The Press. WEDNESDAY,MARCH 30. 1892. THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR RURAL INDUSTRIES.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 8134, 30 March 1892, Page 4

The Press. WEDNESDAY,MARCH 30. 1892. THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR RURAL INDUSTRIES.

It is instructive to those who take en, intelligent inceresfe in the gradual gjro,yrth of rural industries in, a. new colony to' watch the development of one 'industry after another. In the' early days of New Zealand its wealth largely depended dn the Mool which Tuns returned to tha. pastoral; tenants of the prowa* Fallowing closely; on this came* the discovery of gold, which led to a large and rapid influx of population to our shores. When settlement proceeded the growing of wheat for export waa next added to the list of bur great staple industries, the discovery that this product could be profitably shipped to London giving to grain growing a great impetus. ■Aβ: time went mi our iloakmasters began to-find that the increase of sheep was so rapid ■ that fears were entertained for the future of the industry. Then came boiling down and meat presarvicg, which for a time steadied the market, and gave a certain value to our flocks, .Hexfc came the discovery ihac ie was possible to fib up ships vrith machinery which could keep carcases of mutton in & frozen state" during the voyage to England. • This latest development of our rural industries has eioiply revolutionised the, agricultural and pastoral; pursuits in New Zealand, and given a renewed'vitality to the rural induafcnes of the colony which the most sanguiue never dreamt of. Iα proof of this" we remember that when the Hon. M. Holmes some years ago predicted that 13 aw Zealand would be able before long to find 1,000,000 sheep annually for the frozen chambers he was laughed at as a dreamer, Well, not only have we already reached the predicted limit, we have far exceeded it, and instead of being in a position to freeze 1,000,000 per annum we have appliances in the colony, capable of turning out nearly 3,000,000, and it is generally believed that the number will,' before long, be forthcoming.

The time has now arrived when another industry is being added to those already established. We refer to the production of cheese and butter. This practically new branch of rural >fair rUraT s jtf not exceed, inks beneficial results on the colony, 'those others to which we have already referred. It has the great merit, moreover, of finding profitable employment for a very large number of people. It is admirably adapted for small holdings. It Iβ an industry which, abbfre all others, will tend tosettlepeople on the land, and is one the ramifications of which embrace all the operations of agriculture. It involves the growing of corn, the culture of soiling crop?, the laying down of permanent pastures, and the breeding and selection of stock. It is hardly necmeary to point to the amount of capital and laTOur'whichTia involved in an extension of the dairy industry. Some of our readers may not be actually aware of the growth of the dairy industry which has already taken place. There are at present 73 butter and cheese factories throughout New Zealand, distributed as follows : — Otago, 26 ; Auckland, 22; Taranaki, 11; Wellington, 10 j Canterbury, 3; Hawke's Bay,.!. There asm others ia contemplation, and thsre -if room stili for far more than double the aumbtr, The persons employed ia the factories' in 3s T ew jgeatei is set down M 2fO,'' : 'BMd' the smonnb expended; in wages for 1800 was approximately £15,000." Ths approximate' v&lu©- of the 'Jfi&d,:- buildlogs, ! mashiaery,. aad plans was fa £100,453, as compared with £47,513 in 1886. Ths returns from theso fsGtorsss for 1890 were a3 followss~€hense 1960 tons, T©lu@ £68,710, as against 523 tons, vsdwd at &&QM3 Sos, 28SG. The

fetttfe3*r®tanasloßf 1890 were Ibe, valued at £73,340, aa againsS 1?4,6!f1b5» for 1886. The bacon prepared at the factories was valued at £1707 ia 1890, aa against £§Q0 ia X 886; the value of the other products biiag pa* dowa at £7200. Wβ have not yet the returns for 1891 before us, buc they will douhtlesa show Urge increase. These figures, ofreooree, refer only to -tl»e factory system, and do not include the produofc of farms not conneoted .with the factories.

Our readers of course, perused Mr 3?*/WttaoN*ft m eupplied to our special reporter, dealing with the position of the dairy industry ia Australia and New Zealandr- Mr WjMost is the Yictoriaia dairy expert, is a man of great experience in dairy matters,, having been actually engaged in that industry for the last forty years. Thafe gentleman furnished the farmers of this provincial district with some exceedingly valuable and instructive information in connection* the factory system. He waf etpongly in favour of the co operative factory system; a system"which we have ia columns frequently urged upon the: attention of farmers* In his address to the members of the Tal Tapu Farmera , Club,'a report o| which; .appeared in our columns] .Mr. Wilson gay© a.'largo of practical advice to those enf geged in the dairy industry. He| moreover, eonglatulated the New| Zealand, farmers roa l enjoying sucH exceptional advantages for the success♦ ful carrying on of the industry. H<i referred to our rioh past-ires, our magaifice'Qt water supply, and our cool climate,.aa all combining to give us aa advantage over our YieEorian neigh* hours which should enable 743 to produce butter equal to the very best in the world. Added to this, there 16 practically an unlimited marked iui tho Old World foe all that we can possibly produce, even if the industry equalled that of wool ATadwehavealsotheJacilities tor sending dairy produce Homf in the cool chambers.in the splendid lines of steamers which now trade regularly with New JZealand, : W6 repeab the dairy industry of this oolony has a great fiiturs bctdra'ifc, if only we set about the task of develop? ing it with the same energy and enterprise ; whioh . have characterieed the , growth of the frozen meat trade. :

Our remarks in Monday's issue as t4 'ttf'e iu e whush tho Land Department is dealing with objection? to the. valuations are confirmed by a correspondent, who furnishes us with" the following facts. This gentleman received the usual notice that; a piece of land, of Which he had been the owner, was valued for taxation purposes at, ; aay e £900. Ho immediately forwarded to the Department reasons fwhy he should nW be oalled da to pay taxation on the iinount hanied* These reasons were* first, that; the land was only worth say about 5330, and next, that he was not the owner of the, which had been recently by hiaa for less thatt £330£; These reasons, it might have been thought;, were fairly conolu> sive, and should have convinced the Department that) the casa required look* mglafco. Judge, thorefofe,pi owcorreii« poridsst's surprise 'when he Received the stereotyped reply, "Yotir objection hita been disallowed. , ' Although no the owner of the laud he will have id' go to the trouble of appearing before the Board to. prove -the facts. , ; -TM purchaser will have to do the saaig thing iv, order to establish the real tb.9 ,bloßk t ',; and annoyanca would have been avoided had the Deparfctrienb- taken the slightest; trouble to look into ths objection. The ease under notice confirms the impresaioa, now■'generally prevailing, that .the Commissioner ia simply sanding one reply to aitt-objec-tors,".,. &; reply which involved tiie appearance befor© the Kβ?ieioa Bomti of a, . large.. number q£ iyritated taspsyeis, • -,'.'.'-• : :■;•/■'"- ' ' ! ':