MOUMAHAKI THREATENED.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 678, 1 December 1909, Page 10

MOUMAHAKI THREATENED.

: <i;; •■• .;oV,vA "FAItIOiE'S- ; ; :''.;" .'. v: ; ::v.,.';-[To THE -EdlTOE.].; ■■..'. ' ".- : : has. just reached me, from a- quite reliable source, that practically the .whole.of-,tho working staff of the Jloumahaki Experiment; .Farm hayp.received' notice to quit, at the end r of this month',-owing;, it'is said, to the smallness of this .present year's vote being entirely insufficient to'-enrry on : tho usual experiments, ;As .-.one .very much.-interested "in anything dono'oh that farm, I'wish to prtf tost , mest" strongly against a. stoppage, of. work' at; time. of :the year I .when labour- must be most essential to the proper carrying. on of the, experiments;-and especially when'thousands of .pounds are being spent in far les's-impprtant directions of the State's activity.' ■ - .i':-jyhen'.visiting, the farm recently everything ■.v:as looking' iu firet-cldss order, ■ilthough, ■ as. I was told, tho staff "was even then several hands short of .'the' Usual' at .that • important season of •■.the; year. . The extensive mangold and s turnip variety -and '"mahuririg tests . were just being :'c6maicnced,.and from.now onwards the plants will need much thinning out andi hoeing—requiring ."all the available labour on, tho farm. l;hp v valuable ; potato , variety, ; and ' manuring ".lrials,(l6o. odd; varieties, including some remarkable seedlings" raised on the farm) would 6oon I require'.ymuoh labour, in, , moulding up and .spraying. :%;; ■/■.;;.. \',,,/■ - •:■.-.■'•■ - ; -:;'- ■'-The 'wheat. Tarietjr' trials wore also doing well, and ,-tho.. results are - being anxiously :waited'for.vb"y*inaay farmers all over the, North Island, who are thinking of changing to one or itwo - ofi,tho new' sorts." which.-cropped .so well •last year.-j I understbod that sbnio tv;enty odd varieties of-wheat,-'.thirty of oats, and.eleven I of barley aro. being tested on tho. farm this /year. ■ .'/he maize and-millet -variety and'onl--:tufdlSests>(of]all .'experiments, perhaps, among tho most valuable to Taranafci and surrounding/districts) were being commenced, and will 'soon be. ready for tho cultjvator,'',as will also •tho-fcale,—cattle-cabbage, and. rape, experiments. •; 'I, understand that one.'solitary'nurseryman is all 'that■-will be left of.the small staff of threo>which up: ;: to -now : his been doing:, such .''gbbd'::*wb'rlC-,in''"*'ithe;-:'experiment'.' garden, and, orchard, yarid;>whioh;~ has "had ; more influence than some people would think upon methods of plahting_'and;.treating fruit, trees along: this coast.' Tlow is" it possible for. bno man to attend to all the espalicriand wall-trained fruit trees,-.which, have proved to ho the only really successful methods of growing fruit on this blizzard-infested: coast? .'.AVhy, in less.than threo.months' time the whole farm will.be; a mass of weeds,' aud many"experiments made useless for a' whole year to 'come! •'•■•■ • ',-' Then; ;.take the plant-breeding v*ork,"initiated' a ■ year.; ago; and(already showing. great'promise, 'particularly, in the. direction, of ..improving' oh' only.really rust-resisting.oat-Tftho.Algerian.': become of that practical scientific vjthont'the necessary labour?. Tho papture:;top-dressing -experiments, : the/ grass', plots,-'tho bullock :feeding,. silage making, and' sheep-breeding-experiments—what is to. become ; 6f all-these intensely valuable' investigations' without.tho necessary labour wherewith to handle them ? - Many of 'the experiments will tako' years" of consecutive results , to , enable reliable data ..to be. secured, but the stoppage', of >ork' fpr 'this year irius't render many of them partly-. Jiseless.;,-^''V , ; ■.■,--.-'. , ;.''-.'■:'•-':.!.■'.'- -v ■ ' ■ ■: ■?■

