CLOSER SETTLEMENT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9669, 17 December 1909, Page 5

CLOSER SETTLEMENT.

(To the Ed lor). ! Sir,—A citizen and I decided to g'o | out and inspect the block on the East Coast which is at present under offer . to JJ the Government, and of ' which Mr Hunter is energetically pushing the purchase by getting a petition signed to present to the Minister. We left at five to four, and as the morning broke fine we had a pleasure in store. As we drove through the country on every side the aspects of a prosperous and a prolific season 'were "visibly. In passing through the Te Ore Ore both grain and catch crops were in a very forward condition, and one or two fields of oats were ready for the binder. Taueru was a perfect picture, feed in abundance and the stock, especially the bullocks, were looking in splendid condition, in one field I noticed some fine polled Angus bulls, one in particular whose progeny should return the owner many golden harvests. There also appeared to be very heavy percentages of lambs, which were, very forward. Going along through Blairlogie I noticed one or two fine homesteads, but a de- , cided lpck of settlement. Then came | the Langdale Settlement, where can j be seen an instance of transformation , on a srraller scale, such as I described at Starborough in my last letter. In driving alorg Men one notices neat homesteads, good fences, painted gates, with woplsheds and outbuildings, roofs and all wellpainted, there is no need to probe deeper in order to prove prosperity, in fact it would be very interesting to know what Langdale produced formally, and what it does to-day. Then came another stretch of fine country, but great lack of settlement until we reached Tinui; there I got a great surprise. ' I imagined I would arrive at a real live village, but, alas, I heard not a sound, and the only sign of progress or life I saw was at Pinhey's stables. In looking round and seeing tfie stretches of rich river fiats I could not help imagining what a different place Tinui would be with a large I dairy factory in full swing, and | thirty or forty tailk carts trotting J along; in fact, the present tranca would be broken for ever. During the rest of our journey we passed up a valley with fertile river flats, and hills well clothed with grass, but lack of settlement on every hand. Instead of thcjre being two good schools in the valley I saw none. The homesteads looked prosperous, but much too far apart. As we entered the block which is under offer I we came to the end of the road, so I had to leave the gig and after having a cup of tea we rode on through the country, inspecting as we went. Two hours brought us to the second homestaad. Here after refreshments and the afternoon being still early. I tecidedtogo n urther, and after

! several hours' ride returned as hungry as a hunter, and did hearty justice to the good dinner which my hostess kindly provided. Then a couple of hours' talk wi?h my host as to the capability of the country I retired to bed and slept like a top until between three and four o'clock next morning, when I rose invigorated by the clear morning and fresh sea breeze, and went for another look round, then after a good breakfast I had another chat with my host, and as my hostess informed me that she and her two sons were going on to Titiui, I decided to wait back and return with them as far as my gig. With regard to the block as a whole it would be very suitable to cut up into from twenty to thirty subdivisions. In fact, the men who draw several of the sections might consider themselves very fortunate, but of course their chances would be j one in a hundred, for if the country 1 eroes to the ballot, the applicants for some of the divisions would be very numerous. At the price quoted I did not expect to see extensive river flats or wide open valleys. The country varies from rich river flats, sweet limestone and good papa shell carrying a beavy sward of ryegrass and clover to hard scrub. The hard country on the whole is easy, and if put under the plough would be productive. The limestone portion is real sweet land with good capabilities, and the papa shell is rich enough for anything. The river flats are well suited for dairying or cropping, especially rape growing. There are four good useful homesteads on the block, which is a great advantage, for if there were only one large homestead and woolshed there would be considerable loss, as it would not be suitable for a small settler. I was well impressed with the, stock, especially a big line of fat wethers I saw in the yards. They were in the pink of condition, splendidly clothed with wool, and not a bad one amongst them. Also tba appearance of the ewe flock. The ewes were heavily fleeced, and the lambs were wellgrown with a big percentage. In fact, my host informed me that they averaged 115 per cent right through,, including a large flock of two-tooths. Then again, in extending the road it would open a nearer stock road to Masterton, for the settlers further up the Coast than the present road through Fongaroa and Altredton. On the whole, I think thfe country is very suitable at the price, and I wish Mr Hunter every success hi bringing the matter before the Ministry, and tne citizens of Masterton in their own interests should gi /e him every assistance. Thanking you for space, I am, etc., "OBSERVER." Masterton. December 16th, 1909.