PLOTS OR A FARM?

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 41, 5 October 1914, Page 2

PLOTS OR A FARM?

HOW TO CARRY OUT ACRICUL* TURAL EXPERIMENTS. WHAT STRATFORD WANTS. A meeting of farmers under the auspices of the A. and P. Association was hold in the Borough Council Chambers on Saturday afternoon for tlie purpose of meeting Mr Baylis, of the fields and experiments section of the Department of Agriculture, and discussing the matter of agricultural experiments. In the absence of the president of the Association (Mr E. Jackson), Mr 11. Dingle was voted to the chair, and he briefly introduced Mr Baylis.

Mr Baylis said he had not come for the purpose of delivering an address, but merely to discuss the question of experiments and to see if the present method of conducting them could be improved. The present system was to have a great many very small plots scattered all over tho district. There had, of course, been good results from these experiments, but not the host. Many farmers had undertaken to look after these plots, but in many cases they found themselves unable to give them the requisite attention. It was now proposed that in place of tho numerous scattered plots experiments should be carried out on a single plot of.ten to fifteen acres, such plot to serve the whole of tho district. Experiments could be carried out on the plot over a series of years, thus enabling the capabilities of tho soil to bo thoroughly determined. After a time the plot could be shifted to another locality and in time it would have been operated in all parts of a district. The land for the plot, which should he representative of the land of the district, could be leased from a farmer, who could do the requisite work at an agreed price. If the produce was tho property of the Department and not, as now, of the settlor, the proceeds of its sale should make the plot pay for itself. If such plots could be made self-supporting it would follow naturally that they would become numerous. In Palmerston it was proposed to have the plot available for. High School and Technical School pupils, who would do part of tho work required. It would he a great’deal easier to properly supervise a big central plot than- to visit the scattered plots under the present system. In view of other work which had to be clone it became impossible to visit the whole of the plots, and if the plots were not properly supervised there was a danger of tho plots being neglected, through work not being done on them at the proper time. Taranaki had a great asset in its great depth of soil. The surface soil was not deep, but the land could be much improved by turning the red sub-soil into black soil.by the introduction of humus. This could lie done by a succession of crops. The farmer should find out the best foods to, grow and the correct rotation % of crops. If this was properly attended to the fertility of the, land would be increased. In Taranaki in the past, speaking generally, any cropping done bad loft the land less instead of more fertile..

Mr Dingle said Stratford farmers would like to have a model dairy farm of about a hundred acres, which would he run as a dairy farm, crop experiments being carried out at the same time. The A. and P. Association had considered the proposal and had approached the Government on the matter. He thought that if the plot was only fifteen acres in extent the produce would have to bo removed and not fed off on the ground. Mr Baylis' thought that did not follow—there should always bo people ilooking for paddocks of green feed. Mr Dingle said that at Moumahaki they saw turnips which had been “hand-fed.” Farmers wanted to know what it cost to bring foods up to a certain pitch and also to know their feeding value. Mr Baylis? said he felt sure that if the fifteen-acre, scheme was gone on with it would finally load to the establishment of a demonstration farm as outlined by Mr Dingle.

Mr C. Jackson said that if there was a central farm in Taranaki, people would visit it from all parts of the province, but 15-acre' plots at, say, Stratford, Kaponga, and Hawera would not have the same interest. It struck him that it would take much the same amount of labor to run the 100-acro farm as the 15-acro plot. If there was a farm there would lie enough stock on it to eat off all the foods grown. Farmers would take an interest in a model farm which they saw was being run at a profit.

Mr R. McK. Morison said he sympathised with Mr Baylis in his efforts, hut was afraid the scheme outlined would not he a success. Personally lie strongly favored a model farm, and if they made a long and strong pull for it ho was sure they would get it. The present plots did a certain amount of good, hut wore not as useful as they should he. With a model farm there would he an expert in charge, which would not ho so in the case of a 15acro plot. Taranaki land would ho greatly improved by the use of a plough which would do mock trenching. Mr Baylis said there wore attachments which could he used on ordinary ploughs to do mock trenching. The model farm would he a good thing for the district, and ho hoped they would get it before long. Mr Dingle said that if two typos of cow were stocked on the farm a lot of useful work could he done, both in respect of crops and testing the cows. Farmers would want to see a proper balance-sheet showing the exact cost of everything. If the Government of the day would buy the farm and place it in the hands of local farmers, he was prepared to guarantee the Government a return of 4 per cent, on their money. Mr Baylis: That is a good proposition,

-Mr .Dingle: 1 am quite p-jaivd .o do it. Mr Baylis said the 15-acre ■ to, 1)0 successful must bo on h:u . representative oi' tho district. it farmers would come forward with an offer such as -Mr Dingle’s regarding the model farm it should not bo hard to procure. . ... Mr Dingle said he could produce tor. nips like the ones at Monmahaki if he had tho necessary time and money; but farmers would want to know tho exact cost of the crops raised on tho model farm. Mr Bay!is said that if it was desired to determine the feeding value of crops it would be necessary to have a larger area, more complicated apparatus and a resident expert. -Mr C. J aekson thought it would be cheaper to carry ou experiments 6u one farm. 7 Mr Bayliss said his scheme could he carried iout at any time, as it cost very little, whereas a model farm would cost a good deal, Mr Huggett suggested that the land round the showground should be procured and run as a model farm, and it would be visited largely by farmers on the show days and when football matches were on.

Mr Dingle said farmers wanted to know how much they could take off their land and still leave it in good heart. The average annual yield of tho dairy cows of tho Dominion was only 1701 h, and it would be a great things if this could he increased by 1001 b. Ho was sure that with proper treatment tho land of tlie Stratford district could ho made to carry a cow to two acres. He had a paddock of 21aeres on which he kept two cows tho whole year round, but, of course, be did not get that result by merely looking at tho land. If he could do it, so could anybody else; and if the people of the Dominion properly improved their land and bred the proper cow, instead of exporting £4,000,000 worth of dairy produce they would be able to export £8,000,000 worth off the same area of land. Mr Baylis said that in the 15-acre scheme it would he desirable to have the produce the property of tho Department, which could then control the time when it should be used. If the 15-acro scheme were adopted it might later on develop into what the Stratford farmers wanted. The idea was to grow crops on tho plot exactly as they would he grown on a farm. Mr Dingle thought it would be difficult to get a farmer to look after tho plot, as most farmers were kept busy otherwise.

Mr Morison moved that Mr Baylis be accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his interesting remarks. Mr Dingle said Mr Baylis should not think that Stratford farmers opposed his scheme, which would he an excellent one if they,had not something hotter in view—and they had the model farm in view. They believed that tho model farm would soon ho an established fact. They all knew that the present experimental farm was too far away. If a farmer, when ho desired to visit Monmahaki had to rise at 4 a.m. and not return home till 6.30 p.m., when the cows would have to he milked, it could not he expected that he would visit the farm very frequently. The vote of thanks was carried by acclamation.

Mr Baylis, in returning thanks, said his views and those of Stratford farmers seemed much the same —hut his scheme was' tho cheaper.