The Akaroa Mail FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1892. IMPROVING OUR NATIVE GRASS LANDS.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume XXII, Issue 1672, 22 July 1892, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1892. IMPROVING OUR NATIVE GRASS LANDS.

Now that most of the bush on Banks Peninsula has been cleared and sown to grass, those farmers who have tussock land on their forms should take steps to get the plough to work, and get a good sole of English grass to take the place of the bunchy tussock, which has served its purpose, and should now be got rid of. When the rearing of young cattle was considered a payable speculation, tussocks were valuable, as they made a good rough class of winter feed to fall back upon ; but now that sheep are the "Mount Morgans" of Peninsula farmers, it behoves the farmer to go ahead with the limes and cultivate their lands systematically. The quality and depth of soil that is to be found on the steepest of our native grass hills is surprising, and with the assistance of a hill-side plough, the land has to be almost perpendicular that cannot be manipulated. Originally imported from America, and principally made of hickory, these hill-side ploughs were sold at £3 10s, and being very light, could be packed anywhere on a horse, and would stand a few years' hard work. Now, however, they are being manufactured with improvements by Mr Millar, at Gebbie's Valley, who supplies numbers of them to ploughmen engaged in breaking up this class of land. But there are still thousands of acres that could be broken up, and made to carry double the stock which they at present carry ; and now that sheep are commanding such prices we would urge on all farmers to push on the ploughing. As an instance of what tussock land when ploughed up will do, we noticed a nice line of three hundred two and four tooth wethers pass through Akaroa a few days ago from Mr Black's Damon's Bay property. These were fattened off on a crop of turnips grown on the first furrow, and were bought for freezing by M r Clarkson at 18s per head. For this class of sheep there is an unlimited demand, and we fail to see whj our sheep farmers should have to sell their store wethers in the autumn when they can be fattened and sold in the winter. There is a new kind of spading harrow manufactured by Messrs Booth and McDonald, one of which Mr E. Leiievre has got down. It is said that it will cut up stubb'c and newly burnt fern land so that a crop of rape or turnips cah be got oft it. As it covers six feet at a stroke it will do the work much cheaper than a plough, and if it can be worked on the hill sides it will be of great service to our farmers. We are pleased to hear that most of the Peninsula flocks have wintered very well so far, but now that feed is getting short and the ewes will soon be lambing, is the time when a good paddock of rape would be worth something. How many of our farmers, however, will have such a paddock ? We venture to say very few. With the fat lamb trade before us a crop of rape, rye, or cape barley would give the ewes a good start until the grass begins to grow, and then they will improve right through without a break, and when a return of from 90 to 100 per cent of lambs at from 9s to lis per head can be got at the age of six months, surely with such prospects sheep farmers should assist nature and cultivate root and other crops, bearing in mind that whilst doing so they are improving their own lands. We venture to say that when once the hilly tussock land is broken up thoroughly and sown down to good permanent pasture the value of it will be increased to from thirty shillings to two pounds per acre. Though we have specially alluded in this article to tho question as affecting sheep, they being the usual occupiers of fern and tussock land at present, we need hardly say that the cultivation will have an equally beneficial result to the dairy farmer, and as we have many times before pointed out, the cultivating will not only increase the production of the land, but at the same time furnish remunerative work to many of these young men who at present have to go to the North Island to make a living.