THE INNOCENT FROM HOME,

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2065, 1 October 1885, Page 3

THE INNOCENT FROM HOME,

Paht IV.— Tut Wmmuk I'i.uns. Thk town of Hawer.v or the " City of the Plains" is a well built and apparently thriving young town. There me, I believe, eight hotel*, four banks and <ts many churches. All the buildings seem substantial, and the town is very compact. They have goods schools, both (roy eminent and private, a parliamentary union, whose «ession is just over. I thought our local legislators might take a hint from heie. After the meeting-, hot coflee and refreshments .ire handed round the ladies' galley. Now that is what I call comfortable. They have dancing assemblies in the town hall during the winter, and non-dancing people, or those not favoured may by paying one shilling sit m the galleiy and watdi the revels. The Havveia and Norman by Star is a daily paper published heie. There is alno a weekly paper, The Egmont »Stai. We tried to buy a Star almanac, but cmld not; though there had been 2000 f copies j)i in ted, not one was to be had. This is really a cioditable little work, and gives all possible information regarding thr whole district with its history. And every placo about hero has its history, both ancient and modern, from the time when the barelegged warriors from Waikato laid waste the countiv, and homes of their "cullercd breddurn " to the Stirling times of red coat-", canteens, roads and budges and flour and sugar, and latei on the i'arahaka cvmpaign, when the settles rever.sed the iiuthonsed order by beating then pruning bonks into sp«ais, and their swords ti ploughshaies. I heaid .1 very good band, and there is a Choral Society conducted by Mi C. Laishly, formerly of Hamilton. They were to have had gas, but I believe tho motion was lost by one 01 two votes. This place seems to be the vamping ground for all the trains on the line, and an S.ituidiys th°re arc nine tiams tlnough to Hawera. Just outside llio_ town, 011 Mr Krfiithaiu'i* land, is one of the best race courses in the colony, with a grand stand. All the Toads and streets are mstalled. This m-etal has to be carried some distance, rfii'J while tho roads are peifection, it comes very expensive, as wheie pri vato individuals would put gravel in our district, they are obliged to put metal here. One of our gravel pits would be a small fOlf 01 tune. I have not heaid tliat there is any subsoil bore, but nt any rjte it is not gravel. What strikes u stranger in Hawera is the liveliness of it ; nobody seems to have anything to d 1, jet a great deal is being done. I did not heai of any cheese factories in the district ; the Manaia people have the money for ono but they w uely put it out to interest for sit months, to hce how the other factories would pay. At Opunake I believe there i.s to be a factory this summer. I hear they have imported the plant from England. The Wanganui Cheese Factory seems to not be giving general satisfaction, and there is talk of its being wound up. The cheese is excellent, but too high a pneo has been given for the milk, tho supplier!, getting all the money and the shareholders the expei ience. The geneial idea seems to be tint tho official machinery required to a public company takes a good deal of tho profit. lam told that there was a dairy company started at Valmerston which was quite a failure, but that private people have bought the business and are working it a great success. Until quito lately butter-makfirs could only got 8d per lb for their butter, now it is lOd. The freezing company are waiting arrangements to buy butter for expoit winch will be great incouragement to butter makers in the district. Before leaving heie I heard that the Katikati Cheese Factory had sent their cheese to Kngland to known retail dealers and had got Od per lb. If this is the case why cannot we do likewise, surely we can find outsome honest letaildealerin tho three kingdoms. To make cheese pay we want every penny of profitand cannot afford to divide with the wholesale man. I was very much grieved and surprised to find that no one li id cv er heard of the Kuhukia factory. One man said he thought he had heard the " Waikato Factory" mentioned but he camo b»ck next day to apologiso and said that it was the " Waikato Times," ho meant. Who would think theru was such darknens in our land "' Whon we pay a, visit to our neighbour-, further north, we we just a little inclined to bray of vvh.it we do in Waikato, and talk of our big tui nip crops. But any Waikato man coming to Haweia will be very caieful that he never mentions turnips, or indeed much el»e, except fruit ; or the invariable inquiry is, " flow much bones did you put," and the 111 in who uses bonedust, or the land requiring it, i* looked upon as beneath cointempt. As far a* the eye can reach you see the most luxutiant grass, much further ahead them than with us. Of course, it is early for clover, but the cocksfoot and ryegrass are quite enough for us to see just now. All tho cattle look fat and sleek ; even a badly-bred animal soon gets his imperfections so covered that ho begins to re semble a purebred. One thing seems strange to us, that is the gorse hedges ; goiso everywhere. Peoplo say here that th.'re is no danger of its spreading as the giass keeps it 111 check Thorns will not grow, as the south-east wind cuts them down, so the guise answers the purpose of hedge* and shelter ulso. Trees seem to do but poorly hero, except in a few sheltered spots, and fruit the same. Small fruits do well, hovvovor. There are very few wiro fences in this district, and now and ugain wo come across someone making a sod fence, and planting it with fur/e. I have »een too much furze in my time to ever take kindly to this feature of West C >.ist fceneiy. After talking to a great in my settlor*, we find that a feeling of very great dissatisfaction exists regarding tho w >rking of the Freezing Company, People say the company have broken faith with them in more ways than ono, and th.it though they ought to be killing at least ~>Q bullocks per day, there are only 20 b^ing slaughtered, and all for no apparent reason, except it may be to create <i slight glut and keop down prices. The shareholders hero also complain of tho expensive management, and wonder why we in Waikato do not agitato and havn salaries and expense.* cut down to the lowest, as it is out of our pockets all the money has to come. Any movement of the kind would secure an active cooperation from shareholder* hero. Several persons who made arrangement* and bought cattle depending on tho conifuny being in full working order months ipfore it even began its present half operations, have boon very seriously put about in consequence. One gentleman had 200 prime bullocks go back to stores because tli.; company were not ready to take them at the time agreed. If plenty of stores could bo had and a market secured, thero could bo no difficulty in Mending away ICM.OOO liend of fat cattlu annually. A« it is the shipping of such heavy cattle is a great handicap, and if tho vyeuther be not favourable, they may ba detained for some time. The day after our arrival at Hawera, there was to be a cattle sale at Manaia, This placo in twelve miles from Hawera, find the Ohaupo of tho district. I was glad to have the oppoitunity of comparing prices with onrs, so rodo out. The land we passed through on our way is excellent, and there «ra many comfortablo homesteads to be seen. In the distance wasp unted out to me the farm on which Mr W. Mnrtyu was living for some time, f am told he has now taken up land in Western Australia. Manaia is about as large as Xgaruawahia, has three hotols, and has vpiungup altogether within the last four years. There was about tho naino muster of people as at our Ohaupo sale, with rather fuwer cattle. These were mostly young stock, and price* ruled lightly higher than ours. Large stores seem to be scarce, and I feel convinced that before long the non-breeding of cattle will be seriously felt here, as it must also be in Waikato. Manaia is the centre of tho famous Waimate Plains). These plains are certainly the largest area of good land in New Zealand. That is the chief featuie You can hardly pick outany that we should not reckon first class. Like the land round Hawera it is simply burnt off and Mirfaoo sown ; after this the feed is nover failing. One gentleman told us of his land that it had only been surface sown 18 years ago, and that the feed now, is better than it whs then. This was not'at Manaia, but a few miles off. The bush country seems to be now the most sought after, and it is certainly very good. We saw some that wan burnt in March, and sown the latfei end of May; now it is covered with Italian vycgrass two feet high, and looking more like wheat than grass, Theownei is buying stores to eat this down, but they are at piosent rather too high, computed to the price of bcuf. A great deal of bush land is leased from Maoris, some at as high a, leinjl as (5s per acre j>er annum. I only saw four paddocks ploughed in the wholo district, aud vciy little had been ploughed. It is as ffood burnt and surface-sown as our best aud ploughod and manured. When it is ploughed, Tiowever, the value is materially increased, nearly half as much again, people •ay. Vory few turnips ar<j sown, and. of

