The second annual course of instruction to farmers, under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, Dunedin Farm School, commenced in the Dunedin Technical School yesterday morning. The course is to last until Saturday next, and there will be three sessions daily, at which lectures appertaining to agricultural matters will be dealt with by experts in their separate branches. The instruction commenced in the morning, when Mr J.G. Cook, woolclasser for the Department of Agriculture, addressed an attendance of about 30 farmers. He had drawn up a plan for a suitable shed, and also a list of all the material required, and such had appeared in the Journal of Agriculture. The speaker next dealt at length with the shearing of the sheep, and the subsequent processes through which wool was put in the sheds. A great deal more attention should be paid to the wool, said the speaker, as the treatment of the material decided the results at the sales. An address on "Insects and Agriculture" was delivered by Mr D. Miller, Government Entomologist. One of the fundamental factors influencing the development of plants and animals was the insect. At the present time the destructive insects in the dominion existed in the proportion of 29 percent native species and 71 percent introduced. Of the native insects, only those that originally subsisted on the native grasses concerned the farmer in relation to pasture and crops, since the plants utilised by him were for the most part of the grass type — pasture and cereals — and were consequently exposed to the depredation of grass-feeding insects. During agricultural development the un-looked-for destructive insect factor had, therefore, developed from among the native insect population, and if the farmer was to attain the best results it was necessary to adapt his farm practice in such a way as to make the conditions as unfavourable as possible for insects.
Imperial entanglements’ value
Empire Day has once again linked the nations of the Commonwealth in a chorus of harmonious celebration. There are people who dislike the word "empire," as seeming to connote wealth and privilege as opposed to all the institutions of a democratic State. The Empire is spoken of nowadays as a Commonwealth of free and equal nations. Significant as that may be of the direction of its development, the bond that holds its constituent parts together is essentially the same as it has always been, having its basis on kinship, tradition, mutual interest and common ideals. It has been well said, though the statement is by no means comprehensive, that if there is any value in the Imperial connection at all it is that the nations of the British Commonwealth should stand together as a unit in a very discordant and dangerous world for ideas of freedom, stability and international morals. — editorial
Physical, emotional balance
The second lecture on the Physical Development of the Adolescent Girl was given by Dr Dorothy Cameron at the YWCA on Friday. The need for definitely organised games for the girl was emphasised. Play without supervision was not enough if full benefit from exercise was to be secured, and team games, especially those that could be played out of doors, were necessary. Quoting Dr Stanley Hall, the chief authority on the adolescent, the lecturer reminded the class that the emotional life must not be repressed. Music, dancing under proper conditions, games — all were needed for complete development. — ODT, 27.5.1924
Compiled by Peter Dowden
