"PARORANGI."

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 147, 23 June 1915, Page 13

"PARORANGI."

iio offers, in turn 1 , permanent employment. Thus the old reproach has drop-" ped from the workers at the flaxmills in the Manawatu, and they have come, generally speaking, to occupy a high place in the community as very desirable citizens, men who receive their weekly cheque and spend it in the maintenance and improvement of their homes. ,AU over the face of the country in the Tokomaru, Shannon, Linton, and Foxton districts their homes are dotted. Many of them are married men, taking an active share in the affairs of the district. Storekeepers in the various townships and villages speak enthusiastically of their value as citizens, and the considerable factor they are in the general prosperity. "A farmer," declared a Shannon storekeeper to a Post representative, "spends, say, a third of his earnings in the townships upon food and neceai caries, and the remainder goes either to pay off mortgages Or into the bank; whereas a flaxmiller's wages, regularly received, go into instant circulation among the stores." This represents the feeling now most generally entertained towards the mill employees. A THRIVING INDUSTRY. • In the Manawatu district, . including Shannon, Tokomaru, Linton, Foxton, Moutoa, Oroua, and the localities higher up towards Palmerston, there are 42 flaxmills. r This number on the average of 42 meri per stripper, employ about 1000 hands. The Miranui mill at Makerua alone keeps 180 men regularly, engaged. This means the ' circulation in the. district of nearly £100,000 in wages —% very, Considerable sum. There is no exaggeration in these figures j the probability is that the estimate, which was supplied -by a prominent miller, Mr. L. Seiiojft, one of the owners ol the Miranui mills, i$ a low one. And- in addition to the actual wages payments, a considerable sum, reaching probably to £10,000, ia annually spent upon the upkeep of tho mills, cleaning up the Btfampa, in drainage, and .many other ways. 1 NEW METHODS. • j The flax blade is not now cut protfekcuously the swamp growths as i m the manner of a few' years ago. A careful system is followed in order that lutoro growths may be encouraged. Tho swamp itself is. treated -with almost the same care as a farm, and as knowledge of the plant and its ways increases, so are the methods' of attention altered, and perfected. The' most luxurious growths are sought, and success in this direction figures largely in the general prosperity of the miller. The swamps have to be kept continually drained, and all foreign growths, such" as tot toi, wild shrubs, weeds, fescue, and blackberry, cleaned out. Then precautions nave to bo taken against fires in the dry seasons. Much money has "gone up in smoke" in the Manawatu swamps. Fire lines are always kept cleared in areas of the swamps, and firelighting appliances, such as beaters and slashers, placed at handy intervals in mutable receptacles. There are proper seasons for cutting bho flax if the best yields aro to be ot fcained.' The two "close" months aic April and May. Experience Has shown that if the blade is taken away in these ■months snbsequent growths suffnr. A*, i /the present tune, owing, to' tfee demand »n the Home mark&ta for fibre, many or tho mill* are still running, preferring to placo tifiir praSeat . chance nf profits against, any subsequent^ foss'in a diminution of leaf, and some are working to ivifii cantweis ; but the ' Miranui And Giber ttoQa b»*e dosed down. ' * AN BVTL VISITANT. The sapid "vusttax* in the blackberry giowJJls in th« swaaxps is & matter which is exercising tho tainda of null ■owners jost now. Jt is a menace of only the Jast year or two. Millers fear ihat it -will become » very serious question. They are taring to kill it by pojjoa, but meet ■with little stweess. It i* spreading irapjdjy and (sssothering the jJas^ J£ j».

