THE CAWTHORN INSTITUTE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18543, 2 May 1922, Page 7

THE CAWTHORN INSTITUTE

ITS WORK OUTLINED. (Fsou Qua Own Cokbusponden’t.) AUCKLAND, May T. Particulars of the w»k of the Oawthorn Institute have been given to the Herald.in an interview by Bishop Sadlier, ■ chairman of the trustees, and Professor EJasterfield, .director. , . ; . , . One of the most important features of the 'work accomplished by tlie institute was staled to be a soil survey of the district, carried out by the chemical and agricultural division. This survey, tM ; director explained, showpt] how particular types of soil are distributed in the Nelson district, for wlsat each typo is best fitted, and what particular type’of manorial treatment is most suitable for each class of sdil. Leading agricultural authorities had advocated, for years post that such a Survey, should be made of the whole of Now Zealand.. “I am satisfied that the good results which will follow the systematic survey of the whole of (ho Nelson district must induce tho future Government to have similar work carried out for the whple of the dominion,” said: Professor Easterfield. “In the future it will be possible; by looking at a mAp, to locate any given farm and find out at once-the nature of the soil, and what it is best fitted to grow. On the whole tho, farmer grows the right thing, but he does it as the result .of a long—and often a- very' expensive—process of elimination. Again) such a survey would prevent land Worth £ls an acre being sold at £4O an acre simply because it ' adjoins lands worth the higher figure. The owner often sells at the higher figure in good faith, and the buyer finds, to his sorrow, that he has made a bad bargain. That would be impossible under a systematic- system of soil survey research.” “Work dealing with diseased plants and various fungoid pests is being carried out with great success in the mycollocioal laboratory of tho institute bv Dr Kathleen Curtis, a young New Zealand lady who has done briliani work in her profession,” said Bishop Sadlier. “Dr Curtis has already published in Transactions of the Royal Society, London, a monograph on wart disease in potatoes, which cannot fail to be of the greatest assistance to srientiste in finding means to cambat this pest, while of particular interest to . New Zealand, fruitgrowers arc some of her recent observations on black spot fungus,. An important dis-, covery made bv Dr Curtis Inst spring was that of a perfect form of black spot on apple and pear which was hitherto supposed to be non-existent in New ZealandBlack snot in its worst form is a serious enemv to fruit exporters, and the facte already discovered by Dr Curtis have an important bearing on the of this fungus in orchards of the dominion. A very large number of diseased plants and fruits have also been submitted to her by farmers, orchardists, and market gardeners, while her advice and lectures to tomato growers on fungoid disease have been highly appreciated. ” The question ss to whether any research work has been done at Ciwthoru Institute in connection with firebjight disease was put to Professor “We have done nothing in Nelson itself.” he leplied, “for (he simple fact that the disease is such a menace that we must decline to actually experiment with it in any way in tho South Island, in which it has not made its apnearance. Dr Tillyarrl chief of the biological staff, and Dr Kathcen Curtis, the mvcologist, have, however, visited the fireblight areas of the. Auckland district, and have collaborated with expert officers of the Department of Agriculture.”, Dr Tillyard’s energetic campaign against tho hawthorn hedge, the great harbouror of the disease in the fruit-growing districts, it was added, had caused many fruitgrowers to root up the hedges around their orchards. It. was stated that excellent work is also being done in combatting insect pests of,, various kinds.