RUAKURA EXPERIMENTAL FARM.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1706, 25 March 1913, Page 8

RUAKURA EXPERIMENTAL FARM.

. . (By a Manawatu■ Farmer.), ■ I . was discussing experiment farms the other day with a neighbour, when ho remarked that tho' Kuakura Farm of Instruction, about which we ligar so nmch nowadays, ;cost; tho Dominion . a year. 1 could not contradict my friend, but his statement niado ino'moro determined .than over to visit .the Government's AVailcato institution. I liavo just returned, and J. have been Well repaid for my. trouble.v It ,1)83 . not only given, me much to thinkiaboiit, but has furnished ino with a satisfactory answer to iaj - critical; neighbour. •••His .£8001) loss disappears into thin smoko when tho real factors of tho case aro considered.

•'•.•in' tho first place, the return from tho. farm last year was just on .£3500,' and when allowance is made for. tho tinio given: by the. manager ahd- his assistant officers to the- three thousand' odd farmers who visited tho ■ farm; last year, and thq iive thousand, or .more,'.letters jwritten to, inquiring farmers, it is seen that—even if ithe expenditure' was something'-'under •EBooo—the cost to tho;'country was not so . formidable, 'especially - when it is considered that' 1 a largo :proporti6n of this cost was in reclaiming the heavy'swamp• land that has been rapidly brought'into' a high state of cultivation," and is thereby making ltuakura an enormous factor in the successful utilisation of such country. ' Ono who has any acquaintance with the Waikato has only to spend a day on ithe farm to realise the imuiensKljcnefits conferred on tho farmers by tho practical anU«SBII-oonaufllßlti&pcri-ments and demsi£jjtistiontt; A full descriptioii'/'of''all.the-worK'in progress is How-, over, I will endeavour to give''somo idea of the main operatiohs of' th<j; station.' . The mauurialinnd!';variety'testis.'in-con-nection with turnips and mangels: avo worth going a long.way. foresee'./' The swedes are grow'n'.'.fromiseedr'"all .oiit of the saino bag," ns the manager put it. Thero are somo twenty-fi'vo.lialt'-acro plots, sown at the same' Wider the samo conditions. ..Eachfplot- .has;-a- separate •manuriaLdressing. 'The. difference* in':thQ,. appearance of-the respective';ph>fs',is. most ■inst'rucWt', e'speei;llly;,w"hen.-they aro compared' with'.a plpt;labojled.:,"No ma.nn're.",: f.t 'strip' across-thoixentro of the plots'has bec-n*'-treated „wii;lC;a dressing of lime, .thereby; over -fifty different to crop theso 'plots"for. several;,years w'jtli a rotation of'crops in iordeV' to >test tho lasting cll'ects of tlid■munii.rc^, plied this season. Tho mangel field!.contains samples of practically !,overy'.!,lai6\vn '.variety of seed, while similar manorial tests to thoso laid out in the swede'-field are being condueled. Those who'., aro,. jihablo to visit tho farm (and every,--faraitr who .desires, to make tho''b'es,ts'iise; ofpiisV land 'Should certainly do. so), I would adviso to watch for tho .official,-results-of these, experiments, 'which -Will be published 'in" tho Agricultural Department;::,' Journal. Manurial tests are «lso being conducted on. pasture, and here the dii'ects of the uso artificial' manures in' promot-ing-the growth' of herbage'' is 'decidedly suggestive. Summer fallowing of land ingoing on in an adjoining paddock, but the -result of this,- of-course,-will not 'bo apparent until'nest year. Lucerne of many variqtios (tho seed having been'imported flomi all parts of--the world) ; is growing .uiider: : varying conditions.- : Tho'-object lesson is a most-striking one;'and should Specially appeal, to the dairy-farmor. If ltuakura did nothing else.but carry out valuable demonstrations .- in regard to growing feed for daily stock, it would (imply-justify its'existence.: 'What it •has' done in connection with lucerne will yet' proyo.yif enormous ;valuo; to'.:'Waikato' dairymen.'- ■ .. '.

; The land of tho station is of-poor quality,. little better, if. anything, than a sheep and a half to tho acre; but tho 6l'ation lias solved tho problem of how to milk 32 cows for 89 acres, and t'hen do them wclL -This is ;tho intensive farming \ve hearso-much' about;'-bu't\ wliiok wo seldom see. , 'At Ruakura there. is a keen horticulturist and .plant breedeiv-Mr. Green— who will probably "be .known in tho future us tho "rust-proof king." ~He ,has produced':.' from Ta single ."Head ".ofi-i'o'hts;* selected'in-tlie year I'JOB becauso of' its apparent rust-resistant property, enough rust-resisting seed for 200 acres. Last year the grain was sown,under, tho some conditions as other crops of oats which surrounded it. Cut, while tlio other varieties-, wiire badly affected with rust, tho Ruakura oat gave 99 bushels to tho aero of clean, bright, and beautifuVcfaw. Tlio other varieties. returned about 25 (bushels per acre,-- and the straw was rusty, and of an indifferent character. I was led to understand that any farmer can liave lib. weight of seed of tho Eua-kiira..(Mt\.for;(»;.ttid;.r:K^t-year. l ,tha farm' hopes -to have ' 3000 bushels for ' sale :to farmers in Small lots. Tho-production of this oat alono is worth a vast sum of money to throughout this blight-infested Dominion. In view of this one-thing alone let- no farmer" in futnro complain 'that'tliis institution'is not selfsupporting. ■" ■ - • -

. j noticed when I was at Ruakura ten of a dozen youths as "cadets, -who (save tho mark!) got paid for . their services. 'Adult farmers could 'well ,bp there gaining knowledge, and' paying. '-for it, too. Seeing.'tho good tho station is• doing, and tho vast possibilities ahead of it, I hail with delight the statement Of the Primo Minister that' an agricultural board .is -to b-s-.set up,, for T I: am convinced that ■'such* a board,' comprised of prominent; agriculturists, would realise the necessity for - 'strengthening- "the position ; of lilfakura, and rather than .curtailing its activities in any way,-improve, its'equipment, and yive the, management an opportunity, ot malrng it 'even- a more important educational centre than it already is.'.'; The pity' of it.is .that it .is liot located in -tho Manawtitu. Howevex;.-there is great 'wofk to bo done in'tttL'W'aikato in demonstrating the best means "of. .utilising poor and-intractable country,,-aml'ftii'a-kifra ia; doing'this work' May it long.:fiourisli!" . ,« ;