THE WANGANUI COUNTRYSIDE

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 770, 19 March 1910, Page 8

THE WANGANUI COUNTRYSIDE

EANDOM NOTES.

I'ia thel Maxwelltown district■'(writes "our travelling . 1 ■ saw. some plots of potatoes, 'which .'in- ordinary; itiihes"'would have-yielded, twelve. to btteen tins to'the acre. Two of them, 01 aVfont'Ofoar acres ; each, : had been care-fully-sprayed, but,-like all the rest, they 'irere "badly blighted. ,611 the Nukumar • Native holdings the potatoes-were-abo.. '.'as bad as they could-be. It seems a pity that the Maoris tako-so httlo care i-ja-: selecting their seed: 'In fact it would '.Eeein'as it they imagine anything v.m 'do.sp long, as it is small enough; seed Us'taken'-from , any sort 'of-roots, um'eequently their, potatoes have no •tution, ■ and are an' .easy prey , to. aho blight as soon as it is in.the air. ine crops in this district were most disap-pointing-oats thin and blighted; wheatbadly rusted. The. season : was : all in favour of the Nukuma.ru grass, lands, and.there was grass and to 6pare eyery- ■-. I suppose one-of'the'.finest properties "is "Marahau," fdrm'erly. owned :by Mr. 3Pharazyn. ■• He disposed of-.ilff some three "or four years,ago;.-'I was told that the 'present owner contemplates cutting a ■large part : of; "Marahau" . into : .;dairy Marms,'. for ; .jvhich;.it"would be':hard;'to '•find, more suitable .land. I also heard 'that, a creamery .to ..be .erected:, on the ■property. Should these: ideas be carried 'but, it would not be far to send the cream to -the Nukuma'ru'. railway' station. ...Another fine property is Mr. C. S.' Russell's, «n both sides ■ of Main Road.,'He,-.had justput'a mob of lambs .in a.-.rapeipad-idock, where' the crop, was so good that one could occasionally see a.lamb's'..'head 'sticking up. above .the. rape. Mr. .■ Rustell's house, a. handsomo two-story, build-, ing, is on a hill from which there is- a grand view. : In. his. garden-he.-has a greater . .variety of "■ trees' , and shrubs than: I have, seen- anywhere else, some being: entirely unknown' to. me. Mr. Frank Moore,also : has: another block of •Nukumnru land,-upon which I saw some of' his splendid Hereford cattle np; to .. their knees in the .beautiful pasture. "•■ ■ From a motorist's-point of view, the : Main; Eoad. must be'-!simply, perfect. It is made of shell rock,'and is like a billiard table. Several cars, passed me. They were," taking' full advantage of the, exj cellent; going jbufl'dd' think" that many ■ drivers of motor-cars should use ' their horns ■ more frequently,' .'. Many; a . time 1 : meet cars .coming 'round .a- corner, but never, a toot. It.is not right, as they, often come on one at .a.big pace, and 9110 ,cannot either.see ,or. hear, them. :r. .7".

. On the : south, side of Wanganui, espe- , cially abbufc Fordell, I- saw ; some fairly good out-crops—that \is', for.'. the season.' .-•, Caterpillars were playing sad .havoc: with Borne.. As a rule the turnips were nothing to : boast about, the dry. season having been all in favour;of the' fly. ■; Unlike' a . gbod many. other,'; seasons of late years I have seldom' found lack of. water on ■ ..the roads, .for. my. horse;- streams which usually' dry up in summer kept running for a long • time/'bat. latterly the - supply has been gradually shrinking. . ■. ::■'■■ /Do birds find their food by sound as 'well as by : sight? . I, think .there; can \ •lie'no donbt about it. /When I was wait-.] '.ing to see.a farmer, near.Fordell, 1 was : .w-atching a pair of" magpies. They had just flown,from the bluegums.and would .' take some.'six or seven ..steps about; the ground,-and then, r placing'their heads on . v one side, would evidently.- listen. .This '". went: oh.for. some: time, then one. " pause/ thei bird made a sudden dart with atsjjbill, and it ;had ,a grub. This.was .repeated many .'•; times; .often after, the :'■ pause no. :darf was-; made;, but several i.;times,- after listening-'some• secondsI—and1 —and .■■:;: it.'was"quite' plain' the birds were listen- . Ing— ajgrn.b; or wonh.'was got. The sense .'. . of'.hewing, in -biifds miist be vei-y acute '.Tor them to- hear.'the-movements of in- ■,;...- jects and' grubs in theisoil'.'. I have'seen the same thing with .blackbirds. Look- > Ing; out of the window very early one ■ inorniiigi' I 'saw a blackbird hop across ; the' lawn, , stand, "'and'then'hold' its. head , on one side, as if it-was listening,,and all of a sndden it dug' ik- its beak and pulled ■;' -up a worm. It must have heard the , worm's movements "in the soil, as fre- . quently, no dart was': made • after the :: jiause. ■■;.- ■■• ; ■ •'•.;■ .- ' -'•.- •..■• .■..-.,. ■■•