SCIENCE AND DISEASE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 28 November 1945, Page 6

SCIENCE AND DISEASE

(To the Editor) Sir, —The recent celebration of the silver jubilee of the Cawthron Institute recalls to mind that in the first Cawthron lecture in 1917 Sir Thomas Easterfield, in reviewing the connection of science and agriculture, mentioned in first place the work of Baron von Liebig a century back as having “laid the very foundation of modern agricultural chemistry.” The lecturer also stated "Forty years ago blights are said to have been practically unknown i n this district; even the peach tree was in those days free from attack. At the present day we hear constant complaints of blights and insect pests, of bitter pit, black spot, aphis, and codlin moth.”

In an article in the London “Weekly Review” of 27th April. 1944, Mr C. D. Bachelor wrote: "Nature’s method of soil management was practised by farmers for thousands of years, right up to the time when Baron Liebig made what was acclaimed as a marvellous discovery. He analysed the ashes of plants and finding they consisted of nitrogen, phosphates and potash, declared that all that was necessary to grow crops in abundance was to incorporate these three chemicals into the soil and all would do well. His findings, backed up by commerce, very quickly became practised by farmers and at the present day some millions of tons of chemicals arc annually poured into the soil, with the result that the soil is being steadily poisoned, earth-worms, fungus and bacteria killed, and the balance of the soil completely upset.

“The introduction of chemical farming soon brought about a censor from Nature in the shape of pests and diseases, which attacked both vegeta tion and soil with disastrous results. Undismayed, the chemists invented sprays, powders and washes —mostly of a poisonous nature—to combat the evil which they had instigated. “The chemists, even now, had not finished their task of destruction, for the food grown on chemicals and sprayed with chemicals soon had an adverse effect on the health of man who consumed it, with the result that there was, and still is, an unprecedented demand for indigestion cures, stomach powders, nerve tonics, etc, which again fell to the chemists to invent and supply. A casual glance at the advertisements appearing in newspapers, periodicals and >n the hoardings will testify to the amount of these patent medicines which must be consumed by the public. “To where is this age of chemical farming leading us? There can be but one answer. To the complete destruction of soil fertility, ill health and suffering amongst mankind and the ultimate starvatioi of a)’ living things.” I do not know what the qualifications of Mr Bachelor are on this subject, but a well-known agricultural authority. Sir Albert Howard, wrote as follows eight weeks earlier in the London “Sunday Times” with regard to inorganic fertilisers: “The crux of the matter can be stated in a few words. Is the use of artificials ana poison sprays, with or'without humus, harmful to the soil, to the crops and animals raised thereon, and to the health of tk 2 human population consuming such produce? After a study of this question in four continents over a period o' 45 years, during which 1 have had exceptional facilities as an investigator. I am convinced that the answer is: Most emphatically yes. This conclusion is shared by a growing body of pioneers with whom I am associated. Con. firmatory evidence is now coming forward in a torrent . . . That poison sprays and artificial manures are harmful is proved by a great mass of evidence. Two examples may be quoted. Arsenical washes kill the bees which are essential for pollination, seed formation and the production of honey. Artificials, sulphate of ammonia in particular, destroy earth-worms wholesale. These creatures are the great conditioners of food material for healthy crops . . Once this important section of the potato-growers' unpaid labour force is put c t of action, the ci ops suffer from at least two new diseases—eelworm and virus—and the quality and keeping power of the produce deteriorates. A change over to freshly prepared humus in place of artificials is soon followed by the rapid disappearance of these troubles and by healthy crops.” Sir Albert Howard, C.1.E., M.A., A.R.C.S., F.L..i., Fellow of the Imperial College, was in 1899 appoirted mycologist and agricultural lecturer. Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies. In 1903 he was appointed botanist to the South-Eastern Agricultural College, Wye; and in 1905 economic botanist to the Government of India, holding this post until 1924. when h became director of the Institute of Plant Industry, Indore, and agricultural adviser to States in Central India and Rajputana until his retirement in 1931. The reference above to the killing of bees by poison sprays, recalls that in the “Evening Mail” of 7th November, it was reported that the bee-keepers of Hawkes Bay had issued §n ultimatum t the fruitgrowers following on the poisoning of bees by fruit spray, a trouble stated to have existed for many years, but to have steadily increased of late.

According to a publication at hand, a French-Canadian paper, “L’Echo du Bas St. Laurent,” 23rd July. 1927, quoted the journal of the American Chemical Society about the effect of poisonous insectides used on tobacco plants. The article stated that considerable quantities of arsenic, etc., remain in the plants and pass from there into the systems of smokers. Sir Thomas Easterfield has recorded that before the introduction of chemical farming into Nelson its orchards were free from blights. So far as statistical evidence goes, the era of chemical farming has not been accompanied by any improvement in the health of Nelson’s population. When tho Nelson section of the “Cyclopaedia of New Zealand” was publisher about half a century ago it stated that the average number of occupied beds in the Nelson Hospital was 25 to 30. The population of Nelson was the 7000 and has since doubled. Last month’s hospital report showed 155 patients admitted to Nelson Hospital in September. This appears to be about an average number of patients in the hospital nowadays; a fivefold to sixfold increase against a doubling in population.

Dominion mental hospital statistics are on similar lines, with the number of insane trebling or quadrupling while population at large has only doubled. Present-day political trends in the Dominmn exhibit the same devitalisatioh. thfe end-all of politics now beinj to provide ways and means of living -with as little exertion by the populace as possible. Before chemical farming came in what thes average man wanted was scope and room to get ahead for himself. The changed outlook looks like another symptom of debility and lack of innate vigour from some cause or other. Baron von Liebieg. founder of chemical farming, wrote in 1840 that the sewers ot ancient Rome engulfed first the agricultural wealth of the Roman peasants, and later that of Sicily. Sardinia, and the once fertile coast of •Africa. He saw a similar fate before the modern world. Instead, however, of devising means to return dung to the land, his ideas ran off at a slan ! and he set to work to provide chemical substitutes for natural manure.—l am

LIVE AND LEARN. Nelson, 21st November.