THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL AND AGRICULTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12240, 8 April 1903, Page 7

THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL AND AGRICULTURE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — the Technical School in Auckland has been organised and opened, I should like to direct attention to the need for instruction in the principles of agriculture. This subject the most important for this part of tho colony, seems to be left in abeyance. I am aware of the difficulties attending the teaching of scientific agriculture in a. city school, but some useful information could be imparted. Take, for instance,' the mixture of artificial manures. Two authorities in England, viz., Cousins, of the Wye College, Kent, and Lawrence, of Newton Rigg, Cumberland, issue special warnings against mixing basic slag with sulphate of ammonia. If one turns to our Agricultural Report for 1902, page 346, he may see that these two manures are mixed and sown together at the experimental farm of Momohaki. Cousins says: Nitrate of soda can bo mixed with any other manures, but not acid phosphates and sulphate of ammonia. A mixture of superphosphate and nitrate of soda results in the liberation of free nitric acid, and these two manures should bo recognised as incompatible ingredients of a mixture." How many farmers know this? Cousins also warns us against sowing kainit alone on land deficient of lime. I have proved the truth of this from my own experiments, though I have not clearly ascertained tho reason why. I think we may fairly look to the Technical School for this kind of information.—l am. etc., Benj. Bailey. Te Aroha, April 2, 1903.