a 
1 May, 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 329 
September the plants will be too large to straddle, as the leaves will entirely 
cover the ground. Butif you have been careful to keep the ground clean up. 
to the last possible moment this will not matter, as no further cultivation will 
bé needed. Keep all the seed heads broken out as they appear, otherwise the™ 
bulb will become pipey. The two varieties abovementioned will not require to. 
have their necks twisted or broken down, as they are perfect bulbers. : 
About the end of October go through the crop and lift any onions of which 
the leaves are dying away. Be careful not to bruise them. Top and tail them 
in the field, and do not put more than 70 lb. or 80 1b. in abag. Cart+hem to 
the barn and spread them out thinly on saplings, so that the air can come 
through underneath them. They will then be ready for the market in two or 
three days. The whole crop will take six or seven weeks before it is all off, - 
harvesting it as the bulb ripens. xa 
A good dusting of wood ashes before the final scuffling will keep the 
onions from decaying at the roots before they begin to ripen. 
The Brown Spanish is a very good variety to grow in the Southern and 
Western district, but experience has shown that on the North Coast, about’ 
Maroochy, Mooloolah, and the Blackall Range, generally the extra early 
Barletta and the Early Flat Red are the best adapted to the soil and climate. 
The yield from well-tilled land averages about 10 tons per acre, but 12 and 15 — 
tons have not seldom been harvested. 
WHEAT. oe 
The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, Mel- . 
bourne, under date 6th March, make the following interesting report on the 
wheat market :— ee 
“ Graty.—Cables from London indicate some slight improvement there.in 
the wheat market, a rise of 3d. per quarter being notified in Australian cargoes. _ 
Business was done at the close of last week at 29s. 3d., and subsequently 
29s. 43d. and 29s. 6d. were paid for Sydney cargoes, and 29s. 73d. for Mel- - 
bourne cargoes, with shippers wanting 29s. 9d. to 30s. per quarter of éight . 
bushels. The latter are not anxious sellers, and in this respect we believe they are” 
following a judicious policy, inasmuch as nearly every cargo shipped since the - 
end of January must stand them in a severe loss owing to the high local prices, 
against which they are now setting the probability of a rise in home values. 
We think an upward turn may come at any moment in the London market, 
as the stocks begin to be reduced to a low level. Excellent crop prospects on 
the Continent and in America might prevent a rise, but, all things considered, 
shippers are taking a very small risk of loss in holding on to their cargoes. 
Sydney shippers are not so well established as those in this centre, and hence 
show more desire to sell. As far as growers are concerned, their interest in 
the movements of the home wheat market remains small. True, there is a 
possibility of values more in accord with shipping prices ruling here, but for 
the moment that must be regarded as a contingency not likely to be faced 
until the entire shipping engagements are filled. At the moment the local 
markets are ruled entirely by local surroundings and conditions, and the value 
of wheat in London has little or nothing to do with the value here, a fact 
which we can illustrate clearly by stating that London values would have to 
rise 4s. per quarter to place the f.o.b. value Melbourne on a parity with to-day’s 
rates. ; 
“Freights, in the face of an almost entire absence of chartering for 
roduce, have eased again during the month, and but for the Newcastle 
Pegiiices would be still lower; 18s. is a full rate for wheat ships, and this rate, 
though owners are not anxious to accept it, would be difficult to obtain. It is 
to be hoped, in the interests of growers, that we are in for a period of low 
freight rates. 
