Land Settlement

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 951, 19 April 1930, Page 25

Land Settlement

A Difficult Proposition

MUCH has been heard in recent years from advocates for the speeding lip of settlement of New Zealand’s waste lands of what has been done on the Government Experimental Farm at Puwera. It has been argued that, because healthy pastures have been built up there from seemingly waste gum-land, the powers that be have shown lack of foresight and enterprise in not developing considerably greater areas of similar land and throwing it open for settle-

Tie outstanding point of all the talk which has centred round the development of the Puwera gum lands has been the wide range of opinions as to the actual cost of bringing the lountry into a state fit for ordinary farminS' It > 3 only now when most of those who were connected with the early development operations are gone •o other spheres of activity that the public is getting anything tangible in the way of definite figures relative to the cost per acre. The late New Zealand Government jelds instructor for the Auckland Province, Mr. Paterson, is frequently mioted as having said that there is no part of the Auckland Province which tannot be brought iut.oba state whereby profitable occupation would be possible, as long, of course, as it w'as not burdened with the capital * cost of breaking in. It is the latter part of the statement which is frequently overlooked. Further, Mr. Paterson is quoted as having given definite figures as to the cost of breaking in Puwera; pressed by enthusiastic theorists, he may at times have given estimates which at the best could only be recorded as vague, for on several occasions he admitted to the writer that it would be impossible to give a true estimate of the cost of breaking in Puwera; much experimental work had been done for which no accounts were kept. The fact Is that Mr. Paterson, like all other practical students of the soil, at no time cared about rushing into print with statements relative to costs in breaking in third-class lands, and urged a policy of considerable caution when such a course was ever suggested. figures from puwera Within recent years a closer check has apparently been kept on the work at Puwera, and it is now possible to get an estimate of the cost of the work there, although it Is significant that an audited balance sheet is not available for publication. In response to representations from the. Auckland executive of the New Zealand Farmers’ Uuion the Minister of Lands, the Hon. G. W. Forbes, has issued a report on the work in the North giving the estimated cost of, bringing in 150-acre blocks of gumlands at somewhere between £25 to £4l an acre, according to the class of country and the fences and buildings erected. The cost of the actual clearing of the land, cultivation, manuring and sowing in the case of the lower estimate is given at £l2, while on the higher scale it is estimated at £2O 10s an acre. A significant omission from the report, however, is the lack of any evidence to the carrying capacity of the land following the expenditure of the £25 to £4l an acre. Experience with other low class lauds throughout the province has shown that carrying capacity can only be developed over a period of years and that during the first year or two of grassing the farmer is fortunate if be can stock up all the year round without giving the young grasses frequent spells. It. takes quite an appreciable time for a decent sole of grass, even under lavish top-dressings, to be established. The case of Ruakura could also be cited as an instance of where it is difficult to get a true estimate of the coat of breaking in lower grade farming country. Although some of the

best pastures in the Dominion are to be found in some of that estate's older paddocks, no record has been kept of the costs of development and, even on country which is being broken in at the moment, it is not so much first costs of development, which are considerable, as subsequent costs of maintenance until the land is selfsupporting. SOUTH AUCKLAND EXPERIENCE Perhaps the surest indication of all as to the difficulties of handling thirdclass country is given in the southern part of the province. In many districts comparatively large blocks are held by individuals and syndicates sufficiently well enough situated financially to carry out extensive development operations if it were the profitable proposition many theorists would have the general public believe. In reality it seems, however, with costs of break-ing-in varying as much as £2O an acre, the question must be approached

with considerable caution and certainly not attacked in the wholesale manner advocated by many.of the fireside theorists who are active in forcing their opinions on the public at the present time. Place before any practical farmer a proposition for developing waste land at a cost of even £ls an acre and he would naturally turn it down in favour ot purchasing partly developed land at considerably under that figure. It would he interesting and enlightening if the various development leagues aud other theorists brought forward some tangible and practical scheme for profitably tackling the problem of the development of New Zealand’s idle lauds from a new angle —one which has not already been tried out and proved economically unsound. To repeat the now meaningless platitude relative to the need for some progressive policy for land settlement is not enough.