THE 
AGRICULTURAL 01 AG AZ 1 06, 
COLOMBO. 
Added as a Supplement Monthly to the " TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST." 
The following pages include the Contents of the Agricultural Magazine 
for April : — 
Vol. VI.] APRIL, 1895. [No. 10. 
FODDER EXPERIMENTS. 
HE produce of lucerne, in the ex- 
periments carried out at the 
School of Agriculture, was at the 
rate of 2 ton?, 11 cwt. per acre 
of green fodder. This taking eight 
cuttings a year means an annual yield of 20 
tons, 8 cwt. a year. The seeds were procured 
from India, as attempts to grow lucerne from 
English seed have proved failures. 
In Mr. Nock's experiment in Hakgala in 1892, 
the produce of lucerne was at the rate of a 
little over 32 tons per acre, and that with three 
cuttings. This, as Mr. Nock remarks, is up to 
the highest yields in England. 
It is interesting to compare with these the 
results of cultivation on the Pooua Farns 
where experiments with fodder crops form a 
special feature. In his report of December 1892, 
Mr. Mollison gives the outturn of his lucerne 
crop per acre per annum as 8o,456 lb. or over 
38 tons — 14 cuttings having beeu made during 
the year. 
In the same report Guinea grass is said to 
produce an outturn per acre per annum of 
101,o68 lb., or a little over 45 tons (with 8 
cuttings during the year), while Reaua gave a 
crop equal to 80,778 lb. or a little over 36 
tons per acre per annum. 
In Poona, Guinea grass is cultivated accord- 
ing to the ridge and furrow system, the crop 
is irrigated, and taken when quite young. 
Mr. Mollison is a strong believer in Guinea grass 
as a fodder for milch cattle; of Mauritius or 
water grass, he says: "It grows slower than 
Guinea grass, and does not give the same out- 
turn'' ; and further adds " It has this advantage, 
it thrives well in a damp, even a wet situation."' 
This is an advantage no doubt, but when long 
droughts prevail and there is no means of irri- 
gating water-grass, the crop in a great many 
places is completely burnt up with the result 
that there is a great dearth of fodder for cattle 
and horses. Owners of horses are gradually com- 
ing to learn that water-grass is by no means 
a suitable fodder for their animal>, and yet there ar 
no grass farms except those under water grass. 
Guinea grass is seldom grown, and when grown is 
found in small patches about dwelling houses 
It is expected that in the course of this year 
a good deal of the waste land in the Model 
Farm premises will be laid under Guinea grass, 
Lucerne, Reana, and Jowari (Sorghum). Jowari 
thrives well at the School of Agriculture, while 
the produce of Reana grown on the premises 
was at the rate of nearly 15 tons per acre p<5r 
cutting, or nearly 90 tons per annum, if 6 cut- 
tings can be counted on. Our experiments with 
cow pea (the "wonderful") gave a yield equal 
to over oh tons per acre. The produce of the 
so-called " Delft" grass, (the roots of which were 
originally procured through the kindness of the 
Government Agent of the Northern Province) 
was at the rate of 8 tons, 4 -A cwt. per acre at 
a cutting. As a result of the late drought 
there has been a great falling off in the supply 
of grass for milch cattle, and prices conse- 
quently went up. It is high time that other 
fodder crops such as those referred to above 
