CLIFTON SETTLEMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18806, 8 March 1923, Page 2

CLIFTON SETTLEMENT

VISIT OF FARMERS’ UNION MEMBERS. ENDORSE GOVERNMENT POLICY OF EXPERT A party of members of the Clutha Farmers’ Union on Saturday visited the Clifton settlement at the invitation of the manager appointed by the Government a little over a year ago (Mr Alex. Reid, formerly ot Knapdale, Southland, where he at one time managed the Hon. Dr M'Nab’s property). Mr Reid has control of 3200 acres, comprising all of the unallotted portion of the estate and the sections abandoned by soldier settlers, of whom only five are now left on the) estate! In the year at his disposal Mr Reid has worked wonders in the way ot bringing into cultivation paddocks—some of them at least —that had been left in old grass for as many as 24 years, with the result that the place was overrun with “twitch” grass in part, and weeds hal also got a big hold. This season Mr Reid has T2OO acres under cultivation, and his grassing and manorial experiments have proved very successful. Some splendid crops of oats and barley, etc., were seen by the visitors, who, being all practical men, subjected the policy being adopted to keen criticism, but all were agreed that the Government was acting on right linos in trying to retrieve the estate in this w r ay, and make it fit for successful settlement by men of small capital in the near future. A feature that attracted much favourable comment was a-smalt sawmill plant operating on the extensive plantations of phuts insignia and macrooarpa. These plantations are being thinned out by cutting down every alternative tree, and the resultant timber consists of weather boarding and beams for house building, fencing posts, and droppers, and spars for gates. The timber is delivered at the saw for' 11s per 100 ft by a contractor, and Mr Reid has been selling it to settlers and others for building purposes at 15s, thus shelving a profit for the department after allowing for royalty to Mr Telford. Some of tho trees producing 500 ft and 600 ft of timber were only 28 years old, and furnished a splendid illustration of the benefits accruing from afforestation on treeless country like,.Clifton. Mr and Mrs Reid provided afternoon tea for the visiters at tho old homestead, where in the spacious dining room over 20 were assembled. Speeches endorsing the wisdom of the Government’s policy in appointing Mr 1 Reid to tho work he was carrying out so effectively wore made by Mr John Christie (president of the South Otago SubUnion), Mr J. C. Anderson, "and the Hon. D. T. Fleming. The latter said that he was convinced from what ■he had seen that day that in 10 years’ time the estate, under its present export management, would be paying interest on the purchase price and showing a balance to credit. Tho young men could then go on to it aind make a success for themselves and for the State. The fault so far had not been' the fault of the land. It had been too long in grass of poor quality. In the course of his reply, Mr Reid said that although he had had an uphill struggle, on account of the state the land had cot into, he felt convinced that Clifton would yet be a. good asset for the country. It was a good place and the land would-stand intensive cultivation as well as any soil he had ever seen. It was agreed that the Farmers’ Union should try and make the visit to Clifton an annual affair.