June 1895.] 



GENERAL AGRICULTURAL NOTES, 



53 



The best Victorian butters are, it is maintained, undoubtedly 

 superior to those with which Eastern countries are at present 

 supplied. 



As regards cheese, the principal supplies for Ceylon and India 

 are apparently obtained from the United Kingdom, while 

 Burmah and the Straits Settlements import also from Holland, 

 France, and Germany. In Shanghai and Japan, American and 

 Canadian cheeses are said to be the most popular, while in Java, 

 Dutch cheeses are preferred. 



The samples of cheese which were taken from Victoria kept 

 in excellent condition, and are reported to have been highly 

 approved of by merchants. The samples were ten pound loaves, 

 packed in husks in tins. The husks were removed in Colombo, 

 and the cheeses were replaced in the tins without any packing, 

 but in this state a tendency to sweat was observed, necessitating 

 exposure to the air at intervals. 



The samples of Victorian hams were also much appreciated, 

 and should find, it is thouglit, a ready market in the various 

 places visited, as they are said to compare favourably in quality 

 and price with the hams imported. 



It seems that there is a large demand in the East for hams 

 and bacons of good quality and reasonable prices. 



Detailed information is also given regarding various other 

 articles of food in relation to the countries visited. 



In concluding their report, the Commissioners remark, as 

 regards the sale of Victorian products among the ^populations of 

 the East, that vigorous and personal representation and extensive 

 advertising, combined with careful and judicious management, 

 are required to arouse interest. The establishment of depots by 

 a combination of producers and manufacturers would, it is 

 imagined, result in their reaping the full benefit of the profit 

 accruing from the sale of their produce. 



It is suggested, as a necessary and important condition of 

 success, that the goods should be equal in quality to the samples, 

 and that attention should be paid to the packing and shipment, 

 so that the articles may arrive in good condition. Sufficient 

 attention, it is added, has not been given in the past in Australia 

 to these matters of detail, and supplies from other countries 

 have been obtained in preference to Australian, principally 

 because every care has been paid to these points. 



Flax Growing in Canada. 



The Minister of Agriculture for Canada, in his report for the 

 year 1894, calls attention to a branch of agriculture assuming 

 proportions that bid fair to bring it prominently into notice, viz., 

 the cultivation of flax, both for the value oi* the seed as well 

 as of the fibre. Farmers in the Dominion are invited to consider 

 the advisability of growing this crop for seed in Manitoba, and 



