ANNANDALE, MORRINSVILLE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2178, 24 June 1886, Page 3

ANNANDALE, MORRINSVILLE.

[BY OUR OWN nEPOHTER.J Bidino buck from Te Arolia the other day, I called in at Antiandale to spend an hour or two with Mr and Mrs Henry Buttle. As we had some time to spare before luncheon, I accepted my host's proposal to take a ride over the farm, for which purpose he provided me with a change of horses. It will, therefore, not be amiss to give a short description of the place as a specimen of the cultivated farms of the district. Annaridale is a property of two thousand four hundred acres of perfectly level country. It was only in March last that it was purchased by Mr Allau from its late proprietor, Mr Mm ray. Mr Allan is an English gentleman and resides in the Old Country, the ehtiito being under the management ot Mr Jiuttlo. The property lies iv the extensive valley of the Piako, and is about two miles bcyoud the village of Mori ins ville ou the Hamilton-Te Aroha 1 ail way, which runs through the centre of it and within three hundred yards of the house. A flag-station has been provided tor their accommodation. The residence is a comfortable lookiug two-storied building, and is approached from the road through a well-grassed ten acre padddock. A small but neat flower garden has its place before the verandah, which occupies two sides of the building, one halt of which is a conservatory, and contains a Urge spreading grape vine. The grapes, however, did not turn out well uuder the glass, apparently for the want Of ventilation ; but to the left of the flower garden is a tresselled vinery, which, being in the open air, gave a very considerable yield. A plantation surrounds the homestead, amongst which are oaks of four years' growtlt, doing well and already attained to a good height. There were tine stiaight-stemmed gums of seven years' growth, and many other varieties (seven in all) of the .-vUßtialiun eucalyptus, the Wellingtonia gigantea, hazel, accacia, ash, varieties ot the spruce, &c, ,&c., and a young orchard of apple trees, well forward. Many settlers .object 10 planting such trees as oaks because of their slow growth, or perhaps it would be more correct to say owing to the feverish haste of all colonials to do everything at once, to build up their surroundings in a day. But, I submit we should also plant valuable foiest trees for the future, to grow synchronically with the nation, and the planting of oak and other durable timber should be a very important duty of Government. Mounting our horaes at the stables, which with the stockyard were some distance from the house, we rode through the home-paddock across the line and - main road to the' site of a proposed township which had been laid out by Mr Murray, who erected a blacksmith's shop ana cottage on it, and employed a smith to initiate the town, but the experiment failed, no other allotments being taken up. To the left, just outside the boundary, is a new Maori settlement consisting of about half a dozen w hares something superior to the generality of such native domiciles.' We then passed through two large fields of healthy looking turnips, thirty acres and fifty acres, respectively. The next was a large subdivision of one hundred and twenty acres which had been previously roughly turned over, but which Mr Buttle intends to put under the plough again and plant in turnips for next summer. One corner of this paddock, about twenty acres, is to be planted in forest trees. The Fiako River here divide* Annandale from Messrs Morrin and Stud holme's extensive property. We next rode over a field of sixty acres, freshly ploughed and ready for grass and turnips. I noticed a novelty in the way of a dividing hedge. The ti-tree scrub had been left standing in a long strip alongside the fences and kept trimmed, it had a very good appearance and also served as shelter for the sheep and cattle. The soil so far was of good quality. Where we came next was reclaimed swamp,. where the soil as far down a thirty-five feet was nothing but decomposed vegetable matter, mixed with burnt flax and charred timber. The pasturage was very plentiful and rich, being chiefly rye grass and cocksfoot. We passed through several paddocks of sixty and eighty acres each of this description. Several mobs of cattle, yearlings, fat beeves, dairy cows, and also horses were seen. Under the late owner, the land was laid very bare, so Mr Buttle has decided to let it recover, and has consequently not much stock running on the farm. At present there are only 300 merino sheep and 250 head of cattle. Sixty acres of new ground were being cleared by Maori contractors, and another fifty acres were being ploughed for turnip sowing. Twenty acres recently ploughed and disc-harrowed had been sown with rye, which was showing up well, and not a bit touched by the frosts. Another field of forty acres near the house had also been turned up with the plough, and was intended for turnips. Several large grass paddocks were visitedjwhich were clothed with a luxuriant covering of grass. It will be observed that turnip cropping forms the chief part of the plan of operations for the future. Mr Buttle informed me that it is intended to devote attention solely to grazing and fattening stock for the markets', which can be done more quickly and remuneratively off turnips than other feed. Eight head per acre can thrive on turnips as against three or four on grass. The farm is only half cultivated at present, the other portion being still in a state of nature. But Mr Allan's instructions are to bring the whole estate under pcrnianant improvements as speedily as possible. In a field was a mob of fifty head of fine steers, which had arrived overland a week before from Messrs Stud holme and Morrin's run near Wanganui, a

long distance to drive cattle. Returning to the house, Mr Buttle showed me a large concrete tank he had just had built at the back, capable of holding seven thousand gallons. Hitherto the subply of water for domestic purposes had been very limited. In fact he had been obliged to carry water from the river during a brief period of dry weather. Taking it all in all, Annandale is a charming little property, pleasantly situated, and with soil suitable for h'gh cultivation and rich returns, and it would be well for the country if the number of such farms, not too largo or cumbersome for a man with means to attend to successfully, was greater and studded over the face of these large districts.