THE AGKICULTUBAL JOURNAL. 



the soil year in year out and sent away 

 with tlie wool, hence here disappears one 

 ot the most fertilizing elements of the 

 soil from the latter. A few hgures will 

 serve to demonstrate the point. In 1899 

 231,-±51,;;9lbs. of wool were exported; 

 this was less than is usual in an ordinary 

 season. From 1893 to 1899 the _ total 

 export of wool amounted to 2,111,863,831: 

 lbs. The amount of nitrogen was 

 380,135,484 ffis. contained in this wool, 

 i.e., as much as is contained in 1,697,000 

 tons ot cLried blood. lire amount ot 

 potasti thus exported amounted ^ to 

 13,672,000 ihs., or as much as is contained 

 in 45,265,000 tons kainit. This is an 

 impure potash salt, containing aljout 

 25 per cent, sulphate of potash. Again, 

 in 1899 there were 4,600,000 sheep 

 slaughtered, and during the seven years 

 from 1893 to 1899 a total of 46,088,677 ; 

 the number of lambs slaughtered during 

 the same periods to 192,000 and 1,009,187 

 respectivelv. The nitrogen thus extracted 

 from the soil m this manner amounted 

 to 56,507,616 lbs., which is equivalent to 

 252,363 tons of dried blood. The amount 

 of phosphate of lime contained m these 

 sheep and lamljs was 70,634,514 lbs., 

 equal to 70,073 tons medium Iwne meal. 



"From these figures it will be seen how 

 very considerable are the fertiUzing pro- 

 perties of which the soil becomes deprived 

 from year to year, and the question is 

 whether this in time will not prove to 

 have a deteriorating effect on the wool 

 itself ? Is it not advisable to enrich the 

 soil hy artifical means, and thus improve 

 and increase the wool harvest ? These 

 are most important questions, which 

 ought to be thoroughly investigated, 

 'ihat the potash ftnds its way into the 

 yolk or sweaty part of the wool has been 

 indisputably proved in the wool washing; 

 ir one place alone in Liverpool 50 tons 

 were collected. The sweat of the wool is 

 composed to a great extent of soluble 

 potash salts, which are drawn from the 

 sou, and which, alter having passed 

 tlirougli the blood, become united with 

 various other animal acids. The sweat 

 secretes through evaporation, leaving a 

 certain residue bound to the skin by fila- 

 ments, or forming into layers at the roots 

 of the wool." 



Another authority writes :— The 

 sweaty wool is found mostly round the 

 breast and shoulders, just where the best 

 and most healthy wool is to be got, and 

 the quality of wool on other parts depends 

 to a large degree upon the quantity of 

 .weat Should there be an insufficiency 

 of sweat, the fibre of the wool is dry, hard 

 and weak, and the whole fleece becomes 

 thin and hairy, whereas with a sufficiency 

 of sweat the wool is soft and oily, rich 

 and strong. 



••in-om this It IS to be inferred that 

 while the sweat has a beneficial influence 

 on the wool, the potash is necessary to the 

 sweat ; further, where rearers observe an 

 insufficiency of sweat with their sheep a 

 rcmedv is to be found in a careful manur- 

 ino- of their lands. As to whether this 

 theory would work out in practice must 

 l,t> left to practical tests and experiments 

 to deci(k>, but a solution of the question 

 deserves the fullest consideration of 

 rearers. 



"A lurther (question is that it the 

 natural state ot the land renders ten 

 acres necessary for sheep, would it not be 

 possible to so enrich the soil as to allow 

 of these ten acres feeding ten sheep ? 

 Should this be the case, the manure ques- 

 tion would be well worthy of considera- 

 tion, the more so as the colonial laws are 

 more favoural)le to smaller land conces- 

 sions. The more valuable the land be- 

 comes, the more satisfactory results may 

 be expected. Of course, the difficulty m 

 answering above questions lies in the fact 

 that up to the present no experiments 

 have been carried out." 



The " Farmers' Guide," published by 

 the Australian Manures Co., Victoria 

 ?\Iarket, Svdney, writes:— "The grazing of 

 the cows' (juickly exhausts the phos- 

 poric aci<i salts and potash, and it is 

 very important that these properties 

 should W a^-ain given back to the soil if it 

 is desired to keej) the meadows in good 

 condition. 



"A ccM'tam gentleman made very in- 

 teresting expermionts with cattle. He 

 (livi(kxl up a small meadow into two parts, 

 manured the one half and left the other 

 half in its natural state, when he let the 



