HORTICULTURE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 32, 7 February 1941, Page 5

HORTICULTURE

NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE

SCHOOL'S CLAIMS PRESSED

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

OAMARU, February 6.

The school of horticulture conducted on,-a necessarily limited scale.by the Christchurch Domains Board was doing excellent work, and it seemed a great pity that the comparatively small subsidies, for initial, and working expenses, required to enable the school to be developed upon a sound basis, had not been provided by the Government, said the president of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, Mr. F. S. Pope, Wellington, in his address, to the annual conference of the institute in Oamaru today.

The late Mr. Savage, when Prime Minister, in reply to a deputation from the board and the institute, had made a very encouraging statement on this subject, and in fact had given a nearpromise that the funds would be forthcoming.

"It may be contended," said Mr. Pope, "that this is not a suitable time to ask for Governmental expenditure for this purpose. Such a view, however, overlooks the fact that not only one, but probably several, practical schools of horticulture will be needed just after the war to assist in absorbing into civil life men discharged from the forces in a state of health necessitating outdoor, but not too strenuous, employment."

The institute's examining board, in its report for the year ended on September 30, 1940, again gave ample evidence of the stimulating effect that the examinations conducted under the Institute of Horticulture Act had had upon vocational horticultural education in the Dominion. War conditions had, of course, hindered young men and women in their studies. Nevertheless, a very satisfactory number of candidates took the institute's examination in November, nearly rll of whom obtained either complete or partial passes. In the diploma examination, the most important test, eight complete and 10 partial passes were secured —a. creditable result. The total number of diplomas and certificates of all classes issued by the institute up to the present was 393. The J. A. Campbell memorial award was made during the year for the first t#.__e, the honour going to Mr. J. W. Goodwin, Christchurch.