ACRUULTL'RAL KDLCATION IX AUSTRALIA. 227 



Work begin at 7 a.m.. and the students doing- dairy work com- 

 mence in two batches, the earlier at 4.30 a.m., and the later at 

 5.30. The lectures start at 8.30. 



Amongst the subjects taught are carpentry, wheelwright's 

 work, saddlery, butchery, engineering, blacksmithing, jam- 

 making, etc. We inspected a number of excellently-made metal 

 implements, turned out by the students, of such a miscellaneous 

 nature as horseshoes, chisels, plough-stays, punches, steel span- 

 ners, gate-hooks and binges, cultivator tines, etc. Complete set 

 of harness are also made, including both the metal and the 

 leather work. 



A visit was paid to the poultry runs, where we noticed a 

 very large number of egg-laying competition pens. In the com- 

 |;etitions outsiders participate. Of course, the institution has, 

 in addition, its own stock of |)oultry, and pure-bred varieties of 

 table and laying fowls, ducks, turkeys, and geese are to be 

 seen. There are, moreover, about one dozen ostriches on the 

 farm, the sight of which reminded me of a remark made by an 

 Australian gentleman during the course of an excellently illus- 

 trated lantern-lecture on " Australia and its industries.'' delivered 

 by him on board the Rnrlpidcs on the outward voyage. South 

 Africa, he said, guarded her ostriches very carefully, and strictly 

 prohibited their export ; but there were means of circumventing 

 those ])rohibitions, and in proof hereof a fine slide of Australian- 

 bred ostriches was shown. These birds, it vx^as hinted, might 

 have been exported from Africa through ports other than those 

 of the Union. 



Connected with the Hawkesbury ostrich-camp and fowl-run 

 is an incubator-house, where close on i.ooo f(^wl-eggs and several 

 ■ostrich-eggs w'cre seen in course of incubation. r)ne chicken- 

 house ( brooder ) contained 300 young chicks : another of the 

 same size was nearing comjiletion alongside. Both of these 

 are heated bv means of hot air-])i])es leading from a coke fur- 

 nace. 



With regard to cattle and stock generally, we were informed 

 that only pedigree stock is kej)t on the farm. Hawkesbury 

 College is the largest stud-j)ig breeder in Australia, and we in- 

 spected a very fine collection of stud boars and pedigree pigs — 

 about 400 in all. In 1913 about £2,000 worth of stud pigs 

 was sold from the farm. The institution breeds all its own 

 jjigs. but imports some from time to time to give suf^cient 

 variety of strain. About three weeks i)rior to our visit, two 

 Poland-Chinas had been imported from the United States of 

 America, and five pigs of various breeds from England. 



Of larger-sized stock, the College has 90 head of cattle 

 and about 130 horses. The breeding, rearing, feeding, and 

 management of draught-stock are amongst the chief features 

 of the college course. Ponies, light horses, and buggy horses 

 are also bred. The cows are both hand and machine milked. 



Practically the only kind of cheese made on the farm is 

 Cheddar. Its rate of production is one j^ound by weight of 



