THE COUNCIL FORT SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL . f RESEARCH.
Tho Council for Scientific and In-, dustnal, Research4 was established Ho undertake, among other. things, the initiation and carrying out of scien- tific researches in connection with pii mary or secondary industries -in the Commonwealth. Two well staffed and well equipped branches are active in Canberra, namely, the Division of Economic - Entomology and the Divi- sion of Plant Pathology.
THE DIVISION OF ECONOMIC
I ENTOMOLOGY
This branch has been actively en- gaged in research work into insect pests, and other pests, such as noxious weeds, which may be controlled by insect parasites. In the former class are ,the blow-fly, the buffalo fly and the iwhite ant. The blow-fly problem is one of grave concern to Australia, as the annual loss to national income directly due to its presence is esti- mated as somewhere in the vicinity of £4,000,000.. Such ' a complicated problem must be attacked from many angles and to overcome duplication of effort the Commonwealth Council and the New South Wales Department of Agriculture have set up a blow-fly committee, which meets regularlj« and reviews progress.. Much valuable data on both the fly and the sheep suscep- tible to strike has been obtained from the researches, and contributions to- wards the control of these dread enemies of the pastoralist industry are mounting in volume and value.
The white ant, or termite, is respon- sible for huge losses annually by its destruction of weatherboard houses, fences, railway sleepers, telegraph 'poles and living forest trees. The re- search into its activities is partly
I along the lines of carrying out tests ' on various timbers or preparations of
timbers supposed to bo resistant to termite attack, and partly consists of work on the'life histories of the vari- ous species involved, and also in deter- mining their relative importance in the attack of forest trees.
In the section of, noxious weeds the work is mainly in the direction of deter- mining the life histories of insects which it is hoped will prove parasitic to the weed.' Careful tests have to be made to prove the insects will be harmless to other valuable plants, and yet sufficiently harmful to the weed to justify the expense of establishing
the colonies in weed-infested districts. The weeds receiving most attention
arei St. John's wort, nogoora 'burr,
ragwort and bracken fern.
This division has been under the directorship of, Dr._ R.. J. Tillyard, D.Sc, F.R S., from 1928 until the early part of this year, when, owing to ill health, ho resigned, and the present acting-director is Dr. A. J. Nicholson,
D.Sc.
THE DIVISION OF PLANT
PATHOLOGY
This section is concerned with ap- plied botanical research, and also has a staff employed in the Australian tobacco investigation. An area of
moro than 100 acres is laid out in' experimental plots, and the main work in progress consists of observations on wheat problems, tobacco, pastur¿ plants and fruits-mainly apples.
Wheat investigation includes,.s(.udy. of diseases such as flag smut and root rot, and the breeding of. wheats with drought resistance, yield capacity andi quality. The subject of, drought v re- sistance wheat should not be allowed to pass without a reference to the wonderful work of the late Mr. W.
J. Farrer, who, by scientific cxperi- j
mént with cross-breeding of wheats all conducted in the Federal, Capital | Territory-produced the Federation ¡
wheat which has beor, a boon to far-
mers in districts with a low rainfall, j
In tobacco -investigation particular j
DR. B. T. DICKSON
attention is paid to such diseases asj bliicmould, which occurs disastiously |
in the southern plantations of Aus- tralia, and lëafspot, which is equally serious in the north. Aroma and gen- eral smoking quality is taken'care of by intensive study of climatic con-
ditions, soil types, manurial treatment,^ and curing methods. ' j
Many new barleys, wheats, grasses and pasture plants have been imported, from forty different countries, and' tested as to adaptability, water re-
quirements, . palatability, etc., andj
those of value to Australia are se- lected and distributed. . ,
Fruit investigations concern such' problems as bitter pit, which alone is responsible for an annual loss of about £100,000 to the apple industry. Another source, of loss to apple growers is in bruising and frugal rot- ting from case packing1, and this is also receiving the attention of ex- perts. Water blister of , pineapple,' spotted wilt of tomato, and sundry other problems of plant diseases are all being investigated by this Depart- ment. ,
The abnormal fluctuation from year to year in apple, pear, and vine crops
,is "under .observation as tofrult'ánd
bud growth, and its relation to nutrí ' tion. To be able to maintain a steadv yield is vital, to,the export industry
The Division of Plant Pathology li i under _ the directorship. , of Dr. B T ¡Dickson, B.Sc, B.A., Ph.D. '
The Commonwealth Solar
Observatory
_, The 'well-equipped buildings of thin observatory are situated on Mt
Stromlo, and were established by the" Federal Government under the direc ?torship of the late Dr. Geoffrey Duf
field, in order that Australia might1 | participate in the international uro -gramme of solar-research. It''form»
the last, link in the chain ofTsotar
observatories initiated by the Inter,
national Union for Solar Research for ' the .purpose of co-operative study in ¡relation to terrestrial phenomena par-
ticularly the connection between solar changes, and their influence on eli
matic variation. '
I Observational work embraces, the. . following:
(a) Solar Research.
(b) Stellar Research.
(c) Spectroscopic Researches. (d) Atmospheric Electricity.
