NEWS AND NOTES.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14918, 17 March 1914, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

A VISITOR FROM BUEXOS

AYRES

Mr Francisco D. Justo, bead oi

wealthy firm in Buenos Ayres dealing

in agricultural lines, arrived in Christchurch on Sunday. Ho is making a fairly comprehensive tour of Now Zealand. Talking to a representative of

"Tho Press," yesterday, Mr Justo 6tated that a Press Association message that had been sent from Feilditvg had given a rather incorrect version of his remarks when visiting the High School boys' agricultural camp on Mr Short's estato at Almadale, near Feikling. Ho was supposed to havo said that "he had a son at the Washington Agricultural College, in America, hut the work being done in Almadale was much more thorough and valuable than that at the American college." What he really had meant to convey to his hearers was that he had rather wished his son to come to New Zealand to learn farming, hut his 6on had preferred to go tO ( America. « '"Would you think it worth a New Zealand farmer's while to sell out here and go to South America ?" tho reporter asked Mr Justo. ''Well, I must say that I thought tho land very high in price here —too high, in fact,' f was tho rpply. "We havo in my country largo areas of land close to the railways, all sown down with alfalfa, or lucerne, as yon call it, and highly suitable for dairying, that can ho bought for from £_ to £10 per acre, this price being for the freehold. This land 16 all leady for dairying, and lies in the districts west of Buenos Ayres, south of Santa Fc and Cordoba. Altogether wo havo twenty million acres of lucerne land on which cattlerearing has been carried out in the past, but it is said that our alfalfa land is growing more rapidly than our cattle are increasing, and there is a great deal now that is available for dairying purposes. There are immense possibilities before the dairying industry in my country. Up to now only about 5 per cent of the lucerno lands have boon used for dairying, Po per cent, hrving been used solely for grazing and cattle raising. If the alfalfa is cut, it is possible to get five crops every year off it. in somo parts it is porsible to get (5 or 7 cuts, and this land can be bought for £6 to £10 per acre." Mr Justo leaves to-day for Timaru, Fairlio. and Dunedin, but will return to Christchurch after a tour through the South.