NOTED SCIENTIST

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 8 August 1928, Page 5

NOTED SCIENTIST

SIR JOHN RUSSELL IN NELSON DELIVERS CAWTHRON LECTURE TO-NIGHT Sir John Russell, director of the Rothamsted Experimental Station, England, arrived in Nelson by tho Ngaio this morning and will deliver the 1928 Cawtlu-on Lecture at the School of Music' to-night. Sir John is at pre sent making a three-weeks tour of New Zealand to • gather data for the proposed Imperial Soil Bureau to be established at Rothamsted, and of which Sir John is director-designate. Interviewed by a “Mail” representative to-day, the great soil scientist said that he deemed New, Zealand fortunate in the able agricultural experts it had , at the head of its research and experimental work. Sir John Russell has been visiting Australia at the invitation of the universities of the Commonwealth, lecturing and getting into touch with farming experts there, with a view to collecting information prior to the constitution of the Imperial Soil Bureau. That institut ion, he explained, would be truly Imperial in character, . having as its main object the linking up of research work in all parts of the Empire, while conducting experiments and research of to them all and passing on valuable information. IMPERIAL SOIL BUREAU “It is impossible to appreciate other people's problems until you know something of them first hand,” lie said. That was why he desired to see as many farming centres of the; Empire as possible’before tl}e initial work of the Imperial Soil'Bureau was formulated. “It will be a common centre for every. Empire Jyorker in agriculture.' You m New Zealand are -well equipped with your universities and institutions bearing particularly on agricultural science, but you must remember that' in other quarters of the Empire there are isolated experts ploughing a lonely furrow. “England is prepared to learn from any country’s experience,” said the scientist. In the past few years science in farming had made great advances. It had overcome many difficulties and was. helping the farmer to hammer nature into a more temperate and liighly-productive mood. “The old idea that farming was easy has gone by the board,” Sir John said. “Students are going in for agricultural education far more seriously than used to be the . case. In Australia I found-agriculture well organised and established, while among the students of fanning science were men of such ability as to make their mark in any walk of life, and that is what is required.” FERTILISERS A GIANT FACTOR

Among the factors which had created a wave of progress in farming the world over were improvements in agricultural machinery, the use of power on the farm, .better understanding, and control, of plant an<jl animal diseases, the evolution of countless varieties of plants, root .crops and grasses to suit yarying types of soil and' climatic conditions, ’ and in the last-named lay one of the greatest of all bases of farming success.

A giant force among the stimuli given to production and soil fertility was the far wider and more intelligent use of manures. In its supplies' of superphosphate from' Naum and Ocean Islands New Zealand possessed a rich asset. England, at present, was being fed with superphosphates, chiefly from'the North of Africa, and appeared likely to draw them from, that source for some time to come.

CAWTHRON INSTITUTE Sir John said he would prefer to speak of the work of the Cawthron Institute after he had seen more of it. He had always been interested in it both from a personal and scientific, point of view. He had known Professor Easter- ' field before he came out to New Zealand, and also knew his work. Further, .Mr JRigg was at one time one of their own Scientists at Rothamsted., He was further interested in the Cawthron Institute for the reason that by its organisation it was peculiarly well situated*to do research work. The larger the measure of independence the greater the research work which could be carried on. , -