The North Island.

Cromwell Argus, 22 July 1929, Page 5

The North Island.

THROUGH A SOCTH ISLAND LENS. (By One of the Party.) One of the finest opportunities for appraising the merits of the North Island, was provided for the large body of Otago fanners who availed themselves of the Railway Departments special excursion last mouth, being by far the most comprehensive itinerary that has vet been undertaken by the Department, and there can be no doubt that much «ood niust result from the interchange of views, and the commingling of personal interests under such happy conditions. Certainly, the Railway Department is to be congratulated on the meticulous care with which the itinerary was arranged, and for the success of the whole tour which was carried out with the unfailing courtesy and efficiency of, the Railway stall at every point, and there can be no doubt almost without a single hitch. This success was largely due to the painstaking care with which Mr C. Barnes, the official representative of the Railway Department, handled the venture, and every member of the party has nothing but unstinted praise for him. The travellers were greatly impressed that, with the same courtesy, and the same efficiency manifesting itself generallv, the Government Railway would have no cause to fear the adverse competition of the motor car. It was an ambitious undertaking to cater for, and carry a party of , 320 over a distance of close upon 3000 miles, and to do it without mishap, or the slipping of a single cog. At every stage the party found that the arrangements made in advance for their accommodation were most complete, and they moved to their respective lodgings without even a trace of confusion. Little needs to be said with regard to the opening run from Dunedin to Christchurch, as that is practically within our own territory, and familiar to all Southlaiiders. but it is pleasant to relate that, notwithstanding all that has been said or written recently about the irregular running of the trains, the special which left Dunedin with our party on the morning of June 13th, left on time, and after "picking up the North Otago members of the company, en route, arrived at Lyttleton on time. Passing from carnage to carriage, and mixing with members of the party from almost J everv district in. Otago, I was pleased to note that not one timorous soul - was to be found who entertained the least, doubt about the safety, success and pleasurable excitement of the tour and 1 mentally recorded the phenomenon—Friday, the day, and 13th the date—and 320 people involved m the conjunction of these malign forces, yet all happv, all unconcerned and iearlesa. Surely the railway authorities are to be complimented upon having accomplished so much more than they set out to do, and at one bold stroke killing this double-headed monster of age-long superstition. It was with mixed feelings that the partv embarked on the Maheno at Lvttleton, for, though the majority had long since made their peace with Father Neptune, their was a fair sprinkling of "uninitiated" who had to yield to the inevitable '•constraining"' influence of the sea. notwithstanding the legendary ability of the Scot to "hold on" to anything he may possess. However, both Nature and Neptune were comparatively kind, and few experienced the distressing necessity for bringing the '-reverse" gear into action. On arrival at Wellington the travellers were transferred from boat to hostel with the utmost despatch, and here we obtained the hist realisation of how perfectly we were being catered for. All our lug gage having been placed in a prearranged place, each separate piece bearing a distinctive label, we had merely to take our seats in the busses provided, and were whisked away to where breakfast was awaiting us. This over, we were driven to the Thorndon Station,, where we found our luggage conspicuously placed and casilv identified, so that without confusion we were able to take our seats on the big special which wa- to carry us over the whole of the North Island run. There could be no mistaking this train, for along each side, in bold and striking letters ran the caption "Otago banners Special. Once Thorndon station was left behind the keenest interest began to manifest itself and as we sped along through Johnsonville, Porirua, and Paekaekariki. and on to Palmerston North, many and varied were the comments upoii the objects and scenery which flashed into view, and as quickly faded from sight. One was struck with the beautiful undulating pasture that abounded on every side, another remarked upon the solid nature of the roads running parallel to the railway, and the solid and beautiful surface of the roads feeding the main road from everv quarter, evidencing the fact that the North Island Counties make much better use of availa-ble funds for road construction than the South Island Counties can boast of doing. One facetious individual was heard to remark that the "gorse" was exceptionallv striking, especially as it was to be found flourishing most luxuriously "nearest to Wellington," the centre of Government, whence issues the mandatory edict compelling the unfortunate and harassed farmer in the far distant South to ruthlessly destroy the noxious thing. It certainlv is an unfortunate circumstance that large tracts of land, fairly close to Wellington, should be found lying idle. practically abandoned, owing to the neglected gorse. From Palmerston to llawera we ran through some of the finest looking country in the Island, all closely settled and under what is termed "intensive culture. To the eye the outlok was pleasant, and beautiful, but the more thoughtful of the company were inclined to regard with some misgivings the profusion of dark looking pastures, and felt, later on, that their fears were confirmed when sheep were to be seen on thejr knees cropping the grass, and the whispered word "footrot," passed from one to another. Truly, "all i* not gold that glitters," and the Otago man with hi* dry climate and high uplands, began to think.

