ft 



It is undoubtedly true that the phenomenal extension of German 

 industries from 1870 onwards has been largely, though not entirely, 

 due to the alertness with which the German people have recognised 

 the importance of both pure and applied science. A French savant 

 dealing with this question has recently stated that in proportion to 

 population Germany and Switzerland have six times as many trained 

 chemists as have France and Great Britain. Assuming that the 

 mental calibre of the inhabitants is approximately equal, the 

 probability of a large output of scientific discovery is obviously on 

 the side of the countries with the largest proportion of trained scien- 

 tific workers. An examination of the scientific literature, pure and 

 applied, will convince anyone of the accuracy of this contention. 



What I have said will, I trust, convince you of the far-sightedness 

 and wisdom of the Trustees in deciding that the Cawthron Institute 

 shall be a home for scientific research ; but I will forestall three ques- 

 tions which may perhaps have suggested themselves to you : 



I. Is New Zealand a country sufficiently advanced to furnish men 



who can be trained to carry out high-class research work ? 

 To this I unhesitatingly say "Yes." Let me remind you that the 

 secondary school of this city Nelson College has produced Sir 

 Ernest Rutherford, Brigadier-General Chaytor, and Professors 

 Evans and Worley ; and that other secondary schools in New Zealand 

 can point to a number of former students who, after further training 

 in the University Colleges, now hold high scientific positions in 

 Great Britain, India, Australia, and America. Let me add that 

 your fellow-townsman Lieutenant Athol Hudson, the brilliant athlete 

 whose loss in action we so deeply deplore, had already shown by his 

 manipulative skill, his scientific attitude of mind, and his earnestness 

 of purpose, that as an investigator a great future was before him. 



II. Are there actual scientific problems awaiting solution in this 

 country ? 



(a) In agriculture alone there are many problems waiting to be 

 investigated, though the researches of the scientific staff of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture have done much work of very great value. 

 One of the most recent departmental investigations has dealt with 

 the cause of bush sickness, which rendered approximately one million 

 acres of the North Island unfit for the rearing of stock. Mr. Aston 

 has demonstrated very clearly that this is a deficiency disease, 

 associated with shortage of iron in the grass growing in a soil poor 

 in the same element. Further experiments by Dr. Reakes show that 

 when this iron is suitably provided the diseased animals recover. 

 Assuming that this discovery can be generally applied and that a 

 "research tax" ( ? !) of 3d. per acre were levied upon the bush sickness 

 area, for improved value resulting directly from these researches, it 

 would yield an income as large as that which will be available 

 for the Cawthron Institute. 



(b) The fruit industry, which has risen so rapidly in the Nelson 

 district, and which if suitably fostered may become one of our 

 greatest national assets, may, on the other hand, be stamped out if 



