ARIA.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 330, 21 January 1911, Page 6

ARIA.

ADVANCING STEADILY. DAIRYING PLAYING AN IMPORTANT PART. For a comparatively new district Aria has been making rapid strides during the past few years. It is keeping in line with other districts and is getting- well established from a dairying point of view. The industry is making its presence felt and those: that are directly interested as well as those indirectly have no reason to regret its establishment. Although in its infancy good results have been obtained and suppliers are averaging at present £1 per cow per month at the rate of eightpenee per lb for butter fat.

It is three years since dairying was commenced by Mr E. Townshend, who has run the- factory during that period. However, this is the last season that the proprietary business will exist, as it is the intention of settlers to make the factory a cooperative one before the start of next season. It is estimated that the output during next season will be doubled as the majority of farmers that are now supplying arc getting their herds i.ito snapa.

In conversing with Mr E. Townshend, the proprietor of the butter l'actoiy, he informed me that Aria was esssentially a dairying district. The quality of the land was good and climatic conditions were aiso favourable. He had had 20 years' experience of butter-making and had himself taken up an area near Aria with the purpose of milking. He would milk about 50 cows next season and intended installing a milking plant. In West Aria the land is splendid and is first-class for dairying. The present value of this country is from £4 to £6 per acre and will undoubtedly, in another ten years' time, be on a par with the present value of Waikato lands. The formation of the country is limestone and papa. There is also a quantity of fern country which is being brought into use and turned from its acid statejnto a sweet, wholesome country. When looking at this fern land I was forcibly struck at the amount of limestone going to waste. If some sclien:-.; or other could be devised by the Guvcrnmcit to erect kilns and burn lime for supply to settlers they wouid be doing a valuable thing in connection with the breaking in of the fern country. An appplication of lime is one of the best manures for the soil which has been growing fern. I commend this to farmers who have fern lands to deal with and think that they should make representations to the proper quarter. There would be no harm done. It would show that they were anxious to progress. On the South East of Aria all the land belongs to the natives, and is locked up. Go whera you will in that part of the King Country a block of native land is usually somewhere blocking progress and being a burden to the settlers. Close to the factory is a block of 2000 acres with roads ail round it and contains some of the finest dairying country it is possible to see. It is mill-stones such as these that keep districts back. Blackberry, gorse, broom and ragwort are all infesting this area. When land containing weeds like these is permitted to remain in the midst of hard-working pioneer settlers, enhancing its value by their money, labour and and industry, it is truly a sad state of affairs. Yet there it is, plain to be seen—an eyesore and a disgrace. All this block should be carrying settlers, all of whom would undoubtedly be milking cows. A fair amount of cultivation is tafciner place, chiefly turnips for winter feed. This is brought about bv the dairying. Consequently work at present is pretty constant--day-light to dark almost everywhere. Home-separation will also play on important in the success of dairying at Aria.

Sheep also do well and all those who are stocking them a c having good results. Clips are reported to be good, and the class of the wool all round is satisfactory.

Aria in the near future will be an important township. It already presents an assuming appearance. It is af, a point at which ninny roads meet, find no dpubt will become another of the many impi'i'Li'-Pf- distributing centres for Te Kuiti.