1 Jury, 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 37 
sympathy, had been trying to work out a scheme that would be of benefit to 
this country, by obtaining and advancing cheap money, not to be spent in 
luxury, but in improving production. 
THE BEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE SYSTEM OF WHEAT STORAGE. 
On this subject, which was brought up at the instance of the Drayton and 
Toowoomba Agricultural and Horticultural Society, 
Mr. R. W. Scrorerrenrp (Toowoomba) said— 
By the erection of elevators or some suitable stores at one or more central depdts 
on the railway lines, where the farmer can take his wheat after thrashing, great 
assistance will be rendered to farmers. These stores should be in charge of a 
Government official, who will only accept good milling wheat—that is, it is no use 
accepting wheat that is not saleable at the highest market rate current. Let the 
badly grown or harvested wheat look after itself. We want to assist the good man 
who assists himself, and establish a character for our wheat, looking forward to 
the future, when we may be able to ship. Jf grading can be applied to the 
wheat so much the better, and let the farmer take away what is rejected. He 
can grist it for his own use. When the wheat is accepted in the store, a 
certificate is to be given to the owner for the number of bushels, and he will 
have to pay storage at so much per month. With the ‘certificate from a com- 
petent official, that he holds so many bushels of good milling wheat in a Govern- 
ment store, he will be able to go to his banker or any other person he wants credit 
from, produce his certificate and a sample of the wheat, and either borrow the 
money he wants or sell the wheat in store. The purchaser could get a transfer of 
the certificate, and the grower would be done with it. It may change hands several 
times before the miller gets it. But it will have the effect of steadying the market 
and allowing the grower to get his money when he wants it, at a small cost for storage 
and at no loss to the Government. At the present time the farmer puts his wheat on 
his dray and goes to market with it. He has no place to store it, and when he draws 
upat the mill he is told they are not buying. ‘The farmer says, “1 cannot take it 
back, what will you give me?” So a price much under the current value is offered 
and accepted, and thus the thing goes on. 
Mr. W. D. Lamp (Yangan) endorsed Mr. Scholefield’s remarks, but also 
stated it would be necessary to have a good firm man in charge of the elevators, 
aman who would take nothing but the best wheat and reject anything that 
was inferior. Having put wheat into an elevator, a man could get a warrant 
for it, which he could negotiate or get a loan on, or he could deposit it in his 
bank. Moreover, he would be able to sell the moment wheat had reached its 
highest value, and this would also suit the miller. As they all knew, most of 
the wheat grown in the colony was put on the market within four months; and 
when a miller has to buy within that period enough wheat for the rest of the 
year, extra items of expenditure have to be reckoned for. The miller, like the 
Government, has no private gold-mine, and has often to go to his “uncle at the 
corner” to negotiate a loan. Interest on this and insurance on grain in his 
store necessitate him lowering the price for wheat, or otherwise it would be a 
losing game. Anyone who has ever been in a grain store canaot be but 
surprised at the waste from weevils, mice, and other causes; and if 
the grain has to be stored for six or eight months, the loss is somewhat 
considerable. By keeping the wheat in the elevators and extending the 
sale over the whole year, such expenses would be minimised, and the 
mill-owner would also be able to work on a much smaller capital, as he would 
only have to buy from time to time just as much wheat as he required, and, as 
he sold his flour, he could buy more wheat. Besides getting’an increased price 
for his grain through the improvement of the position of millers, the farmer 
would be more independent were the elevator system adopted. The wheat 
would be covered by insurance, and presumably a small rental would be 
charged for use of the store, current expenses, &c. The system, which would 
undoubtedly benefit both farmers and the colony as a whole, would also be an 
advantage in another direction—that is, it would force growers to be more 
careful with their crop than they often were at present. 
