TEACHING THE FARMER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2079, 14 May 1907, Page 1

TEACHING THE FARMER.

GOVERNMENT ENTOMOLOGIST’S SUGGESTION.

In the course of his speech at the 'dinner tendered to hint by the officials of tlio Agricultural court at tho Exhibition at Christchurch on May 4th, Mr. T. W. Kirk, Government biologist, who was in charge of the court, gave some, interesting particulars of the Government’s original intentions regarding it. Ho said that when it was decided: to have an agricultural display at tho Exhibition he submitted an elaborate scheme to tho head of tho Department, Mr. Ititchic. Unfortunately, it had not been found possible to carry it out in its entirety, owing to various circumstances; two of tho most important divisions of tho Department were unable to bo represented, the dairy. and tho veter-

inary divisions. It had beon intended to liiivo a working dairy in tho court, and that ho thought, would have been one of tho principal attractions .so far as tho public were concerned. Tho Department were prepared to spend £ISOO on tho building, but the lowest tender was £3OOO, and the proposal had to be abandoned. He thought that the Minister of the Department had decided wisely that the money, £3OOO, would go a long way towards establishing a permanent oxeporhnental school at one of the stations, and that was one of the reasons why tho dairy section was not represented at the court.

Mr. Kirk said that a great many of the exhibits in the court came from the small agricultual museum in Wellington. That museum had, owing to pressure of space, been abandoned liy tho Government. He heard that it was the Government’s intention to provide adequate accommodation for an agricultural museum in the future; but in ;tlie meantime the Department’s collections would have to be stored away, and would not bo available for the

public. His idea of what should be done was the establishment of a permanent museum which should contain everything of interest to farmers. There should be a system of travel-

ling cases, in which -sections of exhibits from the museum would be taken throughout 'he colony. Thus, one set of cases should have samples of various classes of soils, with full particulars of their characteristics, and their suitability for various crops, and tliese would bo taken •right through the colony in charge of an export. Following them would be a set of cases samples of various fertilisers; then collections of seeds, then collections of noxious weeds, and so on. In this way tho Department could, as fjir as was possible, give to those farmers who were uuable to visit the museum in Wellington an opportunity to see it in sections, brought tb their respective districts. Ho was hopeful of seoing the idea carried out.