THE EARTH HUNGER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 350, 30 March 1910, Page 4

THE EARTH HUNGER.

All applicant ior a section lu uue Tripp isettifciutm, m cnattuig lu a i>yLieioun iiliies lepi'caciuuwv'e iu'jl week, expressed hiinstyi in strung terms regarding tne policy oi the Government in respect to land settlement. Jle said tliat tlie earth hunger was still very Keen, ana that it was ridiculous ior the Government to go into the open market every year with a quarter oi a million, more or less, as a bait ior tho large land-owners, who did not cultivate their lands, but waited until some agitation was started in their district lor the purchase of land ior the people. Then they became very indignant when it was mooted that their bi<j estates would be out up, though it was noticeable they were always glad to accept the cash. The farmer expressed tne opinion that all persons holding over SUU acres oi firstciaas land, or 3000 acres of third-class land should b# taxed heavily for all. the land that they were possessed of abofe those areas. That would make many oi them place their lands on the market, and thousands of settlers could 'be put ob the land, to the (benefit of all. He .added that if the suggestion were carried out there would be no one at present running about in New Zealand looking for land, and the country could carry twice its population. To support his argument that 500 acres of firstclass land is sufficient for tho average settler to deal with, the farmer whose we quote eays he knows of a settler of ten years' standing who owned 400 acres of freehold, valued at £l7 per acre. With mixed farming, grain and sheep, and paying all taxes, after allowing, himself 5 per cent, on capital invested, he cleared from £ooo to £6OO annually. He employed two men all the year round, and let his harvesting by contract. That to his mind showed What could be done on 500 acres of land a trifle better than second-class. Eeferring to what can be done on a limited area of land, the experience of a Waaganni farmer is worth quoting in connection 'with what the South Islander was •able to do. The farmer in question informed the local Herald the other day that his holding was lew than 100 .acres . 97 or thereabouts—yet he averaged an annual profit of between £3OO and £4OO. He did not enter into details as -to the secret of his success, but merely quoted his own experience to show the mine of the land in the Wansanui district. We know of similar, if not more •striking ea*e\. in Taranaki. We have in mind a 120-acre farm in the southern part of the province from which for several years past th« gross returns avevagpfl between £lO und £ lfls. "The owner employed one man, he and his family doing the rest of the

work. Including his interest charges, the cost of working the farm was about £425, so that piece of land must hare produced a clear profit of between £775 and £955 a year, according to the price received for butter-fat. We do not say that this highly satisfactory result would have been achieved if the owner had to pay for» the labor rendered -by members of his family. In that case, the profits would have been roduc«d by at least £2OO, but even then the profit 'would still have been exceptionally large. On the rich Waimate Plains many men are making very comfortable divings off smaller areas. From fifty acres of this land a farmer who knows his work and what intense cultivation means, can, at the average price that our dairy produce has fetched during 'the past few years, do very well indeed. At present values—we would probably be more correct to say "prices"—it cannot pay a farmer to hold or attempt to work a very large dairy farm. It will require no pressure from the Government to make him subdivide and leas'# or sell. Circumstances are already forcing him to do so, and we believe the time is not far distant when even 100acre farms of first-class land will be the exception and not the rule.