course no bonedust. The best open land is ton-adercd to be right along the coast, and is. quite a fortnight earlier than four miles ml.mil. Tins land I ha\e not been to see. This is not suitable country for sheep except for fattening, and Leieestois do the be--t Shropshiies, I am sure, would do well To farm profitably here it is necessuy to give the land frequent changes from sheep to cattle and vice veisa. Of what can bo done you limy gain an idea when I tell you that 2,000 acres fattened dm ing the yeai 1,000 head of cattle and kept from 4000 to 0,000 sheep. One summer the .same place fattened 10,000 sheep and kept between 700 and 800 head of cattle, all without a plough being put in the ground. Don't sell out and come hero just yet though ; wait till I talk to you. Taken as a, whole, and with even these fow statistics befoie us, we must acknowledge that foi nchnessof soil, and such a l.ugo extent of land of good quality, there is no otliei paitnf New Zealand equal to this. Pint theie are a few thousand acres in \V«ukato quite as good as any I have seen here. Tins is the good fl.i\ swamp land, which curies grass and fattens .stock the winter thiongh. If you havo some of that ->tay where you arc, for W.ukato is in a splendid position, and that means a gicat desl. Where it costs us 10a per head to get our cattle to market, it costs the faimeis here up to £2 Mb, so there h room foi even a little turnip growing between these two figures. The want of a maiket is a, killing drawback to produce of any kind heie. It is a land of almost boundless resouice, but until a good market is opened up for beef and mutton, the owners and occupiers of the New Zealand Land of (Jo.schen will in leality be no better off than their neighbour. They may have flocks and heids in abundance, but firmly implanted in the human breast there «3ems to be an msuilnountable longing for loose c.i-h. Tho Meat Freezing Company weie to have piovided this outlet, and" they have <-,>ie]y disappointed the expectations formed <>( thorn. Shareholders and pioduceis must combine, and see if this cannot be altered.