Australian Support for Empire Agricultural Research

Abstract

SATISFACTION will be felt at the decision of the Commonwealth Government to adopt the recommendation of the Executive Council of the Imperial Agricultural Bureaux that financial support be given to certain research organisations in Great Britain formerly assisted in part by the Empire Marketing Board. It is true that the sum involved is not very considerable: £800 per annum to the Entomological Laboratory at Farnham Royal, £500 to the Station at Slough dealing with insect infestation of stored products, and £4,500 to the Low Temperature Research Station at Cambridge; a total of £5,800 per annum. The point of importance, however, is that the Australian decision is an indication of the growing feeling there that teamwork in agricultural research is not merely desirable in the interests of the various members of the Empire, but also is essential if full advantage is to be taken of the limited total resources available for scientific work. The Empire Marketing Board did much to foster this spirit, the value of which is clearly recognised in the outlying dominions.