1 AuG., 1901. ] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 183 
up, Cosme is 2 co-operative colony; all property, except personal effects, being 
held in common. ‘To each according to his need” is the basic principle of 
the association. There is a school-house, a social hall, a library, a large machine 
shop, and a store on the premises. The colonists saw their own timber, grind 
their own flour, tan hides, make their own shoes, have a wagon and blacksmith’s 
shop, and manufacture a large amount of sugar and molasses (no mention 1s 
ate of a sugar-mill—Ed. Q.4.J.) for sale and for their own consumption. 
We gather our information from a neatly printed royal octavo monthly 
publication, Zhe Cosme Monthly, which certainly bears the truth of the 
condition of the colony on the face of it.. The editor clearly shows the 
hardships and difficulties under which the brave little band of enthusiasts 
struggles along, and makes no attempt to glorify the existence, which those who 
did the pioneer farming in Queensland know full well must be a very hard one 
for men and women. Let us hope that the future destiny of the colony Cosme 
may be like that of the colony of pilgrim fathers, who went through even 
greater hardships (icy winters and hostile Indians being superadded) after 
reaching the other America in the “ Mayflower.” 
ONIONS. 
Mr. W.S. Keast, representative for Dandenong in the Victorian State 
Parliament, who has been a farmer all his life, and is now a partner in the firm 
of Keast and Co., the well-known produce merchants of Melbourne, paid a 
visit last month to Brisbane, his object being to ascertain the best methods of 
disposing of Victorian agricultural and horticultural produce in the coast cities 
of this State. 
As he was passing through the Darling Downs, he was greatly struck with 
the large extent of rich fertile soil between Warwick and Toowoomba, and 
stated that it was the grandest agricultural country he had ever seen. 
Tt would be difficult to find any land in Australia more suitable for onion- 
growing. The demand for onions was constantly increasing, and at a price 
that must be very remunerative to the growers. The Victorian farmers were 
abandoning onion-growing in many districts owing to the exhaustion of the soil. 
One of the plant foods required in quantity for onions is potash, and this, says 
Mr. Keast, has been practically all taken out of the Victorian soil wherever 
onions have been grown for any length of time. Certainly this ingredient can 
be supplied by the use of artificials, but, as this means expense, the farmers are 
devoting their attention to other crops. The two principal onion-growing 
districts of Victoria are Port Arlington and Colac, and the farmers of these 
districts are now going in extensively for dairying. 
Onions are worth £13 per ton in Sydney, and much about the same price 
is obtained in Brisbane. The area under onions in Queensland does not exceed 
60 acres, and the last return of: the Registrar-General sets down the yield of 
51 acres at 14s tons, whilst the State imported 3,559 tons. The average yield 
in Queensland is about 6 tons per acre, but 8 tons per acre is no uncommon 
return from suitable soil. A record crop of 29 tons per acre was obtained in 
San Luis Obispo County (California). How is it, then, that farmers in this 
State do not goin more largely for their cultivation, seeing that an average 
crop of 6 tons will be worth £78? As regards soil for onions, the rich black 
soil of the Downs is not so well adapted to them as the rich sandy loam of the 
same district. Ideal soil for this crop is to be found in large areas in the 
scrubs at the back of Laidley, Forest Hill, and Gatton. Itis rich, friable, 
easy to work, will not cake, and does not lie so low as to retain the super- 
abundant moisture after heavy rains. On this land we grew a heavy crop of 
magnificent bulbs. The seed was sown in April—Brown Spanish variety. 
Transplanting was done in July, and, the season having proved favourable, the 
labour was richly rewarded, the yield averaging 6 tons, and sold at £25 
per ton. 
