MASSEY COLLEGE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 100, 30 April 1931, Page 12

MASSEY COLLEGE

NEW BUILDINGS

OPENING CEREMONY

.( . fcORD BLEDISLOE'S SPEECH

(From Our Special Reporter.) PALMEKSTON N., This Day. The opening of the new science buildings at Massey College by His Excellency the Governor-General (Lord Blcdisloe) this afternoon marked the realisation of a great ideal. Of necessity, science (in a crude form or otherwise) has always played an important role in the development of the agricultural and pastoral industries, but not until recent years did New Zealand commence to apply it in a systematic manner. The laying of the i'oundaticn ■ stone. of the Massey College on 4tli December, 1929, was an important step, but to-day's ceremony saw the completion of what will undoubtedly prove to be an outstanding feature of the farming life of the Dominion. Although the buildings have just been completed, the college is by no means merely at the commencement of its career. It already has accomplishments to its credit, as was evidenced by the fact that following the official opening degrees, diplomas, and certificates were conferred on students who have already roceived the benefit of the instruction ■which the college lias to offer.

The opening ceremony took place in threatening Weather. There was a distinguished gathering. ' In addition to His Excellency, those present included the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes), tho Minister of Lands (the Hon. E. A. Ransom), tho Hon. 11. Masters, M.L.C., a number of members of the Legislature, the Director-General of Agriculture (Dr. C. J. R,eakcs), tho British Trade Commissioner (Mr. L. A. Paish), tho Director of Education (Mr. T. B. Strong), the Hon. George Powlds, and many, others. "No task since I entered this Dominion more than a year ago has afforded me more entire satisfaction than that which you have entrusted to me this afternoon, namely, the " formal opening of your now science building, said His Excellency, in declaring the buildings open. "Thanks to tho prudent generosity of the late-Sir Walter Buchanan, Sir John Logan Campbell, the New Zealand Government, and the City of Palmerston North, this college, admirably situated and well equipped with land of varying type, spraug into .'existence three years ago as the chief centre for the North Island of higher agricultural education and research, and has during its short life fully justified its inauguration by the steady growth in the number of its students and the practical character and appropriate scope of its curriculum. Today we place the coping-stone on its establishment both structurally and institutionally. THE PARAMOUNT OBJECTIVE. "Science is well defined as systematised knowledge as demonstrated _by induction, experiment, or observation. Its ramifications are many, and its value depends upon the extent to which it augments the happiness and well-being of the human race, and this necessarily varies with the objectives, spiritual, ethical, and industrial, of different countries. -.In-New Zealand, industrially, .the best possible utilisation of the land with the- profitable output of land products of the highest quality and consistent uniformity is indisputably the paramount objective, beside which all others pale into relative insignificance. To the attainment of this objective all patriots, whatever their personal vocation, should bond their energies with clear, unwavering vision, em-, ploying or encouraging science as the chief instrument of its successful realisation. No industry is more dependent upon science for its success; upon none has it conferred greater favours; from none has it received such small acknowledgment. ECONOMIC SUICIDE. "For a country competing in its land products in the open markets of the world with, those of other countries conversant "with and practising tlie latest teachings of science to turn._ a Wind eye to the lessons of the scientist is to commit economic suicide. Even the most impoverished countries of the world have .found public expenditure upon' scientific research and the scientific guidance of their farming population to be. a sound and remunerative national investment. But for its justification such systerhatised knowledge must not be confined within the boundaries of colleges and research stations, but must radiate freely among all 'grades of the farming population and be transmitted in simple, intelligible language, free of all technical jargon, and accompanied, where necessary, by dexterous manual demonstration. Moreover, while allocating to certain institutions specialised activities in various branches of agricultural science, there must be,- in order to ensure the fullest fruition and financial economy, a generous measure of team work both amongst individual workers and amongst institutions, and the discouragement of overlapping, duplication of effort, or trenching upon spheres of investigation outside their proper ambit, and claiming financial support from the public purse' in competition with other institutions better equipped than themselves in personnel and plant. There must similarly be no monopoly of agricultural Knowledge as between the various countries of the British Empire. This was unanimously recognised and acted upon at the Imperial Agricultural Research Conference, over which I presided in Westminster Hall in tho autumn of 1927. CENTRAL CLEARING- HOUSES. "There are now definitely and permanently established several Imperial . bureaux or central clearing houses of agricultural science, including bureaux #f entomology, mycology, soil science, animal nutrition, animal health, animal genetics, agricultural parasitology, plant genetics, and fruit production, collecting and disseminating to research tvorkers and farmers in every part of the Empire up-to-date knowledge of high economic value to its primary producers. ■ In addition to these, but not yet formed into Imperial bureaux, are British national institutes conducting research in dairying, poultry husbandry, agricultural engineering, low temperature preservation, and agricultural economics, respectively, and freely and confidently imparting invaluable knowledge and guidance as the result of their discoveries to any and all throughout the Empire who desire and are likely to benefit thereby.

