on

Mr. A. WATT, of the Agricultural College, Gatton, then read the following

SUB-DRAINAGE.

Having read two papers on the importance of sub-draining on two previous occasions the last being at the Conference held two years ago at the Queensland Agricultural College-and finding a journal containing the reading in the College library, it struck me as being unnecessary to repeat it. I have it here, and should delegates wish to have it read I shall do so. If not, I will pass on to a little practical experience I have had since then in reclaiming a swamp. A year and ten months ago I was sent to Dunwich to examine and report on the possibility of draining a swamp of some 80 or more acres. I found it a vast accumulation of vegetable and peaty matter, that had been growing and decaying for ages, and growing a variety of aquatic plants. I tested for bottom in various places, and found that the mass rested on sand similar to the sand on the beach; which satisfied me that the sea had at one time ebbed and flowed over it, and that the sand, or old sea-bed, should be my guide for bottom. I reported favourably, and was asked to carry out the scheme in accordance with my report. In sub-draining, you must have a firm bed for the pipes, otherwise they will get pressed out of position and choke the drain. A considerable portion of the swamp lay low and level. In the low parts I could bottom on the sand in 3 feet; in other parts I had to go down 5 and 6 feet to reach the sand; but it had to be done, as there was nothing firm enough between the surface and the sand on which to bed the pipes; and even on the sand we met with short stretches of quicksand, which gave trouble, and would require timber to carry the pipes. In draining, the first thing to be done is to find the lowest ground, and through that open your main leader. The laterals, or minor drains, are then marked off, when you have decided upon their width apart. Should the land all slope one way, one leader will be sufficient, if the length of the laterals is not too great-say, over 200 yards; in such case, a subleader in an oblique direction should be put in across them. In this instance I required two main leaders on to the beach, and sub-leaders off these according to the lay of the ground. I should mention that, in draining such land as I have described, it is not advisable to lay the pipes and fill in at once, as all spongy or peaty soils shrink and subside when drained, and it may happen that the drains will require deepening. In this instance the subsidence was from 6 inches in the shallow to 14 inches in the deeper drains in a few months. Land that would not carry a calf became sound enough to carry horses. Another important reason why such drains should not be filled at once: the land is sour, and the more it is exposed to the action of the atmosphere the sooner it will sweeten. It can hardly be expected that such land would become immediately productive, it being heavily charged with ulmic acid. To cure that, an application of caustic lime is necessary; it acts directly upon vegetable matter after draining (lime is simply wasted on undrained land). Had I been left to finish the draining, and prepare the land for cultivation, I would have applied from 75 to 150 bushels lime per acre-say, 21 to 5 tons, at 30 bushels to the ton. From 75 to 240 bushels may be considered average quantities from the lightest to the heaviest soils. Lime has been applied to the land in the old countries for a very long period of years; the object has always been the same-to increase the crops by stimulating the soil. If ploughed in, it has no immediate effect, but if simply harrowed or scarified in, it has effect at once. "Oyster middens are found at intervals along the shores of the island containing large quantities of decomposed shells, which—in the event of lime being too costly-could be applied with good effect (not to be compared to lime, of course) as they would combine with the light peaty soil and fix it. After dealing with the most difficult portion of the swamp, I left for Emerald Downs and the work stopped, to the great disappointment of the Medical Superintendent, who took a keen interest in it.

Mr. WATT also concluded his paper by endorsing the remarks of Mr. Gibson relative to the necessity for legislation to deal with individuals who refused to allow drains to pass through their properties.

Mr. J. PARKE (Tinana): Some land that I had been cultivating for a number of years was of a red volcanic nature-originally forest land, but it used to give me considerable trouble at times. About Christmas, or before, a very heavy thunderstorm would come down. At this time my crop of corn or potatoes would be looking splendid, but when the hot sun came out after the rain the whole crop would be spoiled within the course of a couple of days. I started then to open some drains, much against the advice of my neighbours, I may add, and at first I used stones for the drains, for on the other side of the

