FOREST FARMING.

Patea Mail, Volume III, Issue 308, 30 March 1878, Page 4

FOREST FARMING.

[By “ Agricola,” ’ in ■ the Auckland Herald.'] According to the agricultural returns of last year, the muubers of. holdings. in the. Provincial District ’of Auckland were upwards of 4,000. Of these'3,4so were returned as ..freehold. It. is very gratifying to have such a large number of freeholders in this province. While Auckland has so many, Wellington has only 1,478'; 0tag0,,2,675 ; and Canterbury, 2,760. •' “ A large proportion'of these holdings must originally have been forest. If is generally admitted that for the settler with limited capital forest' farming ; is preferable to the ? .cultivation of open country. The latter requires an outlay for expensive implements, as well as for horses or'bnllbcks tb work the. land All the implements requisite for clearing forest land are a slashhook and, an axe, Froih timbered 'cduhtry the retdVhs are, " as a rule, better and quicker than trout' fern or ti-tree land. Good grass is much sooner obtained' from' the • one • than the other. The ashes of burnt bush act as a stimulant to the land, rendering it rich and fertile while for 02>en land’"a’'con™' . siderable sum must be spent in manures! to make it similarly r rich and produc- '■ live. '> '■ ; - Whatever kind of farming is carried on, and in whatever country, ( there are always some impediments in the way. A LV,ugh thestrength and glory of a 'cmw. try depends upon what has been r; 'b . lie .molest of all pursuits—agri-, oaliurc; jet it has its drawbacks. One j of the great impediments a bush farmer |

■ has to contend aganlst is the weather—a wet summer. Probably he has had his bush'cut down early in the season, and in the most scientific manner. Supplejacks and undergrowth of all .sorts have been properly attended to, trees have been chopped so as not to rest on their’ stumps, lapping, where needful, 'has been done. But unless there is a sufficient quantity of fine weathe*’, a good burn cannot possibly be obtained. There are always two essentials to having a good burn: first, a dry season, and, second, a good wind. If the summer happens to be wet and unfavourable, the fire cannot run along the ground,. and the result is a bad burn. And the settlor who has a bad burn is to be pitied, for it is a most disheartening and losing affair, not having bush burnt properly. However,, the impediment ol a wet summer is of comparatively rare occurrence, and during the month of February —the proper time.to burn—there is generally good weather. This summer and last have been exceptional ones. For some time,’a few weeks since, rainy days were, very common. Showers succeeded showers, and though it was splendid weather for those who had stubble or other land to plough, and though it gave Waikato grass a good start, it seemed very inauspicious for the bush-farmer, who had forest to burn off. In fact, at one time,, matters began to look quite ominous. However, at length it cleared up; and we have had a cession of bright, sunshiny days, although at times 1 very cold. , BUSH FIRES. ... , As the season is rapidly, advancing advantage has been taken of the dry weather to burn off felled bush. It is wonderful bow the desire to burn spreads amongst those who who have any forest ready. In the distance it is noticed that one settler has applied the match, and as the dense, black smoke is seen to rise in huge volumes, another settler starts ■. his bush, then a third, a : fourth,.and, so oiq; till fires, are turning, east,,- west, t north, .and,south, andjtheisun is darkened with the' smoke thefeofi m Such was ; the case one breezy day l last week. A bush fire is a sight worth seeing, especially when the conditions ’are ! 'favourable—when there has been 1 a- ■ spell of fine, ; dry weather, and a, stiff*, breeze is blowing. How the fire, once it has got into a sheet of flame right, across a clearing, sweeps •and rages falong, dissolving, as it were, in its progress, leaves and small branches intq:smoke ah'd-jflame; they melt as in affurnace.A''HoiV the flames leap tip' as they ,catch the dense mass of tawa and other trees, and "run along driven by the wind which the; fire assists in making. , And if any trees have been left standing, ' hoy speedily they ignite, the flames -mounting- to the very top, and the branches cracking with the heat and falling down,Ane by one, into the furnace .below, vAnd as the, fire progresses, immense volumes of sparks are continually seen blown along until the whole area of felled bush is one great conflagration. For some time after the fire, logs and stumps continue to burn, until perhaps a heavy downpour of rain results in extinguishing the lot. ■ . ' LOGGING. ; Where a fire has done its work properly not much logging is needed. All that has to be done is to pick up bits of timber and make heaps of them,’ and scatter the ashes that may in some spots, be very thick. The ground is then ready for the Seed. It is a 'mistake; to spend too much time logging. Some will cross-cut logs, exert their strength rolling them together, and devote a large amount of time, to work, which would be much easier if left to the future. It is considered by many that the best way is to log as little as possible the first year, hut rather to leave it till the timber gets ' lighter and drier. In the. summer a great deal of clearing may be done by the proper' use of a firestick. lix case of an indifferent burn, some trouble will have to bo taken either in ’ putting, the. stuff ..into, heaps, or in cuttracks through inhere and there. But if the ground is well burnt, that is the main thing, for then the seed has a good chance to grow. And if the grass takes well, and is grazed off by cattle, it is wonderful how a bush clearing becomes improved, and how the stuff left by the . fire gradually decays and disappears. Of course, if a piece of burnt bush is about to be elevated to growing seed, more care in logging will fee required, So as; Ip, get as much space l as possible; and be able with something like expedition dp d’eapdhe crop-wheii ready.