the grub is almost absent. It seems to come in 'cycles. Seven years ago it made its appearance, and went away, and reappeared two years ago. This suggests to the millers that the period of its visitation is likely to be every five years. The grub reduces the size of the flax, and more than the usual quantity of the blade is required to produce a ton of fibre. ; "As we go along," said Mr. L. Sei-; fert to tho writer, "we find out more and more about tho flax." The millers have also come . to the conclusion that, so , far, with whajrthey know, it would not be profitable to plant flax systematicalty except in areas where it is already growing. There are 'no new areas planted worth mentioning/ A matter, apart from - the cultivation and milling problems, which is~"worrying flax-millers 'a good deal just now is* the continually _ increasing oversea freights. Whereas throe or four years ago the ( total charges wore £3 5s per ton, they now amount to -£6 per ton, • an increase oi nearly 100 per cent. . By , the end of ( June, it has been announced, a further nee will take place ,of 15s per ton. The war has been partially responsible for' the increases ' but bofore the war broke out the • millers • bad - already Ween • in- , formed, that' the freight rates were- too > low, and that the improved conditions and higher wages required by the sseta t men, and those who handled the flax,', made it necessary, to put up the charges. Many improvements are to be found ! in" tho mills. •' In * some, for instance, . a , new class of scutcher, which feeds itself and .reduces tho labour required, has justbeen installed.. But one of the' most noticeable features to the casual visitor to tho mills is that the -majority ot the larger places hav e adopted the suctiongaa power, ancl a very powerful type of engine. This is a considerable advance on a few years ago, when it was the customary thing to see & portable engiuf, roughly covered over with a temporary shed, ,and wiib wheels chocked, supplying 'the power to the strippers. In the .swamps tramways are now most gencr ally used k> bring out tho flax, though tho large Miranui mill, as probably is well known, has laid down a permanent sot of iron rails, along which a small locomotive puffs 'its way with a long train of. laden trucks. out of the depths of the swamp. i At . present the total output . of the mills operating in the Manawatu dis-

THE HOME OF THE SOCIETY'S PRESIDENT N ' AN IDEAL RESIDEMCE A RECORD OF THRIFT "It is nothing less than 'a system of science,' " so ono agricultural authority recently wrote, "that has placed the owner of the Parorangi Estate, Mr. Ernest Short, in one of tho highe&t positions in tho Dominion as an agriculturist, and as a breeder of Romney sheep, Hereford cattle, and Clydesdale horses." And the same. care and thoroughness which, intelligently applied, enabled Mr. Short-, who is to-day president of the Manawatu A. and P. Association, 'to earn a reputation as , a breeder, while comparatively a young man, over the whole Southern Hemisphere, has now, in more mature years, been successfully devoted to the building of a suitable borne at Parorangi. It seem? almost impossible to refer to this magnificent place • without tho employment of terms which, to those vclio have not seen it, may bo deemed over-

enthusiastic' But there are certainly fe-Wj if any places, tb compare with it! in its modernity, comfort, and stability in New Zealand. , and particularly in the country. The owner of Parorangi has certainly established ,a home worthy of bJ3 fine estate and one which will help to perpetuate the name.' A VERY' FINE RESIDENCE. Every possible detail in comfort has been included. The, house, which is of concrete and plaster, after the modern style, is one of the largest private residences in the Dominion. It is built to endure, and yet its design is artistic and symmetrical,- With a frontal design &o excellently . proportioned ths,t the effect is pleasing rather -than bold, notwithstanding' the size, and indeed this may be said ,of the ,edifide as' a, whole. The overhanging, heavy tiled roof rises massively towards a central tower, which commands a fine view of the. surrounding estate. The house, embodies many r of the ideas of' tho owner,' 'which were gathered in a recent world tour. , It is buPt in the form of a quadrangle, and one back wing if? used for the' family and the otheii for tho employees. The structural feature ,is' its 'enduring solidity, and this applic3 equally- 'to -the. interior appointments, .which arc of the finest wood, principally of ' English oak Artistic selection, everywhere apparent, is very pleasing, as is also its second, /very necessary fcatur«\ convenience. One has the impression of an old-time' unobtrusive lavishnets of comfort combined with all the finest modern conveniences. Broad sweeping asphalt icarriage drives approach the front Vestibule, Which stands on massive pillars with - far -overhanging roof. Ihe entrance 16 into a very large reception hall with extensive windows on either side. The other principal -rooms are on the same magnificent scale, and exhibiting a refined tasta in colour and other adornment, which could only bo obtained from highly-skilled workmen. - The place is electrically lit, and telephonic communication is held with the Feilding Exchange, and with every part of the estate. THE SURROUNDINGS. The grounds cover a very large area.* They fall away from the residence, which has been' placed upon an artificially-raised emminence. The skill of one of. the foremost landscape gardeners in New Zea-

