TRAVELLING FARM SCHOOL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19676, 30 June 1927, Page 16

TRAVELLING FARM SCHOOL.

TOUR OF PROVINCE MADE. AN OUTSTANDING SUCCESS. The series of winter farm schools held in country towns throughout the .Auckland Province by officers of the Department of Agriculture during the last three weeks were most successful, according to a statement made yesterday by Mr. T. 11. Patterson, instructor in agriculture for the province. Mr. P atterscn said the travelling school instituted this year was a new departure. Hitherto it had been the practice to hold a central school at Ruakura and short courses at Dargaville and Whangarei. This year, however, the "school" had travelled throughout North Auckland, the Waikato and the King Country and had given instruction in 16 small centres. Lectures were given by the Director of the Fields Division, Mr. A. 11. Cockayne; Mr. Patterson; the Government, veterinarians, Mr. T. A. Blake and Mr. (J. V. Dayus; the poultry instructor, Mr. E. C. Jarrett; the instructor in horticulture, Mr. C. A. Gibson; arid this district instructors in each centre. There were very good attendances both at the lectures and the numerous practical demonstrations. It was clear that the farmers greatly appreciated the school being brought into the country. In dairying districts farmers had been unable to go to the larger centres for instruction, but this year they had been able to attend the school between milkings, A welcome development had been that many personal visits bv the experts to individual farms had been made possible. This was a realisation of the ideal of the department to be able to give the individual farmer instruction on his farm regarding his own peculiar problems. Another innovation had been classes m domestic science, which had been given in some centres, in conjunction with the school, bv Miss G. M. Wilkinson, domestic science instructress to the Auckland Education Board. There had been a demand for such classes for a number of years, rnd this year an arrangement had been made between the department and the board At Tauniarunui about a dozen farmers' wives had attended the science classes, while their husbands were at the farm school.