57 



educated up to the fact that it was to his 

 interest to breed the pigs, and leave tho 

 nianiii'aclure of tho bacon to experts, 

 o([uipped willi every facility and modern 

 appliauce necessary for the haiulliug of 

 the product. Tho ag'o at which it is 

 found most profitable to market the pigs 

 io about eight months, by which time a 

 good licrkshire, which is the favourite 

 breed in Australia, weighs, from 80 to 120 

 l)0unds, cleaned, aud realizes, from 35s. to 

 45s. to the farmer. Within six months 

 from the starting of this factory the 

 Queensland jnarkots u'cre swept of the 

 imported article, and a considerable ex- 

 port trade develoj)cd, Tlie quality of the 

 manufactures holding their own with 

 English aud American supplies. Pigs 

 are now extensively raised throughout the 

 Australian Colonies, and are purchased 

 on the farms by the factories' buyers, who 

 arrange with the farmers for delivering 

 at a convenient station on a given date, 

 after a sufficiently large number of ani- 

 mals have been obtained to fill one or 

 nu)re trucks. The jigs on arrival 

 at tho factory are allowed time in 

 which to recover their nornuil condition, 

 preparatory to slaughter. It was especi- 

 ally interesting to learn that, at the fac- 

 tory to which I have referred, the bye- 

 pi'oducts, such as lard, trotters, tubes, 

 bladders, have covered the factory's 

 charges, the main products representing 

 the farmers' jjortion. Three items are 

 regarded- as essential to success, viz., 

 cleanliness, which should be secured by 

 means of styes properly constructed and 

 kept ; systematic feeding, and marketing 

 the animals as soon as they are ready for 

 llio factory. 



Agriculture. 



Tlie agricultural devolo})ment of the 

 country, so far as 1 was enaljled to Judge, 

 dees not appear to be very mucb in a(b 

 vance of our own standard, where our 

 farmer realizes the necessity of assisting 

 nature by artificial means. In one direc- 

 tion, however, we in Natal could follow, 

 M'itli very great advantagv, the exam})le 

 set in Australia, and tliat is l)y 

 establishing a (Joverument Agricul- 

 tural College. A vi-it to one of the largest 

 of these colleges, the Hawksbury, in New 



South Wales, coiwinced me of the practi- 

 cal utility and far-reaching influence of 

 these institutions yhen properly con- 

 ducted. 



At tho college named the students, who 

 number I'M, are put through every branch 

 of farming in a thorougly practical and 

 scientific manner, each branch being con- 

 ducted separately, under the supervision 

 of a practical man. On entering on their 

 course the boys are taught the ordinary 

 routine of farm work, and the value of 

 employiug the best labour-saving 

 machines procurable. Every phase of the 

 work is attended with appropriate lectures 

 as it proceeds, the pupils being taught to 

 analyse the soils and manure used, study 

 the character and requirements of the 

 crops, and learn how to distinguish and 

 combat the diseases to which they are sub- 

 ject. The students have their own equip- 

 ment for examining, testing, &c., and 

 must work out for themselves the informa- 

 tion they seek to acquire, the result of 

 their investigations being subsequently 

 checked, and if necessary corrected and 

 explained by the professor concerned. The 

 same practical training is followed in the 

 stock paddocks, dairies, piggeries, poultry 

 yards, apiaries, and orchards, and in addi- 

 tion the pupils are made to acquire a use- 

 ful knowletlge of carpentering, building, 

 and smithy work, a knowledge which en- 

 ables tlie student on leaving the college 

 to build his house, shoe his horses, or re- 

 pair his implements. Most important 

 amongst the lessons the pupils are taught 

 at this establishment is the method of 

 keeping proper accounts, and assigning 

 to each branch of their work the profit or 

 loss occasioned thereby. These accounts 

 are made xxp weekly, and with great ex- 

 actitude. 



The practical and scientific knowledge 

 of all farming subjects thus obtained, 

 coupled with method, accuracy, and 

 handiwork, cannot fail to be of untold 

 benefit to the pupils and the country. 

 The pupils ])erform all the work connected 

 with their calling, servants only being 

 cm ployed for purely domestic duties, and 

 this should be insisted on in any estab- 

 lishment started in our Colony. 



While in Adelaide I inspected the 

 large farm acquired by the municipal 



