SOUTH ISLAND TOUR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 July 1939, Page 3

SOUTH ISLAND TOUR

PARTY OF WAIRARAPA YOUNG FARMERS. CONCLUDING STAGES IN AND ABOUT CHRISTCHURCH. In the concluding portion of an account of a South Island tour by a party of Wairarapa Young Farmers, Mr D. McGregor states that on the Friday morning (after reaching Christchuich). the party, accompanied by Mr R. McGillivray. of the Department of Agriculture. set out on a sight-seeing tour. After travelling up the Summit Road they were entertained at morning tea by the Christchurch District Committee of Young Farmers' Clubs at the "Sign of the Takahe.” These tearooms are one of three being built on that road, on old English lines. It is a remarkable building, all the stone work being done by hand. Further up the Summit Road, at a point looking out over the wide expanse of the Canterbury plains, Mr McGillivray lectured on farming in Canterbury and mentioned some of the problems of the district. Looking down on the port of Lyttelton the party was shown the track used by the pilgrims ofOanterbury in 1842 and were told that although they were called the pilgrims, seven families were already settled there, one family being on Banks Peninsula as early as 1835. Leaving the summit they travelled back to the city via the beautiful suburb of Sumner. In the afternoon a visit was paid to a shoe factory, where the process of shoe making from beginning to end was seen. The factory employed over 500 hands and turned out 500 pairs of shoes a day.

On Saturday morning the party visited Messrs Wright, Stephenson & Co’s seed cleaning plant at Addington. A great deal of interest was taken in the machines at work. One machine of particular interest, the only one of its kind in New Zealand, was a velvet roller machine used for eliminating docks and broken grain from white clover seed. The manager explained that the use of “headers” in the fields of Canterbury had increased the cost of dressing seed. Before lunch a drive was taken by bus as far as Rangiora and back. A striking feature was the variety of farming to be seen in such a short distance, which seemed to be typical of the Canterbury Plains. After lunch a visit was made to Lincoln College, where the party was met by the Director, Professor Hudson, who told them something of what had been done and what was being done at the college. The college was responsible for introducing fertilisers into New Zealand and for the successful growing of wheat in Canterbury. The college farm was inspected and a visit paid to the Plant Research Station, where the party was interested in several experiments which were under way. Samples of linen flax were shown which had been grown under New Zealand conditions. The demand in Great Britain for this product was very great, as it was used extensively for the making of aeroplane fabrics and table cloths. An experiment with two grass plants indicated the advantage of spelling young pastures. The plant that had been left to grow four inches between cutting developed a root system not to be compared with the one cut every two inches.

After leaving the college the party motored back to Christchurch .for tea and later to Lyttelton. On the wharf, presentations were made to the manager, Mr W. James, and the two bus drivers for the capable way in which they had handled the tour. The tour, which occupied 12 days, had proved a great success both educationally and otherwise.