FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 February 1917, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

The Pastoral Review says that Sir Rider Haggard must bo a man easy to please, for, when interviewed on his departure from Australia, he said that his trip had been extraordinary successful. Among other remarks, he stated that the 'Queensland Government was

prepared to provide 1,000,000 acres of agriculture for the settlement of exservice men from the United Kingdom. The unfortunate cx-scrviee men will bo tackling a very difficult proposition, for never in the past has agriculture been in Queensland what might be called a success on sound business lines, giving a fair financial return, except -in isolated patches here and there during particularly good seasons. Neither is it ever likely to be., at least so long as the present conditions obtain, and, moreover, it must always bo remembered that Queensland is a State eminently unsuited to ordinary agriculture owing to climatic circumstances. Of course, a few crops are successful occasionally, but at the best it is a heartbreaking business. Again Sir Rider Haggard says: "The New South Wales Government, by its irrigation schemes will be enabled to increase its settlers by about 1000 in two years and in this it is prepared to give preference to British ex-soldiers, putting time-qipired United Kingdom soldiers on tlie same footing as its own men." We wonder whether Sir Rider took the trouble to find out the opinions, with regard to Government irrigation blocks of some of New South Wales' disillusioned irrigationists, men who know by actual and bitter experience what kind of business it is? In conclusion be said that he could not but anticipate that his efforts and Australia's promises would result in the mutual lasting benefit to herself and the Empire. If he is rehjing on political promises he is considerably simpler than ever we believed him to be.

The area of the United Kingdom is little over 77,500,00 acres, of which 20,000 acres are lying in waste, A great part of this, of course, is mountain and moor land, but much of it could be reclaimed, and the war is /directing public attention to the matter very forcibly. During the war productivity of the land has decreased, mainly owing to deficiency of labour, while the necessity of greater supplies has increased. Movements are on foot throughout the country to uioniotc the cultivation of waste spaces, and there are schemes of colonisation for settling returned soldiers on the land. There can bo no doubt that the war will bring about reforms which centuries of peace would have left untouched, and this is one of them,