THE APERIMA OR JACOB'S RIVER DISTRICT.

Southland Times, Issue 668, 10 May 1867, Page 2

THE APERIMA OR JACOB'S RIVER DISTRICT.

To return tf» the legitimate par£.pf,my. mission — the agricultural. : This district is thej jnost^ extensive, and unquestionably the most noteworthy of any I have yet visited," both for the fertility of' the soil,- a^d the amount of land occupied. ■ Gon--tinuing aVourse North from Rivertbn ' to 1 the Aperima. Bridge|-,"an; excellent struoture'; no; very perceptible alterations in the feature of: the country, from, that previously., passed over are to be founds but as soon as ihe driver ia. crossed the ground becomes more uneven or undulating. The flats display a 1 power of vegetation ''in' there, j native state, in excess of all others, and the grassy,, ridges,! and-Ufoping valle/s present a picture of luxuriant verdure the most complete. From the Bridge to (3-ummy's Bush.is a gradual ascent, the flats narrowing in and. the ridges assuming, more of the appearance ~6i table landl On "this line of road several farms aro met ■with; of .considerable - dimensions,' among which 'may' be mentioned that of Mr W. D. Wood, In : as-miich as it is the first in, this district that represents agricultural and pas--toral industry.- It is 'a fine farm "sciehtificly worked, £ridriilthough:it is the firsfryears oropthe the grain produced is heavy, and ,the English grass thick; andhealthy. ; From hence to Ghimmy's ßush there is : much land pfsavery superior.. description uncultivated, but upon reaching this point, agricultiiral aotiyjify is moat pbaervable. Farms fringes i the bush beltsinevejy directionjploughing and other farming operations, are going on, and all that can give life and animation to an agricultural district is herei, r One" of "the most'oorippicu^us'homesteads Righted from the road is that' of W. Gameroin; ; Esqi - It ■■» situated oorn r the; high' table" landi add commands a magnificent view: '■. Looking towiardß the town, the estuary^ the .Waianiwa plains, the South RiertonEange, the Longwqod mountains,' with" the . distant Takitimos, are dis- ' tinctly visible at a^ glance. Here the country appears to be almost perfection, the river flats, s'elfdrainedi teemT with native vegetation, while the' grass ,ai}d clover fields are covered as with- a carpetj with fresh "green : herbage. This localityi^isplays the stamp of energy-and perseverance. There is an excellent school house with' a reserVe of moat valuable land, but from want of support or fronvother causes no school is held. -About a mile from dummy's Bush 'there la an excellent flbur-miU erected by Messrs G-rant and Eeid. Ifc by -wat«r power, theraw^ two pa^ of

stones, and it is estimated that whaCjaM^SiJ it could grind from 300 to 400 bushels of grjdn, per day. There is abb a malting and brewery, establkhment in the locality, f 6^,^^™ aJ^n*. ->^TWiTv»liain. As yet but little£wor.K nas been dope owing to the difficulty of procuring barley for malting purposes^ but it is believed that in a short time a first-class colonial beer will , be produced sufficient to supply Kivertbii and the district. To return to figures. ,Carry^. ing out the same plan adopted- in my. pwgaous letters, the subjoined table -will represeat' twenty returns of farms in the district. I may mention thata large quantity of land haß been "sold? 'arid' is being occupied for sheep ...grazing, which does nbt'appear/no* cultivation being carried on beyond that required'for dom«Btic«se : — Land occupied- ... ...""..; '; M ..« 10,490 TJndar Crop :-— , '+■' : L: :*■"&■''■* Wheat .... ... „ ... .270 acrea Oats ... „.. 656 .„ 'Barley x i..' ... t..' 60 '„ " ! " "Potatoes .»'.'■" ■-'■■R;^ ;;; .■-t.'W-^o;^ Tujrnips, Oir ,,;.. c .v ,\i. - : •-.'..-.r, 41)],^^ ±C : English grass, clover, &o. ... 1705 M Garden — Fruit, vegetables, # &c. ... ... •■-..- .-'»«;; •60 „ . -.-■•■[ Total cultivated ... i... 2731 „ - „ not, 7769 :* ! v i •■; /,_.--. :s . -,'. •v.v.^r-; - -10,490 The jreturns for this district show the highest 40 bushels of wheat, and 46 for oats. Four cal-" cidate upon 55 bushels to the acre of. wheatj: and: 65 for oats; six, 42, : and 45,; five at 40, and 45; I four at 35 and 42; and only one as low as 30, i and 35.' The potatoe and turnip crops, are heavy, and anjaverage of 12 ton's to the acre,is7T think, within tbe^marlrr -^ Barleyitris thoughVwill'rttfi:' fully 43 to 44 bushels $q the acre. This is a very high average, but when the nature of the soil is taken into Sc^punt, it ceases .to be /surprising, notwithstanding many are.first years crops, from Ghimmy's Bush, to some miles beyondillount Fairfax, thei residence of Dr Hodgkinaon, the land is indescribably rich, being on the " river flats fine | black loam to the depth of five or six "feet. . The" English grass, paddocks are, fertile in the, highest degree.' $he following will' show the probable produce of the farms 'included in 'these returns; The produce for the whole district will amount to three times the amount set down : — ■ _ Wheat -.V; ... 10^800 bush'elß J Oats ... ... .... 25,530 „ , Barley ';';. » ... 2,440' „" . Potatoes ' ' ..; ... 240 tons \,- Tilrriips. '...';;.., 1,846 „, .'; '■ ; y The firmers in. this disfiict are giving great attentionj to the growth "of" English grassesji evidently under the belief that Bheep are quite as profitable as cropping, and on most of the farms a number are ~ kept; •' Some of the finest Leicester sheep. I have yet seen,: 'are tb^be Jfpund in this (District. I especially allude to the splendid floek 1 of ;Dr Hodgkinspn, the. Company's Station, under the charge of ifcMajcintoshj^and&pse.of. Mr Wi "Dr'^WoodjTire'd" from "Tasmanian~s"heep: This district is certainly the. weam of and I think.! might flay-of Wpw ; anil fam what the settlers, informed me, the quantity of grass to be laid down" this year will be "very considerable, most of them being desirous of combining Pastoral with Agriculturarbperations.