692 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION K. 



distributor, is subjected to keen competition in earning a liveli- 

 hood. Unfortunately for the farmer, however, the competition 

 in his case is less palpable, and he has therefore not awakened to 

 the stern necessity of meeting this competition, and thus keeping 

 his foothold on the economic plane. The manufacturer of to-day 

 must be more than a maker of goods. He must know the markets 

 for his particular wares, must anticipate the fluctuations in the 

 supply and demand for these goods ; he must know, not only what 

 he himself is doing, but what his trade rivals are doing; and he 

 must eliminate all waste, whether of time, material, money, 

 work, or skill, in producing his wares. He must, in short, keep 

 one eye ou his factory and two on the political and commercial 

 conditions of all countries likely to supply or demand his par- 

 ticular kind of goods. And the farmer in any country who has 

 to sell his goods to other peoples is in the same position. 



There is in his case the same necessity to produce and distribute 

 his goods at the lowest possible cost. The Australian farmer, 

 owing to his being furthest from the great markets of the world, 

 starts with a serious handicap. But instead of being foremost in 

 those movements that will help him to compete most successfully 

 in the markets of the world he has lagged far behind. Probably 

 the Australian farmers will find, as farmers in other countries have 

 found, that in co-operation lies their economic salvation. I believe 

 that any movement to attain or to deserve success must come from 

 the farmers themselves. But the Australian farmer has never been 

 educated along these lines. To supply this education should be the 

 duty of the University and the Agricultural College. The aim of 

 the faculty of agriculture, I take it, should be to turn out compe- 

 tent teachers, lecturers, and research workers. These men should 

 be able to help the farmer, not only in the production of his 

 crop, but in protecting his interests in the economic war being con- 

 stantly waged in the modern State. They should supply the in- 

 spiration and the technical knowledge that will enable the farm- 

 ing community to organize in defence of its own interests. For 

 this purpose, I would suggest that the course for the degree of 

 Bachelor of Agricultural Science should include a certain amount 

 of political economy, sufficient to enable the graduate to under- 

 stand and explain such things as the nature of rent, interest, and 

 wages, and the part played by each in the production and dis- 

 tribution of a nation's wealth, and should include also a know- 

 ledge of company laws, land laws, and the law of contract. When 

 a student has completed his course for the degree, he should have 

 the opportunity of specializing in the economic phase of agricul- 

 ture, just as others would specialize in agronomy, animal hus- 

 bandry, plant pathology, &c. 



