Farming In The Blood

Northern Advocate, 25 March 1947, Page 4

Farming In The Blood

“He must have come ' from good farming stock,” said the Crown valuer when told that the vendor of a farm had no previous experihnee of farming when he took over a .property. This statement was made during the hearing of a case by the Land Sales Committee in Whangarci yesterday. The Crown valuer (Mr J. A. Grist) was being cross-examined or. his valuation of a 295-acre farm near Whnkaparn, by Mr D. J. Thomson, who appeared for the vendor. Mr Grist told the committee that the land had about given its best as a farm for the present, and the man who had worked it and made a profit was “skilful, frugal and hard-working."

Mr Thomson then asked the valuer if he knew that the vendor had lived on a farm until he was 13; been badly gassed In the Great War and then taken on the farm in 1920 with practically no experience and still made it a success.

Expressing surprise at this, Mr Grist passed his comment and added that it was all the more remarkable because the vendor had handled sheep without past experience in that type of farming. The Crown valuation was £3905 and the price asked was £5417, the same as the private valuation made by Mr J. Oliver.

TOP-DRESSING Mr Oliver said the property had not had full manuring and. although there was some fern on the land it was decreasing. The house and cowshed, lie described as well built of sound timber. Both were supplied with water from a spring. The vendor told the committee that the bottom pastures of his property had received some manure but the higher parts had not received any. They would respond very quickly and well to manuring. Mr Grist stated that there was a good deal of gorse and blackberry on the pastures as well as a bit of erosion in the high land. The vendor had had the best of the property to date and now would require to top-dress it thoroughly.

When well top-dressed he thought it could be readily brought back to good order, although it would be difficult to top-dress the hills. The fences were nearly all good, but the farm would be hard to work as it was composed of several different soil types, and had a difficult contour. The houSe and cowshed were good. The committee reserved decision. Valuers Uncalled

Neither the Crown (Mr M. S. McDonald) nor the private (Mr J. Oliver) valuers were galled to give evidence in a case before the Land Sales Committee in Whangarei yesterday. The property concerned was a 161acre farm near Whangarei for which a price of £2364 was asked. The Crown valuation was £2252, of which £907 was for stock and chattels and the balance for the land.

The private valuer estimated the worth of the stock and chattels at £7/10/- less than the Crown and the land at £1345.

The committee agreed to fix the price at the Crown's figure.