1p QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Aua., 1899. 
number of years, that is where the grubs are thickest, and I noticed when 
passing one or two of the plantations here yesterday, that you are troubled 
with the grub or some other disease, because there is no doubt some of the 
cane is dying, and I would advise canegrowers to be very careful in reference 
to cow pea. It may be all right from a dairying standpoint, but I am quite 
sure it is all wrong from acanegrower’s point of view. I would like to advise 
my fellow canegrowers in Mackay, if they try it, to only do it on a small 
scale. 
Mr. W. Deacon (Allora): Mr. E. Swayne tells me that he has grown cow 
ea as a green manure for seyen years in his district, and the cow pea land 1s 
baer from grubs than any other part of the district. I thought the discussion 
would have taken a more iseerehenirs form, as there are other green manures 
besides cow peas, and I should like to know their effect on the land. Rape, for 
instance, is, I think, more adapted to our part of the country than cow pea. 
There is the difficulty of harvesting the cow pea, and I have doubts as to its 
value as a fodder. Iam told cows will not graze on it; in fact, that they do not 
care about it at all. Of course cow pea seed may be worth a great price, but it 
is most extraordinary that in the Northern districts, where you say you have a 
great want of labour, you can afford to use the scythe. We cannot afford 
to use the scythe, but must grow crops on which we can use the mowing 
machine. We have our labour difficulty, too, on the Downs. Then there is the 
threshing. Did Mr. Lamb thresh his cow peas with his machine ? 
Mr. Lam: No. 
Mr. G. Munrz (Mosman): I may say that, unlike most of the gentlemen 
who have spoken, in the district I represent there is not a single acre of cow 
peas. So far, we have had no necessity for green manuring, and I was pleased, 
up to a certain stage, to learn that we had discovered such a suitable manure as 
the cow pea, until the point was raised about the grubs, and Iam now uncertam 
whether I should recommend it to my district on my return or not. Perhaps 
the same objection would not apply to the Mauritius bean. 
Mr. W. Torr (Rockhampton): I quite agree with the remarks that have 
been made relative to the benefits likely to accrue from the appointment of 
agricultural chemists in the various sugar centres. It is Taine to learn 
that the Bundaberg district has taken the matter in hand, and I think other 
districts should follow suit. 
Mr. J. E. Noaxes (Maryborough): The remarks of the various speakers 
so far, Mr. Chairman, show clearly that different districts require different 
manures, and from what Mr. Brooks has stated, the Mauritius bean is the best 
for the more Northern districts. As for the cow pea, I can bear out what Mr 
Aiken says about it being a harbour for grubs. 
The Hon. J. V. Cuaraway: In summing up the discussion, I must first of 
all say that there seems to be some slight misunderstanding, and I shall refer to 
one or two small matters. The last speaker but one said they required to know 
the different manurial values of the beans—Mauritius, velvet, cow pea, Mada- 
gascar, ce. Mr. Briinnich has already told us that there is very little difference 
inthe various beans of this class. But there is still a slight misapprehension, — 
and it has not been clearly brought out, and it is that one end of the 
colony requires the cow pea in order that it may be ploughed under for green 
manure, and not in order that it may be gathered for feed. The seed must be 
grown in a cold climate, and must therefore come from the Southern end of the 
colony. ‘The Northern planters have not had to harvest it with scythes, seeing 
that they ploughed it in. I may here say now that the Department has a greater 
demand for seed of the cow pea than it finds itself able to supply. With 
regard to the harvesting of the cow pea, which will always be done in the South, 
we haye tried the mowing machine and found it wanting because it leayes 25 per 
cent. of the seed on the ground. The only way we have of harvesting is to lift 
the whole plant, cut with a hoe or similar implement at the root, and then lift it 
on toadray. It has been suggested that the cow pea encourages Brae and it 
has been pointed out that, in some parts of the district, some of the cane is 
