118 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Feb. 2, 1920. 



however, is not so bad, being affected lightly and more densely. I shall 

 subsequently bring under the reader's notice various suggestions for the 

 utilisation of pear; at the present time I see nothing that offers the same 

 prospect of success, or partial success, as that of utilising it as food for stock- 

 Is there, I ask myself, any reason why the wholesale feeding of pear to stock 

 in the United States, with the aid of machinery, cannot be a commercial 

 proposition in Australia ? This is a question which farmers and pastoralists 

 must ask themselves, and it is reasonable to ask them to do so. I think it 

 is a fact that during the recent drought, suffered by the greater part of New 

 South Wales and Queensland, not a hoof would have been left in some areas 

 had it not been for prickly pear, bad as it is. But we utilise it sulkily, and 

 do not enter into consideration of the feeding process with any enthusiasm, 

 or under any system. We thus suffer in two ways — we handle the pear 

 expensively, and because of this, we do not clear the land as rapidly as we 

 should. The improvement at present in my mind's eye, in our method of 

 attack, is outlined in the following pages. 



In the first place, every holding, freehold or leasehold, small or large, 

 containing pear should, in my opinion, be compelled by law to possess 

 apparatus for the treatment of pear as food for stock. Such apparatus 

 would include a suitable pear-fork (as in use in the United States), a spine- 

 torch apparatus, or apparatus for steaming, and a sort of chaffcutter appara- 

 tus for cutting the pear into strips. I will later bring under the reader's 

 notice apparatus actually used by American farmers — who are usually 

 considered prett}" wide-awake. These pieces of apparatus are already 

 extensively used in the United States, and a competition conducted by our 

 Government would go far to stimulate the discovery of the best machines,, 

 and to place them on the local market at the lowest rates. 



I believe that many landowners would do more than they do in regard to 

 pear eradication, provided that they knew the right aj^paratus to get, and if 

 they felt that everyone was " doing his bit " in the same direction. There 

 is an old French proverb to the effect that it is the first step that is the trouble ; 

 and I am satisfied that if every landowner had the best type of apparatus 

 or machinery available, he would appreciate the desirability of using it. 

 With a tool-chest in the house, repairs are done with facility and even with 

 pleasure. On the other hand, the householder who is not thus provided, 

 and uses extemporised appliances, often lets his house or furniture fall to 

 pieces, or, if he starts mending, often still further damages his property. 

 With ten thousand landowners ready to work, I am confident that work 

 would be done in stock-feeding and pear-clearing that would make a very big 

 aggregate. At the present time many owners are doing simply nothing. 

 While blaming nobodv, I would earnestly ask such owners to think over and 

 practically consider the aspects of the subject which I have indicated. At 

 tbe present time we have 10,000 foci of pear-infection. Will farmers and 

 pastoralists say why we should not have 10,000 foci of pear utilisation and 



