532 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 1 June, 1898.] 
Farm and Garden Notes for June. 
Farw.—On the 24th of this month winter commences. Frosts, however, will 
have already occurred in many exposed parts of the South-western districts. 
Insect life is now comparatively dormant, and weeds are no longer a serious 
trouble and expense to the farmer. This modified weed growth gives him his 
opportunity to sow lucerne, rye grass, prairie and other grasses. But for 
lucerne’especially this is the most favourable time of the year for sowing. It 
has happened on many occasions that when lucerne has been sown early, say 
at the end of April or May, a mild, dropping season has started a prolific 
growth of weeds which choked the young plant, and the only alternative, 
except reploughing the land, has been to put all available labour to picking 
out the weeds, a proceeding much too expensive to risk. 
Sow also oats, barley, rye, vetches, clover, tobacco, carrots, mangolds, 
chicory, swedes, and buckwheat. Now is the time to get the land ready for 
maize, millets, sorghum, panicum, &c. Some recommend sowing maize in ° 
sheltered localities, but we should say decidedly that maize should not on any 
account be sown during this month. We once put in a crop of maize in 
April and had a good crop, but the winter was singularly mild, and frosts did 
not occur in the locality. Still, the time has not arrived for sowing maize, and ~ 
all that should be done is to get the land in proper condition to receive it 
towards the end of July and in August. The same remarks are applicable to 
potatoes. arly potatoes shouid not be sown till next month, and then only 
in very sheltered situations. ‘The frosts will now have blackened the arrowroot 
tops, and the bulbs fill out rapidly, and may soon be taken up. 
Dig all sweet potatoes, yams, ginger, &c. Sweet potatoes may be stored 
as recommended in Vol. II., Part 2, p. 90, of this Journal. The place of 
storage should be cool, as very hot weather is injurious to them. Be careful 
that the tubers are perfectly ripe before they are stored. Wheat may be sown, 
and it is worth noting that early-sown wheat will often escape rust and other 
evils which affect later crops. This was well exemplified in the wheat crops of 
last season. 
- Kitchen Garden.—Hoe well among all growing crops. ‘Transplant horse 
radish, eschallots, rhubarb, strawberries, seakale. Give new asparagus beds a 
second digging. Dig over the old rhubarb beds, and plant rhubarb, seakale, 
and asparagus, using plenty of well-rotted manure. During this month water- 
cresses may be planted. Running or even standing water is not an absolute 
necessity for watercresses if care be taken. Excellent cresses have been 
grown on the dry, shaley hills of South Brisbane. They should be planted 
much like celery in trenches. Dig in plenty of good old manure into the 
bottom of the trenches, and sift a little fine soil over it. Dibble the cuttings 
in at a foot apart, filling up the holes lightly with rich mould, and give the 
whole a good watering, not a dash from a bucket, but a gentle, steady sprinkling 
from a fine-rose watering pot, which will fall “like the gentle rain from 
Heaven,” as Shakespeare says, blessing alike the giver and receiver. In a 
month or six weeks the cresses can be cut. After cutting, give the beds a 
good dressing of manure all over, and water well. Repeat this treatment at 
every cutting. Watercress will also thrive well and yield good crops if sown 
amongst weeds on a creek bank, or on the edge of a waterhole or swamp. 
Tt is almost needless to report that all the usual garden vegetables may be 
sown during this month, but we do not recommend sowing onions for a field 
crop; it is too late. 
Se 
