WAIKATO NOTES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 226, 19 January 1910, Page 5

WAIKATO NOTES.

Own Correspondent.

We have had some very trying 'weather lately. Last week-end a grateful rain came, which did much good to our languishing pastures. All the following days, however, have been oppressive in the extreme, and outdoor effort has been tiresome and exhausting.

I recently paid my first visit to Rotorua, which charmed me exceedingly. This is not the place for giving my impressions of that popular holiday resort, but I may refer to some conversations I had with a number of fellow tourists, farmers from the Old Country. I met Mr Chapman, of Taunton, Somerset, whose son has taken up land on a large scale near Te Kuiti. He told me that he was impressed with the sheepcarrying capacities of all the land in that particular district, but had seen no dairying country in his travels through the island worth mentioning. I urged him to visit Waikato and our State Farm, and he would have done so had time premitted. I promised he should see some dairying country and some very modern methods of conducting that industry. He had not seen milking machines on a large scale, and considering that he is a wellknown judge of horses and stock at the leading argicultural shows in the South-West of England, it points to our New Zealand farmers being in advance of the Old Country in that particular respect. Apparently milking machines have not penetrated very far or wide at Home,

Mr Chapman spoke highly of the Argentine as a cattle and sheep-raising country, and mentioned one friend of his who had recently disposed of a three years' lease of a large "camp," as he called it, in Patagonia, for a quarter of a million of money. A Mr Robert Whitworth, of Lincolnshire, also believes the Argentine will be the greatest beef-growing country in the world, but he says that the numbers of sheep reared have steadily declined in recent years. Cattle are more profitable, but the terrible seven months drought of last year] swept off millions of animals through] sheer starvation, caused by the shortsighted action of the farmers in not keeping the grain stalks as an emergency fodder. Apparently, then, we shall Lave less to fear in sheep and more in cattle from the Argentine as the years roll on. It appears that the Karere treeplanting camp for consumptives near Rotorua id not to be closed. The immediate work in hand had been completed, but an early start is to be made with another area. lam glald to hear this. Such excellent open-air work is admirably suited to delicate convalescents, beisdes being an ultimate revenue-producing industry to the State. I noted the large area of firs planted near Rotorua. They looked very closely set, and I suppose will be pruned and re-planted as they grow bigger, otherwise they will overcrowd and fail to survive.

George Mayes, a very old resident of Hamilton, died last Sunday in his ninetieth year. He had lived here T abouts for 46 years and could tell, many stories of the turbulent times in the 70's. He was a picturesque survival of a past perip.d, 3nd we all regret death had to epmp and take him from amongst us. An announcement appeared the other day in the newspapers that the prison reformatory fsrm had had it site, selected at Tokaanui, near Hamilton. This should have been '-near Kihikihi," where an admirahle site has been acquired by the Department. Kihikihi is thres miles beyond Te Awamqty and is the centre of a fine fruit-growing and dairying country. The Waipa Railway and Collieries Company has been floated successfully, and in about a month's time will start operations by building abridge across the Waipa. The coal seam lies about six miles to the west of Ngaruawaliia, and as I have said before is on the surface and very easily worked. Messi-3 Coates, Ltd., of Huntly, t}ie wellknown brick makers, are also increasing their capital. By invitation of Miss Rocbfort, the matron at the Waikato Sanatorium, the ladies connected with the Mounted Nurses' Corps gathered there recer*t!s to hear Dr Purdy outline for the tra\n.iss ?,•? P? ftotdy %si 3' t'hat we" could "get healthy (jbilaven in. arrria, boys trained to the use of arms, and girls trained to care fey the siek atid wounded, v v 'e \yould have np need, to f?3 r : ?°V the future of our Evapsr-p. Br Prazer-Hurst also spoke and commented on his expedience wit'fl. the forces in China and goqth The Road Board is ! by petitioners, one body of which desire it merging in the Wsipa County and the qthe? avai-ae to that proposal. A committee of the Council is to report. Mr Carl Laudman, of Eureka, is in the Waikato Hospital suffering from appendicitis, and Mr W. M. Bankart of Te Mata, has also been suffering from that dread disease. He was operated upon successfully day in AucljJ^vj, Waikato Trotting Club held its annual meeting on Wednesday afternoon at Claudelands, wlpen £ll2 offered in prize money events', bppkiea were 4»6tt" by the' committee, aqd: allowed tq work the grouflcj §a tfcifw tj.referred.~~ Preaa weire exeludecl rtora the meetings of. stewards for some unexplained reason.