FARMING IN FRANCE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 18, 23 January 1919, Page 3

FARMING IN FRANCE

j FRENCH MISSION-BITS VIEWS,

j MEAT ANID PUREBRED STOCK.

| One of illo members of the French Mission is M. Henri Corbiere, who at hia estate at Nonttut-Je.Piu, Normandy, is a great breeder of thoroughbreds, and also of Perclieron horses. M. iGorbicrc is also a highly-trained agricultural! engineer, and during the war, like most of his countrymen, he has been a soldier, serving with the artillery for four years, partly in France and partly in me Jia.Kins —m Serbia an;! Bulgaria.. While in the iSoulh Is.and M. Corbiere, with d>r C.' J. (Reakes, Director of Agriculture, paid a flying visit to the Canterbury Agricultural College at Lincoln, where he had a necessarily short view of the homo farm and of some 01 the stock, Coming back he . called in at the Riccarton racecourse, where iSir George Clifford showed him over the course and’ appointments. Speaking to a representative of the ’ Weekly Press, M. Corbiere expressed a ■ good deal of admiration for what he had seen at the Agricu.tural College. “It is a fine place,’’ he said, “and I was glad to learn: that the student*— who were away at the time —did all the work oo the place. This is the correct principle to work on. In France the Government does a very great deal to encourage agriculture. The State has ' established many agricultural' -coCegos. 1 and assists largely with the shows, giv in-tr prizes and premiums, and 50 on*, but at” mwt of the colleges theory obtain;* more attention than (practice, and at few, if any, is there any large extent of ground on which the students have to do all the work. I believe personal v that they should! do the practical work at a college as well as merely learn the principles and theory of agriculture and animal husbandry.” . ( Owing to the rather hurried passage of the mission through the North Island, M. Corbiere was not able to make as detailed an. inspection of the count iy aa hj« could wish. What he has seen he admires. “It is very different to Australia, here,” he said, “andi New Zealand is much more like England and parts of France. Everything looks to, green here, and there are plenty ol trees.’ ’ , The mention of France brought up the Onotion of 'the frehabaldtaltion of the French farms in the war zone which have been devastated by the fightingM. Corbiere said that luckily the area covered really a nariow strip. In that area, of course, immense damage had been done. It was extremely probable that the thousands of German .prisoners in French hands would be made to restore the country, and, of course, Germany would have t<> foot the bill. Already huge gangs of priosners were .busily employed* th 'mg un all the trenches and* shed holes; tlmv had been employed at this work while hostilities were in progress, but the French did not emplov the Hun prisoners near the fighting lines, as the Hermans did with the prisoners they captured. C. 'Corbiere pointed out that though the German prisoners might bo emp'oved to carry out this work, there was an enormous amount more to be done. Wells and water supplies had been polluted with deadl horses, trees razed to the ground, buildings absoluteIv destroved, stock taken, and plant destroyed, “ For aH this Germany would have to pay, but it would fa 1 to the French to do the actual work of replace- j It does not appear from what M. Corbiere says that New Zealand farmers can do very much directly to assist Tho long distance between New Zealand and France would preclude any trade, or any extensive trade, m purebre sl0"k. and what was wanted would probably he procured from England. So far as meat was concerned, 1* ranee would want meat for some years 1o come, until she had built iro her own flocks and herds again. “We were a great cattle country,” said M. Corbiere, ‘•and we had 20.000,000 cattle, half as many again as Australia. We exported cattle, chiefly to Germany, and Italy. Before the, war the of France did not eat much meat, they •.•cub in for poutry, fish, eggs, and 1 hinge like that, but during the war I,he soldiers have got used to beef and mutton rations, chiefly beef, and pect more will he eaten m the future than in the past. may h j& , shall build up an additional sour.- ot supply of meat in Northern. Afnear—\Urevia, TunU, Morocco —-and fro in tlO latter dace we may get a wool supply, but. of course, venr little as compared with our needs Your woo « always want, and we shalJ ™ tike a great deal of it. ' • Uke wheat, too. , but I understand you do not grow sufficient to export in y ,' a ¥h. th»timport Percheron drawH Mt>rbS New Zealand was met by M borpiere W the reply tW now would Sment lllowod it- "«»■*"*> <® *fg Percheron stock has been Percherons, except mares in foal, were reonisitioned by the Government at tbe outbreak of war, to be used for artih letv and other war purposes. Then again, there has been very extensive bovine by English breeders, the Com S ion under Lord! Lonsdale purehasS a large number, price being no obS It would not have been .so bad if our breeders had sold stallions only, v i Ai. e bigh prices tempted many to sen their mares! and this would* have fvery severe effect upon the industry, Wwn to OO 00.0 To show the isoarcHy of ’Pmuhew mares an English Veedev who ’-ad bought a stallion actually sent to Can: nda to buy 20 mares for shipment to hj» could not get «“m w France.”