WILLING TO LEARN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 164, 14 July 1930, Page 10

WILLING TO LEARN.

■ FARMERS IN NEW ZEALAND. LORD BLEDISLOE'S TRIBUTE. PRACTICAL TALK AT LINCOLN. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) CHRISTCHURCH, Sunday. "New Zealand has a great agricultural ! and pastoral future —greater perhaps than any other part of the Empire," said the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, in an address to students of Lincoln 1 College yesterday. "This is due partly • to her climate," continued His Excellency, "partly to the potentialities of the soil and partly to the willingness to ' imbibe new knowledge, so far as the farming community can be convinced that it is of economic value." The Governor-General said he was conversant with all the agricultural colleges in Great Britain and also with many in Europe and America, and i$ seemed to him that the Lincoln students had. two exceptional advantages apart from the delightful climate. One was that they themselves conducted the practical work on the farm which was attached to the college.- No student was fully trained unless he had dene practical work. The other advantage was that they were in close contact with research work. Scientists might teach them all they knew, but unless they knew something about economics they were unlikely to succeed as practical' farmers. A man using his hands was doing as useful and noble work as one" engaged in science. Secondly, they should not be slovenly j either in person or in surroundings, for that would lead to slovenly farming. If they had good implement's they should not leave them out in the rain. "We need to produce the best and to keep it uniformly good, otherwise competitors will oust us," said Lord Bledisloe. "At present the British market is not altogether satisfied with some of the cheese coming from New Zealand and , there is danger of the whole of our pro- , duct being condemned through the inferi- , ority of some." Speaking of pigs, His Excellency said he had been one of the j largest pig breeders in the Old Country. 1 There was a necessity for such lines in i farming, especially in dairy farming, to i

help when prices were low. The British public was getting more and more fond of bacon, but. it did not want bacon that melted away in fat. They could iiot be given too much lean.

In concluding his address the GovernorGeneral said it was a great tribute to the pioneers who founded the college soon after Canterbury was settled that they had had the extraordinary foresight to realise that New Zealand would need agricultural education based on science. He wished the students all possible success.