220 THE LAND AND ITS PROBLEMS 



that, in future, the mixture must, if possible, be so designed 

 as to be capable of remaining erect under all seasonal con- 

 ditions. Crop No. 6, although it yielded nearly 20 tons of 

 forage per acre, remained perfectly erect, while most of the 

 other mixtures were quite flat, and, because of this, was much 

 more productive, quite half of the fodder from the other plots 

 being left on the ground. This year Crop No. 6 mixture 

 contained i| bushels of beans per acre, which provided the 

 necessary strength to keep the crop erect. In view of this 

 experience it is intended to add i bushel of beans to each 

 mixture for the purpose of giving strength, so that the crops 

 may be cut with a machine. The machine used for cutting 

 the crops is an obsolete Hornsby manual delivery reaper, with 

 which it is possible to bunch the crop as it is cut in quantities 

 suitable for lifting with a fork on to a cart. When the crop 

 is upright this method is very satisfactory, and the cost of 

 cutting is very little. A hay bogey, with a low platform, has 

 been used for carrying the fodder, but is not quite satisfactory, 

 because of the low wheels which sink into the ground when 

 wet, and make the draught too heavy. In dry weather the 

 carriage is quite satisfactory, but a more perfect form of 

 conveyor is required. It would seem that an open-sided wagon 

 with high wheels and cranked axles to keep the platform low 

 might be designed which would have all the advantages of 

 the hay bogey without its drawbacks. Further, if the sides 

 were made like ordinary hay racks the wagon might be drawn 

 into the cattle-yard and the fodder consumed from the wagon, 

 thus saving labour. The forage is heavy to handle, and should 

 be lifted as little as possible, all feeding racks being placed 

 on the ground. 



EFFECT OF THE SYSTEM OF CROPPING ON WEEDS 



Perhaps the most interesting information gained from the 

 experiments under examination is the discovery that practi- 

 cally all weeds can be destroyed without special weeding, the 

 crops themselves performing the weeding process. One field 

 which contained a considerable quantity of docks, thistles 



