Gillies. — On Sorghum Eccperiment. 373 



Abt. LIV. — Notes on Sorghum Exijeriment. By Mr. Justice Gillies. 

 [Read he fore the Auckland Institute, 8th August, 1881. J 

 Having received from Commissioner LeDuc, of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture at Washington, in May, 1880, sufficient seed of the Early Amber and 

 Honduras varieties to sow about f of an acre of each, I forwarded them to 

 New Zealand with instructions for sowing and culture. The Commissioner 

 informed me that these two varieties were those most likely to suit the 

 climate of Auckland, which I explained to him. On my arrival in Decem- 

 ber, 1880, I found that a piece of ground, 1-|- acres of light volcanic loam, 

 which had been for several years in grass, had been carefully ploughed and 

 prepared. The seed had been sown on the 28th and 29th of September (a 

 month at least too early I now think) in drills running north and south 2 

 feet 6 inches apart. Instead, however, of planting in the drills a few seeds 

 at the distance of three feet from each other, the seed had been sown con- 

 tinuously like peas, consequently it did not suffice for the ground prepared 

 and the plants had come up much too thick in the drills. After sowing the 

 weather had been unusually dry until December, so that on my arrival on 

 the 7th December the plants were only about eight inches high. I had 

 them immediately thinned out to a distance of 2 feet 6 inches between each 

 two or three plants, and moist weather coming on the remaining plants 

 began to grow well and litter or throw out 4 to 5 lateral shoots from the 

 roots. The Early Amber covered -^q of an acre ; the Honduras exactly half 

 an acre. Between the two varieties the unoccupied space, fully \ an acre, 

 was in October sown with maize broadcast for green food. By the middle 

 of January the Early Amber was about 2 feet 4 inches high on an average, 

 the Honduras 2 feet high, whilst the maize was 4 feet high. On the 4th of 

 February a good many of the main stalks of Early Amber showed the seed 

 top 5 to 6 feet high, none of Honduras, maize forming cobs. The crop now 

 grew with great rapidity, but my absence from home prevented my record- 

 ing the various stages of progress. On 1st April commenced cutting the 

 Early Amber which then stood 10 to 12 feet high ; weighed the cane and 

 fonnd the produce to be 2 tons 16 cwt. from -^ of an acre ; stripped the 

 seed (roughly) and obtained 130 lbs. seed. On 15th April cut the Honduras 

 which then stood about 12 feet high, and obtained from the half acre 3 tons 

 7 cwt. cane and 170 lbs. seed. The cane was cut about 9 inches from the 

 ground and topped about 2 feet down and weighed immediately after cutting 

 without stripping the leaves. Having no machinery for cleaning the seed, 

 the weight of seed includes the husk. 



