September i, 1884.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



*93 



Much of the journey after passing these selected lands 

 was over sandstone ridges running pretty high, and form- 

 ing the watershed of the Endeavour River and its tribut- 

 aries on the one side, and the Normanhy River on the 

 other. Pressing on, the country remains much the same, 

 with little variations, until the watershed of the M'lvor 

 is 1 Qtered upon. In some portions the hills arc of a strati- 

 fied sandstone and slate formation, aud show in many places 

 a depth of wash suggestive to the gold miuer of aurifer- 

 ous deposits; but, although prospecting has been carried 

 on to some extent everywhere, there are no signs to show 

 that payable gold has been struck. As soon as the water- 

 shed of the M'lvor is reached, and the road takes a down- 

 ward trend, a very marked difference in the soil and the gen- 

 eral appearance of the country is noticeable. The hills are 

 clothed with excellent grasses which reached almost up to 

 the horses' bellies, and some of the country is lightly 

 timbered with poplar gum and has the appearance of a 

 pretty park; the ground gently rolling aud in the prime 

 of its verdure making a very pleasing picture. "YY orse land 

 than the poorest of this is 'profitably cultivated near cen- 

 tres of population everywhere; and when markets open to 

 the enterprise and industry of our colonists, these lands 

 may be expected to contribute their quota towards in- 

 creasing the wealth and prosperity of the community. At 

 present they are mostly unutilised, although to a very 

 great extent selected. 



Passing onwards to the open plains of the M'lvor, a 

 stretch of country meets the eye which involuntarily calls 

 forth exclamations of surprise aud rapture. The grasses 

 aud herbage are withiu one's reach on horseback, and 

 come better under inspection there than if on foot ; ami 

 the miles upon miles of almost treeless country that stretches 

 out before one, with the courses of flowing rivers marked 

 by a broad belt of palms and scrub timber, make up a 

 very pleasing picture. In the distance on every side mount- 

 ain ridges tower aloft some thousands of feet clothed with 

 verdure to their summit, and every here and there these 

 heights assume weird and fantastic forms which charm the 

 eye by the variety they furnish to the scene. Underfoot 

 the soil is a red dust like fine ashes passed through a 

 hair sieve, aud the luxuriance of the native grasses and 

 ge cause the one opinion to be formed by all, that 

 such country must be second to none anywhere for agric- 

 ultural purposes. As proof that these rolling downs are 

 naturally well watered, springs are everywhere to be seen 

 bursting out of the hillsides. At the time of my journeying 

 this was the case, and, although these volcanic hills or 

 downs are not rotten, the volumes of water with which 

 they are surcharged makes them exceedingly difficult of 

 getting about upon. As my destination was the selection 

 of Mr. Madar, who owned 1,280 acres in the heart of this 

 district, we made our way direct tor his homestead, being 

 very weary of our prolonged ride. To reach it we had 

 to cross the M'lvor, and a grand stream of water it was ; 

 and the strength of its current was sufficient to make one 

 wish oneself safely across. We were fortunate in over- 

 taking the mailman, who piloted us over. A mile or so 

 further and we alighted at our destiuation, and were soon 

 discussing the mysteries of salt junk and damper over a 

 panuikin of tea, refreshments which went down with us 

 exceedingly well, seeing that we had tasted nothing since 

 about 7 a.m. save water from some of the running brooks. 

 We were very hospitably entertained by Mr. Mader, who 

 gave us a hearty welcome, and I made the most of my 

 visit of my reconnoitring. On this farm of 1.280 acres 

 some 45 are cultivated aud under crop, and the results 

 were certainly surprising; but I regret to say that this 

 surprise was not of a pleasant nature. Having heard the 

 M'lvor country spoken of by everybody as something grand 

 and unequalled, it would not have astonished me had I 

 fouud cultivated plots a perfect wonder of fertility. Re- 

 sults presented were not, however, at all up to expect- 

 ation. A large field of maize which I saw was anything 

 but strong, healthy, or vigorous. The seed had been sown 

 just before the flood rains fell, and germinated well, but 

 hid made no headway, and looked more like a failure than 

 otherwise. This is partly to he accounted for by the ex- 

 cessive rains that fell upon it; but, as the soil is natur- 

 ally well drained aud very porous, the deficiency cannot 

 with justice be charged upon the rain altogether. Sugar- 

 cane planted alongside of it was likewise weak aud spindly, 

 25 



having more the appearance of grass than what it was' 

