MODERN FARMING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18929, 29 January 1925, Page 13

MODERN FARMING.

PRACTICE AND SCIENCE. VALUE OF EDUCATION. WHAT FARMERS SHOULD KNOW. BT W.S. The question frequently occurs as to . whether practical or scientific farming is , the proper course to adopt, Tha practi- . ojil farmer looks upon science in relation ■ to fanning as a stumbling block to sue- j cess. On the other hand the scientific fanner, as the one possessing a scientific knowledge of farming, considers he is in a better position to cope with the many difficulties associated with modern farming. To debate the question, practical v. scientific farming, however, is to attempt to make a distinction without a difference. In this sense a scientific farmer would bo one evincing science as systematic knowledge and the practical farmer could also be so described, so that both should be good farmers. It may bo that a good farmer is a scientific man without knowing it, that he has become possessed of scientific knowledge as a result of careful and abundant observation and experiments. Science may be defined as art, skill and expert-" ncss. Any farmer would claim to possess these qualifications, having become expert after many years of observation, and working bis land. The question, therefore, would "seem to be whether it is better for th# farmer to puzzle out his own difficulties by himself on his own land, with* hard work, or should he avail himself of j the opportunities for obtaining a know- j ledge of the science relating to agricul- i Hire first, and apply it afterwards ? | The. most resaonable solution of this is that he should first possess himself of the knowledge, and so save himself many difficulties aud heartburnings. The Scientific Farmer. The term "scientific farming" is often applied by the so-called practical farmer as an attempt at sarcasm, simply because, in the early stages of the application of the. sciences to agriculture, men, with no knowledge of either the business or the Working of a farm, attempted to demonstrate the. application of the science and failed because of imperfect, knowledge—they were not scientific farmers, but pure scientists. To-day we have failure both of educated and practical farmers, as there are individuals who fail at any business, but tbe comments on the failures are rather partial. The man with the educational advantages failed because he was impractical, the practical man because he was no good. Anyway, both should he criticised or classed under the saroo heading. Perhaps their talent did not lie in the direction of farming, (no calling should be judged by its few failures.) Anyone will agre% that education is a distinct advantage to any man. Science is acquired through education. Knowledge is easily carried; science is merely sys'tematised knowledge. Would we go back to the doctors of 100 years ago, or the lawyer, or the schoolmaster, of that - date? No. Because we want the trained men of to-day, not the experienced men of a century ago. There is much greater need for a farmer to acquire scientific knowledge than most workers because he has far "more complex problems to deal with. It is only reasonable to assume that a man should make a better farmer if he has education in. the sciences relating (o agriculture than if he knew nothing of other men's knowledge. Opponents to Science, Those opposed to scientific training say a good education is all that a farmer needs, and then plenty of hard work. If we don't start, cn a proper basis, however, we can only have an argument contrasting the "t>®st with the worst. It has already been pointed out that education cannot make a duffer into a clever farmer, or doctor, or ganger, or anything else. If the so-called successful practical farmer had had a little scientific training in agriculture he would in all probability have been even more successful. To begin ■with, a knowledge of physics aud chemistry would surely give a farmer more interest in the cultivation of the soil, which the average farmer treats as a purely mechanical operation, to be done with implements only. If educated in agricultural chemistry, the farmer would understand that a broken-up soil is not necessarily a seed bed; the .soil must be in a fine state of division and charged with moisture and properly aerated; this state can best bo brought about by proper ploughing sufficiently early to enable the natural weathering agents, frost and 'sun, to play on it and break it up and pack it Again he would Irm-w that a sour subsoil or too much unweathered soil should not be brought to the top, for a knowledge of chemistry would tell him that the plants cannot live in such a soiL A knowledge of chemistry gives a farmer a great advantage when using artificial fertilisers, for instance. He buys the right manure, uses it at-the right tiKs, and won't mix manures that shduld not be mixed. A knowledge of bacteriology would also make a farmer moro careful" in treating his soil, either" in'regard to cultivation or manuring, for he knows that those bacteria which prepare toe plant food in the soil cannot live and thrive if the soil is water-logged, crusted, caked, or badly packed, or suffering from acidity, and he will know what means should be taken to remedy these defects. A Knowledge o! Botany. Ths soil is not the dead, inert body that it was onco, thought to beon trie Contrary, it is * teeming ma» of oactemi life. The successful farmer mast make * careful study of this bacterial life m order that ho may make use of the favourable kinds, and to cope with those Of the undesirable kind. Then, again, what an advantage a knowledge cf botany and plant diseases gives! Good and bad mants can be identified, also their habits of growth and their requirements, m as manures and their treatment iue~ concerned, In the purchase _of seed he stauds on an equal footing with. the merchant, sees at once whether e sample is true to type, and can test it, and sow,, accordingly; there are no missed crops from having sown deac, seeds. .. . Many of the plant diseases can b avoided or treated with accuracy. Mos people know of ths hot water treatment for" smutted grain, but it is a delicate operation, and the temperature must not exceed a certain limit But anyone in possession of such knowledge can treat, the grain quite successfully. b<o one possessing any definite knowledge would subject the seed to a higher temperature lor a shorter period to save time. Agricultural education cannot spoil a ma ." s natural keenness, but it may clarify trie brains of those not possessed ot higo natural ability and everything is in lavoar of education improving a man s business qualities.