EXPERIMENT FARM POLICY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 843, 15 June 1910, Page 8

EXPERIMENT FARM POLICY.

P. HOUMAHAKI AND ELSEWHERE. I •-'• ; VIGOROUS STATEMENT BY J.''.-; MINISTER., ['■■' - During the absence of the Minister Tor ; Agriculture in tho south a letter from ! Mr. F. Gillanders, formerly' manager of ;' : :... the Moumahaki Experiment Farm ap- !'"■; . peared in The Dominion. It was a rei'oinder, to Mr. Mackenzie's statement in lis speech at Marton that Mr. Gillanders ' had been requested to reduce expenditure /'. ~on the farm, and had not done so. .To ;-/•■';. tikis Mr. Gillanders replied that no out- ;■.; line had been given him how the savings ; were to be effected, except in one iu- ?' stance, which, was later countermanded .". . by -wire. ,- ■ x .' ; Money Wasted. . - Referring 'to the matter last night, Mr. Mackenzie said that Mr. Gillanders had r evidently overlooked the fact that on ;'■ March 31, 1909, certain conversations ■ took place between himself and the direc--1 ' tor of experimental farms as to the cur- , tailinent of expenditure. On April 7 I"." Mr. Gillanders was notified that certain : • •xpenditure must be curtailed. On April ';" -13 ho received definite advice as to the "; amount of the allocation that would be available for his station. |';.-.-. "These instructions," continued' Mr. Mackenzie, "were not carried out, and in November it was decided that they must '• be enforced, and it was left entirely to Jlt. Gillanders to arrange for their '.; carrying out. I had stated at Marton ;--.' .'.'. that Mr. Gillanders resigned, stating thait ! he could not carry on with what the Department had decided to expend, end 1..' that practically all experiments must ,> 'cease. It was obvious to anyone that certain work was being continued which was •'''■ unnecessary. - • The horticultural section had demonstrated the purposes for which it had been planted, and, was costing ■: . £500, whilst the returns from it were j only some ,£3O. ' ' " | j- . ■' ."Of course," added the Minister, "no end "of public . agitation has been raised i in connection with our action. ._ Earn- [.'-. chaw, one of, the employees, carried on. a ' system of deception, and endeavoured to ';'.■' prejudice the public against the administration. The Department,is going to do 1,.--, "what is right, quite irrespective of pri- '(' ' . Tate or public praise and blame. I say i- > -unhesitatingly the Government has not [■■ ' been getting value for the, money spent , on the experiment farms." ,' i',-- 1 . A Taranaki Complaint. i. : ' ' Reference was made .to tho/Tara- !:■• naki complaints against tho Government ! bidding for cattle at . the recent, sale '."':.'■. of . Mr. Charles Clarke's ■ pedigree stock. >/./The Minister said the Government' was ;■'.••-'•'.-.arranging to bring out some very good ;. . Jersey cattle from Great Britain, pro- •-.•■' bably a bull and three or fonr good i::'. heifers. "Unfortunately," continued Mr. ,/.: Mackenzie, "it costs a verygreat deal to b '■":'. bring them out.. We want to establish ".; a herd of a reliable strain, and we think !'.. .'•': that we can get in tho Dominion pedigree i, ; 6tock that will servo our purpose, and. |'.':'" that we can.thereby establish a herd !:'.'■■•' from.which dairymen can in turn obtain !-.. Teliable stud animals. In times past the Government has; depended on men in its ;.■'•..■. service to bring put reliable stock from ."'the Old.Country, and has been dis- ■ '..■' appointed with the results. My intention ■ - is to work partly from well-known herds '■■ '■■■'::■, here, and also to import good strains ■from Europe. . Some Commercial Difficulties. v /"Regarding our competing with private -■ buyers of pedigree stock," . said j .Mr. .■ '.:■'• Mackenzie, -officers, have ovex^and, '■'.. over again^arjitained 'from bidding^wrien'- , they saw that private" buyers were intent , on getting certain cattle. They did 'tKiS' so that: prices.- should not -be ' unduly ;.'■-.. forced up. The difficulties in connection with the carrying 'on of. the : Agricultural /.Department are at times very,, trying. If -we have at our experiment farms a :v;, good supply'of pure milk from absolutely pV, .-' healthy, cattle, local agitation prevents .our selling to tho best advantage,in the '~ -, nearest'/towns., If we grow fruit "to de- v i' : - monstrate the commercial value of choice // varieties and then proceed to test the /market-with them-to see'what they will ■'fetch, we are charged-with, competing -. against private orchardists. There was a ;'..-' protest some time ago even against our■ :(', sending honey to the overstocked New '{;'■. York market :1 "The fact is that certain so-called, political economists .'desire to seo ...tho .Department conducted on commercial i ;■, lines, yet when the principles they have i' been advocating are put into- practice' ■ these same economists . are often '.the .v.ery individuals who throw.every obstacle ;■-.■ in theVay of carrying them out. How- / ever, while not unduly interfering .with private enterprise, we, are going to endeavour, to do our best-for -the whole ;•' . /.Dominion." .->... i