SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
To Overcome Droughts: 
A Plea for Science. 
[The idea that Australia is cursed by Nature with relentless devas- 
tating droughts unfortunately still enjoys a wide belief. Is it that we 
are trying to accomplish the impossible or too often trying to accomplish 
the possible, but in the wrong way? These questions were asked by ~ 
Mr. J. J. Fletcher, M.A., B.Sc., President of the Linnean Society of 
New South Wales, in the course of his presidential address. The 
following extracts from that address contains a good deal of matter for 
serious reflection. | 
One of the events of the year has been the culmination of a disastrous 
drought; and though there has been relief in some districts, other 
localities are still much in need of rain. It has been a costly visitation 
to the State. The returns of the approximate number of live stock in 
New South Wales on 31st December, 1919, as compared with those of 
the corresponding period of 1918, show that there has been a decrease 
of 72,434 horses, partly due to very little breeding on account of low 
prices and small demand, and in part to the drought conditions experi- 
enced in may districts for the greater part of the year; of 399,378 cattle, 
attributable mainly to the effects of the drought, namely, to death from 
starvation, conditions not favorable to breeding, and the forwarding of 
‘cattle to market on account of the holdings not being able to carry large 
stock; and of 7.028,852 sheep, attributable almost wholly to the droughty 
conditions, which have been very severe on breeding-ewes, so that over 
the greater part of the State the lambing was a failure.* ‘ 
In addition to the pecuniary loss represented by the depreciation 
of the State’s flocks and herds by drought, it is necessary to take count. 
of the fact that the Government is raising a loan of £1,000,000 by the 
issue of Treasury-bills bearing interest at the rate of 5% per cent., with 
*a currency of two years from ist March, 1920, for the purpose of pro- 
viding funds to finance advances to distressed farmers, and also to meet 
‘payments for seed-wheat purchased by the Government for issue to 
farmers, and for other purposes. The drought, therefore, has not only 
‘been another expensive intimation that Australia has still some lessons 
‘to learn about the solution of drought-problems, but that Australia has 
not learnt all there was to learn from previous similar experiences, 
particularly the drought which culminated in 1902, and was responsible, 
among other losses, for the reduction of the flocks of the State from 
43,000,000 to about 20,000,000. “ Prevention is better than cure,” but 
as periodical droughts have a legitimate place in Nature’s scheme of 
‘things in Australia, man cannot, therefore, prevent their occurrence. 
But is it impossible to learn how to mitigate, if not prevent, at any 
rate in some measure, the periodical levy on the wealth of the State by 
“droughts? Why is it, for example, that it is left to droughts to cull the 
*¥or further details see the Sydney Morning Herald, 26th February, 1920, p. 5, to which I am 
indebted for the particulars quoted. 
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