The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1903. MAN AND THE SOIL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 577, 4 August 1909, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1903. MAN AND THE SOIL.

V" 1 ■ ; To the average.o% dweller -the report of the proceedings, at A. and P. Aa*. sociations' Conference will probably prove uncommonly dry reading, j But if he will think- a littlo atoufc the discussiona upon the moat market, the turnip moth, tho . sparrow pest, ' the noxious weeds problem, and the many problems of seeds 'and pasture and manures, he cannot.fail to realise the general drift cf, it all. Ho will be very dull if he does not catch behind all this agricultural talk glimpses of the longest and hardest of all wars—man's never-onding war with the' soil. It is only yesterday, we might say, that, men began to borrow weapons from Science with which to carry on the campaign; and it is only since those weapons began to be used that the resourceful obstinacy of Nature has been fully appreciated. Every advance of- agricultural science exposes some new wastefulness even in the best methods of tillage, and. the total of the waste becomes appalling when : what man is actually extracting from the soil is compared, with what ho would be able to extract if ho tilled the land like a chemist ■ and , banished the weeds and the pests that compete with him for . a living. . The .delegates .'at the ourrent Conference are fully aware of j&i& and (to A<#anyswL

koonnoss in thoir dismissions, It is easy to boo what ib wanted, and to flay what ought to bo dono, but it iB nflt so easy to doviso praotical mothods of dealing with tho question. Not' that thoro wan any lack of practical suggestions yesterday; but tho practical suggestions ihftt woro put .forward in dotailod form will not take ub very far. The. retiring President vory proporly pointed otit the absurdity of having no Chair of Agriculture at any of our University Colleges. What has stood in tho way of tho establishment, of such a Chair is, wo think,'a wrong idoa of what it would mean. There is obviously little to bo gained by providing agricultural training for intending farmers, and that is what tho 'average man has thought would be the object of establishing a Chair Of Agriculturo. What is really required'is tho training,of men in agricultural roscarch, who would givo lectures and instruction and issue pamphlets and books and papers for tho information of the men who really nood it, namely, tho | mon actually ongaged already in tho business of agriculture. As, Mr, Macfarlane, the new President, well said : "Distribution of information is the crying need of , agriculture in the Dominion today." This proposal, and Mp.. J. G. ■Wilson's interesting schemo 'for , the foundation of Veterinary scioncc scholarships, should receive careful consideration by the University Senate .and the, Government,■: Much, of course, was said upon the difficulty in the frozen -meat trade, but excepting for a suggestion by Mr. Wilson that the freezing companies Should form an association, with a committeo to regulateiithe trado, the discussion consisted mainly of .a* statement •of tho undesirable stato of the business and a'strong', suggestion that some noxious American influences are working against New Zealand. We are glad to note, by the way, that Mr. T. Mackenzie has obtained from fche High Commissioner an assurance that the recent "Dreadnought" advertisement of -New, Zealand- lamb was not authorised by his office. Mr. Mackenzie showed himself to be warmly in sympathy with the aims of the Conference, and much, of,what he said was useful and timely. l But, of course, he has his colleagues' to convert before he can do very much to assist the progress of agri-> .culture. When he touched*upon politics he was not on very Safe ground. Advocaoy of the need for immigrants to occupy the vacant spaces of this country does not come very well from the member of a Government which has kept the 'Native lands locked up and which has contrived to ; fill the agricultural com-, mnnity with uneasiness and alarm. ' It is easier to applaud the. Minister's. rebuke to the people jwho clamour for railways which will not pay for "years,, --if thoy ever pay at all. Mr.. Mackenzie might' with considerable profit havo developed . His observations upon the results that have followed our recent labour legislation. He must know that tho Arbitration Act. has been a Handicap, upon the progress and productiveness of'the country as a whole. It is to bo hoped that the Confer-, enco will t'ako steps to have its proceedings brought under the notice of farmers > i throughout the country, in full detail.