SUCCESSFUL YEAR

Chronicle (Levin), 9 July 1948, Page 4

SUCCESSFUL YEAR

Agricnltural Club Reviews Its Work There was a large and represe)" kt, :ative attendance of members erf I 1 .nterested persons at the- annd^ / rneetjng of -the Horowhenua Boys*- - ind Girls' Agricultural Club, which was held at the Levin School on Wednesday evenihg. In spite of the wet weather' and the petrol restric- * bions, representatives and enthusIasts were present from as far gouth as Paraparaumu. In his opening remarks, the president, Mr. R. L. Rpbinspn, commented on the attendance. it was most pleasing to note that interesi in the movement had not (jvaned, he said. He then extended a welconie to those present, making special mention of the senior c insbeotor of schQQlg, MP- Stpbbs, the senior supervisor, Mr. H. Wynne-Hesse, the two Education Board members, Messrs. D. K. Guy and A. R. Robinson, and the newly appointed agricultural inspeetor, Mr. N. E. Barnett. He welcomed all the delegates, especially any ne.w ones, remarlfing that he trusted they would be pleased witb the work of the club. He was stire they would he vepy interested in all its activities. ' ApolQgies were received from Messrs. A. M. Scott, H. Piper, D. Hartstonge, J. Casey, S. J. Free, N.o Smith, J. G. Horh, R; T. Henderson a.rid R. W.. Evans. Arising from the minutes, the . rnatter of junior home gardens was discussed. A report was brought fqrward by Mr. Hesse, who said that personally he did not think the idea was very sound- It was better to

confine the home gardens to .the children in stan'dards 3, 4, 5 and 6. With the younger children, said Mr. Hesse, interest lapsed after a short time and the gardens were not lcept going. He suggested that no action should be taken by • the club in the matte^, but that if the teachers cared to undertake the task of getting the younger children to haye gardens in their own homes, and see that judging was oarried out, then the club would issue official certificates. After a short diseussion, action was taken along the lines suggested by .Mr. Hesse. Activities Reviewed In presenting the annual report of the club'si activities, Mr. Robinson recorded another successful yfear, all the club's work being carried to a successfui conclusion except the final judging of the calf rearing elass. "Your executive met immed.iately the schools were clqsect as a precaution against the spread- of poliomyelitis, and after stubying the position from all angles decided that the club would have to abandon its final judging. After over twelve months without a science and agriculture instructor for Horowhenua Primary Schools, we are pleased to be able to extend a welcome to Mr. N. E. Barnett and trust that his stay with us will be an enjoyable one. "The calf rearing project was again very well supported and maintains its position as the largest of all seetions. The quality of the calves and the manner in which theywere reared and presented remains at the high level reached during 4;he last year or two. Undoubtedly experience and the interest taken by those who have the knowledge is bearing fruit and leaving its mark on the dairying section of the Horowhenua. As already mentiond, the final judging ^ had to be abandoned, but fortunately all prelimmary • judging had been carried out before the schools I closed, and at all schqols exceedingiy pleasant and e'ducational func*tions were held. It is gratifying to your committee to see such large numbers of parents and ofhers interested in the ehildren's activities. The club would be pleased to. see more yearlings and two-year-olds paraded at school judging, s-. As.no final judging toed?#lacgl'ast*y6dr, it may be possible to have some of those calves paraded as yearlings at this coming year's final judging. i "The past numbers in the lamb rearing competition were main.tained and the youthful owners deserve congratuiations for the efforts they put into this - project. Your f executive feels that there is room ,for an increase in the number jtaking part, and trusts that there jwill be an increase in the coming ' year. ; "Entries in the pig rearing pro,ject were few — a very regrettable jfact — and we hope that more child- ^ |ren will become interested and take , , ipart. Those who completed the"j project reached a fairly high stanidard, especially the placed competitors, with special .mention for ; the winner. The child who won this competition showed very clear- ■ ly the heights of perfection that • could be reached. The awards were: ■ John Carter, (Reikorangi) 1, Graeme Lingard, (Poroutawhao) 2, Donald Kidd, (Ohau) 3. "The garden entries were good, ' althou'gh not as high as during the ' war years. Once again it was found iippossible to judge all the- : 'gardens, as was originally intended, ,but individual schools arranged :i their own judging and then each I I champion school garden wasjudged smnd an award for the whole area • i was made. For this judging we were fortunate in being able to obtain ^the services of Mr- Williamson, a ^retired gardener, with experience . both in England and New Zealand. ; The club thanks him for his work : and the interest he took in the ;lchildren's work. The awards were; 1 Stephen Lewis, (Poroutawhao) 1, 5 Jon Jones, (Paraparaumu) 2, Donald Anderson, (Otaki) 3. ' "Interested hodies eontinue to " contribute financially to the support j of the club and it was this year (Continued on Page 7)

