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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  September  11,  1902. 
When  sown  in  a  mixture,  sheep  eat  it  down  closely,  and 
thrive  well  on  it.  It  grows  early,  and  is  ready  for  grazing 
by  the  beginning  of  March,  which  is  an  important  advantage 
to  sheep  breeders,  as  it  provides  fresh  food  when  it  is  most 
urgently  required.  Burnet  is  a  most  healthy  food  for  sheep, 
and  has  the  excellent  quality  of  correcting  scour.  As  we 
have  said,  it  is  not  so  suitable  for  hay  as  some  other  plants  ; 
but  a  portion  of  Burnet  amongst  hay  will  prevent  the  latter 
from  over-heating. 
Another  little  known,  but  very  valuable,  plant  is  the 
Kidney  Vetch.  A  few  years  ago  Mr.  Hunter  Pringle  called 
attention  to  the  great  value  of  this  plant  as  grown  on  the 
poor  sands  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk.  Personal  experience 
confirmed  the  correctness  of  Mr.  Pringle’s  statements.  It 
will  flourish  where  Clover  can  hardly  exist.  We  have  grazed 
it  and  made  hay  of  it,  but  should  recommend  it  as  a  com¬ 
panion  to  Burnet  for  sheep  pasturage.  It  wall  stand  for  years 
if  the  winters  be  mild  ;  but  30deg  of  frost  will  kill  off  old 
plants.  Young  plants  will  stand  frost  well.  Twenty  pounds 
per  acre  is  the  proper  quantity  to  sow  alone  ;  but,  as  with 
Chicory  and  Burnet,  -we  should  recommend  a  mixture. 
For  a  five  or  six  years’  ley  on  thin  or  sandy  soil,  4lb 
White  Clover,  8lb  Burnet,  6lb  Chicory,  8lb  Kidney  Vetch, 
4lb  Rib  Grass,  and  the  Rye  Grass  which  does  best  in  the  soil 
(say  7 lb  of  it),  would  make  an  excellent  mixture,  and  could 
be  relied  on  to  keep  growing  and  provide  a  good  bite  -when 
ordinary  everyday  mixtures  would  be  dried  up  and  dead. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
Glass  land  farmers  have  gone  through  very  sad  experiences 
during  the  last  year  or  two,  but  they  are  getting  their  own  again 
now.  They  rejoice  in  full  pastures  and  good  markets  for  their 
fat  stock,  and  at  the  same  time  see  their  arable  brethren  wallow¬ 
ing  in  a  slough  of  despond  produced  by  a  succession  of  showers 
just  when  sunshine  is  the  only  thing  desired.  After  two  seasons 
of  too  much  sunshine  and  too  little  moisture,  it  is  very  dis¬ 
heartening  to  farmers  to  find  themselves  hampered  by  the 
opposite  extreme,  but  so  it  is,  and  we  have  to  make  the  best  of  it. 
To-day  we  have  a  tearing  wind,  and  as  only  a  small  portion 
of  the  Corn  is  in  stook,  we  are  naturally  fearful  as  to  its  effects 
on  the  standing  crops.  Barleys  of  the  Standwell  and  Goldthorpe 
type  are  very  largely  grown,  and  being  very  liable  to  neck  in 
a  wind,  a  gale  like  this  may  cause  heavy  loss.  The  best  ears  of 
Barley  we  have  seen  this  year  are  Wrench’s  Prolific,  a  variety 
of  Chevalier  with  both  length  of  ear  and  plumpness  of  grain. 
The  grains  near  the  tip  of  the  ear  are  as  big  as  those  in  the 
middle,  a  most  desirable  feature. 
Reapers  are  -working  well  considering  the  difficulties  they 
have  to  contend  with.  Wheat  is  easy  enough  to  do,  but  some  of 
the  Barley  which  became  lodged  in  June  is  so  rotten  that  it  is 
pulled  up  by  the  fingers  before  the  knife  has  a  chance  to  do  its 
work.  The  best  way  is  to  put  men  to  work  with  scythes  and 
mow  out  all  the  bad  bits.  If  this  rubbishy  stuff  is  tied  up  at 
once  and  stooked  by  itself  it  may  be  kept  apart-  altogether  from 
the  better  portion  of  the  crop,  with  great  benefit  to  the  latter. 
