SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
Forest 
Products. 
White 
Earthenware. 
Posidonia 
Fibre. 
Grass Tree. 
Seed 
Improvement. 
Mechanical 
Cotton 
Picker. 
Redgum as 
Tanning 
Agent. 
The Institute is working with the New South Wales 
Forestry Commissioners on research work connected 
with forest products, each authority bearing a moiety 
of the cost. 
Olays likely to be suitable for the manufacture of 
white earthenware are being tried out at the Ballarat 
School of Mines at the expense of the Institute, which 
is also providing portion of the necessary plant. 
Exhaustive tests have been conducted by the Institute 
in co-operation with Sydney University and the 
Sydney Technological Museum as to the economic 
value of this marine fibre, which is found in large 
quantities round the coasts of South Australia. Valu- 
able results have been obtained, and a report of the 
work is in the printer’s hands. 
At the Adelaide University Chemical Laboratory in- 
vestigations are in progress with a view to the commer- 
eial utilization of this plant. 
Scientific researches are being made calculated to 
lead to an improvement in the seed sown in the Com- 
monwealth for the cultivation of cereal crops. The 
actual work is being done in each of the chief agricul- 
tural States. 
Initial laboratory tests have been completed, and a 
machine on the suction principle has been constructed 
with a view to carrying out a larger scale test. The 
most suitable varieties of cotton for harvesting by 
mechanical means are now being grown in Queensland. 
Dry weather, however, is likely to cause the loss of a 
season. 
Kino from the Western Australian redgum is being 
experimented with at the Perth Technical College and 
at a local tannery. 
Standardization. Preliminary work has been carried out both as regards 
Imperial 
Mineral 
Resources. 
Catalogue of 
Scientific 
Periodicals. 
standardization of electrical power generating and dis- 
tributing systems and structural steel sections. The 
latter work is being done in co-operation with. official 
bodies in England. Steps are being taken with a 
view to the formation of a Commonwealth Engineer- 
ing Standardization Association. 
Negotiations are now proceeding between the Insti- 
tute and the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau 
which are likely to lead to the Institute’s undertaking 
the work of compiling a survey of the mineral resources 
of the Commonwealth. This work is being carried out 
as ‘part of the Imperial War Reconstruction. 
A. catalogue embracing the whole of the scientific 
periodicals to be found in the various libraries of the 
Commonwealth is now almost completed, and will be 
published for the benefit of scientific workers, 
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