ABOUT THE WAIPA. [By our Travelling Reporter.]

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1432, 6 September 1881, Page 2

ABOUT THE WAI PA. [By our Travelling Reporter.]

No. Y. On the further side of the town of Kihikihi and towards the Rangiaohia, there lies a fine tract of gently unduhiting land, across which, here and there, a belt of bush springs from the moist swampy soil of the gullies and flats. Here a line of rich and productive farms stretches over the ground, where still exist the remains of old Maori pahs, old redoubts, blockhouses, and other evidences of the early unsettled times. Messrs Hutclunson, Tole, Kerr, Ross, Dixon, and Qualtrougb own properties of various extent along this line, which all pleasantly illustrate the truth that if over-large estates bought for speculation only are an evd to the country, very small estates are labor in vain and a greater evil still, besides being a source of misery for their owners, who are glad to accept any offer, however small, from a capitalist, and get rid of what has nevet been more than so much work thrown away and labor in vain. Combined into medium-sized properties of from 200 to 500 or 1000 acres, with owners of just sufficient capital to work the land profitably, and not enough to live without working it at all, these farms are made sources of comfortable livelihood, and made to properly develope their capabilities. When men can go into business without a capital to start upon, farmers may hope to live upon nothing till their land produces by spontaneous generation crops of wheat and grass and herds of choice cattle ; but till such happy days fencing and ploughing and sowing and reaping, will require to be done. Mr Qualtrough owns a farm of 230 acres, which was the first I visited on my way. Here, as in every part of the district, the land is of the finest quality, easily •worked but capable of growing all grain and root crops to perfection. About 100 acres have been sown with grass and the remainder is covered with the bush that crosses the flat here and seems to be the remains of an old foreat that must have extended at some remote period from .range to range. Mr Qualtrough is stirring himself like all the other land owners in these parts to get his land into more systematic, cultivation than ,in the old days when it was, sufficient to get a few acres into grass to carry a few head of cattle and sheep just to coyer expenses and afford the o'syper a bare rough living. He has twelve acres sown with the universal white Tuscan wheat ; about 8 acres are intended for potatoes and 20 acres will be devoted; to turnips. 4- no^ ner piece of hi 9 land carried sqma 38 bushels of wheat to the acre last year, and another 11 tons^,s pojj^toesj qThe before last h6' grew' a fine crop of mangolds of I ! about 60 tons to the acre, and some' car- ' rots that would have taken- a prize had

