1 Ava, 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, . 183 
road, at Neardie, they had drains similar to those mentioned by Mr. Gibson, 
but in the course of events the drains got blocked, and I did not adopt that 
system. I therefore used stones, but only small ones, employing nothing 
beyond a 3 to 4 inch gauge at the outside. “Ag a result, I saw an improvement 
m the land, but stones becoming scarce, I started using timber, and a great 
‘quantity of my drains were made from stringy bark, a timber which the 
Government seems to ignore, but which I consider one of the best we have. It 
is durable and easily worked, good in the ground and good out of it, and I 
may add, by the way, that I have had stringy bark shingles last for 29 
years. Where you can get good splitting timber I consider it a good substitute 
for stones. Ihad the timber in from 4 to 5 feet lengths, laid one along each 
side and placed a slab on the top, the drain being from 12 to 14 inches wide at 
the bottom, and a dressing was thrown in at the joints, but we took every pre- 
caution to have the slabs as closely jointed as possible. These drains worked 
admirably. I have tried pipes, and I must say they make a good drain, but an 
expensive one. For a main drain I use a 6-inch pipe, which means 64d. a foot 
for the pipes alone; for the other drains leading to the main T put down 4-inch 
pipes, and further back I used 3-inch. I would not use anything smaller than 
3-inch, for the saving is trifling, and a 2-inch pipe gets very easily blocked. 
Before my land was drained it was 9 or 10 days after rain before I could 
put a horse on to it, but since draining I find that within 2 or 3 days after 
rain L can get on to my land and work it. You can tell by a glance at a field 
where the land has been drained and where not, by simply looking at the crops. 
All my land is now drained with the exception of some 2 acres, and these will 
be done as soon as I have time. 
Mr. HE. Deyman (M ackay): All the gentlemen who have spoken on 
drainage have mentioned the fact that pipes are apt to be silted up, but I would 
like to ask, Is it not customary in using draining pipes, to break the pitch from 
a lower to a quicker flow with the view of preventing their silting up ? 
Mr. Grnson (Bundaberg): I believe it is done where drainage is carried 
‘on on a scientific scale, but where you get sufficient fall I do not think there is 
any necessity for it. A good flow will clear the pipes all right. 
: Mr. T. Riprey: I was one who stood shoulder to shoulder with Mr. 
Gibson in the early drainage schemes at Doughboy Creek, but it was not my first 
experience in draining, as I had had a good deal to do with it in the old 
country. Mr. Gibson alludes to the necessity of a Drainage Act, and although 
I understand there is something in the present Divisional Boards Act with 
reference to drainage, yet I believe it has been found unworkable, and so 1 hope 
when the new Divisional Boards Bill is introduced into the H ouse there will be 
royision made so that one farmer shall not be allowed to stop drains from 
following their natural course. I can endorse what Mr. Gibson has said with 
regard to the difficulty we had witha couple of farmers on the Doughboy Creek 
and Brisbane River frontages, who refused to allow the district drains to follow 
their natural courses through their properties. 
Mr. W. Bratz (Childers): When drainage was first mooted in the Isis 
Scrub, the cry went forth that it would never be any good, because there was 
no water about the place. I remember a boring plant being introduced into the 
district and going down through 70 or 80 feet of red volcanic soil, without the 
slightest change being seen in its character all the way down. However, after 
clearing the scrub, pee began to appear all round us. I then bought some 
of this rich land and started sugar-growing, but the first obstacle I met with 
- was the wet that the farmers in the district had been erying for. I found any 
number of springs from time to time, so I immediately set to work to find out 
what elevation I had, in order to seeif I could thoroughly run the water off the 
land. I soon started drainage operations, but having no pipes I made use of the 
hardwood scrub about the place. In cutting my drains, I Saal a large quantity 
of bluish stone. These I picked out carefully, and found they were nearly all 
wedge-shaped. Those stones I used for drains, putting the sharp edge down, 
~with a few small stones on the top to carry the soil when it was being cemented 
