YOUNG FARMERS’SCHOOL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22294, 21 June 1934, Page 3

YOUNG FARMERS’SCHOOL

YESTERDAY’S PROGRAMME. ADDRESS BY REV. W. A. STEVELY VISIT TO UNIVERSITY MUSEUM The Young Farmers’ School continued its sessions yesterday, when another veryfull programme was provided,’ The first event was an address by the Ilev. vV. A. Stevely on "Citizenship,” in which the speaker stressed the essential importance of citizenship as an indispensable factor in the building up of any nation. He instanced Denmark as a country which had risen above severe natural handicaps mainly through the development ot character and citizenship and the true co-operative ideal. After the morning tea adjournment those of the lads, who had not hid an opportunity of discussing their districts and their farming pursuits in the series of one-minute talks addressed the meeting. In the afternoon the party visited tlie Otago University Museum, where they were addressed by Dr Benham and Mr H. D. Skinner. Later they visited Messrs Arthur Barnett. Ltd.’s establishment in George street. In the evening they were the guests of the Dominion Fertiliser Company at its works at Ravensbourne. The manufacture of superphosphate greatly , interested the visitors, who were shown all the processes through which the raw material passes. Before leaving the works they were entertained at supper by the company’. “CITIZENSHIP” Introducing his subject, Mr Stevely said it had been stated that the greatest need of the world to-day was citizenship. “It has been said, that the supreme need of the world is a better citizenship,” said Mr Stevely. “ Without doubt or cavil, the solution of most of our perplexing problems lies' in an enlightened and more virile citizenship. We may define citizenship in terms of the life of a community; in a wider-sense in relation to the State; and in its widest application in terms of the life of the world. .No man lives to himself. The individual makes his contribution to the community, the State, and flie world. At was a saying of John Wesley that he had : the world as his parish. In a real sense is it true of the humblest person to-day that his welfare is bound up with that of the entire world. Apart from the fact that the air quivers with messages from the ends of the earth, it becomes increasingly apparent that citizenship is not a limited quantity, but something commensurate with the whole world. An ideal world is one containing ideal citizens. An ideal world should be the aim of all. To accomplish the idea! world each must seek to .be an ideal citizen. The ideal citizen will.bring the ideal spirit; into every vocation and department of life. It,is along that way that the world will .'realise its maximum efficiency and felicity. In view of. the challenge .of the present crisis, many are persuaded that the world’s need is a higher citizenship', and that we should make this pur first objective. DAIRYING , DEVELOPMENT “A striking illustration of the transforming power of the higher citizenship is furnished by the phenomenal development recorded in the history of Denmark. A glance at the map of Europe confirms the intelligence that Denmark is a, very small country. In poinFof fact, it ispnesevehth as large as New Zealand, and has a population of over 3,000,000., The soil is poor, and. the climate bleak. Yet Denmark is one of the most prosperous nations in the world. The value of its annual exports of dairy produce to Great Britain is about £40,000,000. A recent visitor to Denmark Tias returned with the tidings that ,- its people have reached a of culture and of social life not surpassed in any other part of the world.’ It has ; approximately 100,000 fewer cows than New Zealand, but produces 50,000 tons of butter more' each year than our Dominion. This means that every. Danish cow provides 701 b of butterfat per annum more than her, New Zealand competitor. What, is the explanation of this difference? What is the secret of .Denmark’s signal prosperity ?■. "It is a romance of higher citizenship. Sir Michael Sadler has said; ‘Almost within the memory of men still living the Danish farmer had an outlook and a habit of mind very different from that which characterises him to-day. In_ the early years of last century, the 'Danish peasant was still unprogressive, sullen and suspicious,. averse from experiment, and incapable of associated enterprise.’ He was dull, without culture and technical skill, and was seldom able to rise above the level.of a bare existence. Eighty per cent, were illiterate. His condition was like that of the peasants of ’ the French and Russian revolutions. Moreover, till 1860 the chief product of Danish farmers was wheat —not butter* Denmark paid for imports, by the export of wheat. This condition came to a conclusion with the emergence of new supplies of wheat from America, Australia, and the region around the. Black Sea. Denmark then lapsed into acute economic and agricultural depression. Added to this; distress was the loss four years later of the two-most fertile provinces, Schleswig and Holstein to Prussia; with the result that Denmark had left only the small .peninsula of Jutland and a group of islands. Much of this land consisted ot barren heath, bog, and sand dunes. So it came to pass that ‘the Danish nation settled into a stagnant gloom, .the people being indifferent to life and all effort physical, mental. and spiritual.’ advent of grundtvig

