tween 35 and 38 per cent soluble phosphate of lime, and costs users about $23.71 (£4 17s. 6d.) per long ton. The manure is chiefly drilled in with the seed, at the rate of between 80 and 112 pounds to the acre. (This will no doubt surprise people using between 2 and 3 cwts. per acre, and this method is one of the revolutions caused by the combined seed and fertilizer drill. One cwt. of super contains enough phosphoric acid to produce a 30-bushel crop, and nearly all the super put in with the seed is immediately available.) A few quotations of results will speak more emphatically than could my pen. On Yorke's Peninsula, last year, 35 pounds of seed drilled in with 80 to 90 pounds of English super gave 15 bushels per acre, while similar adjoining land broadcasted with about, 75 pounds of seed, with no manure, produced 9 bushels; 52 pounds of seed, 80 pounds of English super, 16 bushels; adjoining portion broadcasted, 8 bushels; 40 pounds of Algerian oats drilled with 112 pounds of super, 2 tons hay per acre; 35 pounds red wheat, 90 pounds of super, same result. Similar results came from all over the country. During the season before last, when the crops were practically a failure all over the colony, 75 pounds of super returned 12 bushels of wheat, while crops on unmanured fallow land adjoining were not worth reaping. This is how a farmer reported to the local agricultural bureau on the profitable use of superphosphate: Extra costs per acre-manure, 97 cents; drilling, 24 cents; carting and clearing extra crop, 28 cents; extra labor carting and handling super, 6 cents; interest on money laid out on manure and drill, 10 cents; less saving of seed, 16 cents (ruling price at seed time); total extra cost, $1.52 per acre. The manured land gave 6 bushels to the acre more than that broadcasted-$3.40, or a net profit per acre of $1.88. This also shows the care and thoroughness of the South Australian farmers' tests and experiments. Bone superphosphate, or vitriolized bone, contains about 14 per cent soluble phosphate, 20 per cent insoluble phosphate, 3 per cent nitrogen, and a small quantity of potash, and costs about $27.98 (£5 15s.) per long ton of 2,240 pounds. This manure is not much used on cereal crops, as the land does not yet, in the vast majority of cases, require nitrogen, and the 3 per cent of this fertilizer costs about $7.29 (£1 10s.) per ton. The immediate results generally are not as good as mineral super, unless the soil is deficient in nitrogen, which is rarely the case here, as explained later on. Basic slag, or Thomas phosphate (a by-product in the manufacture of steel from iron ore with a small percentage of phosphorus in it), contains 25 to 40 per cent of phosphate of lime, and costs about £3 10s. ($17) per long ton. The value depends largely on its fineness. As usually sold here, it is guaranteed that between 80 and 90 per cent will pass through a sieve of 10,000 meshes to the square inch. This fertilizer has not given such general satisfaction as mineral superphosphate. Owing to the light rainfall, South Australian soils are usually fully supplied with lime and are deficient in moisture. On some clays deficient in lime, peaty and light sandy soils, it has paid well, and is, I think, a profitable manure only for special land. Bone dust or meal has been used in some of the localities having a good rainfall for many years, and quite a number have bone mills; but it is very seldom used for manure, as the action of the phosphates is too slow, and not suited to a light rainfall. NITROGENOUS MANURES. Nitrogenous manures are not so important as phosphatic manures in wheat farming in this colony, because of— The regular practice of fallowing. The more rapid nitrification occurring in these soils. The light rainfall, which renders underdrainage unnecessary, thereby avoiding the leaching of nitrates. The habit of taking only the grain and allowing the straw to be consumed or to rot on the land. The more thoughtful farmers are alive to the situation, and each year conduct experiments with a view of finding out how soon it will be desirable to add artificial nitrogenous manures. So far, the evidence indicates that there is no reason to think the natural supply will prove to be deficient for years. Still, this form of manure must at some time be added to the soil if the land is to be severely cropped, and for this purpose we have nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, blood manure, and nitrogenous guanos; but, as that part of the nitrates which is not immediately absorbed by the plant passes into the depths of the subsoil, a great deal of experimenting must be done before it can be decided what is the most profitable form and manner of application. Nitrogenous manures are especially beneficial to hay crops, as they greatly increase the vegetable bulk. POTASH. This manure, too, is rarely deficient in these soils, and, like nitrogen, must be restored to the land only if successive or frequent crops are required. Experiments are now being made with these fertilizers. The best-known potash manures are kainit, wood ashes, and muriate of potash. The latter, and also sulphate of ammonia when drilled in with the seed, it is thought, injure the struggling seed and leave it between malting and germination proper, the braird being much weaker and thinner, which will no doubt complicate the manner of application. The use of lime and gypsum as manure helpers and indirect manures is also studied. The effect of lime on some clay lands has been most marked; it makes the clay less sticky in wet and more crumbly in dry weather, thus rendering it more workable; it acts on the dormant fertilizing ingredients and decomposes organic matter and mineral constituents, and exerts an influence on the making of plant food. Gypsum absorbs and fixes ammonia, decomposes double silicates in the soil, and sets free the potash when that mineral is present. BROADCASTING AND DRILLING MANURE AND SEED. So far as Australia is concerned, I believe the method of drilling in the manure and seed together had its inception in this colony, and the practice bids fair to revolutionize the wheat-growing industry. It is no small compliment to America, however, to say that all the drills used are made either in the United States or Canada, and the development of