Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY. SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 1881. A Tour in New Zealand.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 929, 26 March 1881, Page 3

Poverty Bay Standard.

PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY. SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 1881. A Tour in New Zealand.

'We! shall sell to no mast Justice' or Right; We shall deny to no man-Justice or Right; We shall defer to no man Justice Qr Right.

No. 11 I.—SOUTHLAND, (Continued). [From the'Melbourne-Leader]. Mb. John Wilson’s Argyle farm, which was referred to inthe last paper as,one of the first established in the New River district, consists of between’ 500 arid 600 acres, being one of the larger holdings, for, there are more farmers who occupy from 200 to 300 acres than up to and over 500 acres. Oats, barley and wheat are the crops generally grown, with turnips for winter feeding for stock ; but the proportion ofj land under grain is very small, more than two-thirds of the farm being in artificial and natural grass. The large extent of the sown down pastures™ the district is a striking feature) for although large quantities of gfain are produced, the proportion of cultivation to pasture is not much greater than at Kyneton, Stneaton, or other parts of Victoria where grazing is considered to have, taken the place of grain growing. New River is not so undulating as. Kyneton, but in the richness of the soil, the frequency of hedges, and the practice of horse breeding, longwool sheep keeping and dairying it much resembles that part of Victoria. There are more hedges, however, in Southland, for they are a part of nearly every fence, and they are kept in better order ; and while some of the horses and sheep may reach the Kyneton standard, well bred stock are not so generally kept upon the New River farms as at the head of the Catnpaspe. In its natural state the richest land is covered with small green rushes, like those which in recent years have overrun the fertile country about Merino and Casterton, and Scotch thistles luxuriate upon all unbroken soil. A good crop can be obtained here upon the first furrow, and one of Mr. Wilson’s paddocks which had beeen newly ploughed out of the rushes yielded last year 95 bushels to the acre. About two grain crops and one of turnips are taken Off, and the land sown down ip pasture, the grasses sown being rye grass, timothy, with a mixture of cow grass, white and Alsike clover. -About five crossbred sheep to the acre can be grazed upon the artificial pastures, with the help of the turnip crop, upon which they are fed for about two months in the winter when there is little or no grow th in the grass. If a heavy crop of turnips is required they should be sown in drills, weeded and thinned, but as this involves some little extra labor, the common, practice is to sow the seed thin with a broadcast machine or by hand. In the winter months the sheep are put upon the turnips to graze, being yarded by means of cord or wire netting. A patch ivhich will keep the sheep for about a fortnight is fenced off, and after the turnips have been eaten a fresh piece of ground is taken in, and so on until the pastures begin to spring. From eight to fifteen sheep per acre can thus be fed for about two months upon broadcast turnips, and as many as 26 sheep to the acre upon a drilled crop. “ Geordie’s no cornin’ muckle speed with the plowin’.” “ Yon’s an unco scone o’ a stack.” Such expressions as these being in common use among the farmers indicate that most of them hail from north of the Tweed, and I suppose it isin keeping with the Scotch character of the farming system that Mr. Wilson’s dairy produces “ Dunlop cheese.” The cheese, however, is made partly upon the Dunlop and partly Upon the Cheddar system, the milk being heated once in the process. The dairy ismanaged by Mrs. Wilson and Her daughters, a nd the son -, also

work upon 1 th-e farm, it being very wisely considered that if young people are not taught to. work an imppptant branch of-their education is neglected. About 20,cows are milked an the: season, which lasts for about eight months of the year. In the winter months cheesemaking is discqyitinucd, and; the; cattle are fed upon .tprnips,, the root st. being g.u.lled tip and given to the stock J-n the' fields..’“..Upon some farms ; th’O are Boused during.’ winter, but in most cases they fees I mpnwtfre I turnips in the open fields. I Mr. Wilson has always got over 6d | per lb. for cheese, although the price of inferior quality is . frequently below that figure/ A number Of wellbred Berkshire pigs are kept upon the farm, and pig-keeping upon a small scale is common in the district, but veryfew farmersgo largely into the business, op give it that attention which it deserves.

Leaving Mr Wilson’s commodious residence, which is situated, with its orchard and garden; in the shelter of a pretty clump of bush,' I proceeded to visit other parts.of the New River district, in company with Mr. Wilson and two of his neighbors, Messrs. Rusnell and Ronalds. The first farm visited was that of Mr. John Russell, who 1 upon 200 acres, partly laid down in grasses, devotes his attention to the breeding of fine draught horses. Here I had the pleasure of seeing Royal Oak, a very large three-yeßP-old colt, standing 17 hands high; by Prince of Wales, and promising to develop into a grand horse. Roderick Dhuisalso one of Mr. Russell’s stud, a remarkably handsome New Zealandbred horse. He is large, well-made, with good bone and hair, and possessing altogether a such fine quality that he would secure a good place in any Victorian show r ring. The Young Prince of Wales, bred by Mr. L. Dbew, of Merry ton, Hamilton, by Drew’s celebrated Prince of Wales, is also in this district, and is spoken of as a very superior horse. There are some very high-class mares in this part of Southland, one very handsome animal being Mr. M‘Callum’s Damsel, who took all the leading prizes in Scotland from 1876 to 1879. Diamond, the mother of Royal Oak, is also a very superior mare, with grand frame and quality. There are a few pure shorthorns and Ayrshires in the district, but crossbreds are generally kept upon the farms and stations, cattle breeding not having received so much attention as in Australia.

