962 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[May 1, 1882. 
PROFITABLE GOLD MINING IN AUSTRALIA. 
Mr. Thomas Cornish, M.E., in the Mining Journal: 
— The late accounts of gold mining from Australia, 
whether in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, 
Tasmania, or New Zealand, are of a most encouraging 
nature, and tend to show the rapid progress the colonies 
are making in developing their resources, and the 
ample room there iB for legitimate investment in gold 
mining with every prospect of profitable returns, and 
I can but think if capitalists and investors would but 
turn their attention to Australian gold mining invest- 
ments they would be more certain of obtaining sub- 
stantial results in the shape of good dividends than 
they are likely to get from other countries which ap- 
pear to obtain their special favour. The colonies that 
have produced such an enormous amount of gold 
during the past 30years, amounting to over .£275,000,000, 
and the gold-fields which are still producing such ex- 
cellent, results, are worthy of more serious attention 
than has hitherto been paid them. The Australasian 
Insurance and Banking Record, of Nov. 10, 1881, gives 
the following as a portion of a list of dividend pay- 
ing mines in Victoria : — 
Name of Company. District. 
Long Tunnel ... ..."Walhalla 
Pleasant Creek Cross Reef ...Stawell 
Garden Gully United ...Sandhurst 
New North Clunes ...Clunes 
*Band of Hope & Albion 
Consols ... ..Ballarat 
Great Extended Hustlers ...Sandhurst 
fBgerton ... ... ...Egerton 
Great Extended Hustlers, 
Capital Dividends 
paid up. paid. 
£12,000 
21,250 
21,614 
37,008 
449,000 
24,500 
93,750 
£786,000 
780,742 
680,949 
487,734 
413,640 
336,300 
219,680 
No. 1 Tribute ... 
Queen's Birthday 
...Sandhurst 
...Dunolly 
United Hustlers & Redan ...Sandhurst 
4,200 
6,750 
4,800 
30'000 
69,300 
48,375 
14,000 
40,000 
14,616 
16,200 
194,600 
186,750 
109,200 
Extended Cross Reef ...Stawell 
Clunes ... ... ...Clunes 
John's Reef ... ...Sandhurst 
Lazarus No. 1 ... ...Sandhurst 
New Chum Consolidated ...Sandhurst 
South Clunes .. ...Clunes 
Ellescaere ... ...Sandhurst 
Nora Old Chun ... ...Sandhurst 
North Johnson's ... ...Sandhurst 
Old Chum ... ...Sandhurst 10,800 
Lazarus Company ... ...Sandhurst 47,250 
Ellenboro ... ... ...Sandhurst 15,30J 
Black Horse ... ...Egerton 12,750 
There are many other companies not mentioned, such 
as the Port Philip and Clunes Companies, which have 
raised gold from their mines to the value of £1,625,529, 
and paid in dividends and royalty £366.166, as men- 
tioned in the reports ending June 30, 1S79. 
109,438 
130,199 
75,375 
71,400 
71,000 
73,850 
68,175 
64,425 
59,062 
51,750 
51,300 
62,250 
PLANTING ENTERPRISE IN PROVINCE 
WELLESLEY : THE STEAM PLOUGH. 
(From the Straits Times, March 18th.) 
The steam plough has, it appears, been introduced 
into Province VVellesley by Mr. Daniel Logan, Soli- 
citor-General for the Straits Settlements, and who 
is also, the Pinang Gazelle aajs, an enterprizing and 
persevering agriculturist. The steam plough under 
notice is what is called the "Single Engine Set" and 
is manufactured by the well-known firm of Messrs. 
Fooler & Co., Leeds. The mode of working is as fol- 
lows. To the plough (which is a four-furrowed one) 
is attached two steel n pes, one of which works direct 
into the back winding drum of the engine ; the 
other crosses to the opposite side of the field and 
passes round a pulley fixed to a movable anchor, 
from then) it runs at right angles passing through an 
ingeniously fixed anchor and then back again to the 
front winding drum on the engine. From this des- 
cription, it will been that, when the engine ie ready 
for work, the wire rope forms a triangle, of which 
the engine movable and stationary anchors are the 
corners. 
The plough works between the engine and the move- 
able anchor, and on its arrival at the latter, by a 
neat arrangement it is carried forward a distance of 
eight furrows, and likewise when it reaches the engine, 
it (the engine) being a traction one as well, moves 
forward the same distance. The work we had the 
pleasure of seeing performed was in every way satis- 
factory and much superior to what could have been 
done by the best Chinese coolies both as regards 
quality and quantity ; it was done apparently at a 
moderate cost, and it was a pleasure to see the Lalang 
grass so ruthlessly torn up and exposed to the sun. 
During the day of ten working hours it finished the 
creditable area of nearly seven acres. 
We will now place before our readers a rough 
estimate of the cost per mensem, as well as the cost per 
orlong, incurred by ploughing with steam ; in all our 
calculations we take as our data that the plough can 
only work nine months during the year and twenty 
days per month. 
Estimate of expenses of steam plough 
per month. 
Depreciation on cost $6000 
at 12 per cent, per annum 
Interest ... 9 ... 
Engine Driver's wages 
Coolies &c. &c 
Firewood at 800 pieces per day ... . 
Oil, Tallow, &c ... . 
20 days' work at 8 acres per day 160 acres 
Cost per acre $2. — 
Cost per day $16. 
To do the same work per day it would take 200 
Chinese coolies, and, calculating their wages at the 
lowest figure at 20 cents per day the cost would be 
forty dollars, or more than double what it cost by 
the steam plough. 
Besides ploughing, the engine can be used for har- 
rowing, pumping water for irrigation, and thrashing, 
if necessary. 
We have considered and looked at the bright side 
of the question. As we have said every thing worked 
satisfactorily, the soil was dry and not over stiff, the 
weather favorable ; but on a previous occasion, when 
we saw it at work, frequent stoppages had to be made 
owing to the plough sinking into soft soil : this might 
be remedied by constructing a lighter machine, but at 
the same time equally as strong; this ie, however, a 
matter for the consideration of the manufacturers. 
In addition to the steam ploughing machine above 
mentioned, Mr. L. C. Brown, of Glugor, has lately 
imported what is called the Lalang grass cutter, 
which is a machine intended to be worked with either 
a pair of bullocks or a single buffalo, bat, judging 
from a trial recently made in a plantation at Balow, 
buffaloes would no doubt be more suitable for work- 
ing the machine. 
In a little under two hours, one orlong of thick 
Lalang was cleaivd, which was deemed exceedingly 
satisfactory. Ow ners of coconut plantations well 
know the difficulty and expense of keeping their 
plantations clear with cattle, now that disease is so 
rife ; and, Indian labour being expensive and scarce, 
this machine is no doubt of great importance, seeing 
that it can be managed by three coolies and one 
buffalo, and, in a fair day's work, four to five orlongs 
could be cleared, although we understand that in several 
plantations some expense would first have to be in- 
curred in levelling the ground and getting rid of the 
white ant nests, which are very numerous and 10 
