BOYS AND THE WAR.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 August 1917, Page 4

BOYS AND THE WAR.

GOOD WORK ON FARMS

CHRISTCHURCH August 7

Mr. G. Pitcaithly, headmaster of the Waimnte District High School has written to Mr. J. A. Frostiek, National Efficiency Commissioner for Canteibury supplying particulars Rof an interesting experiment with boy labour in the Waimato County

The Willowhrige District of the county is one of the largest potato growing areas in the Dominion. The District High School for many years.j lias specialised in agriculture and thoj services of the older hoys were offeree- j to farmers wlio wished to get their po- I tatocs cut in order to sow down the fields with winter wheat and were j faced with, the scarcity of labour, 'mo farmers.at.first received the suggestion ; coldly, but a few decided to give the experiment a trial- Finally Mr. W. | Hnynmn who had a crop of about forty [ acres, agreed to take a team ot twelve i hoys feed them and house thm and ; give them 8s n day each to lift the crop. Mr. Hayinan spent a day or two showing the hoys how he wished the picking and grading to be done. At the end of the third day he found that each boy could do as much work as a man. In twelve days a team of twelve boys whose ages range trom ten years to sixteen years lifted 3000 sacks of potatoes. Two men were cm- ; ployed to shake and sew the sacks ana , the potatoes were dug with a potato ; digger. As the results of Mr. Huy-, man’s trial became known the headmaster was besieged with applications for hoys and the supply ran short of j the demand. Between sixty and sov- J enty boys including those working . on f their own farms' spent their holiday j \ in that wav. It is estimated that they , lifted over GOOO sacks of potatoes. Out • of the three weeks there were only , twelvo days on which they could work, and it is believed that if it had no I, been for the wot weather they would have lifted 10,000 1

Tlio pupils of the school have cultivated on their experimental plots potatoes, turnips and mtjngolds. The County Council has given them the free use of another piece of ground to take out a crop of potatoes'during the coming' season. Thirty boys spend thoii Saturdays receiving instruction m woolclassing, picking up, rolling, and other work connected with wool and Mr. Pitcaithly has offered their services to the commissioners during the shearing season. Some of them did the classing in the sheds of the district, last year, and buyers submitted very gratifying reports on their work.