88 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Frs., 1902. 
result showed there was a better crop, and an increased price of from 2s. to 68. 
was obtained. This was the result of several years of experimenting, and he 
felt justified in recommending it. Analysing the gold medal barley, it was 
found to contain nearly 63 per cent. of starch and 14 per cent. of nitrogen; 
while the second prize barley contained 62 per cent. of starch and 135 per cent. of 
nitrogen. The average of twenty-one samples of barley grown in 1899 showed an 
average percentage of under 58 of starchand 1°55 of nitrogen. They foundalso that 
the superphosphates put the starch up and the nitrogen down. They had tried 
salt also, but the quality was worse, and the colour also, though a little more 
was grown. He was speaking on the question as a chemist and not as a farmer 
of barley. As the result of his experiments for five years, he came to the — 
conclusion that his advice was sound, for the experiments had been tried on a 
large and also a small scale, and in several seasons. Nitrogen gave quantity, 
but did not give quality.” ; 
PLOUGHING MATCHES. 
Ploughing matches are an established and favourite institution in Queens- 
land, and it comes with rather a shock to read an English farmer's opinion of 
such matches. Writing to an English journal which had published an article | 
entitled ‘“‘ Why should the ploughing match be considered an institution of the | 
ast P” he replied : “‘ Because it serves no useful purpose. The principal requisites 
foe taking a prize ata ploughing match were—that the furrow should be 
absolutely straight, that the furrow slice should be quite unbroken with a sharp 
crest, and that it should be absolutely rectangular and of the same dimensions 
throughout, and when lifted out it should leave the bottom of the furrow smooth 
and level. These are some of the points on which the judges award the prize. 
“ Now, the farmer being the man that usually finds the money, I ask, are 
these the points he wants when he sets his man to plough a field for wheat or 
for barley? I thinknot. The requisites of good ploughing are (1) that the 
furrow slice shall be inverted in such a way as to bury all rubbish, and to leaye — 
as large a surface as possible exposed to the weather; (2) that this surface — 
shall be in such a state as to harrow down with as little labour as possible — 
without again exposing the buried rubbish; (8) that there shall be as little 
shine on the bottom of the furrow as possible, so as to prevent the formation | 
of a pan, and to allow the capillary action between the furrow slice and the — 
subsoil to establish itself as quickly as possible ; and last, but not least, that as 
much as possible should be done in a day. 
“Very few people realise that the satis should vary according to what — 
it is required for. In ploughing a clover stubble on which to broadcast wheat — 
we want our furrow slices as sharp on the edge, as upright, and as closely 
pressed together as poe but if we are going to drill the wheat we want the 
furrow slice with a broken edge, so that one stroke of the harrow will make a 
tilth ; flat, so that the harrows will not turn them over when harrowed across, 
and loosely pressed so as to avoid shine. 
“How many men out of a hundred could so alter a plough as to make it 
produce furrow slices showing these differences at will? There are, indeed, 
very few ploughs on the market sufficiently adjustable to produce both these 
effects easily, but there are many with a considerable amount of adjustment. 
“The schedule of a ploughing match which read something like the 
following would be of considerable interest to farmers:— 
(1) To the man who shall set out the cleanest and straightest ridge in — 
the shortest time. 
(2) To the man who shall plough in the most workmanlike manner 
twenty furrows, leaving ten of them in the best condition for broad- 
casting wheat, and ten of them in the best condition for can 
barley. The time taken and the amount of ground ploughed wil 
be taken into consideration.” 
