THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

Otago Witness, Issue 3196, 16 June 1915, Page 16

THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

The preliminary organisation of the Board of Agriculture having by now been effected, surely they should be able to push matters pertaining to agricultural interests ahead in this .Dominion. It is, of course, generally recognised that, in view of the narrow majority the party in power possesses, and also from the fact that the war takes up all the time that Ministers of Parliament can : possibly spare, vigorous ' advancement in the development of our lands and the teaching of right agricultural methods must needs be slow; yet they are insufficient reasons why the members of the Board of Agriculture should bo content to merely mark time. It would not be a difficult matter to point out several ways in which good work could be done at small expense with the material in New Zealand, and great benefit might result if the board could but be galvanised into taking some action. This is not the first time that we have pointed out the obvious. It seems monstrous, for instance, that the Crown lands of this country should be offered at the ballot while many of the youth of the Dominion are fighting our battles at the front. In Australia, indeed, it has been, suggested that soldiers returning from the front should be granted land in one of the States. Many precedents are in existence for such a course. After the American War of Independence soldiers were granted areas in Kentucky and other States. Soldiers of Imperial regiments stationed in New South Wales received grants of land in Tasmania in comparatively recent years in' the same manner. Is it just, then, to part with the few remaining acres of Crown lands in the absence of men who under ordinary circumstances would participate in the ballot for runs that may be cut up at any time. It is, in fact, intolerable that a man should he penalised for his patriotism. The Board of Agriculture might well recommend that all sales and further balloting of Crown lands should cease until the end of the war. Something in the meantime might be done in regard to furthering the breed of milking strains of cattle in the South Island. ' Money has been hitherto freely spent on- the herds of the Dominion at the experimental farms in the North Island. The board might in its wisdom suggest depleting the northern experimental farms of their best Shorthorn (arid other selected breeds) bulls of a butterfat strain, and place them at the disposal of farmers in the south. They could be stationed in the custody of some reliable farmers, and a nominal charge made to defray expenses, etc. If such a scheme was not deemed feasible, it might be arranged to ship all the young bulls descended from milking strains, and dispose of the annual draft in the South Island. Again, in order to promote milktesting societies in the south, grants might well be made annually to societies -whose members record the milk yields of their dairy cows not less frequently than once a week, and who employ a recorder to pay surprise visits to check at least once every six weeks the records taken, the amount of the grant to be, say, half the expenses of the society up to, say, £SO in respect of each whole-time recorder employed for every 20 herds in the possession of members of a society. Such a scheme would be somewhat on the lines of the Board- of Agriculture’s (Eingland) proposals for the improvement of their live stock. Another matter which the Board 'of Agriculture might give its attention to may be noticed. The unit prices of artificial manures are fluctuating considerably at the present time throughout the world. The statement of prqbable cost to the purchaser of 1 per cent, per ton of nitrogen, soluble and insoluble phosphates, and potash derived from various sources should be set out monthly. These prices could be used in comparing the commercial values of artificial manures, and as a guide to the profitable price per ton of any manure if the unit prices of the constituents of the manure are multiplied by the percentages of the constituents found in it and due allowance is made for the difference between cash prices and credit prices, and for cost of carriage from the nearest centre to the place where it is delivered to the purchaser. If the unit prices of artificial manures as indicated were stated, occasionally farmers might determine for themselves the cheapest source of the fertilising ingredients they required, and could estimate the value of a compound manure, adding a reasonable sum for mixing, disintegrating, and rebagging the ingredients, bags, and loss of weight.