502 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Junz, 1899. 
flies there will be to deal with in spring. Where not already done, see that 
pineapples are protected from frost, and keep the ground between the plants 
well worked in order to retain moisture, as the winter months are usually dry 
and the plants are liable to injury through drought. The same remarks apply 
to bananas, and the unripe bunches of fruit should be protected from slight 
frosts or cold spells by any suitable available material. 
Farm and Garden Notes for June. 
arm Notes—The partial cessation of weed growth during this month 
affords the farmer an opportunity to sow lucerne, rye, prairie, and other grasses, 
For lucerne this season of the year is most favourable for sowing, as the young 
plants will have ample room to grow strong unchecked by the growth of weeds. 
Those who propose to sow millets, sorghum, panicum, &c., should begin to get 
the land ready for these crops. We print the first of a series of articles on 
broom millet, and next month full directions will be given for the sowing and 
after cultivation of the plant. Oats, rye, barley, vetches, clover, tobacco, 
buckwheat, and field carrots and swedes may now be sown. Some advoeate the 
sowing of early maize and potatoes towards the end of the month, but obviously 
this can only apply to the more tropical parts of Queensland. ‘The land may be 
got ready, but in the Southern district and on the table land neither maize nor 
potatoes should be got in before the end of July or in August. There is always 
a probability of frosts during these months. Arrowroot will be nearly ready 
for digging, but the bulbs should not be taken up until the first frosts have 
occurred. Dig sweet potatoes, yams, and ginger. Sweet potatoes may be kept, 
should there be a heavy crop, and consequently a glut in the market, by storing 
them in a cool place in dry sand. taking care that they are thoroughly ripe 
before digging. The ripeness may be known by the milky juice of a broken 
tuber remaining white when dry. Should the juice turn dark, the potato is 
unripe, and will rot or dry up and shrivel in the sand pit. Before pitting, 
spread-the potatoes out in a dry barn, or in the open if the weather be fine. In 
pitting them or storing them in hills, lay them on a thick layer of sand. Then 
your dry sand over them till all the crevices are filled and a layer of sand is 
Pare above them. Then put down another layer of tubers, and repeat the 
process till the hill is of the requisite size. The sand excludes the air, and the 
potatoes will keep right through the winter. Wheat may still be sown. It is 
too late for a field crop of onions. In tropical Queensland the bulk of the 
coffee crop should be off by the end of July. Yams may be unearthed. 
Cuttings of cinnamon and kola-nut tree may be made, the cuttings being planted 
under bell glasses. Collect divi-divi pods and tobacco leaves. English potatoes 
may be planted. The opium poppy will now be blooming and forming capsules. 
Gather tilseed (sesame), and plant out young tobacco plants if the weather be 
suitable. Sugar-cane cutting may be commenced. Keep the cultivator moving 
amongst the pineapples. Gather all ripe bananas. Fibre may be produced 
from the old stems. 
Kitchen Garden.—Asparagus and rhubarb may now be planted in well- 
prepared beds or rows. In planting rhubarb, it will probably be found more 
profitable to buy the crowns than to grow them from seed; and the same 
remark applies to asparagus. 
Cabbage should be planted out as they become large enough, also cauli- 
flower, lettuce, &c. 
