WHANGAREI: THE CROPS. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 3887, 5 February 1870, Page 5

WHANGAREI: THE CROPS. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)

Thk late seasonable rains have been very re« freshing to our crops and pastures. Potatoes and maize *re abundant. We ave sorry to leam, both in this neighbourhood and round some of our adjacent settlements, that wheat have been a partial failure this season. There have been, however, many good patches, particularly at Kaurihohore and Buatangata. In reference to the subject of green crops, we observe ou the farm of one of our most successful settlers, in the immediate vicinity of our township, a small paddock of sugar grass (Sorghum saccharatum) of most promising pearance. The propi'ietor hasbeen in the habit for several years of cultivating this most iniporfcaut green fodder, which he considers invaluable to the dairy farmer. To those who have never tried it I recommend it, both on this and other trustworthy testimony which I have heard in its favour. Our grist mill is tolerably well employed, considering the disadvantage to which new undertakings of this kind are always liable. They seldom fail to meet with encouragement of a kind which costs nothing. Many people have said, "This is an enterprise that must and will, and ought to succeed," who will not step a yard out of then 1 way to promote its. success. I have been informed that some parties who deal in flour to a pretty large extent refuse to trade with the local miller, on the ground that he supplies the public at the same rate? rw them. • They seem to forget or to ignore the fact that the town-millers with whom the}' deal in* variably do the same thing ; and really it does .seem that such notions of free trade are altogether one - sided, and quite antagonistic to the sound commercial principle of buying in the cheapest market and selling in the dearest. The settlers from Nova Scotia seem to have the liveliest appreciation of the advantages of the giist mill, and one and all of them take advantage of it. A leading man among them, in pointing out to us lately the great value to them of this institution, stated their case in this way : — "Many of us have a great prejudice against paying money for anything we can produce ourselves, and many of us, if we were not growing wheat, would, not be doing anything else." To ua this appears a moat powerful reason in favour of a grist mill to settlers of this class. To another class of settlers the advantages are by no means so evident ; I mean those who are either regularly working on their farms, or have to pay wages to men who perform the labour attendant on gi owing wheat. To them the growing of wheat has certainly not on the whole been remunerative, and, in my opinion, will not be so in this locality unless when flour is at a very high price indeed. We are sorry to learn that Dr. Perston, our indefatigable M. D., is about to leave us in order to establish himself at the Thames goldfield. This will be a loss to the community which it will be difficult to supply. In all sorts of weather, at all seasons, and at all hours of the day and night, Dr. Perston was ready to encounter bad roads, and often worse than bad roads — to go to places where there was scarcely even a track. Besides this important quality of attentiveness, he is a very skilful and successful practitioner ; and we all heartily wish him success in his r new field • of labour, and sincerely regret his departure from amongst us. This will be a good opening for a steady and attentive medical man of alcill and experience.