Issue No 7, January 1997.

NOTICE: Hard copies of the Australian New Crops Newsletter are available from the publisher, Dr Rob Fletcher. Details of availability are included in the Advice on Publications Available.

6. The Queensland Agricultural Journal as a New Crops knowledge source

I chose the oldest volume, Vol 1, 1897 and scanned the index for mention of the College.

As serendipity would have it, I was distracted by a mention of Rhea, a crop now more commonly known as Ramie, and thought of as a new crop. Ramie was grown in Queensland last century.

Further perusal revealed articles on many other crops currently being considered as "new crops". Many of these crops were being considered as industries in Queensland. Tobacco, arrowroot, coffee have a significant history of cultivation. Others such as canaigre, casabanana, divi divi and velvet bean I had never even heard of and perhaps governments of all political persuasions would have found difficulty in accepting the establishment of a coca industry in Queensland.

I wondered at the editorial policies behind their choice of crops and industries to report.

Was the Journal primarily an organ of government agricultural development policy with the articles directed accordingly, was there a genuine popular interest in such information, or was this merely an eclectic smattering of information that crossed the editors desk?

These questions I could not quickly answer but my curiosity was roused. Here was a wealth of information on the culture, processing, usage, marketing and history of development in Queensland of a great array or crops that had, to my knowledge, been pre viously unrecognised.

I have begun to compile an index of crops that occur in the Queensland Agricultural Journal. Without such an index, occurrences of particular crops are difficult to find. This work is somewhat labourious and along the way many decisions have been made about the relevance of articles. I have, in the end, taken a liberal approach and have included any article that indicates an interest in a particular crop at that time.

The index reflects the full range of articles held in the Journal; from economic botany, to reports on industries in other countries, propagation and planting advice, plans for the design of harvesting and processing machinery as well as market reports on commodity prices in London, and so on.

Perhaps the most immediately striking feature of the entires in the table is the frequent appearance of industrial crops, particularly fibre crops, which reflects past reliance on agriculture as the source of raw materials for industry and the manufact ure of the majority of goods.

I have also recently come across two interesting books that deal with potential crops for Queensland. The first is "The Semi-tropical Agriculturist and Colonists Guide", by Angus Mackay, published by George Slater And Company, in 1875 in Brisbane.

Sub-titled "Plain words upon station, farm and garden work, house keeping, and the useful pursuits of colonists", this book is primarily concerned with the pursuits of daily life and improving the lot of the individual, rather than agricultural or regional development. It provides some perspective on the state of agriculture in those days of the colony and also some good historical insights into the small-scale cultivation and usage of the common crops of the day as well as some more unusual cro ps.

The other book is "Cultural Industries for Queensland - Papers on the cultivation of useful plants suited to the climate of Queensland" by Lewis Adolphus Bernays, published in Brisbane in 1883 under the auspices of the Queensland Government and the Acclimatisation Society of Queensland.

This must be the first "new crop" book published for Queensland and is obviously an attempt to foster the establishment of new agricultural industries in Queensland. Bernays, in the preface says that from his observations in Queensland and India "...th e mere introduction and distribution of useful plants was not sufficient to ensure their successful industrial establishment..." and by way of remedy for this obstacle to progress that a series of papers was required, "...written in a practical and popular form, containing information which is now beyond the reach of any but the very few that possess, or have access to, extensive libraries of reference on such subjects."

I believe that the result is an excellent attempt to increase the awareness of the general and farming populace about the huge range of useful plants that are suitable for cultivation in Queensland and its breadth of coverage and depth of treatment of many crops makes it a useful reference in its own right to this day. It is humbling to realise how often this seminal work has been emulated, in whole or part, and, in many cases how little additional knowledge we have accumulated on the crops covered.

Together, the Journal and these two books form a valuable historical reference and should be essential reading for anyone undertaking research or development on any new crop. All three are available from the University of Queensland Biological Sciences Library.

There are no doubt many more such books in all states, and it would be of great value to catalogue them. If anyone is aware of historical publications that deal with crops or plant-based industries, I would like to hear about them at the address mentioned or e-mail: G. Kregor@mailbox.uq.edu.au.

Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email: r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au

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originally created by: GK; latest update 6 June 1999 by: RF