THE DARLING DOWNS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9130, 1 July 1908, Page 6

THE DARLING DOWNS.

■*- MR WALL'S IMPRESSIONS. WHAT ATTRACTS NEW ZEALANDEKS. Mr James Wall, late of the Wairrarapa, has just returned from Queensland, where he has purchased a 3,000-acre block of land in company with Mr Lord, his partner. In the course of an interview which Mr Wall had with a Dominion representative he remarked,'-inter alia, "I don't intend to butter up the country, but I just wish to make statements of fact. First of all, 1 was agreeably surprised at the quality of the lane! which I saw on the Darling I . Downs. The quality of the soil is really first-class. There is no doubt that the quality of the black soil is unsurpassed in the world; no wonder when the depth runs from 30 to 160 feet. Water can be obtained anywhere at a depth of from 30 to 120 feet by means of bores and windmills. : "The roads are level land very wide, something from five chains to five miles, all fenced, but not formed. You can easily imagine that in wet weather they are very bad indeed, and naturally are deterimental to the dairying industry which has to rely so much upon vehicular traffic. The climate is excellent for human being*. Toowoomba is 2,000 feet

above the sea level. There is no doubt that the country is subject to short dry periods, the ill effects of which are discounted by the fact of t'ie ncli and fast growth of the pastarerf. These dry periods are common also in France and Germany, and they must not; be confounded with the big droughts which devastate the back country of Queensland. "The sheep country is certainly not so good as that of New Zealand, but it is so much cheaper. The comparison is something like this:— 14 sheep country in New Zealand, £8 per acre. j I* sheep country in Queensland, £2 10s to £3 per acre. "The fat lamb industry in the district is just in its infancy, and the bulk of the sheep are merino. Dairying is already flourishing, and I am confident that the future of the Darling Downs lies in this industry. As an evidence of this statement, one has only to remember that ten years ago dairying on the Darling Downs was almost unknown, while now the place has numerous factories, some of which made butter and cheese under the one roof. "Another help to the dairy farmers ia the fact that pigs on the Darling Downs are a most valuable product. They are easily fed, are topped off with maize, and fetch 5Jd per pound. "The reason that this part of the country has not gone ahead before is because the holdings were too big. "The market for dairy produce is equally as good as in New Zealand. In the hog business it is better in every way, and also for calves, which can be reared and sold to the back stations. Fat sheep and fat cattle markets are not so good as in New Zealand. Merinos, you know, are not the best freezers in the world, and since the big drought of 1902 cattle have been so scare that the big meat companies found it unprofitable to operate on the market. There is no doubt, however, that the time will come when Queensland will supply the outside mark eta in both directions. "The methods of the Queensland in many ways, are crude, and they could very well take as an example their New Zealand brethren. Farms may be seen all over the place in a state of neglect. "The Darling Downs is entirely free from cattle and sheep tick and rabbits. "The land rates are very light. For instance, I think the Hon. J. D. Ormond ,will pay something like £lB6 per annum in rates on his recent purchase of 18,000 acres, which cost roughly £60,000— something like 2d. in the £on the unimproved value. The rates are collected by the Shire

Council, and not by the Government. There are other rates, however, namely, Is 9d for every 80 head of horses, 20 head of cattle, IJOO head of sheep. This is called the marsupial rate, and there is also a rabbit rate of Is for every 20 head of cattle and ' horses Of course, there may be rabbits in Queensland outside of the Darling Downs, and the rate you know is general. "Finally, I will say this. The Darling Downs is undoubtedly a very fine countrj, and no practical farmer need fear to fettle there. I would not, however, advise farmers who are doing really well in New Zealand to throw up their properties, ;but for those who are out in search or 'specs,' and who are young and steady and fairly willing to work, there is a real good future for them, if they like to start in Queensland."