118 AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE. 



harvesting with corn, and makes good feed for horses, pigs, 

 &c. Crops with fibrous roots that throw up seed stems 

 with few leaves thrive best after crops with fleshy roots 

 and soft, broad leaves, on a branching stem. Thus wheat 

 thrives after beans, vetches, clover, or grass; barley and 

 oats after turnips, carrots, or potatoes. 



WHY OIL AND FIBRE YIELDERS ARE GOOD FOR ROTATION. 



They Take so Little from the Soil. They are built up 

 from carbon mostly, and plants get that from the air. 

 Where suitable, they may be brought in as very desirable 

 rotation crops with wheat, or any of the other grains, as 

 neither oil nor fibre impoverish the soil to any extent, the 

 bulk of their contents being carbon. 



Percentage of Oil from Seeds. The following gives a 

 fair average of oils obtained from seeds, fruits, &c., and may 

 be found useful : 



Castor-oilseeds ... ... ... ... ... about 62 per cent. 



Poppy seeds . 56 to 63 



Rape, col wort, and Swedish turnip ... ... ... 33 



Colza seed 36 to 40 



Wild mustard, gourd, lemon ... ... ... ... 30 



Hemp-seed .. ... ... ... .. 14 to 25 



Linseed, flax, or lintseed ... ... ... ... ... Ilto22 



Sunflower seeds ... .. ... . ... ... 15 to 30 



Grape stones ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 14 to 22 



Cottonseed 18 to 33* 



Olive-oil, about 2 gals, per tree. 



FIBRE CROPS. Australia is peculiarly rich in fibre- 

 yielding plants. The aboriginal natives make very strong 

 lines, nets, &c., from the curriejohng, fig, and many other 

 plants that grow in or on the boarders of creeks and scrubs. 

 Bananas, pine-apples, sida retusa, and others are fibre- 

 yielders. As they are of the order of plants that take very 

 little from the soil, fibre-yielders are excellent for rotation 

 with wheat, &c. New Zealand flax (phormium tenax) 

 grows freely all over the colonies, and produces a fibre of 

 acknowledged value. It does best in rich and rather 

 sandy soil, in this respect being similar to fibre-yielders 



* The heavy percentage of husks in cotton-seed accounts for the 

 apparently low percentage of oil. 



