STATE EXPERIMENT STATION

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8349, 8 February 1913, Page 2

STATE EXPERIMENT STATION

A MANAGEH'S OPIMU-NS. In view of the adverse criticism that is frequently levelled against the work done and expenditure incurred at State farms, the allusions made by Mr McConnell, manager of the Kuakura experimental station, published in the department's journal, conveys a fitting justification for their existence when systematically controlled. in the course of a lengthy digest of the past year's work Mr McConnell writes: “It is a gratifying fact that if the whole estate were put up for public sale to-day it would realise nearly a cent.-per-cent. profit on the original purchase money and all expenditure on the farm up to date combined. This is quite apart from the value of the experimental work that has been carried out. There is so much variance of opinion as to what an experiment farm really is or ought to be that this question may be briefly referred to. The ordinary farm is operated on purely commercial lines, with profit as the main object. 'Tho objective of the experiment station is to increase our knowledge of all branches of agriculture. As soon as the fiat goes forth that an experimental station must be a directly paying concern its real object is lost sight of, and it ceases to exist as an experiment station in tho correct sense of the word. Such a conclusion does not infer that expenditure on an experiment station should he unlimited or lavish, hut it is not sufficiently recognised that careful experimental work must of necessity be expensive-, in fact, the outsider _ has little idea of the amount of labourexpert and other —that is necessary in this connection. In my own opinion the main features of an experimental station should be animal and plant selection and animal and plant pathology, although -there are many other things which an experiment station must of necessity deal with. I also think that it is not sufficiently recognised that a failure in experimental work may be as meritorious as success, and that a pat on tho back under tho former circumstances may be appreciated more than fulsome praise under tho latter.”