426 Journal of Agr/ciiltine, Victoria. [10 July, 1917. 



the local sale-j'ards — cows that he knows nutliiiig about as producers, 

 aud which in many cases introduce disease to his herd, to cause etill 

 further waste. Examples of disease so introduced may be found in 

 pleuro-pneumcnia, abortion, and contagious mammitis, the loss from 

 wliich amounts to many thousands of pounds per annum. 



Illu.stratious such as these could be extended almost indefinitely, but 

 I think sufficient have been given to indicate the loss and wast« that is 

 going en. It has been said that silver bullets will win the war, and I 

 hope these remarks will augment the supply, but we must reanembei- 

 this: A counti-y is only as rich as the people who' inhabit it; the greater 

 the assets of the individual the greater the wealth of the country, and 

 the more opportunities there are for pro,e;ress. Every penny that is paid 

 into the private account of the individual increases the national assets. 

 When you pay your farm cheques into the bank you siu'ely don't think 

 the bank just hoards it up for you? It is said that money is made 

 round to go round, and in its course it adds to itself. At the present 

 time the most important additions are bullets. The more each one of us 

 can save the mere sure is the end of the war. But to save to the utmost 

 we must abandon the policy of " That'll do " ; nothing but the very best 

 will do. 



The price of foodstuffs the world over has increased enormously. In 

 Great Britain the cost of living has gone up 100 per cent. Can you 

 fancy paying 2s. per lb. for mutton, or 2s. for a plate of soup at a 

 restaurant, or £45 for store bullocks? Notwithstanding this, the pro- 

 duction has not increased to any extent ; and for many years to come, 

 but more especially upon the cessation of hostilities, the demand for 

 food for Europe will be enormous. Slionld we not be ready to supply 

 portion of that demand? It behoves the head of every family in Aus- 

 tralia to convert himself into a Commission of Inquiry into the manage- 

 ment of his own home and work, with the object of eliminating waste 

 and storing up for his own benefit, buti, above all, for the benefit of the 

 Empire, bullet after bullet of silver, or of food products, which are the 

 equivalent. " That'll do," however, must be cut out of his vocabulary; 

 only the best will do. 



In this way we will be able to show that we are not only a fighting- 

 branch of the family of Britishers, as has been so gloriously shown by 

 our representatives in Europe, but also that we are a peaceful branch, 

 and one which can offer opportunities not surpassed in any land to 

 that large army of workers of all classes who, at the conclusion of the 

 war, will turn their eyes from the crowded areas of the old world to fair 

 fields and lands of glorious sunshine. 



The Prime Minister of Australia (Mr. W. M. Hughes), in his open 

 letter to the farmers of Australia, as published in the April issue of the 

 JoiirnaJ, of Agriculture of Victoria, says: — "The citizens of this fair 

 country stand and watch the progress of this mighty war as a crowd 

 watching a fire afar off. Many of their number, hearing the faint cry 

 for help, have plunged into the maelstrom of death to succour human 

 life. . . Australia's duty in this great crisis is obvious. We must 



make available in increasing quantities the products necessary to enable 

 the Empire and its Allies to win the war. I appeal to you, the primary 

 ]iroducers, therefore, to stand behind your fellows in Euroj>e, and leave 

 no stone unturned to see that their pressing food requirements are forth- 

 coming. " 



