RICH PASTURES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 67, 21 March 1938, Page 8

RICH PASTURES.

DOMINION'S FARMS. IMPRESSIONS OF VISITOR. «GROWTH IS ASTOUNDING." An ardent admirer of New Zealand farms and farming methods is Mr. J. C. Cook, of Johannesburg, a retired architect, and owner of a farm of 700 acres in the Transvaal, who after two months spent in tourinp the Dominion and visiting farming districts in both islands, will leave by the Aorangi to-morrow for Vancouver. Unlike the usual vieitm-, Mr. Cook has travelled largely in the rural areas and has been closely in touch with ists and agriculturists. He has seen the luscious pastures of Hawke's Bay, the Manawatu and the Waikato. the rich fertility of the Canterbury Plains and, by contrast, the barrenness of the uninviting stretches of upland between Mount Cook and Queenstown. '"The growth on New Zealand farmlands is astounding," he eaid ir- an interview. "The pastures are be- f .ter than those of England, and the clovers and grasses which have been introduced set-in to have been established under ideal climatic and so-1 conditions. They are the secret of th.= tremendous carrying capacity of the daiiy farms."

Hawke's Bay Mr. Cook described as 'Hike a paradise." In many districts he found that subterranean clover, a native of Australia, had been made the basis of the pastures with exception 1 results, ai.d the success achieved had. far surpatsed that on the majority of Australian fa-ms.

Contrast in Methods. "Intensive farminjr is the striking feature of Xew Zealand." he continued, "and many a farm of 70 acros appears to provide a better living tl &n one of 700 acres in South Africa, i'artlv this appears to be due to the conditions, but there are districts in the Transvaal and Cape Province where it shou?d be possible to apply the same methods with great advantage. Lerge numbers of South African farms have a poor appearance, they are often overstocked in relation to their carrying capacity, they lack hedges and shelter, and the pad-i clocks are too large. In Xew Zealand these mistakes seem to have been avoided."' Yet the Government of South Africa | was giving much more geneious finan- 1 cial assistance to the farmers of the Union, lie said, than was beine extended by the Xew Zealand Government to Dominion producers Grants v. ere made at low interest and on easy terms of repayment for the purchase of farms, for fencing, clearing and oilier developmental work, for the purchase and, improvement of sto-k, and for farm dwellings and other farm buiUings. The aim was to assist in raising :1 e quality of sheep and eattle. to reduce the loss! due to iHKler-nouriehment and disease and generally to build up the agricultural and pastoral industries English and Dutch farmers were being similar assistance, without re cial ° distinction, and a large sum wo* paid out annually from the premium en irold in' the national effort. Horses and Oxen. One advantage possessed by Xew Zealand in the working of farms, observed Air. Cook, was the widespread use of horses. In South Af-ica homes could not be used because of a sickness which affected them, and the only alternative was to keep oxen. An ox, however, was slow and less powerful; in strength a horse was the equal of three oxen and was much faster. While tractors and! mechanical methods were displacing the 1 ox in South Africa and the horse in View Zealand there were many farm tasks costs" 0 Change involved '"creased l Mr. Cook referred briefly to Dominion architecture. Christchurch. he said, suggested a Hue Tudor university atmos- i where, which reminded a visitor' of Cambridge. Duncdin was well-built and had bdinburgh characteristics. Auckland and Wellington had made the most of the unrivalled settings around their harbours and their systems of traffic control had done much to avoid the congestion due to narrow streets and crowding i u towards the centre. The marking on the road surfaces he considered plaved a valuable part iu traffic regulation ' Mentioning finally the sign-posting of the highways he said "If a stranger obeve the road signals he should have no trouble in finding his way about and he should be certain to come out alive "