66 
cheaply at the same time. I cleaned out cach trench that suited the | 
width the drains were to be apart; then dug out in drain fashion to the 
necessary depth. J used stones, getting sufficient for my purpose out of 
the land I was trenching. One reason for multiplying instances of the 
beneficial effects of draining is that many who have taken to farming in the 
colony, and especially our young men, have never had an opportunity of seeing 
draining carried out systematically. JVor are they likely to see it carried out 
to any extent by private enterprise. It is too costly. A Draining Act on the 
lines of the Imperial Draining Act should be adopted by Parliament; the 
money advanced by the Government on long and easy terms, on the recommend- 
ation of draining commissioners appointed for that purpose. The Act has 
worked well in the old countries; and why not here, where we are more liable 
to drought and floods? There is nothing like a good constitution to withstand 
disease; therefore give the soil a good constitution by draining and intelligent 
cultivation; then you may expect healthy plant life that will withstand many 
- of the diseases and pests which now destroy the crops. The old adage “ Like 
begets like” applies here as in everything else; an unhealthy soil cannot be 
expected to produce healthy vegetation. One more importantadvantage gained 
by draining is being able to work so soon after wet. There is nothing will 
make the farmer fret and worry more than weary waiting for undrained land 
to dry sufficiently and the season slipping past. 
In reply to a question of Mr. Deacon, 
Mr. Warr said it would not be neeessary to drain land with a porous sub- 
soil. or land with a subsoil 15 feet down, although drainage would improve any 
land. M 
In reply to questions from Messrs. Stephens, Noakes, and Bourke, Mr. 
Wart said it was of great consequence that the tiles beso laid that they could 
not shift. There was no necessity to make tests as to whether land wanted 
drainage or not. A practical man could easily see at a glance whether if was 
wanted or otherwise. For melon-hole country he would put the drains 
18 feet apart, and have the drains 2} feet down. If artificial manures were put 
to sour land, they would make the land sourer still. 
Mr. Stuckey explained how he prevented drains from shifting. He had 
special tools made and so arranged that if a pipe was loose he had it practically 
buried in the solid earth, so that it could not shift. It was a very safe way, 
and as far as the tools were concerned they vould be made from old hoes. 
Mr. Swayne said the Pioneer River Farmers’ Association had been 
gathering information on the subject of drainage, and all they had got hitherto 
had gone to confirm Messrs. Watt’s and Stuckey’s statements. He believed a 
Drainage Act could be introduced into Queensland with very great advantage. 
Another matter on which legislation was required was riparian rights. So far 
as he knew, they had nothing of the kind in Queensland with the exception 
of a clause in the Divisional Boards Act. Individuals should have similar 
powers. 
Mr. Lety endorsed Mr. Swayne’s remarks. A thorough system of 
drainage, similar to systems that had been inaugurated by syndicates in other 
arts of the world, would be of great advantage in many districts of the colony. 
Tn Queensland, however, a syndicate would probably be beyond the question, and 
they would have to fall back on the Government. Such a draining system was 
out of the power of the small agriculturist, and, if they were to secure its 
» advantages, it would have to be under some sort of State aid. The benefits of 
drainage were being shown in his own district, on the Victoria Plantation. 
The land was not bad, and was capable of producing good crops. Still, it was 
second-class and had a clay subsoil, but now its disadvantages were being 
obviated by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, who had purchased a large 
drainage plant. They were now manufacturing on the plantation very superior 
drain-pipes, which were being laid through their lands at a depth of from 
91 to 3 feet, and at intervals of half-a-chain apart. They were 3-inch 
and 2-inch pipes. The Company were iaying these drains all through 
