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Honey Flora Calendar For April, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at Flora available in April

Safflower : An Oil Crop For The Kimberleys, D F. Beech

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

EXPERIMENTS with irrigated safflower carried out at the Kimberley Research Station have shown that the crop is well adapted to the local conditions.

In recent years yields of 2,000 to 3,000 lb. per acre have been generally obtained. Oil content of the main variety under trial varied between 33 and 35 per cent.

Locally produced safflower oil could help to make the Australian paint industry largely independent of imports.

Safflower meal is a protein-rich concentrate and could have considerable impact on the Kimberley cattle industry.

Safflower is likely to play an important part in the early development of irrigation agriculture …

There Is No Mystery About 1080, A R. Tomlinson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DESPITE the widespread publicity given to sodium fluoroacetate or "1080" and its general use throughout agricultural areas, there appear to be many misconceptions regarding the poison itself, its control, dangers and precautions and also the method of application. I will mention several of the questions often asked and give the answers.

Bluebush Seed Supplies, C V. Malcolm

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A GREAT deal of publicity has been given of late to the value of bluebush (Kochia brevifolia) as a plant for some types of salt-affected land, particularly in the drier parts of the wheatbelt.

Obtaining seed supplies can be a problem, but fortunately large amounts of seed are not required since once a few bushes are established they will spread seed over the intervening areas.

Thus rates of 1 to 2 lb of seed per acre have been found quite satisfactory.

Better Rations For Broiler Production, P Smetana

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DURING 1959, trials were conducted at the Poultry Research Station, Herdsman Lake, with the object of developing a broiler-feeding ration that was better than the one at present recommended by the Department of Agriculture and commonly used by local broiler producers.

The Fruit Industry In Other Lands. 2. The Netherlands, Frank Melville

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DURING a week spent in Holland, visits were made to the International Agricultural Centre, Wageningen, the Fruit Research Station, Wilhelminadorp, the Virus Indexing Station, Emmeloord, the Glass House Research Station, Naaldwyk, and the fruit and flower auctions at Naaldwyk and Aalsmeer.

Visits to commercial orchards were limited by time.

Insect Pests : Snails And Slugs, Clee Francis Howard Jenkins

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

WHILE snails and slugs are not insects, they have been included in this series of articles, because the damage they cause is very similar to that caused by insect pests—and furthermore, the task of testing and recommending control measures is usually left to the entomologists.

Tobacco Production In Western Australia, A E. Baker

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE annual consumption of manufactured tobacco in Australia is in the vicinity of 55,000,000 pounds.

Although the public is well acquainted with the use of tobacco for smoking, many people are unaware of the care and attention required to grow such a crop.

The following article attempts to outline the conditions and methods as applied to tobacco production in Western Australia.

Honey Flora Calendar For October, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at Flora available in October

Trees Of Western Australia. 71. Coarse-Leaved Mallee (Eucalyptus Grossa F. Muell. Ex Benth.). 72. Desmond Mallee (Eucalyptus Desmondensis Maiden & Blakely). 73. Eucalyptus Falcata Turcz. 74. Jerdacattup Mallee (Eucalyptus Goniantha Turcz.). 75. Redheart (Eucalyptus Decipiens Endl.). 76. Eucalyptus Corrugata Luehmann. 77. Goldfields Blackbutt (Eucalyptus Le Souefii Maiden). 78. Strickland's Gum, Or Goldfields Yellow-Flowered Gum (Eucalyptus Stricklandii Maiden), Charles Austin Gardner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THIS mallee is unmistakable by reason of its peculiar habit and thick roughbarked stem and branches, both of which have longitudinally-fissured persistent bark right up to the distinctly reddish branchlets.

The leaves are broad and thick, a bright shining green in colour, with the mid-ribs usually a purplish-red. The heads of flowers are on thick red round-in-section foot-stalks which hang almost vertically, and the reddish bud-cap conceals the ultimately free, bright yellow filaments.

The widely-spreading thick branches, and in general the rough stout appearance of the shrub inspired the name "grossa" from the Latin grossus meaning thick.

Weeds Of Western Australia : Cape Tulip (Homeria Breyniana (L.) Lewis And H. Miniata Sweet), G R W Meadly

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

SOUTH Africa has provided us with a number of undesirable weeds including doublegee, Berkheya thistle, Guildford grass and stinking roger, but outstanding among the weed introductions from that country are two species of Homeria known as Cape Tulip.

The salmon-coloured flowers and long grass-like leaves are known to farmers in many localities extending from Geraldton to Albany and as far east as Bruce Rock and Merredin. Beyond the metropolitan area the largest infestations occur in the Northam, York, Beverley and Williams districts where thousands of acres of good land are affected.

A Successful Campaign Against The Euro, E H M Ealey, T. M. Richardson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

RESULTS from a five-year research programme carried out by the C.S.I.R.O. on the Abydos-Woodstock Pastoral Research Station indicated that euros could be controlled in a practical and economic way by the traditional method of water poisoning,

if it was continued for an extended period and carried out over a large area. Smallscale trials supported this claim, but no opportunity had occurred to assess the practicability of a large-scale poisoning operation.

Honey Flora Calendar For November, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at Flora available in November

Honey Flora Calendar For December, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at Flora available in December.

Honey Flora Calendar For January, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at Flora available in January.

Tobacco Seed-Bed Management, A E. Baker

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A SUCCESSFUL tobacco crop depends initially on an ample supply of well-grown, disease-free seedlings available early in the planting season.

If planting is held up due to a poor supply of seedlings, the resulting crop will not be grown in the most favourable part of the season. Late-grown crops nearly always give low returns.

