1I1I-: r.i.Ai'K WAiii.K l.\I)^•s'n<^■. 301 



tmisi take iiian\ Ncars to woiIn out the full chanj^e even after the 

 svnthetic ])r()cess beedines e(tiiiinereial]\' a))i)licable. 



Also that if in the still distant futnre the hlaek wattle 

 industry does become atYected to a very a])i)reeiable extent by 

 synthetic tanning; there is still likeU- to remain a local market in 

 local tanneries for the bark from heavv timber ( bye-prodtice 

 bark) for the tannin,^ of local hides and the reduction thereby 

 of OU1- leather import. 



Also that the present leather ])roduct is a durable one ('more 

 or less), and that this can with certainty be maintained, while 

 the durability of the other is still unknown, and to some extent 

 :m])robable. 



Also that if some ])lantations must of necessity drop out, it 

 will be the ])oorest ])lantations, 7'i::., those of the lazy man, and 

 those on Thornveld i^round. which should never have been under 

 wattle, and which are in the natural home of the bagworm and 

 most of our other pests. 



Also that the export of extract and of compressed bark will 

 receive a present im]:)etus from the alarming pros]:)ect, and that in 

 any case the reduction of freight to one-eighth of the bulk it 

 formerly occupied, places the product in a new position on the 

 home market. 



Also that the alarming pros])ect will certainly call into opera- 

 tion extended and more scientific methods of utilisation than have 

 existed hitherto. 



Putting all these together, 1 can only conclude that the ]m-os- 

 pect is likely t(j do more good than harm, and that the biggest 

 harm likely to arise may come from an immediate scare of the 

 pessimists, unless the simple fact stated by Prof. Wilkinson is, 

 when ])ublished, accompanied by some such assurances as those 

 given above. 



The chemist has rightly sounded the warning note, and we 

 thank him for it, but looking at the subject with knowledge of 

 many outside factors with which the chemist is not concerned \n 

 this connection, it seems to me that if the wattle industry takes 

 advantage and makes practical a])plication of scientific research, 

 it has little to fear beyond the gradual changes which may be dic- 

 tated by circumstances as they arise, and which are likel\ to 

 ruin no one who was fit to stand, apart from these. 



Manganese as a Fertiliser. -The Intcmationol 

 Review of the Seieiiee and Practice of Agriculture (7 I9I 1256- 

 1257) summarises a series of experiments by R. A. de Gregorio, 

 which show that crops are increased by fertilisers containing 

 manganese, provided an oi)timum of .006 per cent, of soluble 

 manganese in the soil be not exceeded. 



