Title: Farmers Visiting the State Agricultural Farm, Roseworthy Agricultural College
Agricultural Education.
The Roseworthy College.
A Retrospect.
Originally published in the Adelaide Observer, Saturday 12 September 1903
As the Roseworthy College has figured prominently in preaching and practising the new agricultural gospel — fallow well, drill well, and fertilize well — which has done so much to place upon a prosperous basis farming in the rainfall districts of the state, it may be interesting to briefly describe its somewhat erratic career.
— Foundation. —
The movement was initiated by the late Hon. F. Basedow, who, when a member of the Assembly carried a motion in that chamber in 1879 in favour of the establishment of an experimental farm and agricultural college. A site about three miles west of Roseworthy was selected, 830 acres of land was purchased at £6 6/ per acre, and the college erected at a cost of about £6,000. Some of the land was poor, and for this and other reasons Professor Lowrie several years later characterized the selection as a very unfortunate one.
— The Objects. —
The objects of the institution were declared to be:—
1. To train young men for the practice of agriculture, horticulture, and viticulture.
2. To conduct experiments with a view to the advancement of the rural industries in South Australia.
— The Staff. —
Professor Custance was the first principal, and remained for five years. There was a good deal of popular prejudice against the institution, and the professor had a difficult task, rendered more trying by the fact that he was of an aggressive temperament. Nevertheless he did excellent work, and some of his students are among the leading producers of the state to-day. After Mr. Custance left there was no professor of agriculture at the college for three years, but for a portion of the time Mr. F. H. Molesworth was acting principal.
Professor Lowrie, M.A., B.Sc., arrived in February, 1888, and retained the position until September, 1901 — 13 ½ years — and during that period a striking change took place in the public estimate of the institution and the methods of agriculture.
Professor J. D. Towar, M.Sc., commenced his reign, in May, 1902. He is rapidly becoming acquainted with local conditions, and has has duties well in hand.
When Professor Lowrie arrived in 1888 the teaching staff comprised Dr. Earp, who was a science lecturer, and himself. Four years later Mr. Arthur J. Perkins, fresh from Montpelier, was appointed Government viticulturist and oenologist, and has rendered valuable service to the state in that capacity ever since. That gentleman is now the oldest member of the college staff, and also holds the office of secretary for agriculture. Professor Perkins was acting principal from the departure of Professor Lowrie to the arrival of Professor Towar. As an expert in viticulture the wisdom of Professor Perkins spending most of his time in an office in the city has been questioned. The contention is that his special duty is as an instructor in all matters pertaining to the wine industry. As the college advanced in popularity, and the number of students increased, the staff was gradually added to until to-day it is composed as follows:— Principal, Professor J. C. Towar, M.Sc.; viticulturist and oenologist, Professor A. J. Perkins; house-master, secretary, and lecturer on natural science and bookkeeping, Mr. F. W. Russack: lecturer on chemistry and physical science, Mr. W. B. Jamieson, B.Sc.; lecturer on dairying, Mr. G. S. Thomson, F.R S.E.; lecturer on horticulture, Mr. G. Quinn; lecturer on wool-classing, Mr. G. Jeffrey; superintendent of vineyard, Mr. H. E. Laffer; teacher of surveying, Mr. R. L. E. Bosworth, B.Sc.; farm foreman, Mr. F. L. Faulkner; teacher of blacksmithing and carpentering, Mr. G. L. Williams.
— The Students. —
At the outset very few students were attracted to the college, and farmers' sons formed but a small proportion of those who attended. In Professor Lowrie s first year there were 10 students; now there are 52. Of these only about one-fifth hail from the city. Altogether 355 youths have been enrolled at the college, and of these 106 have obtained their diploma.
In 1890 the system of offering scholarships for competition annually, each carrying a free course of instruction at the college, was adopted. Since that time 29 scholarships have been awarded. Last year a gold medal list entered the institution as a scholarship winner, and the silver medallist of the previous year likewise. Six scholarships are offered annually, the state being divided into so many districts for the purpose.