Wanjafanui, the "city beautiful," was reached shortly before rive o'clock, after a continuous journey of less than 3? hours from Dunedin. Truly a splendid tribute to the co-ordination and co-operation of all who were responsible in any tvav. The welcome at Wanjranui was rijtrbt royal in every respect, and the visitors will lonjy caiiy with them the recollections of hospitality lecejyed. ;; nij courtesies dispensed. Hera with unniuraoug consent, we found the best equipped and most capablv conducted hotel in all our tour, anl "Spritfgfens Hotel" will always hold its place amonjrst inanv pleasant memories as a point of the u'reatcsi comfort and enjoyment. 1-rom VVnnjranui we journeyed to Flawem, and it Is safe to hay that whatever part of the tour may fade from memory, it will nut be the visit

to Hawera, for here Nature took a

hand in the proceedings and staged and impromptu salutation which struck terror to many hearts. As though timed to synchronise with our arrival, we had scarcely stepped from the train to the platform when the disastrous earthquake, which wrought such havoc on the West Coast of the South Island, rocked Hawera to its foundations. The ground heaved and rocked, buildings groaned and twisted, and chimneys swayed like trees in the wind. However, the first few moments of horror over;' and the whispered 'plaint, ''Oh Why left 1 my name," having been recorded, the people of. Hawera laboured to wipe out the unpleasant incident by excelling themselves in the warmth of their hospitality. One has only to read the appreciation published by Mr J. D. Re vie, president of the Otago Farmers Union, to realise the nature and extent of Hawera's hospitality, and, though it may be said that ''comparisons are invidious," it is safe to say that others may equal, but none can surpass the kindly and thoughtful attention accorded to us by the people of Hawera. a Amongst the trips arranged for us there were visits to various dairy herds where quite a lot of useful information was given to tho party by the owners. The visitors were perhaps most impressed with the Ayrshire herd owned by Mr F. Mills, and listened with much interest to the exposition given by Mr Mills on the qualities and points characteristic of a good Ayrshire. One gentleman of our party, however, seemed not to be quite so greatly impressed, having vivid and painful recollections of being forcibly and unceremoniously removed over a fence from one paddock to another per medium of the horns of a "good"' Ayrshire cow. In relating this experience while returning thanks to Mr Mills, the latter jocularly remarked that "the Ayrshire i» a good judge of character, and would not have been doing its duty if it had not given the speaker a 'good' toss." Many astonishing facts and figures were placed before the visitors, intended no doubt to impress them with the success of the system of intensive manuring and rotational grazing, and to say that many of Che party were amazed would be but a very modified way of expressing their surprise. On one farm of 52 acres owned by Mr J. N. Blyde, where his intensive system is in operation, we were told that from 40 cows, in one year, he had taken iz.ooolbs of butter fat. Allowing for the land occupied by buildings, garden, etc, this brought the yield to the amazing figure of 2601bs of butter fat per acre. While we were endeavouring to digest his facts, the appalling statement fell upon our reeling senses, that "in one year, from an area within a radius of 13 miles around Hawera, the enormous sum of six million pounds sterling had been taken." Surely, henceforward Taranaki will be the centre of the magnetic pole to the Otago Farmer, whose modest, returns fade away into nothingness before such a stupendous achievement. And yet; and yet; now that we are back in good old Otago, and the wonder of it, and the glamour of it all passed' away, one wonders how many of the 320 farmers would be willing to exchange their Jot. At Hawera the party was divided owing to the limited accommodation, and fully half were taken on to New Plymouth. As the writer did not make that trip, he can only vouch for the fact, from the testimony of those who did that New Plymouth vied with Hawera and Wanganui in the cordiality and generosity of its welcome. One remarkable fact had now impressed itself upon all of our company. It was the entire absence of the plough. There was no sign of any land having been recently broken up. due no doubt to the intensive system of culture, which renders the plough unnecessary. When asked if no ploughs were to be found in Taranaki their spokesman replied that we might | see one in the Museum. Once more j we pursued our way in deep thought. I With this land to anything from ,£4O r to .£IOO an acre, and cows at about £.20 per head, and a system of intensive culture costing anything up to ■ s ii. v £(> l>ci" acre, well, it '•makes" one think. Does it not look pretty, much j like a millionaires proposition? (To be continued.)