TO NEW ZEALAND IMMIGRANTS.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1650, 8 February 1862, Page 5

TO NEW ZEALAND IMMIGRANTS.

HINTS ON FARMING AND GARDENING,

BY A WORKING COLONIST OF THE PROVINCE OF AUCKLAND, [Per favour of the “New-Zealandek.”J In writing this little work for the guidance of newly arrived immigrants, with limited means, who intend to make this province their adopted home, I may simply state, that I am determined to bring forward nothing that is calculated to mislead; but only that which has come under my own personal experience and observation. With regard to the seasons, I have quoted for sowing all kinds of seeds and plants; they are the same as I have adopted for my own use, after six years’ practical experience in the province of Auckland. I have .also been for many years residing in the Australian colonies; and, being at present in communication with many private friends there, from what I can learn, I am of opinion that New Zealand is the more preferable colony of the two for immigrants of limited means, especially those who are industrious, and intend to follow agricultural pursuits. Having arrived in Auckland, and taken a temporary residence for the family, look round you for a few days, to get all the information you can. Pay no attention to grumblers; make up your mind to persevere ; you will not regret it in the end. Hundreds have done well before you, and there is room for thousands more to do the same. Go to the Land Office, and learn where there are any blocks of land open for selection, and whether the track to them is by land or water. 'Water carriage is best, except in cases where the roads are improved to the settlement out from Auckland. Do not be in too great a hurry in choosing your land. Perhaps you may have an opportunity of visiting more than one. district. If possible, choose a piece both bush and fern land, not too swampy or mountainous; look about for fresh water springs or creeks, which there are almost sure to be on every selection, if you select any distance inland. In the absence of a navigable river or creek, look for the best road in the first place. I shall now suppose that you have made your selection, qnd there is no time to be lost in getting on to the land. The first business is the erection of a habitation. The list of tools you require for all works will be found appended. Commence by selecting a pretty level spot for your house, sheltered if possible from thesoutherly winds; and, if your land is near a navigable bay, river, or creek, erect your house near the best landing place. There are many different ways of building houses in the bush ; but the one I shall recommend to you is made of either raupo, nikau, or tuitui, it being easily constructed, and very warm and comfortable, when well finished; the materials are also plentiful. Proceed to cut straight posts of hard wood, not less than six inches in diameter, and eight feet long ; saw them level at the top ends, that the wall-plate may rest on each of them. Mark out the size of your house, according to your family, twelve feet by twenty will make two good sized rooms, twelve by thirty will make three rooms. After squaring off the ground plan, dig the corner holes first, making them all two feet deep; put in the posts, fill in a little earth to steady them upright. Fix a line pretty tight from the top of one post to another, by which means you will see if they are pretty near level, and on the square; the line will also be a guide to put in the remainder of the posts. Leave two feet of space between each post, and wider spaces for the door and windows, and a still larger space for the chimney. Ram all the posts well. The posts for the centre of the end and partition walls must he fourteen feet long, which will give a good pitch to the roof, and also answer to rest the ridge poll on. Cut long straight pieces for wall-plates, square them with the axe, to make them lie solid on the top of the posts, and fasten them on with four inch nails. By searching the bush a little you may find a straight tree, between two and three inches in diameter, that will answer for a

