22G Agricultural Gazette of N.S.JF. [3Iar. 2, 1908. 



Suiiil;iv iimniiiii;' ^^'as s]M'nt at tin' Al;i ii-ult iiral Station, where a stall' of 

 seven entomologists and lirld agents aic Wdikini,' at tin- cniiti'ol of the weevil 

 Ijv inccliaiiical nirthoils, the discovery of parasite-, or the |>rofluction of a 

 liardy, or eai'lv-d('V('lo])ing variety of cotton. At one tiinr this year 17,000 

 weevils were under oljscrvation. Visited the Agricultural Slmw with 

 Professor Hunter, ami saw all the prize stock, some very line nudes, oidy 

 about 20 sheep. Mixed cattle and " ri-d iiogs '' predominate, tliougli Berk- 

 iihires were also well represented. Visited the c<}tton mills, where an auto- 

 matic draught sucks the cotton out of the carts and cairies it into the store- 

 room (Murre'v's ])atent) ; gave tlie staff an addre^-^nn ecniioniic entomolugv 

 in Australia in the evening. 



On tlie 22n(l we left for Houston, stopping at C'nllege Station, where the 

 Agricultural and Teclmical College of Texas is situated, and containing GOO 

 .students and a staff of al)out 50 masters and teachers, It is run somewhat 

 upon the lines of the Hawkesbury Agricultural College ; but they also teach 

 technical woi'k, and lia\'e a com])lete cnttun mill with hinni-;, ironwork, i<cc. 

 The students do all the washing and laundry work tliemselves; it was washing 

 day when I went round with the Pi-esident. This College is so popular that 

 the rooms are all occupied, and over (iO students were cami)e(l in t^nts on 

 the campus. This College is under State control, and consists of SOO acres 

 of good land. Dr. Howai-d having tinislied his business, we left at 4 o'clock 

 and reached Houston at I" i>jn. Next day we visited Galveston, and saw 

 the Medical Collesre, where sucli ydod work was done durinij' the vellow fevei' 

 epidemic, four years ago, in dealing with the mos(iuitoes. Returning tlie 

 .same afternoon, we left for Victoria, I:)ut stopped on the road, at the invita- 

 tion of the Manager of the Pierce Ranch, one of the largest in the district, 

 where they have introduced a number of different kinds of Bramah cattle 

 from India and crossed them with the large Texas cows. These bulls are \ery 

 large, handsome, quiet animals, and the ci'oss have also a very fine, close hair, 

 It is claimed that the bulls and their stock are tick proof. The suggestion is 

 that the close, short hair causes the larval ticks when they moult to di'op oif, 

 as they have no'hing to cling to. Rice, cotton, lucerne, ikc, are also grown 

 on this ranch, which consists of 70,000 acres of rich prairie country. Went 

 on next morning to Victoria, where the Department of Agriculture have a 

 small staticm, and after seeing tlie Officei'-in-Chaig-e, left for San Antonio, and 

 arrived there the same evening. The followdng day was spent in arranginti 

 to go on to Mexico, and Professor Hunter leturned to Dallas and |)i-. llowaid 

 to Washington. On the 26th October, 11)07, I left, for Mexico City, ri,i 

 Laredo, the border town, reaching my destination at (i a.m. on ^Monday, the 

 28th. Here my friend, Mr. A. Koebele, the well known Californian ento- 

 mologist, met me, and with him I made my head-(juarters at the Iturl)ide Hotel. 



In Mexico I placed inys(df in the hands of the Depai'tment of Fomento 

 (Department for the Promotion of information). Professor Herrera, Chief 

 of the Entomological Bi'anch, was away sick, and there wcie three " Festa 

 Davs " coming together at the end of tht> month, so nothing could be done in 

 the field for three davs. The Secretary introduced me to l)r. Giandra, next 

 in charge, who made ariangeinents to engage an interpreter for me and go 

 down to the town of Yutapec, in the Mirelas country, the chief centime of the 

 orange industrv. Spent the rest of the time in learning about the raw 

 ])i'oducts of tlie country, \isiting the native fruit markets, and, under Mr. 

 Koebele's guidance, the districts I'ound the citN', where there are many small 

 orchards, but in a verv neglected state and badly cultivate<l. One of the 

 chief industries in fruit is growing strawberries for the city restaurants. On 

 the road to Tres Marias, visited the Agricultural Show held this week, ^\here 