"What branches of so-called agricultural science, it may be asked, are of most importance, under present world conditions, to New Zealand in general and to this North Island and Massey College in particular? Unhesitatingly, I place first that which, when I was an agricultural student and indeed until recent years, found no placo in the curriculum of an agricultural college, viz., agricultural economics. For it is conceivable that New Zealand farmers may xaisc on their holdings butter, cheese, meat, wool, or fruit of the highest quality, and yes

fail through defective organisation or faulty methods of marketing to make a HviTTg" out of its production, even at a time when their foreign competitors are successful in doing so out of similar products of inferior quality. In this connection let me as an old member of the Empire Marketing Board emphasise six conditions of economic success: First, the necessity for loyal commercial co-operation between all primary producers of the same commodity throughout the Dominion; secondly, the importance of uniformity of quality and description of all exported products; thirdly, tho desirability of exporting the best only and retaining inferior grades for local consumption; fourthly, the' avoidance- of regional overlapping and consequent expense by delivering milk or other farm products to the nearest local factory rather than to one more remote: fifthly, the wisdom of side-lines in fanning, rather than having all your eggs in one basket —this applies especially to the small dairy fanner and such subsidiary activities as pig or poultry keeping; ami lastly and chiefly, tho paramount need for "supplying oversea customers with what they want (however unreasonable) and not what the producer thinks they ought to want. CHEAP ANIMALS ARE DEAR. "You specialise hero on sheep, dairy farming, herd-testing, and the production and classification of wool, and you arc necessarily alive to the importance of improving the pastures of the country upon which its live-stock mainly subsist. Tho carrying capacity of your pastures is being greatly enhanced by improvement in the type (as tho result of meticulous research), tho longevity and-the palatability of various herbage plants, and by the realisation that they, like tho stock which feed upon them, need suitable feeding. Let us always remember, as stock owners, that the sire is worth half the herd and that a bad animal costs as much to keep as a good one, and, however cheap, is not a good investment. "Your research workers, if they can ultimately show New Zealand flock masters how to eliminate hemp and other hairy fibres from sheep's wool, its dairymen how to euro openness in cheese, and its flax growers how so to improve the texture and tensile strength of Phormium fibre as to compete successfully with manila and sisal, will be conferring untold benefits upon tho rural community of this Dominion.