Honey Flora Calendar For July, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at Flora available for July

Trees Of Western Australia. 79. Eucalyptus Foecunda (Schau.). 80. Fluted Horn Mallee (E. Stowardii Maiden). 81. Eastern Goldfields Horned Mallee (E. Eremophila Maiden). 82. Oldfield's Mallee (E. Oldfieldii F. Muell.), Charles Austin Gardner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THIS species is a mallee with an average stature of 5-15 feet, with several erect twiggy branches, the bark smooth except at the very base where unshed patches of a dark greyish-brown adhere to the stems, otherwise it sheds in small plates, leaving a smooth grey-brown bark.

Termites Or White Ants, Clee Francis Howard Jenkins

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

TERMITES are commonly but erroneously called "white ants."

Actually they are more nearly related to cockroaches than to ants, but their general appearance and subterranean habits have given strong support to the popular designation.

They may be divided into two major groups from an economic point of view, viz., wood-dwelling and earth-dwelling termites.

Honey Flora Calendar For August, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at Flora available in August

Hormone Sprays For Apricots, J E L Cripps

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

VARIOUS hormone sprays have been applied to apricots with the object of increasing fruit size and hastening maturity, and of these 245TA, the tri-ethanol amine salt of 245 trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, has in general, proved the most successful.

The increase in fruit diameter obtained with this spray in Western Australia has varied between 5 and 15 per cent, and is due to an increase in the size of the cells within the fruit, not to the production of a greater number of cells.

Weed Research. 7. Weed Control Around The Yard, Geoffrey A. Pearce

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

MANY farmers and city householders have weed problems around houses and sheds which can be readily overcome by treatment with appropriate herbicides.

The risk from fire through weeds and unslightly growth can easily be removed and an area free of any plant growth can be maintained with little effort for a considerable period.

Honey Flora Calendar For March, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at Flora available for March

Trees Of Western Australia. 39. Comet Vale Mallee (Eucalyptus Comitae-Vallis). 40. Woodline Mallee (E. Cylindrocarpa Blakely). 41. Ribbon-Barked Mallee (E. Sheathiana Maiden). 42. Burracoppin Mallee (E. Burracoppinensis Maiden Et Blakely). 43. Cap-Fruited Mallee (E. Dielsii C.A. Gardn.). 44. Spearwood Mallee (E. Doratoxylon F. Muell.) 45. Apple Mallee (E. Buprestium F. Muell.). 46. Goblet Mallee (E. Scyphocalyx (F. Muell.) Maiden Et Blakely), Charles Austin Gardner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THIS mallee, formerly thought to be restricted to the Comet Vale district, must be very rare in that locality, since it is seldom found growing there, but on the other hand it has an extensive range, being found as far west as Perenjori. Kalannie and Kulja, thence eastwards to Comet Vale, and southward to Mount Holland which lies south of Southern Cross.

Trees Of Western Australia. 55. Cabbage Gum (Eucalyptus Clavigera A. Cunn. Ex Schau.). 56. Large-Leaved Cabbage Gum (E. Grandifolia R. Br. Ex Benth.). 57. Ghost Gum (E. Papuana F. Muell. ). 58. Rough-Leaved Range Gum (E. Aspera F. Muell.). 59. Weeping Box (E. Patellaris F. Muell.). 60. Silver-Leaved Box (E. Pruinosa Schau.). 61. Kimberley White Gum (E. Houseana W.V. Fitz. Ex Maiden). 62. Poplar Gum (E. Bigalerita F. Muell.), Charles Austin Gardner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THIS tree is one of the common trees of Kimberley, inhabiting the sandy soils of the sandstone ranges, but is found less frequently on the sandy flat country.

It is most common in northern Kimberley extending as far south as the King Leopold Range, and is less frequently encountered on the plains of the Ord and Fitzroy Rivers.

Grasshoppers And Locusts In Western Australia, Clee Francis Howard Jenkins

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

GRASSHOPPERS and locusts are among the most ancient enemies of the farmer, for they figured prominently in Biblical times, and periodically throughout the ages have devastated crops in all parts of the world.

The Romney Marsh, J A. Mallett

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE Romney Marsh, sometimes known as the Kent, is the most popular of the British longwoel sheep breeds used in Western Australia.

Rams of this breed are widely used for mating with Merino ewes, the crossbred female progeny of the matings being in demand for subsequent mating with Downs-type rams to produce export Iambs.

Soursob (Oxalis Pes-Caprae L.), G R W Meadly

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DURING winter and spring, the yellow colouration of paddocks is not always due to the flowers of the widely distributed Capeweed.

In some districts, particularly in the Avon Valley, the yellow-flowered soursob (Oxalis pes-caprae L.), has become firmly established.

The genus Oxalis contains 800 or more different species, the two main natural centres of distribution being South Africa and tropical and extra-tropical South America.

Afghan Thistle (Solanum Hystrix R. Br.), G R W Meadly

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DURING the summer months it is usual to receive many specimens of a prickly plant with blue flowers similar to those of a potato. It is commonly known as Afghan Thistle or Prickly Potato Weed.

This plant is not a thistle, although it has the prickly foliage characteristic of many members of that group. The botanical name is Solanum hystrix which places it in the same family as the tomato, potato and tobacco.

Relatives also include weeds such as the thornapples, black nightshade and apple of Sodom.

The name Prickly Potato Weed, although somewhat unwieldy is therefore more appropriate than …

Rice Stem Borers At The Kimberley Research Station, L E. Koch

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

STEM boring caterpillars have severely damaged rice crops at the Kimberley Research Station, near Wyndham, and studies have been made on the biology, abundance, and control of these insects.