pole; fasten it on with a few nails to steady it,. "The rafters must be straight, and about three inches in diameter, and fitted on at two feet apart, and made to rest evenly on the wall-plate and ridge-pole. Fasten to the wall-plate with three inch nails ; but smaller nails will answer to fasten the top ends. Battens are the next thing in order. Straight ti*tree poles are verv plentiful, and those about two and a-half inches in diameter are easily split, and make very good Nail them on the walls and roof at about ten inches apart- This done, the place is now ready for the raupoo, nikau, or tuitui, which is fastened on to the battens with flax, or small cord-like roots, which creep along the bush ground, and which, by enquiring of some of the older residents, you will be shown how to fasten on. The chimney is made of posts, in the same manner as the house, and should be in size about six feet wide by four feet deep- Let the -wall-plates be eighteen inches lowerjthan those of the house. Battens are nailed on the posts, inside and outside, at four inches apart, and filled in between with mortar, made of clay, and grass chopped up and mixed amongst it, to make it hang together. When the mortar gets dry, remove a few of the lower inside battens, and build in more mortar, to keep the fire from the wood-work. Finish up by plastering inside and outside, until all the battens are covered. The stalk of the chimney is drawn in to the usual width at the top, by means of four straight poles, about three inches in diameter, extending from the wall-plate to about eighteen inches above the ridge. Fasten them well to the wall-plate, also at the top, with four cross pieces to steady them. The stalk is covered outside with some material, in the manner of weather-boarding. Fix some kind of spouting between the thatch of the house and the stalk of the chimney, to throw the wet off. The chimney is best in the side of the house. Purchase a few boards for doors and other inside purposes; but window sashes may be bought cheap in Auckland. Dig a small drain round the outside of the house, to keep the damp from the floor. The above description Of house will last five years, with very little repair. The next important thing, is the selection of a piece of your best bush ground for a garden. Let it be some way from the house, for you will possibly keep fowls. As the garden is the first thing you will begin to profit by, you must be particular in selecting the site. The situation should be well sheltered and open to the sun, sloping gently to the north-east and north-west. A deep hazley loam, not too retentive, is a good garden soil; deep sandy loams, not too light are also good. The soil is generally good along the margin of creeks, where there must be a quantity of decomposed vegetable matter and alluvial de- 1 posits. For a garden at least, avoid stiff clay soil; and, alter selecting a place as near as possible to the foregoing description, commence by clearing away with a bill-hook all the supplejacks and underwood ; next cut the larger trees, and lop the branches and trunks well up, so that the fire, when set in may make a clean burn. Bush clearing should be performed in winter, and burnt off in the following February and March. When you are ready to set fire to to the lumber wait for a high wind, fj-om the direction of your house. I may add that, if you are in the neighbourhood of a place where coasting vessels trade, while you are clearing you can split up the timber that is available for posts, rails, and firewood, and make sale of them; they will possibly pay the expense of clearing, bearing in mind to reserve stuff for fencing-in your own garden. In clearing bush on a more extensive scale, for grass land, you should leave clumps or belts of trees wherever you think them most required for shelter, and should also leave clumps of trees round the principal springs, as experience has taught me that they will dry up when all the bush is cleared away. Grass seeds should be sown after burning off, as soon as the ashes ai'e cool, at the rate of one bushel per acre, and left to spring away with the first rains. Winter wheat should not be sown until May, at the rate of one and a-half bushels per acre. Pickle the seed wheat with bluestone, to prevent smut: it will also protect it from the ravages of rats and mice. After sowing, chip with hoes the surface of the ground amongst the stumps, to cover the seed. I have seen fair crops of wheat without the chipping; but only in cases where the land was very good, and well burnt off. Having now given you a pretty good idea how to proceed with the first work to be done on your new place, I shall arrange the remainder of garden and field operations for the whole year, in a kind of calendar, commencing with the month of

