The Farm.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 30, 28 October 1893, Page 11

The Farm.

OUT AND ABOUT AMONG THE FARMERS.

Last week,'Mr W. H. Mathieson liad his first run into the country since his return from Europe, and has favoured us with the following 1 notes: Leaving the train at Edendale, I took horse for a tour among the farmers, .ray first stopping place being the homestead of Mr George Crosbie, of Lower Wyndham., with whom I spent a pleasant evening. He devotes himself mainly to sheep and cattle, having found wheat-growing to be a decided failure in that locality, as it -cannot be depended on to ripen sufficiently for milling purposes. His lambs have more than a local reputation. He has lately gone in for South Downs, as he finds they are easier fattened, and give a good yield of wool, while the mutton is noted for its superior quality, and commands the highest price. His milk cows are a splendid lot, with a good strain of the Ayrshire —he is a thorough believer in the “ survival of the fittest ” so far as his calves are concerned, and has his reward in beasts that would not disgrace any show yard in the country. He has been a .staunch supporter of the local dairy factory since its establishment, bis returns for milk alone running up to £4<o a month in some seasons. His farm, which lies on the banks of the Mataura, is noted for its productiveness, and its natural advantages have been utilised to the full by means of skilled and thoughtful methods of ■work. I spent a few hours in Wyndham township my old quarters and noted wiih pleasure the evidences of ■steady growth to be seen on every hand. By the way, their post office, ■situated as it is at the railway station, is in a most unsuitable site, while the building is far too small for the requirements of this large and prosperous district. I noticed that one of the local blacksmiths —Mr W, Allison —is adding to his premises, and that quite a number of new buildings have been erected since I was .last in Wyndham. Leaving Wyndham, I called in succession at the farms of Mr Strangman, Mr J. Woods, Mr O’Donoughe, Mr J. A. Dodd, Mrs Carpenter, and Mr Doull, in the South Wyndham and Mokoreta districts. I was most pleasantly impressed, the crops everywhere coming on nicely, while the fruit trees gave promise of an exceedingly good yield. I also called on Mr • Joseph 'Walker. He, like Mr Crosbie, devotes a lot of attention to sheep farming. He has for many years in succession scored heavily at the district exhibitions, and his lambs this year bid fair to be up to the usual standard. He is also, like Mr Crosbie, busily engaged in cutting and tailing, his experience being that the sooner this operation is performed the smaller will be the percentage of deaths. His farm, although rather hilly, lies well to the sun, and is nicely adapted to the purposes to which he adapts it. He has given the young men in the locality a lesson that should stimulate them to enter the ranks of the Benedicts, as he has lately taken.to himself a bloomiug bride. “ Better late than never,” is a good motto in this as in other matters. Retracing my steps, I journeyedinto the Seaward Downs district, calling at the farms of Messrs Carney, Inglis, Johnston, Cameron, Rule, Coster, and others. They know how to grow grass here. On Mr Rule’s farm I saw a paddock which had been sown with last year’s oats, that for quality surpassed anything I had seen in New Zealand, or for the matter of that in Scotland, where they can boast of a ..sole of grass which had been laid down for 42 years. The orchards in this district are also looking remarkably well. By the way, the small bird nuisance is rampant in the Wyndham district, several farmers informing me that they have had to resow their oats, as the birds, after the grain had sprouted, had actually eaten the inside clean out, leaving

the empty husk. This is a considerably greater nuisance than it is in the Old Country, as with the exception of crows and wild pigeons (which are very destructive, being much stronger than the sparrow), I hardly ever saw a single specimen of the wild bird tribe. The settlers in the Seaward Downs and Mataura Island districts, although in some cases comparatively recent comers, are going into the work with a will, erecting dwellings and steadings of a substantial character, giving every promise of a successful future. The dairy factory here (Mataura Island) is well-supplied, and everything is going on most satisfactorily. From here I made my way to Oteramika, and found Mr J. Vickery, late butcher, Clifton, busily engaged in building operations. He bad until iecently two dwellings on bis farm, and intended to vacate the one he occupied for another on higher ground. A fire was lit in one of the rooms to air it, and, as it was thought, was extinguished, but unfortunately there was a flaw in the chimney, and the place was burned down. He intended to have gone in the next day, and had previously shifted a lot of his furniture in. I saw the chimney, and noticed the hole above the arch where the bricks had fallen in through a defective archplate—a bit of fencing standard being used for that purpose. As though to compensate him for his loss, Mr Vickery about the same date came into a handsome leg’acy through the death of a relative. Mr Vickery has been very successful this j'ear as a breeder of pigs, having brought some fine Berkshires all the way from Christchurch. Instead of supplying the factory, he reserves his milk for calves. Off again, the next place at which a halt was called being the farm of Mr Jefcoate, who has effected quite a transformation since he came into possession of what will undoubtedly be a fine property He has spent a large sum in improvements, and laboured uiwveariedly as well. He was busy potato planting, but had just previously been making artificial dams, which he is going to utilise for chaff-cutting purposes, having erected a massive water wheel for that purpose. He is decidedly the most progressive farmer in that district, and well deserves the success that is evidently crowning his efforts. In the evening I found myself at Rimu, where a social in connection with the Presbyterian Church was being held, and where I had the pleasure of addressing the numerous audience which occupied the commodious hall. I closed with a recitation, which evidently “ caught on,” as it had the unusual distinction of being thrice encored.