276 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JouRNAL. [lL Apri, 1902. 
small number of owners, and their capital and credit have been often insufficient 
for the heavy calls upon them. I.ately, however, the cane farmer has come into 
existence, and has grown rapidly. 
In the present year the quantity of farmers’ canes ground has been nearly 
170,000 tons. 
Many of the cane-farmers are small peasants owning or renting only a few 
acres, which they and their families can cultivate without additional labour. 
They are generally dependent upon advances from the manufacturer, and the 
weak point in the system, from their point of view, is that, owing partly to 
geographical position, and partly to indebtedness, they have generally only 
one market to which they can take their canes. A sliding scale, however, 
regulating the payment for canes, is generally adopted by the parties, the price 
paid being determined by that ruling in the London or New York market at 
the time of delivery. Movements, moreover, are on foot in two parts of the 
island—one in the north, and one in the south—for the establishment of small 
co-operative societies to supply the farmers with the requisite advances. Of 
these, one is proceeding on the well-known lines of the Raffeisen Banks, the 
other will allow the division of profits. Co-operation not only gives hope for 
greater stability to the sugar industry, by making the labourer share profits or 
losses with the capitalist, but it probably operates to cheapen labour, as Creole 
and Indian alike prefer growing canes in their own plot to working as labourers 
on the estates ; and they are willing to sell the canes at a price that is below 
that of which the estates can, at any rate with free labour, produce them. It 
is interesting to record that since the closing of St. Augustine, which it was 
feared would lead to much local loss of employment and consequent distress, 
the land has been readily let in small holdings to farmers, and it is possible that 
within a few years as large an acreage will be under canes as was the case when 
the estate was worked as a whole. One drawback to cane-farming must, how- 
ever, be pointed out. The farmer is less alive than the estate-owner to the 
advantages to be derived from economic cultivation, the use of manure, the 
adoption of improvements, and the selection of canes. 
The following is an estimate of the average cost of production and net price 
realised per ton :— 
-_— Cost. Price. Profit. 
| 
| 
£8. d>| £> 3. d. | (Siemmea 
Yellow sugars (for London markets) we ay su} WO t9 100 015 0 
Grey sugars (for American markets) “ Ne Se Om 0 1050505) Ss0ar0 
GROWING MANGOES FROM SEED. 
Mr. C. Acutt, writing from Warren, Rockhampton, suggests a rather 
unusual method of sprouting mango seeds, a method which has perfectly 
succeeded with him, and which he discovered by mere accident. 
Take an empty glass pickle bottle, place two or three mango seeds inside, 
cork the bottle up and put it away in the storeroom. In less than four weeks 
the bottle will be nearly full of beautiful shoots and roots. When well shot, 
take them out and plant them in the ordinary way. 
This should be a good plan to adopt in the importation of different 
varieties of mangoes from other countries, as a voyage ot three or four weeks 
would mean a number of beautiful little trees ready for planting out on arrival 
in Queensland. 
Try it, somebody, and let us know the result. We have five seeds in two 
bottles. 
