1 Ave., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 118 
‘years. Never mind how this affected myself, let us see how it affected those whom it 
was intended to benefit—the wage-earners. In 1884 and inthe preceding year, I sold to 
Paget Brothers 6,253 tons of cane on the field. It cost them in wages £1,407 1s 6d. to 
-eut and transport to their mill. In 1890 and in the following year I sold them my crops 
also—76 tons 9 cwt.; my wages bill was £14—the one-hundredth part of what it ought 
to have been. I may say that these figures were not prepared for this occasion, but 
were supplied in 1891 for quite a different purpose to that to which I have now put 
them. Some people ask, What is the difference between cane and ordinary farming ? 
That the former must have certain labour which is not necessary for the other climatic 
-conditions, is in itself an ample reply to this question, but there are also many others. 
During the last thirty years, the ordinary farmer has been aided in a remarkable 
degree by mechanical contrivances. But notwithstanding the large rewards which 
have been repeatedly offered in the old cane-growing countries, where there is no 
Jabour problem to be solved and the certain fortune which awaits any genius who shall 
-accomplish it, so far, a cane-cutting. machine has baffled mechanical skill. Many in 
this room remember when all grain crops fell to the sickle. In America, the scythe 
and cradle enabled the reaper to do much more work. In Canada [ worked one of the 
first reapers and mowers. These machines required two men—one to drive and one to 
rake the table. In ashort time the self-raker reduced the cost of reaping by half, 
-and after a few years the present reaper and binder was invented, with which one man 
now does the work which thirty years ago required from twelve to fifteen hands. The 
reaping of cane has to be done to-day just the same as it was done 100 years ago. 
Cane requires constant attention from planting to reaping. It is an exceedingly bulky 
-crop to handle, and unlike grain, root, and fodder crops, if cannot be stored. ‘he raw 
material must be converted into the marketable article within twenty-four hours, 
besides which, planting, cultivation, and harvesting have to be carried on at the same 
time Where a farmer could cut and store 100 acres of wheat in about ten days it 
would take a cane farmer with tifteen men, nine horses, and three drays 109 days to 
harvest 100 acres of cane. Few ordinary farm crops occupy the land for more than, 
if so much as, six months. I know that many of you sutter terribly from drought, 
rust, aphis, caterpillars, mildewed hay, and sprouted grain. Generally, however, 
some use can be made of the damaged crop and a succession crop putin. The cane 
farmer has to contend with rust, gum, grubs, cyclones, &¢. These enemies generally 
attack the cane just before maturity, which renders the crop absolutely useless, and 
avhen to this is added the fact that the removal of a damaged cane crop costs almost as 
much as the removal of a sound one, and that a cane crop represents from twelve to 
twenty-one months labour, I think you will agree that, in common with you all, the 
canegrower needs no artificial woe. You will not be surprised that with so many 
natural and unnatural difficulties to contend with some of us have looked for a way of 
escape. I did so, and I will give you the results of the experiment. Unlike any other 
section of the community, the farmer, although overwhelmed with his troubles, cannot 
take up his hat and walk, he must stand by the old land and try other crops. Knowing 
something of fruit cultivation I decided to try limes, Friends assured me that there 
would be no sale for the fruit, and that the manufacture of limejuice was a trade secret. 
Undeterred, however, I planted 1,200 lime trees and attended to them well. Some time 
.afterwards I read a leading article in the Queens/ander headed “ A Fortune for some- 
one in Limes.” I regret to say that it appears to be reserved for some erhaps less 
enterprising person than myself, for when in due course the fruit ert the united 
efforts of the gentleman presiding over this Conference, who took a keen interest in my 
venture, of the Under Secretary for A riculture, who went to great trouble, and myself, 
failed to find a market for these. I then attempted limejuice. Here is a sample, 
judge for yourselves if it is not equal ina pearance (which is a great thing in all 
manufactured articles) to the imported article. TI am confident that no purer lime- 
juice was ever put into a bottle, as I did the whole of the preparing myself, and I can 
further assure you that pure limejuice cannot compete with Senile An enterprising 
neighbour next approached me with a view to getting limes for pickling. I told him 
to take what fruit he required and to give what he chose for it. He made pickles, 
distributed a large number of bottles ratuitously to advertise them. They were 
declared to be good; he placed them on the market and found no sale for them. Yet, 
in Crosse and Blackwell’s list, lime pickles are quoted higher than any other. The 
same thing applies to mango chutney and many other colonial manufactures. Quite a 
number of self-constituted, censorious critics, full of chemistry, but devoid of common 
sense, never tire of telling us that chemical control would free us from half, if not from all, 
our troubles. Science is good, but the little science many of these possess is a very 
dangerous thing. One tells us through the Press that, in some instances, as much as 
40 gallons of molasses remain after final boiling, and seems to have at least convinced 
himself that the manufacturers’ salvation would be assured if this were converted into 
