592 



To the utility breeder of fowls, is the 

 system of much use ? It is useful, cer- 

 tainly, even to him ; but as he has little 

 inclination, as a rule, to treat the subject 

 scientitically, he is safer to let it alone. 

 It comes in useful this way : if a man has 

 brought out a specially good laying strain 

 and does not know very well where to get 

 a male bird from an equally good strain 

 to keep up the quality of 'his birds, his 



best plan is to acquire a hen with the 

 reputation of being a first-class layer, 

 cross her with one of his own cockerels, 

 and retain the males produced as breeders 

 with his own flock for future seasons. 

 This will keep up laying qualities with 

 , far greater certainty than introducing a 

 chance cock from another strain, with no 

 positive knowledge of what he is likely 

 to do. 



Banana Fibre. 



ABOUT a year ago we (" Queensland 

 Agricultural Journal received a 

 sample of banana fibre from the Cairns 

 district. It struck us that it would be 

 well to obtain a valuation of it from some 

 firm in London engaged in the fibre trade. 

 The sample was, therefore, sent to a 

 gentleman in London, who now forwards 

 a report upon it by Messrs. Henry Devitt 

 and Co., Mincing Lane, London. 



The brokers say : — " We have carefully 

 examined the sample of hemp from 

 Queensland ; it is Manila character, good 

 strong fibre, but mixed lengths, some very 

 short ; value, about £25 per ton. We 

 should, no doubt, be able to find an out- 

 let, and would recommend a trial ship- 

 ment." 



The Manila hemp of commerce is de- 

 rived from the plant known as Musa 

 textths, but all the plantains and bananas 

 yield an excellent fibre, especially Mnsa 

 paradisiaca. Most people in Queensland 

 know how easily bananas and plantains 

 grow in this State. They are found in 

 vast quantities in the Northern scrubs. 

 These wild bananas produce a small fruit 

 full of seeds. When cultivated, these 

 seeds eventually disappear. Bananas re- 

 quire very little care, and on the rich 

 coast lands throw up an abundance of 

 stalks from the rhizomes. The height of 

 Musa textilis varies from 12 to 30 feet, 

 and at three years of age it begins to 

 flower. As soon as the flower is out, the 

 plant is cut down and the sheathing stalks 

 are torn into strips, the outside sheaths 

 being kept distinct from the inner ones. 

 The outside ones produce a strong fibre of 



great durability and strain-resisting power. 

 This fibre is used for cordage. The inner 

 fibre is fine and >veak, and is used by the 

 natives for weaving fine, almost trans- 

 parent, yet fairly strong dress material. 

 A Manila native merely cuts down the 

 plant, shreds it, and then scrapes off the 

 soft cellular matter, after which he hangs 

 it up to dry, and no further treatment is 

 necessary. He can produce 251b. weight 

 of fibre per day in his lazy fashion, each 

 stalk yielding 1 lb. of fibre. By the em- 

 ployment of suitable machinery the woi-k 

 of cleaning the fibre is very rapidly per- 

 formed. 



Six hundred thousand seven hundred 

 and thirty-eight bales of hemp were ex- 

 ported from the Philippine Islands in 

 1889, equal to 1,201,476 piculs, or 71,337 

 tons. At the price quoted by our corre- 

 spondent —£25 per ton — this represents a 

 value of £1,813,425. There seems no 

 reason why Queensland should not cap- 

 ture some of this trade. 



The Melbourne " Argus " mentions that " the 

 iBdifferent results obtained on some of the 

 Queensland sugar plantations this season may 

 lead to their abandonment if purchasers cannot 

 be found for them." 



A remarkable fatality is reported from Shel- 

 byvill^, [Jnited States America. The youngest 

 son of a farmer, an old thoroughbred mare, and 

 her foal werj great friends. The boy was four 

 ytars of age, and it was his custom to play daily 

 with the foal, which would come to him when he 

 called it. One day he was bending down wrest- 

 luig with the foal, when the mare became sud- 

 denly enraged, and attacking the boy with teeth 

 and hoofs killed him almost immediately. 



