AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13866, 28 September 1908, Page 5

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS

SPECIAL OFFICERS APPOINTED. [by TELEGRAPH. —PRESS association.] Christchukch, Saturday. For some time past the Agricultural Department has been preparing to embark upon farm experimental work on a much more comprehensive scale than has been possible under arrangements existing in th«» past. During his brief stay in town yesterday, the Minister for Agriculture (the Hon. R. McNab) entered into details of the proposals with a newspaper representative. The Minister stated that up to .the present the work for the whole of New Zealand had been undertaken by Mr. Bayliss, but the increased requirements had grown beyond his individual efforts, and so it Avas decided that Mr. Bayliss should take charge of the field experimental work in the North Island. Mr. A. MacPhereon, inspector of dairies in Canterbury, had offered his services, and had been transferred to the charge of the South Island experiments, a position, the Minister felt sure, he was most competent to fill. "Latterly," Mr. McNab continued, "we have given votes to agricultural and pastoral associations, for experimental work. The result did not prove satisfactory, and so we propose to conduct the experiments ourselves, and get into touch with fanners, unions of farmers, and any other organisation which will carry on plot experiments, seed testing, etc., throughout their districts. We arrange with certain farmers to provide the land and the labour, the Department supplying the manure and seeds, and the experiments being carried out under the supervision of our officers. The results will be incorporated with the Departmental reports., but in order that the information may be immediately available we intend issuing bulletins from time to time, detailing the results of particular tests. It is probable that nearly all our experimental work will be dealt with in this manner shortly." Mr. MacPherson will be succeeded here as inspector of dairies, by Mr. Sounness, who has wide experience, and until lately was in charge of a large dairy factory near Hawera.