DISTRICT REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 30, 30 October 1907, Page 2

DISTRICT REPORTS.

~ [Fiioji,Odr Travelling CpnnESPONDENT.'i ■'I note in'Thel DomNiok'of .October 23 a '■ writer siiy's,' no one can' milk' thirty cows in threo hours. I suppose that is t-h'o .rulej but as there are exceptions to most rules, . I havo seen"him." It,was at Maharahara West,' last autumn, "on a farm wh'ero 100 cows were milked,' and one of-'.tho'mcn told me—arid ln's statement 'was corroborated— that lie was milking his thirty cows in three hours, mornings and evenings. . I also came across another instance of the. same'fast .1 milking last season. . - •■..-; Aberfeldte. ~',-'•• , .',' - r: . ', .'.' : ;-.- I think it would be very hard to find a' greater contrast between this delightful valley, and AVangachu, of whioh I remarked a few days ago.' Well-kept farm's,' well-trim-med fences, both gorsc and 'thorn, everything licat and tidy. 'A little'.further'/on,''about two mile's' from ! the. Ijridge J wliicli, .span's 1 tl;e /M'angawheofa'stream,'is' a : bit. of very'riico Mason's property.'' In : clearing trie'land, some:,'of the, 'larger manuka bushes have been left,' giving' a most park-like appearance. Trie : vie.fr''from, the homestead "across the' stieam'to' this '".park '. is worth a ; journey!" '. ; V ', ~ ,!' :•','•".' Gracious! What's that? "My horse gave a big swerve iii going round, a bend; I looked up tho hill,-andi saw something scuttling away'at a "great pace!. ■:" All of a sudden it stopped, and a line peacock spread out its; tail, a gorgeous sight indeed; but in, a few • minutes I saw., dozens of them, or 'rather peacocks and peahens—never such such a crowd beforo; One or:two look all right, but when iyou see ,'em. in mobs the novelty wears off: They breed wild about Aberfeldie, but oa- account of the chicks being delicato, the: wet seasons of former -'years have been against tho increase. Last year was/better; The Para Para Road. ' :■■ ■- ' .'-!-.

' On the Para, Para road are patches of bush, on the: ridges' the red birch grows, just now they are, quite resplendent in'their new spring garb. /The : young foliage is:a bright red'colour,' quite a picture. In a : 'gully, from the sun, I saw the, strangest sight imagihablo —a largo' white pine, covered with lichen, hanging in festoons fully four and five feet long. I havo often seen it up to a foot, or even a little over, but this' particular* one beats anything I ever saw or heard of.' I was congratulating a farmer on tho, pro-; spects of pheasant shooting next seasonthere arc, any quantity to be seen now. "■ That's all right," he said, " but, when tho season opens thero won't bo a. feather ,','— quail, .pigeons, kaka,. plenty of. game now; but none when the shooters go out. "What funny things you see When you. haven't got a gun," and that is just my experience.' -. ; ' - A good deal of tutu.is growing alongside this road, and 1 within easy.;reach of cattle. At this season it is most deadly, when tho young shoots are full of sap. ■ An' oxcollent fea'turo of the district are tho water troughs at convenient j distances all along tho- road, and fed 1 by- springs from the -hills. Some are wood- troughs, others aro excavated in the papa. ■' ■ • ■"'.' ''" ■,"" Down the Mangawheora. Going .down the Mangawheora stream,', at times' on a track just wide. enough. for 'a horse's hoof, there are groves of chorry trees on Mr. Poison's side. At present they 'are huge masses,of gleaming white, and in.the sunlight quite' dazzling. _' AYliat a treat for the birds!. Since, my.last trip two,years ago, there havo been many,changes, old settlors gone,, now ones come—aiid, of course, each tin"! at an advanco in price— and- the advance still goes on. ...