FEBRUARY. I shall now suppose that your garden ground is well burnt off. Commence at once to break up the land with grubbing hoes, from four to six inches deep. If your hoes are strong and well tempered, they will cut nearly all the roots you require to remove for the first year, with the exception of a few large ones, for which use the axe. Throw the roots into heaps, on to the broken up ground, to be burnt off when dry. After breaking up a quantity, look to the erection of your fence. The first broken-up ground should be reserved for onions, potatoes, and a few vegetables ; that broken up later, for pumpkins, maize, &c. Clear and level a piece of the first broken-up ground, and plant cabbage, savoys, &c., for winter use, in rows at two feet apart, each way. Sow turnips in drills, at twenty inches apart; when the plants have reached to four leaves, thin them out to ten inches apart, in rows. Turnips are an excellent vegetable on the table, with salt meat; they are also good to fatten pigs, when boiled and mixed with bran, &c. This is a good time to burn off part of your fern land, as a great deal of herbage will spring up during the autumn and winter months, which will be good picking for a cow; and the young fern will come up in October, which is also good feed for cattle. Fern land, intended for grass, should be ploughed up in November and December, and left fallow until this month and next,' and sown with one bushel of grass seed, and one hundred weight of guano per acre. Beware not to cross-harrow the land for grass, or you tear up the furrows, and cover the seed too deep. When the grass begins to stool, roll it over, in order to level the ground for mowing. I have most excellent grass, on average fern land, with the same treatment as described. MARCH, Finish burning off all fallen bush that is dry; sow grass seeds when the ashes are cool. Burn off the roots on the first broken up ground, as they will now be getting dry. Make good fires, at twelve feet apart, on your pumpkin ground : when the fires are burnt out, mark the places with stakes, as they are the spots where the pumpkin seeds must be sown afterwards. Plant cabbage and sow turnips, if not done last month. Continue to break up more ground, burn off roots, make small drains wherever you think them required, to prevent the winter rains from souring your garden ground. APRIL. Commence the erection of an outhouse, for storing your produce when grown. It may be made in the same manner as the dwelling house ; but without windows and chimney. If you intend keeping pigs and fowls, make houses for them also, and keep them well bedded with raupo or rushes, to make manure, until you have straw of your own growing. If you keep a cow, make a stock-yard, and bed it also. Save all the manure you can, it is valuable for the garden. Continue to break up ground : you will find that that which is broken up in the dry weather, will grow the best crops. Burn off roots as they get dry. MAT. Continue to break up new ground, and burn off roots. Sow Windsor and long-pod beans, in drills three feet apart, and four inches apart in the drills, cover them two inches deep; when about eight inches high, earth them up. Sow a small bed of cabbage, cauliflower, and brocoli seeds at end of this month, for your own use. Sow winter wheat on bush land, as directed before. JUNE. It is now time to prepare ground for onions. See that the ground is not too wet; rather wait a few days than work it wet. Proceed to rake

the around over with strong, coarse-toothed - rake, so as to make a good level bed for the seed; mark off the beds four feet wide, set the line, and mark the paths by walking along with one foot on each side of the line. Sow the seed at the rate of about one ounce to three rods of ground, and take about two inches of soil from the paths with a spade, and scatter it evenly over the beds; finish by raking the beds lightly. In cases where there are many stumps on the ground, you may dispense i with the beds, only rake a little deeper after sowing. Keep them free from weeds, and when about four inches high, thin them out to about five or six inches apart. Sow dwarf peas in drills eighteen inches apart; taller kinds at thirty inches apart, as they require staking. Sow broad beans, if not done last month. It is now time to transplant fruit trees. Procure a few of each of the best varieties of apple, pear, peach, plum, and cherry, from some experienced nurseryman. Make for each tree a circular hole, or pit, a little larger than will contain the roots, and having, with a sharp knife, made a clean cut at the extreme points of the roots, set the tree into the centre of the hole, and with the hand spread and regulate the roots and fibres, at the same time filling in some well pulverized soil, until the roots are covered ; finish by levelling in the hole, and firm the soil by r treading gently round the tree. Be careful not to plant too deep, six inches is a good average for the roots to be below the surface. Prune the trees by cutting the leading shoots well down, and thin out some of the laterals, especially of peaches. The trees may be planted in the onion ground, at twenty-five feet apart each way. Plant out a few gooseberry bushes, at eight feet apart: they’ bear most abundantly in this province. Strawberries are also very fruitful Imre : it is now time to plant a few of them. Continue to break up ground; it will be in good time for late crops of maize. Sow oats on fern land which has lain fallow, at the rate of two bushels of seed and one hundred weight of guano per acre. Give the ground one stroke of the harrows before sowing, and harrow in the guano with the seed. Draw water furrows where required. Roll the oats when about three inches high. la sowing skinless oats, one bushel per acre will be sufficient seed. Turn cattle into bush grass where it is too rank. Make drains round the paddocks, if required.

