A Tour in New Zealand.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 963, 23 July 1881, Page 2 (Supplement)

A Tour in New Zealand.

No. XVI. — The North Island. [Concluded from tltc Melbourne Leader]. [Tn our last we noted that a new departure had been taken in this “Tour,” and published the first of a series of new letters that are to appear. The explanation will be found at the end of this letter], — Ed. P.B.S. Before dealing with the agriculture of the North Island, I must complete my observations upon the South Island by a brief notice of Nelson, which has a reputation for the growth of fruit and hops. This province, like Marlborough, the neighboring one, is very mountainous, containing a very small area of land suitable for agriculture. Gold mining is carried on in the hills of these provinces, and the grazing of sheep is the chief purpose for which' the land is used. Around the town of Nelson there is a small area of rich soil, being an alluvial deposit from the surrounding hills, and this land is devoted to the growing of fruit and hops. Apples, pears, peaches, plums and kindred fruits are produced in great quantities, being exported to the different ports of the Colony ; and a jam factory upon an expensive scale is being established, which will greatly assist the industry by providing a profitable means of utilising the surplus. The most of the hop gardens are near the town, and the total area planted is about 150 acres, the gardens varying from one acre to five or six acres in extent. Picking is done for 3d per bushel, and as the yield is frequently 20 cwt. per acre, the business ought to be a profitable one. From Is to 2s per lb. is generally obtained for the hops, which are of good quality. A little more enterprise among the Nelson residents would no doubt soon result in the whole requirements of the Colony in this product being supplied, and the establishment of a valuable export trade. The chief farming district in the province is Waimea Plains, but it is limited in extent. Last year the area under wheat in Nelson was 2489 acres, averaging 13| bushels ; but in the previous year the area was larger, with an average of 19 bushels an acre. There were 3244 acres of oats, averaging 23f bushels. Marlborough had less than 2000 acres of wheat with an average of 25| bushels, and less than 3000 acres of oats, averaging 29 bushels to the acre. * c ; ’ ' ■ Agriculture in the North Island is not in such an advanced state as in the South Island. The sowing down of artificial pastures has received a great deal of attention, and the grazing of cattle and sheep is extensively carried on, but the cultivation of cereal and root crops occupies a secondary position, and large quantities of farm produce are imported from the South Island. The soil is undoubtedly rich, and well suited for agriculture, as shown by the result obtained in the farming districts ; but it is especially productive when sown down in pastures. With the exception of Wellington on the south of the island, and Auckland on the north, there are no really good ports on the coast, and comparatively 1 it tie seems to have been done to improve those that are unsafe. The Maori difficulty, too, although no longer a source of danger, has had its effect in keeping the North Island from making as much progress as it

otherwise would have done. The special productiveness of the land when sown down in pastures, the deficiency of safe harbors, and the Maori difficulty may, therefore, be taken as accounting for the comparatiye backwardness in agriculture of the North Island. A rich soil, and a genial climate, however, and large tracts of unalienated land will, no doubt, insure a prosperous future for the North Island of New Zealand.

The Wellington provincial district has the advantage of a good port and the capital of the Colony—a city of over 20,000 inhabitants—as a market, but the bulk of the agricultural land is about one hundred miles inland, being separated from the harbor by high mountain ranges. The Masterton district, to the north-east, has been connected with the city of Wellington by a railway, crossing the mountains at a very steep gradient ; but although one of the chief farming areas in the | province, it does little more than supply itself and the country to the north with agricultural produce. Little in the way of cultiyation is met with along the railway line until the terminus at Masterton is reached, where a view is obtained of an extensive tract of plains and rolling downs, the soil consisting of rich loam, with shingly subsoil, being much like that upon the Canterbury plains. Owing to the district being surrounded on all sides by high hills, the rainfall is comparatively light, but altogether good crops are obtained. From 15 to 30 bushels of wheat to the acre are common yields, the average this year being expected to be 25 bushels, and from 30 to 40 bushels of oats are usually obtained. Turnips do well, although they are not commonly grown, owing to English grasses growing so luxuriously, while potatoes and other root crops can be profitably cultivated. The farms vary from about 200 to 400 acres in extent. Portions of the district were bought from the Natives, and sold by the Government about twenty years ago. Other portions have been bought by the farmers from the Maoris, and a good extent of land is still leased for farming purposes from the Maori owners. Beyond the tract of open country, which is about twenty miles across, hills and downs extend, which, being lightly timbered, and covered in parts with ferns, are devoted to the grazing of cattle and sheep. On the grazing country a good deal of improvement has been made by cutting down the scrub, burning off the ferns, and sowing English grasses. So much is the pasture improved by the sowing of grasses that even where the runs are only leased from the Maoris or the Crown, a good deal is done in the way of scattering grass seed upon the land without ploughing. The custom of sowing down pastures in the timbered and fern-covered districts is much the same as that followed in the scrubby parts of Gippsland, vix., burning off and sowing the seed in the ashes. Splendid pastures are obtained in this way, and large quantities of stock are fattened upon the farms and stations. A high range of mountain separates this district from the rich agricultural and pastoral areas of Wanganui, which reach to the coast on the south of the island. Wanganui and Patea, to the westward, are being rapidly developed, many settlers having taken up farms recently; and as they have the advantages of rich soil and ports which are visited by small steamers and crafts, they will progress at a quicker rate than more inland parts of the Colony. An attempt is being made to connect this western district with Wellington by a line of railway to be constructed by a company ; and as a line is certain to be constructed ere long, either by a company or the Government, Wanganui and Patea have excellent prospects in the immediate future. The province had, in 1880, 7374 acres in wheat, averaging 19| bushels • 15,000 acres in oats, averaging 28f bushels ; and smaller areas under other crops. To the north of the Wellington territory lies the provincial district of Hawke’s Bay, the chief town of which is Napier, situated upon the comparatively unsheltered harbor of Hawke’s Bay. Ships have to lie at a distance from the pier and be loaded or unloaded by means of lighters or steam launches, about 10s. per ton being charged for lighterage. A railway runs from Napier southward for 7o miles through good pastoral and agricultural country, a line which will eventually join the Masterton line, thus connecting Hawke’s Bay and Wellington. The country around Napier is famous for its fine grazing capabilities, and its soil and climate are undoubtedly specially well suited to the growth of

