1 Dec., 1897. ] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. A25 
Leaving this hospitable abode, we drove to Yangan. On all sides were 
waving fields of grain, nearly all attacked by rust, but very few being com- 
pletely destroyed. On Mr. Brewer's farm some was being mown for burning, 
as also on a few others. Mr. J. Deveney expects to average 12 bushels 
per acre; and other farmers—Mr. Marriage, Mr. M. G. Free, Mr. W. Lamb, 
Mr. J. Kemp, and others—at Little Denmark are all likely to make fair 
average returns. Returning to Warwick by a different route, the cultivated 
country was seen to perfection, and everywhere the farmers were anything but 
despondent, notwithstanding the loss of a field or two. It is, of course, an 
immense advantage to our Downs men that there is ample time to get in a crop 
of maize, which yields such splendid crops in the district. Here and there 
might be seen the firestick on one side of a field, the mower in the centre, and 
the plough at the farther side. The pluck and energy of the farmers are 
deserving of success, and, however pessimists may talk about the sorrows of 
the farmers, they themselves are: the last to complain—to a man they are 
cheerful and hopeful. 
An early start next morning took us to Mr. Peter Mathieson’s scrub farm, 
about four miles from Warwick. ‘his property is being laid out with a view 
to the fruit-drying industry—especially prunes. Some 500 trees have 
been planted. They were obtained from Melbourne, and every tree struck. 
They will most of them bear next season, and in view of this Mr. Mathieson 
has purchased a fruit-drying apparatus, which is on its way to the colony. 
This experiment will undoubtedly be most interesting to fruit-growers, and 
may lead to the establishment of an industry which has attained such large 
proportions in the United States. Besides prunes, there are a quantity of 
apple, pear, plum, peach, quince, and other trees, and a vineyard has also been 
started. The Xante currants do not promise to be a success. As for vege- 
tables, the soil is admirably adapted for them, the cabbages and cauliflowers 
being quite equal to those growing at the Agricultural College. Some twenty 
acres additional are now being prepared for planting prunes. 
FREESTONE CREEK. 
We now were invited by Mr. Hagenbach, chairman of the Glengal‘an 
Divisional Board, to make a trip through the Freestone Creek district, as far 
as Mount Sturt. ‘This is also one of the show districts around Warwick. 
Right from the start the traveller finds himself in the midst of grand wheat- 
fields; and where the land is not yet under crop, it is being rapidly cleared, 
ready for next season. ‘he soil all through is of the best, and its fertility 1s 
evidenced by the magnificent crops now arrived at maturity. In spite of the 
urgent want of rain, the young maize looks healthy; full crops, dark-green as 
indigo, testify to the careful cultivation and the good natural drainage, for of 
artificial drainage there is none. The distance between Warwick and Mount 
Sturt along the south side of Freestone Creek is about eighteen miles, and 
almost the whole of this is under cultivation of some kind or other, mainly 
wheat. The country has the appearance of a vast fertile valley with a breadth 
of several miles. Travelling along an excellent road we arrive at Blink Bonnie, 
the residence and farm of Mr. James McIntosh, one of the oldest farmers in 
the district, and decidedly amongst the most hospitable, although the latter 
virtue appears to be universally cultivated throughout the district. Mr. 
McIntosh was formerly a manager of Glengallan sheep station, and has been 
ever since a most successful farmer. We had a long conversation with him 
on various topics of interest connected with farming, and with respect to the 
rust he said that the whole thing lay in a nutshell. Sow late, and you are 
almost certain to get the rust. Sow early, and you are almost equally sure of 
escaping it. Had there been rain when the grain was filling, there would have 
been no failures. As to the probable yield this season, like all other farmers, 
he would not commit himself to any statement, as the various fields were too 
unequal to admit of any calculation being made. Possibly the average 
throughout the district might be-15 or 17 bushels. In estimating the: 
