Traveller. Three Weeks in Southland, N.Z. By Frank Morley. (CONTINUED.)

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1970, 21 February 1885, Page 6 (Supplement)

Traveller. Three Weeks in Southland, N.Z. By Frank Morley. (CONTINUED.)

Morton Mainj Estate ia now held by a company, some of whom are Victorians ; and I have no doubt they will be able to work the property to advantage. There are about 85,000 acres in the estate, and if, instead of being in New Zealand, the property was under the more sunny sky of Victoria, it would be capable of carrying, under proper management, 00,000 or 60,000 sheep. But the winter is the trying time in Southland ; and the necessity of providing artificial food for the winter makes all the difference. The killing frosts nip up the artificial grasses ; and thus anything like heavy stocking is impossible unless turntps, or other food, is provided for the winter. On Morton Mains there are about 1500 acres of turnips this year ; and some of those that I saw, sown on the second furrow, were looking very well, although this teaaon has been a very bad one for turnips all over Southland. Here I saw, for the Qrst time south of the line, the famous Angus polled cattle, whioh are now coming into such favor both in England and America. In the latter country there has been quite a "boom" in Angus cattle, and some American speculators went over to the old country, and bought up .ill fiey could lay their Linda on. They are very hardy cattle, and are eminently suited for the climate of New Zealand, and they would, I have no doubt, become equal favorites in some parts of Victoria, if they were only known. The cross-breds are not pleasing- Icokiug animals, as they are generally black and white or blue, or some other equally ugly color ; but I have heard a very good judge of cattle say that a good beast can't be a bad color, though, for my own part, I have the weakness to prefer a good beast that is a good color. But a well-bred Anguspolled calf is a very taking little animal, with his rich glossy black coat looking like a sealskin jacket ; and he looks so fat and jolly and healthy, that one cannot help thinking he is eminently suited to his surroundings, and quite capable of giving a good account of himself under any set of conditions. The sheep on Morton Mains also looked very well, and some] stud Leicester weaners, hurdled upon turnips, were in excellent condition, and were highly creditable specimens of a breed which, in Victoria, is somewhat neglected in favor of the Linoolns. When we left Invercargill in the morning, the frost was sparkling in the sun, and ice waa to be seen on every pool. When we returned in the evening, the ice was still there, and the frost had transferred itself to our toes and fingers, in spite of woollen socks and thick driving gloves. But my experience of the weather at Inveroargill, so far, has been simply delightful. The air is bracing and sharp, but the sky is clear, and the sun shines brightly. It is cold, certainly, in the shade, but it ia a dry cold, and I have felt less inclination to wear a top coat than I had before leaving Victoria, while in some of the higher districts, such as Camperdown or Ballarat. I suppose it is the climate that gives such rosy cheeks to the children, who all seem the very pictures of health, while I must Bay that I have seen more pretty girls to the square mile in Invercargill than I ever saw before in my travels. It is, of course, understood that I leave Victoria, which is noted for its pretty girls, out of tho question. The comparison is only between places outBide of my native heath. I had occasion to visit Winton again on the 10th, in order to inspect a leasehold of about D,OOO acres lying between Winton and Dipton. The land is hilly and ferny country, and here, for the first time, I had an opportunity of seeing the poison plant, known in New Zealand under tho euphonious name of

