SAVED BY SUGAR

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 17, 21 January 1927, Page 3

SAVED BY SUGAR

QUEENSLAND'S DROUGHT 1

YEAR

AND, THE CHRISTSIAS RAINS

"Although it is unfortunate that the' fall should have been smallest, where itwas most needed, the general effect of the rains has been to retrieve a situation which was fast becoming alarming." ■ ' .■ ' . - -.-.--■■.■

in. this sentence the situation ia Queensland, after the Christmas rains, is summed up. by a Brisbane writer. He says that ''the State "received a wonderful Christmas gift in copious rains' over •a. largo area: In some of the' coastal regions the rain was torrential. At Gympie 16in fell in five days, and at Cooroy, between Gympie and Brisbane, lOin fell in thirty-one hours. In Brisbane it rained, steadily for. eight days. South of Brisbane the fall was considerably lighter.. . The' rain centred on the coast, and was somewhat reluctant to work inland. For three or four days the Darling Downs received not a drop, and.it was beginning to clear on the coast before the great pastoral areas in the west of the State,, which have suffered so severely, from drought, received any. relief. ': In the final analysis the Darling Downs received a fair soaking; the fruit-growing district of Stanthorpe, farther, south, received the best rain ..for twelve months; the mid-west had fair falls that greatly improved the_ pastoral outlook) the Gulf country, which, although' usually free from drought, -had been affected' by this dry spell, was definitely relieved; and the drought areas of the central west and north-west received useful relief rains. "Those who say that-the drought of 192G was the worst Queensland: has ever known- can produce much evidence in support of their contention. The drought was so widespread that every form of primary industry suffered from it. The wheat harvest was a complete failure, and losses of cattle and sheep were enormous. The cotton crop wiU be considerably smaller than last year, general farming operations were at a standstill, and dairy farmers suffered stock losses in addition to experiencing a very bad season. iThe only crop in Queensland which this year can be said to have been good is the sugar crop. Although smaller than last year's it is on the whole very satisfactory. The ram came too late to help the wh.eatgrower and the cotton farmer, but fruitgrowers _will benefit considerably.' The maize crop will be greatly stimulated, and, although it will be the end of February before the reaction upon the dairying industry is marked, owing to the fact that so many dairy cows have gone out of profit, there will be immediate relief to the dairy farmers who were threatened with the loss of herds. . The drought has once more emphasised the extraordinary-importance of the sugar industry to Queensland. la a year when practically every other form of production from the'soil has been affected by the drought, the yield of sugar shows only a slight falling-off. The latent estimate is close on 3,000,000 tons of cane for 1926 against 3,668 252 tons for 1925. Although this represents a reduction of half a million tons of cane, the yield this year will actually; be about the level of 1924, and larger than in any preceding year. The figure? for successive years are as follow: 1921 - ............ 2,287,416 tons J922 2,167,990 tons J920 , „ 2,045,808 tons 19? 4 3,171,341 tons 1925 ••--■. 3,668,252 tons The drought has also demonstrated the peculiar suitability of the northern, coastal belt for sugar-growing. The returns from practically every mill south of the Herbert Eiver show a decrease, but all the mills north of the Herbert show increased yields. This is the almost invariable experience during a dry period, and it explains why the centre of gravity of the sugar industry has gradually crept north. Out of 455,585 tons of sugar produced in Queensland in 1925, 388,266 tons were grown in the area north of Mackay. In the northern belt the rainfall is more certain. It seldom fails even in a period of drought, ana when it is smaller Nature makes compensation by giving richer sugar contents." i