1 Ava., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 133 
effort should be made to eradicate the Noogoora burr, although his own 
municipality, he was glad to say, was free from both it and prickly-pear. With 
regard to the pear, he thought it had gone too far altogether, and they would 
have to give it up. Thanks to Providence, it would not flourish on black soil. 
It did best on poor land. Prickly-pear might serve as a fodder for cattle and 
pigs; but Heaven help the cattle and pigs that had to eat it. He did not 
think they would be able to make many porkers out of pigs that had been fed 
on prickly-pear for six months. 
Mr. T. E. Coutson (Rosewood )stated that there was lantana growing in his 
district, and probably if it was not taken in hand in proper time it would 
eventually become a great nuisance. In fact, on the slope of the Range it was 
very troublesome at present, and he had lately had a lot of work in clearing a 
farm of it. Cutting was of no use for the lantana, the only way of dealing 
with it being to pull it out with a chain or grub it out. As for the prickly- 
pear, he had heard that it was a great fodder-plant, and he had kept it just as 
a stand-by for bad seasons. When he did have to try it, he boiled it; and 
although it kept pigs alive, he had never seen a pig fed on it with a twist inits 
tail. He might say, however, that cattle ate Sida retusa readily. He had had 
no experience of nut-grass or Noogoora burr. 
Mr. M. Menntor (Gympie) stated that municipal councils had not the 
power to compel people to eradicate noxious weeds, but divisional boards had, 
The latter had full power to make by-laws for that purpose. In his own 
district people were compelled to eradicate noxious weeds, and among these 
was the Noogoora burr. The Noogoora burr was as bad as a poison plant 
almost, for if cattle ate it they died. ‘These noxious weeds were a matter of 
very serious moment, and he might mention that a resolution had been passed 
in the pastoral section recommending that a special fund be set apart for the 
destruction of noxious weeds on roads and Government lands. ‘he destruc- 
tion, to be of any utility, should be done by concerted action, as it was not 
much use one board doing it and another not. If it was made compulsory, the 
difficulty could be grappled with. 
Mr. W. D. Lame (Yangan) stated that the convolvulus gave every 
promise of becoming a terrible weed. It was spreading at an alarming rate, 
and he believed it was getting quite as bad in the West Moreton district as it 
was on the Downs. It climbed round the cornstalks, pulled them down and. 
killed them. Conyvolvulus seed would evidently lie in the ground for years 
without injury to itself. A man could plough it in, and plough it in, and still 
it would keep. The Noogoora burr was on the Darling Downs, but not to an. 
alarming extent, and he believed the authorities were trying to have it 
destroyed as much as possible. He believed divisional boards did have the 
power to compel land-holders to destroy noxious weeds on their properties, and 
the question had been tested on the Downs. If a man failed to keep his land 
clean, the local board could send men to cut the noxious weeds and charge 
the owner of the land with the cost of it. The trouble, however, was that the 
Act said the board may do that. What was wanted was an Act to compel the 
board to do so. As for burr on roads, he thought it should be cleared by the 
owners of the land adjoining the roads. As a matter of fact, he knew many 
farmers in his own division who did this voluntarily. He might mention the 
case of the Clifton and the Glengallan boards. A cleaner division, as regards 
weeds, than the Clifton could not be found in the whole colony, but in the 
Glengallan, which was alongside, there was very much room for improvement, 
in that respect. He hoped the new Local Government Bill would be a com- 
prehensive one, and would provide machinery for dealing with all noxious 
weeds, and would compel the boards to do their duty in making land-owners do 
theirs. In the present state of affairs one man might do all he could to keep 
his land clean of weeds while his n xt-door neighbour would do nothing. A, 
heavy storm would come and bring seeds of all descriptions from the latter's 
farm to the former’s, who then gave the thing up in disgust. 
K 
