Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, MONDAY, JANUARY 8. 1917. RURAL EDUCATION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14191, 8 January 1917, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, MONDAY, JANUARY 8. 1917. RURAL EDUCATION.

For, finally years- ?afc" ; fate ! it v is to the land that we riiust look 'to ypa^: : <New ZTealand's contribution to the. vf&f expenditure ass. well as-tiie. grpwirjg ; cost of ; administration. ' -Thisl I^mihioh, though ! possessing unique opportunities in its .-deposits of ironsand;, and iron, ore, its j : extensive coalfields, and above - allots iinirivalled facilities for the ntilisatioit of water y'p<vweiy lias., not. yet^ developed \ manufactures to any great extent, and .its interests ,ir« primarily rural. That .being. so, the great problem before us is .how to make our country more produc- I tive, to secure closer occupation 'ofi the Jaiid, keener- development/ 'aiid -by scien- I •titic methods to extract from the koil all ! ,that bountiful Nature has providtsd for jus. The attention of .o.ur?- farmers' an^ educationists' is v "gi*aduaUy being 'draWh to the. importance, ofi scientific agriculture, whicli is bound to come : nr6f4 into, the public **view. - A valuable contribution to the. 'thought on the subject is contained in an address \de.ivered befoi*e the Congress, of the New Institute at Wellington on Wednesday last v <% bar James G. Wilson. Speaking on the question of rural education, Sir James snowed how in .'recent; year's .education had expanded in various channels, in', primary schools, high schools and niiiversidata.. Technical education ,in the; towns has made greajt strides, and in various prof essions . and y^ trades young inen ar/. able -to gain .scientific "knowledge, most helpful tp them in their' work. 'i 1 ■ Yet' in agriculture these advantages are-avail-able only to a minor degree. The, foresight of the Canterbury pioneers gaive that province an - endowment for an agricultural, college, and 'it iswpossible to take a 'B.Sc, .^V. degree at Lincojn. Therej )s /o veterinary school .in, New Zealand,-' though the health of the animals is of much .consequence./ Sir 7' J. ,Gy 'Wilson admits that much^of the absence- bf vocational education fofc thoYfarmer h^ been hisy own fault.- He;'bas;iiot deroahdedit and has .something of a: l.coiitempt v for book-learning. . He I .' does things because' others do tliem, ahd which most of them i do well/ and he follows ithe rule- of the | district as to crops. Sometimes one 1 farmer will strike out on a- line bf his i own and prove it, to be a profitable one tor lus class of land; others' follow suit, tor it is Iby demonstration that t^e farmer works v Unconsciously., he takes advantage of y every, hevvv truth v which science and practice prove profitable or the inventor supplies him. with. A- good deal has been, done bv the Agricultural Department to teach. the fai*fteK by demonstration. Research^ however,- ua necessary. Research, is the. -mainspring of modern education, . and'-jias^a- ' yeiy • important! 011 "agriciifttire. IVis e.*ential w to progress. Pasteur, was first! brought into notice by his discovery that- ' the simple* -process , of heating: isaved the i wine trade in France, from disaster.: Lie- ! .big, ..another chemist^ was thf>/.first to' point out that mineral .phosphates ; could be .converted w .pito a. yalua-M'e..'. itiamire when treated 'by sulphuric a&dY^heri the supply of bpp§s was ' exhausted. • It was lus knowledge; of chemistry that en- i abled Thonias. .. to, , eliminate/. .phosphorus ' trom molten 'iron, aaid the refuse ground, up .to give us another valuable-phos-phatic manure, ':,yiz. r basic slag. ; The expansion of New Zealand .farming ;' is coincident upon the freezing; process and the Babock -j test. The 'yeterinariaria have enabled, the farmer to cope' with epidemics -which., thr.ea.teiied ytheirv herds'! •and .^flocks. It ig not necessary to '. multiply-; instances of what research has done. A real and .successful piece of research w«rk was canned', out by Di\ Re.a.kea and. Mr Aston. ,' .the .A.gi*i(>*ultui'al !> Chemist, in relation^ t<\ ■' bush but there have beerl few opportunities ih New Zealand to the' 'trained 'scientist for research. A bacteriologist cpnhectedy with the dairying .-industry could'' be kept busy. The biologist would -find plenty, to do in connection with blight. Then there is forestry, almost non-existent in New Zealand save for a .few enthusiasts—there isii scope here for much techeducation. . Fruit farming is likely in the near future to be one of 1 the larger industries' connected with the ' land. Mttehani'cs^ the bare and use of- ] machinery— and farm economics are two I other subjects upon- which there' is room 4 for scientific. training.. .Take ihe. latter, ] it is rare that a faVmer knows- whether j any particular crop pays; or not, and the ; < recent controversy as to Avhat would be < a profitable price for wheat in Canter- i bury,, shows how varied* are the ideas, 1 as to the cost 'of growipg #nd garnering 1 grain. >■ These' few points indicate the s wide field for education in connection, a with the us* of- thel land. Sir J. G. t Wilson urges that as it ia to production c we* must look^ to pay the enormous debt, c which the war will ..- leave 'we should-, 1 lose 110 time iri, -furthering technical edu-:j cation in agriculture. He advocates they establishment of a Ghaiiy of Agriculture .' at the New Zealand University aiid ay* closed* ' cio-operatioii between , . the . Agi"i-< ° cultural and Education.. . Departments. :"* Connected with every high school there s should- be af^ acres of larid ' for ex- s perimental purposes and the experiments * could well be worked by -the Agripul- e tural Department. At Ashburtpri this e is being-done, and' also to ' some extent *f in Wanganui district. In the midst of * a farming community under the guid- I ance of a local committee, the farmers \ of the district are -dertain to take an s active interest iiv : the schoijiie ;.'., < there 1 •should, therefor^ *»b.e no 'difficult^ as to P pupils. wRo v * Svoulff^ii6t .the' P adyanta^;o^"the# 'owil^Wpffirimfeiftal e work, W^'vvoukn^D doubt assist in the lax'ger work, goiing;, on alongtSido ? them, lc aiid be able to observe and deduce' f^bm d the ■•■', dompiistrations- the ' lesaOns : they b teaoh; Anvagi'dculturalicollege for the whole. Domniiovi-lon the line**. qf*the On-^ *fl taiiio ; A^'icultur'al! College;." .Canada,: is si sti*ongly advocated,- but thifl/, is. ; af large-, e: oi'der. monc*y for. which is not at present? U availjable; . Meantime ;. Sir James^ Wilson; w advocatfes making "biett'er uae of -the jStafce ■ w

exp.er.ieiHal.,..^^ ¥ ..§.ch t Q o ls.. Mr Hogben ha s stated thatwith proper rural education we oould increase the production from the land by 40 per cent, f&jftr James Wilson thinks he; iV nndei*j«Tie mark, and that, given intelligent llws and proper teaching in a few years "the farmer.if proi^erly encouraged, will, fiy largely increasing the weal^ of the>#>o--minion do as much for New Zealand as the farmers of France did after the war of 1870. It is something worth striving for, to make our wonderfully fertile land, more and mores productive, and the people should give every en- ( couragement J& schemes ,for thet v iipPibtiildiAg'of agricultural industry on ■-' sound',; scientific lines. ... y