" Toot." It is a low shrub, with broad, fleshy leaves, and at this time of the year the color is a sort of brownish green. In the spring it bears aTberry which can be caton with impunity H the stone is carefu!ly_ rejected. Some enthusiasts even make a wine out of • the berry, which they profes« to prefar to the finest bid crusty port ; and if certain statistics are to be relied upon, which demonstrate? that ten times the quantity of port wine h aent out of London, as compared with what rtaohes the world's capital from Oporto, the chanoeB are that the " port wipe " made from the berries of the tQot plant' U more wholesome than the stuff which produces gout in England. My guide on this occasion was Mr. Whyte, sub inspeotor of rabbits, who is stationed at Winton, and whose duties necessitate hio travelling over an extent of country equal to about 000 square miles. We crossed over the spur of the mountains near Hill end bush ; and from the top of the ridge wa had a magnificent view of the great Oieti plain, on the one side stretching down to the sea ; while on the other side of the rid^e lay the Dipton flat, with the Oreti river meandering through it. As far as the eye could eco homesteads and farms were dotted here and there, with evidences of cultivation in the shape of carefully built' stacks and other appearances of farming industry. There can be no question that there is a great future for these fertile plains, and it can only be a question of a comparatively Bhort time when a large farming population will be faettled upon land which is capable of bearing magnificent crops of oats and wheat ; while turnips grow with very little trouble, and assist in breaking in the land for a white crop. After travelling about forty miles on horse-back, we returned to Winton in time for tea; and the tiain, drawing, besides other produce, '20 tiuoks laden with grain, reaohod Invercargill about 8 o'clock. At Invercargill they have a looal celebrity in the shape of a self-taught artist. I had promised myself the pleasure of visiting his | studio, so a few days aince, ono of the prettiest girls in Invarcargili acted the part of Ghaperone, and together we called on Mr. S. H. Morton, but unfortunately the artist was not at home. To day, however, I found the artist chez lvi ; and the only thing that marred my enjoyment of the artistic treat was the absence of the young lady, whose sympathetic appreciation of the artist's efforts would have discovered hidden beauties which my duller susceptibilities would possibly overlook. Mr. Morton's views of the scenery of Milford Sound and the West Coast are mr.stly in water colours, and are exquisite little pictures, conveying a true idea of the beautiful lake and mountain scenery which it is the privilege of so few to see. Although Mr. Morton is said to be a selftaught artist, I had my doubts about it when I first saw his work ; and as he told me that he was a pupil of the celebrated Aaron Penleigh, the idea of his being entirely self-taught must be somewhat modified. Moreover, he is an old resident of Victoria, which I may be permitted to consider as of some value, from an artistio or any other point of view. One of his prettiest pictures was a water colour sketch of Lake M'Kellar. Of this I become the possessor at a figure which, considering the labour and time required to produce it, as Mr. Morton is very conscientious and and painstaking in his work, is a sufficient evidence that the life of an artist in New Zealand is not all beer and skittles. Being a poor scribbler myself, I did not feel called upon to giye Mr. Morton more than he asked ; but if there are any millionaires who aie moved to encourage art, the best thing they can do is to send Mr. Morton a cheque for £100 or so for a painting, and leave the subject and treatment to the artist. The frost was still lingering in all the shady places, and was a conspicuous objeot upon the reof of the antiquated old ramshackle wooden structure that hides the beauties of the Invercargill post-office (and which serves as the offioes of the sheep inspeotor and other high dignitaries), when I left the Albion Hotel at 4.20 p.m. to take the train for Kingston and the Lakes. It had been my intention to leave by the 6.15 train in the morning, and I had solemnly enjoined Captain Heywood, mine host of the Albion, to call mo at the unearthly hour of 5.30. It is not often that Captain Heywood forgets to mark his guests down on the slate for the early train ; but as he also forgot the biscuits that the loser of the last Tubber or dered with the final whisky, there must have been something unusual at work. However that may be, when I woke at my usual time and found the sun shining in at my window through an eighth of an inch of ice, I did not feel inclined to curse the captain for his forgetfulness. The very thought of getting up at half-past five in the morning, with the thermometer at 12 degrees below zero the previous night, even yet makes me shudder. Moreover, the fascinations of whist, when you are never the holders of honors until you arc four up and cannot count them, keeps one out of bed until one o'clock, and it takes about four hours of steady slumber to warm the blankets in New Zealand at this time of the year. For all these sapient reasons, then, I left Invercargiil by the afternoon train with the intention of staying at the Elbow for the night, and going on to Kingston in the morning. The Elbow is a township where the line to Dunedin junctions with the Kingston line ; and like every other township I have seen &a yet in Southland, is surrounded by hills. It is about 700 feet above Invercargill. I met another old Victorian in the proprietor of Howells Hotel, which nifc name it is Howell; and he pointed out from his front door a large property, the W&imea Station, which is owned by Mr. Bell, a Viotorian ; and from hia back door he pointed out another large property, Castle Rook Station, the owner of which, Mr. Matthew Holmes, is also an old Victorian. Not to put too fine a point upon it, I may say that the next place I saw from the train was the famous Five River's Estate ; and the owners of this property, the Ellis Bros., are not unknown in Victoria. The Ellis Bros, carry on very extensive farming operations on their property ; but as [ had no one with me who could give me authentio information on the point, I do not like to hazard the assertion that the forty stacks whioh I oounted from the oarriage windows belonged to the gentlemen in quet- ' tion. But I expect they do ; as also that steam threshing machine and that extensive patoh of green away down near the river, which I take to be turnips ; and moat certainly the large goods shed alongside the railway line, filled ohook-full of bags of grain and marked "Private Goods-shed." More power to you, Ellis Bros. ! You have not lost faith in the possibility of making farming pay in Southland. And your land docs not seem to be different from any other land. You have the same soil, the same shingle— there I see it cropping up close to the surface— the same old Oreti River flows through your property in the same way as it meanders over the Dipton Plain and Oreti Plain. If you can make farming pay and others cannot, it is certainly not from any difference in natural conditions. Ido not presume to say what it it that constitutes the difference ; but I susipectthat capital and management are very important faolors in the conduct of farming operations here as elsewhere. I need not describe the railway journey from the Five Rivers to Kingston. The train appeared to be running into mountains all the time. On either hand a narrow strip of flat land oovered with tussock grass, principally white. Undulating foothills gradually merging into steeper hills, and these again into snow-capped mountains. Mountains everywhere, ice everywhere, frost everywhere ; snow peeping at you from everypinnacle and spreading like a blanket over the nakedness of the barren rock, above the steadily descending snow-line. The mountains sometimes close in and frown down upon the train as if they threatened to topple over and engulph it. Then they open out and leave a good strip of agricultural land. As we approach Kingston tho grass is displaoed by ferns ; the country becomes more rugged ; the mountains are closer ; the soil disappears in favor of shingle ;

