BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XII, Issue 3, 20 March 1916, Page 219

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The Board of Agriculture met in Wellington in February, all the members being present. The Minister of Agriculture (Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald) also attended the meeting. The proposal of the Stratford Agricultural and Pastoral Association that a model dairy farm, run on commercial lines, should be established in Taranaki was discussed at length, and it was decided, before making any recommendation, to obtain fuller details, which could be considered at a later meeting. In reference to the reported commandeering of a steamer which is used to convey phosphate' rock from the Pacific islands to New Zealand, it was decided to point out to the Government that if this steamer was withdrawn from service it would mean that practically no phosphatic manures could be imported, as basic slag and superphosphate are increasingly difficult ' to obtain. The Board was requested by the Hon. A. M. Myers (Minister of Munitions and Supplies) to appoint two of its members, one from each Island, to represent the Board at the conference of tanners, bootmakers, and producers to consider matters arising out of the embargo on the export of hides. Messrs. Hunt and Hall attended accordingly, and the former was appointed chairman of the committee set up to consider. prices, &c. The administration of the Noxious Weeds Act was discussed at some length. This is a matter upon which the Minister of Agriculture has asked for the recommendations of the Board. It was decided that a report embodying the Board’s views on the subject should be prepared for presentation to the Minister. The Board has received a lengthy and comprehensive statement from Professor L. H. Bailey, of Cornell University, New York, setting out the lines on which he considers rural education could best be conducted in New Zealand. It was decided to write thanking the professor for his report, although it is unlikely that much use can be made of it until after the war. Attention was called to the spread of club-root in various parts of New Zealand, and it was decided to ask the Minister of Agriculture to have an investigation carried out as to the causes of this disease, and the means calculated to prevent its spread. A number of . letters in regard to forestry matters were dealt with. The Board had a long consultation with the Minister regarding the Government experimental farms, and several matters of detail were fully discussed. It was finally decided that the matter be deferred until the Minister had had an opportunity of making a further personal inspection of these institutions. Other matters of a confidential nature were also discussed with the Minister.