FARMING METHODS COMPARED

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1042, 3 February 1911, Page 7

FARMING METHODS COMPARED

-+■ ; SCOTTISH VISITORS. (By TelCEranh.— Special Correspondent.! Christchurch, February 2. Messrs. James Keith and James Dunlop, members of the boiird of, twelve Agricultural Commissioners who have been recently touring the CoiumonivraKh of Australia, arrived by the first express from tho south to-day,-accompanied by Mr. J. D. Ritchie.Director of the Land Purchase Board of New Zealand. This commission, was composed of practical- farmers and others interested.in agricultural education and development, and was appointed by the Commonwealth Government to do work similar, to that done by tho commission to Denraarkin 1904, in Ireland in 1900,-and. in Canada.-.in '1908. . Messrs.. Dunlop'and. Keith are mailing a hurried tour of the Dominion nioro on plcasuro than , business. ■ • . -

Mr. James;.,Dunlop is.a,,djrc.cit,or,) l pf e -j;JiB ; SciJttish-'Ch'hmbcr-'of Agriculture, a.nd-js a very well-known .Ayrshire. farmer and cattle-breeder, his. property; be jug; at'Fen-.' wick, Kilmarnock. Ho has specmlisefl in. the breeding of Ayrshire cattle , and-Border Leicester - sheep, nnd has exported prizowinning stock to every continent in .the world. The champion Aytshiro bull at tho Commonwenltn Exhibition, Melbourne,' was bred bv liim. Ho was also tho ■ organiser of the . first farmers' cooperative creamery in Scotland, and-.he-takes the keenest 'interest in matters appertaining to raising the milking qualities'of the-Ayrshire breed. Mr. Keith, who is also a director oF tho Scottish Chamber of Agriculture, .'.farms in Aberdeenshive, where ho goes in bet for dairying and stock-breeding. Mr. Keith is also a captain in the sth. Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders, a Territorial battalion.

Messrs. Dunlop and Keith lave'mado a rapid journey through the Southern part of the islandl in'tho course of which they have visited Invercargill and district, the Lakes, Dunedin, and the Taieri, Palmerston South, Timaru, Waikao Downs, Pleasant Point, and Ashburton. "For obvious reasons," said Mr. Keith to a "Press" representative,- "i cannot well answer any question as to whether I think New Zealand 'is a better country to live and settle in than Australia. I think, from what " I lave seen so far, that the farmers of tho Dominion are quite up to date in their methods, and what particularly struck us was the efficient yet.cheap manner in which they carry out their work. I realise that the scarcity and expense.of getting labour is the reason for a certain lack of neatness on many farms, but in tho great-essen-tials your men here can hold their own. As a matter of fact, agricultural labour .is not too plentiful at Home, but I don't think that - that scarcity is tho causo of a similar dearth, out , here. At Home, every farm has its cottages for married men, who, with their families, live on the place, thus keeping a reserve supply, so to speak, of labour to draw upon, but out here, there is seldom accomniodatiou for a married man, and a ■large proportion of permanent hands.ou a place ara singlo men. Your farm labourers out here are imported, not bred, but it is possible that these conditions will change as time goes on. I havo been ill Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and I can safely say that the conditions in this country ara decidedly moro like those in Great Britain than in-the two former places mentioned. I do not think the colonial farm hand works any better or auy harder than a farm hand in England or Scotland, though there is a rather general. impression that, ho does, but certainly his wages oro a , good. deal lusher." It is probable that both Messrs. Dunlop and.'Keith will visit Lincoln to-mor-row to see the Agricultural CoIIoro: It is not yet certain whether they will leave for Wellington to-morrow or Saturday.