FARMERS ON TOUR

Hokitika Guardian, 21 August 1930, Page 7

FARMERS ON TOUR

NEW ZEALANDERS ABROAD. In May last 92 New Zealand fanners left the Dominion on a visit to Great Britain and the Continent, and they are now touring England. The tourists will visit all places of interest to agriculturists, and will have the assistance of British dairy farming and kindred associations. The tour is directed by Messrs Thos. Cook and Son, arrangements being made for another party of New Zealanders to leave in April, 1931. Next year’s itinerary provides for passage to England by. the Orient steamer Otranto from, Sydney. London will be readied in time to commence the land portion of the tour on June 4. This tour covers a comprehensive 60 days’ trip, visiting Jersey, Cambridge, King’s Lynn, Stamford, Nottingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Perth, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Esbierg, Aarbus, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Bremen, Leeuwarden, Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne, Wiesbaden, Lucerne, Berne, Monta-eux, Lausanne, Geneva, Paris and the battlefields. An opportunity will also be afforded, en route to England, via Suez, to make a side trip, while the steamer is in port, to visit Cairo, the Pyramids, and the Sphinx. TOURING IN BRITAIN. A member of the present party touring England, writing under date of July 4, states:— “Since arriving in London we have lunched with the High Commissioner, Sir Thomas Wilfortl, and have been presented to the Lord Mayor of London, Sir William Waterlow; we have also visited the Tower of London, Westminister Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament, and with our Cook’s man seen all. the sights of London. “We 1 :ave now completed the second week of our tour, which comprised a wonderful 800-inile motor drive through the south and west of England. Apart from the visits paid to Winchester Cathedral and the marvellous Roman hot baths at Bath, the party combined business with pleasure in every sense of the word by visiting at least two farms every day. The chief value of these visits was the opportunity given us of -comparing the conditions in England with those in our country, and the system of farming used to meet the special problems. We immediately saw that the countless generations of farmers have impoverished the land, and now the greatest problem is Low to make the farms support sufficient stock to make the industry a paying proposition. IMPROVING POOR LANDS.

“Tlie solution arrived at has been the evolution of dual- purpose cattle, producing animals which, to our minds, apparently give very poor butterfat yields; hut when it is re ~ membered that 2 -year-old steers sell for £35, it is very clear that a sacrifice of butterfat can be made to give milk and beef. We saw some wonderfill herds of Guernseys at Herriard Park, Shorthorns at Stevenfon Manor and Ff.RH. the Prince of Wales,’ farm in Cornwall. The herds of Devons ol Mr li. H. Pearcv and Werrington Park were great beef animals, and now a dairy breed is 'being evolved in these herds,

•‘The agricultural colleges situated in each county gave us a splendid welcome, and were of special interest, showing us what can bo done not only in training the young farmer, hut in keening in touch with the work of their district by offering advice to the farmers, in improving the herds and the agriculture bv making all kinds of farming experiments. “Our general impression was that the dairy cattle in New Zealand are better than those we saw, hut in pigs and sheep wo still have a lot to learn, In the fine up-to-date farms of Mr Onslow Fane and Mr Devonham, we noted the splendid houses and sheds and piggeries, and the poultry farms gavo us to marvel at the cleanliness and comfort of the stock. Wo have missed nothing that was worth seeing, as Messrs Thos, Cook and Son are showing us everything in their power, and thanks to their excellent arrangements this very strenuous week has gone like clockwork—and much, too fast for our earnest seekers after information. "England has given us marvellous weather, and every member of the party lias thoroughly enjoyed the tour. We arrived back in London this evening, tired and dusty, but eagerly looking forward to the next stage.