RESEARCH

Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1929, Page 7

RESEARCH

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES. A PROGRESS REPORT. WELLINGTON, June 14. Investigations which are in hand oi contemplated in various phases of research work were reported upon by the chairman of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (Mr G. Shirtcliffe) at Thursday’s meeting of the Council. Mr Sliiricliffe said that as a result of his survey of the wool problems of the Dominion Dr. J. E. Nichols, of the British Research Association for the Woollen and Worsted Industries Terridon, Leeds, had furnished a confidential report which at present was receiving the consideration of the Wool Research Commlittce. Dr. Nichols had put forward suggestions for a co-operative scheme of wool research, which, together with a similar report received through the High Commissioner from D. S. G. Barker would he dealt with at a nearly date. The Dairy Research Instiute alt Palmerston North was now well established and fully equipped. During the past season attention had been devoted mainly to the problem of open texture in cheese. Eiploraion of the cause of this trouble had revealed a number of interesting points, but it was yet too early to indicate that a definite solution was in sight. Valuable co-operation with the Hamilton and Hawera laboratories in this work and in other dairy problems had been possible. t In flax-breeding selection and disease -investigations steady (progress was being made by Dr. J. S. Yeates at Massey College. A fibre-testing machine was being extensively used in making strength tests of all new varities. A series of important trials with phormium fibre had been arranged with the Admiralty, the Imperial Institute and the Plymouth Cordage Company, as a part of the Phormium Research. Committee’s determinaticm to discover new uses for the fibre with a view to the possible extension of the present demand. There was distinct evidence of an improvement in milling and cultivation of flax in the country. it was interesting to note that careful tests in the Dominion Laboratory had shown that the average New Zealand produced sole leather was more than equal to that imported. In view of the importance to the fairy industry of the relation of diet to reproduction and the serious losses accounted for by delayed calving, proposals for a series of investigations of this problem had been made to Massey College. The work‘ would be under the direction of Dr. S. A. Asdell, and would form part of any larger scheme of animal disease and nutrition research that might be ultimately developed. Steady progress was being made vith the mineral content of pastures nvestigations in. the King Country, lotorua, and Nelson areas, but as all J this work involved feeding trials with animals, results necessarily were slow. A commencement of investigations into intensive pasture management systems had been made by the Lincoln College ' staff. The primary object of this work was the trying out m a farm scale of an intensive grazing and manuring system, already •xporimented with on the College farm, which had shown distinct promise as a means of increasing the stock-carrying capacity of the Canterbury pastures.

The first year of tlie pig-recording scheme was now drawing to a close, and the work had provided a mass of \seful data on breeding, feeding, and management, which at present was being summarised. There was evidence that this work already had had i beneficial influence in rising the standard of the industry. The brown coals of the Waikato coal-field and those of Southland had been subjected to further investigations with a view to ascertaining their suitability for briquetting, oil production, and utilisation in a pulverised form. '

The laboratory at Christchurch was now fully functioning, and tests upon

samples of grairf collected during the past two seasons were in progress. The directors’s summary of the investigations carried out to date with gorse and blackberry parasites showed that control of those weeds was a formidable task. Supplies of piri

■lipi parasites could now Ik? secured from Chile, where arrangements for their collection were being made through a. local entomologist.