RESEARCH WORK

Hokitika Guardian, 20 January 1930, Page 8

RESEARCH WORK

A USTRA LI AN INTEREST

PESTS BEING ERADICATED

INTERVIEW WITH SIR G. JULIUS

CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 17

After sixteen years’ absence . from Christchurch, Sir George Julius, 11 son of Archbishop Julius, and chairman ol the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of Australia, arrived yesterday on a holiday visit to Christchurch. Sir George was the first graduate ol Canterbury Engineering College. After leaving New Zealand many year? ago he took up a position in Australia, and recently he was sent by the Commonwealth Government to inspect the research stations in Europe, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.

•While he is .in this country he is going to interest himself in the work of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. In an interview with a. Press representative yesterday Sir George said that scientific research was better established in Australia than in New Zealand, where he had been disappointed to see that the Government grant towards the work had been about £30,000. This year’s estimate in Australia had been £25G,000. IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH.

“I am perfectly certain that the work connected with primary production warrants a greater expense,’ said oil - George. “In years gone by we have been able to market our products when competitors were fewer and not so highly organised, and when other nations were not doing very much in scientific research. To-day research is being actively studied a.nd practised b inost leading countries, and United States and Great Britain especially, and, as our market lies in these places more than in the East, if we are going to hold our own, with the added draw back of long transport, we shall have to take every possible advantage scientific research offers. We shall have to make our production, particularly our primary production, more efficient. “Already Australia is feeling seriously the effect of increasing competition and falling prices, clue in part to more and more countries producing wool and the tremendous development in artificial silk manufacture. All these things make it most important that we should be able to produce our wool with the maximum efficiency, to lower the price, and maintain the quality.

“In Australia there is a strong feeling among the public and the politicians that there must be a fuller use of science in improving efficiency and in overcoming the tremendous losses caused annually by animal diseases and plant pests. It is not an exaggeration to say that if we could limit animal and plant pests we would save enough in our industries to pay the whole interest on the national debt, and, as the debt is in the vicinity of £1,000,000,000, some idea can be gained of the immensity of the losses. “I think that probably the study of these problems is of more importance to Australia than New Zealand, but, on the other hand, it is essential that New Zealanders should give the fullest possible support to research work intended to aid agriculture in all its branches.

ERADICATION OF PRICKLY PEAR One extraordinary interested example of the results in Australia was the work being don© in connexion with the eradication of the prickly pear. This pest came into the country as ; ornamental plant many years ago. Two years ago it had so spread that it occupied about sixty million acres of the best land in Queensland and N.S.W. Its growth was so thick that it was quite impenetrable to man or beast, said Sir George, and it was spreading to the extent of one and a half million acres a year.

The Prickly Pear Board was constituted, with which the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research wa intimately associated, and it attacked the problem by endeavouring to find in other parts of the world insects which would eat the pear, hut .which would not interfere with any other economic crops. “Such insects have been found,” said Sir George, “the most notable success being discovered in Paraguay. These creatures have completely eradicated the pear over ten of thousands of acres and arc completely acclimatised and breeding freely. This year the Board hopes to distribute 700.000,000 eggs to farmers and pnstoralists and, if the work of the insects goes on as at present, in two or three years there should be a very groat reduction in the land now covered by the pest, land quite useless. “There will, of course, he inevitable sot-bac-lys. The insects may he attacked by disease or themselves become parasitised, but ever precaution is being taken, and there is n staff of scientific workers kept continually studying the problem. If final success is achieved it will probably mean the bringing in to cultivation in Queensland and New South Wales land worth a great many millions sterling because prickly near grows only in the best soil.”

i A similar problem in Now Zealand was the eradication of the blackberry pest. “I understand that research is being carried out in New Zealand with a view to attacking the blackberry in the same way.” said Sir

George. “Obviously such methods of attack are of immense value to the wiping-out of pests in the two countries. Poisoning and digging out necessitate expensive human labour, there being no cheap labour supply here. CO-OPERATION NECESSARY. “The closest co-operation is desirable between the research establishments in Australia and New 1 Zealand in the problems common to both, notably problems associated with the transport of meat, fruit, and butter to markets on the other side of the world. At present in New Zealand, a body of men, in collaboration with British research workers, are making a study of meat transport problems. This is eminently important because of Argentinian competition, and it is essential that we should take every opportunity to improve our meat trade in this way.

“The work in Australia has been tremendously stimulated by Hie financial and moral help so freely given by pastoralists. Our animal health station in Sydney, which is now being built at a cost of £20,000, was given entirely by one man. Our laboratory in Adelaide for the study of soil problems was the -gift of another. However, the value of such assistance is not so much the amount of money which is after all but a small percentage of the

:ost, but the valuable partnerships between' the research worker and the man who knows the industry, a partnership which does more than anything else in securing favourable results. The Graziers’ Association is taking a very keen interest in the work, and we have established field stations for the study of animal problems in various parts of Australia. All the land, stock and food are provided by the pastoralists, and our Council supplies the scientific research workers and equipment.” The Government’s policy had boon to encourage an industry if it showed its readiness to play its part in the attack on its problems. They Government would undertake to staff and maintain the necessary laboratories to keep the research going. IMPROVEMENT IN TOBACCO. “There is no question that tobacco can be grown successfully in Australia, and a fair amount has been cultivated for many years past,” said Sir George. “There have, however, been very gi’eat difficulties and diseases which were not understood. More important still, for some unknown reason, the burning aroma of the leaf was such that it could only lie used mixed in relatively small quantities with imported leaf. The tobacco industry has spent £50,000 and the Government had contributed another £50,000, and, already, we are on the way to solving many of the problems. We have boon already able to grow loaf in which the burning aroma is almost as good as that ol imported tobacco. If ultimate success is achieved there is no reason to doubt that Australia will be able to grow at least all the tobacco required for the local market.”