JULY. Continue to sow onions and peas; plant fruit trees and gooseberry bashes, if not done last month. Towards the end of the month, plant a few potatoes in light dry soil, in drills twenty inches apart, and ten inches between the sets, cover three inches deep; when about four inches high, earth them up. Finish sowing oats on fern land this month. Commence clearing bush land to burn off in the autumn. AUGUST. Finish sowing onions early this month. Plant out cabbages, &c., in rows, at two feet apart each way; earth up when pretty well grown. Plant potatoes in dry soils. Sow carrots in dry free soil, in drills, at fifteen inches apart; thin them to eight inches apart. Keep the weeds down in all the garden. Sow spring wheat at the rate of two bushels per acre, same as directed before for bush and fern land. SEPTEMBER. This is the month for planting the general crop of potatoes. If the ground is very rough and uneven,' drag the coarse rake over it; set the line, and with the hoe draw drills, at two feet apart, from tour to five inches de?p; plant the sets at ten inches apart in the drills, and cover them. You will have an extra fine crop by sowing about three-quarters of a hundredweight of guano per acre, in the drills with the potatoes. In case there are many stumps on the ground, scrape holes with the hoe, about four inches deep, and fifteen inches apart; drop the sets in, and cover them up. When the potatoes are grown about six inches high, earth them up. This is on the bush land; but for potatoes, new fern land should have lain fallow since summer. It should be well torn about with the harrows, and rolled, to level it, before planting. Plant the potatoes behind the plough in every third furrow. Sow guano in same furrow as potatoes, at the rate of two hundredweight per acre. Harrow them over lightly, and when about six inches high, mould them up. It is not desirable to plant potatoes in new fern land, except it be of first quality. Commence to sow maize towards the end of this month. Sow in holes four feet apart each way ; scrape holes with the flat hoe, about an inch deep and eight inches in diameter, drop in from five to sis seeds, cover them, and firm the earth on them with the back of the hoe. When about eight inches high, pull up the weakest plants, leaving three of the strongest in each hole, and draw the earth well up round them with the hoe. Those that you pull out will be good feed for the cow or pig. Turn cattle out of, and close grass paddocks intended for seed this month. OCTOBER. Finish planting potatoes this month. Continue to sow maize as directed for last month. If the weather is fine and warm, commence to sow pumpkins in places where the fires were burnt, as directed before. Prepare the ground by mixing the ashes well with the soil, for about ten feet in circumference, as deep as possible, and without bringing up too much subsoil. Rake the surface over fine and deep, scrape holes with the hand about six inches in diameter and one inch deep. On the centre of the places so prepared, drop in five or six seeds, and cover them firm and smooth. When the plants have grown to have four leaves, pull up all except three of the strongest and healthiest, and when the plants have got from five to six leaves, and are pretty strong, the top of the leading shoot of each plant must be pinched off with the finger and thumb, which has the effect of producing a greater number of runners, and making the plants more fruitful. This must be done before the plants send outrunners. Some sow a row of maize in the centre of the ground, between the pumpkin holes. Sow water melons, rock melons, and cucumbers, same as directed for pumpkins, only give them less room, and sow in rich soil and sheltered situations, where they will get all the day’s sun if possible. Sow dwarf kidney beans, in drills twenty inches apart, and two inches deep, drop the seeds at four inches apart in the drills. When the beans are from three to four inches high, earth them up. Sow runner beans in double drills, three feet apart. Set a line, and draw a drill along each side of the line, about two and a-half inches deep, and drop the seeds at six inches apart in the drills. When the beans are up, fix a row of stakes up the centre of the double rows; the stakes may be about seven feet long, fixed firmly in the ground at about ten inches apart. Plant out cabbage, cauliflower, and brocoli; sow carrots and turnips aa directed before. Keep the weeds down in all the garden. NOVEMBER. Finish sowing maize, melons, cucumbers, and pumpkins this month. Prepare a piece of ground for transplanting onions into, by digging it over a second time. Rake it fine and level, and mark it off into four feet beds. When thinning onions to be transplanted, they must be prized out with a chisel, or some other such shaped instrument, to prevent their being broken or bruised. With a sharp knife cut the roots off to about an inch ; with a small wooden dibble, dib them into the beds at once, at about six inches apart; choose showery weather if possible. Hoe the surface of the ground amongst the young crops, especially those of drill culture. Prepare fern land to lie fallow for grass and oats. First mow and burn off the fern, plough the land four inches deep, and lay it up in eight or ten yard ridges. DECEMBER. Sow cabbage, brocoli, and Savoy seeds. As the weather is now warm and dry, they must be kept well watered. By sowing now and at the end of May, you may have cabbage! for use all the year round. Grass seeds will now be getting ripe, and ready to cut. Where growing on bush land, you must use the sickle, as you could not use a scythe amongst the stumps. Tie the grass up in sheaves, and set these up in double rows to dry, until stacked or thrashed. Grass seeds on fern land may be mowed with the scythe, and, when dry, raked up end stacked until thrashed.

