50 



Kainit, Thomas phosphate, and one- third of the nitrate of soda 

 were given on the 30th day of May, one-third of the latter on the 

 7th July, and one-third on the 25th July. 



In South Australia even the best of these crops are not con- 

 sidered large, so at Yankalilla (with 28 in.), where the roots fre- 

 quently weighed half-a-hundredweight, and at the Glencoe Estate, 

 ntear Mount Gambier (31 in.), the manager weighed in 1892 a 

 measured portion of the crop, and found it to average 66 tons per 

 acre. Mr. W. Pearson, of the Meadows (with 34| in.), consider* 

 from 40 to 60 tons of roots per acre a good crop, whilst the summer 

 pickings of leaves and thinnings will give almost as much feed as he 

 could get from many green crops. Besides, the crop is available 

 probably for ten months of the year. But he emphasises tLe 

 necessity for heavy manuring. His neighbor had roots scarcely 

 larger than radishes ; while he has had crops up to 80 tons per acre. 

 He gives a good coating of forty loads of stable manure when 

 ploughed in May ; in July ploughs again, dresses with 4 to 6 cwt. 

 of bonedust, with 4 to 5 cwt. of salt where the land does not natu- 

 rally contain salt. He sows at the end of August or beginning 

 of September in drills 1J in. deep, from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 6 in. apart, 

 after another light ploughing. Afterwards he thins, and hoes, or 

 cultivates. He calculates the whole cost per acre in manure and 

 labor at .12/10. Mr. J. Lawrie. of Port Pirie (with 12f in.), grow* 

 always good crops of mangolds, although his land is of a dry nature. 

 Mr. Jarrett, of Maitland, Yorke Peninsula (19.80 in.), stated that 

 mangolds at Mr. Gready's weighed fully 35 lb.. measured to 27 in. in 

 circumference, and were 2 ft. long. At the Sewage Farm mangolds- 

 are said to absorb 3 in. of water every fourteen days during the hot 

 months, but grow well enough with much less. Sixty to eighty tons 

 per acre have been grown there. Single roots often weigh 56 lb. 

 each. I measured myself one at Mr. Hart's Farm at Milli- 

 cent having a diameter of 16 in. When the root* 

 are matured and removed they should be stored for a few 

 weeks to allow sugar to be formed in them. If left too long in the 

 ground the feeding value of the roots deteriorates in becoming tor* 

 fibrous and woody. Mr. T. Corlett, of Yorketown (with 18 in.), 

 reported that, although mangolds when sown on salt patches did 

 not germinate ; young plants transplanted did well. Some of them 



