AGRICULTURE IN HAWKE'S BAY.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XIII, Issue 544, 20 January 1868, Page 3

AGRICULTURE IN HAWKE'S BAY.

To the Editor of the Hawke's Bay Times. j SIR, —I hare promised again to write, tot rouble' you with some further notes of what I, a lari/, do-\ nothing man myself, fancy the actire people of Hawke's Bay, or even of New Zealand generally, I might do, or at least commence doing, for the | Colony. We hare an area about equal in extent to the British Islands, and with a climate through-' out the whole to the full as congenial to the productions of farming industry as any in the world. Agriculture is carried on in some parts of islands in a manner superior to that in which if is tracer;:!cd in any other part of the world; lad we must not be carried away with the notion that because almost all of vs came from those islands that we are all of ns perfectly acquainted with the prac-' iice offarming, any more indeed than that we are perfectly acquainted with any other manufacture brought to perfection there. Bat, besides this, we hare a climate in some particulars, indeed in a con-' siderabh degree, differing from the climate there, and probably, judging from analogy, likely to repay well the cultivation of crops which never could be expected in prosper there, but with vs might to a considerable extent take the place of the constant growing of the usual cereals now used in arable culture. i I wish here, to else rvc that I have r.o in I cidion of entering upon the question of rvaholding, and particularly in so far as wool-producing is con- : eerred. Mixed fanning, as it probably may he practiced on medium-sized farms, may tend vivch

to the advantage of lamb-breeders, audio the im-prov-ment of the mutton producedfor the ■pleasant mastication and deglutition of the consumers. | I would here draw the attention of Ike owners of Hie soil and residents of New Zealand to the\ situation of these islands with, respect to South loti- j hide. The parallel of 40° runs a little south of\ the Town of Napier; the parallel of -to 5 passes a tittle south of Of ago, and the Cape Maria Van Bieinen four northern point) does not quite reach 35°. If we we refer these latitudes to the eastern coast of the North Atlantic Ocean, they will embrace from Tangier to Board earn, including the region of growth of numerous most desirable productions, such as we Britons nerer dreamed of. But if we allow fire degrees for difference of tern\perntvres, ns I believe is usually done by person 1 1 comparing the north with the south of the Equator, we shall embrace from, about Lisbon to Brest, and include alt France, more than half of Spain, the richest parr of Italy, Turley, ami many other fertile lands; and for the most profitable rearing of the crops to be grown thereon, surely a tillage\ id,M>/ differing from that used in England must | be followed. Maize, wine, raisins, fig*, plums of carious hinds, pomegranates, lemons, mulberries, black and Phillipine, gourds of all varieties, and numerous other things may he raised from the soil, for the purpose of exportation as well ns of home consumption; and these all in addition to the cereals and other field and garden productions carried on in England. Now, Ido think that it fj well worth eneryhodf s consideration, how this w best to be done. Is our papulation in any way acquainted with the required routine of cultivation, \ or indeed, are n great many of our people at nll\ acquainted with the minutiae of agriculture, arbori- 1 culture, nr gardening ? It would be indeed some- 1 thing miraculous, if they were brought up in the centre of London, or of our great manufacturing towns.

I will here, Mr Editor, just digress a little to say a word or tiro on oar own soil, and the man- 1 tier in which nature may he said to hare assisted it. A portion, ns about Meaner, is pretty Eat and level, consisting of layers of earths ns deposited, but much of it, ns in our Town of Napier and n't (he hUtu districts which we see from thence fthe mountains excepted) is composed of earth, principally impure limestone npheaved and broken by internal forces, containing numerous boulders of various si:*s. but generally very rnwh comminuted. This suit allows the water to percolate, info the earth very fredy, and requires little draining, neither from, its external formation is it usually wet! adapted to arable agriculture on a tnrqe scale. Besides this, there is generalht a great deficiency of timber of every hind. At the same tine, ca/r warm and windy climate causes evaporation to go on at ton fast a rate, a process which a considerbale extent of timbered land in the country would retard. Spain is described as having been formerly a country with a great quantity of woods diipersed about if. and nhnundinn in, or at least fully siwjdied with rivulets. The woods were in time destroyed, and no rare taken to plan l young ones, and the country has for a long time suffered from drought. Since th" last few years an attempt has been made to remedy this, and an immense number of younq frees h-r‘e been planted—if is said, millions of acres. These trees, or many of them, hare thriven, and some of the old dried-up rivulet \ beds hare become aanin permanent streams, and, the deficiency nf water has been in many cases re- j medied.

Jn central and southern France also the same • deficiency appears to he felt, and the same means for abating or curing it resorted to. i I have above been atludinn to what may he term"d matters nenerally affecting the settlers as a Cotony ; I will now revert to a question mare particularly nffectiua them as individuals. That is. their employment upon and consequent comfortn'le maintenance from the unoccupied soil, and of this we should remember that we hare an immense l capital ready to he turned to account ; and the greaf comfort that the unn-cultivating portion of the population might thence he expected to enioy. Also a permanent remunerative capital produced. The question to which Tam about to allude is, the appropriating of the soil of fair quality conveniently situated, info comparatively small parcels, varying from an acre or two. at nil events a rery few acres, tn occupations of three or four hundred. The freehold of the laud will cost hut little, and even if hired if is the interest of persons holding considerable tracts of suitable land to let it on tong leases, end nf a rery low rent. Tn all cases, either 'of purchase or hiring, the land should be fenced, \fhe fences should be permanent and. self-renewing ones. Our absurd taw for the fencing nf land hegween individuals requires to he abrogated,and one \grovnded on common .fuse, ns is now and always was used in England, both in town and country, substituted in its place. Here we hare two persons tn keep up nr to quarrel about one fence ; in England, the duty of keeping up every fence belongs to a single person, and all the returns from if belong to him too. This has been the case there at least from before the time of Edward the Con fessor, as may yet he proved from deeds in existence, and\

