SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12391, 10 March 1926, Page 6

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

LEAN YEARS AHEAD NEW ZEALAND’S PRESSING NEED COUNTRY MUST PRODUCE MORE At tho Rotary Club luncheon yesterday, at which Professor E. Marsden, Assistant-Director of Education, presided, tho guest of honour was _ Sir Frank Heath, secretary to th© British Department of Scientific and Industrial 71('scarab, wlio gave an interesting talk cn the requirements of New Zealand in regard to a more scientific attack on the problems confronting industry. “I can do nothing better,” said the speaker, “than to explain what I think is ono of tho greatest needs, perhaps the greatest need, in New Zealand today, if there is to he any successful scheme for bringing science and industry into closer touch. In a word, this is team-work. No country in the world to-day is big enough to leave out of consideration what is being done for production in other parts.” A thing which he was pleased to note in New Zealand, said th© speaker, was tho intense local patriotism which was evident in different parts of the couAtry. This was a feeling which was not to be despised, and more especially from the fact that for the at any rate, any endeavour in the direction of scientific industrial research must be a local ono. There was no fear, however, but that whenever centralisation was found to be necessary, it would bo forthcoming. What was essential was co-operation in certain' directions, and by this means more could perhaps be achieved than if they waited for the Government to do the whole of the work.

“You have here,” proceeded Sir Frank Heath, “a great—l was almost going to say an appalling—number of problems to solve. Every new country has these problems, and these come, unfortunately, in the early stages of its development, when it is least prepared to meet them. This means' . that you have —to quote Mr Ramsay ''MacDonald—to attack ‘first things first.’ ' Some things will inevitably have to wait. If things go right, everything will be attended to in due course, but it is fatal to attempt to attack on a wide front without adequate forces. MUST HELP THEMSELVES “It is necessary to choose this field rather than that, not because all are not important, but merely because it is a case of relative values. Further, in New Zealand there is a serious shortage, not only of trained men, but of money also, particularly <as far as the Government is concerned. It is not to be expected that the Government, with all the various calls upon its finance, will be prepared to spend a large sum of money on what is largely experimental work, at least until they see that the people whom the work is intended to benefit are also prepared to assist.” To have reasonable co-operation in this great adventure the speaker went on, was essential, and co-opera-tion in the practical sense of being prepared to put their hands into their pockets and pay for,the work. He did not see any difficulty about this cooperation. He had recently been through the laboratory established in South Taranaki to inquire into the problems confronting the dairying industry. This was an institution which had been erected by 1 means of a levy on the produce of the dairy farmers concerned, and to which the Government contributed hy subsidising the salaries of the scientific staff. It was the most hopeful thing which he had seen in New Zealand, and was particularly meritorious from the fact of displaying on one side the greatest generosity cn the part of tho governing body of farmers, in providing tho best of equipment, and, on the other, using the most rigorous economy in cutting down non-essentials. In that laboratory, although it had been established only a short time, thev had already solved two nrolilems which had a big bearing on the industry. More than this, investigators in directions other than that of dairying were bringing to the laboratory their own problems for solution, and much good work was being done in this way.

PROBLEM OF SECONDARY INDUSTRIES

One of the difficulties which confronted the secondary industries in New Zealand was the fact that tho greater number of factories were small. From Government statistics it was found that 80 per cent, of New Zealand factories employed 20 workmen or less. Rapid progress in investigation was therefore not to be expected, but if the different industries would combine and attack certain problems common to all, then definite good work might be accomplished. Much could also be done by the Government through its laboratories, in making available {o scientific industrial investigators the result of experiments conducted by the Government institutions. By a gradual co-ordination of all endeavour towards tho common good a great deal might be done for indus- 1 trial improvement in this country.

Sir Frank Heath concluded a very interesting talk by cautioning bis hearers that in all probability New Zealand would find herself threatened with a serious depression in tlie near future. Tho only way to meet this was hy improved production, so that, even if the price of products went down, the total production would compensate for this.