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adding thereby very materially to the value of the ashes ; or, 

 better still, by a cheap mill they could be ground to bonedust and 

 ,so give nitrogen as well as phosphates to the soil. The quantities 

 of phosphates, nitrogen, and potash salts obtainable from the 

 above sources would not be suffieient to replace the loss on a large 

 farm, but they would do something towards it, and would cer- 

 tainly be of considerable use in increasing the produce of the 

 orchard or vegetable garden. Quantities of bones, bonedust, and 

 superj)hosphate are being from time to time exported from the 

 -colony. Surely this is a needless sending away of valuable manure. 

 It seems to me there must be something very seriously wrong 

 somewhere when such valuable materials can be exported from 

 such a colony as this at a profit. Then, again, there is sulphate 

 of ammonia, a most valuable manure in some cases. There is so 

 little sale for this, now that the Mauritius market has failed, that 

 the Gas Company are hesitating whether to continue the manu- 

 facture. Yet it is obtainable at a reasonable price, and not a 

 pound of it should be allowed to leave the colony. There is strong 

 evidence of want of thrift and economy among a large proportion 

 of our rural population. The days are gone in which crops 

 could be obtained by merely scratching the surface of the soil. 

 Every day it is becoming more manifest that careful and 

 economical treatment is necessary to make the land yield any 

 kind of produce continuously. The much persecuted Chinaman 

 is certainly a pattern in this respect. He has come from a country 

 where the very existence of the population depends to a large 

 extent 'upon the proper treatment of the land, and he has learnt 

 the lesson well. He takes good care that nothing is wasted, and 

 he obtains results accordingly. Possibly something may be done 

 by training the children in our schools, country schools in agri- 

 cultural districts especially, in such a way as to make them prac- 

 tically acquainted with such matters, and by endeavouring to 

 foster in them a liking for agricultural pursuits. Is it not desir- 

 able that experiments should be undertaken with a view of dis- 

 covering what are the best methods of farming in this colony 

 under varying conditions'? In England, in various parts of 

 Europe, and in America there are large experimental farms, 

 established either by the Government or by private enterprise, in 

 which such experiments can be carried out on scientific principles. 

 The results obtained by years of painstaking investigation at the 

 experimental station carried on by Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert at 

 Rothamstead have proved invaluable all over the world. Asso- 

 ciated with these stations in many cases are well-equipped Agri- 

 cultural Colleges. What have we here 1 An Agricultural Col- 

 lege, it is true, but very insufficiently equipped internally as 

 regards the appliances for proper scientific teaching, of even an 



