MORE THAN AN ART

Hokitika Guardian, 29 November 1930, Page 8

MORE THAN AN ART

GROWING FRUIT. BECOMING A SCIENCE. “I think we are well on the way to making fruit growing not only an art and industry but a, science,” declared Mr R. G. Hatton,' director of the East Maling Fruit Research Station and the Imperial Bureau of Fruit- Production, when addressing a conference of Dominion fruit exporters recently. Air . Hatton explained that lie would not have been in 'the Dominion had it not been for the Imperial Agricultural Research Conference in 1927, at which New Zealand was represented, and its expressed wish that there should be set up within the Empire a bureau of information. The object of the bureau was that there should he a central place that could take a general view of fruitgrowing problems, collect infonnation and build up a technique of information The bureau was quite distinct from the East Alaling Research Station beyond the connecting link made by himself ns head of the, work of the bureau. The bureau was in. the East Alaling buildings and of course had the services of the staff.

During his tour, Air Hatton said, he hoped to get a picture of the problems facing growers in the various parts of the Empire, and when information was received by the bureau he could then view it in its proper perspective. It had to be realised that only within the 17 or 20 years had they come to close grips with their horticultural problems. The bureau would he able to lay bare all the mistakes that were made and hand over the conclusions it reached lock, stock and barrel to the Dominion’s investigators. Fruit research and investigation would be speeded up throughout the Empire, he said. Now was the time for the New . Zealand investigators to act. The speeding up now of investigations would probably avert a tremendous lot of the mistakes that had been made in the Old Country because it bad not seen soon enough the beneficial results that came out of scientific investigation. Air Hatton was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for bis address. He was also asked to convey to the Empire Alarketing Board the thanks of the New Zealand fruit-growers for making his visit to the Dominion possible.