June, 1910. 
EDITORIAL. 
Seasonable rains with alternating sun- 
shine are the conditions which point to 
another beautiful haryest.’ Such condi- 
ditions have been the order of the day 
and night during the past month, and not 
only the producer has-a gladdened heart, 
but his happy prospects bring a sense of 
security to the consumer. The consumer, 
however, does not always quite realise 
the full faith of bountiful harvests and 
their consequent influx of wealth. A 
part of the whole truth which he is apt to 
overlook while congratulating his friend, 
the producer, is that under prosperous 
conditions the prices of commodities has 
an upward tendency. The truth is only 
borne in upon him from the domestic 
circle when the thrifty housewife finds 
that her allowance does not go quite so 
far as it should in comparison with lean 
years. There would appear a strange 
contradiction here. Ordinarily reasoning 
would point to the conclusion jthat when 
there are times of plenty common 
commodities should be cheaper. But the 
reverse is frequently the case. The con- 
sumer goes into the matter and really 
finds that his sovereign has not the pur- 
chasing power than it had under more 
adverse conditions. Why? Because the 
markets are not so completely governed 
by the balancing power of supply and 
demand. The demand is greater than 
the supply, not because there is not suffi- 
cient, but the producer is getting richer 
and because of his independence against 
the merehant and the storekeeper, he is 
able to hold his stocks and wait until his 
produce reaches a higher figure. The re- 
sults are easy to follow, The merchant 
cannot obtain the produce at his own 
estimate of value, the storekeeper in his 
turn has to pay the merchant’s consequent 
upon a limited supply, and the consumer 
has in his turn to meet the demand ofthe 
storekeeper’s price for a limited article. 
Thus the producers holds the key to the 
situation, and in times. of prosperity the 
consumer wonders why his sovereign has 
not the free value that it carries in times 
of adversity. 
Rents are higher because landlords can 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
5 
_ demand greater interest on their capital 
invested in houses, the butcher puts up 
the price of his meat because the grazier 
has more and better cattle and demandsa 
heavier price for his beef, the sheep 
breeder can sell his fat lambs at a bigger 
price for export, the woolgrower gets a 
higher and more value for his wool and 
pays him better than killing for mutton, 
the wheatgrower has more grain and gets 
a better price for his wheat because of the 
quantity available in outside markets. 
The 
producer every time demands the most he 
can get beyond the home markets, 
Orchardists are the same as the field 
producers, 
And so the business goes on. 
All the best apptes and pears 
are carefuliy graded and packed, not for 
local but for oversea 
Hence the difficulty of obtain- 
ing first class fruit in the local market ex- 
cept at high figures. A fact which the 
housewife deplores, particularly in regard 
to apples, which are the best and most 
nourishing fruit that can serve the pur- 
poses of diet. 
consumption, 
mar kets. 
As the oversea demands 
the producer 
a regular and payable price for his goods, 
so the local supply is decreased and tho 
price raised beyond the economic figure 
o, the multitude who would otherwise 
benefit in consumption. 
As this great law of supply and demand 
is the balancing power in economic com- 
increases and gives 
mercial relationship between producer 
and consumer, so we consider the same 
great law in natural conditions which has 
so much to do -with the business of 
primary production from the soil, Think. 
ing in the very broadest and most liberal 
principles it must be understood that this 
balancing power is carried on in nature 
by plant life, being the sustaining agency 
or factor of insect life. 
sustains bird life. 
In turn insect life 
The logic of this is that 
if bird life is destroyed the usual insect 
outgrows or over balances itself on plant 
life and becomes a pest tothe plant life. 
Man sees the destruction of his plant life 
which produces his particular food anp 
his perforce has to set to work to protect 
his plant by destroying the insect pests, 
and thus has to take upon himself the 
work that would otherwise be done by 
bird life. It means so much more labour 
1 Rundle Street 
for him and unprofitable at the best. The 
argument of it allis then, and the pity 
of it, too. that he has in the past been so 
careless of bird life to not only protect it, 
but in his blind folly to destroy it. The 
native birds were his feathered friends, 
but he steadfastly and stupidty refused 
to acknowledge it. Not only so, but to 
carry his fooiishness to extremes he im- 
ported other birds from abroad which out- 
grew and outnumbered the native birds 
Thus he added a double burden to his fast 
growing troubles by not only having to 
destroy the insects which became a pest? 
and which the imported birds would not 
destroy the native insects, but he has to set 
to work to destroy the birds which 
became a pest, And so on the producer 
has for years been adding additional 
worries and losses ky his stupid short- 
sightedness in upsetting :he balance of 
nature. Serves him right. 
M. L. Tomlinson, 
(LATE J. G. ORAM), 
Manufacturing Jeweller, 
Watchmaker, 
Diamond Setter & Engraver. 
Repairs to Watches, Clocks, and Jewellery 
of every description accurately, artistically 
and promptly executed at moderate prices 
27 Grenfell St., Adelaide. 
oN 
A AND 
CLOCK REPAIRS. 
Good Work at Moderate Charges, 
Watches Cleaned from 2s. 6d. 
A well-selected stock of Watches and 
Jewellery at fair play prices. 
* OPPOSITE 
5 Beehive Corner 
And at 146 Rundle Street 
(CSET AND ORNAMEN- 
TAL PRINTING of every descrip- 
tion in first-class style, on the shortest 
notice, and at cheapest rates, at the 
** Australian Gardener’ Printing Worka 
