(Continued.)

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1967, 14 February 1885, Page 5 (Supplement)

(Continued.)

Next morning I intended to visit Dipton, a township about 18 miles further along the Kingston railway, for the purpose of inspecting another property. Mr. Carswell had arranged to come from Invercargill in the morning, and I was to meet him at the Winton station on the arrival of the train. Bat there must have been some misunderstanding on my part o£ the arrangement ; for I wa3 just thinking about turning out of bed for a bath when I heard a knook at my door, and on opening it Mr. Carawell informed me that I had just five minutes to get dressed and catch the train. My pleasing anticipations of a shower bath on a frosty morning immediately vanished ; and, dressing in the quickest time on record, I rushed for the train without even having time to wash my face or lace my boots, which latter operation I performed while the train was in motion. But the unkindest out of all was that I was fined a shilling for my activity, as, in my hurry, I had neglected the very necessary formula of paying for a ticket. Dipton is about 18 miles farther on than Winton, and we pass through a good deal of buah land, into whioh saw-mills are steadily working their way, and recklessly destroying all the best of the timber. Some very fine sheep country is to be seen as the train makes its way along the foothills, j All the land about here, as everywhere else, in fact, about Invercargill, has suffered severely from the rabbit plague ; and properties aro now to be got very cheap, the original owners having been ruined by the übiqnitous little rodent. But the phosphorous poison has proved a complete specific ; and now properties, which at one time wore absolutely valueless, are being workedj;profitably. We reaohed Dipton about 10 o'clock, and after the usual preliminary whisky — a never failing ceremonial in Southland — we had breakfast, and mounting a pair of borrowed horses, we made our way across the Dipton bridge, which spans the Oreti river. The Dipton Flat, like all the other New Zealand plains, is enclosed by an amphitheatre of hills, which, as they extend further back, rise into mountains. At this season of the year the mountains are snow-capped, and to the unaccustomed eye of an Australian are objects of ever varying beauty. On the Dipton Plain there i 9 a good deal of settlement, and I had an opportunity of seeing a sample of very good wheat, which was just being carted to the railway station, a distance of about four miles. The soil is a sort of marly clay, apparently full of lime, and is no doubt an alluvial deposit from the surrounding mountains. Underneath the surface, at varying depths, is the shingle; and wherever the shingle is near the surface good crops of turnips can be got the first year. Not far from here is the celebrated Five Rivers Estate, owned by Mr. Ellis. All the land on Dipton Flat appears to be capable of growing wheat or oats ; and Mr. James M'Donald, who is cultivating largely, is quite enthusiastic as to the capabilities ot the soil. The heavier soil on the flat requires draining. With an effective system of drainage, the whole of the property would bo good agricultural land ; and what now appears to be unfit for anything but grazing would be the most valuable part .oi it. On the high ground there were indications of rabbits. We did not see many, but there were unmistakable indications of their presence ; and the sooner active measures are commenced in the way of laying down poison the better. The height of Dipton Biidge above Inveroargill, as indicated by my pocket aneroid, is 100 feet. The clear stream, rushing down from the mountains, gurgles and sparkles over its shingly bed ; and although the temperature is not far from* the freezing point, I Almost feel tempted to make my

