59 



that the- acreage has been doubled in the last three years, especially 

 in the Lower North. 



Lucerne thrives best in a warm, friable soil and subsoil and de- 

 pends more on a subterranean than a surface water supply. 

 The seed-bed must be well pulverised, and the seed covered. 

 not more than 1 in. ; 12 Ib. of seed is perhaps sufficient per acre 

 if intended for seed-raising, 30 Ib. where fine hay is desired. The 

 several cuttings should not be too near the ground, and the sickle 

 bar of a mowing machine, therefore, set high. The great injury 

 done here to lucerne by the springtail insect Smynthurus can be 

 minimi&ed by spraying the field with either 1 Ib. of Paris green or 

 London purple to 50 gallons of water. Kerosine emulsion has 

 also proved effectual. 



In Mr. E. J. Hector's paper it is stated that he lost man)r 

 acres of lucerne where the water lodged too long on it, as well at 

 Langhorn as on the Broughton, and no. stock should be allowed on it 

 in winter. Mr. Dombasle fed sheep on 2 one-seventh Ib. of dry 

 lucerne hay as a sufficient ration for the day.. Seven pounds was 

 equal to 3J Ib. of barley, or 14 Ib. or raw potatoes, or 16 Ib. of the 

 best Silesian beetroot. One acre subdivided may feed four 

 horses, as continual grazing on the same piece will kill the plants 

 The first cut for hay must be made before the grass seeds are ripe 

 Mr. W. Pearson, of the Meadows (with 34J in.), says that lucerne 

 is the most valuable for the stiffer soils in the hills., and answers 

 well to sow with barley, oats, or rye on such soils, provided they are 

 sown thinly, and cut early- if at all rank, or they may choke it. 

 His first two cuts he dries for hay. If liberally top-dresse4 ( 

 with manure four or five cuts of 2 ft. long each can be obtained. 

 After the last cutting he manures again, and harrows it in. At 

 the Adelaide Sewage Farm, with irrigation, they cut four or five 

 times in summer, and for the remainder of the year there is a fail- 

 crop. There is danger in feeding lucerne during its early stages 

 of growth, as it contains a gaseous , liquid, which inflates the 

 stomach. At the flowering stage dry fibre develops, which makes its 

 consumption safe. Mr. Hailcy, of Findon (about 22 in.), 4 miles west of 

 Adelaide, has taken eight cuts where irrigated from the Torrens bv 

 a steam pump. At Baroota Whim (13.72 in.), it grows well on 

 stiff clay when once established, having been protected against 

 severe frosts by a hay or cereal crop. Mr. Rice-Kelly, of Ren- 

 mark (11.43 in.), says that 10 bushels of seed have been obtained 

 from lucerne five or six years old, and at that time an acre of 

 lucerne should be worth 30 per year. One ton per month of the 

 hay and three quarts of shelled maize per day should keep a pair 

 of horses while working hard. Mr. H. W. Hughes, of Gladstone 

 (15.19 in.), has Been very successful. The chief reasons so many 

 fail is sowing the seed too deep, cutting 00 close, or feeding too 

 long at a time. He uses only 10 Ib. of seed and a heavy roller, 

 but no harrow after sowing, only later, after the young plants have 

 got into full leaf. Mr. Byerlee, of dry Eurelia (about 12 in.), had 

 a growth of 18 in. in twelve months after so wing. Messrs. Ward Bros. 



