46 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The usual monthly meeting of the Board of Agriculture was 

 held at Headquarter House, on Tuesday, l6th January, 1906, at 

 11.15 a.m. Present: — Hon. H. Clarence Bourne, Colonial Secre- 

 tary, Chairman ; the Director of Public Gardens, the Superintend- 

 ing Inspector of Schools, the Island Chemist, His Grace the Arch- 

 bishop, Messrs. C. E. deMercado, J. W. Middleton, G. D. Murray 

 and the Secretary. 



The Secretary submitted the following letters from the Colonial 

 Secretary's Office : — 



I. Contagious Diseases Animals Bill. — Re Contagious Diseases 

 Animals Bill, stating that it was not proposed to introduce the 

 proposed bill at the next session of the Legislative Council. 



The Secretary read a minute saying that when he was attending 

 a meeting of the local Agricultural Society at Appleton, one small 

 penkeeper said that he had lost 10 cows and one bull in two weeks 

 and that the carcases had been allowed to lie and rot. He sug- 

 gested that a description of a few of the most contagious diseases 

 among animals might be published throughout the island, that it 

 might be made compulsory to report to the police the outbreak of 

 any such diseases and the Ijurning of carcases ought also to be 

 made compulsory. 



(The Chairman here left the meeting to attend a meeting of the 

 Privy Council and the Director of Public Gardens was asked to 

 take the Chair.) 



After discussion Mr. Middleton moved that members of the 

 Board should meet members of the Board of Management of the 

 Agricultural Society at the latter's meeting the next day and dis- 

 cuss the whole matter of legislation regarding contagious diseases 

 among animals so as to get something practical settled as soon 

 as possible. 



This was agreed to. 



2. Coco-init Disease. — Letter from Mr. G. P. Dewar, Harmony 

 Hall, Duncans, asking if the Government could not introduce 

 some law to make it compulsory for the owners of diseased coco- 

 nut trees to cut them down and burn them, as the disease was 

 prevalent in Hanover where he was in charge of a valuable pro- 

 perty, and seemed to be gradually spreading without anything 

 being done to prevent it. 



The Secretary was instructed to reply first that the matter had 

 been referred to the Director of Public Gardens, who had replied 

 that the same bud-rot disease had been dealt with in the Bulletin, 

 in which was stated the result of experiments laid down by him 

 and carried out by Mr. Cradwick, that the disease could be pre- 

 vented by spraying with Bordeaux mixture ; and secondly that the 

 Board would arrange for Mr. Cradwick to give a demonstration at 

 Lucea. On the suggestion of the Archbishop it was resolved 



