ON THE CAPABILITIES AND NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE MIDDLE ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 86, 28 August 1852, Page 5

ON THE CAPABILITIES AND NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE MIDDLE ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND.

" Thou makest him to hare dominion of the worts of thy hands : and thou hast pnt all things in subjection under his feet." Psalm VIII., 6. All natural educts are placed at man's command, requiring only the exertion of the talent and industry which has been bestowed on him, in order to obtain products fitted for the necessities, comforts, and luxuries of life. Man has but to strive, and he can bring nature to his aid under every circumstance and in every clime ?' from Indus to the Pole;" that is, provided he, with humble perseverance, acts in strict accordance with those laws by which she governs. It has with great truth been said of old, we have but to obey nature in order to command her to our purpose; and with a rigid determination to act up to this injunction, should every colonist look upon his adopted country. Let the Immigrants to these parts, instead of giving way to despair at finding themselves awakened from their golden dream of immediate gain and wealth, with which too many are induced to leave their native homes, consider but for one moment that the riches of the earth and her increase are only man's on the conditions that he will go forth and toil; let them look around on the snow clad hills and extensive plains and ask by diligent searching as well as by theoretical reasoning, what will ye yield me in return for my industry and capital ? do ye contain ought which will add to the wealth of a community? To supply in part an appropriate answer, I propose through the medium o£ your paper, to treat on some few of the capabilities and natural productions of this part of New Zealand, and I think on account of its importance, we cannot do better

than by commencing with, the enquiry " How does the Canterbury section stand as a wheat and grain producing country ?" And secondly, what can be produced fit to be exported for the supply of the markets of the world, which, at the same time will enable the producers of the agricultural harvest to live ? ' Wheat.—ln former days a knowlege of agriculture was only obtainable by long and continued practice, and even with this, oftentimes vast quantities of manure at considerable expense, were heaped upon the land nearly useless to the crops it was intended to benefit. It was left for modern analytical chemistry to : prevent for the future such a sad waste of property ; it was left for modern science to show that as wheat alone was capable of supporting the life of man for a longer period almost than any other food, it must contain all the elements of which his body is composed, and yield to his digestive organs fourteen or fifteen different elements in order to replace those constantly wearing away by the action of life. To render this important subject plain, it will be as well to consider these elements under the two heads of organic and inorganic matter. If we watch the fire as it burns upon our hearth, we shall find that the large piece of wood which occupied the grate but a short while ago has disappeared, leaving a heap of ashes bearing but a small ratio to its former bulk ; that which has disappeared has been termed the organic part of the wood, and consists only of such elements obtainable mostly from the atmosphere; that which is left behind has been denominated inorganic matter, and would be found to contain (had wheat been burned) the elements of which bone and some other parts of which the animal frame is composed. These latter portions, as science and experience have proved, require a greater consideration from the agriculturists than the organic, as wheat can obtain them only from the soil. Acknowledging thus much to be true, let us enquire, is the land in this neighbourhood capable of yielding to the wheat these inorganic or mineral constituents in sufficient quantities? if not, although we may produce an are of wheat, it will not contain the requisite amount of nourishment. But it may with confidence be asserted that the elements for producing first-rate wheat do exist. There is yet another very important enquiry for the agriculturist, are they in such a state in the soil that the assimilating- powers of the plant can take up and appropriate them ? To illustrate this important remark more fully let us refer to a casein point. As we pass along the various paths of the peninsula, we observe that the rocks are full of small white and flesh coloured particles, (felspar.) If some of these be collected and exposed to the action of a powerful acid, for instance, sulpheric, no change will be found to take place, for the attraction between the elements of which the felspar is composed is greater than that which exists between the elements and the acid; if we now add some other substance which will tend to destroy this union—for instance, if in this stage of the experiment a small quantity of lime be added, the whole is instantly dissolved. Let us liken now the wheat to the acid, and we shall find our simile hold good, for, although in the felspar, the most important elements which would be required, exist, —their union amongst themselves is rendered so firm by chemical attraction as to be utterly unserviceable to the plant, without lime is present to set them free. From these remarks the following important lesson may be learned: that the lands in the vicinity of Christchurch and Lyttelton to be fitted for wheat do not require large quantities of ammoniacal manure, but only need, should it not already exist in the soil, a slight dressing of lime. In proof of this statement I would refer to the other wheat growing countries of the Pacific, where the climate bears some similitude to this. The famous wheat of South Australia, which has been received with considerable favour in England, is grown chiefly upon Mount Barker, where the climate is temperate and the soil produced from the decomposition of primary and volcanic rocks, rich in felspar, in close contiguity with limestone; at Port Fairy in the Port Philip district we find a similar instance. * Lime will also be found of great utility in warm dry climates, as it tends to accelerate the decomposition of vegetable matter, and thus to continue the supply of humus which in conjunction with the potash of the felspar, forms so important an ingredient in soils suited for the production of grain. Lime will also fix

that volatile ingredient of the atmosphere which is most essential to vegetation, ammonia. I cannot conclude the subject of wheat growing without alluding to the necessity of the effects of climate being studied by agriculturists. The farmer who comes to a new country expecting to farm with advantage by knowledge obtained by practice in one particular climate, will find himself sadly mistaken ; be may be likened to d man studying a foreign language at home, the alphabet and rules of which he soon learns ; but when he comes to travel in the country he finds himself utterly lost, for the peculiarities of its idioms are unknown to him. To apply this let any one who has travelled in a warm climate over hill and vale call to mind the various circumstances under which vegetation makes its appearance. On his reaching, the summit of a mountain where the climate is cold from altitude, may be he will find gigantic trees flourishing in a rich black soil; as he descends to the valley below, perchance similar forest trees are found growing in the poorest sandy soils, while the rich alluvial flats are timbered only with dwarf and mishapen trees full of hollow limbs. I think the following explanation may be given of the above facts: first, those black soils, rich in humus, from certain causes accelerate the growth of vegetation, and secondly, all plants require time in order that they may assimilate and appropriate the riches of the soil. The cold climate so retards growth that the soil can scarce contain so great an amount of riches ; cpntrawise, as warmth accelerates growth, most plants, (wheat for instance) when grown on rich soil in a warm climate spring up with such rapidity as to take from the soil too great a proportion of succulent organic matter, leaving the more important mineral constituents or inorganic matter remaining in the : soil; froih this cause a fatal disease has often been observed to spread through wheat crops, the straw has been produced in brilliant luxuriousness ; but when the time of the seed forming arrives, from there being no mineral ingredient to form a coating, a fungus has taken root, robbed the plant of its nourishment, and the whole ear has become a blackened mass. To obviate this, it is no uncommon practice on some of the rich deltas of the rivers of New Holland—-to take two or three crops of maize off the land prior to the planting of wheat. W. I. G. (To be continued.)