monwealth. This wonderful s^rass, sown on raw white 

 |each sand, has in the course of five years changed the char- 

 acter of it until at the end of that time it has become a 

 darls-brown color, in some places almost black ; and its 

 value as soil has increased 100 per cent. Evei-j- year it is 

 improving the value of the land and gives increasing quan- 

 tities of feed. Now the export trade of King Island consists 

 of fat cattle, dairy produce, horses, etc., and by far the most 

 extensively used grass is melilot- The King Island fat cat- 

 tle always realize the best prices in the Tasmanian markets, 

 to which the first shipments are made in August, and con- 

 tinue till February and March in each year, over loOO head 

 of fat cattle being sent away this last season. The King 

 Island Co-operative Butter Factory turns out butter of the 

 highest standard, a good quantity of which is exported to 

 England, and is always among those brands that realize the 

 highest prices. And this butter is made from cows whose 

 principal food is melilot. Sheep and horses also do i*e- 

 markably well on it. Sheep have been killed weighing up to 

 120 lbs., and the two-year-old horses of King Island are as 

 big as the three-year-olds of Tasmania. 



Melilot is very similar to lucerne in appearance, and grows 

 to an average height of S feet. It has often grown to 8 fe«t 

 high on heavy ash, in the better class of soil in the interior 

 of the island. The average crop of hay is two tons to the 

 acre, often running as high as three tons when Algerian oats 

 are sown with it. Cattle, horses, and, in fact, all kinds of 

 stock, are very fond of the hay, which has a beautiful 

 aroma. When cut green for ensilage it yields about five 

 tons per acre. 



I do not wish to boom this as the best grass there is, be- 

 cause I know well enough it is not so. For instance, I 

 certainly would not advise one to discard clover, etc., for 

 melilot; but what I do claim is that for any one who has 

 poor sandy country lying idle, this is the grass; for it not 

 only ^ives you a large quantity of good feed, but is each 

 year improving the quality of the soil until it is sufficiently 

 rich to allow it to grow something better. For instance, 

 there are paddocks of lucerne growing on King Island which 

 would not be there now if the melilot had not improved the 

 ground sufficiently to allow it to do well. 



Another good point is the ease with which this grass is 

 grown. The best way is to burn off the paddock. If scrub, 

 it should be fallen about six weeks, or two months before, 

 and immediately after the fire sow the seed at the rate of 

 about 10 to 15 lbs. per acre. The sooner after the fire the 

 better. It likes to be sown in hot ashes. The fire germinates 

 the seed more quickly than when unburnt. Melilot starts to 

 spring from March to May, and keeps green right through to 

 February, w^hen it dies off, and is burned off again. It 

 should be burned off every year until well established. It is 

 an abundant seeder, and cattle and horses rapidly spread the 

 seed in manure. It requires seeding only once, of course. 

 Rhe grazing capacity of melilot from September to January 

 l^ve months) is a beast to the acre. It is somewhat of an 

 acquired taste ; but when cattle get used to it they become 



