BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

Southland Times, Issue 19292, 10 July 1924, Page 7

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

MONTHLY MEETING. MATAURA PAPER FOR WOOL PACKS. (From our Correspondent). At a meeting of the Board of Agriculture held in Wellington on June 27. much regret was expressed at the enforced absence of Mr Edwin Hall, and members hoped that his health would soon be restored. IMPORTED CHAFF. A letter from the Director-General re inspection of imported chaff was discussed, and members thought there was great need of further legislation to give- power to the Department to order all such chaff, which, on examination, was found to contain quantities of rubbish and seeds of weeds, to be destroyed, if necessary, or to be subject to thorough cleaning so as to free it from deleterious seeds. It was decided to ask the Minister to give 'further powers to inspectors to deal with chaff, eeeds and plants found likely to bring weed-seeds and diseases to the Dominion. NAURU PHOSPHATE. A letter from the Minister of Agriculture stated that, in response to a request from the Board a considerable quantity of finely ground Nauru phosphate, which would pass through a sieve 1-30 meshes to the inch, had been procured and widely distributed over the Dominion, through the officers of the Department. This would be experimented with on various classes of soils in different climates to ascertain whether it was a suitable form of phosphate for use for top-dressing. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. Other communications from the Minister were on the subject of a Plant Breeder to be attached to Ruakura, the the Stallions’ Bill, and the importation of oats, barley and chaff. The Board expressed its entire concurrence with the provisions of the Stallions’ Bill and it was decided to urge that it should without fail be passed during the present session. It was elicited from the Director-General that the Minister of Agriculture was considering the question of the establishment of a Dairy Research Laboratory, and the Board expressed the hope that it would not be long delayed. A valuable report was received from Mr Averill (a member of the Board) in regard to the Josiah Howard (Smedley) Estate, which had been demised to the State for the purpose of agricultural education. It was stated that the gradual improvements now being made would materially benefit the property, and Mr Averill promised to pay a second visit to the Estate in the spring and furnish a further report. Mr Beggs presented a report of his recent visit to some of the Agricultural Colleges in the Western States of America at Pelham and Cornwallis. It is a valuable addition to the information already acquired by the Board of the working ».* agricultural colleges in different countries. The Director of Agriculture was asked to have it published ta the Agricultural Journal for general information. WOOL PACKS. A letter was received from the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, pointing out the loss sustained by fibres of jute from the wool packs which, on unpacking, had become mixed with the wool. These fibres could not be detected until the yarns were dyed and the cost of picking them out of the cloth was a very considerable yearly

expense. It was suggested by the writer that paper linings should be used, and these should be partially paid for by the buyer. The Board came to the conclusion that if the inside of the pack was singed, as was the case with the outside, it might be a remedy, and -a trial would be made by reversing the sides of the wool pack. The Director of Agriculture agreed to procure from the Mataura Paper Mills a paper lining to experiment with, and so as to ascertain whether the suggestion was feasible in practise and cost. It was also reported that experiments were being made to manufacture a pack woven from wool so as to entirely remedy damage from jute fibre, but this had not reached the practical stage yet. Other matters considered were the blackberry pest, and the proposals epibodied in the Fruit Control Bill. The Board had the pleasure of meeting Professor G. 8. Peren, B.Sc., who has lately been appointed to the Chair of Agriculture at Victoria College, and of having a short general discussion with him regarding agricultural education in New Zealand.