land has been employed in the preparation of the grounds, which are several acres in extent. The central feature is a long, winding, artificial lake, wide and deep, which is crossed by rustic bridges, and the scheme of which includes a tall Japanese lighthouse on a prominent corner, electrically illuminated. Bordering the whole garden are wide profusions of ornamental shrubs, of native and imported trees, which havef shown a remarkable growth for the short few months they have been planted, and give a_ foretaste of what they will become. In time a long carnage drive will run through a mass of this foliage. There are beds of choice flowers, set in extensive lawns, carefully tended, and neat little winding paths, and trellises for creepers. At the eastern side of the residence stand two large glass houses, one a spacious domed fernery, and the other a hothouse, which, in time, Mr. Short hopes will contribute to the district's flower shows. At the back of the house is a private secretarial office, and further back the huge stables and farm appointments, untl away across ono paddock the comfortable quarters of the men. Mr. Short has undoubtedly succeeded in establishing a home which is -. credit to his famous estate, an estate which exhibits ip. every detail the powur of the controlling master-mind. THE FABM, Some words are due to the farm itself. Parorangi is situated seven miles from Feilding on the watershed of the Rangitikei anrl -Kiwitea Rivers, and tho land ranges from 800 to '1200 feet above the level of the sea ; bnt, as it is dry and healthy country, it is eminently adapted for breeding -stock able to 'thrive in any rough or cold climate. Mr. Short, wltb, by .tho way, was born at Wellington, went, when sixteen years of age, to Parorangi, to manage the farm which his uncle, Mr. W. Baker, then occupied. A sturdy independence of nature, however, soon asserted itself .in the young overseer, who took up a small bush-cov-ered , section of 357 acres, which ho determined should "be' the first portion of a [stud farm, of \vhi:h he already had formed visions. After three years ho acquired another • block of 320 acres, and ha • added a further 4 320 acres before \ twelve months- had elapsed. Thus, at 2L years of age, 'Mr. Short had' about 1000 acres of gra*sed land, stocked and lenced, with a capital of £500. His property at one time consisted of I 10.000 acres, divided into, about eighty ' paddocks, but Mr. Short recently disj posed of 4000 acres', ' with the intention oi . retaining , the ' 6000 acres purely for breeding stud stock. , Of this 1000 acres have, been thoroughly .cultivated, and heavy crops- of t oats, barley, peas and roots have been taken from, it. , This year the prolific quality of the ground is shown in a series ,of heavy stacks of wheat waiting to be threshed. , FAME' IN ROMNEYS." »In Romneys, which form the basis of his fame abroid, Mr. Short made his earliest purchase from • Mr. Pudney, of Oolyton, and his judgment was so sound that, in 1897/ he required from 60 to 80 rams annually for the ' maintenance of his flock. It was in 1897 that he set out to -breed his own stud rams, an example that has been followed by other Romney breeders in this island.' The type of sires available by purchase did not produce the particular characteristics desired. They were generally coarse in the breech, had "fuzzy" backs, gave light yields of wool, and were hollow behind the_ shoulder. He bought 150 6tud ewes, in lamb

to pedigree ranis, belonging to Mr. Robert Cobb, of Raukawa, near Ashhurst, who was the leading prize-winner in New Zealand up to the year 1897. For some years good sheep were bred at Parorangi, bat they were not of the type altogether that Mr. Short had in view ; they were still ordinary Romneys without the crimpy ivool, which, by reason of its elasticity, is so murh more valuable to the manufacturer than a straight staple. In 1903 he drafted 50 "ewes,