“A great and notable thing happened. The people that walked in darkness saw a great light. In the midst of their night of poverty and despair, arose the star of hope. appeared a great prophet, Grundtvig by name, poet, historian, teacher, whd, for about the, space of 70 years, laboured without flagging for the regeneration of his nation. •• How did he accomplish this? . This great leader had as his watchword ‘ What we have lost outwardly, we must gam inwardly.’ He proclaimed that Denmark should recover by a more intensive cultivation of the soil, and by greater moral and spiritual growth in the people themselves. ‘Let us begin” he said ‘by inspiring the individual, by making bettor men and women, mentally and spiritually. Let us teach them to love their country, its history, its literature, its song, and to give to its service their loyal, united, and unselfish help.’ Grundtvig. believed with all Ids heart that the spiritual dominates the material. He wanted more of the spiritual, and he believed that a better material would be the result. “’Then"'he -(conceived the idea of tae Danish People’s University, or ‘ The School of Life,’ as he termed it. Some of his disciples, gifted with practical genius, carried their leader’s ideas to fruition. ‘ The first and most important office of these ; schools,’ said Grundtvig, ‘must be to arouse desire for a truer and deeper understanding of life, a purer and more vital personal expression in the service of a better nation and a better humanity. That desire once aroused and transmitted into energy will of itself drive the youth onward in a hungry and endless search for such exact knowledge as he might need for the carrying out of his life purpose.’ He recognised the necessity for an enlightened democracy, and realised that if popular government was to be a success citizens must be educated. ‘Learned folk.’ he remarked, ‘obviously must be few, but citizens —educated, enlightened, and useful citizens—we must all lie.’ INCREASED EDUCATION “As a result of Grundtvig’s vision and service light and hope came to an impoverished land. A new life stirred in the nation of Denmark. It found expression in many directions. AH oyer Denmark were established voluntary high schools, where young people of the country spent one or more periods of study. At these schools practical and technical subjects are not taught,_ as we might expect, but history, music, _ physical culture, art, economics, and civics—subjects that develop the whole nature and give an interest in the things of the mind and spirit, •■■■■.■■ "In consequence they became capable of doing better and more conscientious work in every sphere. The peasant farmers of Denmark were inspired to put more heart and soul into their daily, work, which formerly they had regarded a»

drudgery. The young country people have learned that they can be nobleminded, even though their toil is very humble. They have learned the dignity, of every-day labour, and how to spiritualise the material and commonplace. “Further, they have learned to appre-: ciate and trust one another, to work cooperatively, and in this way to develop the interests and resources of-the country, and to produce goods of a higher quality. They have learned a fine team spirit,, and the value of service before self. , A NEW SPIRIT “This little land has demonstrated to the whole world, that the soul of improvement is the improvement of the soul. They have proclaimed the value of the higher citienship to all mankind. Their experiment has resulted in increased prosperity to an amazing degree. They have empahsised the moral order of the universe. They have shown that prosperity is spiritually conditioned. They have sought a nobler citizenship, and have found other things that have been added. Grundtvig was not thinking of dairy produce at all when he initiated , his great crusade for the quickening of the social conscience ..and the spiritual awakening of his fellows. He was thinking of the soul, the mind, and the heart of his people, but the result has been to usher in an era of phenomena! prosperity and opportunity to Denmark., His purpose was to give to each citizen a wider vision of life, and a sense of his relation to his fellows, and to inspire him to become an ambassador of these things to others. He would have Ids countrymen- to develop life to the fullest degree, and possess it more abundantly. In Denmark to-day there is a general recognition of the fact that the material welfare of society depends primarily upon the development of the mind and character of the individual citizen. Even the successful production of bacon, butter, fruit, and eggs depends in the last analysis upon the spiritual quality of the producers, u£on their industry, intelligence, honesty, and ability to co-operate for efficiency.’ “That is the vision Grundtvig had—a noble citizenship, a new spirit in the nation making all things new, a quickening of the moral and spiritual life. A grater than Grundtvig said it was the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way. May we. all. have this vision and be obedient thereto! ” At the termination of a brief discussion, in the course of which Mr Stevely was asked a- number of questions, Mr James Dodds (Warepa) moved a hearty vote of thanks to the speaker. This was carried by acclamation. ONE MINUTE TALKS

During the second period of the morning session, the one-minute talks were continued. ■ ~, . .

The chairman called upon Mr John Clarke, who was present, .to give a short talk upon some of his early experiences in South Otago. Mr Clarke responded, and told the lads something of early ploughing with bullock teams, fording rivers, and bringing loads of material through to Dunedin before roads were formed. He also answered a number of questions which were asked him by -those present.

