ROUND ABOUT MARTON,

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1722, 12 April 1913, Page 10

ROUND ABOUT MARTON,

SEASON'S CHOPPING OPERATIONS.

■ An hour's motor drive in company with ft gentleman who is in close touch with tho agricultural, doings of tho district enabled a Dominion representative to gain a,roadside view of that large and. ferHle tract of country that lies ip the vicinity of ifarton, oil the Huntervillo side, and to .learn some of the results of tii« last season's cropping operations. Making tho railway station a starting point, tho outward route skirted the enclosure which, has for some years formed an experimental area conducted by the Department of Agriculture. As tho season's csrop3 had been harvested, there was littio to _b& seen that would provide a speaking object-lesson regarding the experiments that have been practised. Suffice it to say that tho work undertaken' by\ the State is much appreciated, and closely -scroti'. hteM''Ky'"farm'6fs' in the: neighbourhood, After; striking. Cliff Lino, that road was followed to. tho. point .yhero .a junction is. , i^adp v with'.t^r^ ' Moitnt'Wewidfstrict, and' leads'to Alartcin.' via Upper Tutumii:' Although' this short run only embraced a very small portion of tlio outlying country near Marton, excluding such. highly fortile localities as Pbrowa, Yak Farrfl, and Rata, it served to give a general indication of the large extent of really first-class land under occupation tliatis not seen, from' the railway. It is said' by, thoge who know both oountries that tho beautifully undulating country hereabouts, closely resembles the southern parts of rural England, especi;aUy;sinco plantations of trees, planted by have.i reached maturity, ft "is'~ttefefore not surprising to v learn that a great number of i tho properties are 'Qwffi'dJand farmed by nien,;from.,the Old land;; In former 'days\niuchVof.'the,land Wfls .<i6nsidered cold-and unproductive, excepting; : favourable seasons, and as. grain-growing was practically the only uso to which the land was put, the results were often disappointing, and led to a false estimate of its value. With tho introduction of more scientifio methods (amongst which underground drainage figures largely, .and a system of -, crop, rotation"- that-* was encouraged by the 'frozen. m«it industiy), the whole prospect has been changed, and for the purposes of mixed farming it is now a difhcult matter to find better land at' tho 6ame price anywhere. As an instance of tho beneficial .cft'ccts following careful drainage, ono'famier spoken- to declared that his yields of chalf and grain are now three times greater per acre than formerly, besides which it: is now possible for him to work the soil after periods of heavy; Tain without injury. Tho volume of ; . business done'.at Marton Junction railway. .6tatioii'.gives av fair indication "of" the large quantities of sheaf chaff that aro produced annually, and this yoar's yields, though somewhat lighter than is usudl, owin" to tho extremes of weather experienced during tho planting and. growing seasons, are of really excellent qualify. Chalf-cutting plants are now busy at the stacks, which dot -the-landscape in every direction,-'and.,it is thought that only a. -very, smalL'-proportion, if. any, will be : h'el(l,over!till'next year.' Oil-inquiry-being \miuje as --l:o- the destination of chaff from' fhilfJdiKlrict, it wfls ascertained that the bulk of (hp output finds its way to_statiofis on 'flip Main Trunk- lino, especially towards Ihp'jiioi'tli. SiiKio'lho completion ■ of -tlio line,-tra-do-has becniopened up with all i the consuining centres of tho -Auckland province, and, although the rapid in-crease-of power-driven vehicles has greatly curtailed tho quantities required. by markets that 'formerly absorbed largo quantities of oala and chaff, there is still n, big demand for high quality samples such as Marton produces. It has been found that autumn-sown Algerian oats give by far the best results, and every effort is made to get as much crop as possible sown before winter. , On raro occasions spring crops turn out well, according to tho weather, but autumn sowing, after the ground has been well .worked, is, much preferred. It is expected that ■the area to bo sown this year will bo even .greater than tliat occupied in the past, and farmers aw quito satisfied with the prospect that remunerative prices will bo forthcoming. /.'■ - Tho cxpericncc of Mr. F. M. Fairey, cf Nelson, who exhibited at tho recent Sydney Koyal Show, indicates that New .Zealaail cattle aro in exceedingly good demand -pn the other side. Mr. I'airey not only secured first prize for tlio bast Hereford bullock on the ground, but ho subsequently sold tho animal-' for : .£3l—a record prico for Now South -Wales, if not for Austra;.Ua.' This bullock-"Was originally bred I'rank jiloore, at Bushy Park, ,-Wanganui. Incidentally, it might lie "mentioned -that tho. first prize Shorthorn bfillock at tho Sydney show fetched ' "A good"thing"i 9 soon snatched up." 'Tis an old proverb, but true, and it is because tho "Anderson" Oil Engines, are good that so many farmers grasp tlio opportunity of securing one. The smooth, easy running of the "Anderses" makes this engine the ideal power to drive Milking Machines. Tlio engine requires so little attention while running, that a tremendous nmount of labour is saved. Thus the "Anderson" is not only a wageearner, but a wagc-sayer also. Order an "Andersqii" Oil Engino to-day and join tho; ranks, of-the. more prosperous farmer. Every ""Andofsoii"'"Engino is made in New Zealand. Anderson, Ltd., Christchurcli.— Advt. ■ Beiraro of d" religion of spiritual /1 i V 03". r ilfc i'fi a r sj - 1 h *