TROPICAL AGRICULTURE. 
entirely avoided, and a useful industry be continued, particularly as economic 
conditions have improved in relation to this pursuit. 
Cotton Yarns were made by the Ipswich Cotton Company from local fibre in 
1890. Customs imports of this material for 1916-17 amounted to £70,422 with 
a Tariff of 15, 10, and 5 per cent., and £61,181 from United Kingdom for use of 
manufacturers. 
Candle Wicks were manufactured by me as a separate industry from the 
factory operations. Customs imports for 1916-17 show £8,600 for candle and lamp 
wick. 
The manufacture of quilts from cotton wadding is an industry now carried on 
in Brisbane to some considerable extent. Messrs. McDonnell and Kast, having 
taken the industry in hand, are. selling large quantities of the article manu- 
factured. 
Wadding, such as is manufactured for medical purposes, can be made in Bris- 
bane. I have forwarded samples for your inspection. A local business firm 
would engage in this industry if the Tariff would promise a successful home 
market. I trust that this aspect will be given full consideration by the Institute, 
and that they will see the importance of making the cotton industry a national 
question. It is practically certain that other States, as well as Queensland, are 
able to grow cotton successfully. Customs imports of waddings and cotton wool 
for 1916-17 show £10,274, and 15 and 20 per cent. duty. 
I may say that, although experience of the 1918 drought has been very serious 
to farmers in general, the cotton crops have withstood the drought, and, generally 
speaking, given satisfactory results. This is one particular fact in the cotton 
cultivation. The hardihood of the shrub in this respect has been tested in past 
seasons, and has given every indication of its value as a reliable crop during 
unseasonable conditions. 
The Jute Plant has been growing in the neighbourhood of Brisbane very suc- 
cessfully, and there appears no reason, if Tariff assistance was given in the mann- 
facture of jute goods, why all the necessary material should not be grown in 
Queensland. : 
The manufacture of woolpacks, and the production of the raw material, together 
with the manufacture into articles required, would solve the problem of the unem- 
ployed, and also provide profitable activities for as many new settlers as we are 
likely to have for some years. Customs imports for 1916-17 show £268,995—all 
Indian woolpacks. 
Reaper and binder twine might, perhaps, be made from the various plants of 
the Aloe or Agave and Banana family. There are many of these which grow in 
Queensland so profusely as to indicate success in the manufacture of binder twine 
if tested. This, I think, would be useful work for the Institute to engage in. 
Customs imports for 1916-17 were £43,720 for this material. Q 
Flax has been grown on the Queensland coast and downs both for straw and seed 
purposes in an experimental manner. Excellent linseed flax has been raised at the 
Acclimatization Society’s ground, near Brisbane, from pedigree seed: brought from 
England. 
Linseed is a crop which has been grown experimentally, and some very fine 
examples of flax and linseed from the Darling Downs and inland districts have 
been exhibited in Brisbane. I would suggest that the Institute might give 
publicity to these articles. The importation of linseed for 1916-17 amounted to 
£165,000—India, £162,000. 7 
With regard to castor oil, some apprehension exists in the minds of Brisbane 
growers that the price offered for castor beans is not so high as it should be at 
present. If the Institute could guarantee a price for a number of years, the 
industry would be to more advantage, the farmers haying more confidence in the 
crop. j 
Castor bean proves itself to be a drought-defying crop, just as cotton is, 
hence in these two industries we have ability to rapidly add to our agricultural! 
exports, and thus promote close settlement. Customs imports show castor oil 
in bulk for 1916-17 value £27,894, and 6d. and 8d. duty per gallon; and cotton- 
seed oil, £26,913, and 2s. and 2s. 6d. duty—if denatured, 6d. and 8d. per gallon. 
These mattérs have been brought under the notice of the Institute in view of 
the probability of starting them as secondary industries assisting those primarily 
related, as most of these industries would be suitable for unemployed returned 
soldiers. I think that the whole of these questions might be gone into from 
an economic or commercial stand-point. : 
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