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hhad been very successful in dry seasons. Ithad also been tried on the Pine 
_ River on a small scale, and although it had not been a very great success there 
— the lucerne plants dying out—this was doubtless due to the land not being 
under-drained or through the subsoil not being stirred. 
Mr. W. Sourrer reminded those present that though irrigation benefited | 
the land, still it took away a lot of nutriment matter from the soil, and manure ~ 
should follow all applications of water to land. 
Mr. A. H. Benson said he did not wish to infer that, 
irrigation was a necessity. In nine cases out of ten in Queensland, probably 
better results would be secured from deep cultivation. Where irrigation 
would tell was in the dry, arid interior, where small rainfalls were the rule. 
Plenty of care, however, and deep cultivation could withstand most droughts. 
At the Wagga Experiment Station in New South Wales, he had been 
instrumental in growing crops during the hottest and driest of seasons, simply 
by keeping the land well stirred and cultivated. The more land was stirred in 
dry weather, the more moisture was kept in it, and in the coastal districts this 
should be ample for keeping all fruit trees alive. In the interior irrigation ~ 
would be useful, but here, the matter of whether the water was suitable or 
not, came in. He endorsed Mr. Soutter’s remarks about the necessity of | 
manuring land after irrigation. 
A delegate instanced a case of two Brisbane gentlemen who had tried 
irrigation, but with only partial success. Farmers in the same districts were 
getting better results from deep cultivation. 
SIXTH SESSION. 
Fray Eveyine, llrn June, 1897, av 8 p.m. 
Mr. Wir11am Deacon, of Allora, read the following paper on 
THE CULTIVATION OF WHEAT AND BARLEY. 
WHrat-Growine in a. colony may not make such rapid progress, nor attain 
such’a high position, as the growing of some other products, yet it is of supreme 
importance. A country should, as much as possible, produce for its own people 
the bare necessaries of life, and for its own safety not depend upon other 
countries for those necessaries. For a highly ‘civilised people, wheaten 
products and wheaten bread and wheaten produce are a first necessity. How 
stands it with Queensland in this matter? The population is, say, 450,000, 
and, reckoning 8 bushels to each individual, our needs are in round numbers 
3,600,000 bushels. In 1895 we produced 125,000 bushels, and in 1896 about 
500,000 bushels; and this, had the season be 
on account of the prospect of a considerably enhanced price, have been greatly 
enlarged—to the extent of at least 80,000 bushels. lt is evident, provided 
Queensland wheat can reach the Queensland consumer, that it will be some 
time before there will be a surplus for export. 
Wheat-growing in Queensland may be said to be an old industry. Wheat 
was grown before separation by Mr. Evans, of Toolburra, near Warwick. He 
is credited with being one of the first, if not the first wheat-grower in Queensland. 
A flour-mill on the then most modern type, was erected in Warwick early in the 
pee by Mr. ©. Clark, who, in one season, if not more, paid 10s. per bushel 
or grain. 
_ Wheat grown in the Warwick district by J. Mitchell was exhibited at the 
Paris Exbibition in 1887, and was highly commended. For a long time in the 
colony there was an unaccountable prejudice against Queensland-made flour. 
Mr. Kates, who established a mill at Allora early in the seventies, was one of 
the first to break it down by producing flour of a very superior quality, and now 
Queensland flour is acknowledged to be equal to anything produced in any of 
the colonies, 
L 
__ Inreply to a question of Mr. Armstrong’s, it was stated that a farmer 
had tried irrigation at Oxley with brackish water from the Brisbane River, and 
ER S| : 
although beneficial, 
en favourable for sowing, would, 
