AGRICULTURAL TRAINING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18355, 22 March 1923, Page 10

AGRICULTURAL TRAINING.

Sir,—Will some well-informed reader tell me what our State farms of instruction aro for? My son has an ardent desire fon an agricultural career, and his keenness has survived three months on a dairy Jarm, milking fifty cows by machine and doing general farm work, commencing his day at 3.30 a.m. and finishing between 8 and 9 p.m. I, therefore, decided to have him scientifically trained at the State firm of instruction, and made application to the Director-General of Agriculture stating* that I was willing to pay for the boy's training, but received the reply that that door was closed. "It has been deeded, owing to the heavy expense to the Government involved, not to accept any further learners at Ruakura!" So our boys are to be trained by hard working, labour wasting, unscientific — in many cases, conscientious still, unsystematic me|n/ and so perpetuate their bungling ideas. ". Wherever our economies are made they should never be made in matters pertaining to the training of our children. If we | lose sight of this vital principle io surely will it boomerang back and the State suffer. " Owing to the - heavy • expense ** — I maintain that this heavy expense can very materially and usefully be cut down by the training of large squads of properly-super-vised cadets doing the whole of the labour on the State farms and attending wellstaffed schools on . the spot. , Such squads could do, say, alternate months at practi- ; cal and theoretical work and get right down to "tin • tacks." Not doing "'] only the light work and watching tie actual labour done by paid - workmen, thus getting the mistaken idea that farming is a "kid glove" game. Farming is essentially hard work, requiring men who are systematic stickers, and who love the game, and such only should be trained by *MJ State experts. This system I suggest would serve the fourfold purpose of training large numbers of our boys; sifting out the dross, finding the true metal, and cutting down the heavy expense. '■[<:'' \V "...- Progress.