road, at Neardie, they had drains similar to those mentioned by Mr. Gibson, but in the course of events the drains got blocked, and I did not adopt that system. I therefore used stones, but only small ones, employing nothing beyond a 3 to 4 inch gauge at the outside. As a result, I saw an improvement in the land, but stones becoming scarce, I started using timber, and a great quantity of my drains were made from stringy bark, a timber which the Government seems to ignore, but which I consider one of the best we have. It is durable and easily worked, good in the ground and good out of it, and I may add, by the way, that I have had stringy bark shingles last for 29 years. Where you can get good splitting timber I consider it a good substitute for stones. I had the timber in from 4 to 5 feet lengths, laid one along each side and placed a slab on the top, the drain being from 12 to 14 inches wide at the bottom, and a dressing was thrown in at the joints, but we took every precaution to have the slabs as closely jointed as possible. These drains worked admirably. I have tried pipes, and I must say they make a good drain, but an expensive one. For a main drain I use a 6-inch pipe, which means 6d. a foot for the pipes alone; for the other drains leading to the main I put down 4-inch pipes, and further back I used 3-inch. I would not use anything smaller than 3-inch, for the saving is trifling, and a 2-inch pipe gets very easily blocked. Before my land was drained it was 9 or 10 days after rain before I could put a horse on to it, but since draining I find that within 2 or 3 days after rain I can get on to my land and work it. You can tell by a glance at a field where the land has been drained and where not, by simply looking at the crops. All my land is now drained with the exception of some 2 acres, and these will be done as soon as I have time.

Mr. E. DENMAN (Mackay): All the gentlemen who have spoken on drainage have mentioned the fact that pipes are apt to be silted up, but I would like to ask, Is it not customary in using draining pipes, to break the pitch from a lower to a quicker flow with the view of preventing their silting up?

Mr. GIBSON (Bundaberg): I believe it is done where drainage is carried on on a scientific scale, but where you get sufficient fall I do not think there is any necessity for it. A good flow will clear the pipes all right.

Mr. T. RIDLEY: I was one who stood shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Gibson in the early drainage schemes at Doughboy Creek, but it was not my first experience in draining, as I had had a good deal to do with it in the old country. Mr. Gibson alludes to the necessity of a Drainage Act, and although I understand there is something in the present Divisional Boards Act with reference to drainage, yet I believe it has been found unworkable, and so I hope when the new Divisional Boards Bill is introduced into the House there will be provision made so that one farmer shall not be allowed to stop drains from following their natural course. I can endorse what Mr. Gibson has said with regard to the difficulty we had with a couple of farmers on the Doughboy Creek and Brisbane River frontages, who refused to allow the district drains to follow their natural courses through their properties.

Mr. W. BEALE (Childers): When drainage was first mooted in the Isis Scrub, the cry went forth that it would never be any good, because there was no water about the place. I remember a boring plant being introduced into the district and going down through 70 or 80 feet of red volcanic soil, without the slightest change being seen in its character all the way down. However, after clearing the scrub, springs began to appear all round us. I then bought some of this rich land and started sugar-growing, but the first obstacle I met with was the wet that the farmers in the district had been crying for. I found any number of springs from time to time, so I immediately set to work to find out what elevation I had, in order to see if I could thoroughly run the water off the land. I soon started drainage operations, but having no pipes I made use of the hardwood scrub about the place. In cutting my drains, I found a large quantity of bluish stone. These I picked out carefully, and found they were nearly all wedge-shaped. Those stones I used for drains, putting the sharp edge down, with a few small stones on the top to carry the soil when it was being cemented

into a roof. In that way I completed about a mile of drainage. I have also used pipes, but I find that where there is a great declivity in the land, say, over 1 in 100, in very heavy weather there is a danger of the pipes bursting, and the whole of the soil washing away. To get over this, put in a sufficiently large pipe for the main, and also see that your exit is clear of silt. In the event of the mouth of the drain becoming choked, your system will become useless. Having completed all your drains, the advantages that are likely to be gained are great. Land that requires drainage is invariably of a very rich nature, but undoubtedly it is sour if not drained. Drainage adds to the weight of the crops, and as for cane, it increases the percentage of sugar. Without drainage after rain, while you are waiting for a fortnight or a month for the water to percolate into its natural course, your horses are idle, and your weeds are growing rapidly, with the result that when you come to scarify your land you find it almost impossible. If the land is drained, on the other hand, you can get on to it within 2 days after the rain ceases, work it thoroughly, and have it in a certain state of tilth without any fear of weeds; and these remarks apply to land for English potatoes. and other crops as well as for cane. I am pleased to say that all my drainage schemes have hitherto been a success, and in not one single instance have any of them worked badly.

Mr. H. CATTERMULL (Woongarra): A drainage system that has been found to work admirably in the Woongarra Scrub is to put in pipes, put rubble on the top of the pipes to the extent of from 6 inches to 1 foot, then trash on the top of that and fill up.

