8.—7

29

The work of the students both in class and on the farm was satisfactory, and competition for the scholarships offered by the Board was very gratifying. Twenty-four students left at the end of the year : of these, three had been in residence for one year, four for two years, and seventeen for three years ; and of the latter, thirteen passed all their examinations and were awarded the diploma of the College. In addition, twelve students entered for various subjects set for the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture under the New Zealand University. The proportion of passes gained by these students was most gratifying to the teaching staff. Five students or ex-students completed the Bachelor of Agriculture course and gained their degrees. The scheme for improvement of cereals (chiefly wheat and oats) started by Dr. Hilgendorf in 1910 is being continued with the assistance and co-operation, of the Department of Agriculture. Pure strains of Algerian oats were under trial on a large scale for the first time this year. The results promise to be most gratifying. At the beginning of the year the Department of Agriculture intimated that it could not co-operate in the control of pure strains outside the College any longer. This decision was a matter the Board regretted very «much, as the demand for seed-wheat was much greater than the area reserved on the College could cope with. That Dr. Hilgendorf's work has been appreciated is amply demonstrated by the inquiries and bookings for seed months before time of seeding. For some years the Board has been hoping to co-operate with the Department of Agriculture in experimental work on the manuring of crops, grasses, and soil problems generally —to gather reliable data for agricultural instruction and information of farmers generally. There is a prospect that such co-operation may materialize. The work would be of far-reaching importance to the agricultural community, and of considerable advantage to the College from a teaching point of view. It would enable the College to employ its advanced students in work which would equip them more thoroughly as agricultural instructors, teachers, or research workers, and so would be of great value and indirect benefit to the Department. The Government is bound to undertake these investigations, and it would be much more economical for it to use our trained experimenters, our land, horses, and implements, than to set up a separate experiment station. At the beginning of the year the Board granted Dr. Hilgendorf a year's leave of absence to enable him to visit plant-breeding and experimental stations in Britain and Europe. The Board hopes that the information that he has obtained in regard to plant-breeding and experimental work will be of the greatest value not only to the College but to the Dominion as a whole. It is a matter of regret that their finances did not enable the Board to recoup Dr. Hilgendorf's expenses. The College buildings and surroundings have been kept in a good state of repair. The prospect of erecting a new chemical laboratory and some necessary additions to the main building are altogether beyond the resources of the College. The Board can only hope that the Government will come to their assistance in the matter. They were compelled to erect a small cottage for the Lecturer in Chemistry, with the result that their balance-sheet shows a debit balance at the end of the year. In addition, the farm buildings, which are of wood and iron, have reached an age when they are getting beyond repair, and funds will have to be provided to replace them. The farm has been maintained at its usual high state of fertility : the best proof of this is the high yields of grain obtained in the poor harvest of 1922, and returns from stock in the same year. The prospects and appearance of the farm at the end of 1922, in spite of the dry spring, were the subject of favourable comment from all visitors. The stock in 1922 also maintained their excellence and competed successfully at the shows at which they were exhibited. The stud stock are much sought after by breeders all over the Dominion. I have, &c, The Hon. Minister of Education, Wellington. R. E. Alexander, Director. CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. Statement of Receipts and Expenditure for the Year ended 31st December, 1922. [Figures not available.]