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1 Apri, 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. BYA LG 
the same farm and same piece of land sown with new seed (1 year old) had 
rust. So this is a clear proof that sowing wheat 2 years old must be a remedy 
against rust.” 
The above statement is interesting, but we should hesitate to accept this 
trial of two-year-old seed as conclusive proof that it is absolutely a cure for the 
much-dreaded rust. We should very much like to have the opinion and 
experience of some of our Queensland wheat-farmers on this point. The trial 
is easily made, and costs nothing.—Hd. Q.4.J. ’ 
PLANTER’S FRIEND. 
Last month we mentioned the loss sustained by the Messrs. Harding Bros., of 
Geraldton, by their horses eating Kafir corn. It was supposed by them that 
Kafir corn contained some poisonous element. Mr. F. M. Bailey, Government 
Botanist, gave it as his opinion that the animals in question had simply over- 
eaten themselves. We now have a similar instance in New South Wales, 
where thirty cows belonging to Mr. H. Breen, of Unanderra, being allowed to 
feed on a crop of young Planter’s Friend, were taken so ill that in less than an 
hour twenty of them died, and during the night six more followed. They had 
only been feeding for a few minutes in the field. 
THE SPARROW. 
Tur ubiquitous sparrow lies under the ban. of the rural authorities. In 
England, says the Burton Ohronicle (or rather in Burton), every farmer having 
50 acres of land has to kill 100 sparrows, and a writer in the sparrows’ defence 
calculates that “from May to September each sparrow would destroy 500: 
caterpillars per week and 4,000 extra for feeding their young, which is equal to 
a total of 7,900,000 caterpillars in 6 months for the 100 sparrows. Half these 
caterpillars would produce female moths, each laying 100 eggs, producing 
39,500,000 caterpillars next season.” 
In Queensland we have the sparrow. The impudent, feathered street 
Arab may be seen all over our coast towns andin the rural suburbs. He is an 
outcast, and is destroyed wherever possible. But we know that the poor birds 
do far more good than harm. If anyone will take the trouble to watch their 
proceedings, he will be surprised to note that whilst they will come and dispute 
the cracked corn with the fowls at feeding time, whilst they will watch the 
sower in the field and garden, and pick up a few seeds when his back 
is turned, they are equally busy amongst caterpillars. The numbers of 
these pests which we have seen carried off to their nests for the purpose of 
feeding their young is incredible. They also relish the flesh food them- 
selves. Weask any unprejudiced person to look at the beauty of our Botanicai 
and Acclimatisation Gardens and at hundreds of other gardens in Brisbane and 
its suburbs in the spring of the year, and then declare what injury the birds 
have done to them by picking up seeds. If they were such a curse to the 
horticulturist and fruitgrower, how does it happen that we have any flowers or 
small fruit (berries) at all? © According to some who will not take the trouble 
to study the habits of birds and insects, there should be no strawberries, 
cherries, gooseberries, or currants in Australia. But the detractors of the 
sparrow have as much idea of the habits and food of wild birds as those who 
yet believe that the ant attacks wheat-fields, and lays up large stores of wheat 
as a provision for winter, when, as a matter of fact, the so-called wheat grains 
they have been seen carrying from one nest to the other are really their eggs, 
which have the appearance of wheat. Is there anyone who has ever seen an 
ant eating wheat or any other grain? Ask the housewife whether the ants 
visit the safe to eat bread. It is flesh food, cheese, and sugar that they carry 
off, So with the sparrow, he is supposed to eat nothing but grain and fruit, 
when asa matter of fact he destroys millions of noxious insects, and fruit- 
growers need scarcely grudge the poor birds a few berries in return for the 
EIST a, Se Eee 
Se 
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