Mr. C. F. M. FISCHER (Zillmere): Many of you have doubtless heard of the pineapple disease which appeared in the Nundah district, and which affected us very severely just after the 1890 flood. Pines began to die off in a very mysterious way, and drainage was tried as a remedy, I being about the first to adopt it. Pineapples are chiefly confined to the ridges, which are of a sandy nature with a sandstone bottom, and consequently it was thought that drainage was entirely out of the question. However, we found that when there was a great fall of rain, peaches and other soft fruits suffered equally with the pines, and we made an attempt at drainage to see if water was really the cause of the disease. In trying to save my pines I tried several drainage systems, and amongst these bush drains made with tea-tree. Eventually I went in for tiles, 2 and 3 inch chiefly, and they have worked admirably. Although the initial expense of buying the pipes may be severe, they make the cheapest drains in the long run. They have been in my ground a good number of years now, and work as well as ever they did. If there is any rainfall at all you can see them spouting out the water at a great rate, and the result is you can get on to the land very soon after the rain ceases. On the heavy land we used to find we could not go near it for a number of days, but now after a heavy rainfall you can start working it almost immediately the rain stops. I am sorry to say that, as far as stopping the pineapple disease was concerned, the drains were not a success, but for all that I do not know of anyone who regrets the money expended on this work, for there is not the slightest doubt that it has greatly improved the land for agriculture generally.

Mr. E. HICKS (Southport): In the matter of slab drains I think the best way is to have them V-shaped. As for the individual who will not allow a drain to cross his property, I think most of us have been troubled with that man, but still there is often some excuse for farmers living on a river bank who act in this way. I have seen, in the 1893 flood especially, drains in a man's farm turned into creeks, and this sometimes occurs about the Nerang River. The drains, however, should be carried into the back creeks, and this would not be so likely to occur. The clause in the Divisional Boards Act is very good as far as it goes, but that is not too far. It is hardly necessary to speak of the importance of drainage, and I am sure there are no farmers in Queensland who can farm properly unless they do drain. If a man cannot get pipes, splendid drains may be made from slabs, and for this purpose bloodwood is an excellent

timber.

Mr. J. CROOK (Rockhampton) testified as to the efficiency of drainage, especially in connection with orange culture.

Mr. W. CLAYTON (North Isis): In the old country, when draining on low land where there was no fall, we used to make a small dam at the end of the drain, say an inch, and take that inch out to the other end. If there was no fall, the pressure of the water when it rained coming on to the water in the dam would force it down. On sandy land, or land which was very porous, we used to put the drains a chain apart, but on clayey stony land, half a chain apart, and at a depth of about 3 feet. Mr. Gibson's estimate of the cost of drainage appears rather high, for in the old country I have known thousands of drains put down at 1s. 8d. per chain, from 3 to 4 feet deep. The contractor had to cut out and fill in for that money, and a man would earn from 3s. 6d. to 48. a day at that price. The land was a strong clay, and the men used to work in gangs, but there was a special man to lay the pipes, and I may add that to do draining work properly you want a special set of tools.

Mr. W. THOMPSON (Childers): When the question of drainage crops up in connection with the Divisional Boards Bill that I understand is to be again brought before Parliament, I hope it will be remembered that Divisional Boards are the biggest aggressors in the matter of turning water on to people's land. I happen to be on a Divisional Board, and know they do turn water on to land, with the result that the owner has no alternative but to put down drains. Not far from where I live, the water comes down a hill, and the Divisional Board turns it into the main road, or practically into a man's land, which is only a foot or so off the road, and I think some proviso ought to be made in the Act to allow of some sort of compensation being made for this kind of thing, say, in the direction of the Divisional Board having to pay something towards the cost of the main drain which the owner of the land is forced to put down.

Mr. K. W. SCHOLZ (Stanthorpe) also endorsed the remarks that had been made in favour of drainage; also instancing the fact that very good drains could be made out of bricks laid on their side.

Mr. W. GIBSON (Bundaberg): With regard to the price of my drains which Mr. Clayton thinks was rather high, I may say that was the contract price, and the men earned a fair wage. There is, however, a great difference in digging drains on a clay soil and on a ridgy one. In some of the ridges I referred to, the workman had to use the pick, and, altogether, I think the price was reasonable.

