1 Jay., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 15 
ground entirely beneath the surface. Maize and wheat were then planted on 
the ground, and, as the plants grew, the roots were not obstructed by the layers 
of wire-netting embedded in the soil beneath, but forced their way readily 
through the meshes. In the autumn the frames were dug out and the soil 
washed away with water. The netting held the roots and rootlets in the very 
position in which they grew, and a valuable object lesson for the study of root 
erowth was presented. The roots of the maize plants had gone beyond the 6-feet 
limit, and some of the roots were broken off in removing the frame. In the 
case of the wheat, the rootlets had, in some cases, gone down to a depth of 4 
feet. 
FARMING THEN AND NOW. 
Mr. W. Sandover, of the Western Australian firm of W. Sandover and Co., 
recently returned to London from a trip to America, and in the course of an 
interview with a representative of the British Australasian gave his impressions 
of American methods of farming contrasted with Australian. He said :—‘“ In 
Kansas every one uses drills now ; the broadéast seedsowers have all been thrown 
on the scrap heap. By using seed drills and phosphates the crops can be almost 
doubled. . While travelling through this farm country I was shown some very 
interesting figures. Forty years ago, to produce 1 bushel of wheat from 
beginning to end required three hours’ labour. Now it only takes ten minutes. 
The cost of the human labour to produce this bushel was 1s. 6d. then. Now it 
is under 1?d. A ton of hay forty years ago, cut with a scythe and gathered in 
by hand rakes, required thirty-five and a-half hours of human labour. To-day, 
with horsemowers, horserakes, and horsepresses, it only takes eleven and a-half 
hours of human labour, and the cost of labour per ton of hay has fallen from 
12s. 3d. to 5s. 6d. Agricultural labour is expensive in America, so they invented 
machinery. Agricultural labour is more expensive in Australia, so that is the 
greater reason for farmers there to adopt machinery. It will help the labourers, 
too, for more land will be cultivated, and many of them will be able themselves 
to acquire and work farms. Ah! There is another point of interest to 
Australians visiting America—the cheapness of the transit. Much of the 
prosperity of American farmers is due to the very low rates at which the railways 
carry their wheat. Railways are close to almost every farmer’s door. These 
_- railways, of course, are run for a profit, and they are able to charge a low tariff 
on account of the quantity of cargo they carry. The Australian railways 
belonging to the Government should not be run as revenue producers ; their 
earnings should only cover interest and sinking fund, and every inducement 
should be given to the farmers.”’—Adelaide Observer. 
SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE. 
Some Recent Experiments. 
Agricultural and horticultural experiments are now conducted so generally 
in all parts of the world, and so multitudinous are the results and reports on 
them, that but few obtain the publicity they deserve. Quite a number of 
reports have been received from abroad; and as some of these are of a decidedly 
useful and interesting character a few notes on the more important cannot be 
otherwise than valuable to our own farmers and gardeners. 
ELectriciry and Prayr Growrn. 
Russia provides us, in the first place, with some interesting and successful 
results in connection with the use of electricity in hastening the germination of 
seeds and plant growth. These experiments have been carried out near St. 
Petersburg by Dr. Spyeshneff and Prof. Kravkoff. In the first set of experi- 
ments seeds were electrified and afterwards sown, when it was found that not 
