| — RECTO 
1 Ava., 1899.] QUEENSLAND A SOUR RNAL. 121 
pth akon JENS 
as compared with that on the othe “Rela “alongbide of ainly showing that cow 
pea did that land no good. I think what ig/yented is a really smart 
agricultural chemist in all the centres 0  dovielilta . What is the use of telling 
us to put in cow pea if it will not be beneticial? If we could get a pocketful of 
soil and hand it to a chemist to tell us what it contained, and what it was short 
of, we would get on much better. At present we go headlong into matters of 
this kind. We see our cane flagging, and then apply a lot of manure to the 
soil. The next crop comes along, but we see no apparent result from the 
manure. Why? Because the right kind of manure was not used. Some 
time ago we had a meeting in Bundaberg, and it is pretty well decided that we 
shall have a good chemist there. A poor one would be of little use. The way 
in which we propose to raise the capital is to tax the manufactured sugar, and 
also the cane grown. Mr. Angus Gibson’s idea is to tax all cane grown 3d. per 
ton, and all manufactured sugar 2d. per ton. This should produce £1,800 a 
yearin the Bundaberg district, and we are also looking forward to a Government 
endowment to the fund. Mr. Chataway can thus see we are in earnest in the 
matter, and I hope you Mackay people will follow suit in this connection. 
‘Mr. R. Gipson (Ayr): If ever the Agricultural Department did some- 
thing useful, it did so when it introduced the cow pea. It is about the best 
feeding plant that you can get for either man or beast. Personally, I find that 
they agree with me. Some time ago I planted potatoes on a piece of land 
that had cow peas on it as well as on an adjoining plot, and anyone with half an 
eye could see in the crop the patches where the cow péa had been. For horses, 
cows, and poultry, especially for the latter, the cow pea makes a splendid feed. 
My. J. Crook (Rockhampton) : I do not go in for the cow pea as a green 
manure, but as a general crop. I originally got a packet of seed from the 
Agricultural Departmént, and have grown it ever since. I find it is a great crop 
for enriching the soil, and also for killing weeds. This year I had 13 acres of 
it, and afterwards I had only to plough the land once. I had no weeds to 
contend with all the time the cow pea was on the land. It kills everything it 
comes in contact with,.and there is no trouble in cultivating the land when the 
cow pea is taken off. It makes a splendid fodder ; everything will eat it—pigs, 
cattle, horses, and poultry. It makes a splendid chaff for horses. I have a 
piece of heavy black soil which can be worked as easily with two horses after 
cow peas have been on it, as with four horses if the cow peas had not been 
grown there, 
Mr. W. D. Lame (Yangan): As a Downs farmer I must say that I can 
bear out the experience of the last speaker as to the cow pea being a good 
fodder. Anything will eat it, cows or horses, and fowls will eat the seed. I 
have had considerable experience in the harvesting of cow pea seed, and last 
year prepared all the Agricultural Department’s seed. This has shown me that 
the greatest difficulty in growing it for seed is the harvesting. The mower has 
been tried, I understand, and if we can get over the harvesting difficulty, I 
believe we shall be able to grow cow peas that will be useful for every purpose ; 
in fact, they would probably take to a great extent the place of maize. As for 
leaving the land clean, there is not the slightest doubt of that. ‘hey put it 
into good condition for the following crop. There is one thing, however, that 
I find on the Downs, and that is, we cannot sow cow peas after Christmas for 
seed purposes. I sowed it last year in January, and it got caught by the frost, 
so we have only one season to deal with. Of course, on the Downs we do not 
want green manuring yet, but otherwise the cow pea is areally excellent crop. 
Ttmakes capital hay if not allowed to get too ripe, quite equal to lucerne. 
Mr. H. Carrermunnt (Woongarra): Some 3 years ago I grew 2 acres of 
cow pea and ploughed them in, but did not plant cane on the land, for the 
simple reason that it became alive with grubs. They are only leaving the ground 
now. 
Mr. R. S. Arcen’ (Gooburrum): I can bear out what the last speaker has 
stated. From a farmer’s or canegrower’s standpoint, the after effects of the 
cow pea are disastrous. Wherever the cow pea has been on the ground for a 
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