a2 
i 
Hult. 
—— 
584 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Dec., 1901. 
several farmers who have grown it and are satisfied of its great value. We 
were, therefore, surprised to receive a letter from a correspondent under the 
nom de plume of “ Oxonian,” in which he almost denounced it. In fairness to 
“ Oxonian,” we published the letter in the October issue of the Journal, but it 
is the only one out of a large number, which fails to praise the grass. 
We have now received from Mr. Mahon the following letter on the subject, 
addressed to the Under Secretary for Agriculture, under date 31st October :— 
“‘ Str,—Herewith I have the honour to forward letter received from Mr. 
P. McCallum, of Nanango, with reference to some Paspalum roots supplied 
last year. 
x As the letter contains strong testimony as to the value of the grass for 
its drought-resisting and other valuable qualities, I consider it to be well worthy 
of publication in the Agricultural Journal. 
“T have, &e., 
“JOHN MAHON, Principal.” 
Mr. McCallum’s letter read as follows :— 
I have no doubt but you will think I am very long in advising you how 
I got on with the Paspalum dilatatum roots. Out of the twenty roots you 
sent, not one missed. I planted them on the 24th July, 1900, in our house 
garden, which is on a dry ridge, with clay bottom. The spring was so dry I 
could not water them, not having any water to spare. Still they grew splendidly, 
and we had to occasionally put a horse in the garden to get a little green feed. 
Horses seemed so very fond of it that at last I thought it must die, for it was 
eaten off to the ground. Still, when we got the rain it shot up again, and I 
have been able to put out 500 more plants, which are all growing. I have, 
besides, given seventy to friends. Every bunch gave from fifty to seventy 
plants. From the seed I got about six plants, so jnext year I expect to have 
a good planting, Thanking you, yours respectfully, 
PATRICK McCALLUM. 
Further confirmation of the usefulness of paspalum is afforded in the 
following letter to the Principal of the Agricultural College :— 
““Yeulba, 5th November, 1901. 
“Dear Str,—Would you please send two more roots of Paspalum 
' dilatatum. I have had three from you—one planted out in May and two in 
September—and, though we are having a fearfully dry time, they are green and 
flourishing. They are not equal in size, as from the first I had 120 plants and 
from the iby: two only 150. 
“ Yours faithfully, 
(Signed) “J. P. MOLONY.” 
THISTLE AND BURRS. 
A remarkable case, and one which should prove of interest to Queensland 
farmers, was tried in a Leicestershire County Court. A farmer in that county, 
says the Agricultural Journal (London), oceupied certain land which had 
originally been forest land, but which had been brought into cultivation some 
years prior to the commencement of his tenancy. As is often the case with 
land which has been cleared, the soil proved to be full of dormant seeds awaiting 
a favourable opportunity to germinate, for no sooner was it cultivated than a 
profuse crop of thistles sprang up all over it. Whether it was that the farmer 
thought that nothing but thistles would grow, or whether he merely lacked the 
energy to cope with them, we do not know; we only know that he neglected to 
cut them, with the natural result that for two years in succession there was a 
large number of thistles on his land in full seed. His neighbour suffered great 
