PROVINCIAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 49, 17 February 1908, Page 4

PROVINCIAL NEWS.

MAKETAWA. From Our Own Correspondents. Nothing but smoke all over the eountry; pastures burnt up with sun anil fire: blackened log?, browned scrub, grass ash-covered and unfit for animals to eat; turnips forced to all tops, and in many canes starting to shrivel. Cows, consequent on all trials, are rapidly going dry, and the prospect is anything but rosy. There is no doubt but that the fires at present running backwards and forwards, according to change of wind, will do a lot of clearing which would cost a large amount in time and cash, but how many of us can stand the racket—loss of cattle food. etc. !t is ail very well for editors of papers snch as tln» New Zealand Times to preach on the les«on of the drought, etc.. and try to teach farmers that they must provide such food as ensilage, hay, and such like for the lean years. I'm! How about it when such are destroyed by fire* It is all very well talking to those whoso land lias been felled for close on 40 years and has had its turn of ravages by fire to aid in clearing, and which is or which can be ploughed (such as the Plains and country like Bell Block), but how about the man whose land has only been felled anywhere to about 12 years? Let such preachers come and have a try at it. There is too much gratuitous advice pounded out by the almight "we]" adrice which, in the majority of cases, in a country such as ours, is impossible of doing. One season's experience by such preachers would suffice, and 1 feel sure be ol benefit to the community. Take the largest portion of Taranaki, all stumps and logs-could it be otherwise ? Each clears and gets under plough as much as possible every year and lire is used in the process. Can anyone suggest a better method! Who of us can alford to stump and clear land felled three or four years! And where's the. labor! It is hard to get labor to do the initial work such as felling the virgin bush. No, Sir, methods that apply to country used for hundreds of years cannot come in here yet! '{'here is-an old saying anent "a young head on old shoulders," or t'other way about, and it applies something like "you can't make a new country old before its time." Of course it may be all right to hold up an ideal for the younger one to attain in time, but one must not get at it too strung. We can't, in fact, do it, so let us have some real practical advice as what to do on new laud to provide again-I lire and drought and thai on a limited amount of cash. The Bame line of argument applies to dairy herds. We long-sutiering filers on the land are advised here by this one ol the editorial army or by another somewhere else that we must improve our herds in many ways—particularly by buying Jerseys to lwlp those speculative persons sole object is a la! pocket irom the credulous one. Just "H ".oekie |.a\ing anywhere ''O ■' cow ' > | flump-- biui-cl ii.lil. i-, cm leal-, et ~ —jnd .ill !>et.au-- ol a Micr. te-t. Purely it i- Iwtier while land is rough wirh liiul,,.] : ,i„ i rli.it i- the ca-e (i| ilnm.;j. "V .Jt Tai.inakr- acre-) to ha\c a couple of (iii'.ipvr ..in- and .1 loner tcet -o that the 10-s cannot fall -o heavy? I li.m- -i-en it mentioned in Ue pre- that in .Mr. Cilruih - ..pinion there are more cow- in l.iranaki suffering from mamniiti- than in anv other portion of the colony. And no wonderbut suppu-e the .'ow- cost double figures? Could the dairy fanner on the average -tand that sort of thing? However, it"- no u-.- talking, 1 „uppo?e. It's a moral certainty the "puncher" does not get ih«- jn.mil due to him according t" hi- amount or labor, while the other man—the merchant and liiwiny of buyer-, etc.. derive t| k . bigge-1 return for the least amount of toilThing- that way want altering. Wake up. "cockies"! Settlers on Ipper Norfolk lead have been having a lively time of it again. Tile wind, veering all way-, lia-i sent lire in all directions. Several residents have had narrow escapes with their building-, etc.. while the grass is quickly going, and will go entirely unlesrain -omi tall-.

Hn tli«- i<r|» or Durham road Wt>l tin* ucrk tin- whole country lias bwn nn tire, and in fact is -till -o. Th*» wiiid p-ttiii? to the .-outh brought the fiiv «»\«t from Norfolk road. J)r»inl»»'• i. A. Dodun-ki. and Wi<new>!:i e.n-h !»;»■! a turn ;»t it. while Mr. Joe Dn='un-!-.i ■:! Shh'rahb* difficulty managed to -ave Liresid+mv and oiithiiildinjr-. Talk about desolation! nothing !-.ok< rimr*. than a s s clearing covr-red with a-h and I'lM kP'iU'd not by any irfv.ii. ••vct. but [ hopp ih.it T -lui! ll' 't I).I Vr* to N'p'-rt ill*' 10-i -it" building. Mr. .1. and other* haw lud t" k« 4 #'p f'-n«tai»T watch in order to plantation-. of frees planed to provide -heifer in future year- for eattle. fn following out th° ideal a- «hown by older countries in regard !<» id' nt.nion*, •«<?*» (tie trouble, pxpf-n-#*. and I -- w- ft,non<r the logs and I •tunip- hav»» thrown «»n u-—but wlio ca-i bolter the po-siti^n':