THROUGH THE CENTRE OF THE ISLAND

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 7 (Supplement)

THROUGH THE CENTRE OF THE ISLAND

From Palmerston North To Hamilton Leaving Palmerston North early one morning bv cat* a run was made to Hamilton by the Taihape. National lark, launiarunui route, following the Main 1 runs railway.

The Manawalu when left was wearing a khaki appearance. At Marton a change for the better was noted, the countryside being green, though, no surplus of feed was apparent. The sheep looked well. Some miles on, toward Rota, the great Rangitikei Valley lay below us; the rich Hats, the great cliffs, and the hills in the background, made a most attractive picture. The Rota dairy fcatory surprised me by its size; evidently there is considerable dairying np there. This is a very well appointed factory, with attractive flower-beds, tennis courts, and a bright, clean appearance. Directors and suppliers are to be congratulated on the spirit that has brought such conditions. Along the valley Friesian cows were prominent; seldom is such a proportion of this fine breed seen. Nearing Hunterville a fine reserve area of natural bush was passed through. May this be ever preserved, not for its beauty alone, but as a sample of what New Zealand once was. To assure its preservation a complete ringing round with pines and gums might be advisable to protect the bush from storms and gales. Near Hunterville a big sawmill stands by the highway, still consuming logs as it has done for the past five years or so. There must have been a lot of isolated bush cut out of this district in that time; mostly kaihokatea for butter-boxes, I understand. On past Hunterville two old abandoned steam boilers were seen in a roadside paddock, mute reminders of a steampower age, now supplanted by electricity, even in remote country districts. Road camps were often noted, whore men are doing really useful public work, straightening out bends on this important route. Through this hilly section we continued to Utiku, about six miles before Taihape, where the country became much easier. It is delightful hill country of papa formation. I saw almost no second growth here, but there were numerous clumps of native trees and odd single' trees that added greatly to the country’s appearance. It reminded me of the hills in Central Hawke's Bay. Then miles on from Taihape the rqute runs into the tussock plains of the North Island central plateau. This country is showing considerable development. A first crop of chou mouiller was seen, a large paddock, of healthy growth, but only about 18 inches tall; nevertheless a useful crop. Behind this lay a paddock of what appeared to be barley. Then came a big paddock of stubble, with 14 well-built oat stacks in it. A little later another large paddock was seen, with a few acres still in stook. Uns was a fairly light crop. I wondered how anything grew here, on such an apparently desert country, with its old pumice-tussock plains, light of soil. “Raurimii for Ragwort." Toward Waiouru the first ragwort since Palmerston North was seen, the first in 94 utiles. Just a single plant, but from then on such odd plants were seen at more frequent intervals, until at Raurimu, 50 miles on, we coined the phrase “Raurimu for Ragwort.” For miles the hillsides were thick with the pest. It was noted that only about 30 per cent, was showing yellow; the balance had flowered and gone to seed. In that state it is not readily noted. The weed is here a desperate problem indeed. From Taihape to within 10 miles of Te Kuiti, there is farming on a modest scale, with great areas of waste lands. " Then we again came into real farming country. Between Taumarunui and Te Kuiti, 10 miles, the scene was mostly of fern hills. The Te Kuiti country was very green and grass was plentiful. Here paspalum was first prominent. Few crops were seen, but much blackberry and onlv a little ragwort. x On to Hamilton the whole countryside looked really splendid. Paspalum was very prominent in most pastures; much of it was rather clumpy, though fresh and green. A good deal of Californian thistle was noted here, even on pastures of good appearance. One point is worthy of special mention; Scarcely a badly-grazed paddock was seen on the whole 270 miles drive. Grazing has kept the pastures in order and they are free to grow this autumn without’the stifling influence of a mass of dead top.