1 Jury, 1901.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, 119 
oer 
Mr. Joun Witriams (Mount Gravatt): It gave me great pleasure to 
listen to Mr. Grimley’s paper, for I think cotton will come to the front again, 
Mr. Lee has told us of the beautiful cotton they used to grow, but I believe 
experts have been to work, and a better sample than formerly is now produced 
of cotton. If we start again, we shall doubtless have a better sample to work 
on. Mr. Grimley touched upon the matter of selection, and said that a great 
variation was caused by, say, planting from high to low land. But there is 
another factor which he did not refer to in his paper, and naturally so, for a 
paper must be somewhat limited in its scope. Seed variations are largely 
caused through the scattering of the pollen by bees and the winds. I have had 
mandarins quite bitter, and this I attributed to insect agency and chance 
fertilisation. I believe the Japanese got their plums that way, as they never 
push very much with cross fertilisation by their own hands. We have in man- 
darins some very good kinds, the Beauty of Glen Retreat standing pre-eminently 
before the world. Then there are our wheats, and I say, if we want to have 
wheats that will be first-class and bring Queensland to the front, they then 
must be of our own raising. We see that in wool, where the theory is an 
accomplished fact. JI am sure, if attention is paid to cross fertilisation in the 
matter of the cotton industry, that we shall produce a cotton with long staple, 
fine quality, great strength and elasticity, and bearing large pods. 
Mr. J. Davres (Rockhampton): JI wish to ask where it is possible to 
get cotton seed. I have grown cotton, and it is something like the No. 6 of 
this paper. I should also be glad to know what soil is best adapted for cotton. 
Mr. L. G. Corre (Brisbane) : I would like to say, first of all, that with 
federation coming there is a better chance than there was before for establishing 
the cotton industry. If cotton is going to be grown in Australia, J think we 
may look for it, in all probability, being grown in Queensland. With interstate 
freetrade and the protection which I expect we shall have against the outside 
world for a considerable number of years, there will be inducement for the 
establishment of a factory such as has not existed before. In connection with 
what has been said about seed, I may say the Acclimatisation Society has 
already arranged for the importation of the best seed we could get from the 
States. It is also the intention of the society to import some Egyptian seed, 
and I can promise any delegate interested in the cotton industry that, if he 
requires any seed for experiment purposes, we shall be pleased to let him hare 
a little from whatever surplus we have after meeting our own requirements. 
I would point out that the process of selection is not a very complicated one, 
and anyone could carry it out. It is simply a matter of watching the best 
plants, picking the best pods, and so on. _ It would be inadvisable for a person 
to start with the seed at present obtainable in Queensland, for there does not 
seem much doubt that seed of better kinds can be obtained elsewhere. 
Mr. J. Wrison (Ireestone Creek): I was a grower of cotton, too, many 
years ago, but wish to point out that we are losing sight of the bonus that was 
given by the Government for five vears. There were also £5,000 given to the 
Tpswich mill. We grew cotton at Warwick for a couple of years, but the thing 
died a natural death. I think it would be foolish for the Government to spend 
any more money on it. 
Mr. D. Jonxs (Agricultural Department) : Just a few words by way of 
reference to the cotton industry. I know the hour is late, so I shall be as brief 
as possible. Mr. Grimley has rather under-valued the yield of cotton-meal. I 
think his values were about 28s. a ton, but I can appeal to you sugar-g rowers if 
cotton seed is not worth more than 28s. a ton. We have experienced’ in con- 
nection with our mill at Ipswich, that we could sell our seed for more than 30s. 
aton. The decorticated cotton seed often fetches as much as £6 to £7 per 
ton. If Mr. Grimley’s ideas come to anything with regard to the improvement 
of the staple, as I hope they will, then we may rely on better profits than we 
have been accustomed to. As far as the West Moreton experience is concerned, 
during the latter years of the cotton revival, there was not much grumbling at 
the profit. Iam going to admit straight away that the farmers had a very 
