THE DARLING DOWNS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 191, 7 May 1908, Page 2

THE DARLING DOWNS.

RECENT NEW ZEALAND VISITORS. j 1 SOME FACTS. " ;|Tw6 S. fiC ' Lancaster and''Hector 'Booth, who have for. many years Keen leading officials of.the Manawatu A. and P. Association, returned yesterday from a visit to Australia.'' While in:, Australia they'took the opportunity. of. visiting the famous Darling Downs, where, it is said, so many : New Zealaiiders are Settling, and' the. claims, of which as a. producing' and a desirable country are .alternately acclaimed and decried. The trippers paid .only a flying visit, but were, ablo to form an opinion; of the magnificence of the Downs. . .' ■ The Downs themselves, they state, are . being sold at from £2 to £13 per acre, according to locality. The highest .sum paid has been £27 per acre, but off this land the purchaser , niaab £100 per , acre iii the'first jfear. No ;English grasses need ,to be sown. The Downs , are .covered with natural herb- • age. : If a ,paddock is' ploughed .and loft alone, a thick growth of natural springs rip aUd covers it—a grass resembling couch and buffalo gr'aßS. It yields a good, return and has given 'splendid results in fattening. On. this land, hugo crops of maize are also grown.' Paddocks and paddocks of it are seen as the train, which runs right through • the Downs, . speeds on. Near the Hunter River the land brings up ti) £50. This is where lucerne is grown. From four to six' crops a year- are taktfn off. Tho return is about two tons per acre per crop. Sold at Sydney, this lucerne" ! realises £6 per ton; The excellent results from lucerne growing can thus be calculated. ' At Brisbane the samo crop brings from £3 to £4. The various products that are taken to Brisbane are mostly run into the railway yards and auctioned from .the trucks. Messrs. Lancaster and Booth consider j'oung New Zealanders would have a good chance in Queensland. New Zealanders, as a matter of fact, are in demand over there. Those who have already settled on the land ; aro doing better than tho Australians, and showing more up-to-date- methods. The visitors, however, advise that new arrivals, before taking up land, should first Geek employment and' become familiar with the conditions; for farming in Queensland is different, in many respects from that over here. .With land at so. low a figure, however, tho chances seemed greater to young fellows than in New Zealand. • , .At the same time, stated the visitors, they had read, while travelling, that the popula- ■ tion of Queensland, despite the efforts of the Government to induce settlement, was less ~ this year than last. . ; This seemed to iiidicate some reason for dissatisfaction with tho country. The Government were straining every "nerve to' encourage immigration and settlement. : Whether the dissatisfaction was with the climate or not they could not say. The weather-they experienced was excellent, and left 110 room for complaint. For fivo years past Queensland had had- splendid seasons. ■ The'shadow of former droughts hung over the land, but to counteract the probability of droughts in the future irrigation was proceeding on a largo scale.