CO-OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1268, 25 October 1911, Page 8

CO-OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS.

THE AGKKTLTUiAI, DEPARTMENT'S EITOUT*. Referring tn co-operative experiment?, in the annual report of Ihe .Agricultural Department, the Hon. T. Mackenzie savs-. "1 appreciate the sympathy anil support farmers have extended to my Department in the important work of initiating and carrying out local experiment.-, on the rn-oper.itive principle, a-. 1 realise that tho co-operation of the farmer and the Department in acquiring a knowledge of local conditions is of'paramount importance. The co-operative experiment not only provides a practical key to the most desirable methods of procedure, for the farmers of a particular district, but brings the farmer into closer touch with'the activities of my Department, while at the same time it whets his appetite for advance:! knowledge of his calling. During the past year many important tests have been conducted which can only have a most beneficial effect on tlie farm practice of the districts in which the work has been conducted. Tho co-opcrative experimental work is directed ty two officers of my Department, one in each island, who l are assisted in the laying- out of the experiments by the Chemist and the Biologist of the Department, while thoy also have the assistance of field officers in the different districts in which they are conducted in the work of supervision. Two special features of the co-operative experiment campaign in the Xorth Island have been the discovery of the best fodder crop for dairy cattje and the most suitable manurial dressing for the improvement of pasturage, while in the South Island the testing of new.varieties of grain and suitable, fertilisers for cereal crops in general have received principal attention.".