Miner Starts Farming with £50.
Mr. C. F. Holton, who was a miner by occupation, took up 160 acres at Grantleigh, in the Gogango district (Central Queensland), seven years ago. At the time he had only £50 in his pocket. For a couple of years he undertook to cut timber for the Mount Morgan Mine, and also worked on the selections of several of his neighbours. By this means he made sufficient money to enable him to start farming on his own account. To-day he is making a profit of over £100 annually by growing lucerne, maize, potatoes, &c. Last year he obtained from 65 to 70 bushels to the acre from his crop of maize, and his lucerne yields from five to six cuttings annually. Berkshire and Yorkshire pigs are bred on a small scale. Among other crops grown are Rhodes grass, millets, barley, cowpea, pumpkins, and grapes. In partnership with Mr. H. Gates, he has acquired a prickly-pear selection of 640 acres on the opposite side of the line. The pear, which is very thick, is being eradicated by burning. It takes two men a day to clear two acres. About 150 acres of this property is to be planted with wheat, oats, English potatoes, and fruits of various kinds.