THE AGRICULTURE OF NEW ZEALAND.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 979, 1 October 1878, Page 2

THE AGRICULTURE OF NEW ZEALAND.

The following is an extract from a lecture delivered by Sir Julius Yogel at the last meeting of the Colonial Institute : — It would be hard to exaggerate the agricultural value of a considerable quantity of the land of New Zeeiand. The history of New Zealand is one continued record of an increase m the value of and demand for land. Of course, the quality of tbe land varies much. S ime, such as the land on the plains, has a grea 1, depth of soil ; some is so rugged and at such an altitude as to be suitable only for sheep, and some is too high even for that purpose. Probably, experience has not yet proved what is the greatest use that can be made of the land, especially of much of the land m the North Island. But the results, as they stand, are sufficient to satisfy the most exacting. I cannot profess to give you, of my owu knowledge, an analysis of the value of the land. Yet, as this is the most important question m relation to the future of th« colony, I feel that my task will Ue ill-completed if I fail to bring the matter fully before you, but I mast do it by the aid of others. I have obtained permission to read to you portions of a letter, addressed by Mr Morton, the chairman of two cornpauies owning 350,000 acres of land m New Zealand, to one of the officers of the company m the colony, m which he particularly dwells on the value of New Ze viand land : — " Mr Ford's estimate of the value of Acton at £7, as corroborative of our own, is satisfactory., My own conviction is that a much greater rise m the value of good freehold land m New Zealand is certain to take p'aec — and this at a much earlier period than you m the colony, or the public generally has any ic'ea of. Ir looking iiilo theagricultii; * sturrs 1

