Weraroa State Farm

Horowhenua Chronicle, 17 August 1916, Page 2

Weraroa State Farm

A .liK-n. i: SSL ON IN PARLIAMENT

In the dosing hours ol the last session of Parliament, some interesting releH'iic. s win e made to \\ ereroa State .Kami bv tho member tor Otaki. Ihe

discussion was initiated on a repo't brought down by tlie Minister Uw Agriculture, who said: -''1 desire to -lay ou the table of the House a report bv Mr. A. Mcl'lieisou, Fields Instructor, Department «.f Agriculture. liuhmtrics. and Commerce, containing his observa-

tions during his recent, visit to agricultural instructional institutions in the rnite.l States of America and Canada. 1 beg to move, 'That the report do lie on the table of the Hou-o. and be printed.' "

Mr. W, IT. Field 'Otaki Electorate), speaking to the .motion, said.:—"My tho courtesy of the -minister, I have had an opportunity of glancing at this report during the -last few moments. It has been impossible for ne to read much of tho letterpress, but. f have seen the illustrations, and tney are quite sufficient to indicate that this report is likely to be of great value to t-lio Government and to the farming community of this country. The gentleman who made tho rnport-—-Mr. MVPber.son —is well-known in this country as a fields instructor. He did enormously valuable work in tho way of red.ucing waste sand arras ill the Canterbury district to a condition ol value for growing various plants of use to the fanner, and T do not know that anv better man'in the employ of the department could have heeif chosen to make this particular report. The illustrations indicate the enormous advances which have been made hy the Governments of the United States and; Canada in the direction of supplying instruction and valuable experiments nt the various State agricultural farms and colleges of those countries. If

wo are going to 11111 lee farming in tins country as successful as it. ought to be. wo must do very luuoli more than ivo arc doing at tlio presen? time along those linos. Our State inrms hnvo undoubtedly been of .some service ill the past, hut that service lias boon a tnero fraction of what- fl should have boon. 1 linvo heard., with groat satisfaction, that there is a proposal on foot to render tlio Wereroa State Farm, which is eentra'ly situated close in Wellington here, and consists of some 800 ivi-res of very valuable lnnd', of very much more service to tlio State than it has been in the past. In order to render this State farm of real value to tlio farming community, one of the first things undertaken mn.st lie the placing there in permanent residence 11( the exports who have to do with rlii l experiments and the giving of instruction to visiting farmers and students at the farm. Thin policy I have .strongly urged over and over

;; Li:iin. 1 am aware tllat this would involve some expense, lmt the expenditure would be more than ,justified, and I trust the (Jovornmeiit will without delay see their way to have this done, when I am sure that in a very short time instead; of t|iis farm being In some quarters held up t.o derision, as hoi livr a useless encll inbra lice oil the St-ato, there will be a general admission. on the part of the fanning community that it is of real value. We have only to look to the examples afforded t« us by tlio United States and Canada ant! to the enormous success

of these farms there undier a. policy such as I have outlined, to convince us that, we should he following f/ho same lines. We nre only scratching the' surface so far a.s instruction and experiinentinp; in farming in this country is concerned. even at the present time. Tf our State farms are developed ill the way T hare mention*!, and this is T believe what the present •Minister oT Agriculture has in view, 1 am satisfied there will be .most excellent results, and the Minister will earn a name for himself as ilie innuarurator of the .system. T am Mire that tbe report will he widely read, and T hope that many copies of it will be printed audi circulated broadcast anions the farmers of the country.