1 Jury, 1902.) QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 17 
onthe subject right away. Let us get plans and estimates of cost, and form small 
elevators in the principal growing districts here, and I believe that if we do that 
the Railway Department will render us all the assistance that we may require. 
Unless we help ourselves, we can hardly expect any support from the Govern- 
ment. 
Mr. A. W. Cameron (Maryborough): The margin of profit in farming 
is so small that every penny saved in harvesting a crop is an important 
matter to the grower. There is not the slightest doubt that the present system 
of handling grain is a matter that touches the pockets of our agriculturists, and 
I think, if we can arrange so as to be able to handle our cereals in bulk, that 
after a few seasons we will be wondering why the system was not adopted 
before. As far as Government assistance is concerned, the farmer will 
have to make representations to the Government first that he is prepared to 
support the system. Let any number of farmers approach the Government, 
and say they are prepared to adopt this system of handling grain in bulk, and I 
am sure that the Government will very quickly meet them, and have elevators 
erected. It appears that elevators are paying concerns, and that the proprietors 
of them in America make money. If you can show the Government that they 
will make interest on the project, I am satisfied that they will very soon find 
money to build the elevators. Of course they are not going to put up buildings 
to remain empty year after year. The question was asked whether the Railway 
Department would be likely to provide suitable trucks. The Government 
provide trucks to handle coal, and they make special trucks to handle the juice 
from the Doolbi Mill, in the Isis, and convey it to the Millaquin and 
Yengarie sugar-mills; so why should they not construct special trucks to 
handle grain? In fact, there would not be any necessity to build special 
trucks at the beginning. The juice-mills are not using these large tanks 
just now, andit has struck me that these juice tanks would be excellent 
for handling grain in bulk. The question is, how the farmer is going to handle 
the grain on his own farm. I am not a wheat-grower myself, but | have 
listened intently to the discussion, and it appears that, instead of having bags to 
take the grain away in, you could have hoppers or drays. Pine is not a very 
expensive timber, and a special dray could easily be constructed for conveying 
the wheat to the farmer’s barn. You could easily have a little elevator on your 
own place, and, when you come to consider the cost of bags, I believe you would 
find that that cost would more than pay the cost of interest on the erection 
of a small elevator on your own farm. I hope that the farmers, in their own’ 
interests, will see their way to save as much as they can for themselves, for 
every penny that they can save in harvesting a crop is so much more for them to 
expend in another direction. 
Mr. G. Mouxpay (Allora) : Whatever benefit we may get from elevators, 
we shall still have to bag our wheat in country places. When the thresher 
comes you haye put into your hands perhaps 200 bags a day ; and how is asingle 
farmer going to deal with a quantity like that in its loose form? You must 
bag to get the wheat from the farm to the elevators wherever they may be 
stationed. 
Mr. W. Deacon (Allora) : I was going to say a word about dealing with 
the wheat as soon as it comes from the thresher, but Mr. Moulday has already 
touched on that point. Say you get 800 bags of wheat from the thresher: that 
means 80 or 40 tons, and a farmer with one or two drays could not convey 
that in one day to theelevator. That means that the bag is not done away with. 
Mr. Thynne has, perhaps, done more for the agriculture of the State than any 
other man in Queensland, and I very much regret that he is not in another 
place, where he might render us very great service. However, there are two. 
ropositions before the farmers on the Downs with regard to wheat storage. 
he Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce formulated a scheme by which there 
should be storage sheds on every station on the lines where they grow wheat. 
That is to say, there should be a shed, with a man in charge, and the farmer 
should be able to store his grain, at so much per bag, until he wanted to sell out. 
