Section G. 

 ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE. 



ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, 

 H. C. L. ANDERSON, M.A. 



(Late Director of Agriculture, N.S.W.j. 



Permit me, in the first place, to express my deep regret that I 

 have been prevented from being present to preside over the meet- 

 ings of the section — an honor to which I had been looking forward 

 with all the bright anticipations which we have learned to associate 

 with Adelaide in its lovely spring time. 



The fact of taking charge of a new department of our Public 

 Service but three weeks before the Association meeting has robbed 

 me of my expected pleasure, but it has not prevented me from 

 doing myself the honor of placing before this section a few thoughts 

 on a subject of the deepest interest to South Australia, in common 

 with New South Wales and the other Australian Colonies. 



As it seems peculiarly becoming that " Agriculture " should this 

 year, when the Association meets in an agriciiltural colony, have 

 been added to the title of this section, I cannot do better than 

 confine my attention to that branch of our subject, and more 

 especially to that aspect of it with which I am perhaps best 

 acquainted — the state of agriculture and agricultural education 

 in New South Wales. 



Whatever may be the causes — and they are many — New South 

 Wales is not an agricultural country to such an extent as we might 

 fairly expect from her age, her richness of soils, her great diversity 

 of climatic conditions, and the character of some of her founders. 



We have not hitherto supplied ourselves with bread, though it 

 is expected that this year we shall do so. We import agricultural 

 products, all of which we could ourselves produce, to the value of 

 more than £3,000,000 per annum, while our exports of wines, 

 fruit, butter, and a few other articles reach barely one-tenth of 

 that amount. 



We export every year from 4,000 to 7,000 tons of bonedust and 

 dried blood — the very bone and sinew of our pasture — to New 

 Zealand and Mauritius, and bring them back in the form of oats, 

 potatoes, chaff, sugar, and other pioduce. 