I

Mr. A. WATT (Agricultural College): As for the cost of draining, in the East Lothians of Scotland it used to cost from £3 10s. to £7 per acre. have known it cost £7 10s. per acre, but of course the whole thing depends upon the distance the drains are placed apart. Drains placed 15 feet apart would cost the latter figure. As for the improvement to the land, it is probably up to 50 per cent. With regard to what Mr. Denman said, there is no occasion for any fall in drains, although, of course, when you are going over a heavy slope you can hardly avoid a fall, but in any event there is not much danger in any silting in connection with pipes. A proper fall for a drain is about 8 feet

to a mile.

The Hon. J. V. CHATAWAY: Perhaps the most startling fact made in connection with this interesting discussion on drainage is the one made by Mr. Gibson, who pointed out the enormous increase, amounting to over 30 per cent., of the sugar content of cane grown on drained land. It did not altogether surprise me, for his brother, the Hon. Angus Gibson, was telling me the other day that he had made an offer to any of his farmers who were under contract to him to pay 6d. a ton more than the contract price for cane if they had drains in their land. With reference to the Drainage Act that is asked for, there are two matters really in connection with it: One thing is already provided fornamely, the method of getting means to carry out drainage works; and the other, the right of any individual farmer to drain on to his neighbour's land. Nobody has ever been able to tell me really what is the law on that point, and in every district there are some who are troubled to know whether they can float water

on their neighbour's property-that is, on through to the natural watercourse. With the view of arriving at further information on this and other points, I move that the two drainage papers read this evening be referred to the Resolutions Committee.

Mr. Chataway's motion was carried, and the Conference then adjourned at 10.30 p.m.

SIXTH SESSION.

WEDNESDAY, 28TH JUNE, 1899, 9:30 A.M.

Business was commenced by Mr. J. E. NOAKES (Maryborough) moving that a hearty vote of thanks be passed to the School of Arts Entertainment Club for the performance they had given to delegates on Monday evening, and for granting delegates the use of their card and chess rooms. The motion was seconded by Mr. F. G. JONES (Biggenden), and carried with acclamation.

In reply to a couple of questions originating out of his paper on the previous evening, Mr. G. WILLIAMS (Runcorn) stated that the reason why a custard-apple mentioned by a delegate would not bear was probably owing to its being planted in an unsuitable locality. The best way of perpetuating a plant was by grafting. Seedlings were very capricious, and were often unproductive.

Captain HENRY then asked when the subject of Federation was to be discussed; and, in reply, the CHAIRMAN stated that the following morning (Thursday) would be devoted exclusively to Federation and sugar.

RESOLUTION.
DRAINAGE.

The following motion from the Resolutions Committee was then moved by Mr. F. W. PEEK, and seconded by Mr. J. E. NOAKES :

We, the Resolutions Committee, having in view the great benefits derived by drainage and sub-drainage, as advocated in the papers read by Messrs. Gibson and Watt, and the difficulties in the way of having such schemes carried into effect through not having a Drainage Act, would suggest that it is desirable that the Government take such measures to give effect to the wishes of this Conference in the matter by passing such an Act.-Carried.

Mr. P. MCLEAN then read the following paper by W. R. Robinson, Toowoomba :

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIG INDUSTRY.

I much regret that I am not with you to-day, I fully intended to be, and looked forward to this Conference with pleasure. Mr. McLean has very kindly undertaken to have my paper read for me; and should any gentleman desire further information on the subject, I shall at all times be only too pleased to give him all I can.

Following up my paper on pigs and their management read at Gatton Conference, and "Bacon and pigs, and how to breed them," read at Rockhampton last year, I now will endeavour to give you some idea of the expansion and development of the pig industry.

This important and rapidly improving industry now promises to be one of the most remunerative in Southern Queensland, combined as it must be with dairying and farming, where these industries are carried on to any very great extent. The Darling Downs is now rapidly being put under the plough, and 20 cows are milked where a very short time ago there was only 1, and our friend, the pig, has naturally made his appearance in large numbers, and is daily helping to turn in the dollars to the farmer.

As the dairy industry increases, so must the pig industry thrive, because there is no more suitable food for young and growing pigs than the refuse from the dairy.

We have only to look back a very few years and see the class of hams and bacon that were put on the market, in many cases unfit for food, utterly unmarketable, and a source of trouble to the storekeeper who took the risk of buying it at any price, and a loss to the farmer, who in many cases fed his pigs for 10 or 12 months.