SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
fight their own battles, their nesting sites are destroyed, and poison, 
either for rabbits or blowflies, decimates them. Definite study into 
habits and food, the perfecting of other methods of killing vermin than 
exposed poison, the preservation of nesting sites, and further education 
as to their value would be equal to giving a very substantial cash bonus 
to the community in the increased number of feathered assistants that 
would be available to attack insect pests that beset the primary pro- 
ducers. 
There is an eyergrowing demand for our parrots, cockatoos, and 
finches for aviary purposes; these exist in millions throughout the 
country, and it is probable that this trade could be largely increased 
without injury to any economic factor, as these families are grain and 
seed eaters. ; 
Commensurate with its value, our fauna is not receiving intelligent 
treatment, and it is necessary to carefully study it with a view to 
organizing its scattered wealth. 
“We must rise to this great occasion, turning a frightful 
calamity into a lasting good. We are beginning late, but we may 
at least avoid the mistakes of those who blazed the trail. Our 
duty is clear: our great industries, primary and secondary, must 
be stimulated, advised and aided by scientific industrial research 
and by wise laws on a scale commensurate with their national 
importance and value.” 
Inaugural Speech—-Right Hon. W. M. HUGHES, P.C., &c., 
First Chairman of the Advisory Council 
of Science and Industry. 
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