THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



241 



A Barn. 



rPHE above illustration represents a large and commodious barn at Ward Hill, Mr. John 

 wood ' framework of the roof is constructed entirely from sawn gum 



Green Manuring. 



By Alex Pardy, F.C.S., Agricultural Chemist. 



MUCH has been said and written of late 

 years on the subject of growing 

 crops for manurial purposes, and scientific 

 investigations are responsible for the 

 great advancement made in methods of 

 improvement, both of the physical and 

 chemical qualities of the soil, in their 

 relation to plant life. One of the most 

 important investigations has gone to prove 

 the fallacy of bare fallow, or 'resting the 

 land,' as it is called. It has been demon- 

 strated that the land is capal)le of 

 producing crops continuously, provided 

 it is well-cultivated and receives a proper 

 rotation of crops, and supplied with the 

 constituents which are liable to become 

 exhausted. The soil might properly be 

 regarded as the medium in which plants 

 receive their support, and is most adapted 

 tor the development of their organizations, 

 ihroughout the soil the mineral consti- 



tuents, which naturally are found there, 

 are so distributed that the plant roots' 

 develop in their search of the material 

 that will aid their development, and thus 

 they become established or anchored in 

 the most suitable environment which will 

 promote their growth and fulfil all the 

 conditions of their nature. 



The seed of the future plant contains 

 in itself sutficient stored- up nutriment to 

 give it a start in life. It sends forth its 

 roots, young leaves and stem, and in the 

 process exhausts its store of food. Thence 

 it becomes dependent on the material 

 which its roots are fitted to extract from 

 the soil in which it has sprung, and with 

 the unfolding of the leaves the whole 

 organisation comes into play, making it 

 capable of drawing carbon and oxygen 

 from the air and elaborating the various 

 materials it has accumulated into food, 



