THAI AGRICULTURAL CONFERENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2103, 14 June 1894, Page 8

THAI AGRICULTURAL CONFERENCE.

(Daily Times.) At the close of our telegraphed report of the proceedings of the Agricultural Conference recently held in "Wellington will be found the suggestion that the Government should have a full official report of the proceedings chronicled. The debates, conducted as they were by men who were almost all specialists in the various matters which were discussed, is a good one, and we hope that before the next conference meets the necessary steps will be taken to secure a verbatim report of the speeches made ; for the conference was attended by the men from all parts of the colony who were best able to deal with the matters of most importance to farmers and pastoralists — Messrs John Robeets and Geigg, as well as many others, dealt with questions of continual living interest to aU those who deal with | the land, and what they said is the result not of mere theory but of practice. TKfe subjects which were discussed were so numerous, and each and all of so much importance to the colony, that it would be impossible to treat of each in any very extended fashion; a mere summary of the debates, which by the way were shortened by limiting each speaker to five minutes, is all that is possible. First and foremost in importance is the dairy industry — not that it is the largest, but that it is the industry of all others having the brightest prospects of expansion, and it is also the industry about which we have most to learn. The conference was. fortunate in having the advantage of Mr Heney Reykolds's presence, since he has especial knowledge of many details involved in' putting butter and cheese on the London market. It appears from his remarks that the best judges at Home are unanimous in declaring the colonial butter quite equal to the best Danish, but that the latter has the advantage of being controlled in London by one committee. It is necessary that New Zealand should adopt a somewhat similar practice. Mr Reynolds referred to the necessity of having stringent laws passed to ensure grading and branding all dairy produce sent Home, and also the importance of having a competent man at the London end to report on all consignments. There is no doubt that, as he said, we cannot afford to keep three or four middlemen, and that whatever the profit is we ought to try and get it all for the colony. We have already dealt with the subject of providing better accommodation for butter before it is placed on board the ocean going steamer. A great deal of hai'in is often done to a shipment before it reaches Wellington in coming down the coast from Taranaki, the high rate charged on the Manawatu line forcing producers to use coastal steamers without any proper provision in them for cool storage. The butter trade we may note here incidentally has become very largely a North Island industry, while the South Island produces most of the cheese, sent Home. The weakest spots in the butter industry at present seem to be, first between the factory and the port of shipment, and secondly in the distributing at London. The make of butter on the whole is good, and the arrangments between the port of shipment and discharge excellent.

The conference agreed to ask for several concessions from the Railway Commissioners, but as far as we can gather the deputation was not received very well by Mr M'JtEititow in so far as regards any prospect of obtaining free passes for judges at shows and a reduction of railway rates on butter. Yet it must be clear to the commissioners that it is on the dairy industry that the revenue of the future must be raised, since it seems likely that even less grain will be grown and carried next year than this. No little time was expended in discussing the question of how best to put a stop to the sheep-stealing which is said to be very prevalent in all parts of the colony, and it was suggested that the special attention of the Minister for Justice should be called to this matter, and that out of the sheep tax a special officer should be appointed and paid to obtain convictions for this crime, and that rewards should be offered for such evidence as should result in a conviction. We have before now drawn attention to the prevalence of sheepstealing in Otago, and suggested that a public prosecutor alone would be the proper person for undertaking the sweeping away of this offence. The very important question was discussed as to what class of cattle and .sheep was best fitted for freezing, and Mr Joitjt Grigg, of Canterbury, than whom no better authority could well be found, declared in favour of the Devon

breed for cattle, and Shropshire Downs and Southdowns for sheep, while merino ewes must for a long time remain the basis of the southern flocks. Mr John Kobeets pointed out that it was impossible for this colony to compete with Queensland in the trade in beef, and that we ought to confine our attention here chiefly to mutton. The discussion which followed showed a good deal of difference of opinion, such as was inevitable on the question of sheep breeding, and it was determined that information should be collected and disseminated all over the colony on this matter. The motions that were put and lost were almost as significant as those that were carried. For instance, it was proposed that stallions should be taxed for the sake of improving the breed of horses, but the proposition met with no favour from the conference. We are more than surprised to observe that the proposition to endeavour to get the period of quarantine for imported stock reduced was not carried even in the modified form of allowing the time spent at sea to count in the 90 days required. On the other hand, Mr Gbigg's suggestion that a comj>etent engineer should be appointed by Government to report on any district requiring irrigation works was agreed to at once. Mr Gtlwg said that in Hawke's Bay alone there were tens of thousands/ of acres, the produce of which would be doubled by irrigation. The resolution is one which must have the hearty support of all who know our own Maniototo Plains and the need there of irrigation. Taking the conference as a whole, it is almost impossible to overrate the great advantages that must arise from its deliberations. The Government will find its conclusions most useful in drafting any measure affecting the agricultural and pastoral industries, and might, indeed, study the businesslike method of the deliberations of the conference as an example to be followed in the Assembly.