ROTHAMSTED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 9 August 1928, Page 3

ROTHAMSTED

EXPERIMENT AND RESEARCH

KMPUtI! I W(MU;S‘ VISIT T’ho appended report of a visit to Kolhamsied by iuppire farmers (including Mr A. Drummoiid, of Nelson) is of special interest, seeing ;thal the Director (bir J. Bussell) is at present in Nelson. It is from the “Post’s’ correspondent:— A little over a. week has passed since the visiting farmers from the Dominions began their organised, programme, and already tiny are beginning to wonder it they can stand Ihe pace. Last Sunday many of them took the opportunity to stay iri bed until midday to recover some of their energy. Another problem they will have to solve is what to do with the veritable library they will accumulate oP instructive pamphlets. All of them have already realised that they might, .come to England privately and take years to see what as an organised party they will see in a few weeks. Last Friday a very interesting, driy was spent at Rothamsted Experimental Station, llappendon. Again and again, they have read of this greatest of all agricultural research stations, but a personal visit is necessary before they realise what is being done for the Empire at this clearing liouso of agricultural knowledge. All the New Zealanders were greatly impressed with what they saw, and doubtless they will have something to tell their local brandies of the Farmers’ Union on their return. Although the number of New Zealand men is small, they are representative of all the districts. Mr W. E. Jones arid Mr Vincent Jones are from Hamilton; Mr A. C. Ward is from llawkes Bay; Mr A. Drnmiriond, Nelson; Mr A. Fisher, Aifturi; Mr J. M. Rose, Waitahuna, Otago; Mr Donald McLennan, Otago. . Ail the day at Rothapisted was, spent in the, open air. During the six hours’ stay it was not possible to become acquainted with a fraction of the work in progress ..at the station, but enough Was seen and heard to rouse a lasting interest in the place. Demonstrators took ’ charge of small parties and conducted them over the classified plots. First, they saw the grass plots that had been treated in exactly the same way for eighty years. They were able, to see what lias resulted to an original pasture of seventy or eighty species ol grasses and weeds that has been manured in a variety of ways or left unmaiuired. foi; that long period of time, They saw the famous Broadbalk Field which has been sown in whdat since 1843, nineteen different strips being manured in different ways, but .each strip in exactly the same way for eightyfive years. ” FORESIGHT OF JOHN LA WES It was not so much what was seen as what, was talked about throughout the day that was so interesting. A break at midday enabled the party to take lunch in t'ho open ,air—a pleasant picnic among ideal, English surroundings. During this interlude the story of the .fouriding of the Rothamsted Experimental Station was retold. It began in 1843. .with, .chemical experiments in a barn and .manorial trials in two field's; important results, were obtained, the fame of which gradually spread till in 1854 the farmers of England subscribed to build a proper laboratory -in which, more detailed chemical work might be carried out. - For fifty-eight years Dawes and Gilbert worked together, Lawes bearing the. whole expense of , the experiments;; in 1889 he founded the Lawes Agricultural Trust- .and endowed it with £IOO,OOO so that Hie work could continue after his death. The results of -the older Rothamsted experiments .revolutionised agricultural science and practice in all parts of the world., The best known achievement was the. introduction of artificial fertilisers, but equally valuable work was done in connection' with the feeding of animals, the study of soil fertility, and the inter-relationships of animal and Crop husbandry. From the outset, however, Lawes and Gilbert confined themselves to the discovery of the scientific principles' underlying the operations of agriculture. ‘(The object of these investigations,” said Sir John to the farmers assembled at the opening of the, .old laboratory in 1855, ‘‘is riot, to put. money into my. pocket But to give you the knowledge by which you will be able to put money into yours, . • • Science will impart to- the landlord .a- good knowledge of the qualities of his own land and it will enable, the tenant to turn to the best account- the floating capital which he lias embarked in the soil.’ This acquisition of knowledge of the soil arid the growing crop has remained the leading purpose of the station throughout all the years of its existence. A NATIONAL ORGANISATION Lawes died in 1900 and , Gilbert in 1901. They were succeeded by A. D. Hall, who reorganised the work and brought it into line with the current needs of agriculture. The problems had changed and new methods were required ; Mr Hall saw that nothing less than a great national organisation would suffice for tlie task. A scheme was subsequontly developed which provided advice for farmers to be given by competent local advisers, and instruction for those about to farm. It was an essential part of the scheme, however, that there should he research stations to furnish definite information and precisely ascertained facts which teachers,a-nd advisory experts could use, otherwise then work would lose much of its value and might even be dangerous. The scheme is now in operation and two of the research- institutes are located at Rothamsted —one for the study of soil and plant problems; the other, more recently established, for the study of plantpests and diseases. . • , In 1912, Mr Hall (now Sir Daniel Hall) resigned the directorship and became, at first. Development Commissioner and then Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture. He was succeeded by the present director, Sir J. Russell.

THE WORK OF THE FUTURE The future work of Rothamsted is projected on broad lines. First and foremost is the search for- new knowledge about, soils, fertilisers, the growing plant and its fungus and insect friends and foes. Theye. is also the reexamining and rearranging of existing knowledge, putting it into a form suitable for modern farmers,, farm workers, and farm students. Further, there ns the study of technical problems, such, for instance, as the possibility of reducing the present wastage ol farmyard manure, the utilisation sewage as manure, the improvement of basic slag, the best possible means of utilising the new power which the tractor has placed in the hands of the farmer, and tjie control of harmful soil organisms, .And as hurried work is nexor good work, the o.roblems aro as for os possible attacked before they have re “Hy ur 6® nt > so that they mav be well on the way to solution when the information is needed.