the practice of drilling and manuring wheat has led to an immense increase in the trade between Australia and America. The greatest drawback to the profitable use of manures when broadcasting had always been the large quantities necessary to apply and the difficulties of even distribution. By using the combined seed and fertilizer drill, both these troubles are obviated, and, instead of broadcasting 2 or 3 cwts. of superphosphate per acre, it is necessary only to drill in with the seed between 80 and 112 pounds; for the seed and manure are put in together, and most of the manure is immediately available for plant food, and I cwt. of good mineral superphosphate contains enough phosphoric acid for a 30-bushel crop, irrespective of that in the soil. Of course, I have been writing of a colony where 12 bushels have for some years been considered a good return and the average of unmanured crops is about 7 bushels. CHAS. A. MURPHY, Consular Agent. ADELAIDE, August 14, 1899. AGRICULTURAL POSSIBILITIES IN THE YUKON TERRITORY. Under date of September 6, 1899, Consul McCook, of Dawson City, transmits the following statement, prepared by Messrs. Acklin & Morley, of that place, on the agricultural possibilities in the Yukon territory: MESSRS. ACKLIN & MORLEY TO CONSUL MCCOOK. ARCTIC GARDENS, Dawson. SIR: In submitting to you our views and experiences of what can be grown successfully here, we do so hoping that it may prove of benefit to your Department and to the people at large. Experiments were commenced in 1898 by Mr. Acklin and proved successful with the following vegetables, viz: Radishes, lettuce, carrots, turnips, pease, ruta-bagas, and Siberian kale. For the season of 1899 we have tried both flowers and vegetables, and also some wheat, barley, and oats, which have, taken as a whole, proved very successful. We give you a list of the varieties of flowers, vegetables, and grain grown, the dates of sowing, planting, and maturing of crop, as near as possible. SOWN IN CABIN IN BOXES, APRIL 5. Flowers.-Pansies, China pinks, asters, cornflower, centaureas in three varieties, Stocks giant perfection, annual chrysanthemums, dahlias, nasturtiums, sweet pease, mignonette, Gabrielle calendulas, æroclimums, and helichrysums, Shirley poppies. Vegetables.-Leeks, lettuce, parsley and celery, cauliflower-cabbage. The foregoing plants were transplanted to the open ground from May 10 to June I, inclusive. The flowers commenced blooming very quickly; the first pansies were picked July 4; Shirley poppies, June 27; the remaining flowers bloomed in profusion by the second week of July, excepting the dahlias which from all appearances will only make tubers this year and be in good shape for the season of 1900. PLANTED IN THE OPEN. On May 3, we sowed fifteen varieties of sweet pease in the open ground; they were in bloom in seven weeks from time of sowing. Vegetables were sown outside on the following dates. We have not kept the exact date when we commenced marketing the different varieties, but it is sufficient to say that they grow as well and mature as quickly as in Vermont, Minnesota, and other Northern States. April 24.-Radishes. April 26.-Pease (American Wonder), prickly spinach, English mustard, Scotch kale, lettuce of all varieties. May 10.-Carrots (Danvers half-long, and Oxheart), turnips (Flat Dutch). May 24.-Beans (Broad Windsor, Golden wax, Wardwell's Kidney wax, etc.); pease (Little Gem, American Wonder, etc.); parsnips, rhubarb (Victoria and Stott's Mammoth), cucumber (Boston Market White Spine), onions (Danvers, Yellow, Queen, etc). May 27.-Transplanted cabbage, leeks, cauliflower, and parsley. We make frequent sowings of radishes and lettuce, as they mature more quickly than any other vegetables. The following varieties of cereals have been experimented with from samples from the Dominion experimental station at Ottawa, and the results go to prove that all the cereal grains, such as wheat, rye, oats, and barley, can be grown here and the country made self-supporting : April 26.-Oats, three kinds; harvested August 17 and 28. SUMMARY. From our observations of the climate here, we see no reason why the small fruits, as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, and gooseberries, could not be cultivated profitably, as they are growing wild in the surrounding country. Timothy, redtop, and several other grasses suitable for hay also grow wild and as luxuriant as in any part of the United States. In the floral line, we have as pretty wild flowers, especially roses, as can be seen in any northern climate. The duration of the season suited to vegetation is approximately five months in the lowlands and islands along the rivers, and two to four weeks longer on the hillsides with southern exposure. SUPPRESSING THE SAN JOSÉ SCALE IN CANADA. After prohibiting the importation of "nursery stock" into Canada,* the government of Ontario appointed a commission of three professors to investigate the ravages of the San José scale and the efficacy of the means adopted for stamping it out. The commission has made a final report, the main points of which I summarize. The greatest infestation, they say, is in one corner of Niagara Township, near Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the township of Harwick, Kent County, in the neighborhood of the post-office of Gould. There is limited infestation at Kingsville, and smaller ones at St. Catherines, Winona, Burlington, and near Chatham. In ninety-one other cases, trees planted within the last two years were found infested. These were all destroyed, and this year's inspection failed to discover scale in any but thirteen out of the ninety-one places. The scale was found in five nurseries, but the infested stock was destroyed. The inspector estimated it would be necessary to destroy 136,200 trees to be reasonably sure of exterminating the scale. The commissioners are in doubt as to the possibility of checking the further spread of the scale and eventually exterminating it by the destruction of the trees, as provided by the San José scale act. They advise the immediate destruction of all badly infested trees, showing incrusted trunks; the careful treatment of all others; and the granting of large discretionary powers to the inspectors in dealing with *See CONSULAR REPORTS No. 212 (May, 1898), p. 112, |