11

A.—7

a good range 1 of farm buildings, with milking and shearing sheds, and carpenter's, blacksmith's, and harnessmaker's shops, <fec. The farms, in addition to ordinary farm stock, are well equipped with high-class purebred stock of various breeds, which win many prizes at the Christchurch Show, the chief live-stock show of the Dominion. The management of the farms and the practical instruction given to the students are excellent, but, as with the Department itself and the State farms, the scientific side might with advantage be strengthened. It was understood that a move is already being made in that direction and the Government is giving a special grant for botanical, investigation. The efforts of the Government in the investigation of problems connected with agriculture have recently been supplemented by the establishment of the Cawthron Institute at Nelson, in the South Island, which was rendered possible by a benefaction from a wealthy man whose name it bears. The institute, which is mainly devoted to scientific work connected with agriculture, has made a good start, for it is organized on lines similar to those of the famous Rothamstead Experiment Station. though naturally on a smaller scale;, and the; Director anel his staff are scientists of outstanding ability. Agricultural education has likewise been assisted by the gift of a considerable; sum of money by Sir Walter Buchanan for the foundation of a Chair of Agriculture in the Victoria University College, Wellington. Considering the youth of the Dominion, the difficulty and. expense of constructing mads, railways, anel bridges over and around the mountains and across the streams, and the fact that revenues are derived mainly from the; farming industry, the; country may be regarded as well se;rved by public works, anel also by schools, hospitals, and other State institutions. Reference has been made to the immense amount of powe-r that can be; generated from the; streams fleiwing down the mountains. This power, which is veste;el in the State, is already being used to a considerable extent for lighting and manufacturing purposes and for distribution tei the farmers. Many other schemes are in progress or in course of contemplation, and there; arc indications that before long cheap power for lighting and for farm purposes will be; available ove;r large; parts of the country. Co-operation. —Apart from the help rendereel by the; Government to the farming industry, the farmers have elone a ver}' great deal to help themselves, berth collectively anel individually. The' principle of co-operation has been extensively adopted ; a great number of ce>-operative; societies have been organized, and a large proportion of the farmers' produce is handled and disposed of by them. About 70 per cent, of the butter and cheese factories are owned by the farmers, as well as a large number of the works for the slaughter, freezing, and export of meat. The farmers obtain their supplies largely through co-operative societies. Not only have the; societies establishments all over the country —some of them on. an extensive scale—but they also own huge stores and office buildings in the towns. Agricultural showgrounds and agricultural halls, which are used by the farming community for business and social purposes, were seen on all sides. 20. Farming. Produce. —Farming may bo said to date from the proclamation of the Islands as a British colony in 1840. Until about 1.895 progress was slow. The produce, which the farmers could export was limited, anel the prices realized were very low. An improvement then set in. Prices began to rise, and the development of cold storage and the improvements in transport and communication rendered possible the export of perishable produce, such as meat, butter, and cheese. Since then the progress made by the farming industry has been astonishing. In 192.1, when prices were lower than they were during the two previous years, the exports of farm-produce and timber were valued at £42,327,351, which was just five times the value; of the; exports in 1895. New Zealanel has be;en built up almost emtirely by the; farming industry, and is still maintained by it. In 1921, the year referred to, 96-5 per cent, of tho total exports of the country consisted of farm-produce and timber. Pastures.- -Although crops of all kinds can be grown with great success whenever the land is sufficiently le;vel to admit of cultivation, New Zealand is pre-eminently a grazing-country. The- moist, warm, sunny weather experienced over the greater part of the; country is ideal for the growth of grass, anel, as it happens, much of the country which is too broken to be suitable for anything else; affords excellent grazing. Moreover, the keeping of sheep for wool and mutton, and cows for milk, which are by far the most profitable kinds of farming, and are likely to remain so, are carried out on pasture land. Wherever the trees and bush are; cleared grass grows naturally and rapidly. Nert only do the native grasse's flourish, but the, grasses, clovers, and other pasture-plants common to this country grow equally well, and there are now some 16,112,598 acres sown with them. So well do these grasses and clovers thrive that a considerable amount of seed is raised from them each year for export. The rough grazing, which in its natural state consists largely of tussock-grass and bracken, is easily improved or " cleaned," as it is often called, by good grazing methods. Thick rich pastures of artificial grasses are also quickly and easily established. It often happens that after a " burn " —that is, after the bush has been cleared by fire—a mixture of grass and turnip seed is sown upon the unploughed ground, which is usually loose and clean.