SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19511, 15 December 1926, Page 16

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

WORK OF THE COUNCIL. GOOD PROGRESS MADE. EXPERIMENTS IN DOMINION. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Tuesday. At the second meeting of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, which was held to-day, the chairman, Mr. G. Shirtcliffe, outlined the progress that had been made. This was also the first meeting since the return of the permanent secretary, Dr. E. Marsden, from Australia., where he collected a large amount of information regarding ®research work there. The chairman said a certain amount of collaboration had also been arranged for between the Australian and New Zealand councils. In his report Mr. Shirtcliffe said that since the last meeting arrangements had been made for the acceptance of the offers of the Empire Marketing Board to contribute £2OOO a year each toward the cost Of researches into noxious weed control, particularly blackberry eradication, and into the mineral content of pastures. Appointment of Entomologists. The investigation of noxious weeds, especially blackberry control, had been placed in the hands of Dr. Tillyard and would be centred round the Cawthron Institute, but would be done under the general direction of a committee of the council. A first-class entomologist had been appointed to control the collection and testing of insects in Great Britain, and Mr. A. Tonnoir, of the Canterbury Museum, had been appointed field entomologist for work in New Zealand. Full details could not be worked out until Dr. Tillyard's return in about a month's time, but it was satisfactory to note that the Cawthron Institute, ■ the Department of Agriculture and the Scientific Research Department would work in active collaboration. With regard to research into mineral deficiency of pastures, a problem of animal nutrition which had become so important in the raising of stock, Mr. Shirtcliffe said arrangements had been made by which Mr. Aston, of the Department of Agriculture, would take general charge of the work. The preliminary stages of this would probably be carried out on the pastures of the Waikato pumice lands and in the Manawatu and Nelson districts, where extensive soil surveys had already been made. It was probable that the major portion of the work would be centred round the chemical laboratory of the , Department of Agriculture, but certain aspects of thff problem would be attacked from the Cawthron Institute. The committee had been actively engaged in investigating the question of a seed and plant diseases station, and the evidence collected showed that an urgent and concentrated attack on plant and seed diseases and breeding was called for. The committee had discussed considerably the method of control of the proposed research institute. A report would be presented for consideration, i The recommendation for the purchase of a special threshing machine had been adopted by the Department of Agriculture, so that the smut-free experimental . crops now ripening would be threshed under conditions ensuring that the seed would not become infected with disease.. < , * ■' Investigations Into Fuel. With regard to research in fuel, _ the Wellington members of the committee had had several meetings with the Under-Secretary of Mines, and a valuable report by Dr. MacLaurin, of. the Dominion laboratory, had been prepared and circulated among the members of the council. No real steps could be taken, however, pending the proposed meeting of the council's committee with the Mines Department and the Mineowners' Association in January. Correspondence had' passed between the department and a private inventor of a coal briquette manufacturing process. Should an encouraging analysis of his promised sample be obtained by the Dominion laboratory, a demonstration of the process would probably be arranged for. The council would also be asked to approve of suggested regulations for national research scholarships. One of the best services they could do for the promotion of scientific research was to facilitate the training of scientific research workers, and the proposed regulations for national research scholarships should be a step in that direction. With regard to dairy research, a full survey of the situation was not yet completed, pending further discussion with the director of agriculture and the director of the dairy division.