THE NEEDS OF AGRICULTURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 6

THE NEEDS OF AGRICULTURE.

The important retrenchments which have been made in the staff of the Agricultural Department must be regarded as indicating one of t/hies things : either the branches of the agricultural industrywhich are directly affected are now in a position to need no further assistance ; or they are not worth further encouragement ; or the assistance they have been receiving has been on wrong jines. Poul-try-raising, bee-keeping, viticulture, fruit-growing, fruit-preserving, and the fibre industry have been deprived of their respective chief experts, and it cannot be said that the saving effected by the dismissal of the five officers in question is alone sufficient to justify the withdrawal of guidance and instruction from industries which, though small in present magnitude, have been confidently proclaimed year after year in official reports as being of great promise. Undoubtedly some benefit has been derived from the efforts of the Government experts in the various branches : settlers are keeping poultry which will produce eggs and meat instead of merely feathers j they are keeping bees in a way that has doubled the production of honey; they are producing table grapes, if not wines, which suit* the public palate and purse; they are growing the most useful varieties of .fruits in economical manner; their preserved fruits are of better quality and appearance ; and New Zealand hemp ''in its various grades has been established in reputation as. a reliable article of jom-/ merce. Admittedly these are all minor industries, but their value in the total is not inconsiderable, and though their potentialities may not be so vast or so immediately to be realised as Ti^s been 'heraldedi by the most enthusiastic of those interested in them, they are too goreat to be ignored. They are still in their infancy, and far- from having outgrown the need of instruction and, more important still, organisation ; they are, as already promised, worthy of being fostered, and, therefore, the Government cannot have determined to sacrifice them for the sake of saving a very few thousands a year; "so that, perforce, the conclusion must he come to that the future instruction and encouragement which are to be expended upon them will be of that greater' efficiency which the head of the Government ha.s promised will follow the reduced expenditure. May it be so ! The unsatisfactory position of. British agriculture is attributed in very great measiire to the neglect of the smaller industries by the authorities, which is in strong contrast to the attention bestowed upon them by the United States, Canada, Denmark, and, in fact, almoot everj- other country. The Times attributes this national fault partly to farmers of all grades, who have a rooted disbelief in anything that a college or a man of J science has to say. This is. no doubt, j true of the British farmer, though even he is awakening to a knowledge of the fact that there are more trustworthy guides tiian the venerable rule-of-thuinb ; but the New Zealand farmer is to a much greater degree receptive, and the national fault here is that he is not given the benefit"? of a college or a man of science. What ho needs is the advice of an authority who he will admit knows more than he does himself — such a man, for instance, as Mr Lowrie. Lite of "Lincoln CoHe^e, whose too few published contributions to agricultural knowledge should he preserved from being lost and should be made available to -every farmer. Men v. ho combine science with practice are! very few and far between, and their ser I vices are Fought after in all farming i count! ies — except Now Zealand. The , survivors of the retrenchment in our Agricultural Dennrtment have done much ! f^ood work in tteir respective spheres of duty, but the reorganisation of the department and amalgamation of division* wPI give each a greater volume of nd-_ min'strative work thar he can. effirientlv dispose of. without eivin<r any time to the urgent duty of scientific research, ex- | perinient, and instruction. The question j arises, Is the lar^e as well as~ the small ] faa'mer to be d-eprived of advice and instruction, 3vA 'to be content with the inspection of his stock for disease and his land for weeds and rabbits? This is a question which chould occupy the first place in the deliberations of the coming Agricultural Conference, and the needs of agriculture should be most clearly and emphatically impressed upon the Government. A beginning has been made in the organisation of experiments by farTn.sr«. though they appear, fo far. to l>o ' individual rather tVm co-orerative : but j much more is needed, particularly from

the experimental farms — if they are to be continued. . An immense quantity of work is done at these establishments, and at great expense, and it is very questionable -whether much better results could not be obtained from, one [really experimental farm of a few hundred acres with scientific initiative and execution at a tithe of the cost. What cojild be saved on the work-ing- of the present numerous so-called experimental farms would procure for the Dominion the services of the best scientific agriculturists in the world, if their positions were made secure. It is to be hoped that the promised retrenchment "with greater efficiency may be exercieed in' these directions. .