoria ; also South Australia as 

 far as Adelaide, and also New South Wales. At the end of 

 March we had 4 inches of young grass, and at present it is 

 about 10 inches. Drouths are unknown, and seasons fairly 

 regular. I feel quite sure that, if given a show, a lot of 

 raw sandy patches on the coast of New South Wales could 

 be made far more profitable than at present. 



A REVELATION IN ROAD-MAKING. 



We all know how desirable it is to have good roads, 

 and now miserably we generally fail in getting them. 

 The colossal ignorance of the average "highwayman" 

 is astonishing; but he seems to plod along, year after 

 year, in the same old way. 



Usually, as soon as the roads become dry and rea- 

 sonably good in early summer, he commences with 

 plow and scraper, and soon has a lot of "soft stuff" 

 in the center, to be ground up into dust or mud as the 

 weather may determine. Perhaps in October he will 

 repeat the operation, with the same result, and will, 

 perhaps, congratulate himself on work well done. 

 Oh, yes! If there is any sweet clover growing in 

 the fence-corners it must be carefully cut down, al- 

 though the jimsons, rag-weeds, and thistles may go to 

 seed. Perhaps he will do a good deal of swearing at 

 the bee-men, who, he imagines, walk around nights 

 sowing the seed for his especial benefit. Likely 

 enough the farmers will do the swearing the rest of 

 the year about the bad roads. 



Last July, while driving in a distant township I 

 struck a piece of road that was a pleasant surprise 

 and a revelation to me. Evidently some bee-keeper 

 must be road commissioner, or else he had learned 

 something. Here, as in so many places in Illinois, 

 the sweet clover was growing luxuriantly on both 



