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SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
and has not been notified, a fine could justifiably be inflicted. Having in thig 
way attempted to prevent the further extension of prickly pear areas by elimin,- 
ating “scattered infestation,” lightly infested areas of the pear known by 
notification could then be systematically attacked by various approved methods, 
land-owners being required perhaps to prevent these lightly infested parts from 
becoming heavily infested, and annually to reduce the area of light infestation 
by a certain amount. Eventually, in the course of time, the prickly pear would 
be reduced to a number of isolated strongholds or “islands” of “ heavily 
infested ” and “ineradicable ” pear country. These, as time went on, could be 
gradually reduced further and further, working from the periphery, whilst 
proper precautions would prevent reinfestation of the previously cleared country, 
Difficulties are sure to rise as regards notification on Crown lands and roads, 
It is as essential that these should be controlled as that private holdings should 
be dealt with. Land-holders should be encouraged to notify the occurrence anq 
degree of infestation of prickly pear on Crown lands and roads, so as to aid 
the Government officers in ascertaining its distribution in these parts. 
The object of this notification will be seen to be primarily to ascertain what 
parts of their property land-owners consider to be infested with scattered pear 
only, and then to bring about the destruction of that scattered pear before the 
infestation becomes greater, and thus to hold the advance of prickly pear in 
check. 
The Forestry Commission or the Forestry offices in the various States may 
be able to play a very important part in the control of prickly pear, especially 
when it is remembered that considerable sums are obtained by them as royalties 
which could not be better expended in part than in attacking this pest, 
‘Tl. Scientific Investigations—Though great hopes of a royal road for dealing 
with the prickly pear cannot be held out, there is not the slightest question that 
well-directed efforts along scientific channels will be of enormous help in dealing 
with the problem. Here too great emphasis cannot be laid upon the value of 
team work in any inquiry such as this. By team work is meant that no one 
single scientific worker should be shouldered with the responsibility of finding 
out all that is required, but that a battery of the ablest men available should 
be brought into association with the problems to be solved and work out a 
number of collateral methods of attack. As regards the prickly pear, we require 
not only botanists (both systematic and biological), entomologists and chemists, 
hut engineers, mechanicians, agriculturists, physicists, and general biologists, 
We want, in fact, the various problems attacked from every conceivable aspect 
by the ablest men we possess, and we want to give these men an opportunity 
of actually viewing the growing pear and seeing for themselves what has to be 
done. We may briefly indicate some of the lines that may be followed up with 
advantage as follows:— 
(a) Microscopic examination of the prickly pear with the object of ascer- 
taining the most vulnerable means of attacking it. 
(b) Circumstances under which the seeds of prickly pear’ germinate, this 
being specially worked out in association with ornithologists who 
have suggested the supposed distribution of the prickly pear by 
birds. 
(ec) Search for fungoid and bacterial diseases of the prickly pear. 
(d) Further consideration of insect destroyers of the prickly pear, and 
especially attempts to establish strains of the cochineal insect on the 
most prevalent pest pear. 
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