PUMICE PRAIRIES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 28, 3 February 1913, Page 3

PUMICE PRAIRIES

PLOUGHABLE AND PRODUCTIVE \ — • WHAT IS A LIVING AREA? t __ EXPERTS ON THE MAKING OF THE SOIL. , (By Our Special Reporter.) No. 111. Once Lake Taiipo is brought into direct connection with the railway system, its marvellously healthful climate, its unrivalled angling, and its thermal sights — among which the Geyser Valley at Wairakei stands supreme — will at' tract a • large tourist ' traffic. No one who knows 1 the thermal " districts will be in doubt on that point.' But more important, than the annual tourist, influx is the permanent productive capacity of the broken-in land. That is the phase which will be dealt with in the present article. The total quantity of pumice land has been estimated at between four and five million acres ; but for the purposes of this article it is more convenient ,, to deal with the area estimated to be served by the Mokai line, 2,000,000 acres. The scrub land carries, for the most part, tea-tree (some well-grown, some stunted), or fern. and. on the flats, mariawa and tussock.' On the slopes the bunchy, green-leaved, and sometimes poi&onous tutu is a diversifying feature, and is, rather valued as an indication of 'good land, and as providing cattle' with some winter feed. It is stated that only the yotihg spring shoots do damage'; still, the v > new settler buys, if possible, cattle 'that are used to the "toot." It is generally conceded that the natural stock-carrying capacity of this land is little or none. In the words of Mr. E. Clifton (Director of Melds and Experimental Stations, Agricultural Department), the capacity of the land "depends practically and entirely on the extent of the agricultural operations to graso it and maintain that grass.'' He djoes not think that any of the land can "be improved except with the assistance of cultivation ; nor does hejthink that any part can be naturally grassed without some form > of cultivation. The land must be grassed in the way in which the large properties in the Waikato were dealt with— practically through the medium of the plough. This latter view is _ precisely that pronounced by the Prime Minister on Monday. , TWO-THIRDS PLOUGHABLE. For the cultivation — that is, the making — of such soil, two essentials stand out : (1) that it shall be ploughable ; (2) that cheap manures shall be available. It_ is the latter requirement that makes railway transport indispensable. As to the former, Nature has made that easy. Mr. Clifton has roughly estimated that two-thirds of the Taupo district might be ploughed, and probably his approxim ation does not over-state tlje case. One of the pumice soil's greatest assets is that it is particularly easy to work, and in some cases the scrub is ploughed in as it stands. One settler, after ploughing in scrub 2ft to 3ft high, states t that he completed Bowing' his grass in the first week of April, and put his stock on in the first week of August, Mr. Clifton estimates that two-thirds of the Tattpo lands can be brought into profitable occupation ; half of that, or ohe-ttjiird, , would ,i l equire to, be occupied in comparatively large pastoral holdings, and the other third would be better land. In comparing this with the lighter lands of the Waikato, he told the Parliamentary Committee last session that it wad possible on the latter, with & rotation, renewing grass eveiy fourth year, to carry a sheep and a half to' two sheep, to the acre, provided that the grass Was renewed by cultivation or maintained by top-dressing ; but this applied to the better, class lands. Though he did %not definitely say so, Mr. Clifton's inference apparently is that the better class pumice lands, with proper treatment, would develop similarly. He stated that the growing of root crops had passed the experimental stage. LIVING AREA QUESTION. Though there are- exceptions, most people seem to admit that, in its present unbroken state, the pumice prairie is not a poor man's country. That is to say, the settler must have capital, but a large part of the capital may be labour. To say that it is not "a poor man's country is not the same thing as saying that it cannot be worked in small holdings. Properly cultivated, small holdings may_ become very productive. _ There is considerable difference of opinion as to what constitutes a living area, and the real test will be experience. The Government Agricultural Chemist (Mr. B. C. Aston) was aaked, before the Parliamentary Committee, whether, having regard to the fact that the land requires manuring and a large amount of work to biing it into cultivation, it should be worked in small areas. He replied • that the land was morti v suitable for working in small areas than in large ones; but, in answer to another question, he did not attempt to what^a living area is. Mr. W. C. Kensington, formerly Under-Secretary for _ Lands, spoke of cutting-up the land in areas of 300 to . 800 acl'es. Mr. Clifton would not'endorse the view that a living is possible on 300 acres. These lands, he said, needed capital, and to attract men with capital a fair-sized holding was needed. Asked whether development^ would not be more rapid by cutting up in 600-acre holdings—which would compel the owner to cultivate and fertilise in order to get a return— than in 10,000-acre holdings--much of which would be allowed to re- . main undeveloped— Mr. Clifton replied ' in the affirmative, provided that the question referred to better class lands. He quite recognised that, as in the WaiJiato, the breaking-in of the land in larger areas would open the way to further cultivation in smaller holdings. But Mr. Clifton held out little hope for th& advent of the dairy cow, the apostle of small- settlement, and expressed the view thai "Taupo cannot become a dairying district." THE OUTLOOK FOR DAIRYING. Opinions gathered^ in Taupo itself, and based on long experience, do not support Mr. Clifton's impression. Of the swamp area and better lands south of Waiotapu, it is estimated that dairying will be profitably followed on 10,000 acres, and on twice that area at the Tokaanu end of Lake Taupo, where there are rich alluvial fend delta lands. Then there is a tract stretching from Mokai and novth- ! western Taupo westward towards" Kilii- ! kihi, largely forest land, and this, ac- ! cording to one of the most competent authorities in the district, will be excellent dairying country. It is considered that ( these western lands are the best within the sphere of the Mokai line, and they certainly would not be served by a railway from Itotorua to Taupo, via Waiotapu. Then the case for dairying on the pumice lands (sc-üb, not forest) is greatly strengthened by the evidence of Mr, F. C. Barnett, who told the Parliamentary Committee of the success he had achieved in dairying on 407 acres at Putaruru, " the same class of land as the 'pumice country." Putaruru itself has' only recently won recognijfcion. Only six years ago tho tirst creamery was erected, and now there arc four creameries within a radius of twelve miles Of J?titarui'U ( . and one cheese factory wifchin a few. miles. A wonderful n>-

