Farmers’ Conference, 
. 
Av tHe AGricuLtTuRAL ConnEcE, Garton, 10rn, llr, anp 121H 
JUNE, 1897. re. 
FIFTH SESSION. 
Frrpay Arrernoon, lltn June, 1897, ar 2:15 p.m. 
The Hon. A. J. Taynnp having taken the chair, questions found in the oi 
question-box were at once dealt with. The first was:—I would like to know — 
_ of a cheap and efficient method of saving the seed of cow pea without injuring 
- the commercial value of the remaining fodder. 
In reply, Professor Suenron said the only practicable way he knew of — 
was hand-picking. The crop, of course, could be saved if it was allowed to 
ripen and then be mown like any other crop of beans; but in this case the 
fodder was lost, and in any event, the cow pea ripens very unevenly. Again, — 
the cow pea, if handled in the sun, will inevitably shed its leaves, leaving — 
nothing but the stalks, consequently there remains no other method of 
_ harvesting it except by hand-picking, which is largely the present practice im 
North Queensland. The next question was :—Do you think it would be bene- 
ficial if the Government would advance loans to farmers under the Credit 
Foncier system ? 
My. Trrynnu said this was a very wide question, which was beyond his 
power to definitely answer. There had been many of these systems, some of 
which had been successful and some otherwise, in various countries. Taking 
everything into consideration, it would hardly be wise for them in Australia to — 
jump into following a course, the results of which could not be told with any — 
degree of certainty. Such schemes should be thoroughly studied before any- 
aed one could be justified in advocating their introduction into these colonies 
With regard to the question of giving greater facilities to farmers for the — 
obtainment of cheap money, which is so often adyocated, perhaps a good deal — 
more practical good would accrue to the agricultural industry in this country 
by its adopting methods of economy such as he had suggested at the 
beginning of the Conference, and in other matters which could be easily poin 
out in connection with every branch of agriculture in the colony. When 1 
this was done, and when it could be shown that the farmers could make their — 
farms pay well and continuously, giving a fair average return, year in and year 
out, their value would be so settled and so increased, that the farm woul 
become an available asset upon which loans could be readily obtained, an 
there would be little need for interference by the State in the matter of 
making advances of money of that character. Of course at the present time; — 
the colony was making a big experiment, to the extent of halt-a-million of 
money, in the case of the central sugar-mills. It was sincerely hoped that 
the scheme would be a success, but whether it would be one or not, was 
“matter which time alone could decide. It was a gigantic experiment which — 
they were all deeply interested in, but it would not do to hastily decide 
whether it was a success or a failure. These were matters in which they could 
go too fast. Where private enterprise was insufficient, then possibly there 
might be grounds for State interference. But he would urge this upon them 
—the less they asked from the State, and the less they allowed the State to 
interfere in the financial arrangements of their business, the better it would be — 
_ for them eventually. 
a ee 
