268 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Oor., 1898. 
about a foot, and then I put on top of the corn any old hay that I may have. 
After the hay is put on as evenly as possible, I place the planks on. These 
planks are cut to fit the silo tight. On top of the planks 1 place about two 
tons of sand in bags. The bags are distributed evenly over the planks; and if 
one end gves down faster than the other, we move the bags. The idea is to 
settle the mass as quickly as possible. When I open the silo, I find the hay a 
mass of wet and rot, but nota particle of mould or rot is to be found on the 
corn. It seems to me that the trouble lies not so much in the packing (although 
the man in the silo needs watching) as it does in the covering and weighting. 
My silo settles about one-third, and when opened is as solid as a rock. 
The stalks are all jammed together, and we cut it with the broad axe into 
squares of about 6 inches, and it comes out solid, like a cake of ice. This is 
put into trucks and rolled in front of the cattle, and fed out to them as much 
as each cow needs—no regular amount, as some cows need more than others. 
One man does the feeding all the winter, and so each cow gets about the same 
each time. Two men cut and get out of the silo enough for two feeds (twenty 
» head of stock) in half-an-hour. I do not for a moment think cut ensilage is 
not the best ; but as long as mine comes out as well as it has done in the past, 
Ido not think it would pay me to go to the expense of buying a machine for 
cutting. Let the farmers put on heavy weights, and their corn will not mould 
if it has been packed properly. I do not believe it is a job that can be hurried. 
I take about seventeen days for mine, working three men. We cut enough in 
the morning early to last all day. I use sand for weighting, because, after it 
comes off the silo, I can use it behind the cattle. 
TOBACCO AS A PERENNIAL. 
A. new feature in the way of tobacco-planting comes to us through the medium 
of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, in an article by Ivan van Lantay in the 
Melbourne Weekly Limes. Up to the present no one suspected that the 
tobacco plant could be treated as a perennial. It has fallen to Mr. W. 
Daroczi, Budapest, Hungary, editor of Magyar Dohanynjsag, © newspaper 
devoted to tobacco and its culture, to discover this feature of the tobacco plant ; 
and he maintains that each succeeding crop of leaves is heavier and of better 
quality. This presents a new aspect in tobacco culture, for, to a great extent, 
it does away with the laborious work of transplanting. 
It seems peculiar that this perennial quality of the tobacco has not been 
discovered before, although, within the last few years, in Germany, some 
experiments have been made, but very few have known it. 
Mr. Daroczi made his first experiment in 1894, when he put into pots 
some Ghinbeck plants, which he kept in a room during the severe Huropean 
winter. These plants bloomed again the following year, with the netoniatie 
difference that the leaves were better, larger, and of good quality. He made 
his experiment in 1895 on a larger scale, and gained excellent results. These 
plants he exhibited at the “ Millenium”’ Exhibition at Budapest the same year, 
where tkey created a sensation among the experts. 
Mr. Daroczi’s method is as follows :—The roots of the plants must have a 
good strong hold in the ground. After the crop has been harvested, the stems 
should be cut down to the level of the ground ; then, with hoe orsmall plough, 
cover the rows of stems with earth; this provides a protection against frost 
(specially in cold countries). ‘The following season the plants start into 
growth. Being hardened, they are not so sensible to inclement weather. At 
- the time when others are being transplanted, these will haye mature leaves. 
Tn connection with the above-mentioned discovery, Mr. Daroczi has made 
another one—namely, that the tobacco plant can be propagated by layers. If a 
' layer is plucked from the plant, although without roots, yet it will grow if put 
