1 Nov., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 387 
out, and flies ¢azl first at the enemy, inflicting a mortal sting. We were solemnly 
informed by one man that he had seen the snake miss his game and strike a 
gum-tree. The tail penetrated the thick bark, and there the snake would have 
had to remain till it starved to death had not our informant killed it! As a 
matter of fact, this snake is perfectly harmless, not even attempting to bite 
when handled. 
In this connection we shall be glad to receive an account of any authenti- 
cated adventures with Australian snakes, for publication elsewhere than in 
Queensland. 
To show how much education in this respect is needed, the present Comp- 
troller of Prisons, Captain Pennefather, was bitten at Sweer’s Island, in the Gulf 
of Carpentaria, by a snake which was reputed to be deadly. He, however, 
understanding the difference between the venomous and innocuous varieties, 
took no heed of the bite, and no evil effects followed. 
On the other hand, we have seen a kind of large black snake from the 
Bellenden-Ker Mountain, which was said to haye killed a member of an explor- 
ing party. ‘The man died, but the snake, when brought to Brisbane, was proved 
to be perfectly harmless. Fear and spirits wrought the evil in this case. The 
moral is: Examine the wound, examine the labial scales of the snake if it has 
been killed, and it will often be found that no remedies are required beyond 
perhaps a glass of spirits, to keep up the spirits and allay the unfounded fear of 
the wounded person. 
A HINT TO STRAWBERRY-GROWERS AND GARDENERS. 
Mr. H. ©. Quoprrne, Manager of Westbrook Experiment Farm, writes :— 
Numbers of valuable plants suecumb every year after transplanting to the 
effects of sun and wind, even if there is sufficient moisture in the soil. 
Artificial cap-shades which necessitate labour in making them become expen- 
sive. To meet this want of a cheap and effective shade, I strongly advise 
those interested in the above occupations to grow a number of the bottle or 
ornamental gourds (Lagenaria vulgaris), which, when mature and dry, can 
be sawn in two and used tor shading young plants. 
QUEENSLAND FRUIT AND WHEAT LANDS. 
Ix the course of a very interesting paper on Queensland, read before the 
Forest Range Branch of the Central Agricultural Bureau of South Australia, 
Mr. J. Caldwell remarked that he was most favourably impressed with what 
he had seen of agriculture in Queensland, but he considered that the temperate 
fruits which grew to such perfection in South Australia would never be grown 
on a large scale in that colony. In regard to wheat-growing he said that, 
although there were large areas of land in Queensland suitable as far as soil 
and position wert, the fact that much of it was liable to flooding and that 
heavy rains often come in November, causing heavy damage by rust, would, he 
considered, make it impossible for Queensland ever to become a very large 
producer of wheat. cr 
We are from this statement led to conclude that Mr. Caldwell had the 
coast lands east of the Main Range inhiseye. The wheat lands of the Darling 
Downs and of the Central districts are not subject to floods at any time, and 
the fact that Queensland’s average production of 17 bushels per acre is not 
an unusual occurrence should point to the fact that the colony is eminently 
suited to wheat culture, occasional visitations of rust notwithstanding. Last 
year we produced 1,000,000 bushels, and this year the outlook is most hopeful 
for a record crop. Hast of the Range prospects are not so hopeful. Rust has 
appeared, but no floods have occurred to do any damage since 1893. As to 
the fruits of temperate climates, the whole of the Downs country, and 
especially the Stanthorpe district, is eminently suited to their production on a 
large scale. 
