FERTILE GLEN OROUA.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 527, 7 June 1909, Page 8

FERTILE GLEN OROUA.

:;L WEEDS. AND AN j6NK)N;.<SOI>. ; : '■; A wonderful-country is.the Glen Oroua triot (says our'travelling'corrospoudcn.t). ;1 suppose there is no.finer dairying and fattening land iii'the Dominion than about:there. It is a peculiar .bit of country.'too, •composed of sandy ridges running,through, the. richest of-'swamp land; It was a big .undertaking • many', years ago to got the/ water .away,, but, now it is well/looked after., It 1 seems strange' that there should he two drainageboards in this' comparatively., small area. y ™ y ha ? 6 tried to amalgamate!but faded.;;.. The main • drain is the biggest,.l. havo ever.: soon;.' it: must carry! off, a very.'largo amount of.water,! and' ihe system, baa "made",,the district. • Now, > except■■ in flood. time, the settlers can get rid of their surplus water.'.'■ •'.'..■■; ...;; It is a wonderful country.,, Tho land ,is | exceedingly rich,'and thequality'of the; grass must : bo excellent,,as .the cattle look.inthe,! very pink of condition, and the returns from the factory are in'every' way .satisfying-.-This' class of land requires very carefu}'treatment,'i as it';is liable'to bo,ruined, by. weeds: they - ; simply, revel in'these rich drained swamps. Thb thing to guard-against is .the'.beginning Of them, arid this is what so few.tekejcare.tq do. Every sort of. weed,, if once it gets, a., stairt,,comps to stay, and it ,tako.s years to.eet ria'of it: . ■■•'■■ ■''•■'. ' ' .: ; :_■■ '"•'• ; - ' ' .This was fully borne out by- what I saw oh some farms in the district and in Taikorea, which adjbi'ns/Glen'Orouai ■.One in particular was whore a man had put in four acres of 'onions'. He told' me that he .was compelled; to abandon half the'area as tho<_ weeds came, up so thick thatrit.iwas;.impossible, to;cope withthein.'■■•' They h'iid: spent,; as hV-'.s&ijl,' practically, four months ■'-. on -"their .knees in keeping'the crop clean. He showed me where the other two acres.were sown, and they wore ilnruriant, with; almost "every kind' of weed under the sun.'.Docks and fat hen were, of .course, the most prominent. Although, this farmer told me that he expected ;about £70 for his onions, he said.ho ..would: never .take on such a job again. I suppose tho land had •been neglected;by the previous occupier, who. had'left an undoubted'neritage of woe to the unfortunate successor.: When a Dane, as I think:this man is, "throws up the. one.may bo sure' that .the.utmost limit has been reached..'.::: : .', :'... :.:..,<':