"MUST MEND OUR WAYS"

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 150, 27 June 1931, Page 10

"MUST MEND OUR WAYS"

■ WITH AID Of SCIENCE. ADVICE TO DAIRY INDUSTRY. ADDRESS BY DR. MARSDEN. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") NEW PLYMOUTH, Friday. ' "Freedom of action for the researchers is.one thing I ask for," said Dr. E. Marsden, secretary of the Council of Industrial and Scientific Research, in an address to the National Dairy Conference to-dav. "They should be encouraged to publish, for the benefit of the industry, such factors as are definitely ascertained, irrespective of their relation to present policies or regulations. "Research must not be used to further public opinion, which is not; always right, and it must go in advance of regulations. We shall progress only on the basis of ascertained facts, and a willingness to act on the consequence of the facts. We are up against the most difficult period in the history of the industry. There is a threat of world over-production. Yet, under .these conditions, quality will win out. We are in a crisis from which wo cannot successfully emerge if we pursue muddling methods, and a certain modification of our ways is necessary. "The farmer must realise his responsibility for the quality of his milk. Tha Research Institute must take its proper place as an organ of the industry. Difficult and fundamental' research work must be carried out. The time lag between development - methods in the laboratory and their execution oil the farm and in the factory must be reduced to a minimum, and research must include scientific interpretation of the requirements of customers. The industry must take science into active partnership. Let us demonstrate to the world that we have the necessary brains in all ranks of the industry. and the necessary energy to face the facts. "These qualities are most important in establishing confidence in our products, and in the long run will he their best advertisement." (Applause.) Mr. ill. W. D. Robertson, in seconding a motion of thanks to Dr. Marsden, said he had felt all along that New Zealand for 30 years had been behind the world in this branch of the work. It was a credit to the managers that they had done as well as they had without assistance until recently from the scientific side. It was now a great comfort to see the quality of the scientific advice aA'ailable to help the industry, and he hoped the service would not be starved in any way. It was a thing to which all could well subscribe.