Report of the Principal of the School of Horticulture. 881 



Men's College instructors will be able to support their teacliing by 

 actual demonstration in the field, and the Burnley students will have 

 the advantages of such field practice. 



Correspondence and Visitors. 



Correspondence, in the nature of advice to orchardists and reports 

 to various Governments and institutions, has called forth over 2,000 

 communications for the year. It is to be regretted that no system is 

 adopted whereby replies to correspondents embodying original and 

 generally useful material may be transmitted to the press for the 

 benefit of the public. 



Would not a frank stamp, costing the Department of Agriculture 

 say one farthing, and affixed to all correspondence desired for publica- 

 tion, enable the receiver to forward to the newspaper editor of his 

 district ? The subject has been urged before, and allowing for the 

 amount of time and thought given to, and the possible value of such 

 correspondence, it seems that a great deal could be done to educate 

 the producer on his own ground, and at the same time prevent much 

 endless repetition. 



Visitors to the School of Horticulture average about three a day, 

 or slightly under 1,000 a year. Most of these seek practical advice 

 or instruction, and a great deal of time is therefore devoted to them. 



Demonstration Orchards in the Country. 



The six small demonstration grounds which were formed in the 

 winter of 1902 have proved a fertile source of instruction to 

 orchardists, gardeners, and small farmers. 



The entire area of each plot is devoted to fruiting trees most 

 favourable to soil, climate, and market requirements ; but advantage 

 has been taken of spaces between the rows, and fodder, vegetable 

 and green manure crops grown as a means of nourishing and extract- 

 ing a profit from the soil till the trees come into bearing. 



Some striking results have been obtained by boldly ridging 

 before planting flat and poor kind. The trees resulting from this 

 treatment are in most instances equal in size and character to sturdy 

 four year old trees, though in reality but two years planted. It is 

 undeniable that by ploughing three or four times in one direction so 

 as to produce bold ridges of loose and aerated soil, and planting as 

 high as possible, that a much larger body of well prepared earth is 

 made available to the roots at all seasons. The winter soil does not 

 become saturated, cold and stagnant, nor does the summer sun exert 

 the same influence in dissipating moisture. 



It is intended to further increase the height of the planting sites 

 in all flat, badly drained, and wind-swept country ; and by way of 

 further instructing the orchardist a series of diagrams with descrip- 

 tive letter press will be issued in due course. The hard pruning of 

 young trees, reduction of their root systems, bandaging of trunks 

 and heavy mulching of the surface, have all proved of great value to 



