THE STATE FARMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1680, 21 February 1913, Page 8

THE STATE FARMS.

A' FARMER'S APPRECIATION OF RJJAKURA. I -would hka to be • allowed to pen a fow lines oil' the subject of experiment farms;' ami to convey the impressions I received from a visit .to tlio Ruakura l'arm of Instruction, writes Mr. J. Burt Veale, of Woodvillo. Mr. Vealo says ho enjoyed tho visit very much, and adds that he doubts. very much if the people of tho Dominion as a Whole appreciate sufficiently tho great national-value of the work which is being carried on upon these farms. Many of the criticisms'levelled at tho. valuo of these institutions by the farming community have, he, feels, been abased-upon insufficient knowledge; of tho' : naturo of the work tliesa farms are engaged,upon. To expect tlieso 'places to show 1 that each teanch can bo prtfved a commercially sound, undertaking is, Mr. Veale urges;, asking too much. Continuing, tho writer says:—"ln the first place, the land occupied by the Runkurii Experiment Farm has by no moans been lavishly endowed by r nature. It consists of about asixaw and unattractive a piece of country as one would wish to'see, and has b:en transformed into an ideal farm. AVhikt much remains to be done on &01110' portions of the estate,, tho work done tb date is simply astonishing, and the careful detail that is given to each and every branch is an object-lesson to anyone interested in the science and practice of agriculture.' It "is not in the, actual pounds, shillings, and pence earned by these institutions that the valuo of tho ;'work 'should bo assessed, but by the indirect value .of.. its experiments and tho .Careful data supplied, the value of which can only be reckoned as unexhausted improvements can bo reckoned by the average! farmer, viz.—that the years to coins will reap the benefit of extended knowledge, and this will 'indirectly benefit tlio whole Dominion and prove the wisdom of tho expenditure.' Take just one ■'experimentftb'Ruakura',.vi&'r-the raising 6i a rust-resisting oat. Can anyone'at ,present- compute what' this' may mean in pounds, shillings, and pence'to tho graingrowers of this Dominion?' Up to now wo have looked upon the 1 Algerian oat as tho . best rust-rtsister,' ' but .'.-comparing the .sample .of Algerian oat grown alongside the- rust-resisting varioty, .'there is'no comparison in the weight, and yield-.'of the- Algerian as compared with the new variety.,, Can anyone.yet compute the, lvalue of this experiment alone, and •this, is. only ono of, hundreds?, What 'strikesa practical farmer is the enthusiasm displayed by the heads of the various Departments , 111 the pursuit of .knowledge. There is. nothing visionary jabo'ut them.-. They are quite.as ready to I show the. things .that have not proved of .commercial value as they are to t'cel justly, .proud of the. experiments that are. unqualified successes.' : , V ' 1 ,

■. ".TJie'liicerno. iiokl .at Rilalqira ,is another object-lewou, and ,tho fine stack of lucerne hay, so'•-neatly, thatched- npd of itha bost qimlity, is there for the inspection of visitors-; and is the proof of the TCilue of ;th,is experiment. 011 land . not wpscially,suiteil. .by... nature to grow.it.Tho.quality of the stock calls for adm'ira-..tioii(.-:aiul-all these aro being bretl: upon sound practical .common-sense lines.. ; "-l'lic;/management' !Us ' certainly in .cap:tl>le" haiicls,^'ahtl-the' courtesy aud at-' toVvisitors is a teaturo of tho institution.. Tho visitors alono miist ;ba a heavy tax on tlio time 'and good nature of tho officials. In conclusion, I "will venture;to say that, in my opinion, .tho Huaknra Experiment l'arm is a. valunbl'S .Dominion; asset, and will prove of ?reatvvaluo,t6,the producers;of this Do- . mmion by showing the farmers what to do . J!rfe«l - 'whit to . avoid ; . probably the latter •kjrill prove jiwt as beneficial as the former, iVnj},tlieTO is no do«bt that''>fii'an}f ; !of' «s ..(iviiste a gocd deal of time and energy in Mainßbthihgs woTtfstl ifinelii«l)i(itS' 'Meave alpno, .and,with a growing population and , .increasing land values we snail have to ! pay more attention to tlio things wf. can , .inake conimoroially profitable. I for one ,oan add niy appreciation of tlie valuable .nature of the work carried on at Eu.ikura ill the teacliiag'of what is practical and . wluit' is not, and I feel siiro as .the yoara ' 'roll; oil-that the great, value of 'the work Tveirig carried on thore.-i?ill be .more approand rightly so."': V"'""''