PROBLEMS OF FARMERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19470, 28 October 1926, Page 10

PROBLEMS OF FARMERS.

ASSISTING RESEARCH WORK. FINANCIAL AID OFFERED. TWO IMPORTANT PROPOSALS. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] "WELLINGTON, "Wednesday. An announcement was made by the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. 0. J. Hawken. to-day that two important proposals had been made by the Empire Marketing Board to give practical aid in the investigation of problems affecting the primary producer. The boardj said Mr. Hawken, had offered New Zealand a grant of £'2ooo per annum for five years to be expended on research into the problem of eradicating the blackberry pest, on condition that the Government and the Cawthron Institute between them will assist with a like SUIU. This was an investigation which the Department of Agriculture and the Cawthron Institute had been conducting for some time, and it was probably well known that Dr. Tilyard, of the Cawthron Institute, was on an extensive tour having as its main object the discovery of means of controlling the spread of blackberry and other weeds. He had been chiefly instrumental in bringing about this action on the part of the Marketing Board. Another offer which the Empire Marketing Board has made is a grant of £2OOO per annum for two years on condition that the New Zealand Government will similarly contribute toward further investigation into the mineral content of pastures. This was a most important investigation of value, not only to New Zealand, but to farmers in portions of the United Kingdom. A good deal of progress had already boen made in this matter in New Zealand. The investigations of the agricultural chemist of the Department of Agriculture in connection' with hi* work on bush sickness having aroused creat interest among scientists in th« United Kingdom, it was recognised that New Zealand had already made a valuable contribution to this sphere of research. "In making proposals to the Empire Marketing Board for the working out of the scheme," continued the Minister, "we have been able to point out that New Zealand has set up a special organisation for the purpose of co-ordinating all scientific research, helpfully co-operating with the Department of Agriculture, the Cawthron Institute and all other scientific activities. We therefore propose that the general supervision and co-ordination of these investigations shall be in the hands of the council of scientific research and that specific phases of the work will be undertaken by those branches if scientific activity which already have these problems in hand."