1 86 



'THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [September i, 1884. 



preparation for market and exportation, yielded the greater 

 portion of the national Revenue. The exportation of this 

 article has increased from 1,000,000 lb. in 1861 to 1.1,375,000 



lb in 1882. — Journal of tJu Society of Arts. 



B i FB N'ING V E< ! STABLE MATTER. 



It is surprising to anyone who intelligently considers 

 the subject what an amount of injury is recklessly done 

 to the soil continually by burning off waste vegetable matter. 

 The motives which cause it are various, some cultivators 

 maintaining that the soil is too rich and must have its 

 Fertility reduced to make it yield well, and that it never 

 can be exhausted; others doing it simply because it is 

 tin' readiest way of getting rid of an incumbrance, and think- 

 ing it is no great loss. These impressions are very 

 erroneous, and, if they did not involve serious and mis- 

 chievous results, we might be content to look on com- 

 placently and smile at them. But they are more than 

 mischievous, for they are more frequently than otherwise 

 ruinous. Vegetable matter in a decomposing state in the 

 soil helps very much to retain moisture, and also tends 

 be attract moisture and fertilising material from the 

 atmosphere. Moreover, such material wonderfully opens 

 and lightens the soil, and therefore it operates cmechanie- 

 ally, by improving the texture of the soil, to increase 

 its growing and bearing capacity. The main reason 

 why scrub lands are so immensely superior to open 

 forest country is because they have so great an advantage 

 of it in humus or decayed orgauic or vegetable matter. 

 These farts speak loudly ami for themselves. No farmer 

 or gardener who is at all observant of things around 

 him can fail to see them on every hand; and how in 

 the face of all this the idea can l><- entertained that 

 burning waste vegetable matter is no loss, it is difficult 

 t ) comprehend. There are many cultivators of even our 

 richest lands who know by experience that manure will 

 increase the yield of such land; and, if so, how can it 

 be advantageous to impoverish the soil by such wasteful 

 ids? That burning speedily weakens the carrying 

 capacity of land is apparently in the now exhausted wheat 

 lands in South Australia and elsewhere, which cannot be 

 id into producing a fair average crop. The practice 

 is wrong, and is at variance with science and experience ; 

 and therefore the fact cannot be too strongly insisted 

 up in, or too often repeated, so long as it is persisted in by 

 those who have to live by the produce of the soil. We 

 should like to see cultivators storing all the waste produced 

 from the land with an eye to returning it in some form, 

 either improved by being used as bedding for stock, or 

 stacked to hasten decomposition, so that it may be restored 

 to the soil from which it sprang. There is no such thing 

 as intelligent farming without it, and, unless the practice 

 of burning is speedily stopped, it will be no great while 

 before we shall hear of our virgin soils being exhausted. 

 — Qiteenslande)\ 



SETTLEMENT ON THE MOSMAN RIVER, 



J BOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] 



In my last I said I intended visiting the Mosman River, 

 which I have done, making my headquarters, by invil 

 from the proprietor, at Hart's Coolshade plantation. This 

 is a freehold estate, Mr. Hart being the pioneer settler 

 of the whole district. He was one of a party who came 

 to the river in quest of cedar in J 874 from Cooktown. 

 After being engaged in the cedar trade for some time, he 

 abandoned the life of a cedar-getter for that of settler. 

 The life of a settler in those days was not an enviable one. 

 Blacks were numerous and often very troublesome. He 

 assures me he has been perfectly alone for six months, 

 without seeing the face of a white man during the whole 

 il that time. 



However, things are changed now. A large and prosper- 

 ous town flourishes on Island Point, which is visited by 

 four and five large coasting steamers weekly. Instead of 

 being surrounded by wild blacks, he has within a radius of 

 ten miles a population of about 1,000 civilised beings. All 

 this thanks to the Hodgkinson and Herbertou fields. 



I intend describing, as well as possible, the principal 

 selections and general productions of this river. Coolshade 

 in the first place is a selection of 160 acres', of which about 



35 aires are cleared; a few acres of this only being at 

 present under actual cultivation. The orange trees a e in 

 full bearing; citrons, linns, lemons, shaddock, mangos, thrive 

 luxuriantly, besides mulberries grenadillas, bananas, pine- 

 apples, and a host of others. A large number of coconut 

 trees are also planted hen-, some of which are in full bear- 

 tug, with large-sized Luscious milky nuts. Scattered here 

 and there through the plantation are patches of coffee plants 

 laden with berries in all stages of advancement, This plant 

 si ems to thrive especially well in this part of Queensland, 

 and I have no doubt that in the course of time the value 

 of this enterprise will make itself, felt. The mountain slopes 

 oi this district seem particularly adapted forits cultivation. 

