590 
Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist.^ 
[Feb. 1, \m. 
ment of the Farms, of which the following 
is a biief outline : — ■ 
The work propo'ed to be carried out was of 
two kinds— experimenral work and work on a 
commercidl scale. The experimental work em- 
braced every branch of agronomy that the soil 
and climate'of the district ia which the farm was 
situated was suited for. 
These •xperiments were to be conducted :— To 
determine the most suitable varieties of all 
kinds of farm crops, economic plauls, vegatables, 
fruit trees, vines, &c. 
To determine the best method or methods of 
growing same. 
To dei^^ennine the best means of utili'^ing the 
crops when grown. 
To carry out experiments in draining, manuring, 
liming, and general cultivation- 
To carry out experiments in the rotation of crop?. 
To carry out e.vperiments in the feeding of stock. 
To carry out experiments in fruit culture and in 
the drying, canning and preserving of suitable 
fruits. 
To determine the varieties of fruits or vines best 
suited to each district. 
To carry out experiments for (dealing with 
in=ect or fungus pests of all kinds. 
To carry out experiments with a view to im- 
proving existing varieties of grain or other farm 
crops — fruit tree<, vines, kc. — with a view of 
^r diicing varieties adnpted to the climate. 
To orry out experiments for improving the 
nati.ral pastures of the colony, and to encourage 
and propagate valuable drougiit-reiisting grasses 
and fodder plants- 
To keep an accurate and concise record of all 
experiments. 
To compare the results of similar experiments 
conducted at different farms. 
To compare the results of experiments with the 
res ilts ff similar experiments conducted in other 
colonies or other parts of the world. 
To publish the results of e.xpeiiments, whether 
successful or not. 
To give information in all or any one branch 
of ngronomy. 
To distribute seeds, plants, cuttings, or scions of 
any new varieties of farm oreconomic plants — fruit 
trees, vines, &c. — thaf. prove themselves worth cui- 
tiraling when tested on a commercial scale. 
Work on a commercial scale to be confined to 
the growing of that crop or crops that are tound 
by experiment to be the most suitable to the soil 
and climate of the district ; in brief, the work on 
a commercial scale should be governed by the 
results obtained by the experiment work. 
In order to carry out the work mentioned, I 
deemed it absolutely efsential that the working 
and management of the State Farms should I'e 
conducted in a thoroughly systematic and business- 
like manner ; as, in my opinion, the value of the 
work carried out at the State Farms depends 
entirely on the accuracy with which the records of 
such work are kept, as without accuracy the 
results of experiment work are of little if any 
value. 
In order to obtain this accuracy, I therefore 
defined the duties of everyone connected with the 
" farms, drafted a set of bocks for keeping record 
of all experiment and other work, and emphasised 
the im|)ortaiice of systematic, bu%incis-like, 
accurate working in everything c>im«ct«-d with 
the farms. I then claimed, and >-ti!I cKiim, if 
the farms are to be a succeiss, that tl is metho4 
of working is absolutely essential, and had 1 
retained the director«hip of the Biate Farms aud 
possessed the necessary authority, I should hav* 
endeavoused to work them in this manner. 
♦ • — 
MILK. 
Milk is rightly considered to be the most jierfect 
food especially for the young, and though the 
milk of the cow is in general use in civilized 
countries, that of the camel, as.*, ^oat and other 
animals affords nutriment to the lauabitaats of 
other parts of the world. 
The consumption of — especially purchased — 
milk is attended with certain rii^k^. Adulteration 
with water is indoeil the least dangerous funa 
of sophistication, provided the water does not 
come from a contaminated «ource. It mutt, how* 
ever, be admitted that the nutrition of the sick 
and of infants may 'ie serioorily interfered with by 
dependence on milk which ha« beea thus adulter- 
ated, since it does not supply the amount of 
nutrition expected of it. 
In order to guard against the possibility ot 
milk being mide uuvvhole^ome by it:^ containing 
foreign substances more objectionable lh:iu water, 
proper supervision (should commence with the 
cow — the source of milk — and be kept up till the 
fluid reaches the hands of the consumer. 
The aduge that a bad tree cannot bear go >d ftuit 
might be adapted with much force to the cow, and 
the milk from an unhealthy animal is bound to 
be tainted and unwholesome- K co.v who.=d milk 
is required for the nourishing of a growing infant 
must be free from every trace of disease. The 
diseases of dairy stock may be divided into two 
classes: — Firstly, dist-ases of non-communicabU 
nature; and secondly, thosts communicable to 
human beings. The milk from animals affected 
with the first though not capable of communicating 
similar affection to man, cannot be considered a 
standard food to repair and nourish tissues. And^ 
so, milk of a bad quality from such sources should 
not be allowed to pass as first quality milk. 
The milk from animals that suffer from com- 
manicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, iS:c., have 
a tendency to produce similar affections in man, 
and animals that ure to be used for dairy purpose! 
should be free from such diseases. 
Bovine tuberculosis has of late received th« 
close attention of scientists, whose re-earche« 
warn the public of the dangers that threaten 
those who consume milk and meat of animali 
suffering from the affection. 
So far tuberculin is the only test that may be 
used with cevtainty to detect the disease if 
present ; and it will not be long before all dairy 
animals will have to pass this test before to be 
selected as milking stock. 
Cattle Sheds &\\o\i\A be kept as clean as possible 
and as free as can be from dust, especially during 
milking hours ; for the organisms that lie latent 
on the floor may be easily carried to the milk 
where there are favourable conditions for propa- 
gation aiid for gaining admission into thesystemi 
