§ MR. WILLIAM REDMOND (Clare, E.)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can make a statement as to the experiments which have been undertaken in cotton-growing in Australia; and whether this industry is likely to develop in the Commonwealth.
§ COLONEL SEELYMy information is that cotton-growing has been tried on a small scale in Queensland, but so far without marked success. The area under cotton during the season 1905–6, viz.: 171 acres, had fallen by 1906–7 to 138 acres. Hopes are entertained that with the invention of a mechanical device for the picking of the cotton the industry will become firmly established, since the soil and conditions appear eminently suitable for the growth of this crop. Small areas in the Northern Territory have also been planted with cotton, while the tropical portions of Western Australia have long been regarded as suitable for its cultivation.