n6 THE STATE AS FARMER 



If the work of the Agricultural Organisa- 

 tion Society be considered with care and 

 thought, it is almost as sad to those who 

 love our land as a page of Jeremiah. To be 

 prepared with all the skill and experience 

 which has been gathered round the governors, 

 and then to find that a mere fraction of those 

 who are presumed to wish to till the land 

 welcome the guidance and assistance prof- 

 fered in the commercial side of the work, is 

 more than disappointing — it is humiliating. 

 It could not have been so great a failure 

 if the landlord had done his part. It 

 seems, therefore, as if there were now no 

 option before the State but to re-enter 

 into practical possession and apply the 

 A.O.S. principles uniformly over the whole 

 land. 



Leaflet No. 197 of the Board of Agriculture 

 and Fisheries gives an account of Agricultural 

 Education and Research. It is a report of 

 which any Government might be proud, 

 although it is full of sadness to the thoughtful 

 man. It is sad because it represents the 

 piping of learning and experience to which the 



