OTAGO A. AND P. SOCIETY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18787, 14 February 1923, Page 9

OTAGO A. AND P. SOCIETY

SPECIAL APPEAL COMMITTEE. Sir George Fenwick presided over a meet* ing of the Otago A. and. P. Society's Special Appeal Committee yesterday afternoon, and there were also present the following representatives of the society: Sir John Roberts, Messrs D. Andrew, George Black, H. C. ' Campbell, R. A. Ewing, Edgar C. Hazlett, 11. Turner, S. Bowman, and the following representatives of the Advisory Committee: Arthur Barnett, J. Brown, W. C. Burt, G. Crow, J. A. Johnstone, J. Lethbridge, Crosby Morris, C. W. Rattray. J. Sutherland Ross, H. F. Sincoch, U. E. Theomin, and J. B. Waters. Messrs W. K. Hayward, G. Simpson, T. Somerville and S. Bowman were elected members of the committee. The acting-secretary, Mr E. F. Duthie, submitted a statement showing that the total subscriptions received and promised to date amounted to £3185. The sub-committee appointed to make the necessary arrangements for the allocation of collectors to wait upon the various pro- . Tensions and trades submitted a detailed, scheme which was adopted by the meeting. The chairman remarked that it was quite obvious that the members of the commit- > ' i tee had a very arduous task before them and that all classes of the community were going to be waited upon, Forms were submitted and approved , which provided for cash contributions being received, and also for donations to bo extended over a period of three years, thus meeting the desire of some of the contributors. Sir George Fenwick brought up the question of the manner in which the raoney now being contributed is to be expended. There was naturally a considerable difference of opinion on the subject among contributors, and while the general opinion favoured the paying off of toe debt now due on lahuna Park and other liabilities, there were some . who held (he opinion that the TalumaPark grounds should be put in first-class order'i he chairman also pointed out that it would ■ be to the advantage of the. society if some of our prominent business men who are ; taking an interest in this appeal were more closely connected with the society. Sir John Roberts, who can claim to bo one of the founders of the society, said he recognised the advantages of having the co-operation and assistance of business men. At the same time he pointed out that in the past not many of the business comtnu- 1 nity, apart from the stock and station agents, really realised the advantages to the town of an agricultural society. If this appeal did nothing more than arouse their interest, it would ultimately be to the advantage of all concerned, Mr Edgar Hazlett said he fully recognised the position and suggested that if the wnole question of how the money was to be expended was held over until after the next monthly meeting of the_ A. and P. Com- . rnifctee, which had certain proposals under consideration, they would be in a better position to come to a decision. It was unanimously decided to lot the whole matter stand over till after tbs A. and P. .Society’s monthly meeting on Thursday - week. . It was pointed out that the present indebtedness, exclusive of the mortgage on the Brydono Hall, was_ close on £7OOO, and there were imperative improvements at Tahuna Park which must have immediate attention. The cost of these was indefinite. • and the president (Mr Andrew) undertook to oblain'a lough estimate of it. The meeting wa s a most enthusiastic one, and several members expressed the opinion that they anticipated little difficulty in reaching the desired end. lucerne competition results. Hie Otago A. and P. Society's lucerne competition was for laud irrigated and nonirrigated. The principal prizes are being offered by Messrs Nirnrao and Blair and the Waitaki Dairy Company. Mr R. B. Tennent. N.D.D. Instructor in AgricujUtre, was appointed to judge these competitions hold under the auspices of the society, and the following is_ the list of prizes awarded and his report in connection with this interesting competition: 1 have much pleasure in forwarding herewith my report on the results of the lucerne growing competition for 1922-25 held by _ your society, and judged bv myself. Judging took place during the last fortnight of January, and after a careful inspection of the various plots entered for competition I awarded the prizes to the following competitors: Irrigated Class.—First prize, Miss E. Manson, Bannockburn, 100 points; second prize. Messrs Holloway Bros.. Bannockburn, 90; third prize, Mr H. L. Paterson, Lmdis V alley. 88. . Non-irngated Class. —First prize, Mr T. B Grant. Outram, 95 points; second prize, Mr R. W. Trotter. Kurow. 85; third prize, Moa Seed Farm Association, Dnmbaron. 80 The successful competitors are to be complimented upon the exceptionally lino crops which (hey entered for competition. This is particularly so in the case c.f Miss Manson, winner of the irrigated class, and I have no hesitation in saying that this particular crop is the finest I have ever seen for evenness, freedom from weeds, and general vigour of growth. The first prize non-irrigatecl crop entered by Mr Grant, of Outram, is a splendid example of the utilisation of the right type of soil for lucerne growing. Speaking generally, southern coastal Otago is not very well adapted for the cultivation of lucerne on account of soil conditions and climate. In the case of Mr Grant’s crop, this is grown upon a welldrained bank of the Taieri River, covered , by an alluvial deposit of fine mica schixt soil which has obviously been derived from Central Otago. Mr Grant is to be commended upon his foresight in selecting a soil of this typo in preference to one with a clay subsoil, ami in his case this forethought has been rewarded bv a particularly valuable and well-established stand. tine of the chief factors which mitigated against crops securing a place in file competitions was the presence therein of weeds and grasses. The necessity of constant cultivation cannot be over emphasised, and I attribute the bulk of poor lucerne crons to the fact, that growers fail to sufficiently appreciate the important effects that judicious cultivation has in checking weed growth and at the same time conserving soil moisture. It is gratifying to observe that the value of 1 ucorne as a forage crop is being more generally recognised, and that the efforts of your society to provide a keener interest in the growing of this particular crop are meeting with a great degree success.