branches, leaves, and tops at once, as they cut them down. Light a good bright fire to start with, after having made a safe place for it, and then begin cutting away, and as you cut, throw upon the fire at once; children will help immensely with the light-stuff, and willingly too. The fire once well started, everything will burn up, the green wood and the sap running out, and the green leaves too, not only those of fir trees, but of every hardwood tree. As you throw in the branches the whole of the green leaves upon them catch fire simultaneously, with a sudden flash, and burn up with a crackling sound as if they had been steeped in grease.

"I have often done it, frequently in wet weather. We get rid immediately of all the light inflammable material, from which the greatest danger of bush fires is to be apprehended; the larger branches and trunks of trees, if you must burn them (which you ought not), present little danger of fire in dealing with them. When you get inconveniently distant from your first fire, you light a second one, and let your first one burn out. It is remarkable that those fires generally burn down to the ground more thoroughly than the carefully constructed piles that have been drying up for a whole year."

STATE NURSERY.

The establishment of a State forest nursery has been suggested; and this, if started, would prove a valuable means for disseminating useful exotic trees all over the country, as well as for the growth of evergreens for shelter planting and other purposes.

The encouragement of tree-planting for shelter is highly important in districts which have been denuded of their native woodlands. Stock are kept warmer during inclement weather, and crops are less liable to suffer from wind and frost, when suitably protected by trees.

Also, the embellishment of homesteads with ornamental trees, apart from the pleasure conferred, must really, in many cases, be looked upon as a remunerative investment, for properties beautified in this way are always, other things being equal, more saleable.

Numerous kinds of trees likely to be of great economic value in the future might be raised, and plantations afterwards formed of them in appropriate situations; or they might be distributed over the country amongst those who would be disposed to utilise them.

There is apparently no reason why the silkworm industry should not be developed and fostered by this means in many localities. The white mulberry, upon the leaves of which the silkworm feeds, is easily grown, and thrives in dry, hilly situations, where little else can be produced. There is plenty and to spare of such land in Tasmania; and if it could be devoted to sericoculture, the profit that might arise from it would, in comparison, probably be infinitely greater than at present. Moreover, it is not a thing that would necessitate waiting long years before an ample return could be realised, as is the case in most kinds of tree-planting, because the mulberry would quickly grow to the dimensions requisite for furnishing a crop of leaves. Many families at present in poor circumstances might doubtless add to their incomes by the production of raw silk, the operations connected with which involve no great amount of technical knowledge. In a country like Tasmania, where conditions mostly favour the small culture system, any branch of industry which may be made to work in with the latter ought to be encouraged; but there is no doubt, also, that silk-raising would pay on the larger scale if tried.

With reference to new varities of fruit-trees, these cannot at present be legally imported by private individuals; but there appears to be no reason why they should not be brought into the country by the Government, if a State nursery existed, where they could be planted under such conditions that the introduction or propagation of further insect or fungus pests by their means could be absolutely prevented.

The cork oak is a tree which would probably turn out to be of great economic value in future years if extensively planted, since cork is stated to be getting more and more scarce, and no really efficient substitute for it has been yet found. The vigorous condition of the young cork-trees to be seen at the present time growing in the Hobart Botanical Gardens shows that the cork oak is adapted for the soil and climate of the warmer parts of Tasmania. But cork of good quality could not be obtained for about 33 years, so that the planting of this tree on any extensive scale cannot be expected on the part of private individuals. At the same time, the first stripping of cork-bark takes place in about 15 years, and the result of this, and the one made some 8 or 10 years later, are of some use for economic purposes, such as tanning or possibly fruit-packing. The adaptability of the cork-tree to grow in dry, hilly situations should make it an object of attention in Tasmania, where

so much of that class of land abounds of little use for the purposes of cultivation, and yielding scanty pasturage, if any.

The planting of nut-producing trees in this country deserves more attention than it has yet received. The tendency of trees of European origin when grown in Tasmania seems to be to bear an exuberance of seed. This may be due to some climatic influence acting upon the general organisation of the plant and increasing its - fecundity; but in the case of the nut-trees of which I propose to speak, another factor may be at work, namely, the high winds which prevail so much in this country; for, as the trees in question are anenomphilous or wind-fertilised, naturally the distribution of their pollen must be affected by high winds, especially those of a dry character; and it is in this connection worthy of notice that we are liable to drying north-west gales in the spring of the year when these trees are in flower.

The nut-trees to which I more particularly refer are the walnut, Spanish chestnut, filbert, and hazel. The two firstnamed would be many years coming into bearing, but their highly ornamental appearance and the valuable nature of their timber should be inducements for planting them in favourable situations. The filbert and hazel come into bearing in a comparatively short period, viz., from six to eight years, and when fully matured, in ten or twelve years, may be expected to produce 20 cwts. or more of nuts per

acre.

It is unnecessary to extend the list of trees and shrubs which might be successfully raised and distributed throughout the country. Seeds might be obtained from all parts of the temperate world, and the adaptability of the trees raised from them to flourish in this country be put to the proof in a very few years.

By G. SUTHERLAND THOMSON, N.D.D., &c., Government Dairy Instructor, South Australia.

THE subject of water in butter and the fixing of a standard is now before a Commission in Great Britain. With a pre

cautionary measure about to be enforced, it is very gratifying to find that the Australian product has won the reputation of being free from excess of water, and reports show that the percentages are below those of leading export countries. The differences in the degree of moisture in butter placed on the London market from Denmark, Canada, America, and Ireland are very pronounced. The latter country would appear to favour the manufacture of a moist product, as much as 25 per cent. of water having been found in samples analysed. In Denmark the average exceeds 13 per cent., and in Canada and America the percentages are equally high, while in Australia 12 per cent. is a good estimate of the proportion of water left in the factory-made article. But Australia may predict a drier consistency in her butter when pasteurisation becomes universally adopted throughout the States, and when the dangers in churning and working are more closely studied and avoided by the able class of butter-makers which Australia is proud to possess. In the extensive and fine dairying-country of New Zealand, we are told that the dry texture of the butter is a marked feature in its value, and it will be accepted by practical and scientific men alike that the keeping properties of the product are extended by virtue of this great quality. How reasonable it appears to us in these days of scientific dairying, that the more effectual are our methods of prevention against the invasion of destructive germ-life, the more enhancing will the quality of our butter be; and the extended keeping-properties and commanding price will make a combination worthy of our efforts. It is therefore to the interests of the dairying industry of Australia to supply the British consumer with a dry, choice flavoured butter, and that the water used in its manufacture should be previously purified by filtration. Before proceeding with the principal subject of my paper, permit me to give a short criticism on the merits of the steel-trier.

IS THE BUTTER-TRIER RELIABLE IN GIVING A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE EXTENT OF MOISTURE IN BUTTER?

For some time I have regarded the use of the steel trier as unreliable in providing a practical estimation of the extent of moisture in butter, and, after comparing its worth with accurate analytical tests, my suspicion has been justified. In support of my contention we have evidence in the results of important tests published in the Australian States, in which one finds an instance of excessive moisture being confronted with an average percentage of water in a sample of butter examined. In such a case as this the trier had certainly been deceptive, as was proved by the analyses. Further proof was observed in a report issued by a foreign journal, giving the percentages of water in butter from different countries, and it remarked that a sample of dry consistency proved to contain over 13 per cent. of moisture. The same may be said of the Danish butter; and, to show conclusively the weakness of the trier, the following table of practical tests and analyses of South Australian butter is given :

No. 4 shows a high percentage of water, with a very dry appearance to the trier; but this was a sample of unsalted