CQontinued from.Page 4) very piea^ing indeed to note an increase in the number of private IndivMu'aLs who contribute'd, while some of our regular donors increasr ed the amount of their donations. The club sincerely thanks all donors. . . "We again tender our thanks to the committee of the Levin School for the use of a room for meetings," said Miy Robinson in conelusion. "The Wellington Education Board and its officer have gi.ven invaluable ai'd, both financially , and in adminr istration, and: we wishoto thank them accordingly. Mr. H. F. McClune has at. all- times been of . great assistance, . and . • for his and the secretary's work the .club tend- | ers its thanks. Also to our judges and all those who 'during the year have willingly ' given of. their. valuable time.to assist.the club." Officers Elected . The election of officers for the ensuing. year resulted as follows:-— Patron: Mr. H. F. McClune; . president: Mr. R. L. Robinson; vicepresidents.: Messrs. R. W. Evans and C. H. Arcus ; secretary: Mr. C. E. Wiseley; committee Messrs. F. O. Malcolm, A. E. Jeffries and E. Pilgrim; au'ditbr: Messrs. J. L. Arcus and sons. General Business A total of £46 16s 8d had been spent on badges and ribbons last year, reported the secretary, Mr. C. E. Wiseley, He asked for instruc-. tions on the matter and the meetihg decided to proceed with the purchasei of these trophies for, the coming year. Once again this year, s.chool committees will b,e asked to nominate associate judges. The old panel of ! associate judges will be kept by "th§ club and the new nominations wiil be received. The question of further awards for v'arious classes and work was aiso raised by Mr. Wiseley. The medals would be for charts and data books. This action was opposed by Messrs. J. E. James and F. O. Burtt, and the matter was dropped. The president then invited Mr. Stubbs to speak, stating" that the club was always pleased to hear from a man who took such an interest in the work. Mr. Stubbs thanked Mr. Robinson for his warm welcome and said that he was very pleased to be present. Although he could not be as actively interested in the movement as he would wish, his work took 'him along somewhat parallel lines. He complimented the club on the very fine meeting, remarking that it was such gatherings that helped to create a very deep interest in 'the community among the people. School was no longer merely a place where children weht to learn. ' Nowadays th'ey went to school to liVe as well as learn, and the club's activities helped this course of events. '* He'had been interested to- hear the' discussion on charts and records, and expressed the opinion that the •harts at present being used were out of date and that it was high time that they were thoroughly revised. ' *Mr. -Hessfti asked' the Pieeting'fbr' a decision on the point raised by Mr. Stubbs. If the club would like the charts revised, then he would endeavour to have this done. He suggested that record books be kept this year and that thg, new charts be uS'ed the following season. It was decided to take action ^long these lines. It was pointed out that record books had to be kept to the' satisfaction of the suparvisor, but that if the child so

wished th'e ,-bopkj could ,be\sent - to the secretary Tof entry An; the besi kept b'ook coihpfetition. ' * • ' The question of bringing ' last year's caives into the- competitions as yearlings w.as rjaised by Ivlr. Rqbinson.. • It Liad,: Ifeepn a i ^i^dppoint1. : ment to a great' many, when the flnal calf judging had been abandoned, and he thought it would be a ' good idea to bring them in this year as yearlings. This was supported by Mr. F. O. Malcolm, who-; said that caives. would' be. accustomed' to the ' Children and ; that most /children wbuld';take.an interr' 6st in , their fprmer -B'ets once" agajn. SeveraL .'del^gate's .. - -from (He ' sOufhefn end'of the .district oppbsed this ' mbye; • stating that it: would be impossible ' to arrange transport. for the animals F • ; 7 It was suggested by . Mr. H., J.. Lancaster that tlie animals shouid be taken to the preliminary judging and that if •' eiiough interest ■ was taken' in ;them,jthen theyucould be brought to the. final .day at Levin. ' A decision was made.to conform with this sugge'stion,: the 'yealings to be operated under the club's . rules. Judging will be for the best all-round type. The meeting closed shortly after with a vote of tHanks to the chair.