"WELLY GOOD."

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 146, 21 June 1916, Page 12

"WELLY GOOD."

THE ENTHUSIASTIC CHINESE

OTAKI HIS TREASURE GROUND,

GOOD'LAND FOR VEGETABLES.

" What do you think of this land for vegetables, John?" "Good—welly good."

" John " was not in a communicative mood. Ho seldom is. But eomehow he seemed to put a great deal of enthusiasm into that " Good—welly good." _ He was referring to his plot- at Otaki, and there was reason for enthusiasm.

Years ago all the land around Otaki ■was in the hands of Maoris, and the early settlers will, tell you how well much of it was cultivated. When the Otaki River ha-d a course much nearer the town, and the site of the present railway station was dense bush, the Maoris had their cultivated plots on the bank of the river. Here they grew in abundance their kumara, or sweet potato. ' But they were hard workers then. Time has changed things, including the course of the river, but that change proved to be most beneficial, inasmuch as it left behind rich, alluvial land, the like of which is not to be found in many parts of .New Zealand. 'The wily Uhinee was quick to realise this, and he has established himself in great and ever-increas-ing numbers around the township. He is now an institution—and a. valuable institution at that. RESPECT FOR THE CHINESE. Many people in the Dominion are inclined to abuse the Chinese, but it is not so in O.taki. There the yellow man is respected as any hard worker deserves to be. Of-course, he has his enemies, but the same could proba-hly be said of any European. He is an unoffending citizen (or settler), and those who know him as he is found at Otaki say he is scrupulously honest. He gives no trouble, because he' in no way mixes with itie white population. If he favours anybody it is the Maori. He follows along his own lines, a-nd keeps among his own people. The industrious Chinese contrasts strongly with the indolent Maori, who, as a rule, refuses to cultivate even the smallest .area. That when a Chinaman tickles the ground he makes it smile to some purpose is apparent wherever you go in the Otaki district. A SHREWD SELECTOR. Above all things the Chinese are shrewd in. the manner of selecting suitable areas on which to work. ■ Intuition seems to tell them what land is going to produce the best results, and they are willing to pay a substantial price in order to secure the best. They will, in some cases, take up land which, to the average person, would appear quite hopeless of ever being productive of the best in vegetables. They obtain this at a nominal rental • for the first year—say, 10s per acre—and in twelve months a great transformation takes place. By dint of labouring hard the place is converted into a fine, rich-Jook-ing area, and is capable of producing articles which will fetch the highest prices on the Wellington market—the market most favoured by them. Of course, this transformation has not been brought about by one man.. Usually three or four work together. It is understood that sometimes they work on the share system, while in other cases the head man pays wages to his assistants. The Chinese appear to keep their affairs private, and nobody seems to know exactly under what system the labour is paid for. SYSTEMATIC GARDENERS. When the ground is in thorough, good working order, the Chinese go. ahead with their gardening. They are systematic to a degree. That is to say, never for the briefest period is the whole of the area vacant. There is always something ready to be dug or cut, and always something else coming on. For instance, at the time a Post reporter visited some of the gardens there were carrots in various stages—some ready for the market, some very nearly so, some just thinned out, and others so diminutive that it was a difficult, matter to separate them from the weeds^ It was the same with cabbages. Some were beginning to heart, while, many others had not then, taken root. It was the same with all classes of vegetable at all the gardens visited, • and it was evident that the gardeners knew sufficient to guard against glutting the market. PATIENCE AND HARD WORK. The plots taken up by the Chinese vary from 10 to 30 acres in extent, and the task for three or four men is not a light one. The good results which almost invariably attend the Chinaman when he sets out to cultivate the land are brought about by. two things: (1) Very hard work; and (2) patience. Both are indispensable, and both are to be found in the Chinese at Otaki. Here is an example of what is meant by patience. When the writer, visited a large garden on the Pahiko Swamp land the three Chinese who worked the fifteen acres of land were all bending over a large plot in the centre of the property. Closer examination showed that they were weeding and thinning carrots, the tops of which ha ( d just poked above the ground. There was an acre of carrots altogether, and as the plot was' one mass ■of weeds the task before those three Celestials (one 'of them looked about 70 years old) can be better imagined than described. Yet the Chinese regard their, work cheerfuly, or, at any rate, are quite cheerful in front of a strangei\ It was here that one of them replied, with the broadest of smiles: "Good; welly good." As for hard work—they are going all day long— from dawn" until dusk. Their "dinner" time is 10 a.m. Probably no European could stand that continual graft. Most likely, no European would stand it. However, the work is not in vain, and four Chinese will . take oyer £1000 a year (gross) off 30 acres of good land. And they will not, work the land unless it is good. PRIMITIVE METHODS. But, with all their patience and all their hard work, the Chinese are primitive in their methods. ' If they were less priml-' tive there would be less drudgery. However, there it is, ■ and they ...persistently and stubbornly refuse to adopt European methods. They look askance at any labour-saving suggestion, even if the suggestion. is one which, if carried out, could not possibly interfere with the results -except by bettering them. Take the initial preparation of the land. There is a big stump to be removed. They will dig and poke round that stump for a whole day, three of them working all the time. Finally they will remove the stump, of course, and they will go home, no doubt, satisfied with their clay's labour. What a difference a little bit of gelignite would have made! A. dozen . stumps could have been removed in the time. But no, it is one thing for a European to suggest, but another for a Chinaman to carry out the suggestion. Then again, as to watering their gardens. They prefer to carry the water a mile, rather than go in for a minor irrigation scheme 'which would necessitate the digging of a few trenches alongside the plots and the purchase of an ordinary pump. The water could then be dipped out of the trenches, and the watering of the garden would not be • nearly the same big proposition'tlmt it, is no.w. it was a long time before the Celestial could bi> induced to use a plough. But, that sjimo' Celestial knows how to attend to .'his business.. He always obtains—results.'