RURAL NEW ZEALAND UNDER REVIEW.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 64, 16 March 1911, Page 6

RURAL NEW ZEALAND UNDER REVIEW.

(By R J. Barnes.)

."No. 21. WELLINGTON: A PROVINCE

PROGRESSIVE

GLANCE AT THE AREA

Before taking our bird's-eye view of Wellington land district it may be as well to refresh the memory Concerning the areas with which we are dealing. These are the acreages comprised in the four districts of the North Island: —

Of the four districts, Wellington can perhaps claim the greatest diversity of striking rurual interests. Its climate, as well as the quality and quantity of its land, makes all classes "of farming profitably possible. It has blocks of dairying land which from the point of view of price and productivity are not overshadowed by ,the renowned Taranaki; in wool and mutton and beef, it rivals Hawke's Bay; while for graingrowing it has particular stretches of Country not equalled elsewhere in the North Island. Having a length of 180 miles and a breadth of 60 miles, it is manifest that not much tnore than a nut-shell review is possible in these articles. The district's boundary begins at the Patea river, runs in a northerly direction to the vicinity of Taumaranui; sweeps round the mountainous region which accommodates the famous volcanic elevations of Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe; comes south and biings in the Main Trunk railway line, embracing such well-known joints as Ohakune, Taihape and Hunterville, and junctions at Palmerston North, from -which locality the boundary line runs eastward to the Pacing so as to include all the foot of the North Island, which may he cut off by running a line from Wanganui, through Woodville, and to the sea. It will therefore be seen that every variety' of -territory is covered; the pumice 'of the volcanic' area, rolling downs,, agricultural expanses, spacious valleys and river flats, and the hilly and broken country which, after frowning, over narrow gorges, crowds down to the Empire City itself.

IN THE CROPPING AREA

The writer, coming from the east, struck into the disitrict at that-im-portant stock and grain centre, Folding. After travelling northwards a short distance, there was presented a delightful picture of agricultural husbandry. If it had been famine time the rfest of the island might have exclaimed: "There is corn at Feilding." From a point three and a-half miles northward, one had at this harvest-time as fine a pastoral panorama as one would wish to see—a panorama, of rolling land, fresh-cropped. These thousand stacks of golden grain—^stacks and groups of stacka-T-on every hand showed up in sw.eet conspicuous yellow on , the landscape. "It is dry," said a farmer; "very dry. The oat crops are light this year. The average? Ah, : well, say 30 bushels to the acre." This was the burden of the song only over a small area. Most others had better results to report, and one reliable, informant pointed out a paddock, in the stook, from which 50 bushels to the acre were confidently expected. ' It was rather difficult to arrive at an estimate of the money value of this land which would average 30 bushels— •often more and sometimes less—of oats per year, "You see," said a farmer, "there is not much selling. The farmers know when they have a good thing." So it appeared. Verily, and without invoking the language of a politician, they were a prosperous, contented people. But after persistent questioning, the value in a number of cases was set down at £20 per acre. One farm, now used for dairying, fetched £26 and others are asking. £30 per ,acre. "It has been found that this manuka land after being cropped for a time needs to be put in turnips and rapeand grazed for a season or two. It, is not all cropping.. At Kakariki three years ago a cheese factory was started, and there is a strong impression that the industry will grow there. What is needed is the provision of green-stuff to be fed to the cattle as soon as the milk yield slackens. But this necessity does not appear to have impressed itself. "It seems to me," said a supplier, "that a cow has a certain period during which to milk and she'll milk anyhow. All she wants here is plenty of water, and the grass as it is does very well then." If one were to judge from the small number who grow green-stuff the conclusion would be that a belief in the cow's "certain milking period" is pretty general- Kakariki dairy farmers do not depend upon cows, and in years like the present, when chaff is high, the plough returns to favor. But it is a good grass country. Over the Rangitikei river the granary of the North Island still opens up expansively ,and an old Government valuer was responsible for the statement that between that river and the Wangaehu there are 400,000 acres of level and undulating cropping land. And the price? "It's very dear here," ' said an agriculturist as he watched his busy machinery, "it runs from £25 to £30 an acre. Near by a traction engine, harnessed to two ploughs, . went steadily on, turning over its passive burden of sweet earth. Still further north there was seriously given a more extravagant estimate of the average crops, taken year by year— j 46 to 60 bushels of oats, 25 to 45 bushels of wheat. Last year's wheat average for Wellington, according to the Government statistics, was 31 bushels, and' oats 37 bushels. It is a "ood plan not to accept figures until after the threshing. A visitor i to the district cannot but be lm- , pressed with the earth-sweet atmos- ! phere. and, after touring Taranaki , and Auckland provinces, with the air of contentment which generally ; prevails. The fever of land specu- ' lation has not entered the veins ot the bulk of these agriculturists, and one loses that sense of stress and change and sell and buy which has occurred over all territories where it has been found that, the Cow can be run on pastures which the Sheep used formerly. The growing of grain has not lent itself to jumping land values. It is quite a different matter with the dairy farmer who in earlier days sold his manufactured butter at 3d. 4d and 6d per lb— j taking it out in stores and never see-

ing the color of, money for his produce—but now receives from lOd to Is per lb for his butter-fat, with the cheque ready for conversion into cash on the 28th of each month. A change of conditions like that coujd not but mean largely increased prices for land.

Land district. Auckland Wellington Hawke's^Bay Taranakl Acres. 13,858,000 6,810,953 5,508,900 2,417,299