TRAINING AS FARMERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17145, 26 April 1919, Page 10

TRAINING AS FARMERS.

, NEW ZEALAND SOLDIERS. "CLASSES IN DEVONSHIRE. SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT. An interesting account of the methods ! " adopted in England to train New Zca--6 landers in the cultivation of land was ' given yesterday by Cafitain H. E. Mc,e Gowan, M.8.E., New Zealand Expedition* ' ary Force, who returned to the Dominion .] on furlough by the Bhamo. Captain McI Gowan is depot agricultural officer and J chief instructor at the Agricultural Farm i at the New Zealand depot, Torquay/ He J, ! is well-known in agricultural circles in the . Dominion. For 30 years prior to the out. It, break of war he was farming at Willow--0 bridge, South Canterbury, where he beo came prominent because of many experi--6 ments he carried out in respect of the t cultivation of potatoes. He has returned a to the Dominion on four weeks' leave, at i- the expiration of which he will return to o England. Captain McGowan was created d a member of ilia Order if the B itish g Empre for his services in the field, and in a agricultural work in Eng'and. il ,-. Recognising that the time and brains of 't ' some 3000 New Zealanders, who were in d, base at Torquay, were being allowed to go tr waste. Captain McGowan suggested 6 ' at the beginning of lost year that an lR endeavour should bo made to establish an I- agricultural clacs on comprehensive lines, »f and, receiving tho necessary authority, ho, d in February, 1918, obtained control of 30 0 ariefs of land from the Petit Tor Golf Club. 9 Almost immediately afterwards he was 7 offered 100 acres, portion of the JFgb'rooko 0 Park Estate, by Lord Clifford, a cousin !r of Sir George Clifford, at the nominal ■• rental of Is a year. Hf was then asked " to take over 400 acres of the Torquay '■ watershed property, which was und-r the ; ? control of the Torquay Borough Council. ' f I Thus, the total are'a was brought up to '" 530 acres, the greater _ portion of which y I was virgin soil, practically none of it ' 8 1 having ever been cropped. The 6mall '• I portion which had received some atten- ? tiou had been untouched for 28 years. It • was overgrown with fern and heathor, and abounded in rabbits. d Large Number of Applications. Work was 'commenced on March 1, a •. permanent staff of experts, holding tho h ranks of first-class warrant officers and e non-commissioned officers, being appo'nted if by Captain McGowan. The initial exI, penditnre on implements was borne by it ' the Regimental Inßt-'tuto, and all the i- ' horses were supplied free of charge by the g Remount Drpot. The Torquay Borough if Council provided the watershed property, I. . and ill seed required, it paid for horsea feed end oil and paraffin, used for the ;, . agrto'iiural motors, and for the superi- phosphates, and in return it -.was reimn cursed by half of the resultant crop, which was put in and taken out by the mon of the school. From the outset the scheme was a success, tho authorities being deluged with application from New Zeal-nddrs anxious to receive the benefit of tho course. In addition, requests were received from members of (he British Amy, but as tho number of > instructors and accommodation were limited, not more than 100 men could bo trained at one time, a total which was always fully ,t maintained. Indeed, the waiting list » practically always contained 800 names. ,1 All the students lived on the farm under 0 canvas. * flood Yields Obtained. 9 The first return, which was from the ■* Petit Tor scheme, consisted of a crop of e oats averaging 40 bushels to the acre. At •» Lord Cliffords Estato, known as Heathfield, the crop consisted of 40 acres of oats, h averaging 45 bushels to the acre, and a - good return of potatoes and carrots and i other vegetables, the latter being supplied • to tho men at the Torquay base. A splen- ! did crop of potatoes was obtained from f 150 acres' of the watershed property. Oats I were raised from 100 acres, the remaining f' area being put under fallow for this f year's crop, the, basis of which is at prei sent being sown in the form of seed for r early potatoes. The authorities have now i taken ovor an additional 200 acres of the e watershed property, bringing that area up - to 600 acres, which this year will bo i planted in potatoes, turning and oats. At e Hoathfield, 40 acres is to he sown with . wheat, the remainder being devoted to 3 vegetables. A similar course is to bo purJ sued at Petit Tor, 10 acres being used for ' ■ oats, and the remainder for early potatoes . and other vegetables. The leases of the - j ground expire at the end of this year. i» j The profit on the venture for the firsi , year amounted to from £1500 to £2000, , including stock and plant, and it is antici- • rated that the surplus for this year will , be between £5000 and £7000. The whole 1 scheme is now under the control of the - j Headquarters Department. , Considerable interest in the scheme was ( aroused in agricultural circles in England, ) and just before Captain McGowan left > England he received a letter from the j Devon Agricultural Board to the effect 1 that the English farmers had been shown > how to handle land. This, said Captain , McGowan, was nothing extraordinary, as ) prior to the establishment of the school !' the agricultural motor was a strange sight i in Devon. . Modern Implements Used. , In conjunction with the school there also , are a large piggery and a horticultural sec- ' tion. The profit last year from the latter' was £375. Two rabbitm are empVyed , on the farms, their work last year result- j ing in the* netting of over 2000 rabbits. Captain McGowan said that from the ■ outset the farm had proved a great attraction to the men, the majority of j whom were keen to take a course of the 1 ' training, after which they invariably ex- ' pressed the intention of settling on the j ! land upon their return to the Dominion, | Considerable attention is being paid to, the thorough tra : ning of the men in tha ' use of modern farming imnlements and the agricultural motors. At Watershed three tractors are in use, the class, which is i' comprised of 30 pupils, being given a , courso of four weeks' training, at tho ex- , piration of which they are usually experts. r A class on tho theory' of "the tractor and I motor-lorry generally is also being con- , ducted at Headquarters, Torquay.