Barley  is  cutting  and  stooking  up  well,  and  the  samples 
will  be  of  good  size,  though  they  are  considerably  stained.  Oats 
are  disappointing.  In  the  majority  of  cases  their  appearance 
in  stook  compares  badly  with  their  appearance  uncut.  Samples 
will  be  good  and  heavy.  With  fine  weather  new  Oats  will  soon' 
be  on  the  market.  Prices  are  tempting,  and  farmers  want 
money.  They  also  want  thatch,  so  it  is  likely  that  heavy 
thrashings  of  Wheat  will  take  place  shortly. 
It  is  a  long  time  since  farm  live  stock  showed  such  a  clean 
bill  of  health.  The  loss  of  lambs  has  been  of  the  smallest 
proportions,  and  these  animals  are,  in  point  of  growth  and  con¬ 
dition,  far  above  the  average.  Plenty  of  food  accounts  for  good 
condition,  and  good  condition  is  the  best  safeguard  from  disease. 
Sheep  will  have  to  go  on  Turnips  shortly,  but  it  will  be  con¬ 
venient  to  get  the  harvest  in  first.  There  will  be  plenty  of  young 
Clover  in  the  stubble,  but  Turnips  are  so  good  that  we  shall 
hardly  require  to  graze  new  seeds  this  autumn.  They  will  bo 
better  for  being  untouched  until  spring. 
Milk  cows  have  enjoyed  such  good  pasture  that  they  have  kept 
up  the  milk  supply  in  very  unusual  fashion.  That  the  quality  has 
not  kept  pace  with  the  quality  is  proved  by  the  numerous  prosecu¬ 
tions  of  dairy  farmers  for  selling  weak  milk.  Cows  will  pay  as 
well  for  cake  when  pastures  are  good  as  when  they  are  sparse. 
Though  there  is  still  plenty  of  grass,  it  cannot  be  of  summer 
quality,  and  cotton  cake  must  be  allowed.  Foals  must  soon  be 
weaned,  especially  if  the  mares  are  required  for  harvest  work. 
TJuweaned  foals  are  often  thrown  amiss  when  their  dams  are  work¬ 
ing.  Reaping  should  especially  be  avoided.  For  early  lambs 
the  ram  should  now  be  with  the  ewes.  There  is  increasing 
tendency  to  use  black-faced  sires,  and  with  the  wool  trade  in 
its  present  state  no  sensible  man  would  do  otherwise. 
Australian  Grazing  Lands  and  Grasses. 
The  excellent  character  of  Australian  dairy  and  other  food 
produce  generally,  is  largely  due  to  the  rich  character  of  the 
greater  portion  of  the  grazing  lands,  especially  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  sea  coast,  where  the  rainfall  is  most  frequent  and  copious. 
In  New  South  Wales,  the  Illawarra  district,  famous  for  its 
cheese  and  butter,  possesses  some  of  the  best-  pasturage  in  the 
Commonwealth,  consisting  of  different  kinds  of  herbage  in  vary¬ 
ing  proportions.  In  newly  laid  down  pastures,  says  an  agri¬ 
cultural  expert,  Perennial  Rye  predominates,  but  the  reason  is 
that  a  greater  percentage  of  seeds  of  this  Grass  is  generally  sown 
in  mixture  for  permanent  pasture.  Cocksfoot  form  a  fair  per¬ 
centage  of  the  permanent  herbage,  and  appears  to  withstand 
dry  weather  better  than  Rye.  White  Clover  is  also  abundant, 
more  particularly  in  pastures  which  have  been  laid  down  a  few 
years.  Under  ordinary  conditions  it  produces  an  abundance 
of  seed,  and  when  the  autumn  rains  set  in  they  readily 
germinate.  During  the  spring  months,  should  rain  fall  at 
frequent  intervals,  the  Clover  grows  rank,  and  when  cows  eat 
ravenously  cf  it  very  frequently  produces  lioven.  With  this 
exception,  the  Illawarra  dairymen  look  upon  it  as  a  valuable 
pasture  plant. 
