THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE LAND.

Southland Times, Issue 1827, 5 December 1873, Page 3

THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE LAND.

(to the editor of thb times.) Sib, — I agree with those who are of opinion that a practical agriculturist should have been one of the commissioners appointed to classify the Southland lands, but it is nonsense to talk of the different " interests" being " represented" by the commission. The commission was appointed simply to separate the agricultural from the pastoral land. The commissioners are classifiers, not representatives. The first difficulty which will present itself to these unfortunate gentlemen is that of defining what constitute? agricultural land. Assuming this difficulty got over, and the definition to be, " That which could be ploughed and would grow a crop," the remaining difficulty would be to decide upon what could be ploughed. In Scotland very steep country is broken up. Sometimes it is ploughed diagonally, so that when the horses are pulling up the hill the sod is turned down hill, and vice versa ; but in ■ Peeblesshire I have seen land under the plough bo steep (and very high also) that it had to be ploughed horizontally — I mean parallel with the direction of the range — and with the plough ) to arranged, with a folding-over mould-board, that the homes moved up hill no more than the breadth of a furrow at a time, and the sod turned ' down hill throughout. Such country was re* j garded by the last generation, and the beginning of the present one, as purely pastoral ; and when a more enterprising state of agriculture dawned upon Scotland, those who held long leases of these lands, at a rental calculated upen pastoral value . made fortunes by ploughing and cropping them. Mr Cuthbertson knows what Scotland is, and what Scottish farmers can do, therefore, in so far as he is concerned, the above information is probably superfluous ; and it possibly may be bo also as regards the other commissioners. Perhaps, however, you might kindly publish it for what it is worth.— l am, &C, Omb of thb Public. 3rd December, 1873