'itn9re been ](s[* opportunity of exhibiting Hbem.i In*fact thie^whole land is not to be excelled for its powers of producing crops of all kinds. About 50 head of cattle of a mixed breed in. which the Hereford seems/tospredoniinate ,*t» kept' in.' very good" coWi'tiou, Some iO of* the *fiowB supplying 1 a~ very nice little dairy, and in addition there are 10 horses of a <;ood useful fanning 1 stamp. There are gome fine pigd also worth noticing, one t sow of the big white SuifiMk! breed particularly exciting my powers of admiration . Some of her progeny lately killed weighed 3501b<». at nine months old. Mr Qualtrougrh' has a very pleasant orchard of an acre and a half about the house, from which he gets ft gocd supply of apple", pears and plums, and there are still no me fine old Maori fruit trees standing in clumps as a remembrance of the good old days never to return, though they don't cany much fiuit now. Just outside the gate, the rond passes through a fine piece of laud used as the Kihikihi racecourse on a former occasion, and about to bo made over to the Town Board as a recreation ground. Passing through a farm of 250 acres belonging to Mr Cowan principally in grass on which I noticed a good many cattle, the track turns at this point through the bnsh along about three-quarters of a mile of good substantial tram-road laid down by the owners of the Kihikihi saw- mill, Messrs. Berry, Gardner, and Neill. Seeing this apparently thin strip, of rather slender looking trees at a distance, I was not prepared to find a bush of the oxtent it really is, and containing trees some of them of 4 feet in diameter, of fine lofty straight Rimu and Kahikatea timber. The sheds erected, and the sawpits with tho tramruad, indicates businesslike prospect at all events, and Mr Gardner, the manager, informed me that they will cut at the rate of 20,000 feet a week, in a weekor two, the supply of timber being sufficient for over two years. Just beyond this point Jies the iarm of Mr Hutchison at Orakau, a spot made memorable to Sew Zealand settlers by ono of the incidents of 1864 campaign against the Waikato Maoris. There is still the outline of the old pah on one of the gentle hills that Mr Hutchinsou's fence now encloses, and there is still the old trench or sip cut by the storming party up to the Maori rifle pits. But the scene is different now, with the lark thrilling peacefully over the green meadows, and the old Maori almond trees uoveied with their pink bloi-som waving ■-o gently over the grim old trench and its bloody reminiscpneo. Mr Hutchison owns a very pleasant and valuable farm of 612 acres here now, and the first cottage erected by its European owners is aheady showing signs of wearing out in the midst of the plantations of fine vigorous pines and gums of fiom 70 to 100 feet high that sunounded it, and a new one is to be put up. JEtewi's whare used to stand near here, and the two plum trees that used to shade it are ornturents of the garden. The ground of the garden and the house is tupt/, or sacred to all the Maoris of thesett'ements for miles round, for some reason or superstition of their own, and many of them it they are ailing or unlucky in any way will still come and ask for a piece of bread in the belief that the eating of that will cure them. They always take the bread carefully away and will never eat or cook on the place, even when they may be working theie. The land of the farm lies in broad terraces, clown to the flat on which the bush is situated, and the soil of the flats is a fine rich vegetable surface, on a stiff clay bottom that will grow fine grain and gi ass crops, while that of the higher giound is of a lighter character and has a subsoil of deep sandy clay, that for clover or grass, gram or roots, could not be beaten. About 400 acres have been laid down in grabs, and every year crops of some sort have been raised, which will be increased in extent .is the demand and facilities for coniinunie-ition improve. Tins year there will be 10 acies in wheat, 12 acres of potatoes, and 40 acres of turnips. The land lias turned out 35 bushels to the acre of wheat, and last year's potato crop aveiaged 9 tons, and turnips have yielded 50 tons to the aue, some ot the roots measuring 40 inches in circumference. lam particular in mentioning what has been grown on all these farms to show what the laud is capable of doing, as I have heard the mistake made in other parts of Kew Zealand that the Waikato lands were light and poor, and incapable of growing crops of any kind, and as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the best contradiction of such a mistake is the detail of what has been produced Mr Hutchison has about 120 head of cattle here of a cross between the Hereford and Shorthorn breeds, and a fine Hereford bull and a Shorthorn of the Fantham bleed. There arc also some sheep of the Lincoln breed, the ewes and lambs looking particularly good, and 14 or 15 horses, draught and hacks. A very nice orchard and kitchen garden, sloping to the afternoon sun and sheltered by a tall whitethorn hedge, shows some thriving and healthy young specimens of apples, pears, plums and vines, besides such fruits as almonds and loquats, the latter bearing ripe fruit in the season. The homestead in whi< h I noticed a Wood reaper and binder, includes a comfortable stable, cattle sheds, and stockyard. The icene from the jraiden could not be equalled with the slopes extending to the wooded spurs of lofty Maungataut<iri on one side and the charminsr valley fringed with bush at the foot of bright srreen paddocks surrounding the bouse, and bald old Kakapuka with quite a glory round ln's head in the evening sun, looking on the advent of the new era for the land in which he has witnessed so many ages of dark and dismal bloodshed and ferocious ignorance. We may not yet have attained perfection, but to contrast the present time with only twenty yeira ago, is the best way to judge of the rate at which we are movinar onward, and to silence the grumblers who see no good in anything that dosen't bring a bawbee, specially to themselves.

The members of Abner Lodge, L.0.L., No. 38, arc requested to meet in the Good Templars' Hall, Hamilton East, to-morrow night. Visiting brethren invited. The members of L.0.L., Ngaruatvahia, will meet at' the Lodge-room at 7.30 to-morrow evening 1 . Dr W. A. Cushny, M.B. and Mast. Surgeon, Aberdeen, 1872, and M.1)., Aberdeen, 1874, notifies that he intends applying to be registered under the Medical Practitioners Act. The thoroughbred and popular entire Ariel is advertised to stand this season in Waikato, Ariel is one of the best bred horses in the colony. ■ The new pure cash system now being initiated by G. and C. will certainly prove a benefit to the public. It h.i>= been a great success in Sydney and Melbourne and when strictly carried out the customer who bu>s at an establishment where the goods arc marked low to ensure a rapid sale must be a great gainer. G. and C. sell their drapery millinery, and clothing at such prices for cas>h as gives the buyer the advantages of a shareholder in a co-operative society, without the risk of being called upon to bearaportion of the loss should the year's business prove unsatisfactory. Garlick and Cranwell will aim to retain the confidence which the public have hitherto shown them, and are determined to give the pure -cash system a fair trial j whether they gain or lose the first yjsar. Country buyers on remitting 1 ' cash with order will be supplied with goods at co-operative prices ; just the same as though they made a personal selection. Furnishing 1 goods, such as carpets, floor cloths, bedsteads, bed. 'Sujp and generai house iiirnifurV, the, largest pbrtipn) of which » turned out at our own factory, will be marked at the lowest remunerative prices, 'and a discount qf five per cent, will be allowed to those who pay at the time' of purchase. IG.>& C» having realised the entire value of their stock during their late cash sale, the present itock is new and chkaplv bought. An inspection is invited.— Garlick and Cranwell, City HaHFurnishirig Arcade'Queenstreet, Auckland.