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1 Jan., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. he 
To Our Readers. 
The Queensland Agricultural Journal is now entering upon the fifth year 
of publication, and continues to meet with the unqualified approval of its 
readers, who comprise not only Queenslanders, but residents in every part of the 
globe. Thus we hear of its being found on the tables of South American 
farmers, in the town and country homes of India, China, Egypt, North America, 
and even in the Soudan is it read and appreciated. It has, from the outset, 
been our aim to fill its pages with useful and instructive articles bearing upon 
agricultural, pastoral, and horticultural pursuits from the pens of contributors, 
who are specialists in the various subjects they write upon. There is one way 
however, in which the Journal can be rendered even more interesting to the 
rural population, and that is by short articles from farmers and others, giving 
their own experience of new methods of cultivation, of new products, of the 
effects of manures, of irrigation, &. Many good inventions and ingenious 
contrivances for labour-saving emanate from the workers on theland. Informa- 
tion concerning these will always be welcomed by the editor. Farmers are a 
busy people, and after a hard day’s work are apt to be too tired to sit down and 
write. Again, many who would like to write do not do so because they think 
they are not equal to writing a newspaper article. We do not ask for the 
article. All we ask for is the idea. Give us the rough substance: we will do 
the dressing-up part. There is many a gem of thought, many a brilliant idea, 
lost to the world because the originator of it is posséssed with the idea that he 
cannot clothe it in sufficiently fine language. If you have a good idea, never 
mind the language or the composition or the spelling. Leave that to us, and 
let your ideas be given to the world. Think how many people will benefit by 
any valuable new idea. Every month we send out nearly 6,000 Journals to 
various households. It is reasonable to suppose that at least four persons will 
look at each Journal. Thus 24,000 people are benefited. We hope that during 
this year we shall receive many communications from farmers on matters of 
interest to their profession. 
The year 1902 opens with great promise. The wheat harvest has been a 
record for Queensland. With reduced railway rates and fair prices for wheat 
and barley, with genial rains and absence of pests, the outlook for the coming 
year is full of hope. 
The yield of sugar has been most satisfactory on the whole, and the young 
cane gives evidence of vigorous growth, foreshadowing a large return by the end 
of this year. 
