ADVICE TO FARMERS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1046, 8 February 1911, Page 6

ADVICE TO FARMERS.

BY A SCOTCH .VISITOR. NEW ZEALAND 'TRAISED. • ;(I!y TolesMph—Special Eeporter.) Feilriing, February 7. At a .smoko concert held. to-night, at Which Mr. A. Campbell, president of tho I'cildini; A. and P. Association, presided,' and about ois'Jity agriculturists and commercial men attended, a highly interesting S-peech was delivered by Mr. Dunlop, a iiienibei' iif Ihe .Scotch Coiniuisfioir, who'is visiting: New Zealand. The visitor said that nothing had struck hint' unci his collrc'siuv llr. Keith, so much as the great 1-andness and cordiality 'to them in this beautiful country which had,such a fair future. Tho mixing of tho Scotch with tho English and tho Irish evidently lu&dd them more warmhearted. J|o was xinpressed by tho magnificent manner ' lit which tho ■. showgrounds ill this country wero got up.- In jierihanent buildings for such grounds, New Zealand far exijelled Scot land. Tho stock he. bad seen a.' tho show was capital! Tho collection of sheep was one of tho largest it, hut?. bceii his plcasuro to sc. Tho fat laDjljs wero excellent. .At Home, hand-feeding had to bo resorted to, and overfeeding was often lapsed into, I'crhaps it would- mako'its.appearance' hero.sotno day. ;JIo had seen at tho fchow so'mo ver.i- hno. draught marcs belonging to Mr. Ernest, Short, lint had been surprised, when visiting Mr. Short's Rtucl farm, to seo_ .that the FcUding breeder had not brought I his best to lli(\ show. Tho Hereford* at the show were certainly a credit to am- country, nnd tho best bull would not be out of placo at tho Royal Agricultural Show. In' New Zealand wo Bccnied to succeed, well with the Herefords on our rich pastures. New Zealand farmers did not seem to pay enough attention to lbs breeding of rags'.for!export. ..Iho number of pigs in America 'bad decreased in'the last four or five years, through the operations of the Trusts. Tho British' pork' merchants were .sending .to various countries' for pork;" arid wore gfctting supplies from China. If tlicra. was one countrv in tho woitla. suitable lov rearing pork; ho thought it was Now Zealand. Here, we had not. tho six months of winter soma . countries ■ had. If our farmers would graze their pigs on their pastures; or on lucerne, as iu America, whero.ho had seen tcujiigs to tho acre, he was sure they wouiu gct.hct er result than the farmers in tho stales iM V. to wbv ilr- Keith and he wero in New Zealand, they had received an invitation for a Scotch commission to visit Australia to view the agricultural conditions, and report thereon. Ne.nrlj all the commissioners would liave M" 1 have visited New Zealand,. but it was only possible for Mr..Keith and lum to Ho" did not supposo tho Federal Government had been particularly, anxious for them to coiuo to Xew Zealand, knowing that-the features of this land so much more 'resembled Scotland, so the .Commission had been wound up in-western Australia. Ho had heard a c(*>d deal ot New Zealand before - connnc hero, bat, after spending a fortnight in the countrv, he had'to confess that tho half had jitit been told. They had not seen tho countrv in very favourable circumstances, but he' did not think the North had suffered as much as-tho. South Island. The amount, of growth to a given area was /emarkablv good. It bad seemed to him that the'land had got better as they famo north. : The progress • of tho country had impressed him very much. Ho referred particularly to its railways and its fine Toads. Tho pioneers, wero men who must have been mado of fino Muff, nnd the women who accompanied them must have. been brave-hearted. All .honour to the men who wero felling tho forest to-day, but they wero not in tho same plight as tho pioneers. Tliero was n great future l>efore Now Zealand. Some countries bad Scotch _ colonics, Irish rolonies, German colonics, "etc.. and that iras a bad thing, producing rival families. Tho intermarrying in this laud was. Un •icellent thing, and was going to produce a Tace finer than any of the races of Northern Europe. New Zealand had many of the elements which co to the nuking of a crpat nation.

The llinisler for Agriculture (Iho Hon. T. .Mackenzie), ivlio was present, and *poke subsequently. said that it was n raid thing hoar that, when (ho Scotch Commissioners cot back tn their native rounlry, they would ljo nhle to speak in glowing terms of Now Zealand.