the rabbit burrows became as thick as leaves in Vallambro^a ; turning round the corner we a«e Lake Wakatipu lying still and clour and deep at the foot of the snow capped hills which plunge sheer down into its fathomless bosom. When I aay fathqinlesa bo3ocn, it i-> to be of courpo understood that the expression ia merely an oratorical phrase ; for thecaptaia of the Jane Williams, who, by tho way, is also an old Victorian, informed mo that tho average depth of Lake Wakatipu in aboul 1,200 feet. But there ia one spot that lias never yet been fathomed, and whether it ia simply a bottomless abyss, or s\hether it indicates the presence of an underground current, is a question not )et determined. A reference to my pocket aneroid as I stood upon the deck of the Mountaineer showed me that Lake Wakatipu was at an elevation of 1 100 feet above Invercargill. I don't absolutely state this as a scientific fact, but I think it is not far wrong. As I looked up at the frowning mass of black and rugged lock which towered above the little wharf at which the little steam boat lay, the impression for a moment was very strong that the whole maaa w« about to come over on the top of us ; but when I looked over the side of the steamer and saw at the bottom of ten or twenty feet of water, as clear as crystal, the sand and shingle lying peacefully where probably they had lain for millions of year 3, I came to the conclusion that there was no immediate probability of anything unpleasant. And beneath tho water was an evidence of civilization in the shape of an empty porter bottle, which gleamed aa whita and peacefully above the shingle as if it had also lain there for a million years, more or less; while swimming about in the plaoid waters was a little school of the most spotless tarn? ducks who, on the arrival of the steamer, always come to pick up any unconsidered trifles that the cook may throw overboard. Thp only p*<Hoagers on this occasion to Queenatown were a commercial traveller and myself. As usual in this climate tho first consideration was to get something to drink in ordsr to keep out tho cold. The Mountaineer being a strictly teetotal vessel the ' /^ard, who is a very obliging gentleman, went to the only hotel (and apparently, with the exception of the station-master's house, the only inhabited building) in Kingston and brought us a flask of brandy and a bottle of beer. I suppose he had cogent reasons for not bringing whisky ; and, on my return, having unwisely tried the Kingston mountain dew, I fully appreciated his choice. I have no desire to say anything against the whisky to be obtained at Kiugaton ; only I feel something like the Yankee who, when he was asked how he liked crow, replied that it was very good solid eating, but that he " did not kind of hanker after it." (To be Continued.)