GRASSLAND EXPERT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 307, 29 December 1936, Page 11

GRASSLAND EXPERT

MR. LEVY FOR ENGLAND VALUE OF SERVICES RESEARCH INTO PASTURES. Twenty years of service to the Dominion in grassland production with a view to selecting the most important species and permanent strains have well earned for Mr. E. Bruce Levy, M.Sc., Director of the Grasslands Division of the Plant Research Bureau, the Government recognition which he has received in being selected to proceed to England for a period of about twelve months, during which time he will visit the leading grass research institutions and represent New Zealand at the International Grasslands Conference in Aberystwyth.

Domiciled at Palmerston North for the past eight years, Mr. Levy is a familiar and popular figure among agricultural officials, and farmers in the district have been distinctly fortunate in having available his services right at their front door, states the Manawatu Standard; but it is doubtful if many have realised the full value of his work to the dairying and pastoral industries. Never once has his advice been withheld when sought, and, through his numerous lectures, he has paved the way for the practical application of improved methods of production and pasture management. He has been collaborating with workers of the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute in investigating feed flavours and has accomplisred some fundamental work in this important field. Due to his persistent advocacy and untiring perseverance, the. foundations of an expert seed industry for New Zealand have been laid, while he is one of the original sponsors of the certification system which is now developing on extensive lines. Farmers have had in Mr. Levy a proved friend, a staunch ally, and sound counsellor. Moreover, he has never turned a deaf ear to suggestions based on experiments tried in the field, no matter how fantastic they might appear. Despite scant encouragement, inadequate facilities, and little recognition in the early stages of his work, he has carried on to big achievements—so great that only with the passage of years will their value assert tself in its true significance. Formerly attached to the biological aboratory of the Department of Agriculture at Kelburn, Mr. Levy held veil-founded theories on pasture proluction and in his quiet, methodical nanner, put them to the test as op)ortunities presented. He is now an icknowledged authority on grassands, but. just as modest and unasumi as ever. He is exactly the same arnest worker as in the year when he tad to battle hard for recognition of he value of research into pasture trains, and when he sails for Engind on December 28 he will carry the Teatest goodwill of his colleagues, /ho, through their association with im, have contracted the same inomitable spirit of enthusiasm and ireless activity. T ittla atinntinn war naid tn nast.lire

Little attention was paid to pasture strain work in New Zealand, except by Mr. Levy, until Mr. William Davies, of Aberystwyth (Wales), came to the Dominion under a Government engagement for two years, and the pair collaborated in the selection of ryegrass and white clover strains, following which the certification scheme was introduced, based on their preliminary research.

During the last few years grassland work has leapt into prominence in New Zealand, and under the guidance of Mr. Levy, it has developed into one of some magnitude, until now he has gathered round him a staff of specialist officers engaged in dealing with every phase of the wide investigional field it encompasses. Under his supervision their activities are coordinated as a highly efficient unit working steadily along towards predetermined objectives.

Just over a year ago, at the annual conference of the New Zealand Grasslands Association, the suggestion was advanced that Mr. Levy should be sent to England for a period to continue his research and sound the market possibilities in England and on the Continent, for New Zealand seed. The fulfilment of that wish is at hand, and no Government officer ever went abroad with better attested credentials in his particular sphere of work, or enjoying in greater measure the confidence of his coworkers, than Mr. Levy.

During the absence of his chief in England, Mr. E. A. Madden (H.D.A.), will be acting-Director of Grasslands Research.