EXPERIMENTS IN AGRICULTURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 9

EXPERIMENTS IN AGRICULTURE.

In the course of an interview, the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie, Minister of Agriculture, was asked by a Times reporter if he would say anything about experimental farms — their position and any developments proposed. li Well, in the first place, I will say that we are not going to spend more on experimental farms than we aire now expending," replied the Minister, " though my attempts at economising in the north have brought a tornado of abuse on my head. Until Cabinet considers the question I am unable to say what is likely to be our future course of action regarding the establishment of an experimental farm in the south. '" What we are endeavouring to do is to get farmers to carry on small plots of land for experimental purposes, the department contributi»<r the seed and manure, and the farmer providing the labour and land and obtaining the resulting crop. It seems to me that by this system we obtain, for very much less money, a very much wider field of experiment. The operations are carried on under the euperintndence of the Director of Experiments and the supervisor."