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1 Ava., 1901.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 281 
Answers to Correspondents. 
COTTON. 
A.C., Roma.—The sample of cotton you sent us is very fair upland cotton, 
and would, if ginned, fetch from 5d. to 53d. per lb. in Japan. The lint adheres 
rather too firmly to the seed, thus a little extra loss would result in ginning. 
However, if fibre can be grown of such good quality in the Roma district, 
especially in a drought which destroyed the maize erop, and if the average yield 
per acre comes up to that of the coast districts, the farmers of your district 
will find it a crop suitable to the dry climate, and should certainly give it a 
trial. This cotton would sell readily, being of a good colour, fairly strong in 
the fibre, although the length of the staple is not equal to that of the best 
varieties of upland cotton. 
Mr. P. Perersen, Aloomba.— : 
1. Is the cotton bush referred to in the Queensland Agricultural Journal 
an annual, or is it the cotton bush which bears for a number of 
years P 
Answer.—The cotton referred to is the upland variety, which, in 
Southern Queensland may be treated as an annual, or it may be 
pruned and will be profitable for two years. If pruned, the crop 
comes on earlier then when the plant is grown from seed. 
2. Would cotton grow on fairly good sugar land, free from flood, in the 
Cairns district ? 
Answer.—Cotton should do well on the poorer soils round Cairns. The 
richer land would force the growth of the wood, which would mean 
a small crop of lint. The drawback in the Cairns district would be 
the excessive wet season at ripening time. But experiments might 
be made with late planting, so as to delay the picking season till 
the wet season is over. 
3. What would ginning machinery cost without driving power ? 
Answer.—A. cotton gin with condenser costs 15s. per saw, and the gin 
would cost from £25 to £50, according to the number of saws. 
4, Where would cotton seed be saleable, or could it be easily pressed and 
manufactured into oil cake, or would the residue, after extracting 
the oil, be good feed for stock, without pressing into cakes ? 
Answer.—Cotton seed is saleable in England, and in all probability 
Messrs. Lever Bros., of Sydney, would be prepared to buy. The 
seed should be decorticated—that is, the hulls should be removed— 
before shipping. The seed is then worth from £5 to £7 per ton. 
In this condition, or when the oil is expressed, it is excellent feed 
for stock. Machinery for expressing the oil would cost from £500 
upwards. : 
SHRINKAGE OF CORN, 
W. Aten, Maroochy.—The general rule for estimating the shrinkage of 
corn was to put the loss at from 7 to 8 per cent. From an experiment, however, 
made by a most methodical farmer in the United States, a new light is thrown 
on the subject. He weighed one crib of corn when he put it up. The first 
load was cribbed 9th October and the last 22nd October. The total amount of 
corn cribbed was 34,970 lb. The first load was hauled out 8th January and the 
last lst February. The total hauled out was 29,995 lb., showing a shrinkage of 
4,995 lb., or 14 per cent. 
