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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.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19190426.2.81

Bibliographic details

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

Word Count
1,101

TRAINING AS FARMERS. New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17145, 26 April 1919, Page 10

TRAINING AS FARMERS. New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17145, 26 April 1919, Page 10