EDUCATING THE FARMER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 30, 25 June 1914, Page 3

EDUCATING THE FARMER.

AGRICULTURAL. DEPARTMENT'S EXHIBIT. AT HAWERA WINTER SHOW. One of the features at the Dominion Dairy Show at Hawera yesterday, indeed the feature from an educative standpoint, is the great display by tie Department of Agriculture. Tllic aim D.y the Department is to make its display not ornamental but instructive, and it lhas. admirably for the display is such that it cannot but fail to he instructive to any farmer exercising average intelligence and possessed of a tongue, with which to seek information in the right direction, i.e., from Mr. CJiolmeley and liis assistants, who are only teo ready to impart it. The display is attractive withal sufficient to interest the casual observer. It Wakes a fine display and could keep one interested for 'hours. It is very comprehensive, comprising; exhibits fromi every experimental farm, from green lands, pumice lands, reclamation lof sand areas, ajs well as fiom various co-operative plots. It is me of the finest displays ever made by the Department at a show, occupying near)'- 4000 feet of and comprising the bulk of the exhibit shown at. both New I'lymouth and Palmerston -North.

Mouniahaki: being the experimental farm in which Taranaki is principally interested, naturally makes an extensive display of farm and garden produce, and it is important to remember that tlhe experiments carried out at Mwumahaki should -hold good for the greater, portion of Taranaki. Most prominency fe ?wen to supplementary forage, and qoot crops and grasses most suitable, for forage. There are, fine samples of lucerne shown which is considered the principal forage plant at this fanni,' where sonna 4.5 acres are to be seen doing splendidly. One sample is shown Much last A its root excavated to a deptlhi of 24ft. Gin., giving an idea what a field this plant had in which to seek plant food alid water. Lucerne hay, admittedly the! best hay for dairy stock, was also Bhown. It is very gratifying, saysi Mr. W. S, Hill, designated the Plant Breeder at Moumahaki, to see the number of farmers going in for this food, no less than 458 having assisted with co-opera-tive experiments. Other fodders shown are Scotch Telches, ibrida hale, chou mollier, Portugal cabbage, Soya beans (these for the first time), varieties of silver beet, »tc. Mangolds, swedes, car' rots and potatoes make up a collection which would take a lot of baiting. Another corner is devoted to cocksfoot, showing the nmny varieties of this which exist. Prairie grass>, too, is , Shown, a particularly robust strain showing great !. promise. Some three-year-old pasture ! is exhibited, proving that if rown suf- ! flcicntly thick this grass will last longer ; than usually understood. Various kinds ! of chaff are shown, viz., wheat, oaten, lucerne, meadow hay, green wheat being | one of the best. The display of gurden [ produce is good, and includes some fine onions grown bv Mr. G. V. Tate, of Waitara, and some kumaras Iby Mr. T. H. Western, of Bell Block.

Ruakura .shows an interesting exhibit of various diseases of orchards, roots and garder produce; .also a fins collection of cereals, comprising 56 varieties of oats, 42 wheat and 24 barley, 108 mounted grasses, and also 52 varieties of well-known potatoes. Tauranga is represented by a display of pumpkins, mangolds and maize, the latter comprising 24 varieties.

Wine is alsc exhibited from Waercnga farm, which also displays varieties of grapes, plums, etc. Fruit is not a very large exhibit, but what there is good.

Wcra.roa. !s represented by -an exhibit of roots.

The eo-operativ.c experiments show roots of excellent quality, including ■many from the South Island, which is noted for its root crops. Among other noticeable features are displays of farm seeds, forty-four different varieties of noxious weeds, tlie right and wrong way iof flaying sheep, etc., Showing the vast amount of money lost annually through lack of knowledge in this respect, a patent silo, etc.

A table is devoted to milk and its component parts. A Ibottle of milk is shown, and other phials are exhibited •.containing its constituents, viz., 87 per cent, water, 13 solids (fat 4, casein 3, albumen / S; milk sugar 4%, and mineral %). Five tins of margarine are here displayed. This is a very strong comjpetitor wii'i low-grade butters and' urges strongly the necessity of keeping butter up to u high standard. j Near at hand is a fine specimen of silver beet showing great breadtih of stem, tlms giving good food value. Four varieties of Swiss chard are also shown, but rtrc not recommended to be grown, for cattle. Indeed, ,one of the strong points of the whole exhibit ia that it shows as mudh what the farmer should not do if he wishes to obtain Hie. best results as much as wliat he should do. Boards are also displayed' containing very interesting tabulated information that he who runs may read. In addition to export values, details of experiments carried on at Moumaliaki and else where in regard to top dressing, green, manuring, system of crop rotation, lucerne management, etc to interest and instruct. What can be done with hitherto considered useless land is apt'ly and con ,«i«ely shown. Take, for instance, the reclamation oi sand areas, of which Taranaki possc-fpes quite a large acreage, Grasses are s'bown whidh. are useful to stop the drift, such as Marram and Spa, Lyme. Also gorse, broom, tree lupin,

und an annual lupin, which, is valuable'! as a green manure because being one of the legumes it adds nitrogen to the soil aa well as organic matter. Stunples of the sand in its natural state are shown, and also wihen organic matter is becoming mixed with it, also the Sand in winch the pctitoes, carrots, parsnips, etc., Aown have been grown, as well as 'tlh,c lucerne und emerald rye. That the gum land has been defeated and Hijidc to add its quota, to New Zealand's' wealth is illustrated by an exhibit of 3G different grasses, showing strong root development, grown at. Albany experimental plot, north of Auckland. A small collection of roots shows What can be done with the hitherto considered worthless Taupo pumice land.