1 Ava, 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 169 
professor of agriculture was very fond of advocating the Steinwedel wheat. The 
farmers found in many districts that the wheat was a failure, and other officers 
of the department were advocating other wheats. The Minister found himself 
inaquandary. There was no official pronunciamento of the position of the 
department, and the farmers said the department was at sixes and sevens. What 
he did was this: He called together the officers of the department who were 
more or less interested in wheat, and having got them to fly at each other's 
throats, and call each other hard names, he sent them all down to the Experi- 
ment Farm at Wagga—that is, the Professor of Agriculture, the principal of the 
Hawkesbury College, the manager of the experiment farms, and one or two 
others interested in wheat—and refused to allow them to leaye that place until 
they had arrived at a unanimous report. The thing worked admirably, and they 
arrived at a unanimous report, dividing the colony into districts regulated by 
climate and soils. They advised, on behalf of the Department, that such- 
and-such a wheat was most likely to do best in the southern districts, others on 
the central plateau, and so on, and it seems to me the Minister behaved with 
considerable judgment m pulling his Department out of a mess. The next 
business is, I think, a discussion on the eradication of nut-grass. 
NUT-GRASS. 
Mr. E. Denman (Mackay) : Before we discuss this, it would be as well to 
see if we all agree as to what is nut-grass. We have weeds here known by half 
a dozen different names in this district. We have canes here known by different 
names in this district and by other names in other localities. I have here a 
drawing of nut-grass, taken from the Awstralasian, which will perhaps help us. 
in discussing the matter. There is a small patch of nut-grass on the road 
running through my land. I simply planted buffalo grass all round it, and I am. 
quite certain that I shall wipe it out. I have done so with Sida retusa and other- 
weeds, and I read some years ago that if you planted what we call the Cape 
Gooseberry, or any other plant of similar dense growth, the nut-grass could not. 
liye under its shade. ‘ 
_ Mr. J. Loaan, junr. (Gatton): The only way that I can think of to get 
rid of nut-grass is to have the ground, when it is fairly wet, well trodden down 
by stock. Then plough it about 6 times at intervals of about a week. Never 
harrow or roll, but keep the ground as rough as possible, and in about 6 
ploughings, provided the ground is thoroughly dry, you will find little nut-grass 
left. ‘This is the best remedy I haye tried, but it should be done in the hot, 
dry summer time. 
Mr. G. Park (Loganholme): You may plough nut-grass out and great 
quantities will die, but the following season you will find it coming up just as 
thickly as ever. I think it is impossible to get rid of it, but I have found it 
yery good to mix with other things for cows; and I have also found that if you 
plough it down it makes a very good green manure. I have sown oats on Jand 
where this has been done, and haye noticed a great improvement in the crop 
as a result. 
Mr. W. Grsson (Bundaberg): We find the Planet Junior with narrow 
tines, say, 15 inches, very useful for keeping nut-grass down. We let it go to 
the full length of the tine (about 8 inches), and the result is we are not much 
troubled with nut-grass, although I admit it is almost impossible to kill it 
altogether. It is true, on a piece of ground, where the nuts have not gone down 
very deep, we have been able to kill it with molasses. We had a little on a bit 
of rich soil, and were afraid it would spread, so we poured a few casks of 
molasses over it and then put some water on the top. 1t all fermented, and by 
keeping this going for about a week we destroyed all the nut-grass; and at 
present this particular piece of land is quite free from it. However, where you 
can get an implement in amongst the grass and keep it constantly going, I donot 
think it will do much harm to your crop. 
Mr. W. Torr (Rockhampton): I have never tried molasses, but I can 
endorse the rest of Mr. Gibson’s remarks. I would advise Mr. Denman, 
i 
