New Zealand Institute Science Congress. 513 



Discussion on Fire-blight. 



A lecture on fire-blight was given to the Agriculttvre and Biology Sections 

 jointly by Messrs. A. H. Cockayne and R. Waters, and the subject was further 

 discussed by Drs. Tillyard and L. Cockayne and Mr. J. B. Garnett. A com- 

 mittee consisting of Sir James Wilson, Mr. Campbell, and Dr. Tillyard was 

 appointed to consider steps to be taken to assist in combating the ravages 

 of this p^st. 



(A paper on this subject, by R. Waters, "Fire-blight: Bacteriological 

 History in New Zealand," appears in the N.Z. Journal of Agriculture, 

 vol. 22, pp. 143-45, 1921, and another, by A. H. Cockayne, " Fire-blight 

 and its Control," in the same Journal, vol. 23, pp. 30-36, 1921.) 



" Some Fodder Crops of England and New Zealand." by J. B. Garnett. 



Abstract. 

 It has been definitely shown in the past that although forage crops are not able 

 to compete with grass for cheapness of production in New Zealand, yet they fill a very 

 necessary part in the economy of both dairying and sheep-farming, in so far as they are 

 able to supply a succession of green food at times of the year when the pastures are 

 bare. The man who has no supplementary feed ready at these times loses a great 

 deal of milk immediately, and also later, because his cows, once having dropped in 

 yield, do not pick up again readily when the next growth of grass occurs. Various 

 fodder mixtures were given which have proved useful for these purposes in England, 

 and would probably, with slight modifications, prove equally good in New Zealand : 

 (1.) Oats 2 bushels, peas 1 bushel per acre. (2.) Giant ryecorn 2 bushels, winter vetches 

 1 bushel per acre. The second mixture sown in autumn will grow right through the 

 winter and come in early in the spring, before the grass starts. (3.) Field peas 1 bushel, 

 buckwheat 1 bushel, rape -| lb. per acre. This mixture sown in spring will produce 

 a big bulk of succulent fodder in the late summer, when the pastures are dry and burnt 

 up. It would be much freer from " blight " than rape sown alone. Various other 

 fodder plants and the best varieties were dealt with, and finally the importance of the 

 fuller study of the economics of the question was emphasized. 



' : The Economic Significance of Powdery Scab in Potatoes," by R. Waters. 



" Science and its Relation to Field Instruction to Farmers," by T. H. 

 Patterson. 



" The Importance of Soil Survey," by T. Rigg. 



" What constitutes a Fertile Soil," by G. de S. Baylis. 



" Factors in the Establishment of Lucerne," by A. H. Cockayne. 



" ' Take-all ' in Wheat," by R. Waters. 



" Some Important Successions in Permanent Grassland in New Zealand." 

 by E. Bruce Levy. 



Biology Section. 



Presidential Address : : ' New Zealand and the Biological Problems of the 

 Pacific," by Professor C. Chilton. 



Abstract. 

 A summary was first given of the various theories suggested by Hutton, Hedley, 

 and others to account for the relationship of New Zealand with South America on the 

 one hand, and with New Caledonia, New Guinea, &c, on the other. The similarity in 

 several respects between the animals and plants of the Hawaiian Islands and New 

 Zealand was pointed out, and it was suggested that a careful consideration of the two 

 would not only throw light on the origin of the New Zealand fauna and flora, but would 

 also give useful information on the methods of evolution which had taken place in these 

 two groups of islands. 



17 — Trans. 