of Great Britain, with abstract returns for the United Kingdom, British possessions, aud foreign oj!lSffi&B )s for 1876, I find that the Average yieid ot wheat per acre m ||J_feHs|. Zealand, out of the 90,804 crop for 1875-6, was mfjshels, while m Victoria, with. p 3||&401 acres, the average yield *v$ Jafrsame year was only 15 5 Wsjils per acre ; New South Wales, "with 13:3.610 acres, was 14-?; South Australia, with 898,820 acres was 11*8 •;■ Tasmania, with 42,745 acres, lo'-4 ; Natal, with 1740 acres, waf. i 2-6 ; and Cape of Good Hope, with 486 000 aores, was 8.9. Dominion of Canada, for 1871, the latest date given, the average of the Lake Ontario, district is 6 # 4 ; Quebec, 8-5 j New Brunswick, 10-8 ; Nova Scotia, II *8. Then if we turn to the United States, the great competitor, so to speak, for the population of Europe, the average .yield of wheat for 1874 . (the lafcss date given)' is 12*3 bushels per, acre and the United. Kingdom, m which the best of the land only is cultivated foi* wheat, and this highly cultivated and manured, only yields an average of 27\ bushels per acre. *■• ■ * * You will easily ., see that when it comes to be generally' known and understood m the United Kingdom arid Europe as well as m Australia aid America, that the reiurns to an agriculturist are so superior' in New Zealand to those 1 m other countries, and this with a climate relatively superior, their attention will naturally, aud as a matter of course, be concentrated upon New Zealand. If you only put down the cost, of. ploughing, seed harrowing, reapi ;g. threshing, and carting to port, all. of which may_V>e said to be nearly the same m the several countries (reaping and threshing alone excepted m Australia and California, where, I understand, it is done by a special method, with the straw left standing on the field), and deduct these charges from t c returns the grain wo'ula yield, say, at 5s per. bushel all round at shipping port, you will find the immense advantage m the. shape of returns to the agriculturist, in New Zea and over any of the Australian Colonies, the Cape, Or Amerioa. In this Ido not deal with Europe, as m the countries where the yield is great the land is not only highly cultivated but highly manured. Then, when 'you takeinto consideration the tact that m. all Australia the land may be said, after being cropped, to be left m an unproductive form, and allowed to revert to its natural state, no permanent pasture of au artificial character (viz. English grass) isgiven tor Adelaide m 1876, and only 19,2 60 acres for 1875 ; for New South Wales none stated, for Victoria, ; out of 1,126,000 as under crops and grass, only 293,000 acres is giveuas under artificialgrass ;. for Western Australia and Tasmania (tli3 most favoured for Queensland none given ; and for chis of all the Australian Colonies), out of 332,000 acres only 102,000 is given, or under one-third of the whole-; whereas- m New Zealand, out of 2,377,000 acres not less than 1,770,000 acre is given as sown out m permanent artificial grass. For .N'.ital and the Cape, none. For Canada none stated, but I have no doubt, both iv it and the United States — viz., the Atlantic— a relative proportion to New Zealand will ' dso be sown out m English grass r, but on the other hand, they have a six mouths', winter, when the ground is wholly covered with snow, and when there may be said to be no outside feed fpr cattle and sheep. So far as I can make •ill that can be said of' small agriculturalists m Canada, the States, or m auy of the Australian Colonies, the yield of wheat per acre, or the r-eturns therefrom, will only pay the farmer fair wages for his own labour, or m some cases yield him probably 10s to 20s per acre beyond this ; whereas m New Zealand, with ihe climate much more pleasant to svork m than any of the others, -the farmer, after allowing himself wages at the same rate as m the other colonies for self, family, and horses — viz., manual and horse labour — would have from £4 to £4 15s per acre net returns, instead of 10s to 20s as m the others. Then, after the land is cropped and sown out m English grass, the yield m feed for sheep is four to five times (viz., equt 1 to 20s per acre of yearly wool return) what it was previous to being broken up and laid down m English grass, instead of (m Australia at least) yielding less returas m pasturage than it did m its natural state. "You will thus easily see how much better it will be for a roan to pay .£lO per acre— aye, eveu £20 per acre — for good land m New Zealand, than ,£1 to ,=£2 per acre for fair laud m Australia. The culti. vation of 20 acres of good land m Australia (I mean the labour and ploughing, sowing, harrowing, aud reaping, thrashing, carting to port, &c.) cannot be put down with safety at under close upon £3 per acre, basing my estimate upon the current rate of manual and horse labor m the several Colonies. The returns from the wheat crop m these colonies will not yield 5s per acre over this sum one year with another, whereas the returns from New Zealand will yield £1 m excess of this. As before stated, I am taking the wheat all round at 5s per bushel at the shipping port m the several Colonies m this stitemcnt. Prom the foregoing it will be seen that the net returns from wheat to the landowner, after paying £3 per r.cre for th Q manual and horse labor, is fifteen times more m Now Z-'ahind than Australia and for the United States ; and for years after tho I lard has been cropped ir A latralia, it I Wil cIJ vest to uo'P.i: •£ aiil the

natural grass again springs up and get! a start, when twoor three acres must g< for each sheep, whereas m New 4ea ' land one acre of good EneUsh grass wil keep four to five merino sdiccpr. J daresay, when you have nil the fore, going weighed over and thought out you will conclude with me that at ac distant date good agricultural land will be selling at £10 to £15 per acre ir New Zealand, according to quality and locality, and A 1 agricultural land al from £20 to £25 per acre." " In the returns on profit of one aore m NoV Zealand of wheat against 16 oi 20 acres, as the case may be, m Australia or America— viz, the, net returns after payment dr allowance for labor, seed, Ac—l omitted one very import-ant-item of outlay, viz.; the fencing ol one acre, say m New Zealand, as against! trom 16 to 20 acres, and the maintaining of said fences. I doubt not you will concur with me m the rapid m d permanent increase m value that must necessarily take place on agricultural land m New Zealand, when once the facts as already stated are known and generally recognised. ' Another gentleman, a large landowner m the Colon*-, and enjoying exceptional opportunities of acquiring information, had furnished me with the following memorandum : — "A great deal of land will yield two grain crops m succession, and after a grass crop eaten on the land yield two -more grain orops, and so on, continuing to give two grain crops, m succession for one grass crop, without any sign of failure. This can be done upon the best agricultural land m the Middle Island, of which there is a large area." I leave you to form your own opinion of these statements. This, I can say, I have been m other Colonies, but I never saw anywhere such earth-hunger as previls m New Zealand amongst all classes, of its people.