CHATS WITH FARMERS.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1219, 22 April 1880, Page 2

CHATS WITH FARMERS.

My first paper containeH an account of a conversation wfth a swamp farmer, and a half implied promise that I would return to the consideration of similar subjects in some of my succeeding contributions I know of none who have attained to a^reater"measure of success infringing the swampy? labels this trict into condition faforable to 'tile 1 •purposes of agriculture' -ihan-'€Japtip~J Runciman ? .whose operations haye been carried On principally at Marsh Meadows. Fortunately, in the pds'&sdcftt of : a longs and, valuable colonial experience of the mojst practical- character, Oapt. Runciinah, first settled in the Waikato some eigHt oj* f nine years ago 1 , He' at first carrieel on pretty extensive operations, ,in connection , wjtlj - his brother, i at Broad Meadowi, ' near Cambridge, but soon afterwards'removed to,* r lu# own' 1 Fernendo, at Jffau,tlap!u; (11 w^icli ,Tie; soj&.in $eptembeu 1578,t. to? Jtfor -Snowden. Shortly afterwards he removed 4 to his present £arm,,^ although for some time previous to this, Work had been jQommen^d .^t^Marsfr , The property lies on the Piako road, about five miles distance from r Hamilton, , ; an f d^ about' four*i|iles from the ' Eureka Station f of * jthe Waikato Land Association — the two properties adjoining — and contains 1500 acres. About 1000 T acres were purchased at a low figure . from the Government, in 1866, and consisted entirely of jswamp. The remainder of' the land l*k&s 'purchased from time to time,' partly from the Government arid 1 pa,tbly from private : individuals, some of it costing f nearly £i per acre. Of the portion r£ce.n#y acquired, some 300' acres were' dr^ land covered with fern and light , manuka, the remainder being wet! The swamp was old' anfl'deep, and extremely wet, ,witha large acrjsvLWMtet&p. - fif clqcayqd vegetable matter overlaying a thick stratum < b^'ttead - timber. - DrainingL has. therefore been attended not !< <only with great difficulty but with great expense. Added to this, the land possessed a very bad reputation, and starting as he did with the warning voices of friends in his ear, Capt. Runciman must have found these drawbacks to be of a nature more severe than under ordinary circumstances would have been the case. In September 1878, the improvement effected were these : — Sixty acres of dry land had been ploughed and. sown down with grass, a, few chains oi. fence had been erected, and the main outlet drain had been cut. This latter had been d6ne at •the joint expense, of the Swamp Company and Gaptain E-unciman, •and forms the outlet in this direction for the Company's water. It is over three miles in length, two miles being through the Company's land, and originally Was six feet wide by about seven ,feet deep. Since the depression of the swamp surface by the compression of the vegetable matter, the drain has been further widened and deepened, 'and the level, of .the, water is now fully six feet below the surface of the adjoining land. Besides enlarging the main drain, since the farm has been in occupation, about four miles of cross drains have been cut, principally of smaller dimensions, with the main outlet. The land intersected ' by these iis r now, > owing to the- poruS' .nature of the subsoil, thoroughly and permanently dry, and about 600 acres liave been sown iwith grass, 1 the flax,'' rushes, and other natural vegetation having been buriiti off. The whole of the , clry land, Ms. been p^ougljed -an^laid down iiir grass, .which, .undar $hg influence of the late-dry* weather though not now' looking well,' has produced excellent feed. liast'v'ear, aq^ut 20 jacres of turnips were sown, and kept 27 head of cattle for' three months, the stock being afterwards removed to a clover paddock, and sold fat in the beginning of December. The crop was not a very satisfactory one however, and would not bear , comparison "with the turnips sown this year. The present crop — aT)out 55 acres — was partly- sown in the first week in February* and partly in the second week in March, and the earlier portion occupying a piece of reclaimed swamp, is now looking remarkable- well. The ground ytra& yvoiY/TQQgh, haying been only rendered fit 'for 'the plough just'WrWe sowing time, "and' contaims a' •large- quantity of rubbish.- ; But it is anticipated' that the cattle when, 'bfeingi ' 'fed' on / the ; Mrnif)g j will > thoroughly' solMify 4&ie; sOil, and render it fit lo^v ajmost any purpose. • The later *t«(J\£n turnips though greatly oeljind the others, are coming, on very quickly, and are expected to provide food in a couple of months. It is anticipated that the turnips will provide ample winter food for, 50 head of cattle, turning them out in condition fit for the market in the spring, and judging from present appearances, these anticipa-' tions are likely to be realised. The amount of seed sown per acre was half a', potirtd; tyhich is /found to be ample. Last year about eight acres j of- land ' Vere ' ! sowii f ' with oats whioli was cut f or hay, 1 and yielded over five tons of really good fodder, the oats being exceptionally plump, while , the straw was perfectly free from any admixture of weeds or fern. Mr Runciman is a thorough believer in the great value of trees, and has already commenced planting on a somewhat extensive scale. At present he has some 13 or H acres planted with forest trees, and in his miwory aw hundreds of young true*

jail kinds — mostly pines — awaiting fijnQ|»f/to their destination. Many planted out are now "oVgrsix feet high. A considerable area of land, principally on the banks of the creeks, has been planted with the thorny acacia, the wood of which is so useful for many of the purposes of the farm. For axe, pick, and fork handles, and swingletrees < {vapfcam -Runciman-uses nothing else, having obtained, pe/i^g $ c growth of Jus/ ovn^Veeg,* * -^Ppgly °f the tiie wood elsewhere. It is especially adapted lor" posts and rails, the length' sf Ifcwri£ which it^will remain sound in the earth being computed at 15- years, i It, cannot be expected that on a place of •a ? mature- ''so ■ unpromising . as ' I have , described anything like stock-raising has up to the present been attempted; yiet the average number of cattle kept on the farm since it has been occupied is l>2o, and last^yearnb less than 40 calves were reared there, In addition to these there has never been less than about 200 sheep and 15 horses, while 20 or 30 pigs have been the constant - denizens of the yard. Regarding the pigft , a word or. two, may be said. The .breed is a cross between Berkshire 1 and Chinese? the stock karvdn^eenjarought t£ Waijcato by ißapt. sßuncfman'on his lirsftalrrival, and' kept ever since. Nothing could excel tiiem, for Ja^mjpnpppses. They are easy- to keepj costing comparatively little to 1 fatten and, unlike cff 'their* relieves in different parts of the district, never get into .mischief, • and do not get through the fences. The homestead is conveniently situated at the sothern end of the,' farm, and' Consists of a pretty ' two-sWey dwelling with tastefully laid out flower garden ann lawn, tlie grounds contain about two acres ; workman's cottages and the necessary stables, cowsheds, and other out offices., AT 5 yard for general purposes, 'about "two acres in' extent,, divides- the /house from 'tlie stockyard and staoleV and here ,'tfye,, horses &ci,'are feel. The homestead is surrounded with trees, which will in a few years provide eicfellgfit /B^el|ei^ Jihgn is a bi'ief oi. the progress made since the farm has been- in occupation. In my next I will deal with the method adopted to bring the land under cultivation, with some particulars •as to cost, &c., which space forbids me to discuss at present.