STATE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 2, 4 May 1872, Page 3

STATE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

One of tlio departments of the American (iovernment is devoted to Agriculture. -We have no desire to add to our large army of officials, but would suggest that our government should procure a supply of the books published by the American government and distribute them hy sending copies to each of the public reading rooms in the colony. " Nature," in reviewing some of the reports I of the American department rays :— ■ j It is true that the Royal Agricultural ! Society of England, with less, than 6,000 j members, does more, probably, in its special walk than any other private society in the world ; but it is still nothing more than a private society, and it cannot possibly, therefore, coyer the whole ground required by. the ! progressive agriculture of the present day. j Indeed, it is, by its charter, expressly' pro- j hibitcd.from interfering- in matters which are j questions of either law or politics. Its efforts i are theretore confined to 'practice' and | ' science,' and it supports a large staff of scieu- 1 tific officers, including a chemist, botanist, I veterinary inspector, engineer and others, absolutely without state aid ; it also expends at least A' 2,000 per annum in testing machinery ; gives away £3,000 per annum in prizes for the best animals.; promotes experimental investigations.; and.incurs very -serious risk in exposing adulterations of manures and feeding stuffs. It may, doubtless, be urged that if English farmers can ('o so much for themselves they require no help. But practically our Government has found out that there are things to be done which only a Government can do. Thus after the nation has suffered losses by the ravages of cattle plague, it ordered an investigation of the subject, and—published a : bluebook. After the condition of the agricultural labourer, especially of women and children employed in agriculture, had been stigmatized as a blot on our civilization, it issued a Royal Commission, and the result of this excessive effort for the advancement of agriculture was—a series of blue books, -But who reads blue-books? Farmers cannot perform successfully a feiit whiplij alinQst baffles the best-trained member of Parliament,; What they want is a Department of. Agriculture

which shall improve the laws of the land, as well as investigate obscure snbjects, and circulntit the official reports in the manner,, of. the United States department in editions\>f a quarter of a million. The L"nite(|,.,Btateg Commissioner not only expounds the taws of federation on the roads, fences, &c-; but be learns, for instance, that !he beet-sugar'in-dustry of Europe, and the system of agricultural education in Germany and other countries, present instructive features to the intelligent agriculturist.and hFttfCfrfcfore sends a qualified commissioner ttfreport on each of these subjects.; ,A|nQrip4n ifarralrs are thus enlightened on European agriculture and more authoritatively than who are separated from the Continent bs nothing more than a 'streak of silver sea.' There are our colonies also ; and we would on their behalf inquire whether an intending emigrant to Canada*] New iZealan|, qr ;th|! (Jape, caVobtain as ipiuclf itrustf ort|>y|infoi| raation on iiheiftagripultiir'elts me farmer how possesses about Bis country's recent purchase. Alaska ? It thus seems clear that t\ie United States Department of Agriculture presents features which may be profitably copied by our Executive Government, and others which are equally instructive both to our agriculturalists and |o our men of science." / t ?\ ,-

Thr "New York Tribane" parishes the following- from Chicago: —"Lying in the river near the lighthouse is a vessel clad from hull to topmast with a thick coating , of ice. She left this port on the 2nd of December, loaded with 2(>,Q00 bushels, pf corn;, sailing before a pleasant breeze, and with' every prospect of a successful voyage. Towards night snow began to fall, and at dark a fierce storm of sleet broke upon the vessel, covering every rope and sail with ice. With great difficulty the top rigging was"secured; and-1 then attempts were made to take in the frozen canvass. One sailor ran promptly aloft, but in a short time was frozen stiff and motionless to the cross.tree. In lowering him to the deck the mate and several men were badly Ivost-bitten. The insensible man was revived a little by vigorous and long-con-tinned rubbing with snow, but hi 3 legs are so badly frozen that his recovery is scarcely possible. The storm contiiiuccl with unabated fury, the ice-clad vessel sinking deeper and deeper as the waves washed over it. The course was changed for Chicago, , f wbere the vessel arrived on the 4tti." livery member?of the crew, officers as well a&« mefy 'Was-more-en- less frost-bitten, as each had taken his turu aloft to watch for landmarks. __ As each cartiejbauk he had to be rubjbed with snow to bring* babld cii culatioiv to his beaumbedjimbs. All of the men Tire suffering "from intense pain, but, with the exception of the one that was frozen, are not fatally injured. barque, which is named the Board is now having the ice stripped off, she will be laid up till spring." The Best Way to Advert iSE.-r-The best and cheapest mode of advertising in*the. world is that in the newspapers. Eveisy successful advertiser will say this. 'SSeed strewn there—if the seed is good for anything— always brings up a crop of some value, most most generally a hundred-fold. Placarding the dead-walls, and showering handbills among the people, are auxiliaries to adverbut it is donbtful whether, as agr^le,-. , they more than pay the expense, while jfifevj* is no doubl: that they are a nuisance. "■ blankest of dead-walls is ouly disfigured by posters, provoking in the well-regulated mind a sense of aversion to the man who so advertises, and the articles upon whose excellencies he expatiates; while as to handbills, nothingso prejudices a citizen against going to see r.ny show, or buying any goods, as the ugly slips of paper thrust at him from.all quarters, eloquently recommending him to do those things. . . ' "