THE KING COUNTRY

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 129, 27 November 1929, Page 13

THE KING COUNTRY

A PRODUCTIVE AREA

OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK

The assistance which recent loans through the State Advances Department have afforded to farmers in his electorate, and the results achieved by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, were acknowledged by Mr. W. J. Broadfoot, member of Parliament for Waitomo, in a brief interview with a "Post" reporter today.

Mr. Broadfoot said that the King; Country was only about one-twentieth developed when tho war broke out. Development subsequently had goro/a ahead on peak prices for farm produce, but the slump of 1920-21 had struck the district. The advent /of modern fertilisers, however, had a,lti3red the whole outlook, and the farmers were optimistic as to their future prospects. Indeed, they were satdsrfied that they could increase production twenty-fold.

To illustrate the increase in the productivity of the King Country, concerning which doubts had been often voiced in past years, Mr. Bro-adfoot mentioned that last year over 0.00 000 fat sheep and lambs had been, turned out from the AVaitomo district. In this connection, he desired to pay a tribute to the valuable work performed by Dr. E. Marsden, Permanent Secretary of the Scientific and industrial Research Department, who, he said had carried out many important investigations in regard to soil co-ntent. Top dressing had been of the utmost value m increasing productivity in tho King Country. In addition, credit had to be paid to the State Advances Department for making money available to the small farmers in his electorate The acceleration of State Advances loans had been the means of materially promoting the development aaid prosperity ot the small farmers, particularly in the Ivmg Country. ' ' Reiterating the good research work that had been done ;by Dr. Marsden, ii f^, 00* mentio-iied that some of the methods employed by Dr. Marsden m the King Country had been applied in other countries • -.vith beneficial effects, notably, in tbe Cheviots in Scotiand, m Tasmania, -and in Kenya Cols°u& B hrf S£ WeSt Africa ' «* the results had borne out that the experiments were on rifrht lines. Instancing the'increase in tho growth of productivity.'in the King Country Mr. Broadfoot said that there wefe ten dairy factories operating in the area, and that they* were ineieasin" their output daily. He also said that the Minister; of Native Affairs (the Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata), who had ?" n t r aaef Ully ™*«»™ * Promot «ff^ % Pr°. d'A Ction from Nati™ lands in the Eaafc Coast districts, would be with a view to suggesting means for KsS? 8 orV^ ds for settlemen ?ll? i &r A Pirana Ngata would also condor with the holders of Maori leases m an attempt to devise me a °ns to overcome eases of hardship