AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

Hokitika Guardian, 5 October 1932, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

CAWTJtIRON LECTURE. LORD BLEDISLOE'S SURVEY. NELSON, October 3. An exhaustive survey of recent agricultural research work throughout the world formed the subject of the Cawthron lecture, which was delivered here this e vening by his Excellency the Gov-ernor-General, Lord Bledisloe. His Ex-, cellency is particularly well fitted for the task, both his interest and experience having given him a deep and com- 1 prehensive knowledge of the subject. Five years ago, Lord Bledisloe presided at the first Imperial Agricultural Research Conference, and he has also been chairman of the' Lawes Agricultural Trust Committee which administers Rothamsted, the oldest research station in the British Empire.

On laying down land for pasture, Lord Bhdisloe said that recent experiments at Rothamsted demonstrated that most of the elaborate seed mixtures provided by, c ommercial firms failed to justify themselves, because after a lapse of two or three years the botanical composition of differently seeded areas in the same locality became almost identical. On one experimental field, six widely different mixtures were tested, but after four years, thqf herbage on all plots was hardly distinguishable. Ryegrass and wild white clover'formed about eighty per cent of the whole, the rest being mainly cocksfoot. The oiiiission or phosphates from the dressing lessened the aggressiveness of the grasses to the advantage of the clover, tlie omission of potash having the contrary effect.

NITROGENOUS MANURES^ With the use of all forms of nitrogenous manure, the growth of grass was increased at the expense of clover. The increase was obtained principally in the spring, the growth in autumn and summer being materially less. VV hen nitrogenous, . fertilisers were dear, they were unsuitable for grazing lands unless speciai precautions were taken to keep the grass lealy'.by frequent and intensive rotational grazing. The effect of phosphatic fertilisers was In direct ratio to their solubility.

During fhe last two years, efficien' .md highlly systematised research had been done on the creation, management, and fertilisation of grassland, Lord Bledisloe continued. There was no field of research affecting more closely husbandry in New Zealand, and none in which New Zealand scien-, tists a n( l farmers had pointed the, way more skilfully to -the -rest of., the. Empire. The discovery that the dry matter of young grass not only contained as much protein, as purchased cattle' cake of higli concentration, but that, such qualitative value could .be renewed repeatedly in a single season b,v the alternation of nitrogenous dressings with 'rotational grazing was Steadiily revolutionising and immensely • intensifying grass / husbandry throughout ,tlie world, and nowhere more so; thsin in parts of New Zealand where the climate allowed corianuom/ growth throughout the year.. The most recent work at Jealotts Hill research station had made it clear that, to obtain the maximum from his pastures, the pastoralist must pay due regard to the periodic growth of each essential herbage plant. DAIRY RESEARCH. 1 Dairy research, said his Excellency, was still in its infancy, and many of its branches awaited methodical explorition, for instance, the physiology of milk secretion. Uniformity in butter and cheese exported wa s an essential condition of their saleability and reputation, and nothing had contributed more to the attainment of this o'h;ective than the production of commercial starters begun in Denmark towards the lose of last' century. To their use was in airily attributable the high degree of uniformity for which Danish butter was famous.

Kemp, or hair in the fleece, was a growing defect in'the wool of New Zealand flocks, and much research both lit Massey College and in Enghud had been directed to its elinination. The goal of the English Wool Industries Research Association lay .specially in evolving definite standards of. quality, so that the grower might he told exactly what types' of wool werp required by the manufacturer. The apparent incompatibility of acliiev ing optimum results in seeking the dual objective of good wool and prime meat had hampered the research worker’s task for the last forty years, hut the prospects of reaching that goal were brighter to-day than they ever were. COLD STORAGE. Lord Bledisloe described recent investigations into cold storage ot meat at Cambridge -and fruit at Last ''ailing as notable advances toward the, goal of placing Empire products in the hands of English consumers unimpaired in quality, flavour, wholesomenevis , and appearance. Experiments at | Cambridge on gas storage of pOrk and , bacon were even more promising, and if .successful, would add materially to the economic stability of New Zealand dairy farmers.

His Excellency went on to deal at length with fruit storage and research, which ho considered would probably be of extreme interest in Nelson. He traced the experiements conducted in different part:; of the world on control of posts and suitability oi parent stocks.