388 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Dec., 1902. 
carpentry, and blacksmithing. The dairy course is planned to meet the needs of 
those who intend to work their own dairy farm or undertake the management of 
cheese or butter factories or creameries. We have so far been very successful in 
training young men to be competent for such work. The drought has been felt the: 
more severely by us, owing to the fact of our having had the hayshed, together with 
all our available fodder, destroyed by fire during the early part of the year. By this 
we lost 420 tons of valuable lucerne. wheaten, and oaten hay; also about 100 tons of 
straw, the whole valued at £3,200. This, it must be admitted, was a serious loss. 
in such a trying season. The fodder destroyed was ample to keep the whole of the 
College stock for at least two years. ‘he origin of the fire is a mystery, and 
likely to remain so; it was first observed in its earlier stages at about 10°30 on 
Sunday night, 17th March, but although all hands, including students, turned out 
and rendered all the assistance possible under the circumstances, nothing could be 
done further than saving some of the portable machinery. No persons could have 
expressed deeper regret at the loss than the students themselves, many of whom had 
worked long hours in order to have the fodder stored away before being damaged by 
the weather. In the early part of the drought 195 tons of ensilage were fed to 
animals kept on the place, including horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. One hundred 
and seventy-five tons of this fodder had been carried over from the year 1900, see 
Annual Report, 1899-1900, which reads as follows :—‘ Ensilage—Owing to the amount 
of green fodder available this season we have not been called upon to open the silos, 
which contain 175 tons. There is also on hand a quantity of stock ensilage; this has 
been held over for two years, and still holds its condition as a sound fodder. Had it 
not been for the silos, this year the 175 tons of good fodder which they now contain 
would have gone to waste on the farm.” 
Worx Dont During tHe Yrar.—There has been sped at harmony among 
the officers of the College, and every person has endeayoured to do his best, both for 
the students in attendance and the country at large. I have not lost sight of the fact 
that the College was organised, not only for the purpose of the education of students 
in attendance, but aiso for the purpose of establishing records of the results of the 
various experimental works carried out, and familiarising those interested with the 
same. At the same time, I am quite aware of the fact that the State Experimental 
Farm Stations were organised for the sole purpose of making investigations, carrying 
out experimental work on a large scale, and publishing and disseminating results. 
Such being the case, the College is not so much inyolved in experimental work as 
otherwise might be expected. I feel, however, justified in devoting as much time: 
and labour to this work as the funds at our disposal will permit; at the same time 
guarding against losing sight of the obligations which we are under to students in 
attendance in regard to the general routine of farming education. 
Txacuine Starr.—During the year one change was made, the services of the 
horticulturist, Mr. C. T. Cole, having been dispensed with, and the garden work 
combined with that of the farm, Mr. Geo. Jackson (ex-student) acting as overseer. 
Under present arrangements, the results from the garden are all that could be desired. 
The whole of the staff report harmony, discipline (with a few exceptions), and progress 
in their respective branches. 
Noumper or Srupents in Arrenpancr.—At the commencement of the year, 
July, 1901, 29 new students joined and 3 during the term, making a total of 68 for 
the first term. In the second term, 15 new students joined at the beginning and 1 
later on, making a total for the term of 69. Thus we had 48 new students in all 
during the year; of these, 37 sat for entrance examination, the remainder, being bursars. 
or adalts, were exempt from examination. The average age of new students at the 
time of joining, during the period under review, was seventeen years and eight months. 
Three were under fifteen, 13 between fifteen and sixteen, 8 between sixteen and seven- 
teen, 4 between seventeen and eighteen, 11 between eighteen and nineteen, 4 between 
nineteen and twenty, and 5 over twenty. About40 per cent. of the new students passed 
their examination in a satisfactory manner, being up to the required standard; the 
remainder were very backward indeed. Mr. Pitt, who holds the entrance examination, 
reports that many students, through lack of education before joining the College, find 
a great deal of difficulty in mastering the indoor work, and are in consequence 
discouraged, and have to be forced to make an effort to improve themselves. Mr. 
Pitt further reports that fully half those who joined were deficient in knowledge of 
English (both spelling and composition), although their attainments in some cases 
were fairly high in other respects. Experience has shown that boys whose primary 
education has been neglected, and who have never acquired the habit of study, make 
poor progress in class work. Mr. Pitt, who teaches the subjects of English, arith- 
