SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
and would urge upon Government, and upon all public bodies, the 
acceptance or recognition of the standards and specifications agreed 
upon. 
‘ The Conference decided upon a series of structural shapes, and 
Australian manufacturers will therefore be enabled to supply a much 
greater portion of the Commonwealth requirements than hitherto. As 
these requirements increase, it will be necessary to revise the list from 
time to time, and Professor Lyle therefore intimated that, in the 
course of a year or two, other Conferences would need to be held, 
probably, in Sydney or one of the other capitals. 
A Conference of engineers of the Commonwealth and State Rail- 
ways with steel manufacturers is being arranged by the Institute of 
Science and Industry for 30th July, to consider certain points in regard 
to specifications for railway lines; and another Conference is being 
convened for 4th August, at which engineers of the various tramway 
organizations will be invited to discuss the standardization of tramway 
rails. 
COTTON GROWING IN AUSTRALIA. 
Tt is anticipated that the possibility of permanently and finally estab- 
lishing the cotton growing industry in Australia will be thoroughly 
_tested in the near future. The Queensland Committee of tthe Institute 
of Science and Industry recently appointed a special committee to inquire 
into the various aspects and problems of cotton cultivation, and a strong 
personnel has been secured. It consists of Mr. E. G. Scriven, Under 
Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Stock; Professor B. D. Steele, 
Brisbane University; Mr. Norman Bell; Mr. Daniel Jones, Instructor in 
Cotton Growing, Department-of Agriculture; and Mr. J. B. Henderson. 
Mr. A. E. Leighton, Director of the Commonwealth Arsenal, and a 
member of the executive of the Advisory Council of the Institute of 
Science and Industry, has greatly interested himself in the subject of 
cotton-growing, as it is desirable, from the point of view of national 
defence alone, that the Commonwealth ‘should produce enough cotton 
waste for the manufacture of its cordite. The Hon. W. Lennon, 
Minister for Agriculture, Queensland, is stimulating interest in the 
industry, and on his appearances in public seldom fails to “ talk” cotton. 
POTTERY TESTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
Satisfactory results have attended the investigation of the Special 
Committee inquiring into the quality of pottery clays of Western Aus- 
tralia. -A very large number of samples obtained from various 
localities have been tested, and considerable public interest has been 
. aroused in the initial experimentation. On one occasion the Mayor of 
Perth and the city councillors, together with representatives of the 
Chamber of Manufacturers, visited the laboratory, where they were met 
by the Hon. R. T. Robinson, Minister for Industries. They expressed 
high appreciation of the work that has been done. <A syndicate which 
has erected a trial plant for the manufacture of domestic white ware, 
has been in constant touch with the laboratory during the early stages 
of its development, and has received advice as to the materials and 
the manipulation of the clays. Endeavours are now being made to 
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