SEED COLLECTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1915, Page 3

SEED COLLECTING.

,t ANGANUI EDUCATION DISTRICT. The Wanganui Education Board has addressed the following memorandum to head teachers and chairmen of school committees: — Collection during and after school hours. —During autumn the children should collect the seed of selected roots of carrot, swede, mangels, etc. This should be labelled, "kept dry, and threshed, and subsequently sold to local farmers or to other persons requiring it. At least one farmer has offered to buy all mangel seed produced at the local school, and 110 doubt others would follow suit if they were approached. Several schools have intimated their intention of collecting from the school garden plots seed from crimson clover, and from lucerne of the second growth. Jn the. northern districts especially there should be no difficulty in disposing of this seed, as there is an increasing demand for both, and more particularly for lucerne seed. When schools re-open in February, as soon as the first work of attention to gardens and grounds is finished, it is suggested that a day's holiday be granted to enable children to undertake work in the open. According to tlie season, the children could collect the seed of prairie, cocksfoot and cowgrass, the lastnamed in the northern district especially. Each school should do its own threshing-, cleansing and marketing. Collection during the Christmas vacation.—As*, it is of great importance to direct the energies of the pupils into right channels at the right time, and as supervision during the vacation will be at a minimum, the collection of seed at this time requires a good deal of consideration and organisation. As practically the whole of the work will be done in the children's own time, it is thought advisable to pay each pupil according to the effort put forth. Representatives of farmers' classes in the northern district have agreed to guarantee a payment of twopence for each pound of cocksfoot seed heads of firs} quality. Farmers 'in the other districts will no doubt follow suit. The proceeds should go to the children, but in many cases the money will probably be handed back as the pupils' donation to the Patriotic Fund. Teachers are recommended to encourage the pupils to deal with the money in this way. In collecting cocksfoot it is recommended that each ripe head be cut off separately just below the break of the inflorescence. This will get over the difficulty and risk attached to young children using sickles, and will fu'rthe£ more allow of a free circulation of air in the sacks of seed heads. The seed should be kept dry, and taken to school to be weighed and classified. Each pupil should be credited with the weight of seed heads brought in. The "heads should then be sent to a seed store, in order that they might be cleaned and sold. Jf the children choose, and conveniences are available, the seed should be threshed and sold locally. After'! payment of freight, if any, and cleaning charges, any difference between 2d per lb, which gors to the individual pupil, tnd the <<eilinf.: price, represents the scnool's donation to the Patriotic Fund, p.na the pupils should be asked to say ho,<- i! wv wish it allocated. /ill conations should be forwarded to the and will be acknowledged tb'ougli the Leaflet. j a the swine is to be carried out swessfuliy the co-operation of school committees and teachers is necessarv. If any teacher requires further infornmion or sdviee he should enmmunioatc with the supervisor for he, district. The Board expresses the hope (hat t'ie teachers will take this matter up enthusiastically, and that as a result of the campaign the Patriotic Funds will materially benefit.