80 PRESIDEN^t'S address — SECTION B. 



Mr. H. G. Smith has pointed out that there is a good deal of bush 

 country in the Commonwealth which is of little or no use for agricultural 

 pursuits, but which can support suitable eucalypts and other trees for 

 the supply of valuable leaves. By the cultivation of such trees a means 

 of livelihood would be provided for many people. 



The trees already in the bush are not always those of most economic 

 value, and an initial planting of seeds or seedlings would be necessary 

 in most cases. After that, however, there would be little or no trouble 

 as trees native to Australia are so very hardy and tenacious of life 

 once they get a proper start. 



At present there is a small export trade in eucalyptus oils for 

 pharmaceutical purposes, but this is quite insignificant in comparison 

 with the trade that could with very little trouble be developed. 



With regard to the trees yielding geraniol and citrol, very little in 

 the way of systematic cultivation has been done ; the high value of 

 these substances make this industry attractive enough, but Mr. Smith 

 has pointed out that the distillation of these oils is best carried out 

 with a large plant. 



The distillation of phellandrene oils is, Uke that of eucalyptus oils, 

 a somewhat easier matter, and can readily be carried out by a small 

 plant. Very little capital or labour is necessary to make a successful 

 business, and as the land of Australia gets cut up into smaller and 

 smaller blocks, the advantages of distiUing leaves for oil as a business 

 proposition will become more appreciated. 



Instead of the present humble position of the essential oil industry 

 ia Australia, it is surely not going too far to say that before long we can 

 hope for an important position for this industry as a source of national 

 wealth. 



Let us not in future regard the bush trees as an encumbrance, 

 but rather have a feeling of gratitude for the free gift of these drought- 

 resisting trees which hold such an imperishable stock of wealth for the 

 people. The application of phellandrene oils in the flotation process 

 of mineral separation has been one of the most important developments 

 in modern metallurgical industry, a lead to the world having in this 

 matter been given by the Broken Hill metallurgists. 



Large dumps of tailings which would otherwise have been almost 

 useless are now a source of great wealth ; the process is not only 

 available for tailings, but is used direct on ores at Broken Hill, and is 

 also being taken advantage of at many other districts. The process 

 has proved completely successful in " floating " lead and zinc sulphide 

 particles ; it is also being tried on other minerals with some measure of 

 >' access. 



The grade of all ores tends daily to become poorer, and methods 

 for the concentration and separation of mineral constituents from the 

 ore gangue become continually more and more important. We are 