 Mr. Hart has given a small parcel of coffee berries to a 

 southern gentleman, who takes them with him as a sample 

 this week, so probably something of practical import may 

 come by it. Arrowroot is also manufactured here, and funis 

 a market in Port Douglas. The cassava plank is also cultiv- 

 ated, and thrives luxuriantly, as well as the ginger plant. 

 A fine sample of cane is growing here, the Lihena, which 

 Mr. Hart intends for plants. It differs somewhat from other 

 varieties generally in vogue, inasmuch as fewer stalks grow 

 to the stool, but the density is very high, a crushing of this 

 cane returning the wonderful yield of six tons pf sugar to 

 the acre of cane 



Mr. Hart is at present engaged in an experiment with 

 native labour. For the last week he has had eight of the 

 Port Douglas aboriginals engaged in trashing cane, hoeing 

 and chipping, and other plantation work. L r p to the present 

 the arrangement has been quite a succi ss. The natives seem 

 to he quite contented and willing to work so long as the 

 "ki-ki" comes round regularly. The general opinion of the 

 neighbouring settlers is that they will some fine night pack 

 up their "duds" with something else as well and "clear." 

 The owner of this selection has decided on cutting up a 

 portion of his land into allotments, and making Coolshade 

 a town site, to be called Hartsville. I have no doubt that 

 the venture will be a success. Up to the present no town- 

 ship reserve has ever been made on the Mosman, and now 

 there is no room for one, as the only parts of the river 

 suitable for such are all taken up, This selection and 

 "Wilson's, which is adjoining, are the only sites fit for such 

 purpose, as they command the deep water and the junction 

 where the machinery for the Brie Brie plantation was landed. 

 Beyond this steamers cannot go; I mean such steamers as 

 the Arakoon and Bee, lighters, employed by Messrs. Davidson 

 & Co. and Messrs. Walsh & Co. respectively, of Port Douglas. 

 V.'ilsou"s selection joins Hart's lower boundary, and is hound- 

 ed both by the main river and the left-hand branch. The 

 'his selection is J00 acres. It is all scrubland, and 

 commands about all the best frontage of the whole river. 

 Borne thirty acres of this are cleared and about six acres 

 only are kept in cultival am, maize, potatoes, cane and various 

 fruits forming the principal articles of growth. Above this 

 again and on the left-hand branch is Brie Brie plantation, 

 i ' acres, the property of Mis. Parker. This plantation 

 is foremost in progress on the Mosman, About 150 acres are 

 cleared and 100 are under cane, which, for growth, cannot 

 be excelled. The late rains have given it a tremendous spurt; 

 some of the cane, the Meera and Eappoe, more particularly 

 the latter, looks wonderfully vigorous. Although little more 

 than sis months plauted.it is of fair density already, and 

 promises to rival in bulk and density all other varieties. The 

 machinery for crushing is in course of erection, the saw- 

 mill having been at work for some time. The dwelling-house 

 for the proprietress, Mrs. Parker, is almost finished, in 

 front of which a large vegetable and fruit garden is in course 

 of formation. A great quantity of work has been got through 

 here in the way of machine sheds, houses for the hands, 

 stables, and other necessary work. About a mile of road 

 has been made at the sole expense of the proprietress, for 

 the purpose of bringing up the boiler and machinery from 

 the junction. Mr. Brown, the manager, unformed mo that 

 he intends crushing about duly. 



Adjoining Brie Brie up into the Mosman Valley is Fairy- 

 mount, the selection of Mr. Priugle. The house of this 

 gentleman, to which the name Fairymount most particularly 

 applies, is situated on the terrace of a spur running Upwards 

 bo a mass of ranges known as the Heights of Victory. The 

 scenery from the house is extremely pretty, but when the 

 hill is ascended still higher the view is really enchanting. 

 Through a break of hilly coast country the sea bursts upon 



