AN INTERESTING LETTER.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2151, 17 July 1920, Page 3

AN INTERESTING LETTER.

FROM AN BX-FOXTON RESIDENT.

We have received an interesting letter from Mr W. Riramer, who left Eoxton some eighteen monthb ago to take up farming at Manawahe, in the Auckland' province. Extracts from his letter will be read with interest by his local friends: “Our place is on the main road between Rotorua, and Matata —twelve miles from Matata and thirty-two miles from Rotorua, with.motor ears running between every day, weather permitting. We are about four and a-half miles from Lake Roto Ma, on the main road to Rotorua, ■ which skirts all four lakes, and is one of the finest rides one could possibly wish to take if fond of scenery in its natural state. Along the route is about eight or nine miles of heavy, dense bu.-di, with Ibc trees'meeting overhead, and a good road beneath. It seemed strangcTo me the first lime (ravelling through dense bnsh in a motor ear. There is no mud here, the ground is of a semi-pumice nature, and the water never stays cm the surface, from our end, after passing through beautiful bush and lake scenery for about eight miles, one suddenly comes to the Waitangi boiling soda water springs, which overflow into a large bathing pool, and the boiling sodg water is cooled down by inrunning creeks or overflows (Tom Lake Rotoma to Lake Roloehu, and is quite nice for bathing. It is a common Sunday day’s outing for the settler- to make a trip to these springs, and young and old all take their turn in the water. About -January whole families arc to lie seen marching off with baskets and tins to the wild cherry plantations, of which there are quite a number, and the youngsters have a great time. lam afraid they put very few into the baskets. The plantations are along the shores of Lake Rotoelm, about half a mile from the hot springs. Another favourite place for a day’s outing is on the shores of Lake Uotoma, ol which 1 could write for hours. 1 have never seen anything so beautiful. The Rush around the vicinity of the Lake, right up to our-place, has been thrown open to returned soldiers, and most of the sections have been taken up, so things are getting quite lively here with ail new settlers coming in. They seem a fine type of men, and will make a “do” of it. It is called the Soldiers’ Manawahe Block, and it comes close to my place. They are offering £2 7s (id to £2 10s per acre lojinshfoilers. It is hard work, hut good monev. The hush m this district is very heavy, with the biggest black tawa I have ever seen. They fall all lawas to get a good burn; they depend on it to burn the-other hush and scrub; being full of turpentine, it makes a hig blaze, even' when green, and causes the lire to travel and do the job thoroughly. They leave all hinaus, of which there are a good number, which indicates that the soil about here must be good. We have also a. lot of trees which are strangers to me, and .1 cannot spell their Maori names, beautiful trees w ( ith lovely [lowers and foliage. Native birds are plentiful.here yet. 1 -aw over a dozen pigeons the other day ift one tree on my place. They arc not disturbed here, and arc quite tamo. I have seen them alight on the trees we are felling, and only fly away when the tree comes down. They seem to hang about where we are felling. There are also plenty of tills and bell birds. Until coming here I had not seen boll birds since I was a hoy, and when 1 first came here it was glorious to get up early in the morning and hear the hell birds ami tills singing, hut one gets used to it as time goes on. Every one passing through the Manawahe are surprised to sec what 1 a wonderful clover and grass country we have. The droughts have hardly any effect on it. The soil is covered with a volcanic ash, and, being of an open, seini-plimice nature, every drop of moisture penetrates into the ground* and the ash stops the power of the sun from drawing it ’out of the ground, We experience ’very heavy dews in the summer nights, which make up for shortage of rain. In the garden one cannot go wrong with root crops —carrots, parsnips, onions, beet, etc., also rhubarb and maize. I grew a splendid crop last summer without a particle of. manure, which I have just taken in. It improves the soil to give it a good (op-dressing of lime. We settlors arc nearly all dairy farming, and the ('ream waggon picks our cream up at our gates three times a week, and conveys it to Whakatane. We got Is fid per lb..for hntlerfat last season, with a holms to come. The dry slock farmers arc nearly all falling into line with the dairying. They find it pays the best, and is the surest asset. Before closing I must say something about our climate, which is on its own. W r e are up'about 800 ft. above sea level. Therefore the air is very keen ami pure, and talk about eating, you would he surprised if you saw what disappeared at our table in one meal. In fact, when we first came here the wife used to bake a 50 of flour a week-hut that is better than a doctor’s hill. From our placegon a rise behind the house, one can see the coast of the Bay of plenty, from Cape Runaway to the' Coromandel Peninsular, so you see we have a great outlook. Also, we have a' splendid view of Rangatnikc swamp, which is about 2 miles from the hack of our place, and runs along the coast fi'ora Matata to Whakatane, through which they are, now pushing the East Coast railway, and when drained, etc., will he one of the best dairying and maize districts in New Zealand,”