Country Life Interests

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20284, 28 August 1937, Page 19 (Supplement)

Country Life Interests

A page devoted to the interest* of toe Country Women of toe Waikato, and in particular to advanoing and recording the activities o those two great national organisations, the Women’s Institutes and t e jj Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union.

AEROPLANES AND AGRICULTURE.

I have just 'been reading of a subject which may not be’ ate practical value to the country dweller, but which me because of its future possibilities, writes V.B. in the Country ed The writer found apples on sale m New \oik, v h the dav before in Wentchee, Washington—over 3boo miles away ‘ asks hCel? re “ What will further developments of anmean to farmers? Did that box of apples foretell a new change in the agricultural map? Will air transportation bring n . to someTrmers, take away markets from other—as every transportation development of the past has done. pvnensive It is obvious that transporting crops l>y air is a very expen^ve business: only a small amount can be carried and the rates are very high. Publicity is the reason for sending small amounte in such an exDensive wav. “ Such shipments are frankly stunts. People e terested in anything that is done with super speed but s P e ®d h as its practical uses, as many enterprising farmers have discovered, i first of a new season's crop to reach the marketoften a tat Bisk Com *‘And fi that O fs t the b rf afrTinsportation comes into play as far as farm products are concerned; the shipment of samples. The rnnvu that new crops are ready for shipment, out go camples by an. On California grower shipped a two-pound sample order vprv dav thev were ripe, and the next day got a teiegi apnea jiuw carload. Wheat growers, too. are making more use of express to get their samples into the hands of buyers. P There are other ways in which the aeroplane can be great vicp tn the farmer. “ When your tractor breaks down, you need th new part in a hurry. That’s why aeroplanes are constantly carrying tractor and farm machinery parts from the sugar oil over the country—and to other countries. When a Hawaiian sugai planter faced the loss of his his whole crop last year, the r€gu ’®Lf l f. express ’plane from Holine carried shipments of machinery parts Darts which would set his idle machinery going again. Leaving Moline at 10 o’clock at night, the parts were unloaded m San Francisco at 1 oVlock next morning. That afternoon at three, they were aboard another 'plane bound across the Pacific, and 20 hours later they were ?et down in Honolulu and rushed to the plantation—m time to save * he “"faking of saving crops, many a pest-ridden recent years has hailed the arrival of an airliner—for planes often carry insect armies For example the air cargo of parasites recently shipped from ?hT Sacramento VaUey to the relief of worm-infested citrus groves m Florida. Or the 2000 coddling moth worm parasites shipped from the Yakima district to Washington to the besieged apple orchards of Per “in the future who can tell to what greater uses the farmer will put the time-saving aeroplane?