1 Ava., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 119 
grows poorer it will be beneficial, but where the land is rich I do not think cow 
pea is of muchuse. We thought if we put cow pea on to the land, the cane crop 
would be the same as from virgin scrub, but up to the present this has not been 
proved to be the case. This of course refers to Childers in the Isis Scrub. Mr. 
Gibson has been growing cane on his land for a number of years, and perhaps in 
his case the cow pea is beneficial. My cow pea was eight weeks old when it was 
ploughed under. 
Mr. J. C. Brunnicu (Agricultural Chemist): There are a few points, 
Mr. Chairman, which have sprung up in the discussion so far, and to which I 
may be permitted to refer. It is little use thinking that if land is worn out, 
cow pea will recoup it, and Mr. Gibson’s remarks show this to be the case. I 
know for a fact that the land Mr. Gibson refers to is particularly poor in 
phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Cow pea will supply one deficiency, but, to get 
proper results, he adds superphosphate to it. This shows that you must apply 
the other manure to secure the best effect from the cow pea. Mr. Swayne, on 
the other hand, advocates potash along with cow peas. Well, I know the land 
about here is poor in potash, and this shows that a grower must use his 
judgment in the selection of another manure to derive the full benefit from 
cow pea. It will be very injudicious for a farmer to pin his faith on cow pea 
alone. Cow pea in this district may be good, but in other districts other plants 
may do better. There is the Mauritius bean, and it is only by small experiments 
that the farmer can discover which is the most suitable for his requirements. 
From experience I know that there is not a very great difference in the 
manure-giving qualities of these particular crops themselves. There is not 
much difference, say, between the Mauritius bean and the cow pea. The principal 
point is that it should be luxuriant. With regard to Mr. Swayne’s question 
about the nodules: The nitrogen is contained in the nodules, but I may tell 
you it is not easy to find these nodules. In some cases they are easy to find, 
but in others they are not. If you pull upa plant you will probably leave 
most of the nodules in the ground. To observe them properly, the plant must 
be taken out very carefully, and the soil removed very gently from the roots, 
but you can be sure, if there are no nodules, that very little nitrogen has been 
assimilated by the plant, and that you can only think the soil is really very 
poor. In some places, the germs which are necessary for the making of 
nitrogen are quite absent, and some scientists make a preparation which they 
¢eall nitragin, which they inject into the soil for the purpose of producing those 
germs in the -soil in order to induce a more luxuriant growth in leguminous 
plants. It is quite possible if you find a patch where the cow pea will not 
grow properly, that the reason is that these germs are deficient. But if other 
cow peas are growing on adjacent land, the probability is these germs will be 
disseminated by them. You must not think that cow peas alone will save your 
soil, but you will probably get good results from it hand in hand with some other 
manure. We tried the Velvet bean at the College, and got 10 tons per.acre, 
very rich in nitrogen, but deficient in ash. We haye also tried the Black bean 
and the different kinds of cow pea, and I would advise other farmers to do the 
" game in ordey to find which is the most suitable for their own particular soil. 
Mr. T. Mackay (Cairns): Some 7 or 8 years ago I got a small parcel of 
cow peas from the Kamerunga State Nursery. I planed, this in the month of 
August, and got as a result a very plentiful crop of seed. From that I planted 
_ 3 or 4 acres on the commencement of the wet season—namely, in January. On 
this occasion the cow pea ran all over the ground, covering it up beautifully. T 
afterwards moyed the crop, and saved it by stacking it, and found that it made a 
first-class fodder. J cut it into chaff for which purpose I found it excellent, 
and afterwards when the crop was off I sowed oats on the land. This was in 
April, and I secured a really excellent crop. I afterwards found out two things— 
namely, that if you wantcow peas for vines, you must plant in the commencement 
of the wet season. If for seed, plantin the spring. They will not run to vines 
then. IfI had known that 10s, per bushel could be obtained for cow peasI should 
hhave gone in heavily for them. Asa manurial plant it is extremely valuable, 
