1 Ava., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 101 
From the preceding table it will be seen that sand has the least and humus 
the greatest power of holding water, therefore it stands to reason that a soil 
well supplied with the latter is to be preferred to one containing a large per- — 
centage of the former. The question then comes to be: Do our soils contain 
humus sufficient to enable them to withstand protracted dry weather? In 
the newly-opened-up virgin soil the supply ought to be adequate, but of 
soils that have been in cultivation for years, under the continuous one-crop 
system so common in Queensland, the same cannot be said. The practice of 
continuous cropping without returning anything to the soil in the shape of 
organic matter 1s unquestionably ruinous. Do we not find in some of the older 
sugar-growing districts thousands of acres of land that was at one time under 
cultivation lying idle? And why? Has not the destruction of valuable 
organic matter, combined with continuous cropping, done much to bring about 
this state of matters? Not only that, but to-day there are hundreds of acres 
of land that will not yield a profitable return unless the rainfall is over the 
average and well distributed throughout the year. As the organic matter gets 
used up, so does the soil’s power of conserving moisture get lowered, therefore 
it is to the farmers’ interest to devise some means of keeping up the supply of 
humus. To some this necessity has already become apparent, for we find that 
a system of green manuring is finding a place among the crops grown on the 
farm. ‘ 
The practice of green manuring is, perhaps, the cheapest and most speedy 
means a farmer can avail himself of, supplying both organic matter and plant 
food to the soil for the benefit of his crops. 
Leguminous plants—that is, plants of the pea and bean family—are specially 
adapted for this purpose. They grow quickly, produce a large amount of 
organic matter, and are, moreover, a cheap means of enriching the soil in 
nitrogen. When only a limited time is available to grow the crop, the cow- 
pea, of which there are a large number of varieties to choose from, is the most 
suitable. I have known a crop of those ready for ploughing under between 
five and six weeks after sowing. Beans take longer to get to that stage, but 
this is oftentimes an advantage, for if the land is not immediately required 
they will keep it covered and the weeds in check for some considerable time 
without producing seed which would germinate and prove troublesome. I may, 
however, mention that one of the cow-peas can also claim this quality. This 
is the variety known as White’s Perennial. In the tropical portion of the 
State it will, as its name implies, keep alive and grow for years, but I question 
whether it will withstand the cold and frost of the Southern parts. At 
Biggenden State. Farm it has withstood the drought better than any other 
variety experimented with, and from past experience [have found that it seems 
to favour dry weather, and that continued wet is fatal to its growth. 
Of the beans, the Small Mauritius variety has, so far, done best. It has, 
however, been found that a variety of cow-pea or bean, although doing well in 
one part of the State, does not do so well in another, consequently a farmer, 
before sowing ona large scale, would do well to make inquiry as to which 
variety would be most likely to prove suitable for his locality. Information on 
such points can be procured at any of the State farms. 
Much can also be done in the way of keeping up the supply of humus by 
saving all stock manure, corn stalks, and other waste products of the farm, and 
returning them to the soil. This practice is said to he the backbone of old 
country farming, and it is astonishing that little or ne ‘fovision is made to save 
more of this valuable material in Queensland, instead of letting it go to waste 
or destroying, as in the case of cane trash, by the application of the fire-stick. 
My advice to farmers, more especially small farmers, is : If you wish to render 
your soil more drought-resisting, and at the same time increase its fertility, save 
every scrap of organic material on the farm, and buy of your neighbour who does 
not appreciate its value. Moisture can, to a great extent, be conserved in the 
soil by practising deeper and more thorough cultivation, Many farmers only 
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