vival has taken place not only at Putaruru, but in the old settlement of Lichfield adjoining it. The cow is the magician in each case, and as the country further clown the Mokai railway is only beginning to be broken in f and as Prime Minister Massey has already promised that, whatever happens, the Taupo Totara Timber Company's rails shall not be pulled up. the growth of dairying may be looked tc as part of the general advance- And, as elsewhere, on the back of the cow will come the small farmer. PESTS AND WATER SUPPLY. Out of the 2,000,000 acreß referred to, 800,000 acres is Native land, and a breeding place for rabbits and noxious weeds. Perhaps the .rabbit is this country's greatest danger, and there is no more effective way of dealing with him than by close settlement. According to Mr. W. D. S. Mac Donald, M.P., the Government is now paying between £5000 and £6000 a year for poisoning rabbit* in pumice lands, and ho thinks it would be cheaper to build a railway even at a, running loss. One of the factors in small settlement will be that of water supply. For farming stock oir fair-sized holdings, the pumice plains are naturally well watered} but to provide sufficient water for cultivation on small areas is another question. There has not been sufficient experience in well-sinking to lead to definite conclusions as to boring possibilities, but good judges anticipate little trouble over water. Unlike heavy land, the pumice country does not "burn" : it can stand both drought t and rain, and retains its easy working nature. Rain sinks in like a sponge, and when the surface dries the tendency h to draw moisture up, and this is assisted by the working of tho soil. Though most of the conversation in the district runs oil sheep and fat lambs, an authoiity, who 'has known it for many years, holds the view that it will do better for laising and fattening cattle. He holds that the grass .lasts longer under cattle than utider sheep, and that sheep are better suited to the Tokaanu side of the lake. Though so* much is heard of red clover, cow grass "(a close relative, and, to the uninitiated, identical) seems to actually suit the land better. Apart from resowing^ it is stated that while red clover will hold for three years, cow grass will hold for five, and is equally effective in adding nitrogen to the soil. HUMUS, AND THE CONQUERING CLOVER. Burning-off, essential in bush country, seems, to be particularly dangerous on these scrub lands. It is "now accepted that burning-off should not be resorted to unless tlia land is put to use at once. Burning-off destroys the humus that pumice soil* so badly needs, and it has frequently happened that 'Maoris, to smoke out a pig. have caused great damage to hundreds of acres. The functions of clovers and humus have been the subject of some interesting remarks by the Government Agricultural Chemist. He attaches great importance to the need of increasing the content of, humus on pu» mice lands, "not only because it will improve the mechanical condition of the soil, but because a very great increase in the- availability of the plant-food may thereby be effected. ..... The cheapest way to supplement the humus will probably be to stimulate the growth of clover ( s by application of phosphates." The clovers, thus stimulated, make humus, and the humus < acts on the decomposed rock in pumice soils to further decompose it. * Humus is the best factor in thus breaking down pumice. Clovers are, therefore, the 1 salvation of this soil, and the fact that they do so well when sown, even without manure, is perhaps the most important element in the present situation.' Clovers, Mr. Aston points out, are not native to New Zealand, which is singularly free from indigenous leguminous plants. Clovers die out in time, but can be brought back again withtop-dteftsing,' Such humus as fern will give to the land, and' which is frequently destroyed with the burning of the fern, is not comparable with the results of clover cultivation. BUSH^LAND v. OPEN COUNTRY. From the foregoing it will have been gathered that much of the land in tho pumice belt* is forest clad, and is therefore deemed by the Taupo Totara Timber Company to be superior to the scrubby flats. In fact, it was the totara forest — which has only yielded about 'a third of the estimated timber — that brought the company's railway to Mokai, and one of the points made by tho company against the rival route is that it cannot offer timber- freights (estimated at £11.500 a year) for fifteen years, and, thereafter, good permanent bush land. The comparative advantages of open and of forest country were discussed before the Parliamentary Committee, the question being whether the ploughableneES and easy working of the pumice prairie sufficiently offsets the expense of felling bush and taking the chances. Mr. Clifton expressed preference for the bUsh land, on which the pasture could bo maintained by top dressing, as on the level land by cultivation. Mr. W. Rdllitt, a settlor near Liclin'eid, one of the Canterbury farmers who have invaded this country, exoressed the view that the open pumice land could be broken-in with less capital than bush land, and more- quickly, and would carry a sheep and a half to the acre. Roading is also mutfi easier than in forest country. Obviously the question raised is a very open one, but there is clearly much to be said in favour of the pumice prairie.