FOOD DEFENCE PLANS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22596, 8 December 1936, Page 13

FOOD DEFENCE PLANS

Sir, —Mr. Thomas A. F. Stone's letter in regard to the output of British farmers and pointing out the increased production of food possible as a result of scientific manipulation of the soil gives one aspect only of the benefits that the utilisation of knowledge already available to man is ready to confer upon the race. The whole question partakes ol •that "frustration" and misuse of science of which all scientists justly complain. The man in the street is apt to regard soil science as ranking with the abstruse and esoteric; and it is not known so widely as ought to he the case that soilscience might be utilised as an aid toward improving economic conditions; that plants can return to the soil at some stage of their growth (either after the first burst of vegetative activity or after maturation of the fruits) certain of the more important nutrient elements which they have absorbed; that ecological survey should be the pro-requisite of food production; that not only quantity but also quality may be enhanced by the utilisation of knowledge already available in soil-science; that Sir Albert Howard (as a result of experiment) claims that adequate organic manuring, as contrasted with the application of chemical fertilisers, produces a quality which confers immunity to all diseases (tuberculosis and foot-and-mouth disease are cited) on the animals consuming these crops; and that mankind, in turn, may obtain this immunity by consuming such animals or their products. In questions of health, one can sec plainly, it is necessary to "get back to the land" and to study the very soil itself. Mothkk Machkke.