RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16892, 3 July 1918, Page 9

RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY.

Sir,—The various charges and challenges which aro hurtling amidst certain ecclesias- ■ tical circles are very far from edifying ; at the present time. We are now threati ened with a ring being formed' in' somo j public building or other, wherein certain matters are to be fought, out. " Canons" and other "big guns" will roar. MachineI gun oratory will tat-tat-tattlc from sundry : ! pulpits, and snipers will discharge their 11 arguments and criticisms from streeti corners and elsewhere. To win this war we must stand shoulder to shoulder and conserve our energies. Religious differ- > ences should be sunk for the time being, ; and sectarian pugnacity should be con- > verted into some other form of energy I suitable for use .against our foreign foes. What will our returning lads from tjje front think whon they see a sectarian conI flict in progress? British. French, Bel- ) gian, and Italian Roman Catholics are fight- ! I ing side by side with Anglicans and other j Protestants in the truest brotherhood, and > ' the matter of religious differences does • not crop up at all. I feel sure that I l' am voicing the opinion of the vast - ► majority of Christian people when I say we i are sick and .disgusted, in this time of 1 stress, with sectarian clamour. Cease, at any rate, until our great cause is won. In j the meantime, do some quiet thinking, - form your dwn conclusions, and you can' s i then, if you think fit at the close of the war, throw yourself into the religious conflict, which, I am too surely and sadly afraid, will then take place. H. Mason, Otaliuhu.

GROWING TURNIP SEED. Sir,—The press and the Journal of Agriculture are urging farmers to grow turnip seed, both for their own use and for sale. Permit me to utter a warning, drawn from my own experience, first, as : to growing the seed for sale and, second, • ' as to growing it' for one's own use. With 1 i regard to the former, a itmi if mine, a i grain merchant, bought from a farmer a r' parcel of seed— £40 worth—de- • scribed as Purple Top. The merchant sold i this to a Dunedin firm, and thus firm, sold

it to a, large farming proprietary. The crop failed, litigation ensued, and £400 was demanded from the merchant as damages. Ho refused to compromise, was sued, r.nd the ultimate outcome was a loss of about £1500, which was further augmented by a futile appeal. In the second case, the writer had a large area of turnips run to seed, on bush land. The seed was ripe and was easily harvested by merely shaking the heads into a milk-dish. In this way quite a sackful was gathered. This was offered to a firm in Palmerston North. They inquired whether the bulbs had been transplanted, and on being answered in the negative, they said the seed was worthless. Seeking further information, from another source, the writer was told that in his (informant's) country the best bulbs were selected before seeding and stored till the next season, when they were transplated. It would be interesting to learn the experience of others in this matter, both as regards the establishing of the plant and as to securing the purity of the variety. ACRICOLA. i