URUGUAYAN VISITORS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 63, 9 March 1912, Page 8

URUGUAYAN VISITORS.

UN THE HAW EH A DISTJHCT. There arrived in Hawera on AVedncsda.y morning six young graduates from the Agricultural Univers’ty of Uruguay, s-.ys tno Haw Ta ''la' ” These young men were selected and sent-forth hy Hie Government of Uruguay in Juno last, on a world’s tour to study agricultural, pastoral, and live stock industries, and they have visited England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Australia. Each member of the commission specialises in a particular For instance, one- will take notes about stock, another root crops, a third ’will gather all information about implements, and so on ■ and they take copious notes and photographs, of all that interests or concerns them. The commission consists of Messrs Carlos Prodori (president), Juan A. Alvarey, Hilario A. Urbina, Jorge Mullin, Carlos AI. Saralegin, and B. M. Acosta, and with them was Mr C. M. Bustamante, cf Wel'ington, the Uruguayan Consul. The embassy has been touring New! Zealand during the , past ten days, practically under the guidance of the New Zealand Government, and on Tuesday went to the State Farm at Moumahaki, where they stayed the night. On Wednesday morning,they came on by the early train, and were met at Hawera by Mr Gillies (treasurer) and Mr Treweek (secretary) of the Egmont A. and P. Association (in, tbo unavoidable absence of the president), Mr W. Powdrcll, chairman of directors of the Kaupokonui Co-opera-tiA'e Dairy Company, and Mr Tonks. Mr E. Clifton, director of the Fields and experimental Government Department; Air Deni, stock inspector, Wanganui, and Air Uonsdale, manager ol the State Farm at Aloumahaki, accompanied the embassy. Four motor cars were provided for the visitors, and after some light refreshments they wore taken out over the famous Waimatc Plains. A short stop was made at Air Sellers’ farm, and they then proceeded to lliverloa cheese factory at Inaha. Hero they were met by Air J. Ah AVybourn and very courtcousl} 7 shown all over the lino factory. J lie process of making cheese was carefully explained to them, and especially the separating of cream from whey, and the butter that was then made from the cream so saved. One, of the party made plans of the factory and the others took full notes, arid evinced very keen interest. The company then went on to Manaia. After luncheon the party were driven down to; AH T. AlcPliillips’ line faun, situated on the. soa coast about a mile and a half from Manaia. Air Fulton, dairy inspector ; hep, joined the party. Air AlcPliillips spared no trouble to give the Uruguayan students all the information possible. He explained the latest and most practical methods of mil king and dairying, as carried on on his farm, and then brought up his line herd of dairy cows for inspection.’ H was jnost interesting to the visitors to walk through the cows and hear the criticisms of the various animals given by Air AlcPliillips. The general tenor of his observations Joel to the conclusion that on good and suitable pastures the Jersey takes the palm, there, said Air AlcPliillips, “you see those two cows. That one is a Shorthorn—a good cow in her way She gave 2801 b of butter-fat, whilst that little three-quarter bred Jersey alongside -her—just a handful—gave That cow there, which looks like a Holstein, is, as a matter of fact a half-bred Jersey, and I was going to put her out of my herd last year because she had only three teats' But -she gave 5071 b of butter-fat this year, and was never under a 4 tost,”' and soon the criticisms went, hut ever in favour of the Jersey strain. Air Alc--1 hillips went on to explain that 100 cows which he had tested gave an average of 3151 b butter-fat, and at Is 3d per lb the emissaries soon calculated what a first-class dairy herd on first-class land in New Zealand could produce.

Ihe party spent a very interesting half-hour with Mr McPhillips, and then motored on to Kaupokonui faciy, Mr McPhillips accompanying them. Here the visitors were intern'd v interested, and plied Mr Powdroll with all manner of questions. Quo of thb party an adopt draughtman—rapidly mado sketches of the interior and ex'-' tenor. Senor Carlos Prodcri paid a , gh Co ' n P linie, >t to Kaupokonui poo -- pie, and had no hesitation in saving that although they had seen fine institutions in Denmark, the Kaupokomn factory was absolutely the host they had seen in ;;nv part of the world. It was. so far'a's ho could judge, perfectly equipped and designed. Tho part . y then embarked in the cars once more en route to Xormauhy, and visited the Hawera. Electric Llgll t Company’s power station. They expressed surprise that the energy developed could he utilised for mil kino purposes, and this was their first penenco of such. A mile or,so further on a halt was made at Mr R Linn’s farm, where milking was in progress and the milking lna . :;!; ,nes " crc so™ in operation. Jhe vacunm pump was here driven by an electric motor, and the ivholo shod was equipped in a most modern and labour-saving fashion, and quite caught the fancy of the students. Hero again copious notes were | taken and rough plans drawn. They wore very much interested in that famous .Jersey cow Rdta, which Mr Cinn mentioned to them had produced an average of Mjlh of l )U ttor per week for If months. The final halt on the trip was called at Xormanhv, where the root crops and the exhibits of the Moumahaki State Farm at tho Nor man by Show claimed their at-

toiition. Hawera was reached .shortly after six o’clock after a very pleasant day’s .outing, and the emissar.es were loud in their praises of the corntry they had passed over, and delighted with the attention shown them. In this connection, too much credit cannot be given to Air Treweek for so successfully organising and carrying out the trip. The embassy left Hawera by the mail train this morning for AVdlington, whore they embark for San Francisco to-morrow. They will then tear the United States and Canada, and this completes their trip. The visitors worn somewhat handicapped, for only two or three could speak English with any fluency, but apparently their keenness overcomes nil difficulties, ai d they expressed themselves as very well satisfied with the large fund of information they had gathered. Uruguay, they state, is very similar in many respects to Now Zealand. Its soil is very rich and fertile, but its climate a little hotter than that of the Dominion. Its population is about the same. The country is mostly undulating, and the agricultural and pastoral industries are of first importance. The great problem of the country is to combine these two industries. Hitherto their stock has been raised upon natural pasturage, of which there has been an abundance, and of which the paspalum d'ilatatum was one of the Host. The present Government, however, is desirous of promoting the combination of agriculture! and stock-breeding. It desires to improve the fodder and so to ilnorove the stock, thus making the two industries independent. ' The commission hope, hy seeing the 'methods in vogue in the most advanced countries, to bo able to dissimulate a groat deal of useful knowledge among tbo rural population. Their reports,, when they are completed and presented to their Governments should bo very interesting and instructive documents.