766 



TEE AOBICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



at the time the evaporator is laid down, 

 it is constructed in such a way that the 

 heating surface may be increased to any 

 extent by raising the upper halves of the 

 vessels and introducing additional ele- 

 ments : thus the increase of evaporative 

 power is a matter of comparatively slight 

 expense. 



It has been stated that the little evapor- 

 ator is self-cleaning. This is not strictly 

 the case, but the cleaning required is very 

 inexpensively and easily carried out. 



In conclusion, I would say that I should 

 have no hesitation in recommending the 

 adoption of this evaporator in any fac- 

 tory where it would receive intelligent 

 care and attention. 



I would be happy to give your friends 

 any further information they may desire, 

 or to superintend the construction of an 

 evaporator on their behalf. 



I am, dear sir, 



Yours faithfully, 

 CLAUDE T. BERTHON. 



Ticks ana Hides, 



WHEN the importation of immune 

 cattle from Queensland was first 

 seriously contemplated, an idea got about 

 to the effect that the Queensland cattle- 

 tick greatly depreciated the value of the 

 hides of beasts attacked by it. In conse- 

 quence of this, some question of the 

 danger of introducing the tick was raised. 



The Government Entomologist, how- 

 ever, reported that as the differences be- 

 tween the Queensland species and the 

 local redwater tick were practically so 

 small, there was little likelihood of any 

 grave calamity following the possible in- 

 troduction of the former, although he 

 considered it inadvisable to purposely 

 introduce that species. 



"With a view of having an example of 

 tanned hide from a once tick-infested 

 beast, Mr. Fuller wrote to Queensland, 

 and recently received a sample from Mr. 

 'P. J. Gordon, the Chief Inspector of 

 Stock, Brisbane, who writes concerning 

 it as follows : — 



" By this mail I have posted to your 

 address a sample of tanned hide showing 

 the effects of ticks. It was with some 

 difficulty that I obtained this. 



" As you are aware, in the early days of 

 the tick visitation, the effects of gross 

 tick-infestment on hides was such as to 

 reduce their value for purposes of shoe- 

 makers' and saddlers' leather something 

 like 50 per cent. Now, however, by the 

 use of dips in the worst tick-infested 



districts, and the fact that the ticks are 

 not numerous on the immune cattle in 

 districts where the ticks first appeared, 

 the injury to hides is nothing compared 

 with what it was. 



''The selection of the cattle for Natal 

 was left to me, and I made arrangements 

 with a well-known owner in Rockhamp- 

 ton district to select 100 heifers and three 

 pure bred Ayrshire bull calves in that 

 district. 



"The heifers are only of ordinary 

 quality, as the selection was restricted to 

 a tick-fevered district, where the dairy 

 cattle are, in quality, far below those that 

 can be procured in Southern Queensland, 

 in non-infested districts. 



" Mr. Fogarty has, by the same vessel, 

 taken to Natal some 520 cattle, also from 

 tick-infested district, and he has also 

 taken a bull and two heifers from clean 

 country (Darling Downs), but inoculated 

 by one of our officers here, when they 

 went through the usual course of the 

 fever. If these are found immune in 

 Natal, we will be in a position to send 

 your Government, if desired, a very much 

 superior class of cattle to those sent 

 forward by the ' Kadina.' 



" I send you copy of Professor Lig- 

 niere's report on Tristeza (Texas fever or 

 Redwater;, translated for our "Agricul- 

 tural Journal " ; also, translation of ex- 

 periments to test his vaccine." 



