FARM SCHOOL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19182, 27 May 1924, Page 4

FARM SCHOOL.

COURSE OF INSTRUCTION. FIRST DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. INTERESTING ADDRESSES The second annual course of instruction to fanners, under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, Dunedin Farm School, commenced in the Dunedin Technical School yesterday morning. The course is to last until 'Saturday next, and there will be three sessions daily, at which lectures appertaining to agricultural matters will be dealt with by experts in their separate branches. The first business yesr.erday was the enrolment of farmers, and 60, the number of names handed in, compares very favourably with last year's enrolments. The total is expected to reach 150 to-day. WOOL CLASSING. The. course of instruction commenced in the morning, when Mr J. G. Cook, woolclnssor for the. Department of Agriculture, addressed an attendance of about 30 farmers on wool classing. Mr A. H. Cockayne (director) introduced the speaker, and stated that the small attendance was due to the fact that the trains did not fit in with the arrangements. It had been decided that Mr Cook would give the same address later in the week. In opening his address, Mr Cook said ho would deal with the matter from the beginning. When he went through Now Zealand classing wool, ho had noticed that the conveniences for such work were not good, and in many cases he had found the farmer in a "fog" as to how to go about the work. To overcome this difficulty he had drawn up a plan for a suitable shed, and also a list of all the material reguired, and such had appeared in the Journal of Agriculture. The speaker next dealt at length with tho shearing of the sheep, a.nd the subsequent processes through which wool was put in the sheds. A great deal more attention should be paid to the wool, said the speaker, as the treatment of the material decided tho results at the sales. There were several important factors to bo watched, and the first was skirting. This consisted of the removal of anything from the fleece that did not harmonise with tho class of wool, and the removal of dags and stained parts. The skirting was done according to the demand of the fleece. After the skirting came the rolling, and this was followed by classing. The woo! was classed in order to get it in its lines in the bales as uniformly as possible. The clean wool came under two heads —combing and clothing. 'The combing was applied to any wool that could stand the tension of tho combing machine, and bear any strain. The clothing was applied to wool which although long was tender, and could not stand the combing process. Tho latter was due ejther to shortage of feed or weather conditions, and in some cases was due to disease. The other lines were (TeeJces which had been discoloured by ticks or weather elements, and these were drafted out and classed as ''dingy." Then oiime "cotted or matted," both of which applied to the same class of fleece; double fleeces, those which had missed one or more shearing and which we.ro only to have the stained part across, the britch removed; black wool, and sandy wool, all of ■which were kept apart and accorded different treatment. The speaker stressed the necessity of keeping aside the wool known to bo carrying seed. There was the bid-a-bid, which, as far as New Zealand was concerned, was a curse. Then there was horehound. Bathrust burr, and burr clover. ' With wool holding seed the only course was to have it carbonised before it went through the manufacturing process, and if not done at this stage it should be done before being put on the market. The speaker urged that if farmers had seedv wool, to so indicate it on their bales, and then the proper steps could bo taken, and it would not be mixed up with the best class ot wool. 'Honesty is the best policy, you know." said Mftr Cook, "I have tried both."— (Laughter.). Tho next step dealt with was the final inspection of the wool before it was baled. After this the pressing process was described, and the methods of branding and weighing were touched upon. _ At this stage the speaker dressed himself in a smock and gave a practical demonstration of wool classing, using two floeces, and numerous clippings of wool, to illustrate his points. Continuing, Mr Cook dealt at length with the ram, and said one of the best breed to uso in New Zealand was tho Romney. This breed was better suited to the class of country, and offered a greater resistance to footrot on swampy lands. Nw Zealand was fortunate in regard to its sheep breeders, as they had improved the quality of tho fleeces and had made It more even, and so it could be classed more easily and higher prices wore the result. In conclusion the speaker said there was a tendency among sheep farmers to get rid of fat. lambs, among which were included the best ©wo lambs. This was a wrong practice, because these were tho best of tho flook. The farmer was only keeping tho inferior or reject owe lambs to breed from later on, and by so doing was causing a deterioration in the quality ot the wool grown by tho flock. Several questions were asked and satisfactorily answered., after which the speaker was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. THE OFFICIAL OPENING. The official opening of the school by tho Mayor (Mr 11. L. Tapley) took place in Bnrt Hall in the afternoon. There was a fair attendance presided over by Mr A. H. Cookayne (director). On the platform were tho Hons. W. Downio Stewart and C. E. Rtatham, his Worship tho Maor, Messrs J. Wallace (chairman of tho Otago Education Board), S. B. Macdonakl (president of the Otago Expansion League), A. C. Reary (vice-president of the _ Otago Farmers' Union), D. Andrew (president of the Otago A. and P. Association), and J. Crawford Anderson (representative of the farmers). In opening the second session of the Otago Farm School Mr To,pley said he felt it a high honour to ho called upon