Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, MAY 27, 1881. MANAWATU STATISTICS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 77, 27 May 1881, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, MAY 27, 1881. MANAWATU STATISTICS.

Through the courtesy of Mr Deighton, we have been favoured with the complete results of the late census, both as regards population, agricultural statistics, &c, for Manawatu. The total European population of this county, it will be remembered, was returned ac 8,738. Including half castes. Chinese, and Maori wives, the total is 8,810, the differ* bnce being of course made up by the latter classes. There are only 46 half-castes in the county, 19 of whom live in the Horowhenua riding, whilst the majority of the remainder reside in South Manawatu. It is satisfactory to know that po far we are not threatened with a serious invasion of Chinese, there being only four in the county-r2 in ( Hoa>wheima,;l in Poxton, and 1 in Palmerston. Horowhenua leads in the matter of Maori wives, having 8 out' of the total of 13, the remaining 5 being spread over different portions of the county, no other single district having more thanl. • The figures relating to the " number of dwellings " are of an interesting character. The total number of dwellings in the county is 1,085, made up as follows : — Inhabited, 1,758 ; uninhabited, 208 ; building, , 19. ■■ The following table will, show particulars of the dwellings in the principal towns in the county :•— ■ - - : Inbabitd. Uninh'bt'd. BuUdga Tl

It will be seen from the above figures that Palmerston is well ahead of its sister townships, and though our own progress is slower than the Borough, we think the position Foxton occupies is very satisfactory indeed, and shows a. steady and substantial improvement. The number of empty houses, in, both J'eildiug and Halcombe is at first eight disappointing ; nevertheless,- this state of things is ieasily accounted for by the fact that persons have left the towns and gone into the rural districts, which show a very large increase in population, while the population of the i town of Feilding has increased by about 2GO, during the three years be.tween last census and the present | Coming now to the agricultural [ statiatiba, Awedfjnd. there are in the county 666 holdings (we believe this means holdings of over one acre), of wbic.h 387 are freehold, 136 rented, and" Wpsrt rented and part freehold. Taonui has the largest number, 166 ;

Manchester B, 112 ; Oroua, 67 ; Kawakawa, 41 ; Awahou, 89 ; Fox|%>n and Kiwitea, each 87 ; Manchester A, 86 ; Palmerston, 25 ; Horowkenua, 18; and Feilding, 8. The total extent of land hroken up hut not under crop is 1,590 acres, Kawakawa taking the lead with 958, Oroua coming next with 869, followed by Awahou with 153, the remainder not being worth special mention. We come now to the cereal crops, and here, as might be expected, tbe Oroua district takes the lead, the Sandon country being admirably adapted for the growth of grain ; in .fact.. Mr Fisher, wlip is a Canterbury farmer, visited the district when Postmaster General, aud declared it was worthy of comparison with some of the choicest spots in Canterbury. Dealing in the first place with wheat, we find that 3,484 acres are sown in this crop, the estimated gross produce being 65,395 bushels, of which quantity Oroua contributes 39,473 bushels, Kawakawa 20,142, Manchester B 4,792, Taonui 838, Manchester A 80, Kiwitea 40, Foxton 30, none of the other districts growing any wheat at all. We confess to some disappointment at finding that the farmers of the Awahou and florowhenua ridings have neglected the culture of wheat, as we believe large portions of both districts are admirably suited for the growth of that cereal. Turning to the oat crop, we find that 845 acres have been sown for green food or hay, and 1078 for grain, the estimated yield being 31,458 bushels. Of this quantity, Sandon contributes 16,007 bushels, Kawakawa 10,135, and Manchester B 4,726, the few remaining hundreds of bushels being raised in the other perfcs of the county, which are shamefully backward in the growth of this grain. The total estimated yield of oats for the year in Foxton is 40 bushels, Awahou 120, and Horowhenua 92, figures which are anything but flattering to us as a district, considering how large • a quantity of this produce is conj sumed. Barley culture in this county is only a small industry, there beiug only 150 acres in crop, from which a yield of 3,624 acres is expected. Of this Sandcu contributes 2.085 bushels, Kiwitea coming next with 600, followed by Manchester B with 483, then Kawakawa 363, Taonui 93, and Awahou 50. There is a very extensive area of laud in sown grasses : 974 acres beiug down for hay, and estimated to yield, 1,810 tons. Including the land for hay, there are 5,188 acres in grasses after having been broken up, and 63,427 acres of grass-sown lands not previously ploughed. The area cropped for potatoes is rather smaller than might have been expected, probably owing to the price of that article having ruled very low for a considerable time. The total area under crop whs 273 acres, and the estimated return 1,487 tons, made up as follows : - Taoniu, 682 tons , Oroua, 224 ; Awahou, 217 ; Kawakawa, 117; Manchester B, 115 ; Manchester A, 54 ; Kiwitea, 80 ; Horowhenua, 23 ; Foxton, 19 ; Palmerston 6. There are 15 acres in turnips or rape, as follows — Oroua, 254 acres ; Kawakawa, 169 ; Manchester B, 91 ; Taonui, 1. In mangold, beet, carrots, parsnips, or onions there were onlyJls acres: 8 in Oroua, 4 in Kawa kawa. and 3in Taonui. The figures show that the agricultural districts in the county are Sandon (Oroua) and Carnarvon (Kawakawa), each of which labour under the disadvantage of being destitute of either a railway or good road communication with a port. The district of Manchester B is the only other one which makes any pretehsioriif to agriculture, the remainder of- the county being, in the matter of agriculture, nowhere. The following are the figures relating to the extent of land iv each district planted in orchards: — Taonui, 86 acres ; Manchester B, 61 ; Oroua, 41 ; Kawakawa, 22 ; Foxton and Palmerston, each 14; Awahou, 7; Horowhenua, 5 ; Feilding, 4. The total number of acres under crop (including sown grasses) is as follows : — K*wakawa,lß,l26 ; Oroua, 14,725; Taonui, 11,780; Foxton, 8,728; Manchester B, 7,822 ; Awahou, 6,043; Horowhenua, 5,725; Kiwitea, 2,488; Manchester A, 1,876 ; Palmerston. 981 ; Keilding, 153. The returns are on the whole of a satisfactory character, as indicating the steady growth of the agricultural industries of the district. There are at present only in their infancy, but as time advances are certain to grow to such a degree as to place Manawatu in a position second to none in New Zealand for the quantity and quality of its natural products.

Palmerston ... 276 22 12 310 Feilding ... 177 S3 3 233 Foxton ... 146 16 1 163 H*lcon)l* ..., 91 35, ... 126