AGRICULTURE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 30 November 1927, Page 10

AGRICULTURE

THE EMPIRE'S MAINSTAY 11, is of interest, (hat two of the three New Zealand delegates who attended the Imperial Agricultural Research Conference at London are closely associated with Nelson. The three delegates are Dr. C. J. Rcakes (Director-General of tho Department of Agriculture), Mr [V. Rigg, M.A., M.Sc. (of the'Cawtitroti Inbtitu'tc, Nelson) and Mr R...E. R., Grji.nmefl, M.Sc. (Analyst under the. Deparlniont of Agriculture) and son of Mr J.' Grimniett, of Ngatitama. street, Nelson. Mr Grimniett has been working at tho Rowlett Institute, Aberdeeu, undertaking special research into cattle sickness caused by lack of iron in tho soil. PILLAR OF EMPIRE Lieut.-Colonel W. Guinness, Minister of Agriqulture, welcoming the delegates, said (according to the "Post's" correspondent) the idea of the conference had originated with the Ministry's Research Council, and it had Been cordially taken up last year by the Imperial Conferenceof Prime Ministers, who saw in it an effective method of promoting the great cause of Imperial development. Agriculture was our largest Empire industry. Its output in our own crowded island reached a value of £225,000,000 a year, and when one realised that in the vast overseas territories of the _ Empire 80 per cent, wore living by agriculture, that industry would be seen as the giant pillar of its life and prosperity. The Industry that stood still.was quickly left behind. It was to research that we must look (o secure better results and a higher standard of living. It was a matter of reproach that Governments were so late in entering the field of research. Human conditions would be transformed if we could appreciably increase the return which the soil gave. Great results might also come from the control and taming to human; purposes of the vast population of micro-organisms j in the soil. Already new discoveries in this

direction had enabled (hem to inoculate leguminous plants, artificially to «;nven straw into, manure, and to get favourable results from a partial sterilisation of the soil, RESEARCH WORKERS SHORT Lord Lovut opened the discussion on I lie. subject of workers. He said ihr.ee Was a real shortage of suitable candidates for agricultural research work. Personally, ho had no doubt that until the conditions of agricultural research service in pay,' status" and career "were equal to • the conditions of other Govormnerit services carrying equa,l duties arid responsibilities, nothing final and definite would bo done. I IMPERIAL BUREAUX I Mr Ormsby-Gore (Under-Secretary for the Colonies) introduced tho subject of Imperial bureaux. Ho described the constitution and functions of the exist ing bureaux of entomology and mycology, tho headquarters of which are respectively at South Kensington and Kew. lie thought the experience which they , had had'of the (value of 'these two t bureaux made it desirable to consider , in which other fields the system was applicable. He was satisfied that the bureau system lent itself more particularly to the co-ordination of work and , workers and of information in clearlyI defined fields of applied science. PLANT GENETTCb , The other bureau suggested liy the Lovat Committee might be termed a i bureau of economic botany and plant • genetics. He made a distinction be ' tween the work of the systematic botani ist and the plant-breeder. Kew was al , ready an Imperial bureau so far as sys*« . tematic botany was concerned. But man selected particular plants for cultivation i for his own economic use. The selection, breeding, and distribution of past i varieties and the artificial evolution of ' new and improved varieties of evei-y coni ceivable economic crop in owertf part of

tho world was flic gigantic subject, contemplated in the establishment of a bureau for the: British Empires. They wanted to. attract more workers to tho field of research and tho work of plant genetics... ='':■"" '■■''■