354 Professor Henry E. Armstrong [Feb. 19, 



margin of the Darling Downs, about 260 miles west of Brisbane, 

 under the chairmanship of Dr. Steele, the Professor of Chemistry at 

 Brisbane University. I had the good fortune to visit the station 

 with Professor Steele and Dr. Jean White, a lady botanist who is in 

 charge of the experiments that are being undertaken. An American, 

 Mr. 0. C. Koberts, has also been making experiments on a large 

 scale in the district with the aid of a company which he has estab- 

 lished and has obtained a concession of 200,000 acres, subject to 

 conditions as to clearing the ground within a certain period. After 

 many trials, Mr. Eoberts has developed a treatment destroying the 

 plant which only an American would dare to put into action. He 

 boils off the vapour of arsenious chloride, in quantities up to four 

 tons at a time, across country when a favourable wind prevails. The 

 vapour does not seriously affect the Eucalyptus but wherever it is 

 absorbed by the prickly pear, the plant is killed after a time ; the 

 objection to the method is the highly poisonous nature of the vapour 

 and the fact that it is impossible to bring it everywhere into contact 

 with the plant. A great variety of experiments have been carried 

 out at the experimental station and the results show that the use of 

 a particular arsenic compound in the form of spray is likely to be 

 effective. Apparently, when the compound once enters the plant, it 

 spreads from joint to joint and ultimately reaches the root, killing 

 the whole growth ; the dried remains can then be ])urnt in situ. It 

 is proposed to extract potash from the ashes but in view of the 

 scarcity of potash manures this is a policy to be deprecated. The 

 prickly pear has also over-run parts of India ; I saw it growing 

 thickly among the trees covering the hill slopes as I passed up the 

 Eastern Ghats. 



While speaking of imported weeds, I may point out that, perhaps, 

 the most serious pest in Australia is the wild rabbit— as proof, it is 

 sufficient to point to the long line of rabbit fencing shown on the 

 map of "Western Australia ; there are 10,000 miles of such fencing in 

 Queensland. 



Epiphytes also play a great part as pests. The Eucalypts are 

 infested by a Loranthus, a kind of misletoe, which is their deadly 

 enemy. 



The opportunities awaiting science, in agriculture and education 

 especially, are very numerous ; but like our own, the Australian 

 public are in no wise alive to the service it can render to the State. 

 The point of view is mainly literary and their scholastic opinion, like 

 ours, has yet to be persuaded into right lines — to be made practical 

 and in harmony with the times. 



To conclude — in days gone by, not so very long ago, it was cus- 

 tomary for our gilded youth to make the grand tour of Europe as a 

 part of their general education ; now travelling is no longer confined 



