THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 121 



To persons engaged in country occupations, whether for profit 

 or pleasure, a systematic study of the phases of vegetable and 

 animal life is of the greatest interest and importance. The 

 character of soils, as well as climates, is best judged by their 

 vegetable products, and the periods at which grasses, plants, and 

 trees blossom and attain maturity. Not only has each district, 

 but each farm, and often each field or garden, a character of its 

 own ; and it is only by observing, recording, and comparing 

 with some ascertained standard the specific products of each 

 locality that their peculiarities can be determined and turned to 

 profitable account. It is well known, for instance, that one field 

 will grow clover, and another will not ; that one pasture will 

 fatten sheep quickly, while another will do so slowly ; and a 

 good deal of what is called practical farming consists in 

 remembering facts of this kind and taking ai^ivantage of them ; 

 or, as is too often the case, in ignoring or forgetting them, to the 

 certain loss and disappointment of the farmer. Peculiarities of 

 this kind, although remotely due to the soil and climate, are 

 really peculiarities of vegetation, and should be studied and 

 recorded in a systematic manner to be properly understood and 

 utilized. A very good instance of these remarks is at present 

 being brought prominently before us — viz., the Mallee Lessee 

 question — where one of our number, Mr.J. Bosisto, appeared to 

 give evidence, and proved that failure by the farmer was due to 

 the want of knowledge that the scrub burnt and its ashes 

 judiciously returned to the soil as manure keeps it prolific for 

 years. 



Again, the ravages of insects and their larv« are of the most 

 serious import to all persons interested in the cultivation of the 

 soil, whether it be farming, gardening, or forestry ; and it is only 

 by observing and recording the earliest time of the appearance of 

 such insects that preventive measures can be adopted with any 

 prospects of success. 



The subjects of observation should be more particularly in the 

 direction of the first blossoming of plants, the first appearance of 

 butterflies and moths, and the migration and nesting of birds ; on 

 the ripening of fruits and seeds and their time of harvesting, or 

 the survival and second blossoming of plants and trees at unusual 

 seasons, and on the falling of the leaves as indicating the ripening 

 of buds and the prospect of future fruit crops. Further observa- 

 tions are also required on the casual appearance of insects, the 

 migration of birds in winter, and the hibernation and other 

 phenomena of animal life, &c. 



Many persons will probably not have the time or the inclination 

 to devote their attention to all the subjects of inquiry ; but 

 the specialist who confines his labours to one or two sections 

 cannot fail to be interested in the correlative phenomena, and 



