YOUNG FARMERS’ SCHOOL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21984, 20 June 1933, Page 8

YOUNG FARMERS’ SCHOOL

VISITORS WELCOMED TO CITY LOCAL FACTORIES VISITED A FULL DAY'S PROGRAMME The boardroom of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce was the scene yesterday morning of the opening of a form of farm school which is unique in every way. In all 95 young farmers from every part of Otago have assembled in Dunedin to undergo a course of lectures, demonstrations, and visits which are designed to widen their horizon, foster a closer interest in city life and its problems, and inculcate a keener love for cultural subjects and pursuits. A roll-call was held after ■ which the visitors were welcomed to the city by the Mayor (the Rev. E. T. Cox) and other speakers representing local organisations and industry. On behalf of all those attending the course, Mr A, C. Cameron (secretary of the Otago Provincial Council of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union) welcomed the citizens who had come to address the young men, and said the fact that they had been sufficiently interested to come along was very greatly appreciated. They had assembled there, young men from all parts of Otago—and those parts generally termed the backblocks were well represented. Some of those present had not been in Dunedin for seven or eight years. All were- looking forward to an intensely interesting time, and he felt sure that they were going to get it. Mr Cameron then introduced each speaker to the lads. The Mayor (the Rev. E, T. Cox) congratulated the Farmers’ Union on the movement it had organised, and recalled in an interesting manner his own boyhood on a farm. He welcomed the boys on behalf of the city, and paid a warm tribute to the type of youth he saw before him, stating that when he looked around their faces he felt greatly encouraged in regard to the future of the Dominion. Mrs Drake (president of the Women s Division of the Farmers’ Union) expressed pleasure at seeing such aq fine sathering of young men. She said a change was always good, and _ she hoped the visitors would enjoy their stay in the city and go back much refreshed. Mr J. G. Dykes (president of the Chamber of Commerce) said that, like his Worship, he had started his life on a farm. After aq interesting chat of his earlier career, the speaker stressed the value of farm accounting, and stated that the lecture on that subject was likely to be one of the most important they would hear. _ ' Mr James Hogg (president of the_ Dunedin Manufacturers’ Association) joined the other speakers in congratulating the Farmers’ Union on the tour it had organised, and expressed the view that the lectures and demonstrations the lads would attend would help to equip them with the qualities of leadership necessary in the industry they represented. He hoped they would appreciate the lessons they would learn from their trip. In conclusion, Mr Hogg stressed the need for co-opera-tion between rural and city interests. Mr S. Bowman (president of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society) spoke on the importance of farm accounting and running good stock on the land. If the farmer was going to make any headway he would have to go in for the best of stock in the way of cows, sheep, and horses. Mr M. A. Kinney (president of the Otago Provincial Council of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union) said he hoped the young farmers appreciated the advantages accruing to them* in comparison with the conditions under which farmers worked in the old days. The speaker paid a warm tribute to Mr A. C. Cameron for the efficient and thorough manner in which he had made the arrangements for the trip to Dunedin. Mr A. E. Ansell, M.P., said that New Zealand would have to face fierce competition in the world’s markets, and he felt sure that the present tour would be a step in the right direction, inasmuch as it aimed at the alliance of science with agriculture. , . Mr J. C. Begg extended an invitation to the lads to visit the astronomical observatory on one of their free evenings. Friday evening at 7 was fixed as the time for the visit. _ _ „ Mr John Clarke and Mr W. G. Kindley added their welcome to those of the previous speakers, the latter stating that he hoped to see the primary and secondary industries pulling together. Mr James Begg said they hoped to have many of these visits to town in the future and he trusted they would make the most of their present one. Mr Wright (Palmerston) replied on behalf of the visitors, and thanked the speakers for their hearty welcome. The rest of the morning was taken up by each lad giving a one-minute talk upon his district. They would only permit of some 52 lads speaking, and some of their remarks were of a very high order, showing evidence of originality and capacity to express themselves. Some were very humorous. One lad said that his three favourite animals were horses, dogs; and women. Mrs J. F. Drake, president of the Women’s Division, who was present, promptly rose and called the speaker to order* The Rev. Allen Stevely, who visited the meeting during the morning, remarked, in the course of an extremely interesting short talk, that he hoped to have the pleasure of marrying the speaker at it irst Church. — (Laughter.) Another lad said that they had a very wood football team, but so far the only matches the team had won were the days he was not playing. A lad from Glenorchy told the meeting something of the conditions of farming in the Wakatipu district, and concluded by remarking that when they were sick ot farming they could always go through the Pearly Gates into Paradise. . Some touched upon the economic problems of the day, and their remarks showed a grasp of their subject. Others gave a particularly good descriptive account of the type of farming in their particular district. Lads from Inch Clutlia, Owaka, Taieri, and Heriot respectively claimed that their district could produce the best turnips in New Zealand. Quite a few touched on the benefits their district offered to townspeople as holiday resorts. Another visitor during the morning was Mr C. R. Sheat, immediate past president of the Farmers’ Union. VISITS TO FACTORIES. The afternoon yesterday was devoted to visits to local manufactories. Ihe first place visited was the confectionery works of Messrs Cadbury Fry Hudson, where the visitors were conducted on a tour ot the establishment by Messrs Ralph Hudson nild Sidney Hudson, who explained processes and methods to an ovbiously interested company. The party then proceeded to the Milburn Lime and Cement Company’s office in Crawford street, where a moving picture covering the manufactore of cement and the preparation of lime for farm use was exhibited, ihe works of Dominion Fertiliser Company. Ltd., were visited in the evening, and every aspeet of the production of superphosphate was demonstrated and explained. At the conclusion of the visit Mr J. Craig returned thanks on behalf of the visitors. TO-DAY’S PROGRAMME. The morning sessions to-clay will comprise addresses by Mr F. B. Adams on “ Our Debt to the Empire,” and Mr W. Downie Stewart, M.P., on “Citizenship.’ Ip the afternoon a visit will be paid to the Medical School, where Dr C. E. Kerens will address the company on some aspects of the research work at present being conducted at the school.