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during the year comprised the cleaning of 25 miles 64 chains of drains, erection of 75 chains of new fence and repairs to 760 chains, and erection of fourteen small bridges. Ragwort was sprayed over an area of 1,800 acres and blackberry cut by hand on 253 acres. Water-supply maintenance entailed the lifting and lowering of 228 chains of water-main. Peat fires were a great nuisance this year following the drought, and during February and March men had to be constantly employed controlling them. The two small farms produced 20,000 lb. of butterfat, 48 pigs, and 45 bobby calves for the year. The 533 steers sold during the year brought excellent prices, the total value being £8,647. Pouarua (Locality : Hauraki Plains). —The area of this block is 12,000 acres, and approximately 6,000 acres have been sown in grass, but, due partly to the difficulty of obtaining fencing-material and partly to the fact that some areas have become unworkable because of insufficient labour to maintain drains, a part of this grassed area is now not stocked. The number of men employed on this block has varied from eleven to twentyseven during the year —at 31st March, twenty-three men were employed. Early in the year it was possible with the small number of men to do only the most essential maintenance of fencing, &c., and to care for the stock, but in the latter part of the year a start was being made with the deepening of the 180 miles of drains that now urgently require attention. A feature of this year's work that requires mention is the disastrous peat fires during the prolonged drought. These not only destroyed many acres of grass that will require resowing, but destroyed a great deal of fencing-material, and caused much inconvenience to stockmen in consequence. Fortunately no stock was lost and very little other material damage caused, but a large labour force had to be employed at times to control the fires. Although the number of stock carried is rather less than last year, the total sale value has increased considerably. This is principally due to the high prices ruling for fat stock this year. Apart from the factors mentioned above, another reason for the decrease in the number of stock carried is that an area of 280 acres was handed to the local Primary Production Council in January last for grazing of dairy stock, and in March last this area was further increased to 1,500 acres, which is now carrying about 800 dairy cattle. Bradleys (Locality : Te Kopuru).—This property of 1,249 acres, situated on the west coast seven miles from Te Kopuru, was acquired as a development proposition early in 1941. At present there are about 716 acres undeveloped. Approximately 250 acres is in rough feed which will have to be cropped for three years to eradicate the ratstail which is dominant. Until adequate fertilizers are available this work cannot be expedited. The balance of the undeveloped portion to the south is of a very light sandy nature and it is doubtful if ploughing and normal cultivation would be wise owing to the danger of sand erosion. As an experiment, 50 acres have been harrowed and a suitable mixture will be sown. A trial bore is being put down to test the possibilities of obtaining a suitable water-supply for this block. WaipapaJcauri (Locality : Part Waipapakauri Aerodrome). —This area has been farmed under difficult conditions as, owing to lack of drainage, the paddocks in most parts poached badly during the wet winter, and with the cold spring followed by the hot dry summer the growth was poor. Approximately 160 acres was used for dairying, ' but the adverse conditions caused a small butterfat-production. The balance of the area was grazed with run cattle. A small amount of development work, mainly the re-erection of existing fences and the deepening of some of the main drains, was carried out in the early part of the year. Puriri (Locality : Kaitaia). —During the drought a number of stock was grazed elsewhere in order to spell the pasture, which suffered from lack of sufficient fertilizer. A big tractor was employed in the early part of the year hauling puriri logs off the block, and these, comprising about 150,000 super feet (log measurement), will be milled into suitable timber for use on development blocks. As a result of the tractor knocking put softwood stumps, which were logged up and burnt, 100 acres were resown. The sheep and cattle grazing on the block are in very fair condition.

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