 This, again, was not a natural result of the excessive rains 



that had fallen. 1 masl i ! 99 that my observations 



greatly disappointed me as to the agricultural prospects 

 ol' this naturally favouri I Rice planted in this 



45-acre paddock was little if at all better. Bananas, pine- 

 apples, papaws, mangoes, limes, oranges, 1 I some 

 other fruits were fairly thrifty; but I lane seen greater 

 thriftiness in the same plants elsewhere in my present 

 ramblings. Very .1, hi ai ■toning all this to those enterpris- 

 ing enough to settle on such lands, situated so disadvant- 

 ageously under present circumstances with reference to 

 the markets, aud so isolated from communion and inter- 

 course with the world at large ! It struck me forcibly 

 that, notwithstanding the rank growth of the nal ive gra sses 

 and herbage generally, the soil was wauling in some of 

 the most important fertilising elements, and. as far as my 

 observation, enabled me to conjecture the probable defici- 

 ency, I said it was potash and nitrogen, aud I recom- 

 mended bone dust as a fertiliser likely to suit the lm 

 Before leaving the M'lvor I saw a small trial patch of 

 cane which had been manured with burnt bones, and this 

 was a tolerable success side by side with a comparative 

 failure circumstanced similarly in every other particular. 

 I was pleased to see this, as it bore me out in my pre- 

 vious conjecture. I noticed considerable variety in the 

 texture and quality of the soil upon this river, but wh srever 

 any trial had been made of open forest country the re- 

 sults were very similar to those described above. The lack 

 of humus is evidently one cause of these comparative fail- 

 ures. This is clearly shown by the cultivated plots in 

 I scrubland on the river banks. At the Sonata farm, 

 on the Morgan, the northern branch of the M'lvor, owned 

 by a Mr. Curie, I saw cane and maize growing in iand 

 formerly covered with scrub, ami which had been cut and 

 cleared in the ordinary way, and everything hoed in look- 

 ing much stronger and better than any other in the locality. 

 On this farm oats are on trial ; but unless I am greatly 

 mistaken the grass tetaria Germanica will be found to suit 

 the climate better. It is doubtful whether any season of 

 the year will suit for the healthy growth of the cereals 

 of temperate climes in tropical Queensland ; and, from 

 what I have seen, I feel certain that lucerne cannot be 

 grown to advantage so far north. Teosinte, sorghum, im- 

 phee, and Borne of the best of the millets, including the 

 grass abovementioned, will suit the climate best for fodder 

 purposes. Wherever cane has been tried on the lowlands 

 near the rivers Morgan and M'lvor it ha6 succeeded, ami 

 all such land is rich in humus, and was originally covered 

 with scrub. 



My impressions of the M'lvor country as I turned away 

 from it were different to those I had formed concerning 

 it as I set foot on it. Still, although in a large measure 

 disappointed, it occurs to me that under efficient manage- 

 ment and thorough and deep cultivation, these open plains 

 may be turned to good account yet. It will prove ruinous 

 to the soil there to adopt the usual practice and burn off 

 the native grasses and herbage before breaking up the land. 

 To realise a fair success every effort must be made to 

 increase the amount of organic matter in the soil, as in 

 that important particular it is manifestly lacking. All the 

 northern scrub lands are rich in humus, and such are 

 everywhere carrying good crops of corn and cane, even 

 under all the retarding circumstances of an excessive rain- 

 fall. It follows therefore, as certainly as the night the 

 day, that burning off waste vegetable matter of any kiud, 

 in this locality in particular, must prove ruinous. I would 

 suggest to M'lvor planters a probable and cheap nam dy 

 for the existing and proved deficiency in the fertility of 

 their soil. Cut, dry, and burn all the mangroves in the 

 vicinity, and convey the ashes on to the land, dressing it 

 with the same at the rate of from two to five bushels 

 to the acre, and note the result. The ashes of the man- 

 grove are rich in potash, and I feel almost certain that 

 this element is very much wanting in the soil there, as 

 well as nitrogen. Decayed vegetable matter will help it 

 with nitrogen, and wood ashes, especially of the ma: 

 with potash and lime, aud if then it does not yield better 

 I shall be surprised. Lime alone I cannot think will help 

 'the M'lvor soil in t lie least. I almost felt regret at hav- 

 ing seen the M'lvor, because it compels me to e 

 myself as above. Still, if there are defects the sooner 



