WESTLAND.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 January 1924, Page 4

WESTLAND.

AS SEEN BY OTHERS. FARM AREAS TOO LARGE. (By Hawera “Star" Special Representative.) The slogan r>f the Hokitika people who are endeavouring to attract capital lioiii outside is “Westward Ho!” It i. like a eouuter-hla.st to the olt-rc-pealed cry. “Go north, young man,” and it '.'ill at least attract attention and set inquiry afoot. The purpose ot the "liter is not to boost Westland the people of Hokitika are quite capable of attending to that themselves—hut to give a fair idea of the conditions as 1 1:i• v "ere presented to him while on a j. -toy in the district, during "liich he was ahh to see some of tlm host settlement.-, in South Westland, con-

cise with Government experts and iar

liters, and inspect some ol the dairy factories. To a pniilicntion Issued in connection with the Hokitika Exhibition it is stated that the purchase of West Coast lands from the natives was negotiated hv Mr .Tames Mackay. and tht priee paid for a tract of 7.000.000. acres "as only C3OO. According to the .Vgricnltiiral Department's figures for 1922-23 the total men of oecupied land in the Westland hand District is 1,80d.020 acres, of which only 101. odd is under cultivation. ’I lie land is held under the following tenures: E roe hold 1 .'O.IOO acres, leased from private individuals 15.702 acres, leased from public bodies 0000 acres, leased from Maoris 3800 acres, Crown leases and license? under various tenures 1,001.307 acres, while for South Westland it is 1382 acres. The rattle, including dairy cows, number 10,309, the sheep and lambs (April 30, 192.3) 01.370, and horses 2011. The number of cattle per 1000 acres is 21.00. and the number of slice]) for llie same area 28.12. The prevailing breed of sheep is Romney. Of the unimproved occupied land 0178 acres are in plionnium tenax. 109.229 acres in tussock and other native grasses. S 1.091 acres in fern, scrub and second growth, 1.130.770 acres in standing

virgin hush, and 208.709 ndres are classed as barren and iinproduct ive. making the total area of unimproved ocenipiod .land 1.003.180 acres. The limited extent to which crops arc grown is shown by the following figures giving

the areas under crop last season: Cocksfoot 10 acres, postures cut for hay or ensilage 790 acres, green fodder 122 acres, potatoes 29 acres, turnips 101-1 acres-, other green and root crops 10 acres - total area of grasses ami clovers, green and root crops 1975 acres. From t‘‘e foregoing figures it may ho con-

cluded that, either the land is of indifferent quality or that veiy poor use is being made of it. In Taranaki a farmer is obliged, because of high land values, to make the most out of his land, but the position is very different, in Westland. In Taranaki it is estimated that before interest on capital invested and other charge-; are tm-t, anything up to £l9 or CI2 has to be allowed per cow before there is anything for the landowner: lint in Westlaud lam! values run from t(> or £7 to £.39 per acre. There l is little cultivation. and it has been found injudicious

to plough in original pastures and resow unless lime is used. This view war held by the late Mr Deidriek, one of the largest land-holders in Westland. many years ago. ami experiments by Government experts have more ieeently proved it to he correct. The land lacks nothing hut lime to make it reach tin highest- point, in production, but if it i> cultivated and re-.M w n v. It lion: Mine tin. grass "ill came up very patchy and "ill take a long lime to show a sali-i'actory ginwili. Some ol tile host pustules in the Kokatahi di--tiH'i, hale been down for 10 yens. At the exhibition a- photograph wa.s show n (e a four-year-old bullock fattened on pasture.-- sown in 1885. and which weighed 11571 b. One of the most highly valued grasses in Westland is the h.Ltts major. It grows freely tit most places and is sometimes cut and made into en.silngc. A\~uit lucerne is to farmer- in some other parts of the country, lotus major is to the fanner of the coa-d. The better lands are remarkably clean and free from growths that have no food value, and for miles me country is perfectly level. On the inlet ior lands rushes grow freely and I 'avkbcri'v requires vigorous treatment. I nt these two evils can ho dealt with quite successfully "hen the area farmed is not too large. When the rushes are iiit a couple of times they lose their strength and the stock "ill cat the ir mier sheets, with which the lotus major or other native grasses mingle. A man with a farm of the poorer class i f land stated that he had little diilii i.ltv in dealing with biarkbei nx His method was to cut the clumps while they were small. Alter being cut they were allowed to lie over the routs. Later, when the lender shoots began lo make their "ay through, a match was applied. After a little treatment of this kind he found that the blackberry developed club roof and lost nearly all tt‘ vitality. If blackberry covers a huge area if would he much easier on tne West Coast than in other places r.i destroy it by tree-planting. It will be seen from the results of experiments by- the Forestry Department, which wdl he given later, how quickly many useful trees grow in Westland. The value of lime ha.s been demonstrated by Mr Dalgleish, an officer of i lie Agricultural Department, wlio lias been doing experimental work on the Dost Coa-t. Three strips of land

has: just been built at Hokitika a dairy factory, which, for plant, and in all other respects, will compare with the best of Taranaki factories. Tliis factory will deal largely with cream, which the management expects to obtain over :i wide area, competing with some of the fanners’ co-operativo concerns. I here must he a dozen factories on the coast. They are widely scattered, extending from Knramea down to Watan.e. To get the produce to market is sometimes very costly, horse teams being used to cover the long distances fioir. the factory to the railway. Dairyfactory managers engaged from the Forth Island are helping to educate the fanners. The Hereto factory manager (Harihari settlement) lias induced the suppliers to start a herd-testing asso-ciation—-the first on the West Coast.

Indications that the speculator is beginning to get busy arc not wanting. Quite recently a block of 700 acres in South Westland was purchased by two j rofe.-siimal men. "bo have obviously no intentions of working the land ih -m-elves. and intend to hold it for a higher price. The price they paid was naturally, not disclosed. It seems fairly certain that the present low prices for land "ill not continue much longer. Put there are certain disabilities, chiefly the distance from the market, and the cost of transit, which "ill keep West (.oast land on a lower level than equally good land in other parts ol New Zealand. It is also quite evident that the a-c.i.- held by individual farmers of first-class land arc mo large. A man, with the assist a nee ol a son of 18 years of age. and the younger members of his family, is working an area id 1900 net os, of which about 100 acres is held under license as a grazing area. He himself admitted that he could work half the area more profitably.