AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11296, 23 August 1922, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

WANTED FOB NORTH ISLAND. CLAIMS OF WERAROA AND ■ > RUAKURA. Mr J. A. Young (Waikato) urged in the House of Representatives yesterday that there should be an agricultural college in the North Island as well as in tbo South Island, and said that there was no institution better fitted to be transformed into such a college than the Buakura State Farm. IThe Leader of the Opposition (Mr T. M. Wilford): You should draw the hon. member for Otaki (Mr W. H. Field) on that. (Laughter.) Mr Field j Hear, hear. -Another member.- He will suggest Weraroa. (Laughter.) Later Mt Field said that all members realised the magnifloent work that the Ruakura State Farm had done. But, he urged, the. agricultural college for the North Island should be centrally situated and easily accessible hy all lines of railway, and it should be at a place where the Government already had almost a sufficiency of buildings for tho starting of an agricultural college. These conditions were met at Ruakura and at Weraroa. Undoubtedly, too, if there was to bo an agricultural college in the North Island, it should be on the West Coast, and that was where Weraroa was situated. Another thing was that at Ruakura they had only rich drained-swamp-land ; but at Weraroa they had heavy clav. shingly soil, swamp soil, both solid and peaty in character, and also a small area of sand land; and, he contended, there was no creator need for the Dominion than that of putting to its best use the sand lands of tbe sea coast. What was wanted was the soientifio treatment of that land; and by extending the area of the Weraroa Farm somewhat an adequate acreage of such land could be got for experimental purposes.