Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, JULY 24, 1926. THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 200, 24 July 1926, Page 8

Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, JULY 24, 1926. THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

There will be general satisfaction throughout the Manawatu district now that the Government has finally decided that the new Agricultural College shall be located on the BatcUelar property, which is so closely adjacent to Palmerston North. Wiiile disappointment may be expressed and felt in other districts, where, it may be considered a more suitable property could have been obtained for the purpose, the central situation of the site selected, and the character of the country it comprises, are such that no real fault can be found with the choice made by the Minister of Agriculture and those associated with him in determining the locality for the new College. The Auckland and Wellington University authorities having agreed to pool their resources, and accepted the suggestion made by the Royal Commission that an agricultura! college in association with the University should be established in some central locality in the North Island by a combination of the schools the two University Colleges propose to establish, its locality was practically decided by the Professors of Agriculture of the colleges themselves, the suggestion they made being that the new college should be located in the most suitable position in the Manawatu or Rangitikei districts. Sir Prank Heath, in reporting upon the project, expressed his approval of the AucklandWellington arrangement, and suggested that the whole question of research in . our primary industries, and the co-ordi-nation of such research between the new college and the Agricultural Department, together with the already existing institutions such as Lincoln College, Cawthron Institute, etc., should go hand in hand. The Government, it is understood, is adopting this view and, in settling upon-- the Batchelar estate, gains by the action of the Borough Council in presenting the Mcllardy homestead and the parcel of land adjoining for the purposes of the college. The land chosen is well adapted for both grazing and cropping purposes, comprising some fine dairying country, together with land well adapted for agricultural purposes. The central location of the new college, its close proximity to the town obviating* all housing difficulties, will necessarily have been taken into consideration in connection with an institution of this character, and the easy accessibility of the new college to students, pro-,

fessors and visitors, all, no doubt influenced tbe Minister in arriving at bis decision. Tbe establishment of tbe college' in such bandy proximity to tbe town will enhance the prestige and importance of tbe place, and will tend also to increase our population. Tbe research work the college will undertake will probably be extended, in time to come, to tbe secondary industries also, and will no doubt in time help in the establishment of further industries amongst us.