10 March, 1917.] Sidelights on, the Olive Oil Industry. 165 



stock is likely to liecoine more general. Tlie increasing cost of liiudir 

 and other twine will also have its effect on tlie future of the industry, 

 and also give a stimulus to the mamifacture of linseed oil and tlie 

 utilization of the oil cake in the State for stock feeding. 



The growing of essential oil and medicinal plants, and plants from 

 which flavouring extracts are produced, would interest women whose 

 inclinations trend towards rural work, and would also interest men 

 whose strength does not admit of the more arduous labour in the fields. 

 When it is considered that over £.'500,000 worth of vegetable oils were 

 impurted last year into the Commonwealth, exclusive of essential oils, 

 it shows that much wealth could be retained in the Commonwealth, not 

 only on account of the oils, but also the by-products tliat could be 

 used for the encoiiraji;en eiit of a higher form of stock feeding. It is 

 more than likely, too, tliyt after the war these imported ])roducts will 

 be dearer, and that the annual amount of money sent to other countries 

 will increase, unless effort be made to establish oil and other minor rural 

 industries within the Commonwealth. 



Experiments show that sheep require about 21bs. of water for 1 of dry 

 food, liorses 2 or 3 to I, and cattle 4 to 1. Pasture grass contains 70 to 

 80 per cent, of water in the green state. 



In 1911 there was 1 acre under crop for every 14 acres in Victoria, In 

 Tasmania the proportion was 1 acre to 58; in New South Wales 1 to 59; 

 in South Australia 1 to 89 ; in Queensland 1 to 643 ; and in Western 

 Australia 1 to 730. 



When a crop is saved for seed purposes from clean, well-tilled land, the 

 resulting seed will be freer from the seeds of weeds — and this is. jjef- 

 haps, particularly important in the case of the cereal grains, which, are 

 more often saved for seed than any other crop. 



Every farm boy has wondered which horse pulls the greater share of the 

 load, the fast one or the slow one. The Iowa Agricultural College states 

 that the lieaviest end of the load falls to the slow horse. In case the 

 fast horse is eight inches ahead, for example, the rear horse pulls 6 per 

 cent, more than the faster one. 



Wool contains suint , fat, and pure wcol hair. The suint consists chiefly 

 of a potash compound, and is mostly removed when sheep are washed. 

 The suint may form Tuore than half the weight of the fleece, or may be 

 only 15 per cent. The fat is not removed by washing, and may vary 

 from 30 to 8 per cent, of the washed fleece. 



