PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 



25 



When I came to Australia as an economic microbiologist 

 I called upon several manufacturers who used microbio- 

 logical methods in some parts of their work, and I offered 

 my services gratuitously to assist them in any difficulty 

 they might have, but I was informed that they never had 

 any irregularity in their processes. I wanted to help 

 industry, but unfortunately industry did not respond to my 

 advances, and the hopelessness of obtaining material from 

 manufacturers upon which to do research work was quickly 

 brought home to me. I have the feeling, born of experience, 

 that the manufacturer thinks nothing of services for which 

 he does not have to pay. 



I remember getting the manager of the dairy department 

 of a large Sydney firm to experiment with Conn's aroma 

 bacillus. The experiment was made, and the butter made 

 with the bacillus was judged to be worth a half-penny a 

 pound more than the control butter. Yet nothing was 

 made of the experiment. This is a case where science can 

 aid industry, but the scientist cannot take each and every 

 butter factory manager by the throat and force him to use 

 the bacillus and get more for his butter. If the butter of 

 the State were improved by even the fraction of one half- 

 penny a pound, the gain to the farmer and to the State 

 would be considerable. 



The great problem is to get the manufacturer, whether 

 on a large scale or in a small way of business, to himself 

 endeavour to improve his methods. Long familiarity so 

 accustoms an individual to a process, that he cannot see 

 when an improvement can be effected. It is the outsider 

 with a critical eye who can see where leakages are occur- 

 ring, especially when he is a trained observer as most 

 scientists are. Unfortunately the manufacturer does not 

 care to have men of this stamp examining his processes. 

 He is afraid that his trade secrets may be given to rival 