English grasses. Grass seed is an important article of export from the province, the Napier seed being well known all over the Colony. The land is a rich volcanic in some parts, and a fine limestone soil in others ; while the rainfall being abundant in a comparatively warm climate conduces to great productiveness. Agriculture has not been carried on to any considerable extent, but enough has been done to show that cereals, roots and a variety of fruit could be cultivated in the district. Only 2101 acres of wheat were cultivated in 1880 throughout the province, giving an average of 14J bushels ; while the area of oats was only 5,326 acres yielding an average of 24 bushels per acre. The Auckland Provincial district is the next one visited, being touched first at Gisborne, a small town of about 800 inhabitants, in Poverty Bay. Here lighters have to be used in con- | veying merchandise to and from the ships, a circumstance which seriously interferes with the agricultural development of the country. Low limestone hills surround the town, (?) and the soil both on the hills and in the rallies is very fertile. Grazing is the principal resource of the district at present, and grass seed is exported to all parts of the Colony ; but, if the quality of the land is anything to judge by, agriculture will yet flourish as well here as in any part of New Zealand. The city of Auckland and its suburbs contain about 38,000 inhabitants, thus constituting one of the best markets in the Colony for farm produce ; and as it is situated upon one of the finest harin the world,agriculture might have been expected to have made greater progress than it has. (? again) Around the city, the country is of volcanic formation, the soil being a rich chocolate. The Stony Rises of the western district of Victoria are repeated here, and the land seems almost as rich as that of AVarrnambool. Cultivation has been carried on upon this land for many years, and the farms are worth from £2O to £3O per acre, good cereal crops, as well as potatoes and other roots being profitably cultivated, while dairying is also successfully carried on. Maize also grows well in the Auckland district, although it is not extensively cultivated, I believe the vine and the orange tree would flourish in the northern parts of Auckland, but these sources of wealth do not appear to receive much attention. Large quantities . of peaches, pear •, plums, cherries, apples and suchlike fruits are grown, but I am inclined to think ha+□ much more could be done w ’th th e land than is being accomplished by the present occupiers. The c limate is a most genial one, and the s oil to the northward of Auckland is of a loamy character, so that if the people were enterprising New Zealand would not have to import large quantities of fruit and jam from Tasmania. The Waikato is the chief agricultural district in the province, and this is connected with Auckland city by a railway 100 miles in length. Two large inland towns, Hamilton and Cambridge, are supported by this district, and a wide stretch of country round them is of a very fertile character. Volcanic soil, covered in parts by ferns, and rich alluvial river flats, constitute the chief features of the Waikato, in which settlement and agriculture are rapidly extending. Although a good deal of cultivation is carried on, there is so much grazing upon artificial grasses that agriculture occupies a secondary place. The neighboring district of the Thames is much of the same character as the Waikato, the soil in both being exceedingly fertile. Extensive swamps covered with New Zealand flax are found in both districts, and a good deal has been done in the way of draining them ; although there is yet room for extensive operations in reclaiming the large tracts of exceptionally valuable land, which are subject to being flooded. It may be expected that grain growing will be greatly extended in these districts, as there are large tracts of land sown in grasses, and thus prepared for cropping, and both the fern lands and the swamp lands require this preparation. Of the land under cultivation in the provincial district of Auckland in 1880, there were 6887 of wheat, averaging 20 bushels ; 4756 of oats, averaging 22 bushels ; 13,000 acres of hay, and 5328 acres of potatoes, yielding 5| tons to the acre. The provincial district of Taranaki, on the West Coast, also contains a considerable area of rich volcanic soil, although most of that near New Plymouth, the chief town, is rather heavily timbered. The port of New

Plymouth, like those of Napier and Gisborne, is rather exposed, requiring the use of lighters in loading and unloading ships. The land about the port is principally devoted to grazing, and the chief centre of agriculture and new settlement is on the Patea, already referred to] as adjoining Wanganui. The Patea, besides being near the coast, is connected with Wanganui by a railway line 25 miles in length, which after passing Wanganui, proceeds in •* the direction of Wellington for a distance of 86 miles to Foxton. A railway runs south from New Plymouth for 34 miles in the direction of the Patea, and at no distant date it will join that coming from Wanganui, so that before many years have passed the chief town of Taranaki will no doubt be connected by rail with the capital of the Colony. In 1880 there were in Taranaki only 1859 acres under wheat, yielding 15J bushels an acre ; 2015 acres of oats averaging 33| bushels and smaller areas of the othefr crops. 1 shall now conclude my re- X marks upon agriculture in New Zealand, and in a new series of papers in the general columns of The Leader deal with the land question and other matters inquired into during my tour.