The Waipa Post. Printed on Tuesdays Thursdays, and Saturdays. SATURDAY, MAY 29, 1926. SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Waipa Post, Volume 31, Issue 1764, 29 May 1926, Page 4

The Waipa Post. Printed on Tuesdays Thursdays, and Saturdays. SATURDAY, MAY 29, 1926. SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

THE report of Sir Prank IHeath on the organisation of scientific and industrial research in New Zealand should appeal to all those .who are concerned with primary and secondary industry as a most practical document. It is quite evident; that during his stay in the Dominion this expert adviser gained a very thorough appreciation of the nature of the problems which confront both farmers and manufacturers, and in the light of the knowledge that he has acquired, in the important position which' he holds in London he has thought out. a general solution of them. He : has framed a policy for the Dominion, and it is gra-

tifying to know that this policy ha's already won the approval of the Government. The adoption of Sir Frank Heath's policy will mean the creation of a new State Department, and that is the kind of thing at which most of us look askance. But in this case the proposed Department will absorb certain existing Departments, putting them on a better footing than they have previously enjoyed. We can only say in passing that the Meteorological Office, the Geological Survey and. the Magnetic Survey have not in the past received adequate attention, and that they stand, greatly in need of the help which is promised under Sir Frank Heath's scheme. There is ample work for the proposed Department to do. The establishment of a National Research Council and an Advisory Council is also contemplated. We take it that by this means the Government would co-opt leading men in science and industry and give them an organised opportunity to use their talents for the benefit of the whole community. Men with first-hand knowledge of primary and, secondary industries and of scientific enterprise and attainment would be exceedingly helpful to the Government and the new Department in directing the work of scientific investigation into the right channels and ensuring the application of its results . 'Sir Frank Heath's scheme of organisation is full of promise. His report naturallv stresses the importance of farming in New Zealand and devotes a good many of its pages to discusteion of the difficulties of the farming industry and the possibility of overcoming them by the application of science. He senses th e causes which underlie these difficulties, and he states quite clearly that it is impossible to "grapple simultaneously with all the difficulties which science can help to remove." But he is equally emphatic in his expression of the belief that science can solve the problems of the men on the land, and happily he is able to tell us how to set about the task.

It will be particularly plea'sing to all those who are advocating the establishment of a New Zealand College of Agriculture to learn that Sir Frank Heath pins his faith to that institution as the means of solving the farmers' problems. Unlike the Hon. A. D. McLeod, he entertains no fears concerning the nature and scope of the work to be done by the college. No, he envisages a great national centre of learning and re'search, developing a number of "specialised institutes," devoted to the study of particular branches of the farming industry. With a well qualified, staff on a scale geinerous enough to give them time for original investigation, "it will produce the men that are needed for the industry."

Mr 'McLeod maiy make his mind easy. Sir Frank Heath thinks that the college is needed, and needed urgently. He mentions a number of departing nts of primary industry which would come within its province, but, since it i s desirable to hasten slowly, for financial and, other reasons, he urges that its first attention should be given to research in the dairying section. This unquestionably is sound advice. Dairying is the department of farming that has made the most rapid progress of late, and its problems are many. While the industry, as Sir Frank Heath suggests, must help itself it is entitled to look to the State for scientific assistance and the State can discharge its duty in the matter by establishing the Colloge of Agriculture.

The Prime Minister in his comments on the report practically commits the Government to the immediate establishment of the college and the adoption of the proposals relating to dairying. Including abandonment of the project to establish a laboratory at Wallaceville. This decision alone more than justifies Sir Frank Heath's report. Even if the rest of his recommendations were pigeonholed, the country would remain under a great obligation to him for his successful advocacy of the College of Agriculture. 'Guided no doubt by the knowledge that the State funds available for the creation of a scientific organisation are necessarily limited, Sir Frank •Heath has relegated, secondary industries to a secondary place in his report. While he is quite definite in his views concerning the value of the application of science and the fruits of research to the manufacturing industries, he does not recommend costlydevelopment in that direction. For the present at any rate it should be sufficient to make the best use of the laboratories which already exist, for they can give assistance with/ many of the tests that are required in the actual processes of manufacture. It is to be noted that Sir Frank Heath expects the manufacturers themselves to co-operate with the research organisations and to contribute materially to their upkeep. To an extent, of course, the work done by the College of Agriculture will have a bearing upon the development of secondary industries, and the results of the proposed investigations concerning forests and fuel supplies would also be of value to manufacturers. Sir Frank Heath takes the gene-

rally accepted view when h e regards

primary industry as vastly more important to the State than secondary industry is at present, and he is following a well defined policy when he urges that the State Should do more for production from the land than for other methods of production. It is as well, however, to realise that the secondary industries of New Zealand must be developed. If the 1 drift of population to the towns is to continue the avenues of industrial employment must be widened and extended. Agriculture will continue to be the basic industry, but unless the growth of the Dominion is to be restricted we must have increasing secondary industries. The greater the development of primary production the greater will be the Dominion's ability to carry a, large manufacturing population. We must do our best to encourage the farming industry by the application of science, but we must look forward to development on other lines a s we'll.