THE LINCOLNSHIRE FARMERS ON NEW ZEALAND.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 210, 3 September 1880, Page 4

THE LINCOLNSHIRE FARMERS ON NEW ZEALAND.

It will be remembered that some months ago Messrs. Grant and Foster, as delegates from the tenant farmers of Lincolnshire, paid a visit to New Zeilnnd with a view of reporting upon the colony as a field for immigration. They have no" published their report, in which tfcey criticise the various districts they visited, and in conclusion they say : — "Bat after all the question still re* mains unanswered : Is New Zealand a good, field of immigration for British tenant farmers ? Will they be able to use there to advantage the capital that remains to them after the hard times through which they have baen pass'ng, and will they be able there to establish the home which the Englishman, in whatever part of the world he lives wishes to poesess ? We answer yes to all these. We believe that any English farmer of industry and pereeveranoe, possessing a little capital and a good knowledge of his business, may make a very good living for himself and his family, and will have better opportunities of settling bis children than he would in a country like ours, which, after centuries of occupation, is crowded in every corner with members of every trade, profession, and calling. We wish to be underwood : he must not think that by going to New Zealand he ib stepping into a fortune ; eteadineeß ;and industry are necessary elements of success there as here, but are more sure of their reward. It is a moro difficult matter to advise a settler where to go to ; it is a mistake into which people at home not uncommonly fall, to think that NeW Zealand is all alike, and that.it does not much matter to what part they direct their steps, as the same sort of country and occupation will meet them at all places. From what we have said, it will be seen that this is altogether a wrong idea : there are in the oolony greater varieties of soil, of climate, and of agricultural occupations, if we may so term them, than it would be easy to find in any country of the same size. It depends altogether upon what sort of farming a man prefers ; and he can have his choice of almost any kind. If a warm climate with a mild winter suits him, end he wishes to devote himself to cattle breeding, this can be done to perfection in the Waikato district of the j North Island, and wo thoroughly believe that it would be a good place for a man of capital, who wishes to acquire a large freehold at a comparatively email price, and when once stock is bought, and the farm got into cultivation, it can be worked at a low cost, owing to the small amount of care and attention required by live stock in that warm climate. On the other hand, a man of small capital, desirous of carrying on bis farm by the united labor of himself and his family only, might do very, well in the same' district for the same reasons. But for the greater part of English tenant farmers, with the capital that (he present hard times have left them, we cannot resist a very strong impression that the South Island is the' place. There is now very little land fit for agricultural purposes left there in the hands of the Government, nnd that means that whatever land a man wants must be got second hand. But it means also that there is no fern to be eradicated, that at any rgte gome fencing has been done, and more or less improvements made, in fact, that, the soil is

_.. ( . ■ ■- ready for profitable occupation at onoe. Our idea is that a man with a capital of £1000 or £2000 would do best by going to Canterbury or Otago, and taking a farm of such n size, in the case supposwd, 300 to 600 acres, that he wonld have in his pocket about £3 per acre to start with, on a lease, with a purchasing clause, if possible. There are plenty of farms to be had, on the conditions given on a previous page, at 10s to 12a 6d a year, and to the majority we think a purchasing clause would be given. Or if the settler prefers, he will find cheaper land, with a proportionately lower purchasing clause, in a lees forward state, in Southland. In this way we believe that he will get a much better return for.hia outlay, and live much more comfortably from the first than he would by aiming at once at possessing his own freehold. In the parts we have mentioned an all-round system of farming is what is wanted, a eimilar system to, though perhaps not exactly the same, as that known as the •four field' at homo. On such land as we saw, two white crops might probably be taken without at all hurting it. At the rent we have named some of the beet lend ought to be obfained, and from what we caw of the crops this year, compared with the averages of j Canterbury, Otago, and Southland for i previous years, we think that four ■ quarters of wheat might be reckoned 1 upon, unless the season turned out ex- i ceptionally unfavorable. On such o < farm, English farming, experience, and i a knowledge of English methods would i I be of the greatest service. We have quoted prices both of land and produce to a sufficient extent to enable any one ; to have some idea of the return which ;, such a system of farming would £ive ; we believe ourselveß that a return ol 20 per cent clear profit on the capital i invested might be looked for."