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CENTRAL AGRICULTURAL
BUREAU.
MONDAY, May 4.
Present—Messrs. H. Kelly (chair). W. F.
Snow, C. J. Valentine, A. W. Sandford, and
the secretary (Mr. A. Molineux.
MR. J. WEST'S LECTURING TOUR.
The Secretary (Mr. A. Molineux) reported
that "the Victorian horticultural lecturer duly
arrived in Adelaide on Tuesday, April 21, and
following an arrangement made with the
Chambers of Manufactures by the secretary of
the Bureau he gave lectures in the concert-
hall of the Eastern Annexe to the Jubilee
Exhibition on Tuesday and Monday evenings,
April 21 and 27, and on Friday, April 24, he
practically illustrated the working of the
raisin stemmer and the raisin grader imported
by the Victorian Government and kindly lent
to the bureau. Both lectures and the prac-
tical demonstration were well attend. The
raisins for the latter were kindly provided by
Mr. Thomas Hardy, one of our members, but
having been sweated were clammy, and would
not go through the stemmer successfully. The
fruit should be run through the two machines
when it is quite dry, and whilst the stems
are brittle, which is the condition for only an
hour or two after the raisins have left the
kiln. Mr. Hardy has since tried the machines
under these conditions, and is quite satisfied
with the results. On Wednesday, April 22,
Mr. and Mrs. West, Mr. A. Gunn (who
generously came over from Melbourne to
assist in the lecture by the aid of his splendid
limelight and ether apparatus and Mr.
Strachan (assisting Mr. Gunn), accompanied
by the secretary of the bureau, started upon a
lecturing tour to Angaston, Clare, and
Clarendon. At Nuriootpa Mr. Sam Sage met
the party and conveyed them to Ziegersdorf,
and a number of other orchards and vineyards,
and afterwards to Angaston, where a very
large audience listened to Mr. Wests lecture,
and by their questions at the conclusion showed
their very great interest in his subject. At
the conclusion of the proceedings the apparatus
had to be packed up and carried across to the
hotel, and the party retired to bed a little
after midnight. On Thursday morning we
were up at 4 o'clock, took coach to Freeling,
where a hasty breakfast was disposed of, and
then we took train to Gawler, thence to
Farrell's Flat. Here we were met by Mr. W.
Kimber, who took the party (exclusive
of Mrs. West, who was left at Angas0-
ton in the hospitable care of some ladies
there) on to Clare, calling on the road at
the Hon. J. H. Angas's Hill River Estate.
After lunch at Clare, Mr. Hope took the
party round the district in his waggonette,
calling at Mr. W. Kimber's large orchard and
vineyard, where he has erected a large raisin
drying kiln, where he has cured a considerable
quantity of raisins this year. This gentleman
has also dried a large quantity of currants, and
speaks most decidedly regarding the profit-
ableness of this industry. From Mr. Kimber's
we went on to Sevenhill College, where we in-
spected the old orchard and vineyard estab-
lished by the brethren of that institution, and
found there a splendid lot of walnut trees and
vines and fruit trees of every description
thriving remarkably well. In the evening the
Town Hall was densely packed with an atten-
tive audience, to whom Mr. West delivered his
lecture. Next morning at 6 o'clock we were
returned to Farrell's Flat by Mr. W. Kimber,
and readied Adelaide about 11 a.m. From 2
till 4 p.m. Mr. West, assisted by Mr. T. Hardy,
practically illustrated the use of the raisin
stemmer and grader. At 4 p.m. we started
for Clarendon, where another crowded audience
listened to the lecture. On Saturday Mr.
Thomas Hardy took Mr. and Mrs. West and
Mr. Strachan to Maclaren Vale and Tintara
vineyards, and returned in time for the lec-
ture at the concert liall, eastern annexe, in
the evening. Throughout the whole of this
week's journey Mr. West and Mr. Strachan
(both experts in viticulture and horticulture)
expressed themselves as being delighted with
the splendid character of soil and climate, the
growth of the vines and fruit trees, and
generally with the clean cultivation practised
by the owners. But they were greatly
astonished that with such grand examples of
successful cultivation, especially of wine
grapes, and the strong evidences of prosperity
shown in the home surroundings of those
cultivators;—the owners of directly adjacent
properties have not profited by the examples.
They saw hundreds of thousands of acre
of soil, often superior and better situated,
which have been left either uncultivated
or else made to afford a bare subsistence to
the occupiers by the product of cereal or hay
crops or the grazing of a few cattle or sheep.
On Tuesday, April 28, Mr. and Mrs. West re-
turned to Melbourne, much pleased with their
visit to South Australia." The bureau decided
to have 10,000 copies of Mr. West's lecture
printed in pamphlet form for gratuitous distri-
bution.
SEEDS FROM NORTHERN TERRITORY.
Two boxes of seeds presented by Mr.
Maurice Holtze. which arrived in October last,
during the maritime strike, were lost; and
although enquiries were conducted constantly
the boxes were not discovered until April 24,
in C. E. Cooke's store. By this unfortunate
accident a whole season has been lost, and
some of the seeds will be ruined.
FIG-TREES FPROM SMYRNA.
Through the Agent-General and the British
Consul in Italy the bureau has received a con-
signment of cuttings of all the varieties of fig
cultivated in the neighborhood of Smyrna.
These cuttings were forwarded at once to the
Botanic Gardens, where they have been planted
by the foreman gardener.
PROPOSAL TO PURCHASE SEEDS IN AMERICA.
Mr. Samuel Dixon, being about to visit the
Southern States of America, is willing to pro-
cure seeds of fodder plants suitable for cultiva-
tion in hot, dry country, if he is provided with
funds for that purpose. Mr. Dixon has a wide
experience of the Australian soils, climates
and the fodder plants indigenous to the whole
of the colonies. The bureau thanked him for
the offer, but could not see its way dear to
accept the proposal.
$