AGRICULTURE in NEW ZEALAND.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 105, 9 March 1844, Page 3

AGRICULTURE in NEW ZEALAND.

[From the New Zealand Gazette.']

Our friends in England have often complained of the lack of information respecting the prospects of the farmer in New Zealand, and we have reiterated the complaints, but without much success. None practically engaged seem inclined to afford this kind of information, though we have endeavoured to show they are really interested in its being spread far and wide.

We are glad to hear that nearly, if not the whole, of the Lower Hutt is now in the hands of parties engaged in bringing it into cultivation; and that the sound of the woodman's axe resounds throughout the forest there. The Lower Hutt contains about three thousand acres, and such is the general fertility of the soil in that favoured district, that we believe the produce that will be sent from those few acres will more than feed the present population of this settlement.

It is estimated that three hundred tons of flour will be produced in this district this season, and that the quantity will be augmented to seven hundred tons next year. Besides supplying the wants of the district, a considerable quantity of flour is needed for the coast trade and whaling stations. Though the cultivation of that which is required for the firstmentioned purpose must take place before the colony can be considered in a satisfactory state, that which is needed for the latter purposes may be imported without detriment to our being considered in a healthy condition. And sure we are that, if knowledge were generally possessed of the agricultural capabilities of the

district, not only should we very soon cease to import bread stuff, but that we should soon be large exporters of wheat, barley, and oats. „We are^ happy in being able to confirm this opinion byvjihe subjoined statements, which have been furnished by an enterprising gentleman as the result of his own observations. The following are the expenses of clearing land and rendering into flour the first crop of wheat, which it is found amounts to forty-five bushels to the acre : — Felling and burning timber, per £ s. d. acre 5 0 0 Grubbing . . . .500 Raking 0 5 0, Chipping in and cost of wheat . 110 0 , Reaping 0 10 0 I Carrying o 5 0 ) j Thrashing . . . . 117 6 i I Grinding' . . . . 410 0 ; _ £18 17 6 , Deduct sale of one ton and a half of straw, at £4 . .600 m , £12 tt 6 Twelve pounds seventeen shillings and sixpence is therefore the cost of producing, the first year, forty-five bushels of wheat, which will yield about one ton and one-eighth of flour. Many of the above charges are very heavy, and will be reduced materially next year, j Raking is overstated. Thrashing, if performed by a machine, could be done at one-third of the above cost. For grinding, two shillings a bushel are now paid. The charge on the Hutt will next season be one shilling and threepence. In America, it is one-tenth of the produce taken to the mill; the price, instead of being fixed, consequently fluctuates with the price of grain, and the farmer and the miller's interest is rendered identical. Thus, if forty bushels of wheat yield a ton of flour, and it be worth £20, the miller's proportion is £2, if it declines to £10 it is £l. The following is the probable cost of the second crop : — Chipping in and cost of wheat, £ s. d. per acre . . . . 1 10 0 Reaping 0 10 0 .' Carrying . . . .050! Thrashing by machine . . 012 6 Grinding forty-five bushels, at one shilling and three-pence per bushel . . . . 2 16 0 £5 13 6 | Five pounds thirteen shillings and sixpence is likely to be the cost of producing a ton of flour on the Hutt, the second season. We have not mentioned the straw, as we understand it will be needed for manure after the first crop. Many will consider this an impossibility ; but we give the facts as obtained ; and, should they j be one-half too low, still the point is established i that we can produce wheat at £10 per ton, a ' price required in North America, and but little i above the lowest price at which flour has been i put on board in Valparaiso. We consequently not only shall secure our own, but we may compete with the most perfect success with those who now supply the Australian markets. We wish agriculturists would furnish us with detailed statements, as we are sure their calculations would be attended with a large and steady influx of population, which would secure the grower the best of markets — a home market — for years to come.