(e) Ozone Content. ',
(f) Luminosity of the night 'skv
and _ '' (g) Meteorological .Observations '
The present officer-in-charge is Mr > W. B. Rimmer, M.Sc, BE r>lf>:
A.M.I.C.E. " -''
A Home of, National Scientific
Effort
Any young city might well be proud of the foregoing institutions^ for they, are doing scientific work for the Com- monwealth of Australia which ,1s ,nqt' touched on by any State institutions
Overlapping has been carefully! avoided, and the brief review show», each one to be doing national, work' of such impoi tance that Canberra,^", these branches of research, is indeed
the scientific centre in the Pacific,'" The Forestry School is the only place
in Australia where students may'train,'' and i to which forestry problems' affecting the nation may be referred. The ) Institute of Anatomy occupies <\i Australia a scientific position 'com-
parable only to that ,of the Hunteriatt , Museum at the Royal College, of, Sur-' geons in London, and the Smlthsonjan Institute of Washington, D.C. Through the medium of the orations and(lec.
tures ,of the institute authoratative''1 scientific statements are made which speak for Australia.
The two branches of the Council for* Scientific and Industrial Research'aW performing a truly national iwort, whi|e the Solar Observatory with its
up-to-date equipment has no equal'to i the Southern Hemisphere. -, , ,"
Opportunities for the interchange of
scientific knowledge are afforded/toi members of the Royal Society of Aus; I tralia at the monthly meetings, held ' at {he Australian Institute , of An* tomy. This Royal Society was formed '
(Continued on page 11.) . '
CANBERRA ? A SCIENCE
CEKiTRE
(Continued from page IO )
Iuar that scattered scientists
fhout the Commonwealth might Medium in their Federal Capi hroueh which to receive and de
tÍiS's of scientific inteiest , The Ideal of the National
University
he educational side of Canberra I* eceived much thoughtful atten
"nT after a student has attended \f the Ifour schools-the Church ¿and GUIs' Grammar School, Äpher's Convont, Canbeiiu "ma School, or a blanch of the
provided by the Government , education-he or she may pass , the Canberra University College
as' at present constituted con » its activities within the Aus
, Institute of Anatomy There Tll time professor and one full . and several part-time lecturers JW past toui years the college I been conducted with tne co opera
, of the Melbourne University A entniay take lectuies in classics mages, economics and science sub ' and obtain a pass equivalent mat of the Melbourne Univeisity \ some future date it is confidently ected? that the college will evolve , the i National University A site
been reserved for the buildings kcton, and it is hoped that th* kersity will combine the functions
teaching and a rcasearch unlvi-r i The Wish His Excellency, the I Hon, Sir Piaac Isaacs' G CM G
«ssed in lils address at the annual mencement, is snaied by all far
pundita He said, inter alia, e ¿re already great and austin "".nea universities in Australia the
iencekof which has been and will Incalculable on oui destiny T lid gieatly regret to think that grand ebjective of the Canbei ra rereitlr vas nierelv to add another llaripstilution of learning to those
idy ¿xisting Eetween those
unions of a university-the im ,"¿ of proved 1 nowledge and the Blcm of the new-there are as
and phases applicable to Aus ¿, which a Natioral University ; usefully1 contemplate Phases of titry,' of »commerce, of health, of hing for foreign contact, of natuial larch of coordinating natural
tlalifiea'1 of widely sep-rated
of'this vast continent, which open UP avenues of activity or
[ilry hot thought pasible or désir-
ât |east to the same extent or i the.samecompleteness by exist lunivirsittes For myself, with ?eye of vision-th" day may be too
liiatant for me to i iew it with the | Aerial ty-I believe I can perceive | (Canberra University.-1 if eventually
lbllshèd as the national centre of
Jtraliap intellectual thought and { laing from which the other great
jSrers/tfes, without the leist äimu
I of their status or influence, may kjW find leadership and inspira
Provision is made annually for the delivery of a series of lectures each year, sponsored by the -University Extension Committee. These are open to .the public, and are delivered in the Institute of Anatomy lecture theatie by a man who is an authority on his subject. "Frequently a professor or lec- turer is brought from a State univer- sity to speak of his work, or
experiences.
"AUSTRALIA SPEAKS"
There is one other outstanding as Ipect of Canberra's intellectual life
11 which should be noted, and that is the
. I increasing'number of conferences held 11 here.' Associations with a fedaral out-
look are looking more and more to the Federal Capital as the most suit- able site for their discussions. Many religious bodies meet here and in January last the deliberations of the Economic Conference were centred in Canberra. The fact that the Impevia .Forestry " Conference was held here has already been referred to. Last August the Veterinary Conference was
attended by two-thirds of the people |
in Aust ;alia fully qualified- to practice veterinary ' science. An ' annual event of increasing importance is*the Cancer Conference held In March or April o feach year. To this upwards of 80 or SJÖ inte'r-State surgeons come, and this year adelegation oi seven ia ex- pected from New Zealand. The Fed- eral Health Conference ia also an annual event. The majority of the conferences last from three to four days, and the scientific ones are usually held in the' Institute of Ana1 tomy building. It is felt by the State branches of the v.vrious societies an'd professions that Canberra orfers neut- ral '< ground, a federal outlook, ideal surroundings, and, above all, the assurance that when a resolution is passed, 'it is sent abroad with the imprimatur that "Australia speaks."