way to some secluded spot and dive into the crystal flood which ripples along so temptingly beneath me. My enthusiasm, however, is somewhat damped by my companion, who informs me that several deaths of adventurous swimmers have taken place, even in the summer time, from cramp caused by the presence of ice-cold springs, which rise, in a number of places, from the bed of the river. So we pass on, and I make a rapid mental calculation of the value of the Oreti lliver, provided that it could be transplanted to the centre of the Riverina back blocks in all its perennial freshness and beauty. But these calculations are vain, and are of much less practical value than some information I received, on the return journey, from Mr. Hodge, who has a run of 100,000 acreß higher up in the mountains, and who has completely collared the rabbit plague by a systematic use of phosphori^ed oata. " How do you ' boss ' the men employed in laying the poison?" gaks Mr. Carswell, after the conversation had turned upon rabbits, which it seldom fails to do in tho course of a few minutes. " Bosg them myself," replies Mr. Hodge, emphatically. "By Jove, rather I There is only one way of coping with the rabbits, and that is by poisoning every acre of ground during the winter." " What does it cost per acre ? " I enquired. "Oh 1 well the oats are not expensive, and the phosphorous is cheap ; and if the material is not wasted it costs very little. You just take your men in a long line, and go along ; and every two steps each man puts down two or three grains of the poisoned oats. Just drop the oats from between the finger and thumb, so. Don't put it down in heaps ; three grains will kill a rabbit." " How many men do you require to clear, say, 20,000 acres ? " " Well, thirteen men for three months will poison 100,000 acres, and do it well, but they must be looked after." "Do you mean to say that they will dear 100,000 acres in that time? " Well, of course, we wait until about tho middle of June, when the snow is half way down the mountains, and we only lay the poison up to the snow line." 11 So, practically, you only poison 50,000 aores." " Just so ; but then it must be done carefully. The men walk in straight lines up one hill and down another. You musn't miss any." " And how about the skins ? " " Well, of course, the skins are colleoted by contraot. I give the contractors twopence a akin for them, delivered at the woolshod, dried and ready to go into the bale." 11 That should help to pay the expenses of killing the rabbits." " It more than paya where the rabbits are numerous." 11 Any danger of poisoning your stock ? " "Not a bit ; the Merinoes wont touch it. If you have crosabreds you must b9 a bit careful, and Bhift them while you are laying the poison." When wo had fully discussed the rabbit question I bethought me that I had a pack of cards in my pocket ; and so we devoted the balanoe of the journey to Invercargill in the beguilements of threepenny " Nap," limited to a modest quadruple header, which hurte no one, and is quite as fascinating ag playing for high stakes. On Sunday morning I was again roused by the inexorable Carswell ; but this tima I had both a bath and breakfast before leaving the Albion " for a drive out to " Morton Main's Eatate, distant about 16 miles east. We passed a goodly number of farms which seemed, judging from their general appearance and the number of well thatched stack 3 around the homesteads.to be fairly profitable. Several of them were kept in very good order, and gave one the impression of careful and systematic management. The well-kept and carefully trimmed gorae hedges ara pleasing adjuncts to the farms, and must be very useful an shelter to the stook. Almost every paddook ia enoiroled by a gorse hedge -, and where they are well kept thoy give an air of comfort and stability to the farms, which must be very satisfactory to the proprietor. At Woodlands there i* a new hotel, and we took the opportunity of testing the whisky, but whether we were thirsting for information or liquor is a matter of very little consequence. Just before coming to the hotel we passed an extensive range of buildings, and I was informed that it was a rabbit preserving establishment, while, at the same time, I was carefully inatruoted that the factory was closed for want of the raw I material. When we arrived at Morton Mama the inevitable whisky was produced; and, after dinner, we (there were four of vi) got on horseback and went out to inspect the estate, which, in the hands of the Glasgow Company, so astonished and delighted the natives by a reckless swallowing up of the Scotch shareholders 1 money. Here, m the old nappy days, there were six managers and as many steam ploughs. Whether the managers or the ateam ploughs were the more expensive luxury of the two is a matter for speculation ; but it is strictly a matter of history that the six manager used to bid against each other at cattle and horae sales and other festive occasions; and that the steam ploughs and other cheerful agricultural toys went on their pleasing way, while the money of the deluded shareholck ra was poured out upon the rolling hills of the Morton Mains Estate without let or nindranee. But one fine day all this came to an end. An inspector was sent out with plenary powers, and he saoked all the managers and nearly all the men, layed up the steam ploughs where they could do no mischief, and brought the whole merry fabric to; a sudden stop. The steam ploughs are still there, sad evidences of folly and mismanagement. The wire ropes which used to drag the monsters over the tortured soil are now used as absurdly strong top wires in fences; while the engines are soattered about among the various sawmills, assisting to destroy tho valuable timber of Southland.