"The rapid'and confident development of the economically developable land of this Dominion, such as is favoured in the national interest by all parties in the State, would appear to depend upon the steady prosecution of a systematic soil survey, with resulting soil classification, on the, one hand, and upon the scientific ascertainment of such soil deficiencies as can bo made good within the limits of remunerative expenditure, on tho other. In both connections, work of great national importance is in progress under the aegis, of this Department of Scientific and Industrial 'Research, that in connection ■with the Pakihi lands of tho Nelson province adumbrating the early conversion at no great cost'of an immense tract of presently -worthless land into a national asset of high productivity; FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS. , '' After a prolonged study of agricultural conditions on the spot in maiiy countries of. the world, I cannot help being impressed with the relatively favourable natural conditions under which farm husbandry is pursued in this Dominion. On the other hand, there appear to be limiting factors in operation which restrict output and involve avoidable loss. Of these I will only mention two. The first is the widespread lime deficiency of New Zealand soils, often accompanied by a similar deficiency of phosphates. This lime deficiency shows itself in such plant diseases as clubroot in turnips and other cruciferous plants, and such animal ailments as dopiness and Xanthin Calculi in sheep, and —most glaringly —in the prevalence of weeds, indicative of soil acidity, such as Spurry, sheops sorrel, sweet-scented vernal,' bracken, and gorse. (Remarkable illustrations of tho beneficial effects upon the health and milk yield of dairy cattle of dressing the land with lime or of adding lime- to dressings of superphosphate have been brought to my personal notice when travelling about the country). Tho other limiting factor is tho prevalence of ■ longcontinued local droughts involving a cessation of plant growth and immense pecuniary losses through the death or emaciation of live stock. I have myself witnessed this condition with deep regret and sympathy in Marlborough province last November, in_ Canterbury Plains last January, and in Hawkcs Bay last February. It leads mo to urge upon the agricultural community in this Dominion with all the fervour that I can command, first, the value of ensilage as a safeguard against shortage of fodder, and secondly, the desirability of considering seriously the more extensive cultivation of two deeprooted crops, namely, maize and lucerne, in which drought-stricken countries throughout the world seek economic salvation, as a possible means of at. least alleviating, if not altogether preventing, tho 'disastrous results of prolonged drought. Of the first of these crops, I will only say that it has the merit of making excellent ensilage, a merit which lucerne—the more valuable crop—does not possess. But lucerne as a drought resister, as a concentrated stock food, and as a soil improver, has no rival among the crops of the world, and experiments conducted during the last two years in various parts of England and Wales by the stall of Rothamstcd Experimental Station, at the request of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, have demonstrated that many of the difficulties experienced in its cultivation in tho past can quite easily be overcome. SOME ADVICE. "These diiliculties have generally been due to lack of appropriate bac(eria in the soil, weed infestation, or destruction from winter frosts. Tho first can be overcome by treating tho seed prior to sowing with a pure culture of the appropriate bacteria grown in-the laboratory. This is best done by damping tho seed with skim milk in which the bacteria have been suspended and to which a small quantity of calcium phosphate has been added. (An official experiment with soil thus treated in my own county of Gloucester has added 220 per cent, to the normal yjel'd of; the crop and 50 per cent, to its normal nitrogen content.) The soil should bo reasonably deep to admit of root growth and. if sour treated with lime, as tlie bacteria are intolerant-of acidity. Weed infestation and consequent'throttling of the young plant nro best; overcome by thorough cleaning and cultivation of tho soil before and during the growth of the crop, and sowing it in the spring in a cover crop in a firm, wcl!-r(ilU'(l seed bed. Winter killing can Xc avoided by such varieties as Grimm and Hungarian lucerne instead of the better known but less hardy variety known as Provence, and by avoiding cutting the crop too late in the season—not after the end of March in this country. Grimm lucerne is being grown with great success in the Prairie Provinces of Canada, where formerly lucerne cultivation was inhibited by the severe frosts. Experiment has shown that this, the most valuable of world's forage crops, providing five to seven tons of nutritious fodder for seven years without a break, can, in the light of new knowledge, be grown successfully under conditions of soil and climate formerly deemed unfavourable to it. All stock thrive upon it, although care has to be exercised in feeding it to sheep. It is safe to say that at least a million pounds might have been saved to primary producers in New Zealand

during the last twelve months had lucerne been grown byway of insurance premium against drought. A VARIETY OF PROBLEMS. "To indicate the wide variety of problems which merit the attention of the agricultural research worker, economist, and student in New Zealand, let mo mention four only, viz.:— (1) Tlie precise value of arboriculture and bush preservation as factors in augmenting or converting; rainfall moisture in areas subject to drought. (2) Increased cleanliness and sterilisation of all milking machines as possible factors in enhancing the commercial value of New Zealand butter when in competition with Danish butter on the British market. (3) Acceleration of the process of largoscale production of ryegrass and cocksfoot of perennial ami leafy type with a view to establishing for the Dominion, without undue delay a valuable export frado in certificated seed of these much-needed pasture plants. (4) The practicability of making all! solids and not butter-fat only the basis of payment for milk, and the effect of such a course, if practicable, upon the cheese-making industry, and the more general utility of dairy cattle. "This country is fortunate in the outstanding ability and zeal of its agricultural scientists, especially those connected with the Cawthron Institute and Lincoln and Massey Agricultural Colleges. I venture to hope that during the forthcoming period of unprecedented l-nra 1, development and intensification of farm practice, patriotism and creative pride in their special problems of investigation will operate—in face of tempting financial inducements from more affluent countries —to retain their services for the lasting benefit of their native land. New Zealand needs all the best intellects of her children in every walk of life for her own ordered ! and progressive development. She is intensely proud of her Eutherfords, but i she can ill-spare them nowadays to other nations without detriment to her own 'aedification.' Science, like industry, should as far as possible find its customers and achieve its reputation in its own local environment.

"I now declare these buildings open, and in doing so I am profoundly conscious that the future economic salvation of tho farming industry—and consequently of New Zealand—wiirhinge upon the due application of up-to-date scientific knowledge to farm practice of every, description, and that therefore upon the teachers and students in this and other agricultural colleges in the Dominion will depend in no small measure the prosperity, contentment, and happiness of the nations in days to come.''