Vol. XVII. No. 422. 



THE AQRICULTnilAL NEWS. 



203 



THE VALUE OF GARDEN COMPETITIONS. 



The writer of an article on the above subject, appearing 

 ill the AgricultHral Gazette of Canada, for May 1918, 

 commences by saying that, if he were asked to state in a few 

 words what is the greatest value of a garden competition, he 

 should say, 'It is the in.spiration to greater effort and higher 

 achievement.' Full exemplification of the truth embodied in 

 this brief statement may be found in the results obtained by 

 the institution in many of the West Indian colonies of 

 Peasants' Exhibitions so successfully carried out under the 

 auspices of the Imperial Department of Agriculture several 

 years ago, and in the extension and further development of 

 Prize Holdings Competition?, having for their object the 

 encouragement of greater attention being devoted by peasants 

 to the cultivation of certain economic crops in these island?. 

 These prize holdings schemes and peasant exhibitions have 

 .been shown to be most valuable agencies for improving the 

 general condition of the holdings of small proprietors in the 

 islands where they have been successfully established; there 

 can be no doubt as to their value also to the immediate 

 community or locality in which they may be located. 



Although the garden competitiocs referred to by the 

 writer in the Ai^fiiultural Gazette quoted above, might not 

 be altogether on all fours with the prize holdings schemes and 

 peasant exhibitions of the West Indies, yet the objects appai- 

 ently aimed at are not dissimilar, but rather of relative 

 importance; and the observations in regard thereto cinnot fail 

 to be of interest, and also instructive to competitors in prize 

 holdings competitions in these islands. 



Describing the different orders of garden makers, the 

 writer says these may be divided into several groups: first, 

 those who are enthusiastic acd ignorant, but anxious to learn; 

 second, those who are ignorant, but too confident or 

 conceited: they have the confidence of ignorance, which is 

 not an uncommon characteristic of the man or woman who 

 has read a great deal about gardening, and thinks he or she 

 knows all about it, although his or her practical experience 

 is very small. Then there is the skilful and successful 

 gardener who has good reason for thinking himself in a class 

 by himself, but fails to recognize the merit of others; and, 

 finally, there is the enthusiastic, successful, and skilful gar- 

 dener, with his place clean and in good order, always on the 

 look out for information, and eager to impart his knowledge 

 to others. 



A garden competition, the writer very truthfully 

 remarks, puts each of these gardeners into the proper place, 

 and opens the eyes of each to individual shortcomings, 

 and to the skill and good taste of others. The gar- 

 dener, in thus having a proper value placed by the judge, 

 gets both information and inspiration to greater effort next 

 year. Moreover, the friendly rivalry which a garden 

 competition brings about, leads to intercourse which would 

 not otherwise take place; and the visits which competitors 

 pay to one another's gardens, and the observations made from 

 the street, and the new varieties which they are becoming 

 acquainted with, do much to bring about a greater incentive 

 to improvement, and thus the standard of each is raised. 



Not only is the owner of the garden benefited by the 

 competition, but naturally the whole family is more interested 

 in the garden than they would be if it had not been entered 

 in the competition; and there is no doubt that the younger 

 members will be more likely to make gardens of their own 

 later on, if they go from a home where there has been a good 

 garden. 



Then there is the value of a garden competition to the 

 district or community. Good gardens scattered here and 



there through the country give an enviab'e reputation to 

 the community, and the more good gardens there are, the 

 better the reputation. If a garden, through the special 

 effort which a competitor nukes, becomes conspicuously 

 better than those near by, the likelihood is that the owners of 

 the latter will at least keep their places neater than they 

 otherwise would do. It is seldom that a garden which has 

 been raised to a certain standard through the efforts made to 

 win a competition, is allowed to return to the condition it was 

 before. 



PROPOSALS FOR THE PRODUCTION OP 

 POWER-ALCOHOL IN AUSTRALIA. 



Attention was drawn in the Agricultural News, 

 Vol. XVI, p. 325, to the appointment of a Special Com- 

 mittee by the Advisory Council of Science and Industry of 

 the Commonwealth of Australia, to enijuire into the produc- 

 tion of power-alcohol. This Committee, it is stated in The 

 Board of Trade Journal, April 18, 1918, has now published 

 its report. The Committee state that the question of the 

 utilizition of power-alcohol on an extensive scale naturally 

 divides itself into three main problems— the production, 

 utilization, and denaturation of alcohol. 



As regards production, it appeared that the most suit- 

 able raw material at present available is the sugar molasses in 

 Queensland. This, however, is insufficient, as it would only 

 be suflScient for the manufacture of a little more than 

 3,000,000 gallons of alcohol, whereas the annual require- 

 ments of Queensland alone exceed this. There are, however, 

 certain other materials, such as sorghum stalks, cassava, 

 and sorghum grain, which would offer favourable oppor- 

 tunity as a source of alcohol. As these crops are only grown 

 on a small scale in the Commonwealth at present, the 

 Committee cannot state whether they can be cultivated 

 profitably as a raw material for the manufacture of alcohol. 

 If some stimulus or inducement were offered for the manu- 

 facture of alcohol, it appears that there is a favourable 

 opportunity for the establishment of a new and important 

 industry in the Commonwealth. 



A.s regards the utilization of power-alcohol, experiments 

 have shown that it can be used with success in internal 

 combustion engines. It is not likely, however, to be more 

 economical in the near future to substitute alcohol for 

 kerosene in engines designed to use the latter as fuel, 

 but in this connexion the possibility of a shortage in the 

 supply of kerosene must be borne in mind. 



In order to develop the use of alcohol for power 

 purposes, and to encourage the production of the raw 

 materials upon which the manufacture of such alcohol 

 depends, the Committee recommended: — 



(1) That necessary action be taken to allow of the 

 manufacture and use in Australia of powflralcohol denatured 

 with 2 per cent, of ether. 



(2) That an allowance at the rate of 3^/. per galloQ be 

 granted by the Commonwealth Government on power-alcohol 

 denatured in the above manner, and manufactured ia 

 Australia from raw material produced in Australia, by reim- 

 bursement of the extra cost caused by fiscal restrictions on 

 the manufactuie of alcohol. 



(3) That a bonus, also at the rate of Zd. per gallon, be 

 granted by the Commonwealth Government on such power- 

 alcohol, in order to encourage its manufacture, and to 

 develop the primary industries on which the supply of the 

 necessary raw material depends. 



