THE SOUTH WAIMARINO.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1122, 9 May 1911, Page 8

THE SOUTH WAIMARINO.

FINE ■ FARMING COUNTRY. ' Our travelling correspondent writes:— At last 1 am leaving Ifaetilii behind me, and have set my laco towards'the west. A very pleasant time I have had among those most hospitable pioneer settlers. X had no idea till 1 actually experienced it that this South Waimarino country was ono of such great promise. Before tho railway was made it was an almost unknown country, except to a few tourists and other ndventuvaus spirits. After all there is. nothing like seeing for oneself, and having seen I am certain that in this central part of tho North Island we .shall ono day see a very fine and prosperous farming district. What tho farmers tip in this high country will have to provide for will be winter feed in the shape of roots, hay, or ensilage. When the bush is all cleared it will be a cold climate, in the winter, and stock will have to bo carried along on more than the bare grass; in fact, the wonder is that they do so well even now, as the grass is for the most part cocksfoot, and it is ono that does not stand heavy frosts as a rule.

And now I am away down the more than notorious Parapa'ra Road. For a good many years this was one of the very worst roads in the Wellington Province. Time atter time the. settlers were promised that the road would bo pushed on, but up till this last summer there were still some twelve to fourteen miles to make. A sum of soae .£4OOO was granted last session, and at th, time I went over the road there were only eight men at work, and then at a time when it was almost too late in the season to make much headway. Shortly afterwards more men were put on. ' It is tho same old practico over again: moneys granted by Parliament not available for months .afterwards This sort of thing goes on all over the country. Frequently a start is rnado with a road when the season is practically over, then tho work must cease, and next year "the voto has lapsed." Well, the country going west down the Parapara is of a very light nature, tho soil is reddish chocolatej" on each side are nice low hills all heavily bushed, except .where here and there a few settlers have taken up sections, and where some six miles or so down tho road thero is a Maori village. The track through tho bush has only been felled in a narrowstrip, quite different from the two-chain strips on Crown lands. This country is nearly all native bush. There is also another thing which marks the difference between the two, and that is_ that tho Government generally sow the sides of the road with cocksfoot, which in after years comes in very handy for tho settlers, either in.the shape of feed or seed for future sowing, while here on tho Parapara Road there are no sides, the. bush and tho scrub being close up to the track. I was sorryto see what a hold on this land the pennyroyal has already got. Soon after leaving Haetihi I began to notice it.' and the further I went the worse if. became. There is also far too much of another nasty weed— g'.int bnrdack—which is setting a big hold in the country. Though the burrs are not rine till lout after 'shcarine, and do not do much damage to the fleece, it covers too much land which should bo growing good grass.