376 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Nov., 1902. 
Answers to Correspondents. 
GOATS AND WATER—DESTROYING OPOSSUMS. 
W. Hosanrr, One-tree Hill, Toowoomba— 
Question 1.- How long can a goat live without water? 1 have some 
goats running on a very high precipitous mountain. They never 
come down. There is no water at or near it to my knowledge. 
They are in good condition, whilst everything else is _perishing. 
Answer 1.—Goats, like rabbits, do not appear to require water, like 
most other animals. We have seen numbers of goats in Australia, 
but cannot remember ever having seen one drinking. ‘There is a 
flock of Angora goats in Central Australia, running north of Lake 
Eyre, where the annual rainfall for the past twelve years has only 
been about 3 inches. Sheep in England and in the Highlands of 
Scotland are never watered. In the days when we kept pet rabbits, 
water was considered dangerous for them. Probably, goats are 
similarly constituted. The fact you mention, however, points to the 
possibility of establishing large flocks of goats on high arid ridges, 
maccessible to cattle or sheep. Goat skins have a good market 
value, and goat’s flesh is quite equal to mutton. 
Question 2.—W hat is the easiest way to destroy opossums ? 
Answer 2.—This question was answered in the last (October) issue of 
the Journal. 
AGRICULTURAL BANK. 
é A CORRESPONDENT, writing from the Carron River, Croydon Gold Field, 
aSKS :— 
Question 1.—Will persons occupying farms on the goldfields areas under 
the Goldfields Homestead Act be eligible for advances from the 
State Agricultural Bank for the purpose of obtaining necessary 
agricultural implements ? 
Answer 1.—Advances may be made upon mining homestead leases, but 
only for the purpose of effecting improvements thereon, and not 
for the purpose of obtaining agricultural implements. 
Question 2.—If eligible, when can such advances be obtained ? 
Answer 2.—Applications for advances are considered on their merits, 
and, if approved, advances are obtainable on the completion of the 
documents required by the Act. 
Question 3.—To whom must application for such advances be made ? 
Answer 3.—To the trustees of the Agricultural Bank. 
CASSAVA. 
Q.E.D., Stanthorpe.—Cassava cuttings can be obtained at the Kamerunga 
State Nursery, Cairns. Make application to the Under Secretary, 
Department of Agriculture. Cuttings may also be obtained from 
the Acclimatisation Society, Brisbane. 
The May number of the Journal (1902) contains full directions 
as to planting cassava and manufacturing the farina. There are 
two kinds of cassava—the sweet and the bitter. The former is 
quite innocuous, and tastes much like a sweet potato. The latter is . 
very poisonous, but the poison—hydrocyanic (prussic) acid—igs 
entirely confined to the juice. So volatile is the poison that if the 
sliced roots are left in the sun they may be fed to cattle with no 
evil results. 
WATER GLASS. 
M.E.H., Bogantungan——Water glass is silicate of soda. It can be 
obtained at Messrs. Elliott Bros., wholesale chemists, Brisbane. 
Price, about 3d. per lb. No charge is made for replies to questions. 