' Sir, to ray mind, the : whole stupid idea 6eems" tfi'.be.to save.money,at once, nf>: matter what the -future cost may ;be|' and is evi-. dently ■to -be carried out with, a. vengeance ■ in; connection":with■ that"farm, -as,' if : .it , is to go' on -as ■nn.-.experiincn!;station ) . ; or;'6ven partly- ■ as>-a- young'-farmers' ; t'raihing:'centre, it will, 'probably'' "require twice ..the. present amount of labour to.-put. itVetrnig'Kt again, .-."after; being .let/go" for'a while, \let' alune the "loss of ltiin-, dreds, of rpounds'f,worth, of really valuable: ex- : 'periments :-with root and other crops. To 'my. .way- of .thinking, the stoppage. of work at the. Monmiihaki "Experiment T?nrm "at ..this 'season; of the.year, 1 for" tho sake■ of saving a few him-; dred pourids,,,.is a 'downright.shame,' a,-sinful ; waste,; of the long,run,:.besides being;, :an f insult";to an'i enthusiastip :and. capable farm : matia;;eiy,.-who- has put his whole heart and bout 'into the :,worU fore tho last; twelve or fourteen years.' ;■:.' . . 'V. - : : ':..'''' From numerous visits paid to tho farm and' from reading, its really instructive'. reports,;,-I am,; convinced; (and I; know quite a number of/farmers who,-agree; with ine) that the results 'of experiments, ijarried' pri there.for.^several. years': pdst-;have-.:been-of .immense ; v,alue;"t6..the. "wiUiii; to', learn" seotion of' the, agricultural , community mil over th Dominion—far in excess of itho- actual -.forking', loss which'the ;receipbs; and expenditure n.ecounts.have, shown. f.lf<nppears to mo t6 b'o quite,put ofthe ques-, (ion ' to"" ; e:cpect'. a 'proper 'experiment" farm to 'pay. its,way,:"if;.'experiments, arei. to, be conducted in the thorough practical mariner which th'ey have been,in" the past,-and, in fact,, on a. of ;financial results- attained in with agricultural'colleges arid.-cadet training'/farms: in.- Australia, I am convinced that tbi make Moumahafci into a training ground ■fi)r, .budding; 'farmers .-.would probably rbeseven. less'directly'remunerative' than it- ja at present, i :;whll6,;thejeffec,ts:bn ■Hβ'present good' work-would be;-'certainly, disastrous; as .'-it would, be im'pb'ssißle tcT:"carry' on: many- of the,-present-ini-.j portant' experiments owing' to the absence 'of"'( the-'iskilled nnth reliable manual labour noces-. "siary. their':'success, and also 'because; the overseer's'.time :;woul-lbp mainly'taken up with : the : yout|hs -themselves.' ';.-"! ■'~'■. ■ ■;■:■■ '" vMouriiahaki". is a; credit •to the district, ''.althbugh liami'fiprry'to say..many of ..us'- have jVot;-,apprebiated'3t' jin iho past-as, we 'should havo done, but'there can be'jio /doubt,that its valup as an educational institution is now sluwly but;surely becoming known. To anyone,:who: Has" given the suUjeot, any serious thought jt must have struck. them that it is quite>:timo:j ouriState experiment' farms were put far above influence from the fluctuations, at any.govern-' nipntV financial necessities— siieh experimental 'work-''being just, as/Important as;any o.thor -branch,' of education.' And,;who would dare" to: suggest - curtailment "of reasonable .expenditure on any of-our public schools and colleges? , ■ :."V\yitlo-;bn;;this\s.u'.iject; of experiment farms, ■I'.wbuld like to. ask.why;wo dp not get their' valuable reports, each year as soon'as results are attainable? ;And -wHen. the roport .doescome, to hand,.,why, it is 'Usually .hidden •away among what'is.;(tq most of us) a useless .mass of statistics, and sciontiflc" investigations' in the ponderous ycav-bobk of. the; Department'for ■ Surely i( must etrikn most; people - as , :ludicrous'.;that the /results of: one' season's, experiments cannot' bo- published ,and distri-' ~buted the next "spring's sowings cb'mtaeEce>,6 l eeing':--tfiat.'■ several:-.months inter,-' Vehef--, Ifiv-my rown'.xifee, I received, formation as: to- bauy. of the results, and was therefore; enabled to plan-my operations accor''aingly^":bflt'.'niahy'tliousands of farmers 'all over :the -country cannot afford :the time to visit the farm;.; nn'd so.havb; to 'rely for'all information upon a belated report., -. ~,': '\Sir,-; in conclusion. I would suggest that. if. you' could:.ronse.'-public opinion' on .this quoe-, tibn- before Parliament: closes-, down, the' ngrlcultural; cbpiniunityi', will-.■'be..under ; a: groat obligation 'to you.—l am, etc., : ...... ■ .-•■ V . .;, }-:..

-;:. : i, _:':;;■ advance agbicultuke. .; ■Hawora; .November^ 1 lOOO;'-;-!.;'' ■'/■,- A; ; : In'the/year 1883. the quantity of dairy produce'exported ;f torn New Zealand amounted ,t07440. tons" of abutter arid '120 -tons of valued ■at ;'■ These figures would ■■ at present only represent tho yearly;output ofone moderate-sized butter, factory. arid, a small cheese factory. The: dairy industry is now..one. of .the most important in the Dominion. \ •■ i kafeo- poor -land, good, and good land - better." FISON'S SPECIAL FEBTILISEES fi?r.' Turnips, and. Rape.-r-* ,', ■'. -,'■'.•;'■•■;'' !:."■'■