WORLD AGRICULTURE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 50, 27 January 1938, Page 6

WORLD AGRICULTURE

DR CORA HIND’S REVIEW, COMMENTS ON TOUR. • Dr E. Cora Hind, agricultural editor of the Winnipeg Free Press, at one stage of her career, was christened “Calamity Cora” by enraged critics who did not agree With ber estimates of the Canadian wheat crop. She lias just compiled a book entitled “Seeing for Myself,” which contains a lively digest of her articles written during a two years’ trip around the world. Her comments on the agricultural conditions and her experiences and observations in 27 countries, should earn for her the more charitable appellation of “Candid Cora,” remarks a commentator. Dr Hind, whose name is famous in thousands of western Canadian farmsteads, is known and honoured by the grain trade of the whole world. She has added to that reputation by writing a breezy book of unusual interest and merit.

Some of her asides on Australia and New Zealand are caustic. “These countries,” she states, “make you laugh, when' they don’t make you want to swear, at tile way in which they everlastingly protest their extreme loyalty to the British Empire, and continually quote the U.S.A., and, so far as I could gather, oil every possible occasion, trade with it in preference to Canada.”

On the other hand, she does not approve of Canada purchasing only small quantities of goods from Australia. “If we do not take more from Australia, wo can hardly blame her for scheming, as she undoubtedly is doing, to take less from us,” she remarks. CRITICISM OF NEW ZEALAND.

Concerning New Zealand, she lias some strong criticism. The Government here, she points olit, is fitting with the regimenting virus and the idea

of trade control. New Zealanders will, she fancies, if they have not already dohe so, come to the conclusion that a Cabinet of dictators is quite as back It not Worse, than a Cabinet of individualists. No one must criticise then! on the score of the “Efficiency Bill’ which is a pretty certain sign that they are sure neither of themselves nor of their Bills. The Government appears to have overlooked the fact that Great Britain is not in any sense dependent upon New Zealand for food supplies, while New Zealahd is in no position to do without her main market, Great Britain. EXPPERTS praised. Dr Hind expressed the firm conviction that Canada, Australia, and New Zealand could never successfully and profitably compete with tile Argentine in tile supply of chilled meat for the British market. In regard to Queensland cattle, she said that it was hard to repress a smile when shown a “prime” bullock and to have a mental picture of what a “prime” Argentine carcase looks like.

A special tribute is paid to the Value of the Work carried out by the agricultural experts of New Zealand. She heartily Congratulates the Dominion on ber Department of Agriculture, and the number of mefi in it Who are doing yeoman service in increasing the fertility of tile soil aiid the richness of the pastures. “Strange it was to fiild that in a country which has talked so long and so loud about the high standard of living arid fair wages for all, men with scientific training and doing Such extremely valuable work are so ill paid,” Dr Hind remarks.