In an interview with a Lyttelton Times reporter, Mr Benstead said that there were many grades of mentally deficient children, varying from the high grade ''moron'' (an American term) to the absolute idiot.
Up to a certain point all, except the last-named, were improvable in some respects, but it was not necessary to have a highly paid teaching staff in an institution where the more or less unimprovable cases were cared for.
Therefore, in addition to the training school at Otekaike, there should be a custodial home and not a school for the practically helpless.
These two branches should be near together from an economic standpoint, because transfer would be easy and inexpensive, and the upkeep less, and because there was a possibility of the children in the training school providing many things, vegetables, laundry work, and mending for those in the custodial home.
Otekaike, said Mr Benstead, possessed a splendid climate, and the surroundings were in every way suitable.
• The harvest outlook in North Otago (writes our Oamaru correspondent) is exceedingly dismal. Good rains were experienced last week, and again last night there were good refreshing showers.
But this accession of moisture came too late to do more than rescue the cereal crops from absolute failure, and a good deal more rain will be necessary to render the best of them even fair when reaping time comes round.
There are odd paddocks of wheat in different parts of the country that, under favourable conditions henceforward, may thrash out 30 bushels to the acre, but the great bulk of the fields will range at about half that figure.
Then a very material part of the autumn and winter-sown wheat has been eaten off by stock, either because farmers despaired of the crops doing any good or in order to save their stock from threatened starvation.
As to the spring-sown wheat, very little of it will repay the cost of harvesting, for it is generally thin, stunted, and off colour, handing out signals of distress. Much the same thing may be said of the late-sown oats, which are generally poor.
The area laid down in cereals this year was greater than in several preceding years, but the total output of grain will probably be the smallest recorded in North Otago for about half a century.
It is worthy of note that the best crops are found on land that has been well worked, and notably where turnips were grown last year.
• The Otago Expansion League has issued for circulation in the northern parts of the dominion and in Australia a neat booklet entitled ''A Fortnight's Holiday Tour in Otago''.
The publication, which consists of 20 pages, outlines several alternative trips through Otago, any of which may be easily accomplished in the short time of two weeks.
Various trips through Central Otago and Lakes district are outlined, while a brief description of a holiday spell of two weeks at Mount Cook and Queenstown are also given.
The overland trip to Milford also receives attention, and the holiday resorts within easy access of Dunedin have been written up in such a manner as to attract the holiday-maker to Dunedin, the City Beautiful.
The booklet, if judiciously circulated, should do much to stimulate the tourist traffic to Otago during the coming season.
- ODT, 7.12.1915.