to open the' school of instruction. As Mayor of the city of Dunedin he extended a hearty welcomo to tho visitors. They realised in the cito that their associations were closely intermingled with tho farmers, and that tho prosperity of tho city was dependent on the prosperity of tho country districts. This school of instruction was one of the most valuable tho Government had introduced. Tho school was a means by which scientific knowledge was imparted, and in the present dav of advancement and improvement this was wholly necessary. They _ wanted closer development and a scientific handling of the land. He wished tho school every success, and was sure that the farmers would derive a great doal of benefit from tho instruction thoy would receive. He then declared the school open. The Hon. Mr Stewart said he wished to ioin'with tho Mayor in congratulating Mr Cockayne and his colleatruos in being able to renew tho course of instruction and to wish tho course all success and continual growth. Me was not qualified to speak on tho technical aspect, of farming questions, but everyone recognised the enormous importance of scientific agriculture in tho dominion. New Zealand had already established an extraordinary record in regard to tho productivity of her agricultural and pastoral industries. At present, he behoved. New Zealand supplied greater quantities of butter, cheese, and frozen mutton and lamb to Groat Britain than any other country in tho world. In return for that Now Zealand bought, from Groat Britain a greater quantity of goods per capita than anv other country in tho world. Our export trade nor oapita. he thought, was greater than that of any other country. That sufficed to bring home the importance of our primary industries. Every opportunity of affording further assistance in promoting our primary industries would be welcomed. The farmer;) of Otago and Southland had a very high reputation as practical agriculturists. He had frequently noticed that in tho North Island the standard of farming was gauged by a comparison with Otago and Southland. The speaker went on to congratulate the authorities immediately responsible for the conduct of the school. Ho hoped that all concerned would find the course beneficial and that tho movement would spread and bring increasing prosperity and good fortune to all. The Hon. Mr Rtatham said ho did not know that he was competent to speak upon farming questions, but he joined with tho Mayor and Mr Stewart in congratulating those concerned upcai the start of the second session of the farming school. Ho thought d. would be recognised that the farmer, especially the dairy farmer, was probably tho hardest-worked member of any community. It was recognised also that tho time when the farmer iust scratched the surface of the ground and then went on to another place had passed, and that to achieve success scientific methods must bo employed. He felt sure that those attending the course would get information that would stand them in good stead in th«ir work. Alter four weary years of war, dux-

ing which the loading nations of the world wore using their energies for the destruction of ono another, it must, follow that thero was a tremendous lot of leeway to bo made up, and .ho people had to depend first on the. farmer to make it up. The farmors had a. splendid record, and lie hoped they would maintain it and ar, tho same time secure good results for themselves. Ho had groat faith in the southern part of Now Zealand, and he believed that tho weather experienced in that part had a great deal to do with good farming and worked out as a blessing in the end. He congratulated Mr Cockayne and everyone else concerned on the start of another session, and wished them every success. Mr Wallace said ho did not know why he had been asked to speak unless it was because this was a school. Ho would say, however, that the Education Department, wa« doing something for agriculture. They had three experts in Duuedin, and in due time he hopod that all tho instructors would be graduates of the Olago schools. Tho work of agricultural instruction was being carried out in llie schools, tint it was a wearisome job, especially in Central Ota go, where the teachers tried to make cabbages grow without water. Some men did not think it right to have such instruction in tho schools, but he thought it gave them an inkling of what to do, and that was a start. If they could get tho children interested in what the teachers told them, the farmers would find they could bettor keep them on the farms. On behalf of the Otago Education Board and the Technical School he wished them a successful time. , , Mr S, B. Macdonald said ho first wanted to congratulate the Agricultural Department on the institution of tho schoo.. 'lhe prospects of tho second school seemed much brighter than tho first, and that waa entirely satisfactory. Ihe school would have far-re-u-hinß effects, and he pointed out that the prosperity of tbe country, depended on the icon who grew the food, and not on tho men in the eity. The sooner that was realised the sooner would the get rid of the discontent and labour troubles, and he trusted the. school would educate the people on this point. Mr T.eary said he was pleased to speak on behalf of the Farmers' Union, and congratulated the department on establishing the school. It was a means of increasing production, and more so in the luture when they would have stronger competition from other countries. He urged the farmers to support the school to the utmost, the department had given thorn tho lead, and it was up to them to keep it going. The speaker hoped they would profit from the course of instruction, and use such knowledge in their everyday work. Mr Andrew said the lectures and instruction had the heartv support of the A. and P. Society. There waa a time when most of them considered that practical knowledge was all that was required to make a successful breeder and farmer. While these qualifications were essential, it was now recognised, and admitted, that to compete in the world's markets, and make the best use of the land and stock, it was nocessarv that advantage should be taken of all scientific knowledge. He would impress upon both old and young the necessity of taking advantage of this opportunity and attending the lectures arranged by the department. Mr Anderson, on behalf of the farmers of Otago and Southland, said he wished to thank the Minister for setting up the classes of instruction. They were a step in the right direction, as .they gave the farmer an opportunity of gaining knowledge from experts which was beneficial to them. The Minister of Agriculture was a "live wire," and seemed to grasp that portion of his duties more than the rest.