MR J. J. BARUGIL ON THE WAIKATO.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1728, 2 August 1883, Page 3

MR J. J. BARU GIL ON THE WAIKATO.

Till- following letter appeals in the Fk<' iVo\ published at Hudlingt >n, m the K.ist Hiding ol Voikbliiic, of June iJtli. In intiodiumg it the Editor say-j : — We have nine!) pleasure in publishing the following letter on New Zealand which we h,t\c ieeii\ed fiom Mi J. J. Barugh. Jlislngli position as an agncultmisfc in this neighboui hood, and Ins stciling woitli as a man of high pnnciplu and of wide information, will give addi tioml weight to anything lie may unte as the outcome ot his own expcuenco in the new eountiy of his adoption.

To the Editor of the Bndlnujtmi Fnv My Dr.ui Silt,— ln searching for some subject in connection with New Zealand which might interest my numcious friends> in the ncighbomhood of Jsi idling ton, 1 liii\o conic to the conclusion thiit 1 might endeavour to give some de^ciip tion of tlie Waikato, tlie di^tiiet ot New Zealand w itli w Inch I am best acquainted. Conspicuous fiom many paits of the Waikato aie two i.tngus of IIIIK. tliat on the west bide culminating in <i pictmesque mountain called J'nongij. rlMier IMie Inodt striking <>l>|ect in the utliei lange is an elevation of equal or mi pun or height called Te Aroha, now being uddled by what an old M.ioii called lat holes, in seal eh of gold. As \et the seaieh has not been \eiy successful, but a long time elapses before mineis will confers to "that sickness of the heait w Inch auses from hope defened." Long ages ago the country between these* ranges appeals to have consisted of a vast number ot clayey hills and valleys. The clay is, howe\ei, in most places ot so liyht and f liable a character that it would be better to designate it soil than clay. Subsequently the spaces between these hills have been coveicd with deposits more or Ic-s sandy, some of them, how ever, so compact as to be impervious to water. Those deposits have tormed a large extent of flat land, but thiongh it ciop up a number of hills of greater or less elevation. The deposits in many placet are of gieat depth, and ot great \diiety in colour and textiue. On the chaiacterof the deposit nearest the surface depends, in si gloat degicc, the value of the land. On parts of thi> flat great swamps have formed, and laige areas arc covered with peat, which I think will not be found of more \alue than peat is in companion with haul land in England. Many creeks inteisect this Hat laud, the streams in which have formed deep gullies, into these the most swampy parts c-in be readily drained. There aie scvor.il rivers running through this formation, of which the Waikato is the largest. All run in deep gullies into which the cieeks empty themselves. The surface soil, although the greater part ot it may be called sandy, is not of the description of much sandy soil in England, which is often said to tread the cleaner the inoicit rains. All Waikato soih will puddle when trodden by stock in wet weather ; not to the same extent as the Wolds in England ; but still a well trodden turnip field does uot let the water oasily pass through it. When some of the more compact strata form the surface deposits, the soil during winter is often very wet indeed. These impervious strata are generally nearly white in colour, and the soil resting on them is said to be excellent wheat; land. When dry, however, the greater part of this land readily breaks up under the action of the plough and hanow, and a little working reduces it to a powder so fine, and in many places so light, that I often svonde.r it does not all blow away. It is a soil on which it is the delight of all cluldien to run about without shoes or stockings ; so soft and silky is it in textiue. In its original state it is covered with fern, flax, and manuka, here geneially called tea-tree ; and to the eye of a person accustomed to a cultivated country conveys a sombre and disagreeable impression. By far the larger portion of this district is not naturally rich land, but it grows clovers luxuriantly from the first breaking up, and afterwards, with judicious management, will grow almost anything that is required. Two cwts. of bones per acre will grow a large crop of turnips, and four or five cwts. an immense crop of mangolds, Hitherto the grain crops, in my estimation, have not corresponded to the magnificence of the root crops, although this year many fine wheat crops have been grown, and the grain is of excellent, quality. If useful crops are produced,' however, weeds decline to be kept in the background. Of these the most persistent in, showing itself at all times, and in all places, is the creeping sorrel At first I mistook it for the common sour _jipck, ..but it appears to be a smaller *" variety of that family ; all plants with creeping root 3 seems to find a congenial home in the soil of the Waikato, therefore* though, easily wprked, it? is uqt

