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1 Juny, 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 11 
waste of time. One of our great difficulties with barley has been the threshing, 
and certainly a good deal of bariey is spoiled in that operation. We have found 
that maltsters would not look at some of the barley because it had been awned 
too closely, resulting in the possible destruction of the germ. Anybody who 
knows anything about barley will agree with Mr. Redwood in most of what he 
writes, and I am with him im all what he says with respect to the suitability of 
the Darling Downs for the growth of this cereal. The recommendation, 
however, that it be sown in April might be altered to May, for that month 
seems early enough to me and April rather early. As a matter of fact, the 
best barley J ever grew was sown in June. 
Mr. W. D. Lamp (Yangan): It has given me very great pleasure to 
hear Mr. Redwood deliver his paper, although there are a few points on which 
I differ from him, and amongst these is the question of cultivation. He says 
he is a great believer in ploughing in the early spring, and then letting the soil 
lie idle all the summer. In a climate like that of Queensland, however, it is 
doubtful whether that could, in practice, be done, as to keep the land clean all 
through the summer would cost more than the barley would be worth. I 
would prefer that a crop of maize be put in, as it would keep the land clean 
without hurting the soil or in any way lessening the value of the subsequent 
crop of barley. Mr. Redwood states that from 30 Ib. to 40 lb. of seed per 
acre is sufficient, but in my experience I have found out that you require a 
bushel per acre and perhaps more. As for stacking, I may say that nine- 
tenths of the barley grown on the Downs is never stacked at all, and Mr: 
Redwood must admit that himself. Yet it finds its way to the malt-houses. 
It is all very well to put barley into stacks, but the question is whether it will 
pay. My opinion is that you should get rid of your barley as quickly as 
possible—that is, of course, if the maltster will accept it, and this he does at the 
present time. It has to be admitted that a good deal of barley is spoiled in 
threshing, but it requires a man to know what he is about to thresh barley so 
that it will be suitable for a maltster. As for the malting business itself, that 
is, of course, beyond the practical farmer’s sphere altogether, but I must con- 
gratulate Mr. Redwood on the manner in which he has brought the matter 
forward, and I trust he will take the few remarks I have made in good part. 
Mr. J. J. Daytex (Pittsworth) : As our machinery is constantly improving, 
I would like to ask Mr. Redwood what his objections to harvesters and strippers 
are. 
Mr. A. H. McSuane (Toowoomba) : In his first paragraph, Mr. Redwood 
states that virgin soil is preferable to any other. I believe it is. Then he says 
you can grow it for many years running on the same land, but personally I do 
not think it is fair to any land to grow barley on it for several years in suc~ 
cession. In fact, I have seen the evil effects of such a system visible after 
barley had been sown on land three years running. 
Mr. Frep. Smiru (Crow’s Nest): Mr. Redwood states that he believes 
it is preferable to cut barley a little bit green rather than have it too ripe. I 
have had a good deal of experience in barley culture, and, as Mr. Deacon 
says, in the old country we always used to allow it to grow till it was goose- 
necked. Here, however, you cannot let it get as ripe as they do in the old 
land, but I find that if you cut it too soon the gluten of the barley is spoiled. 
Instead of becoming mealy, as a barley should become when it ripens, it gets 
flinty, and that is why in the threshing it flies, which it would not do if it were 
soft and mealy. Mr. Redwood states that you can grow barley on the same 
land for several years. In my experience, however, you can grow it for two 
years on the same land, but if you try ita third it will be found that the grain 
gets very small. 
Mr. V. C. Repwoop (Toowoomba) : Mr. Deacon asked what I meant by 
my advice to sow barley on as fresh a furrow as possible. By that I mean you 
must not plough your land and sow the seed a couple of months afterwards 
without the land having been touched in the meantime. I mean that as soon 
