AGRICULTURE IN NEW ZEALAND.

South Canterbury Times, Volume XV, Issue 2066, 6 November 1879, Page 3

AGRICULTURE IN NEW ZEALAND.

The following letter appears in the “Live Stock Journal” of Sept. 5 Mj first letter treating on this portion of New Zealand in a general way having proved acceptable, I intend to particularise more in this one, on the same subject. In thus writing, my only object is to give your readers a dismterested account of agricultural matters Eor instance, I believe there are a good many country people at; home whose only objection to emigrating here is the Maori question. Now, in this, principal portion of New Zealand,

the Maorics are no more talked of, or dreaded, than are the gipsies at home, and a colonist has as much reason to hesitate in visiting England, as Home people have in coming to the Southern portion of New Zealand. Another thing that perplexes people at Home is, I believe, the very contradictory accounts that reach England of New Zealand in newspapers and private letters. The way to solve this is not to believe much in those letters written by people who have not been in the Colony long —say only a few months—-as they are generally home-sick, looking at the worst side of things here, and thinking only the bright side of things at home : besides which, being strange to colonial ways, they feel themselves under-valued and are more or less despondent. Hence the letters. I know people here, who, a few weeks after landing, were working “just till they had saved enough to pay their passage home again.” So the}said at the time; but they are here yet, and have not the slightest intention now of returning. This is the case with scores of people. In England people grumble about getting a living; here, food being plentiful, they grumble because they are not amassing a fortune rapidly enoughTo return to Canterbury. Most people now know that it is principally plain laud, bounded by a range of mountains on one side and the sea on the other ; has broad shallow rivers running rapidly from the hills to the sea. The best of this agricultural land lies on the banks of these rivers, but widens out and improves in quality as the sea coast is approached, where it runs into heavy clay land or swamp. Curiously enough, what applies to the different qualities of land in England, applies very often here ; but for an exactly opposite reason. It is this—l believe in England the clay lands arc less sought after, being less profitable to farm in comparison with lighter and drier soils, in consequence of the excessively moist weather. Well in Canterbury the same soils get baked by the warm winds and sun, and though people here go in heavily for this sort of land —I know that they make less money than people on rich sandy loams. Three seasons out of four will suit the general loamy soils, and the fourth season will suit the the clay soil. As a whole, the soil on the plains is of a very sweet and prolific nature, which is proved by the crops grown, often in spite of an insufficient rainfall. An ordinary wet season here produces an enormous yield and perhaps that is why we have to put up with some inordinately dry ones. Canterbury has its full share of live stock. Like the rest of Australasia, sheep occupy the first place. Merinos are kept in immense numbers, being more adapted to the native state of the land than other breeds, but the rapid increase of population is making the mutton question every day more important, and there are great numbers of cross-breds kept now. The cross is generally between the Leicester and Merino,'the first-named supplying the ram. The cross-breds will increase as the laud is put under English grasses, which is being done very rapidly at the present time. Sheep arc very often turnip-fed in the winter now. Land when broken up from its native state is remarkably clean, and if the weather is favorable at time of sowing, a fine crop of turnips can be grown with no labor after the seed is scratched in. This system suits the large sheep owners best. But, as I wrote before, the grasshopper, finding the native tussock grass ploughed up, in its rage revenges itself on the turnips very often; feeling afterwards, no doubt, much more serene and contented than the farmer himself docs.

In that portion of the first letter referring to the rotation of crops here, the ■\vord “ grain” ci’op should he submitted for “green” crop, after the laud has been in grass tiro or three years. It is an obvious misprint. A;E. Canterbury, New Zealand, May 26.