Freehold Tenure In New Zealand Exceeds Leasehold

Taranaki Daily News, 1 September 1942, Page 6

Freehold Tenure In New Zealand Exceeds Leasehold

The total area of occupied land in New Zealand in 1940-41, the latest returns available, was 42,888,337 acres. The amount of freehold land was 21,504,847 acres and of leasehold 21,383,490 acres, the first occasion for many years that the freehold holdings had exceeded the leasehold holdings. Ten years ago there were 20,441.823 acres of . freehold land and 22,286,926 acres of leasehold. Less than half the occupied land, or 19,906,656 acres, is in cultivation, and of that 17,513,979 acres, or about 88 per cent., is laid down in grass, 1,322,340 acres is in crop, 852,196 acres irr plantation, 104,189 acres in fallow, 82,045 acres gardens about residences, 20,164 acres orchards and 10,369 acres market and nursery gardens. Of the 22,981,684 acres of unimproved occupied land 2,847,772 acres is in standing native bush. Taranaki has a total occupied area of 1,364,768 acres, of which 821,384 acres, or 60 per cent., is freehold and 543,384 acres, or 40 per> cent., is leasehold. There are 386,745 acres unimproved in Taranaki. A total of 439,801 acres were topdressed. There are in grass 945,147 acres, in grain and pulse crops 2786 acres, in green fodder, root and other crops 12,953 acres, in plantations 4262 acres, in orchards 106 acres, in market gardens and nurseries 128 acres, in private gardens 4715 acres and in fallow land 591 acres. The area in grain comprised 298 acres wheat (147 for threshing, 115 for chaff, hay or ensilage and 36 for feeding off), 1878 acres of oats (1152 for hay, chaff or ensilage and ,726 for feeding off), 252 acres of barley (15 acres for threshing, 70 for chaff, hay or ensilage and 167 for feeding off) and 358 acres of maize (two acres for threshing, 14 for ensilage and 352 acres for feeding off). Most of the grain for threshing was grown in the Taranaki and Egmont counties. The wheat averaged 47.32 bushels to the acre (Dominion average 34.15), the chaff yield being 2.7 tons (1.83). The oats averaged 2.67 tons chaff (1.63, the barley 30.67 bushels (33.3 bushels) and 8.46 tons chaff (2.25), the maize 20 bushels (47.71 bushels) and ensilage 6.14 tons (4.44 tons). Fifty-two acres of rye grass in the Stratford county averaged 36.691b (32.586 lb), and 11 acres of cocksfoot in the Clifton and Taranaki counties averaged 180 lb (142.851b). Taranaki also grew 9289 acfes of turnips, 997 acres of turnips and rape, 196 acres of m&ngolds, 139 acres of carrot3 and parsnips, 121 acres of potatoes, and one acre of onions. Taranaki's production of potatoes, which averaged 5.35 tons tb the acre (5.54), represented .71 per cent of the Dominion total. The onions averaged 10 tons (9.11) to the acre. The total livestock in the Dominion was 266,066 horses, 4,575,873 cattle (including 1,779,603 dairy cows), 31,751,660 sheep and lambs, and 769,180 pigs (including 100,378 sows). Taranaki possessed 413,141 cattle , including 231,140 dairy cows), 15,607 horses (comprising 6700 draught and three-quarter draught, 5287 spring cart or light artillery, 2971 hacks and light working horses and 956 thoroughbred and other horses), 79,530 pigs and 798,963 sheep (including 512,956 breeding ewes).