1 Dec., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 485 
Farm Notes for Decaner 
Tue wheat harvest will now be in full swing, and every effort should be made 
to get in the harvest speedily. Barley should be allowed to ripen in the field 
before cutting, but should be harvested as soon as the grain is hard, otherwise 
loss will be sustained by scattering. There being a probability of showery 
weather, care should be exercised in stooking, as a shower of rain will discolour 
what is left on the ground. After stacking, which should only be done when 
the barley is absolutely dry, it should remain from six weeks to two months in 
the stack before being thrashed. Maize may still be sown inlarge areas. Sow 
sorghum, imphee, Kafir corn, and panicum. Arrowroot, ginger, and sweet 
potatoes may be planted. 
Too much care cannot be exercised in protecting newly dug potatoes from 
the sun. They should be dug as soon as the skin is firm, as they will rotif left 
in the ground too long during the great heat of this month. They should be 
dug early in the morning before the sun has gained great power, and carted to 
a barn, where they should be spread out to cool. Tobacco must be attended 
to in the manner described last month. Keep all crops clean, and thin them 
out if too crowded. 
Garden Notes for December. 
By H. W. GORRIE, 
Horticulturist, Queensland Agricultural College. 
Trrs is a very trying month for gardens, and great difficulty is often 
experienced in keeping up a supply of vegetables. In the sort of weather 
which usually prevails at this time of the year, the value of mulching becomes 
apparent. People who keep cattle or horses should be able to command a 
supply of material suitable for mulching; and all crops liable to suffer from 
the effects of drought or hot winds should be protected by spreading a 
covering of this mulch over the ground between the rows and around the 
plants. The benefits of mulching, where suitable material is at hand, are 
many and great. The soil is kept at an equable temperature, evaporation is 
largely checked, and the baking of the surface, which usually occurs after 
watering is prevented; this last alone being a most important point in heavy, 
stiff soils. Where mulch is not available, the hoe and cultivator should be 
kept in constant use, so as to keep the surface soil well stirred and in fine 
tilth, This serves much the same purpose as mulching; the fine soil on the 
surface forming a mulch which, to a large extent, checks evaporation. 
Kitchen Garden.—French beans may still be sown in moist weather, 
or, where plenty of water is available, the drills may be well soaked 
before sowing the seed. Cucumbers, melons, marrows, &c., should be 
well watered when necessary with liquid manure. Cucumbers should 
always be well watched to see that none become ripe, unless wanted 
for seed. As soon as they begin to ripen, the vitality and bearing 
capacity of the plants are very much weakened. Seeds of all these 
