122 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ava., 1898. 
districts proposed legislation to provide for any form of compulsory taxa- 
tion would create such strong opposition as to defeat its own objects. 
He only threw this out as a suggestion to remind them whether it would be 
altogether wise to force such taxation upon the sugar districts. He had been 
very pleased to hear Mr. Lindeman’s remarks relative to the efficacy of local 
effort against flying-foxes. Queensland orchards were not so big that they 
could not be protected from the attacks of flying-foxes. He had seen barbed 
wire work excellently in this connection. Once a few of the foxes’ wings got 
torn by the wire, the orchard was relieved of their attentions. They then came 
to a matter in which all were greatly interested—namely, inoculation. The 
bacillus discovered by Dr. Liffler some few years ago was the one referred to by 
Mr. Benson as being successful in exterminating mice in the South of Europe. 
This bacillus, which was a purely laboratory discovery, gave mice a kind of 
typhoid, and it was the same one which was brought over by Mr. Reid from 
Samoa, and tried by him under Mr. Pound’s supervision. Some years ago it 
was stated by the Foreign Office that flying-foxes were dying rapidly 
in Samoa; and it was suggested that this was possibly the result of 
this typho-murium bacillus discovered by Dr. Loffler. He (Mr. Chataway) 
remembered, however, that the British Consul at Samoa was very care- 
ful to say that there was no evidence whatever to show that 
the deaths among the flying-foxes resulted from the introduction of the 
bacillus referred to. Mr. Reid, the gentleman from Samoa, whom doubtless 
most of them had heard of, had given a trial of the remedy (which, by the 
way, Mr. Reid called his own specific) before Mr. Pound, but the latter 
was not, on the results shown, convinced of its efficacy. First of all, it had 
not been proved that the disease was readily communicable. There was no 
doubt that one or two foxes that were infected did die. But that was not 
sufficient. It was essential that the disease should be communicated quickly 
from one animal to another; and more than that, the virulence must be 
permanent. ‘That is, it should not lose its force as many did, but should be 
transferred from generation to generation unimpaired. This Mr. Reid did 
not show definitely, and this of course was what was most required. He 
might add that Mr. Pound had had this particular bacillus in cultivation 
for over two years in his laboratory. Mr. Benson had brought up the matter 
of inoculation for mice, and perhaps Mr. Pound might see his way to extermi- 
nate them with the typho-murium bacillus. There was one thing the speaker had 
noticed about the fruit fly, and that was that while certain trees were attacked 
by it others were severely left alone, although alongside. If farmers ever 
noticed cases of this kind, it would be extremely valuable if they followed them 
up, and communicated the results of their observations to the Department. 
The Department’s experts were, of course, eager to secure the co-operation of 
fruitgrowers in the discovery and dissemination of remedies for combating 
fruit pests. 
THE NEXT CONFERENCE. 
_ Mr. W. R. Roziyson (Loowoontba) said that before the session closed he 
desired to bring up the matter of the next conference. Ife thought he was 
right in stating that it was the wish of most of the Southern people that the 
next conference should be held in Toowoomba about March, 1898. 
Mr. E. Drenatan (Mackay) said one conference had been held in the 
Southern part of the colony, and another in the Central. He thought the 
next should be held in the North. Messrs. Henry, Lamb, Hagenbach, and 
Sandrock also expressed themselyes in favour of the next conference being 
held in the North. 
Mr. Liypeman (Bundaberg) suggested that the venue of the next con- 
ference be leit in the hands of the Agricultural Department. 
Mr. Cuaraway said the delegates evidently assumed the conference was 
going to be an annual affair. (Voices: “Yes.”) Whether the Department 
would be able to hold the next conference in the North was, however, a matter 
