DANE AND A TOMATO

Taranaki Daily News, 6 October 1934, Page 21 (Supplement)

DANE AND A TOMATO

WHAT HE DID FOR IT. There are many men of 'distinction who have settled in Britain and enriched it by their presence. , One of these, who came from Denmark as a young student and changed the whole aspect of the valley of the Lea, has just passed away, to the regret of all who knew him. He was Mr. Hans Ove Larsen, who 40 years ago saw the great possibilities of the cultivation of fruit in glasshouses. At first he devoted himself to peaches, in the growing of which he became j specialist. He soon turned his attention, to the more humble tomato, and in 1896 he started at Waltham Abbey a tomato nursery which has grown to 26 acres. He was an enthusiastic believer in applying scientific knowledge to the cultivation of crops, and was one of the founders of the Experimental and Research Station at Cheshunt, which has been doing for fruits grown under glass what Rothamsted has done for crops grown in the open. < If the English tomato has justly gained a high rank among the fruits of the. world it is largely due to his advocacy from tine beginning, not only of good cultivation, but also of careful grading and packing for the market. He' was a great leader, and worked hard for his fellow-growers during’ the depression from which, in the last year or two, they have made such a striking recovery. ■ "• > i BEST JOB IN THE WORLD. BISHOP BADDELEY HAS IT. “I have the best job of . any. man liv- . ing to-day,” is what the Bishop of Melanesia, Dr. W. H. Baddeley, told his audience at Wellington, The bishop has one of the most remarkable of all' the dioceses in the ' world. Melanesia is the name given to the large group of tropical islands near Australia. The dark-skinned natives of Melanesia were fierce and warlike and often cannibals until the missionaries came to labour among them and induce them to give up their old superstitions and enjoy the blessings of Christianity. “Some people pity the Bishop of Melansia for having to work right away in the outposts of the islands,” said the bishop, “but I should not be pitied. I have the best job of any man living. I have a loyal staff, the finest diocese in the world, and plenty Of opportunity to do something worth while.”