SCIE.tifIC AGRICULTURE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1288, 5 November 1896, Page 4

SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE.

What can be Accomplished in the way of agriculture when properly carried on, even in unpropitious years, is well illustrated by the past season’s operations at the Rose worthy Agricultural College, South Australia. The following abridgment of an account of a “ farmers’ day ” at Roseworthy, as given in the South Australian Register, will have more than ordinary interest for our farming readers :

A trip to the Agricultural College is now looked upon as one of the institutions of the September Agricultural Carnival, and the suggestion which originated it three years ago was a happy one. Improvement in the methods of agriculture, as indeed in anything else, can only proceed at a maximum rate when there is perfect union between the factors of theory and practice. Such a union is undoubtedly promoted by gatherings like that at Roseworthy on Monday, 21st September, for there were assembled the professional heads of the Department of Agriculture, and scores of brawny tillers of the soil who pride themselves on the keen eye they have for the practical side of things, and the contact of the two elements was doubtless beneficial to both. Certain it is that such visits tend to popularise the institution at Roseworthy, The college is not easy of access, and hence the object lessons to be learned on the farm are lost to a great many who would otherwise avail themselves of them. Once a year, however, the Government runs a special train as far as Gawler, and then conveys visitors by vehicles over the remaining half-dozen miles, so that a good opportunity is afforded to inspect the crops and criticise the methods of farming. A larger number availed themselves of the opportunity this year than on either of the previous occasions, over 200 making the trip. This number taxed the coaching accommodation of the Colonial Athens pretty severely, and about eighty had to be trained on to Rosebery, and to wait for the coaches to go to the College, and thence to Roseworthy. Ultimately, however, the college was reached, and the visitors were received by Professors Lowrie and Perkins. The Rose worthy establishment is, like other farms, feeling the effect of

the dry weather. So far only 12gin of rain has fallen this year. Of this was registered in June and 3in in April. In July less than an inch fell in August and this month so far less that half an inch. Altogether it is the driest winter that Professor Lowrie has experienced. Notwithstanding this the visitors found much to claim their attention and even .admiration.

Passing over that section of the report which refers to the vineyard, and coming to the agricultural division, it may be said that the wheat ciops which were put in early have not yet begun to fail. Whatever happens in the way of a continuation of dry weather they will cut a ton of hay to the acre, and if rain falls they will go more. The burden of the cropping on the farm is wheat. Professor Lowrie finds that no other crop is on the same horizon with it in air conditions W 7 hat further crops there are on the farm are chiefly experimental. There are upwards of a score varieties of wheat, grown on blocks from three to thirty-five acres. The whole wheat area this.year is about 250 acres. There is a large block of early dun peas, and about twelve acres of Maltese beans The beans so far are looking exceedingly well. The land was dressed with farmyard manure, but the peas are not showing much encouragement. In the same field as these are a number of blocks of seeds imported from France. There is the vicia villosa vetch, a popular plant in France, and the professor thinks that if any vetch will suit this country this is likely to be the one. He has tiied the flat podded vetcbling and the common vetch. He is also trying the Southern clay pea and the black-eyed cow pea. These seeds were imported from America. I hey have been planted for two months, but are not yet up. Saga beans are also planted, but are not yet up. This is a favourite bean for pressing for oil. Some greyspring peas, also imported from France, are doing very well, but the early dun pea promises better. As instancing what is involved in the conduct of experiments such as these, the professor stated that more trouble has been taken on them than would have been sufficient for fifty acres of wheat. There are a few acres of Algerian oats. These were sown late—on the 11th June —and came up too late for this season. There was a delay at the port in obtaining the seed, hence the lateness. The same oat was tried last year without success, and Frofessor Lowrie thinks it will not stand the extreme dry weather. He tried 100 acres of it last year, and the whole thing was a failure. If it had been in wheat it would have returned from £2OO to £3OO.

In No. 5 A field is a crop of wheat looking very fine. It is after kale, which was dressed with farmyard manure.

In No. 6B is also another wheat crop, consisting of eight varieties. Those are Early Para, 16 acres ; Medeah, 40:} acres ; Baart, 18 acres • Allora, H acre : King’s Straw, 6 acres ; Australian Wonder, Si- acres ; Zealande, 6 acres ; and White Naples. 8} acres. In No. 9 is a barley imported from North Africa. The Professor of Agriculture thinks this is an improvement on the vai'iety of Cape barley grown in the colony. It has held its own wonderfully well. Alongside it are two varieties of oats from Philadelphia, on a small block ot about an acre, hut which have not grown an inch for the last six weeks, and which will not be worth anything. In No. 16 are two varieties of mustard for forage, white and hroauleaf. There jaro from twenty to twenty-five acres. They are growing fairly well, and promise to give a good bit of forage. In the same field area lot of summer crops. Amongst these are Madiasa tiva. This crop is grown for ploughing in, as it produces a big bulk and is not much relished by stock. It is grown on the Continent largely. There are also Hungarian millet, Hungarian brone grass, sainfoin, China nettle Bilvery grass, and the following imported sorghums : Sorghum sugarcane, early Minnesota sorghum, orange sugar sorghum, and Aleppo sorghum. Most of these are new and are in good large blocks. If rain falls shortly they may do well. In the same field is a block of maize of two different varieties, the chief one being yellow early. In No. 1A are five or six acres of kale and a block of two varieties of mangolds looking fairly well. There are also eight varieties of garden peas, eight varieties of beet, and a lot of

cabbages, which the professor hoped to pickle, but will not be able to now. There are also blocks of carrots, parsnips and potatoes. The farm has about 200 acres of fallow, and only about seventy acres on the place is unploughed. The stock, therefore, may be said to be “cribbed, cabined and confined.” The dairy cattle, of which there are about thirty head, will have to get through the summer with chaff and molasses unless a good rain falls shortly and brings away the sorghum. Most of the sheep have had to be cleared off, because they were practically ploughed over the fence.

Generally the season has been a bad one for feed, and promises to be still worse. The dairy cattle have so far done pretty well, becar.se from twentyfive to thirty acres of green feed, such as rye, wheat, rape and mustard, has been available. About five acres is left, and this will be made into hay, as it will go further. This crop was intended ordinarily for ensilage, but for the second year in succession there will be none of this fodder prepared. The professor has used no manure with the crops when sowing this year. At the end of July he top dressed over 100 acres with lewt of superphosphate and |cwt of sulphate of ammonia. But that manuring will not tell, because there has not been sufficient rain to make it go into the ground. One ton of guano treated with sulphuric acid has been sent to the college for trial. This was topdressed on to live acres of wheat and five acres of peas, but where the crops are showing well and exhibiting the influence of manuring, as they do in field No. 6, it is really the residual value of manure formerly applied. About sixty acres in that field was dressed in 1894, when it carried wheat; and the remaining thirty acres was dressed in 1892, and has carried wheat each alternate year since. No. 5, about seventy-five acres, has not been manured this year, but it was dressed in 1894, when it carried a magnificent crop of wheat, some of the varieties going as high as 24 bushels. Although such a heavy crop was taken off them, the colour of the present crop shows that a considerable quantity of the dressing of 2|cwt of superphosphate is still available.