Proceeding up the valley of the Oreti River, we passed a large number of farms varying in size from 200 to 500 acres in extent, and saw numerous fine crops of oats, with some wheat .and a little barley. There were indications here and there of bad farming in the shape of un trim med hedges, poor late-sown crops, and patches of sorrel indicating the existence of continuous cropping, but as a rule the crops were excellent, and grazing seemed to be quite as much attended to as cultivation. In its natural state the rich land on the flats does not carry more than a sheep to the acre, and yet there are large tracks of it unbroken, being allowed to grow rushes and thistles, which are abundant in every direction. The farmers may be doing well with their heavy crops and fine clover fields, but they could certainly do better by bringing the whole of their land into grasses. Many of the crops, which were just ripening, were estimated to. yield from 70 to 90 bushels of oats, from 40 to 60 bushels of wheat, and from. 50 to 70 of barley. Mr. A. Beavin’s farm attracted attention as being in excellent order. It contains about 400 acres, subdivided into paddocks of from 14 to 120 acres. The hedges are neatly trimmed, and none of the land seems to be lying idle, that which is not under crop hearing artificial grasses. A herd of pure shorthorns bred from imported stock is kept, and. dairying is carried on. There is also a flock of cross-bred sheep, and cultivation upon rotation is carried on, the ciopped land, however, bearing a small proportion to the pasture land. The wheat crop was splendid, being the best we bad seen on the journey, and the bariev surpassed everything.! had ever

seen, promising to;yield' 70 bushels to the aero. Mr. J. B. Sutton’s farm of 1,400 acres was next visited. The crops grown are those already referred to as common in the district, and the pastures, which are in good condition, are stocked; with pure Lincoln sheep, horses and cattle. . Mr. Sutton’s Lincolns are well-known in all parts of the Colony, and there is no doubt that the rich pastures of the farm are Well, suited to develop the breed. Among; the horses are some good thoroughbreds aitd a number of highclass draughts, one two-year-old filly, by the Young Prince of Wales, being one of the best and most forward two-year-olds I have ever seen. The oats and wheat promised to yield well, and one crop of oats which would probably turn, out from. 40 to 50 bushels per acre was self-sown after a crop upon the first furrow. A field of timothy grass which was being kept for seed was very thick and over 3 feet in height, and turnips and potatoes were doing well. Mr. Sutton stated that he had fed as many as 25 sheep to the acre for two months upon a good turnip crop.

Getting off the river flats, we inspected a sample of terrace and ridge country, which had only recently been sold in farms. This was the Spar Bush block of 5000 acres, which had been held by the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, and sold in"3so-acre sections. The land is upon an elevated plain, and is covered with a small silvery tussock, and the soil is a grey loam about 9 inches deep, upon a. clay subsoil. A good deal of the land has been already cultivated and sown with turnips, oats and wheat. It is probable that this soil will produce about 40 bushels of oats, 30 owheat, and turnips sufficient to feed six or eight sheep through the winter, while after being sown in permanent pasture it will be able to keep from two to three sheep to the acre. The lots sold at auction from £3 to £6 per acre. The price of land seems high, but when the capabilities of the soil are taken into account it is really cheap. The climate is so moist that what would be called inferior land in Victoria is as productive as rich soil is in that Col on v.

Rich flats and plains of the kind described, chiefly occupied in farms, extend from the Oreti westward to the Aperima river, a distance of about 15 miles, and the same stretch of country extends northward for about 40 miles, the plains getting narrower and settlement less dense as the mountains are approached. The Aperima plains are said to be quite equal to those of the Oreti, and there is some extensive farming going on. Mr. J. H. Smith, of Bayswater, has about 3000 acres under cultivation, the estate containing about 7000 acres ; and on Gladfield estate there are about 2060 acres under crop; while the Strathmore estate, which has been sold in farms of from 200 to 500 acres, is extensively cultivated. The Strathmore blocks were sold at from £4 to £6 per acre, the section containing the homestead bringing £7 10s per acre. In travelling from Invercargill to Riverton a large number, of farms are seen, with their well kept hedges, artificial pastures and stock of long wool sheep, while the crops, which bear a small proportion to the pasture are looking w r ell. There were, however, extensive tracts lying in an unimproved state, doing nothing but growing thistles.' These lands are probably held by speculators or other wealthy people, who call afford to allow valuable land to be idle. Biverton is a quiet little town on the estuary of one of the rivers flowing into a bay ou the southern coast. The town does business with the farming country of the western district, and a small coasting trade by means of lighters of 300 tons, winch can cross the bar. There are some small gold diggings along the coast, and this accounts for the presence of a good many Chinese, with their dirty little cribs and gambling establishments, in Riverton. The town has not an unpleasing appearance, occupying a good dry site, and having, as a background to the picture, a nice wooded hill.