THE jHAWAIIAN 
mtSm I AGRICULTURIST 
VoL. VII NOVEMBER, 1910 No. 11 
AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENT EARM. 
Many pages are occupied in the .September number of the 
Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales with an account of the 
experiment farm at Wagga. This is under the general heading, 
“Our Experiment Farms,” indicating that the state possesses a 
plurality of those institutions. From a description of the farm 
some facts may be taken for consideration in Hawaii, where dis- 
trict experiment farms will, it is hoped, one day be established 
for the benefit of beginners in agriculture here, whether lads of 
the islands or mature farmers from abroad. What strikes us in 
the Australian example is its simplicity, whereby it keeps within 
economic lines attainable on the average farm of its locality. 
The Wagga experiment farm was established seventeen years 
ago. It comprises an area of 3228 acres, about five miles from 
the town of Wagga. Some 1200 acres are utilized for cropping 
as a mixed farm, 95 acres for fruit culture and the remainder 
for grazing purposes. About 65 acres are allotted for experi- 
mental work with wheat and other cereals, fodders and vegeta- 
bles. There is accommodation for 53 students, which is fully 
availed of, and they are instructed in the principles of agriculture 
and horticulture, field operations, the management of stock, 
orchard work and fruit-drying, and the theory and practice of 
agriculture generally. In addition to information sown broad- 
cast on special occasions, much specific instruction is given to 
farmers of the surrounding district, in response to frequent in- 
cjuiries made personally, by telephone or by letter, and Wagga 
farm is' regarded as a common asset of those who earn their 
subsi.stence from the soil. 
No system of irrigation is adopted, and all crops, fruit and 
stock are dependent on surface catchment of water. During the 
past thirteen years the annual rainfall recorded at the farm has 
averaged 16.49 inches. The stock at present on the farm includes 
82 head of horses, 125 head of dairy cattle, 1610 sheep, 69 pigs, 
225 fowls and 89 turkeys. A special feature of the management 
is the system of book-keeping, under which the most minute de- 
tails of costs and returns are recorded. Such intricate and 
laborious clerical work is not suggested to farmers, but its value 