easily kept clean. Hitherto the -land has been principally devoted to pasturage, but the experience of the last te<v; v« ara has proved that it is well adapted for grain growing, and the wheat, is, for flour making purposes, scarcely surpassed by any in the world. January is the harvest month, most of the crops being secured, by the.latter part of that inontjh or early '|n , February. , This year ih^ wheat lias been secured in splendid condition, and on the whole the probabilities of fine weather in harvest are much m eater here than in England. The yield this year appears to be from 20 to ,">0 bushels per acre. A few yeais of judicious culture would bring the averago yield of the country to near the latter amount ; but at " present, farming is parotised in a very unsystematic'fashion, and crops are correspondingly variable. Kor successful gram growing in the Waikato it is requisite that the land should be laid down for longei, or shorter periods in pasture, and this necessitates the rearing and fattening of stock. For these purposes the Waikato is well adapted. Until four or five years ago hummer fattening w.is the only thing possible. In winter the cattln lived but did not fatten. The opening of the railway into Iho district, the introduction of bone manure, and the marvellous adaptability of tho land for nipt ciops, render it probable that, as is the case 'on the Wolds, at no very distant date tho winter supply of cattle food may be greater than that of summer. The hopes of our farmers have been very much raised by the success attending recent shipments of frozen meat to England. Tho Matauia, a s tiling- vessel, is at present loading in Auckland. The cost on the , meat, however, before being 1 placed on tho London market will, I am told, bo 3}d i per lb. This and the preference io,Euj{- J li-,h maikets for newly-killed meat, pretty heavily handicaps us on this side of the world in competing with the English fanner. There aro report", however, that by <omo recent discoveries tho cost of the lefiigemtinsr process is to bo very much loweied. It is certain, however, that from this time England will receive very m.my caigocs of frozen meat fiom New Zealand. ' The universal shout among the land speculator licic is that land will rise in value, but as wild l.uid in New Zealand lia^ for sc\eial years been much too de,u for any bonit fide faimcis to pin chase, hi ing into cultnation, and faun with prolit, the may Le vciy content it what has hitherto been a fictitious value becomes in futiuc a real one. When a country is allowed to fall in large blocks into the hands of speculator, as much of this has unfortunately done, these gentlemen endeavour to leap all the profits that should accrue to the farmer, even the prospective ones. As the Go\ eminent has censed buying land from the natives, and left tho speculators as the only put chasers, these arc the men with whom future cmigiants will have to deal ; not a \eiy encouraging pio->pecfc for the cmigiants. The sentiments which 1 have here expressed arc not popular with many of the leading spirits of New Zealand, ncvcithclcss the facts on which they are founded have had a retarding ellect on the pi ogres ot the colony, emigrants le.i\e New Zealand than peihaps any othei Dntish colony. Last year I noted that a piopoition equal to two-thuds of those who came to the colony left it again. This yea i the pinpoition will be much smallei, as assisted iinnngiation hns been le&umed, and the working man without money will not be able to leave the colony, and eventually will have no desire to do so. The colonial bombast prevalent in New Zealand, which has trumpeted forth its marvellous progiess and piospeiity to all parts of the world, is in my opinion not at all justified by facts. Considering the well tested feitility of a great pait ot the land, the umi\ ailed climate, the great vaiiety and range of the vegetable ptoductions which can be raised, and its gieat pastoial capabilities, I think the progress of the country has been lotnarkably slow. Look at tho numbeis of people who go to tho fro/on wastes of Manitoba and stay there ; whilst twothirds of those w ho come here with small capital tor investment, leave again. Novel theless the country must and will piosper in spite of the wretched and blundering laud polity, which is keeping hundieds of thousands of acics locked up bv dogs in the manger, that would otherwise .it this moment have been pioducmg .a mine of wealth to tho colony, P.iims wholly or partially bi ought into cultivation ha\ c of late yo.ii'ss seldom sold foi moie than the cost of the implements, and the new ly-ai lived settlor has found it more profitable to purchase these than wild land. The fruit capabilities of the country can, I think, scarcely be surpassed. There is a constant succession ot fruits for half the year, fioni .strawberries in the early spiing, to apples, pears, melons and grapes in autumn. There is not the coutiast in the prices of grain between this and the old country that theie is in that of fresh meat. Wheat is now selling here at five shillings per bushel ; but the gieat cost of labour oheaUs its cultivation If it weie not for reaping and binding machines, the quantity already grown could not he harvested. The demand for labour in the Waikato has for some time been considerably greater than the supply. I think few countries possess the advantages which New Zealand presents to the working man, Good workmen have no difficulty in getting si* shillings per day, and peimancnt employment • and I am sorry to see that ln-ir.y who are not good workmen have little difficulty in doing the same, only they more frequently shift their "quaiters. But when needs drive, employers are occasionally obliged to bear patiently with somo sorry workmen. Swampers, that is men draining the swamps, have been receiving oightand nine shilling per day during the last summer, and those who do not care for regular employment prefer high wages spiced with loafing, when the hard-earned money is "knocked down " (as the spending piocess is named heie) in a few days, A usual wage here is thirty shillings per week, a house rent free, and sometimes a cow kept. Any good ploughman can obtain twenty shillings per week and his boaid, The hours of labour are not so long as in Engtand, but many farmors make a determined stand against the day's labour being restricted to eight hours. One complaint is often made against newcomers that they are often more selfish and difficult to please than old colonials. The change from poverty to comparative wealth seems to beget a self- asserting independence which is often very offensive It is surpi ising that more working men do not come heie. I can soarcoly believe, as some assert, that the sea voyage is the hindiance; with the excellent ships that ply between these colonies and England the dangers of the sea are reduced to a minimum. The climate of tho. Waikato, like that of all countries within the temperate zones, is uncertain. We may have dry seasons or wet seasons, as at home, from causes beyond our discernment. The average rainfall of the Waikato, I believe, is about forty inches, but with this rather large rainfall we have very much more bright weather than in England. We have very few of what we call at home "muggy" days. Nor is the climate of the Waikato, like some parts of New Zealand, characterised by stormy winds. It is often breezy, a welcome circumstance in hot summer weatner, and sometimes we have strong winds, but with the exception of about two hours iv a thunder shower we have had nothing approaching to what I call a storm since we came here. Thunder storms ai'e also of much less frequent occurrence than in England. • On the flat plains of the Waikato, ' frosts fall rather sbaiply on still and clear nights during the winter. The scenery of the Waikato is relieved from monotony by large areas of , hilly land, most of it capable of cultivation, and some of it of very .superior quality. TJI9 district ia also, oearly surrounded, by

