Windsor & Richmond Gazette, Saturday, March 3, 1900 - page 4 An Experiment. Samples of linseed and canary seed were left at the Gazette office this week. The seed was grown by Mr. George Eather, of Francis-street, Richmond, and is the first that has been produced in the district, outside the H. A. College. The samples appear to be exceptionally good, the seed being well developed and clean. We understand that a great quantity of the canary seed form Mr. Eather's plot was devoured by sparrows, and incidentally it might be remarked that we now hear nothing of the extermination of this pest that was threatened some time ago. If our Council could get the Government to take this matter up it would confer an everlasting boon on our farming community. We believe that the sparrow nuisance could be greatly minimised by proper methods, and another move should be made. Mr. Eather has shown us that both linseed and "canary" can be successfully cultivated by private individuals. In a chat with Mr. Valder, Principal of the H. A. College, we gained some in! formation about these two crops. It seems it was the rule to sow linseed in the spring at the Collage, and the results were not very satisfactory. Seeing the success that has followed autumn sowing in Victoria, Mr. Valder is going to adopt than plat [sic] (that plan) in future. The treatment of canary seed is expensive, which is a drawback to its becoming popular as a crop. At 1½d per lb. wholesale, Mr. Valder says, "canary" will pay well. If a few farmers went for it and combined in getting the necessary threshing machinery it could be made to pay handsomely. The samples sent us by Mr. Eather were done up very neatly in linen bags, and may be seen at our office. We congratulate the grower on his enterprise. It is from the experiments of men of his calibre that farming in all its various phases can be made profitable, and we hope that his example will be followed by others.