AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION

Taranaki Daily News, 23 October 1930, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION

ITS PROGRESS. IN TARANAKI. w.w. The progress of agricultural instruction in schools in Taranaki during September ryas reported upon by Mr. 1). McKay, the senior agricultural instructor, to the Ta!ranaki Education Board yesterday as follows: — The spring work in most primary schools is well in hand, and seasonal activities, thanks to the fine weather conditions obtaining, are being pursued. Green manuring and the use of compost have resulted in putting some of the gardens in fine heart, and work, experimental in nature, but also productive of good crops, may now be expected. Nature study in the lower divisions of the schools is reported by the instructors to. be "good and in only a very few cases is remissness in this work notedl Messrs'. Newton King, Ltd., on behalf of Messrs. Sutton and CO., have this year again made presentations of grass seed cabinets to the Pukearuhe, Okato, Tataraimaka, Tikorangi, Pungarehu, Egmont Village, Omata and Stratford schools.

Ground improvements are being steadily carried out. Among the schools visited. this month the work being done at Waingongora and York Road is worthy of special commendation. West End school has completed a most attractive lay-out in concrete and garden of the front of the school.

More attention might be given to the finish of the gardens after sowing and planting takes place. In some instances the garden ,plots are models, neatly arranged, and well ordered; this in itself is a valuable training. Those experiments in soil study, illustrating reasons for the various operations in cultivation, are mot carried out in close enough correlation with the practical operations to impress the child most deeply. Afforestation.—Experimental work to determine the best time for sowing is being undertaken this year, and the first sowing of forestry seeds has been made. All transplanting Of two-year-old seedlings has taken place, and the year-old trees, have beeen lined out. This work is generally well done. In the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs the entries fol’ this year show a slight decrease on last but the interest and value of the work are unabated. The decrease is in some degree accountable to the fact that cropping is on the wane in Taranaki and that more and more farmers arc relying on pasture and fodder crops as winter reserves.

Presentations of prizes by members of the executive were made at functions at Lower Mangorei, Durham Road and Huirangi. Home garden competitions in the schools participating have large entries, and'in several schools this valuable work is used to supplement the school work, limited by small school garden areas.