Vol. XVII. No. 419. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWSs 



147 



uncertainty involved in selecting seed for planting 

 from trees which are known to be consistently heavy 

 producers, and multiplication of the type by grafting or 

 budding would certainly be more efficacious. That 

 increased production can be secured by careful atention 

 to details of cultivation and manuring must be evident, 

 but that question is outside the scope of the present 

 article. The review of a series of manurial experiments 

 on cacao, conducted for a period of sevonteen years in 

 Dominica by Mr. J. Jones, appears in the West 

 Indian Bulletin, Vol. XVI, No. 4, which has just been 

 issued. This may be consulted with advantage by those 

 interested in the matter. 



SORGHUMS IN QUEENSLAND. 



The value of the sorghums, known in the West Indies 

 generally as Guinea corn and imphee, has often been pointed 

 out in the pages of this journal. It would seem from a 

 communication sent us by the London correspondent of the 

 AVv-M Qiieenshind Register, that their cultivation is receiving 

 much attention in that country. He says that even in a 

 drought year in Kingaroy district, when part of the maize 

 crop failed completely, grain sorghum yields were consistently 

 good, over -SO bushels per acre being obtained, bearing out 

 the oft-reiterated statement that this group of plants is 

 highly drought-resistant, and one of the surest grain crops 

 under adverse conditions. In the .summer of 1915, out of 

 seven grain sorghums tried in the Pinonah district, one gave 

 a return of 50 bushels per acre, and the others ranged from 

 76 to 103 bushels, illustrating that high yields are procur- 

 able under good seasonable conditions. Special exhibits have 

 been made each year at the National .Show by the Agricultural 

 l)epartment to popularize these sorghums, and to bring them 

 before the public with a view to their utilization as human 

 food, and for maintaining stock, and as fattening food for 

 pigs. Dairymen usually prefer the saccharine sorghums, 

 but the non-saccharine varieties also make valuable green 

 fodder and ensilage. Last year'.-? results in the central 

 district, in fodder and grain, of both groups of sorghum, 

 have been very encouraging, grain yields of four kinds 

 ranging from 64 to 80 bushels per acre. 



The Advisory Council of Science and Industry has 

 latterly been carrying out an investigation of the commercial 

 pos.^bilities of the production of power alcohol from 

 saccharine sorghums. The matter ot utilizing grain sorghums 

 for a similar purpose was brought up at the recent Common- 

 wealth Agricultural Conference, and if the investigations 

 prove satisfactory, a wide held will be opened up in (jjueens- 

 land for the successful production of this crop, apart 

 altogether from its value as a source of human and stock food. 



FARMING IN AUSTRALIA FOR 



DISCHARGED SOLDIERS. 



The following communication has been received at this 

 Office from Mr. H. A. Davies, Australia House, London, with 

 a request for its publication. Thfs we are glad h< accede to, 

 as the .subject is of importance to the whole Kmpire. It may 



also be noticed in this connexion that some of these West 

 Indian islands, in which there are undeveloped lands, such as 

 Trinidad and St. Lucia, liave also taken steps on similar 

 lines. 



'Australia has wasted no time in the preparation of 

 comprehensive land settlement schemes for soldiers. Within 

 a few months of the outbreak of war the problem of placing 

 the men on suitable areas after their service ended was 

 tackled by public men, and the merits of various schemes 

 inquired into. The Commonwealth Government intends 

 to set aside a total of £32,000,000 for repatriation, and 

 various State schemes are already in operation. 



'British soldiers and sailo^^ will be interested in the 

 scheme lately adopted by the Government of Queensland. 

 Land comprising 234,300 acres has already been set aside, 

 and negotiations are in progress for the occupation of 

 other areas. Within the meaning of the "Discharged 

 Soldiers Settlement Act" which deals with the subject, 

 a ' discharged soldier" not only includes members of 

 the Australian Imperial Forces, but any person who- 

 has joined the forces ot the United Kingdom during 

 the war, and who has received an honourable dis- 

 charge. The terms may be extended so as to include 

 members of His Majesty's forces during the present war 

 from any part of tin British Empire, or members of the 

 allied forces who have received their discharge before their 

 arrival in Queensland. The term also includes the dependants 

 of any such soldier, in the event of his death before he 

 receives his discharge, or within a period of twelve months 

 after he has received it. 



'Portions of the land set aside have already been cleared 

 and planted, and a varied assortment of farming pursuits are 

 recommended, .such as pine-apple growing, poultry raising, 

 bee keeping, apple, pear, peach, and plum orchards, dairy 

 and sugar-cane farms. Liberal financial assistance will be 

 given to settlers, particularly in the first years of their 

 occupation.' 



TROPICAL SOILS. 



In the Daily Argosy of Demerara, April 23, 1918, there is 

 a report of a general meeting of the Royal Agricultural and 

 Commercial Society, held in Georgetown on April 17, at 

 which the President, Professor J. B. Harrison, C.M.G., read 

 the conclusion of his inaugural address. 



After referring to the numerous analyses made by him on 

 the soils of different lands in the colony, the Professor con 

 eluded that portion of his aildress with some striking remarks. 

 He said that the commonly held view that the soils in the 

 tropics were of very high fertility was directly contrary to 

 the facts. The intensity of all chemical action in the tropics, 

 and especially of oxidation and hydration, was opposed to the 

 production of widely spreading areas of high alluvial and 

 fluviatile plains, especially those which had been formed under 

 swamp conditions. S'ich were the front lands and great 

 areas of the lower river beds of the colonj". The idea that 

 tropical soils merely wanted tickling with a hoe to produce 

 great and remunerative crops of economy plants was an error; 

 tickling the soil in the tropics resulted in the production of 

 immense crops of weeds. He was satisfied from nearly forty 

 years' experience in connexion with tropical agriculture that 

 permanent cultivation in the tropics required a higher degree 

 of skill, and more persistent efforts than in temperate or sub- 

 tropical lands. A training in an agricultural college in 

 a central part in tlu- West lndie.s, followed by practical work 

 under an experienced ;jlanter, was the only way he knew by 

 which the skill he had referred to could be obtained. 