\the custom probably extended back to the Roman 'occupation, When the lands are bouohf or allotted it is hnf to describe who is in make and keen in repair the fence on each side nf the plot and in each lot. The. allot ter should keen the fence on the upper side of the field, as well as the fence hv the road side. Tn the description nf fence made also, I beliere if In he desirable to effect an alteration. At present here T observe a wire fence, siret- . cited on strong posts to he prevalent, and very expensive then must he. I saw one the other d'v I \enclosing several acres of land , formed of eight • wires, the lowest of them being hut two nr three inches from, the around. In mg simplicity I ref ceded what description of stock it could he intended I to enclose, and nothing would occur to me but pupoy.dogs, Now Sir, here we want to prevent 'moisture passing too quietly off onr lands, and ' generally, T think we should hare something of the 'picturesque in onr look-out on the country. | To produce the effect of a wooded champaign. Jet the dividing fences he hank and ditch , the ditch firing cut as straight as convenient, and the hank thrown up 1 hereby, this bank near the top being planted with young plants of some strong growing bust. Wh.dAhom it the best, andrery heavtif/d,\ or a brake will make a rery good fence, and both | , will stand trimming. The furse or gone will make a rery good fence, hut will not remain intact for anything like the time the others will. At the end ' of each two rods there should he a young forest tree planted, tn grow vp and embellish the land, scape, and restrain the too quick escape of the moisture. With our rery warm and rapidly evaporating atmosphere, and also very open subsoil, if is highly necessary that we should attract as much moisture to us as we can , and detain it with vs as long as possible : for it is rain to expect to form an efficient irrigating system upon our broken and vvlevel surface, however desirable. Bid, os be. fore observed, this may in part be compensated for \hy a Judicious system of plnnfinn and encouraging the growth of wood. It is highly necessary, however, to consider both what sort of wood may is ! most suitable for the purpose here alluded, to, and ! also the timber that, will be most valuable when-, on. Ai present th-c of irco? T.lanf*

cd do not, at hast so far as lam able to judge, appear to he try any means the best — willows, and \the hast valuable of poplars, planted on the tops of dry hills. The natural habitat'of suck trees I I had always understood to be a moist soil. I hope, I Sir, that I ek-nlt not be considered to be assuming jf I take the liberty of naming some descriptions of trees that I think might answer the purpose.

I shall begin with generally naming the 'best kinds of pines, firs, larches, and cedars, inrl tiding fhoss of New Zealand, British Columbia, and (boss indigenous to or naturalized in the British Islands, not forgetting those of Norway and Steeden, The wood of the North American firs is not so good. The pvriri, the kauri, (he kcihikatea, the totara, and numerous other valuable woods of New Zealand would also he suitable, and -whether the first two i will grow profit ably throughout the islands is well ] ■worth the proving. Of English or European frees ; (he oak, ash, elm—both the Hertfordshire and the wych — -poplar, white and grey, both indigenous in ! England. The aspen is a pretty tree, the iesch [most suitable to chalky soils, the Spanish or sweet \chesaut, producing the very best and most enduring of timber, and yielding abundance of mast, making good food for man in some countries; the horse chssnut, the most beautiful tree grown token seen in leaf and flower. There are many that might be added to the list, as filbert for orchards, and hazel, blackthorn, buckthorn, bullace, holly, fie., for onr fences. I have now perhaps troubled you to too great a length. It is a large subject to particularize, all i which one may believe to be best for the requireI meats of a new country. I have written with the I hope that others interested in its future welfare may be led to give their thoughts to the subject, | and give to the public such propositions as they believe will tend to the furtherance of that object. Allow me now shortly to advert to such objects as I presume to think would be worth the attend ■ ing to, for the setting on font of a permanently j persistent force, to he exerted in forwarding the material interests of the Province and Colony. Tor this, the founding of a society will be (he firs' thing needed. An Agricultural Society is, I think, already established which might form, not forgetting its original intention, an excellent basis upon which to extend operations. Not, however, in too many directions of once, but on such lines ns the society, after sufficient consideration about the matter, may consider best to he taken in priority. If lam right, we being located in a different climate from that from which we came, shall require information as to the best kind of produce to raise to raise from the soil, and the best way of husbanding that produce, and fitting it. for the market. Then we appear to he very short of tillage farming, and will not this desideratum be best supplied by small farms ? Again, our broken, hilly laud is not only clear of timber, but it is not covered i with grass. There are, in fact, fete or none of\ the most valuable and self-productive grasses in I New Zealand. All who know the history of old England are aware ihal her close and richly-qrassed sward was her first starting-point for her havpiness, wealth, and power. The considering the mos' suitable both of grasses and trees would, I think, become an essential object with our proposed] society. The question of the best form of fencing] will also he worth (heir attention. Some of the av-ient Roman agricultural fences are stilt doing j ' effective duly in England. The most efficient implements for cultivation is a point high! y worthy oft I consideration. Heavy Borroman cud clumsy heavy [iron ploughs are nuisances on small or indeed on\ any o 4 her farms, and steam ploughing is out of (he I question on a farm of twenty or thirty acres, in-] 1 eluding its vineyard, fie. Forgive my long-wind-' edness; there could have been a great deal more said, bui I have done.—l am one wlrilame A TILLER OF THE SOIL. Napier, 9 th January, 1868.