258 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL souRNAL. [1 Aprit, 1902. 
most sincerely hold that, until we have our pasture lands sown in like manner, 
dairying will not be, with us, the pleasant prosperous pursuit I found my 
Victorian friends enjoying. I was very much surprised to note that no pro-~ 
vision had been made by anyone to use the superabundant herbage for ensilage 
purposes to meet the adverse conditions occurring in their dry summer period. 
This is a contingency these fortunate farmers have not, so far, deemed necessary 
to provide for; nevertheless, I think it a grave oversight that, with their grand 
opportunities, they do not make this provision for summer needs. The grasses; 
are now spread by the simple operation of cutting, threshing out seed, and 
scattering it over the sward, leaving it to germinate or not, as the season or 
the weather may permit. Thus all of the areas are sown without any 
tillage operations being necessary. As may be expected, in daries where- 
as many as 100 cows are daily milked, appliances for drafting and handling- 
cows are very complete. Sheds are so constructed as to give the cows. 
access and egress by mechanical devices of the most improved kind. Sheds. 
and floors must be well constructed and drained to comply with the. 
Dairying Act in force, for which supervision inspectors are appointed by- 
the shire council, and who are also, in this instance, retained by the. 
Camperdown Dairy Company to report, on their behalf, on the condition. 
of the sheds, yards, utensils, &c., of the shareholders supplying the company’s 
factories. Thus every precaution is taken to secure cleanliness. For the 
information of our dairy farmers, I give a remedy which Mr. C. T. Lucas has 
invariably used with success for hoven, which may be new to some. The remedy 
is half-a-cup of kerosene—nothing more; and the result is immediate relief. 
Many of the dairymen employ families on the share system. I visited one of 
Mr. Lucas’s out-farms where this system was in vogue, and it struck me as being 
a solution of the labour question as far as milking was concerned. The 
practice is to pay the family, generally comprising the parents and several 
children, at the rate of 7s. in the £1 on the gross proceeds obtained for milk 
and pigs sold. A bonus is also added for the calves reared This method 
naturally relieves the owner of the farm of anxiety and supervision, as the incen- 
tive of a pro rata payment assures every reasonable care being taken of cows 
and stock, and is, after all, an example of a share principle in production 
which is of advantage to capitalist and worker alike. ‘his is borne out by the 
fact that the emoluments of a family often reach as much as £200 per annum. 
This may appear a large sum to pay out of the profit of a dairy farm, but when 
it is considered that cows in those districts are claimed to give a yearly profit of 
£9 per head there appears room for good emoluments forall concerned. Revert» 
ing again to the question of grasses, those who follow dairy and pastoral pursuits 
will, perhaps, think I have held before them a rather rose-tinted picture of 
rural felicity. My colonial experience of forty years has enabled me to judge 
the character of much that relates to successful husbandry in these States, and 
whilst I here unreservedly give it as my opinion that, for the greater part of 
the year, there is no region that 1 have as yet seen which can excel the 
district in question as the fittest for carrying on the manufacture of dairy 
products, due, to a large extent, to prevailing climatic conditions and the 
fertile nature of the soil, I hold that these are but secondary factors, and 
that the main factor of success is the marvellous herbage these lands are 
carpeted with. The point I would most like to emphasise is, that in the 
early pioneering days previous to the introduction of these grasses 
the country had not nearly the stock-carrying capacity it now has. 
The number of cows now depastured is given at one beast to 3 acres. 
This, taken into consideration with the fact that as a general practice 
no provision whatever is made for conserving fodder for the summer scarcity, 
shows the good carrying capacity of the farms. The question then is—Why 
cannot we improve our grazing areas as has been so well done in Victoria? 
Granted, for argument’s sake, that the moister weather conditions prevailing on 
those western lands are responsible for much that I relate, there is—taking into 
consideration that very many of our coastal districts, but not our interior lands, 