— The Curriculum. —
For several years the course of instruction at the college covered two years; but soon after his arrival Professor Lowrie pointed out that this term was too short, and urged that it should be extended to three years. The recommendation was adopted as from the beginning of 1893. The curriculum is as follows:—
First Year. — Mathematics, anatomy, book-keeping, agriculture, chemistry, meteorology, heat, electricity, and botany.
Second Year. — Mathematics, physiology, chemistry, agriculture, viticulture, fruit culture, mechanics, surveying, and wool-classing.
Third Year. — Chemistry, agriculture, veterinary science, viticulture, oenology, surveying, mechanics, physiology, and wool-classing.
Students who desire to attend only two years are required to pass an entrance examination equivalent to the sessional examination at the end of the first year.
The fees were originally fixed at £50 per annum, but in 1888 they were reduced to £30, at which amount they now stand.
— The Farm Area. —
When the farm was started the area was 830 acres. This was not added to until 1897, when a contiguous block of 187 acres was secured at £4 per acre. In 1893 220 acres was purchased at the same figure, in 1899 65 acres at £3 5/, in 1900 178 acres at £4, and last year 175 acres at £3 15/. The total area at present is therefore 1,655 acres.
— Influence on Farming. —
It is particularly interesting to remember the opinions of the various Professors of Agriculture when they arrive in the state, the modifications thereof which local conditions compelled, and to note the developments that have taken place in practice. In a sentence — theory has been influenced by practice, and practice has been influenced by theory. Probably each has lost a little conceit in the process. Professor Custance bewailed the fact that the average of wheat production was only six or seven bushels, condemned bare fallow, and urged the use of manures. Professor Lowrie was equally condemnatory of bare fallowing; indeed, he said he could never get reconciled to that practice. But he did eventually. He strongly urged rotation of crops, but moderated his enthusiasm for this policy subsequently. The present professor likewise condemned bare fallow upon his arrival, and also the exclusive use of super phosphate; but local conditions have already had their influence upon him.
— From Pessimism to Optimism. —
There is no doubt that for the first year or two of Professor Lowrie's residence in South Australia he was a pronounced pessimist as regards the future of agriculture. Soils were gradually becoming exhausted; it did not appear to be remunerative to manure, and there was a want of sympathy in all quarters with scientific application. The only hope he saw, even after he had learnt the utility of fallowing, was the adoption of a three or four years' course, one fallow, one crop, and one or two pasture, improvement in the varieties of wheat, the keeping of sheep and pigs, and the growing of fruit and vines. Even Jeremiah could not have lamented more pathetically than did the young Scotchman when in 1890 he referred to a crop of 35 bushels to the acre as representing the highest dream of the South Australian farmer! He was also much concerned that, farmers seemed to be satisfied with a return of from 24/ to 34/ per acre, when they ought to aim at from £8 to £10. But what a change came o'er his (the professor's) dream when the solution of the manuring problem broke in upon him.
The discovery that the soils of this state are largely replenished with nitrogen by natural means, and that phosphoric acid is the element of plant food relatively scarcest — a result in marked contrast to European experience — opened a new vista; and, lo! before he left this country Professor Lowrie had developed into such a decided optimist that he stated there was no place in the world that he knew of which gave a better return for the full range of farming than South Australia! He believed there was from 10 per cent. to 15 per cent. return if a man liked to put his money into farming in this state! It is noteworthy that at that time Mr. Darling charged the professor with having "lost his head completely." Now that gentleman is one of the most optimistic members of the House concerning Agriculture!
