24 president's address. 



often very great, it is not widespread, and has been borne 

 without much comment, though often all the young green 

 grass, that is looked forward to by the pastoralist for fatten- 

 ing his early lambs, may be cleared off just at the time of 

 need. 



The time is rapidly approaching when Australia will have 

 to deal with the locust-question. As the farmer pushes out 

 westward, the locust will be among his wheat-paddocks. The 

 clearing away of large belts of timber and scrub have already 

 made a difference, as they have an uninterrupted flight across 

 the plains, where once they were turned aside. When this 

 happens, drastic measures will have to be taken, and the 

 united action of all the States brought against the locust- 

 plague. 



The Sheep Maggot-Flies are another universal pest of equal 

 importance to sheep-breeders in ail the Australian States, 

 and of national importance. The remarkable acquired habit 

 of a number of our indigenous blowflies, of blowing any soiled 

 wool upon living healthy sheep, is spreading to all parts of 

 Australia, and where we had only two species of flies at work 

 a few years ago, we now find four or five species doing similar 

 damage. It has been estimated, on good authority, that this 

 new and increasing pest has cost the sheep-men of Australia 

 nearly £1,000,000 annually, in loss of wool, sheep, and lambs, 

 not including the increased expenditure in station-manage- 

 ment in dressing the blown sheep. 



The control of bot-flies, fowl-ticks, cattle-ticks, and other 

 stock-pests universal in their range, is of equal importance to 

 the people of all the States. 



In our orchards, we have fruit-flies, codling moth, and half 

 a dozen serious scale-insects of equal importance in many 

 parts of Australia. 



The question of uniform laws and regulations for dealing 

 with plants, fruits, and other produce, and the pests that 

 infest them is also a national question. 



