TE REHUNGA.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXIII, Issue 20, 25 January 1911, Page 2

TE REHUNGA.

(JJjy Out Sip-ecisvl Iticporfcr.)

It is always a pfo-asun t duty to rfironiiclo tli>© piro>groi.-3 of -ths various ssettleanteuits adjacent to tJj-o town, more ©sped ally w'hen the pav ! tiittil-air district under notice is recently settled. Such a. district is To .KeJumga. Most residents of tho cliistl i.ct know the h.isto<rv of the block which forms tilio stratum of c.:i-o of the-, most miccessfnl settlements it ,lia: ■ Ijeien tlhe lot of tlie l.ands Department to establish in Ha who's Bay. It ,ia a. 'lifttie over five years «iinw the first batch of sections were thrown opem ffiir selection, and their being made available was the- signal for tho usual pessimistic w'ail f,rom the dctra-etoirs of the land policy of the day. A good class of settler secured the Tamaki kind, and the first batch was .followed by further blocks of hind, wlhicih attracted the best class of settlers it a t-ho district. '['though tlio .bulk of the la.nd was -heavily timbered -and in, some cases in bush, it was -not ilourg before the settlors .had called the cowto the:.r assistance and tJio dairying industry was established upon a firm footing. To-day those set-tiers w'iio wish to dispose of their kokllings are in a position to ask up to £io per acre for thorn, in addition to the value of tho improvements. Certainly the term "goodwill and "uhih earned increment" are terms that are greatly misused, for a. largo proportion of good-will received in mianv cases represents hours perhaps years of toil piut in at clearing, draining and many other classes of .improvements that are not recognised' by the Government valuers when making ordinary valuations. In a number of cases the sections w'hein taken over by the new settlors wore in a very rough state, and entailed considerable labor before they were nwi.de productive. I'as. nig through, the block the other day I noticed that .Mr Webber, one of the most up-to-date dairymen., was engaged in. .making .ensilage. Ma* Weblfcr giwra quite a large -area of winter feed! .for has cattle, and was trying this means of preserving winter feed. In the absence of a silo the ordinary stack method was .pursued. l!h-e material used was a. graiiid crop of about eleven acres of oats, barley, peas and beans mixed, and the hiiuder was employed in order to give greater facility in bandlLing. This is a. good idea, for on tine outsfid-'e of ia staok_ of ensilage there is always a certain amount of waste, and as the butts were placed outwards the coarser straw would be wasted. A siimjile and effective means of gathering the stuff was used, two lliorse sledges bevag used, whle;h were run .right onto the stack, an. -approach .being built out of the green- material. Wiitlh the ap.pro-ach being bni.lt u'p ias tine stack got higher an enorißoiif amount of labor war- saved. A rope, ■which was fastened to two posts, slid the. load, oft', -leaving the Stuff just where the stack builder required it. The strings of the sheaves were cut in order to allow -the material to set solid. After the/Stack had been rais-ed-to a height of about six feet operations were ceased for 24 hours to ia-1— low the temperature to ri'se, 'and again resumed until all the fodder W'as put on. It is intended to seal the stack by nueains of a coatrntg of ea.rtli and a few cords of firewood. Mr "Webber says that as far as life knows the experiment he is making is tlie first in the Tamakii, and if it is successful lie will build ia site later. In a climate like this as a imeans of preserving wiinter feed ensilage should! bece.me general, as it can be harvested -;in all weathers and ,no moire suitable food far milch cows can be obtained. Upon tlie farm. I noticedseveral line crops, including a pa-tf-diock of maize and a good siaeci pat-oh. of potatoes, which give every promise of yielding a good crop. Tlhe sbeds and yard:.-, on this farm are mode is.; Tine cow bails have been fitted up 'almost lavuslhlv, arxl are fitted. with everything that .makes for comfort and co-iive'iKence. Sonne time .ago milking mac'hines were installed oil the farm, an Old "World machine being the choice, but after an exhaustive trial they were found to be too slow for piiiact'iea.l. purposes, although, in every other .respect they were -good machines, consequently they -were discarded, and Mr "W-ebbe-r fixed upon th,e Cane machine, 'and with a .fewweeks' working hie is convinced t.h'at the right machine has been struck. As the (Jane miachine is one of tlhe most recent inventions a. short .explanation of its working may not >ho out orf place. The suction j>i"i-nc,ip!le is usetl, which is obtained from a Ha.rkness vacuum puni;p, whioli Is driven from a Luke engine .and boiler W'hi.ch are installed in -a.n adjacent slhed. A jiuls'ator Is placed in the silled, as with most machines, a.nd there are no buckcte with tlie machines. A set of teat, cups with double t-n'biiig is attached to the cows, the .0110 supipilyling tlhe vacuum .and the other takes the milk supply to «m overhead, pipe, and thencie into an ingenious contrivance which takes th'e milk out and deposits it in the factory ca.ns without ever .being fliaaidled. All the tubing and piping through, which the milk 'traverses '.is made in. short sections, making it simple to clean]. Altogether the nuachine is* one of the easiest to manipulate and the simplest in. construction on the market, amd it is not sail-prismg to find that other -settlers in the vi.Kin.ity are installing them. The cows-hed is fitted with all the latest •appliances, .and a substantially conS'trnotecli corrugated iron slliodl pnovklles .ample accommodation foil" washing all utensils,'etc., in addition.' to piroviid.i:nig ample storing acco-m----mio'da.tion for root crops, .etc., lamd ovei"h:e-ad a. large hay loft. -Speaking to Mr King, the manager of' till© factoi-y wliich Mr Webber s-wpip-fn'ies. he stated that there was 110 sweeter or better conditioned, rwi Ik coining to the factory than that supplied! from Air Wo'bber's farm, and .as this should be the aim of every dairyman the large expenditure which Mr Webber lias made is justified. (to bf continued.)