— The Drill and Fertilizers. —
The most important development in agriculture since the establishment of the college has been the adoption of the drill and phosphatic fertilizers. It is only fair to Professor Custance to say that he advocated both, though he did not absolutely solve the problem of their profitable use. In his first report, in 1881, that principal remarked upon the good effects which had followed the use of 5 cwt. each of bone dust and guano per acre. He said the result indicated the value of phosphates and nitrogen, and hinted that mineral phosphates and nitrogen of soda might be discovered in the state! In 1883 Professor Custance pointed out that phosphoric acid was the scarcest ingredient of plant food in the soil, and that "phosphatic manures promised to give better results in this colony than nitrogen." In 1885 the professor stated that he could strongly recommend super phosphates as the cheapest and best manure for the wheat crop! The dressing he suggested was 3 cwt. to the acre.
History has proved Professor Custance to have been a modern John the Baptist! Splendid results have been obtained from much less than 3 cwt. to the acre. But at the time the recommendation was unheeded. Professor Lowrie had not the opportunity of commencing where his predecessor left off for no records were shown him. He commenced de novo. The fates were unkind to him, too, for one Minister, when asked to sanction the purchase of manures on a large and economical scale, refused to do so on the ground that manures were not required in South Australia! However, the Edinburgh man persevered against adverse conditions, and rediscovered his predecessor's lost discovery. Taking advantage of this knowledge, he showed that the application of phosphates was profitable for hay growing later, and for wheat raising in the wet districts; and, later still, for wheat producing in all but the very dry districts. The object lessons at the college, Professor Lowrie's addresses, experience with light dressings on Yorke's Peninsula, all emphasized by special articles and reports in The Register and Observer, led eventually to the general adoption of the improved practice. It has been estimated that if the old system and been in vogue last year South Australia would not have produced one-quarter of the wheat and hay she did. If that is correct, the benefit of the new methods last season alone was about £1,500,000! As showing how popular the use of fertilizers has become, it is only necessary to give the estimated quantity used, thus:— 1897, 8,000 tons; 1898, 12,000 tons; 1899. 16,500 tons; 1900. 24,600 tons; 1901, 31,400 tons; 1902, 37,500 tons; 1903. 44,500 tons! Seed drills, too, have been imported by hundreds.
— Sheep on the Farm. —
Another direction in which great improvement has been made is the keeping of sheep by farmers. As soon as he arrived here Professor Lowrie began to breed sheep, and that was the text of many a subsequent sermon from him. He deplored the fact that in these days only about four farmers between Hamley Bridge and Adelaide possessed a flock. The bread then cast upon the waters, is now, after many days, to be seen. A large proportion of agriculturists in the area then referred to keep sheep, and find them an even more profitable adjunct than the professor promised. The development of the lamb trade and the increased grass following manured wheat crops have given an impetus to this feature of progressive farming.
Instances might also be stated of the beneficial influence of scientific knowledge and method upon farm practice, but space will not permit any more than the bare mention of the greater attention to the selection of the best varieties of wheat, the benefit of early fallowing, of producing better types of stock, &c. Then there the viticultural branch, which is a host in itself.
— The College Farm. —
Reverting to the college farm itself it may be said that a substantial alteration in its conduct has taken place in recent years. Formerly the major portion of the operations were experimental. Now, in response to the challenge of the "practical" farmer, who often exhibits the special quality of Thomas Didymus, the main aim is to give commercial object lessons. Some of these have been very effective, though the purely experimental should not be altogether lost sight of in the desire to obtain financial results. It is usual to cultivate upwards of 500 acres for wheat and hay, and it is claimed that the farm is not only self-supporting, but pays an allowance for rent and other items fairly chargeable, omitting the professors' salaries. Two years ago, after allowing for every legitimate expenditure it was estimated that there was a profit of upwards of £800. Last year the college farmers had a knock back, and the estimated profit was only between £200 and £300. They are counting, however, upon malting a good haul this year.
Provenance: "Handbook of South Australia". By David J. Gordon. Issued by the Government of South Australia. With over 280 Illustrations
Arthor: David J. Gordon
Date of Publication: 1908
Publisher: C. E. Bristow, Government Printer, North Terrace
Place of Publishing: Adelaide
Copyright status: This work is out of copyright
Courtesy: Cornell University Library via the Archive Org.
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