—(laughter and applause.) The speaker warned tho farmers to watch Russia and the Argentine, stating that in these two countries they would meet with serious competition in the matter of many farm products. They had to feed and breed well, and they would then, and only then, bo able to meet tho competition that was suro'y coming from these quarters. Ho urged them to attend the lectures, and they would receive the utmost berifit from them Mr Cockayne said that from tho departmental viewpoint agricultural schools were one of the mainstays of tho dominion. Some persons who wanted to indicate the progress of agriculture worked it out by the population of tho country. He preferred to take tho area occupied by the farmer, and it was found that off each aero under cultivation approximately 34s was taken, and this could still further be increased. Tho only »vay to bring about an increase was to increase the skill and energy of tho farmer So far as skill was concerned, he meant that it was the actual skill of the farmer in the manipulation of his land which told. Tho schools were instituted for the purposo of inculcating that skill among the farmers, and tho scheme was spreading. When it was first introduced, three years ago, ono school was held, last year it was increased to six, and this year there were nine. They wore at the prosent time facing tremendous competition, and they had to have both quantity and quality to fight it. The needed could bo obtained only by such schools as were now in operation, and he stressed the necessity of the co-operation of the farmer with the Department of Agriculture and tho Education Department. • At this point ho would like to thahk tho Department of Agriculture, the Education Department, and the Technical School for the manner in which they had responded to the work, and handed over the splendid buildings for the classes. Continuing, the speaker said that so far as tho classes were concerned he would urge all those attending to ask questions at the close of the addresses, ir. was to their advantage to do so, and there wore many problems in connection with farming that could be cleared up. In conclusion, tho speaker said farming was tho finest profession of mankind, and it was tho aim of the department to give the farmer every assistance possible. At th© ronclusiou of tho addresses afternoon tea was dispensed. INSECTS AND AGRICULTURE. Despite tho indemencp of tho weather there was a good attendance at Burt Hall last evening when an address on "Insects and Agriculture " was delivered by Mr D. Miller, Government Entomologist. Tho address was illustrated throughout with lantern slides. Mr Cockayne presided. Mr Miller stated that the farming activities of New Zealand were primarily confined to stock-raising, and as a natural outcome of this over 95 per cont. of tho total area of land utilised by the farmer was under native crapses and sown pasture. A considerable amount of cultivation was associated with stock-raising, and upon about 4 per cent, of the farm lands cereal and root crops were annually grown. The farmer had therefore to deal with a groat variety of conditions in the raising of slock and crops and his business involved a close association with Nature. One of tho fundamental factors influencing the development of plants and animals was the insect element. At the present time the destructive insects in the dominion existed in tho proportion of 29 per cent native species and 71 per cent, introduced. Of the native insects, only those that originally subsisted on the native grasses concerned the farmer in relation to pasture and crops, since the plants utilised by him were for the most part of the grass type—pasture and cereals—and were consequently exposed to tho depredation of grass-feeding insects. During agricultural development the un-looked-for destructive insect factor had, therefore, developed from among the native insect population, and if tho farmer waa to attain the best results it was necessary to adapt his farm practice in such a way as to make tho conditions as unfavourable as possible for tho insects in question. A great deal could be accomplished by thorough cultivation, clean farming, and crop rotation. Clean farming resulted in tho removal of weedy places and rank growth which, harbouring various insects, were too often the source of insect outbreak. Crop rotation presented bo insects an interrupted series of suitable food plants, the system arranged so that no crops of the same type wore grown in immediate succession. In certain cases the time of sowing a crop susceptible to attack could be arranged so an to avoid injury during the destructive period of an insect's lifecycl e. In conclusion, the speaker said that, among the introduced insects destructive to crops the diamond-back moth and the cabbage aphis wore outstanding. Their depredations upon rape and turnips were especially serious. The control of these, insects presented may difficulties, but Iho investigation of them, being carried out at present, pointed to cruciferous weeds us being an alternative breeding ground for them in the absence, of crops. Tho speaker was accorded a hearty vote of thanks at tho conclusion of his address.