Future Of Norfolk Island.

Visiting Horticulturist Gives Expert Advice.

Mr. Herbert J. Rumsey, F.R. Hort.

Soc., returned by the “Morinda,” after several weeks’ stay at Norfolk Island as the guest of the N.I. Planters’

Association, who desired him to make a report on the horticultural possibilities of the Island.

Owing to the very severe illness of Mr.

Webb, the resident of the Association, the duty of showing Mr. Rumsey over the farm and gardens fell on Mr. T.

Healy, the vice-president. After a couple of weeks spent in investigation, Mr.

Rumsey gave an address at the Rawson Hall, embodying his conclusions and ad vice.

Some years ago there was quite an in flux of farmers from New Zealand to the island, and prices of land for banana growing went to a very high level. As in common with most other industries, the demand for bananas was reduced and prices fell to such an extent that the industry no longer showed any mar gin of profit. Just as matters in this way began to look serious, an opening was given in a new industry by the failure of Victorian bean seed crops, and all available land was put under Can adian Wonder beans for seed. For a couple of years, this industry filled the gap and enabled the growers to carry on, but a report that Norfolk Island seed had shown traces of infection caused a doubt as to whether the industry could be kept going under those conditions, especially in view of a return to normal supplies of clean seed from the old main land sources.

The choice of money-making crops is qualified, to a great extent, by the long periods between the arrival of the steamers and the occasional complete or partial hold-up of loading by rough seas in the open roadsteads of the island.

As regards the bananas, Mr. Rumsey did not support the popular idea of root ing them all out at once; but suggested that they might be gradually superseded by suitable nuts, such as macadamia or pecan, which were showing a good growth on the island, with a probability of early fruiting and within a few years the production of a crop that could be marketed at any time without a chance of deterioration.

These nuts are doing well in the north of New South Wales and in Queensland —in fact, in all the coastal parts of Aus tralia not subject to heavy frost. The macadamia being a native nut, also known as the Australian nut, while the pecan is a native of some of the warmer parts of the United States, but being deciduous will stand a greater degree of cold.

As regards the banana, it seems ad visable that a certain amount of experi mentation be undertaken with a view of raising from seed a variety more suited to the climatic condition of the island, which is barely tropical enough for the established varieties to do their best.

So far as the seed beans themselves are concerned, the greatest drawback is that the small areas available for culti vation make it difficult to grow them in proper rotation to prevent the spread of such diseases as the crops are subject to. The speaker mentioned that there were many crops on the island that ap peared to be quite free from the dreaded bacterial disease, but that it was so easily conveyed from plant to plant that

the greatest precautions should be taken to prevent its spread, and to prevent in fected crops from being exported as Norfolk Island produce. Without a hor ticultural inspector of some sort it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to control the spread of disease.

There are quite a number of beans, other than Canadian Wonder, that may be profitably grown in small quantities and if there were someone to allot the seed to growers, they might turn over to these varieties, especially as so far very little disease has been observed in these other varieties.

The lecturer expressed his opinion that the future prosperity of the island lay in the fostering of the tourist trade and the growth of food products for a large float ing population of visitors. This outlet for the energies of the islanders has been noticeable, to a small extent, for some time, but was emphasised by the arrival of the “Strathaird” at Christmas time with over 1,000 tourists who, in the one day, spent quite a large sum of money on island produce, photographs and sou venirs, as well as keeping every avail able car and lorry busy. There are al ready quite a number of houses catering for visitors in a more or less systematic way, and a few more of these, and an increasing number of furnished homes, would help to advertise the island.

Mr. Rumsey was very emphatic on the possibilities of improving the landscape at Kingston by making this gateway to the island into a beautiful botanic gar den, instead of a desert waste, and cloth ing the bare ruins of the old convict

establishment with shrubs and beautiful sub-tropical climbing plants.

At the close of the formal address the chairman, Mr. Healy, appealed for ques tions in reference to the matters under discussion; and, for over an hour, the lecturer was plied with a question on every conceivable aspect of the subject, to which he gave impromptu replies.

Mr. C. C. R. Mobbs, in proposing a vote of thanks to the lecturer, expressed his opinion that it had been the best lecture they had ever had the pleasure of listening to on the Island; and he was very strongly supported by Hon. W. H.

Holman, M.P., who was a visitor to the Island at the time.