118 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ava., 1899. 
very heavy order has been placed with the Department from this district for & 
supply of cow peas, doubtless some of the sugar-planters here will be prepared 
to open the discussion on this question of green manuring. It is a question 
that deserves every consideration at our hands, and not only at the hands of 
those engaged in growing the cow pea for manuring, but also for the general 
farmer. For although the Agricultural Department introduced the cow pea, 
yet when it came to grow it itself, it had to pay £2 2s. a bushel for the seed, 
and at the present time there is an open market for cow peas at 10s. a bushel. 
Mr. Wm. Grzsoy (Bingera): We have been growing cow pea at Bingera, 
and at present we have something like a ton of seed sealed up in tanks for 
planting in the early part of the season, and this doubtless will show practically 
our opinion of the benefits likely to be derived from cow peas. With us it is 
no longer an experiment. We are convinced of the efficacy of cow pea in its 
increasing the fertility of the soil. As all who are interested in the cultivation 
of the soil are aware, there are patches of ground each year that require to be 
fallowed, and they also know that some change of crop requires to be put into the 
ground. Our experience teaches us that in fallowing the land for the ground to be 
benefited, it is necessary that the soil should be covered from the rays of the 
sun with some crop, even if it is only grass, but more frequently with something 
in the form of cow pea to add to the nitrogen that has been taken from the 
soil by some previous crop. Cow pea gives us better results by a little addition 
to the soil of superphosphate previous to the planting of the cane, and with 
the facts at present before us we are determined to continue with the cow pea, 
with the addition of the superphosphate, before planting the cane, wherever 
practicable. In conclusion, I may say we are quite convinced that the cow pea 
is of benefit, not only for its nitrogen, but for the shading it gives the soil, and 
that it is one of the cheapest and safest ways of recouping the soil from the 
effects of previous crops. 
Mr. E. Swayne (Mackay): On behalf of the Mackay district, I should 
like to bear out what Mr. Gibson hag said. We have found green manuring 
most beneficial, and in fact I think no land should be replanted with cane unless 
cow pea or something like it has been ploughed into it first. We find so far 
that cow pea is better on the lighter soils, but on others, perhaps, the Mauritius 
bean is still better. The latter hag a more rampant growth, although it takes 
longer to grow. Last year I planted cow pea on a piece of land with the 
exception of a plot in the middle. The cane now on that plot is giving a much 
_ lighter crop than the rest of the field where the cow peas had been, and there 
are more misses on it. as well as more weeds. Of course the cow pea is respon 
sible for the superiority of the balance of the field, for it both acts as a manure 
and cleans the land. As for the manuring of cow pea, of course it does not 
require a nitrogenous manure. It seems to require potash especially. A small 
experiment that we are carrying out proves that the application of one hundred- 
weight of kainit to two hundredweight of bonemeal, increases the yield of cow 
pea 25 per cent. Bonemeal gaye no better return on unmanured land, but of 
course my experiments are by no means conclusive. A neighbour of mine has 
asked me to bring up the question of the difference in the quantity of nodules 
on the roots of the cow pea in different classes of soil, and whether it makes 
any difference in the nitrogenous yalue of the cow pea if the nodules are 
absent. 
Mr. Wu. Tompson (Childers): In 1897, I planted 3 acres of cow peas 
and 3 of vetches, but found that during the heat of the summer the vetches died 
away completely. The cow pea, however, grew very luxuriantly, and was 
ultimately ploughed under, although we had some little difficulty in this latter 
connection, having to use a chain in the process. Cane was then planted onthe 
land as well as on an adjoining piece of ground, and I must say there was no 
earthly difference between the cane on the land where there had been cow pea 
and where there had been none. Perhaps the Isis Scrub does not want cow pea 
or perhaps it is only good for wornout fad I have no doubt that as the land 