Prairie  Grass  is  conspicuous  in  most  pastures,  the  rich,  succu¬ 
lent  herbage  being  much  relished  by  stock.  Rib-Grass  is  plenti¬ 
ful,  and  is  regarded  as  an  excellent  food  for  cows,  and  as 
increasing  the  flow  of  milk  in  dairy  cattle  that  eat  it.  Among 
the  useless  Grasses,  from  a  dairyman’s  point  of  view,  is  the 
“  meadow  soft  grass,”  or  “  Yorkshire  fog,”  said  to  have  been 
introduced  with  Cocksfoot  seed  into  New  Zealand.  In  both  new 
and  old  pastures,  but  especially  the  latter,  there  is  a  consider¬ 
able  percentage  of  indigenous  grasses  and  plants,  and  in  dry 
seasons  these,  more  particularly  the  Couch  Grass,  often  prove 
the  mainstay  of  the  pastures,  the  native  grasses  being  enabled 
to  withstand  the  effects  of  drought  for  a  longer  period  than  are 
the  artificially-sown  grasses. 
In  the  New  England  district  of  New  South  Wales  some  of 
the  grazing  lands  are  among  the  finest  known,  and  during  the 
summer  months  are  unsurpassed  for  the  rich,  succulent,  and 
varied  character  of  the  indigenous  grasses  and  forage  plants 
which  clothe  them.  One  of  the  most  common  “  grasses  ”  is  the 
“Wild  Sorghum,”  which  is  highly  spoken  of.  Not  only  are 
sheep  and  cattle,  we  are  told,  fond  of  the  herbage,  but  it  is 
said  that  horses  eat  the  seed  heads  and  fatten  on  them.  “Kan¬ 
garoo  Grass”  is  plentiful,  and  grows  to  a  great  height  when 
left  unmolested.  “  Wallaby  Grass  ”  is  common  in  places,  and  has 
a  high  reputation  as  a  forage  plant,  by  reason  of  its  drought- 
resisting  properties.  The  “  blue  grass  ”  is  also  a  valuable  herb¬ 
age  plant.  The  herbage  likewise  includes  the  “  tussack  poa,” 
“  star  ”  or  “  windmill  grass,”  and  “  wheat  grass.” 
The  “  Bent  Grasses  ”  are  common ;  although  only  annual 
grasses,  they  yield  rich,  succulent  herbage  during  the  early 
summer  months,  when  most  other  grasses  are  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  growth.  The  “  long  hair  Plume  Grass,”  when  in  flower, 
is  a  conspicuous  plant  on  pastures.  On  the  banks  of  some  creeks 
and  in  low  damp  places  the  “  water  Couch  Grass  ”  is  plentiful. 
It  is  a  quick  grower,  and  greedily  eaten  by  cattle.  There  are 
numerous  other  native  grasses  which  afford  excellent  food  for 
live  stock. 
Among  the  exotic  grasses  the  white  Clover  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  abundant,  growing  more  freely  than  in  colder  countries, 
the  New  England  pastures  in  spring  being  literally  white  with 
its  flowers.  In  the  Camden  district,  near  Sydney,  when  first 
settled,  the  tall,  waving  “Kangaroo  Grass”  was  so  plentiful  that 
when  in  seed  the  country  resembled  an  immense  Wheat  field. 
The  grasses  are  much  the  same  as  in  the  New  England  district. 
Noxious  weeds  and  supposed  poisonous  plants  are  found  on  many 
of  the  Australian  grazing  lands,  but  in  most  places  are  kept  in 
check  by  stock  owners. 
The  commonest  weeds  are  a  couple  of  so-called  Dandelions, 
which,  although  not  productive  of  ill-effects  in  live  stock,  natu¬ 
rally  tend  to  diminish  the  quantity  of  useful  herbage  by  choking 
out  the  nutritious  grasses.  At  one  time  the  “  Cape  Weed  ” 
threatened  to  become  a  destructive  pest,  but  it  is  being  kept 
within  bounds,  as  are  the  Thistles  and  Dock  plants. 
The  rapidly  increasing  importance  of  the  Australian  dairying 
industry  has  occasioned  greater  attention  being  given  to  the 
maintenance  and  improvement  of  the  pasture  lands  generally, 
with  the  result  that  their  feeding .  and  fattening  capabilities 
have  become  largely  extended.  The  growth  of  the  more  useful 
indigenous  grasses  is  encouraged,  and  where  artificial 
sowing  is  necessary  the  best  kinds  of  grass  seed 
from  Europe  and  America  alone  are  used.  Considerable  quanti¬ 
ties  of  grass  seed,  both  indigenous  and  exotic,  are  also  obtained 
within  the  Commonwealth. — John  Plummer,  Sydney. 