“ EVOLUTION OF THE HORSE ”

At the Museum the party assembled- in the main lecture room, .where Dr Beuham delivered a most interesting address ,on “.The Evolution of the Horse," illustrated by .lantern slides and models. Dr Benham first drew comparisons between the structure of man, the horse,, and the dog, showing the .difference between the bone formation of the feet of man and the dog, hoofs,, and teeth, Hlie then showed a photograph of the earliest ktiown horse called the Dawn Horse, which had three toes .on each foot. ; Another photograph showed a reconstructed specimen of a horse discovered some 3000 years later than the Dawn Horse, which, although it had three toes, had the middle one much larger than the side toes. He then showed a photograph of-the fossil remains of a horse discovered in America which was one-toed, known as the Scott’s Horse. Dr Benham showed the gradual evolution of the foot of the horse from five toes to the existing state- of one toe or hoof. He also illustrated the evolution of thg horse’s tooth. He explained how geologists assisted the biologists by establishing the age ofr the fossil remains. He explained how these fossil remains were kept intact throughout the years. The earliest known variety of horse is estimated to be about 1000.000 years old. Some sketches made by prehistoric man were shown on the screen. These were estimated to be 11,000 years old, and it was pointed'out that the , sketches showed a marked resemblance to the Asiatic wild horse'of to-day.. At the conclusion ,of his address. Dr Benham answered numerous questions, and was accorded a vote of thanks on the motion of Mr George Grant (OutVam). ‘ ‘• THE MAORIS OF OTAGO ” Before conducting the party on a tour of the Maori section of the Museum, Mr Skinner spoke briefly on the subject of the Maoris of the South era end of the South Island. . He traced the origins, of the race back to Polynesia, and dealt in passing -with the arrival of the first Maoris in New Zealand and then turned to the history of those who settled south of the Waitaki River. They encountered many difficulties in their new country, one of the chief among which was their inability to coax the plants and roots which they had brought with them to grow in this part of‘ the Dominion. They lived a lean sort of existence, but contrived finally to acclimatise themselves and to victual themselves with the help of trading in different commodities. One of their industries wag the export of moa flesh to. the North Island, a trade which had its modern echo in the mutton bird trade which was peculiar to the. South Island. At’the end Of about 100 years the moas gave out, and the Maoris had to find another staple industry. This they, found, in greenstone; and for many years large quantities of this were sent to the North Island. The greater part of the greenstone in New Zealand came from Otago. iand the particular field was at the head of Lake Wakatipu, in the Dart Valley. Of course, in a region where subsistence. was so hardly won it was not surprising that the race should not develop very rapidly. In fact, the population of the South Island- could be found mostly in the coastal areas, especially in the winter time. The Maoris frequently penetrated further inland, but not to make a permanent home. Some tracks made, by them in their wanderings over the province were still in existence, the principal one being, that, which followed ’ the course’ of the Waitaki River up to the Hindis and on to Wanaka and thence across the Haast Pass to .the West Coast. This had been mapped, and. thanks to the work of enthusiastic students of early; Maori history in this province, among whom wag Mr F, Waite, it had been pegged and named. The introduction of the potato into Otago about the beginning of the nineteenth century was a great boon to the Maoris in their struggle to keep body , and soul together, more especially as it grew very well, but the race was doomed from the start ..in the south- Epidemics swept over it with tragic effect, measles and influenza taking a heavy toll. The population was cut down alarmingly, and it never recovered. Since 1840 there had been no appreciable increase in the number of Maoris in Otago, the total then being; about 500. In . fact, to-day, although it was generally considered that the population was about 500, lie doubted whether there .were a dozen full-blooded Maoris in the province. Mr W. Guffie (Miller’s Flat) thanked Mr Skinner on behalf of the visitors for his interesting address, and the party then inspected the Maori section, where Mr Skinner explained some of the more important features, such as the big wav canoe and the Maori house.

MESSRS ARTHUR BARNETT, LTD.

At Messrs Arthur Barnett, Ltd.’s, the manager, Mr S. Lawn, welcomed the party and briefly explained to them how a big retail business is run. Messrs Arthur Barnett, Ltd., he said, had stocks of well over £IOO,OOO and a staff of 150. All the time they had to order in advance and anticipate as far as possible the volume of business and the type of season that they could expect. As far as their country business was concerned. it was largely a mail order business, as they kept no travellers on the road.

The party was then split into groups and conducted throughout all the departments of the firm. Great interest was shown .in the counting house where money was received through the tubes and change despatched back to the saleswomen. Parties were conducted through' the model gown, manchester, and other departments, and through the office. At the conclusion, each member of the party was presented with a souvenir leather case.

On the motion of Mr John Lee Roy (WairuunV the staff of Messrs Arthur Barnett, Ltd., were accorded a very cordial vote of thanks. FERTILISER WORKS In the evening the party were conducted by motor bus to the Dominion Fertiliser Works at Ravensbourne, where they were received by the manger (Mr H. D. Kerr) and assistant manager (Mr Trend). The lads were then conducted through the works and shown every process. At the conclusion, supper was provided in the spacious dining rooms and the party was briefly addressed by Messrs Kerr and Trend who elaborated upon many of the things seen, and who. explained something of the important part fertilisers played in the development of agriculture. Mr Andrew Pannett (Clydevale) and Mr J. A. Ballingall (Palmerston) replied on behalf of the party and warmly thanked the management for the interesting time and hospitality accorded them.