1 Ave., 1898. ] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 127 
per Ib. fer picking by my own children I have estimated at under $d., but 
I think 43d. per lb. is a fair estimate for such labour. My yield has been 
from 18 to 20 per cent. of berry to cherry. Basing a calculation upon that, 
it would take about 3d. per lb. on the finished berry to pick it, and 
probably that would be a safe price to reckon upon. At present Harper and 
Co. are giving upon the Herbert 9d. per 1b. for parchment. According to 
my calculations, 12 per cent. is lost in the parchment. ‘That would bring the 
value of the finished berry up to about 10d. or 103d , and, deducting 3d. of this 
for picking, the value can be estimated at 7d. per lb. I have on my place 
different distances for the trees. Some are 7 feet by 7 feet apart, some 8 by 8, 
some 9 by 8, and on one patch I tried 10 by 12. By taking 8 by 8 or7 by 7, 
there are about 600 available trees to the acre. There should be perhaps more, 
but there are always some that come to nothing. From such an acre I would 
get about 1,800 lb. of finished cherry if the yield all over the plantation kept 
up to the average of the 100 trees I have been chiefly referring to to-night. 
By taking the price mentioned as a basis, the net return per acre would be over 
£50. Of course it would not do to consider that as a safe estimate, as in 
practice you might get a long way below it. However, I am satisfied that 
there is no other crop that will pay so well, not even sugar. (Applause.) 
In reply to Mr. P. Hagenbach, Mr. Bromrury said he did not think coffee 
could be successfully grown on the Darling Downs. His test was the tempera- 
ture. If the outside heat fell below 45 degrees the coffee-tree suffered, and if 
it was a young one it would in all probability die. An old tree might stand 
out, but as said before he did not think coffee would do on the Darling Downs.* 
Mr. P. McLray concurred in this opinion. 
Mr. F. W. Perx (Loganholme) wanted to know the age of Mr. Bromiley’s 
children. Did Mr. Bromiley not think he gathered his coffee at the expense of 
those children’s education ? Also, did Mr. Bromiley cultivate between the rows 
in his plantation ? 
Mr. T. A. Brominry said the youngest of his children was six. He took 
the top of the trees with his eldest son, and he might say that his eight-year- 
old child could pick 56 Ib. of coffee per day. It happened that the harvesting 
of coffee occurred during the winter holidays. In one of the States of the 
United States the farmers went in largely for cranberries, and during the cran- 
berry season all schools were closed. Jn the hop season in England whole 
families go down and do the picking. No white man could pick coffee at 3d. 
per lb., but it pays a family with plenty of children. 
Mr. War. Deacon (Allora) asked how many acres of coffee would pay a 
small farmer. 
Mr. 8. Sreruens (Nerang) said that, judging from what Mr. Bromiley had 
said, from about 24 to 3 lb. of berry per tree was a fair average. There was a 
neighbour of his down at Nerang—he had certainly only a few trees—one of 
whose trees yielded 11 1b. of berry and another 8 lb. This year there were 
certainly more berries on the trees than there were leaves. 
Mr. ‘I. Wurreney (Coowonga) wished to know where the word “bean” 
came in in the technical terms of coffee. He thought Mr. Bromiley’s syStem 
of planting would be very expensive in connection with large areas. From his 
(Mr. Whiteley’s) own little experience, he did not think the full process 
described was necessary, and he considered if the seed was planted where it was 
intended the tree should be, it would be better. Then there would be no fear 
of breaking or having to cut the taproot. The cleaning of the berry also 
added too much expense. The price that Mr. Bromiley had given as what he 
had received for his berry was 1s. 8d. per 1b. The manufactured article could 
be got for 1s. 6d., so that there was a very small margin left for roasting, 
grinding, and marketing. 
A. Vorce: What about chicory and maize ? 
* 4 eoffee-tree taken from Nundah (2 years old) and planted at the Toowoomba Grammar 
School died during the first winter.—Ed. Q..4.J. 
