Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 1896. How Hard it is to Live.

Manawatu Herald, 27 February 1896, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 1896. How Hard it is to Live.

How hard it is to live is frequently the cry of the helpless, not in body, but in mind. Men if they cannot get into the work they have been accustomed to feel quite unable to tackle something fresh, and seem content to idle their spare time away. Time after time we have drawn attention to the money annually lost by those who, in paying rent for their cottages, neglect to cultivate the land attached thereto, and thin are unable to keep " the gintleman that pays the rent " according to the saying of our Irish friends. A casual look round any of the small centres of this coast will justify the state* inent we here make, Half an acre

of ground properly cultivated will not only find all the vegetables a fair sized famiLy will require but potatoes also for the jrreo.ter part of the year. The Vraaie should keep a pig which in due time should keep the family, so that a satisfactory c::cle of feeding is established". The garden would also Rod food for bees, the produce of which would reduce the grocer's bill. More money baa been made by the old settlers by attention to these minor points than in the ordinary every day work. We feel sure that the proper cultivation of the wasted land in Foxton would be of much advantage to the cultivator and the p^.iilie. In its train would be introduced the minor industries of pickle and jam making. Evidence is offered on every side that the few settlers who do cultivate their land can grow al- ! most everything. A holder of half an acre of land, who had a little ! capital to put up glass houses, has all that is required to make hia venture a success. He can have a long sloping section to the north, a plentiful supply of water at thirty feet depth, and a light soil which enabls3 him to regulate the moisture for the crops he may be forcing. Grapes under glass have been proved most profitable by one of our oldest settlers, Mr G. Nye. Another line would be tomatoes, and it is not difficult to point out many other products which would pay for forcing, such as peaches, strawberries, cucumbers, &c. When times get a little worse the natural advantages possessed by Foxton will be appreciated and those who now dwell in towns where rates are high and labour scarce will be glad to gat to Foxton, the town which has not only the lowest rates levied in any borough, but which has the advantages wo have above drawn attention to, and which also ha 3 unrivalled facilities for despatch of produce to the Wellington markets. j