THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1901. THE FARMERS' UNION.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 118, 22 October 1901, Page 2

THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1901. THE FARMERS' UNION.

The formation'of the Farmers' Union has no doubt given rise to more talk than any other union that has ever come into existence, and if their meeting last Saturday is to be taken as any criterion, their union is like tolie the most useful of all. The question of the representation of the Waimate County upon the Timaru Harbour Board was touched upon, and a very important question it is. Paying one-third of all the lates collected the harbour district, it 'is represented by two/members, while the towd of Timaru, with its one-tenth of the rates to pay, has three members. At the same rate Waimate County should have ten representatives, or five times the present number. Whatever our opinions on the harbour works, we must admit that much' of the prosperity of this splendid district depends on the Timaru harbour being kept in an efficient state, and of course we wish to have more say in the matter of how it i 8 to be kept open!- It is probable that 'Waimate Borough will be included in the

district, and the allocation of the borough's representatives will be an opportune time to revive the whole question of representation. In the meantime the Farmers 1 Union deserve the thanks of the whole counry for bringing the matter up. In these jdays of bustle and keen competition in almost every business it does not pay for any man to be .behind the* times, and everyone should, as far as his circumstances permit; avail himself of the latest improvements, and use the most modern plans of doing his work. Moat .people do not seem to recognise that farmingisekilled labout \ and this Jack of knowledge that it is so, is as often found among farmers as among other classes of the community. Many farmers seem satisfied to follow the same methods of farming their fathers followed before tbem, and admirable as these methods may have been in the past, in the light of modern—knowledge they are hopelessly antiquated. As Mr Douglas said on Saturday, farmers have been lii the habit cf applying to their land the cheapest manure, without ever thinking as to its suitability or otherwise to the land or the crop desired. No wonder it is a common thing to meet farmers who say they do not believe, in manuring their land at all. The origin of their disbelief is always the fact that they have used manure once and got no good from its use. The cause was obvious : they hud used manure wholly unsuited to their needs. The suggestion that analytical chemists should be appointed is a big step in the direction of good farming. Thert tbe question of seeds 13 a most important one, for without good seed, be the land ever so good, the crops must be a failure. If a farmer buys a bushel of seed he has a right to expact that it will almost all grow, and yet, in this matter also, cheapness often "weighs more than quality. It was said on Saturday that seed .was often sold of which twothirds would not germinate. How good results may be got from the use of such we do not know, and the demand of the Union that an analysis of germination should be given'with every lot of seed sold seems only just. Mr Douglas's third suggestion that the Department of Agriculture should be asked to allow one of their reterinary -surgeons to deliver lectures on the common ailments Of stock is of equal importance with the Others. As Mr Douglas pointed buf, thousands of poundb* worth of stock was lost in the year which could have been saved had the owner possessed enough knowledge to commence the cure of the trouble in the earlier stages. The Union should go a step further and, ask the Department lo print copies of the lecture for distribution, as a lecture, however simple and plain, would in a measure be--forgotten shortly. Taken altogether the meeting on Saturday stamps the Farmers Union as a useful body, and their President as an up-to-date officer of the Union; with the welfare of the farming industry at heart.