USE OF THE LAND

Hokitika Guardian, 6 December 1929, Page 2

USE OF THE LAND

A NEW ZEALAND SURVEY. i TRICE PLANTING EXTENDING. WELLINGTON, Dec. 3. In the elaborate report by the Government Statistician, on tiie agricultural and pastoral production of New Zealand, some important facts can he gleaned by carefully examining the statistics. The total area of the Dominion is about 66 million acres, but over 22 million acres are left out of the calculations as they comprise such unprofitable areas as mountain tops. Of the land in profitable use, the greatest proportion is under grass, but the grasslands which are sown pasture showed a decrease last year, compared with 1928. of 16,018 acre. Tussock and other native grasses, on the other hand, are shown as having increased by nearly 40,G00 acres. Tiie most notable advance in land use of recent years lias been in the establishment of plantations. These now total 293,911 acres, and during the year the areas planted in conifers have increased by 51.639 acres, and the oucalpts and broad-leaved trees by 10.289 acres. The following shows how tin' land area of the Dominion is utilised : Orchards, market gardens, nurseries, vineyards and seed gardens 31,2/1 Crops 1,746,200 Pcs i donees. oil tlni i Id i ngs, etc 73,263 Fallow land 117.944 Sown grasses 16,50*).512 New Zealand flax 62. <O4 Tussock and other native grasses ..." 14,131.630 Fern, send), etc 4,010,774 Plantations, conifers 202,052 Plantations .eucalypts and .‘broad-leafed 41,859 Standing virgin hush 3,883,805 .]’,arren and unproductive land i 2.309,117 Totals 431,522,131

It is shown that the areas in crops increased by 56,831 acres last year. Persons employed on farms, including those owners who work on the area, totalled 138,639, showing the substantial increase of 9128 for the year. Dairying loads the list as the land occupation, for it gives employment? to 56,825 males and 17,861 females. Another» important development in the use of the. land is shown in the details of farm machinery. Tim advent of hydro-electricity has beer welcomed in the dairying industry, with the result that since 1921 the number of electric, motors used on farms has risen from 456 to 13,3 1 7 last year, the nominal horsepower totalling 24,713. Farm tractors are also rapidly coining into use, 1506 additional machines of this type having been added last year, making a total of 33,77. Thus it is not surprising, on turning to the particulars of horses in the Dominion, to find that last year they decreased by 8174 and now total under 300,000 for the whole country.