MODERN FARMING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13648, 16 January 1908, Page 6

MODERN FARMING.

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND,

AND EGYPT.

SO.M VALUABLE HINTS.

Mn. Williamson- Wallace, who is visitin- New Zealand, was it few years ago director of Agriculture in Victoria, and, prior to that, held a similar position in Egypt. Since he resigned his position in Victoria, three years ago. he has spent most of his time in England in ft private capacity. - Speaking to a reporter Mr. Wallace stated that he had recently visited the agricultural college at Lincoln. The college struck him as having excellent land, excellently stocked, and though it was not looking as well as it might have done, owing to the dry season, it appeared to him one of the best institutions of the kind he had seen. Victoria had a college of the sort, but it was up in the dry wheat land, and the work done there could not represent the.agriculture of the country as well as Lincoln College could represent the work of New Zealand. It had always been a great drawback to the Victorian college that its situation provented really efficient tuition of the young farmers. Dairying and the better methods of agriculture were practically impossible there. In regard to colleges generally, Mr. Wallace said he bad found that the most practical, in fact the only veal way to appeal to the sons of farmers and others who were actually engaged in farm work, was to have series of lectures extending over two or three weeks in various centres. A staff of lecturers was, of course, necessary. The plan had worked splendidly in Victoria, and he had known numbers of young men who rode 12 and 15 miles to attend the lectures. The lectures were arranged for the season of the year when the least work was being done, and were i onlv delivered where the district guaranteed that at least 40 students would attend. Since he had left Victoria the ■ number of centres where the lectures were : given had greatly increased, and ho was certain the system would never be abandoned. The single lecture was very in--1 teresting, but it could never be so instructive as an organised series. Regarding his New Zealand experience?, 'which, he explained, had been, so far, limited to North Canterbury, Mr. Wallace said that he was impressed with the good cultivation of the land he had seen. He had visited the Addin'gton markets with Mr. W. Lowrie, and, though the lambs had evidently suffered from the dry season, and were not bringing high prices, they were obviously of a type entirely suitable for their intended purposes. * Victoria, of recent years, had been rearing lambs for export, but the growers were always faced with the danger of drought. When the dry seasons prevented finishing the lambs for export the disposal of the product was a very difficult matter, as the lambs were not the right kind to keep over, and could not be consumed. He had heard many complaints at the market of the deterioration of the cattle, but it was much less than the deterioration of the Victorian animals. The, growers there had made so much use of Ayrshire and Jersey bulls that the cattle were not well suited for fattening. When the question of the settlement of land in New Zealand wae raised, Mr. Wallace said that the system of cutting up large estates was>«a very desirable one. Victoria followed the principle of giving selectors the fee-simple after • a time, but in any case the existing provisions preventing "the re-aggregation of large estates were most necessary.. Both systems en sured giving a great many more people a substantial 'stake in the country, and, in his opinion, conduced to better government. Victoria was doing little or nothing, Mr. Wallace said, to induce immigration, though. New South Wales and i Queensland were expending some energy upon it. Since, the good seasons, a good deal, more interest bad been taken in Australia generally.. He felt that if the conditions of life and labour, and the Governmental care for the workers exercised especially in Now Zealand, were better known at Home, the immigration muttbers would be much larger. The Dominion should, he thought, take steps to more adequately advertise ' its agricultural industry, for a great many Scottish ploughmen .had been lately emigrating to Canada. The prospects for farm workers in Australasia were excellent, and they were best of all in New Zealand.

Mr. Wallace said that ho had noticed with much interest the attempt now being made by the farm labourers in New Zealand to organise and bring themselves under 'the Arbitration Act. He knew of no similar endeavour 'anywhere else. The union, tinder an award, might be very successful, as long as there was great prosperity in the country;' but at the same time, if bad seasons succeeded numerously, a large number of men would probably be thrown out of employment. On the general principle of arbitration, he felt that the Wages Boards established in Australia seemed to be successful in settling- fair rates of wages in all the trades concerned. The question whether wages should be fixed by an arbitrary method or not, depended upon the ultimate result, and such a fixing, by its saving strikes and other demonstrations, might well be economical.

In conclusion, be said that there was a good opening for meat and butter exporters in Egypt. Colonial butter was now accepted readily, but the Mahommedane would not oat frozen meat, under present conditions. They insisted upon their meat being killed according to their own custom, but as that was practically identical with the Jewish method, they would accept " Kosher'' meat. If the export companies would' be prepared to send out meat with a guarantee that it was killed according to either Mahommedau or Jewish practice, it would find a very great demand.