PROGRESS OF SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE.

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

PROGRESS OF SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE.

Scientific agriculture in its modern development is a comparatively new thing. There have always been scientific agriculturists, and their teachings are regarded' as sound to this day ; but the evolution of the agricultural college- and the experimental farm d-ates backr tout? •& brief period-. For instance, the United States Department of Agriculture; tihie work of which is almost entirely educational, employed, last year upwards of 10.000 persons — an increase of fourfold during the preceding 11 years. , The number of students- of the agricultural colleges in the States increased: from 4000 in 1897 to 10,000 in 1908, besides the untold numbers who avail -themselves of the short courses of instruction — the Farmers' Institute classes and lectures and the instamction given at the high and other schools. The total income of the agricultural colleges was £1,000,000 in 1897,- and £3,000,000 in 1908, and- in the same period the value of their property increased from £10,000,000 to nearly £20,000,000. Practically all the agricultural instruction at nigh schools, normal schools, and other establishments of similar character has been initiated during the last dozen years. In the matter of agricultural literature, in 1897 the number 01 publications issued by t3i& American Department was 424, of which 6,541,200 copies were distributed ; in 1908 the 1522 publications of the department were distributed to the number of 36,875,516. In the 11 years following 1897 there were issu-ed 10,449 publications, including reprints, and the distribution totalled 129,129,633 copies. It goes without saying that a very considera-bJe percentage of this distribution has been sheer waste, but the Secretary of- Asriculture claims that during the period under review "the farmer has been more responsive than before to the help offered by the department, the experiment stations, and other sources. Thousands of learned investigators worked for himi thousands more talked to him repeatedly; thousands of demonstrations tangfht him how to. do by doing." Thie quafity of animate, plants, and farm management has concurrently made remarkable improvement. 'Farm management, one of the most complicated of subjects, is being put upon a scientific basis, tbe planning of farms, the crop rotations, and other points being taught iiv agricultural schools. How thankful would a New Zealand settler be to have such guidance ! The reclamation and profitable utilisation of, poor lands has also received scientific attention, with important practical results in adding to the nation's annual production and permanent wealth^; ,-and this is another subject in which scientific research is urgently needed in this Dominion. Wasteful though some of the American expenditure has been, it cannot be gainsaid that the enormous sums expended have been repaid manyfold by the improvement in aG^iculture and in the prosperity and comfort of the farmer. The nation is too shrewd to continue and increase such expenditure without seeing s-ome return foi it. Other countries are evincing similar enterprise and foresight, recognising that agriculture is the greatest and most permanent of all industries, and the true source of a nation's wealth and prosperity. New Zealand, more than almost any other country, is essentially agricultural in its resources, yet nowhere else is less being done to scientifically develop those resource*?. Once the benefits of scientific agriculture are made known the thirst for further knowledge will quickly grow, and progress will be more rapid than in any other part of the world, the natural conditions here being favourable beyond parallel. The expenditure need not ,ev«n bear so great a proportion to the annual national revenue as in the United States, but the effort must be well directed.