1 Dec., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 413 
time, itis absolutely impossible to say whether early or late planting is preferable. 
Some years the early planting gives the best results, whilst another year it is 
the late crop which is the best. The wisest plan would be perhaps to divide 
one’s field into three parts, planting one-third in September, one-third’ in 
October, and the rest at the end of November or beginning of December. 
In that way one would be fairly sure of a crop every year on at least two- 
thirds of the field. Besides, the various tillage operations would be more 
evenly spread and distributed throughout the season. 
Here, in Queensland, the seeds are usually dropped by hand in the furrow, 
and covered by the sod of the following furrow. When the crop is 2 or 3 feet 
high, the land is ploughed again, usually with light single-furrow pioughs, the 
earth being thrown towards the stems of the stalks. Such a method may be 
necessary on the coast and other districts subjected to heavy rainfalls, to keep 
off an excess of moisture always prejudicial to the health of the plant. : But it 
is certainly uncongenial to its nature, as it tears up and exposes to the sun and 
wind the horizontal surface roots before described, thus checking the growth of 
the plant. For the Darling Downs, and especially for districts situated further 
west, it is far preferable to drill in the seed by means of a Puritan Cornplanter 
or some other drilling machines. 
For those who have not seen it, I might say that the Cornplanter is a 
single-furrow plough with a double mouldboatd to open the drills. Under the 
share there is a kind of subsoiling hook or curved steel, stirring the bottom of 
the drill and making a fine seed-bed of it. Between the two mouldboards there 
is a seed-dropper, which can be regulated so as to drop the seeds at any distance. 
Then there are two small blades or spades of a peculiar shape which cover the 
seeds, whilst a little iron roller at the back-end of the implement makes. the 
ground firm over them. 
There’ are other cornplanters—some planting several drills at a time, 
but they are, so far, too complicated and expensive for the ordinary farmer, whom 
T have especially in view in the present article. ‘ 
By means of the above-described inexpensive implement, a good plough- 
man, with two or three horses, according to the compacity or friability of the 
land, can do the whole operation of planting at a cost of about 2s. an acre. 
Tf there is no possibility of procuring a Cornplanter, the work can still be 
done in a fairly creditable fashion by the following means, which I had to use 
last season at the Westbrook Experiment Farm:—A man opens the drills 
with a single-furrow plough. He is followed by a boy who drops the seeds; 
then comes another boy who covers the seeds with a Planet Junior scarifier, 
provided with two teeth only, set from 6 to 8 inches apart. In that way the 
work costs 4s. per acre, which is not very extravagant, although 100 per cent. 
dearer than with the Cornplanter. 
T would like to emphasise, if possible, the advantages of drilling in the 
corn. The seeds lie at the bottom of a drill, say, 5 or 6 inches deep, and are 
covered by only a couple of inches of soil. They can, thus take advantage of 
