DOMINION'S WEALTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16366, 21 October 1916, Page 8

DOMINION'S WEALTH.

FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE. INTENSIVE FARMING. SOLDIERS ON THE LAND. "It is impossible to separate llio agricultural interests of New Zealand from those of any other branch of life in the! country," declared Mr. A. A. Ross, presi-! dent of the Auckland Provincial Executive, of the Farmers' Union on Thursday evening, when replying to the toast of " Agricultural Interests," at the annual dinner of the Pukekolic Chamber of Commerce. He said that the production of wealth from the soil was the greatest factor in the prosperity of the Dominion. The progress the country had made in comparatively few years was a modern commercial romance. "It was not very long ago," said Mr. Ross, '• when the produce of the soil represented in hard cash a sum of £10.000,000. Today our exports aro, valued at considerably over £30,000,000.' 1 am quite certain that 95 per cent, of this huge amount—for a young countryis the value of the produce of the soil. The stock returns recently published show that the greatest progress was made during the period under review in the Auckland Province, which at one time was considered to be the poorest district in New Zealand. Within recent years, however, its possibilities as a, wealth producing district have been discovered and proved ■ by the stock returns. Until a short while ago I Taranaki led tho way in the value of the dairy produce produced, but now Taranaki has been surpassed by Auckland. i " In the near future New Zealand must j bear heavy taxation on account of the largo amount of war expenditure, but the I load of the taxation will fall principally ' upon the farmers, who are, of course, well aule to bear it " Men With Too Much Land. Mr. Ross said he estimated that the cost of the war to New Zealand would not be less than £2,500.000 per annum, and the greater portion of that amount would be paid by the agricultural interests of the country. A very great deal more could be produced from the soil by promoting closer settlement and intensive cultivation. " I have travelled a great deal about the country," said Mr. Ross " and I have been impressed bv the fact that the farmers have too much land. They have either more land than thev can cultivate, or have more land than their capital can develop. The land in New Zealand so far lias hardly been 'scratched' let alone cultivated. That must be altered before very much more can be produced from the land already settled. A great deal of isolated land will have to be settled, and more facilities— better roads, railways, and a brighter social life —will have to be provided The Mayor's Scheme. Referring to those returned soldiers who are desirous of settling on the land, Mr. Ross said that those who remained at home must do their duty by the men who had answered the call. Some had mad,? the supreme sacrifice; the onlv thing to be done for them, besides looking after their dependants, was to honour their memory. For those who came back maimed and broken, provision must be made. The. greatest number would come back their normal selves, hale and heartv, better in physique and broader in their mental ideas. Many of these would want to go on the land. He was quite sure that the farmers of New Zealand would do their utmost to assist in settling soldiers on the land. As yet. the Government was doing little, and the scheme would have to be tackled on a much larger scale than at present. Referring to the scheme outlined bv the Mayor of Auckland for settling soldiers on the land, Mr. Ross said that it contained many useful ideas. Tho only difficulty he saw was in regard to training the men in scientific farming. As > a rule farmers knew little about the scientific side of making land productive; therefore they were hardly competent to teach others.