264 Agncultural Gazette of N.S.W. [April 3, 1920. 



exposure plates indicate plainly the amount of re-contamination that took 

 place from exposure of the cream and butter to the conditions and surround- 

 ings of these old and (in a hygienic sense) badly constructed room?. They 

 also point to the advisability of doing away with all overhead obstructions 

 (beams, pipes, belting, flat ceilings, &c.) that collect or distribute dust. 



The presence of such large numbers of undesirable water bacteria as those 

 shown in the plate exposed over the cream-receiving vat (adjacent to th(> 

 water-spray tower), and in subsequent plates of cream and butter, indicates 

 the danger incurred in exposing cream and butter to outside influences — in 

 this case arising from the infection constantly being carried into the factory 

 by the spray of the condenser water tower, the source of supply for which 

 came from the stagnant lagoons described above. The necessity of draining 

 all such stagnant pools and lagoons cannot be too strongly emphasised. 



Sales of Pure-bred Dairy Cattle. 



An auction sale of stud dairy cattle is to be conducted at Hawkesbury 

 Agricultural College, Richmond, on Tuesday, 20th April, commencing at 

 1 p.m., when the thirty -four lots offered will include twenty pure-bred Jersey 

 cows, five heifers, two bulls, and two pure-bred Red Poll cows, two heifers, 

 and three bulls. A train is timed to leave the Central Station, Sydney, for 

 Richmond at 8.56 a.m. on the day of sale, and buyers will find city-bound 

 trains timed conveniently for their return the same afternoon. Prospective 

 buyers wishing to inspect stock before the sale will be afforded every facility. 



The same auctioneers will also offer for auction a number of pure-bred 

 Milking Shorthorn stud cattle at Berry Experiment Farm at 1 p.m. on 

 Friday, 16th April. Trains will leave Sydney for Berry as follows : — 

 Thursday, 15th April, 4.45 p m. ; Friday, 16th April, 8.20 a.m. A return 

 train will leave Berry at 4.25 p m. on the day of the sale. 



Catalogues and further particulars of both sales can be obtained from 

 Messrs. Wm. Inglis and Sons, Ltd. (auctioneers), the Principal of tliw 

 College, or the Under Secretary and L)irector, Department of Agriculturr, 

 Sydney. 



A Note on New Zealand Flax. 



New Zealand flax, a plant that grows extensively in the country from which 

 it derives its name, is cut for its fibre, which is used for making biuder-twine, 

 rough rope, &c. It grows only on waste land and is not a profitable crop on 

 land that can be used for dairying or other purposes. 



The plant is not widely grown in New South Wales, and before under- 

 taking its cultivation a local grower would have to arrange for the expensive 

 machinery necessary for its treatment. The flax cannot be cut until the 

 planta reach the age of three years, and the yield under favourable conditions 

 is from 800 to 1,200 lb. per acre. — A. H. E. McDonald, Chief Inspector of 

 Agriculture. 



