1 Sepr., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 2538 
originally black. To test his theory, he put pure black merino sires to black 
merino ewes, and found that right from the initiation the experiment was a 
complete success—the lambs dropped being all black, An almost universal 
characteristic of these sheep is a small white spot on the forehead, and another 
on the tip of the tail. 
Mr. Allan continued to breed from black sires and ewes for many years | 
“until the flock reached 2,000, at which it remained for Some years, and 
now has been reduced to 20 rams, 600 ewes, and 250 wethers and weaners—a 
total of 870. Our illustrations give a very good idea of the rams and ewes. 
The former especially form a yery remarkable-looking group with their black 
faces, large curved horns, and bright eyes. Their light legs give the impression 
that they are exceedingly fleet of foot; that they can jump in a surprising 
manner, we had ocular demonstration. 
The blackness of these sheep does not stop at the wool, but extends to 
the skin ‘also, and Mr. Allan makes it a sine qua non that the tongue and the 
roof of the mouth shall be black as well. The flesh of the animal is darker in 
colour than that of the white sheep, sweeter, and has a distinctly “ gamey”’ 
flavour, akin to the taste of venison. It is thought that these sheep are much 
hardier and less liable to disease than the white ones. 
Very high prices have been obtained for the wool. In 1886 Mr. Allan 
showed at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, a bale of black ewes’ 
wool of seventy fleeces, about 370 days’ growth, weight 2 ewt. 3 qr. 17 Ib. 
The sheep had been fed on natural grasses only. At the London wool sales in 
1885 this wool brought 1s. 64d. per Ib. for the fleece all round in the erease— 
that is to say, it realised just double what white wool of a similar character 
grown on the same country broughtat that date. The black wool was principally 
used at that time, and still is, for undyed underclothing under Dr. Jaeger’s 
system ; also, there is at times a demand for black wool for certain continental 
religious orders who have to wear undyed woollen clothing. Latterly it fell in 
price through successful dyed imitations being much used. Last December the 
Braeside black wool brought 10}d. in Brisbane for the fleece. Besides the black 
sheep, there are 20 Lincoln rams (8 of which are imported), 300 pure and grade 
Lincoln ewes, and 150 Lincoln wethers and weaners. Braeside js worked in 
conjunction with Mr. Allan’s Western Whyenbah Station, on the Balonne. 
The black sheep cut from one-half to three-quarters of a pound less wool 
than the white ones. One sheep to the acre is the carrying capacity of Braeside, 
which is in great contrast to the Western country, where four acres are required 
for a sheep in ordinary seasons. They are run in paddocks with seven wire 
fences. These fences cost from £32 to £35 per mile. In concluding this notice, 
we print a few interesting extracts from Mr. Gibson’s excellent work on ““Sheep- 
breeding in the Argentine.” on pages 267 to 271. 
THE ERADICATION OF CHARLOCK. 
Amonasr the many members of the genus Brassica (or cabbage family), few are 
such a troublesome pest to the wheat farmer as that known as “charlock.” In 
the wheat-fields of the Downs, several varieties occur, especially Brassica 
sinapis, but the charlock is more probably amongst the rest, and it exceeds all 
others in its destructive effect on young growing crops. It gets ahead of the 
latter, and, before they are strong enough to resist the intrusive stranger, it 
takes possession with disastrous effect. The weed is easily recognised by its 
white, yellow, or blue flowers. The seed is very difficult to separate from the 
pod; in fact, the threshing machine which will do it has not yet been invented. 
Neither can the seed be easily separated from the grain, especially from oats. 
Several experiments have been made in Europe, with a view to its destruction, 
_ by spraying with solutions of sulphate of copper or of iron. The most successful 
of these experiments was made on 17th May at the farm of the Agricultural 
College at Uckfield, in Sussex, where Spraying was done by hand and 
horse-sprayers, the latter proving infinitely superior to the former. The plots 
of oats, tares, and beans were divided by steps of unsprayed, to show them in 