hills of very varied, contour and elevation, ranging from a few hundreds to nearly three thousand ;feet in height. In whatever diroofro'n the eye is' turned some of these hills are conspicuous and impart a pleasing beauty 'to the landscape. , , , I think* I 'have now' stated ' the greater part of what I know that will interest my friends at aiul near Bridlington on the district of the Waikato. The country is pleasant to live in, our neighbours courteous and friendly, and I think the^e is for the future of New Zealand, if -not a very rapid, at least a very certain prosperity. —I am, dear sir, yours truly, Jos. J. Baiutcih. Wartle', East Hamiltdri, Waikato,' April 20th, 1883. ' '

Ax American lecturer wished to explain to a little girl how a lobster casts its ( shell when it has outgrown it, so, by way of illustration, he s.iid, " What do you do when you have outgrown your clothes ? You throw them aside, don't you ?" "Ohno,"&aid the little one, "we let out the tuckb." Dn WhateLy, Archbishop of Dublin once asked a young mau^ '• how it happened that truth, which everyone' is by way of seeking after, is so rarely iound '!" When the youth demurred answering, the Archbishop said, " I'll tell yoii why — because men always prefer getting truth on their side to being on the side of truth." , ', , Ax A B C Experiment ox Exsilaoe,. — We take the following from a Banlfsllire paper :—": — " I write to inform you of an experiment I have been making on ensilage. You are aware that thfeifo has been a, cousideiable amount of discussion about it, in' 'this country, and many ■ will- not believe that it is 1 possiblcto .prevent; rivet 'grass from rotting if put up, in that state. I must allow I was very doubtful about it, as I had seen some specimens of it which had been sent to thp Secretary of the Highland Agricultural Society, and which smelt, badly, but I have no doubt it was from its having been exposed for a length of time after it was taken out of the pit. Since meeting with a gentleman on his return from Anieuca, who described the piocess, which is a very simple one, I have made the experiment on a very small scale : and which any of your readers may do who are nob satisfied of the results, I obtained a jar with a pretty wide mouth, cut some wet grass, some carrots, also turnips, greens and cabbages : cut each and all into short lengths of an inch, less or more, put them into the jar, pressing them hard down until the jar was full, closed the mouth with a lump of clay, and laid it away for two months. I then, to get the mixture in the solid state, broke the jar, and the whole came out quite fresh —no bad smell whatever. I then took the mixture to byre (the cows were eating cabbage at the time). I offered the mixtuie to one of the cows, and &he at once left the cabbages and ate the mixture with evident reh&h. I should think it would be a veiy gicat advantage to the farmers in this country to have pits in winch they could pieservi" the second ciop of glass in any kind of weather, or in \\ Inch, >\ hen taking up their swede turnips, they could save all the tops for spnng use ; as often both the .second crop of clover is lost, and, the turnips, hawng to be taken up without delay, the tops cannot be all UM'd, e\eu b} the young cattle."