THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

Evening Post, Volume LIII, Issue 150, 28 June 1897, Page 4

THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

Upon the side of practical science there are few men in this colony who have done mare service to the cause of agriculture than Mr. T. W. Kirk, F.L.S., Biologist of the Agricultural Department, and it is with pleasure we note by a recent telegram from Brisbane that the judges at the Intercolonial Fruit Conference there assembled have suggested that a special award be made to him

for his display of coloured plates illustrative of injurious insects and mischievous birds. Besides being a man of high attainments in his profession, Mr. Kirk is a complete enthusiast in his work, as the great number of admirably illustrated leaflets written for farmers and issued by the Agricultural Department amply testify. This outside mark of approbation by a body of experts of the work of Mr. Kirk suggests to us that the good work already performed by the Department that was created by the Hon. John M'Kenzie might be now well broadened by a more liberal expenditure on its very limited staff of experts. The salary of Mr. Kirk is hardly that of a superior clerk, and we believe we are right in saying that there is no laboratory attached to the Department in which he can conduct his investigations. As a specialist, also, Mr. Gilruth has done excellent work since he has been in the country, while the talue of his service has been considerably enhanced by his recent course at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. But the country needs the services of more than one veterinary surgeon, if only to cope with the known prevalence of tuberculosis in the cattle herds, and the lungworm in the sheep of the colony. The Leader of the Opposition has more than once urged upon the Government from his place in Parliament the great need of a more liberal expenditure in this direction, but the Minister for Lands, while fairly claiming that the Agricultural Department has fully justified by its work its creation, has declared that he preferred that it should expand by slow degrees, so that each forward step may be made with certainty, and all risk of possibly futile and bootless experiments be avoided. The work of Messrs. Kirk and Gilruth now stands accepted as of such high value to the great producing interests of the country that the Minister may have no anxiety in devoting more money to strengthening both departments of investigation. Mr. Eirk should have a properly-equipped laboratory, and Mr. Gilruth should have associated with him two competent and duly qualified colleagues.

The Government seem to be prodigal of confidence . during its absence from the capital. In Dunedin the Acting-Premier and his colleague of Education have apparently been quita complaisant to the local press, and there are not wanting signs of reciprocal feeling. Even the Press Association, which is not supposed to deal in aught but dry statements of fact, informs us from the Southern city that, " true to their Democratic instincts, the Government made no recommendations as to the Jubilee honours." This announcement has provoked the ire of a "Constant Reader," who wants to know where the "Democratic instincts " of the Government were when it recommended the late Attorney-General fora knighthood. Also, the same correspondent wants it known that not the Stout, the Grey, or the Atkinson Governments ever recommended the bestowal of honours upon anybodj', so that the glorification, per Press Association, of the " Democratic instincts " of the Ministry is all moonshine. Then a lot of mystery was observed here as to the names of persons, the remainder of whose sentences have been remitted because of the Jubilee. Louis Chemis was the only prisoner released whose name was disclosed, and no reason has -yet been assigned for his liberation. • Not until various misstatements as to the names of the others had been published did the Ministerial mind perceive the absurdity of silence, and then it authoritatively informed the Dunedin papers that certain notorious criminals had not been released. Meanwhile the names of the prisoners who have been made free are being disclosed at different points where, they are locally known throughout the country, and the Government is being made to appear somewhat ridiculous by its unaccountable reticence. A remarkable fact in connection with the untimely and unhappy death of the late Miss White, of Dunedin, is that it did not transpire at the inquest what was the poison that was the immediate cause of death. A medical man deposed that death was not caused by prussic acid. Well, a child present in the room might have known so much. The same witness said a strong alkaloid poison might have been the agent ; but surely there should be no " might have been " in such a matter. A note was certainly produced from Professor Black, in -which he stated that the wine-glass handed to him contained so very small a trace of liquid — not enough to drop out — that he was not able to identify the constituents except that it was very slightly acid with sulphuric acid. It did not contain prussic acid nor any compound containing strychnine. He had not enough material to test for morphia in a satisfactory way. There was a faint indication of morphia, but not enough to amount to a certainty. He had used up all his material without any satisfactory certain result. The investigation ended thus " without any satisfactory certain result." The original impression that Miss White was struggling for a bare existence seems to have been false. The deceased lady is said to have been earning a comfortable income, though in doing so she overworked her brain.