JANUARY. .... Grain harvest will now have commenced If the wheat is pretty rank on bush land, when reaping, leave a'good high stubble. After clearing the wheat off the ground, and the stubble is dry, set fire, and you will burn out a great many stumps and surface roots. A great many of the farmers in this district burn their grass stubble also. In the event of your burning stubble, be careful and have the ground well cleared around your buildings and stacks. During this and next month, potatoes and onions will be getting ripe. Onions are known to lie ripe when the tops are withered. They must be taken up carefully; if bruised or cut they will keep no time. Commence at one end of the bed with the spade, by forcing it in a slanting direction well under the onions ; shake the soil from the roots, and lay them behind you, thinlv or* Vae beds, to dry for a day or two. When the roots come off easily with the finger and thumb, get them stored at once, until picked over for the market. Potatoes should be stored at once after digging. An excellent plan of keeping and preserving potatoes from the worm in New Zealand, is by sprinkling dry ashes over them. Put down on the floor a layer of potatoes, about a foot in depth, and with the shovel scatter the ashes well over them, until you think the spaces between the potatoes are well filled up; then another layer of potatoes, then more ashes, and so on. Pumpkins and maize will be ripe in March and April. Pumpkins are ripe when the leaves and runners begin to wither. They will keep a long time laying outside; but they had better he gathered in when ripe, as you will be<nn to turn over the ground for another crop of some sort. Hoe the ground a little deeper the second time. Maize is known to be ripe when the leaves or husks which cover the corn, are withered and dry. Strip the husks all off, except three or four, which will answer to fasten as many heads of corn together. Fix up beams in the store, and hang the corn across them. Whenever you can spare time, clear away all rubbish, to the manure heap, from ground that has been cropped, and break up as much as you can in dry weather. USEFUL INFORMATION. Look about your farm, and clear away the fern or scrub from any hidden creeks or holes, where cattle may get bogged. Be careful in selecting your seeds of all kinds. Those of colonial growth are to be preferred, if grown by an experienced person. English seeds often do not grow, to the great loss and disappointment of the settler.

1 lirash out your wheat, oat, and grass seed as soon ns possible. The rats and mice make sad havock amongst them, if left standing long in the stack, except yon full upon some plan of erecting loundations, to prevent the vermin from getting at the grain, iveep two good cats about your place, and the rats and mice will disappear as your farm gets opened up. Fix up a steel mill in your outhouse, to grind yonr wheat, maize, and skinless oats.

Plant out a lew fruit trees every year, in the season, ami procure good varieties from a practical nurseryman. In this fine climate good sorts are as easily grown as bad ones. Plant the trees at twenty-five feet apart in the garden ; they will not interfere with the cropping of the ground for the first three or four years. The New Zealand settler can boast of more luxuries in the way of fruit, than many gentlemen in England, as a great many of the tropical fruits grow here luxuriantly, in the open air. Most kinds of stone fruit begin to bear well Ihe fourth year after planting Sow and plant all your cxops in dry weather. Rather wait a few days, than put anything in when the ground is wet. Go as little to Auckland as possible ; you are only wasting your time and money. A fishing net is invaluable to settlers living on rivers and near the sea, as fish are very plentiful and good on the New Zealand coast. The net should be set at high water, across the mouths of creeks and narrow inlets, and left until the tide ebbs. It may also be hauled iu places where fish frequent, if the bottom be clear of rocks, and the the water not too deep for the net. A two inch mesh is the best size for general use. With a twenty-five fathom net, two other settlers and myself have taken as many as two hundred fish at one haul. If there are wild pigs in your neighbourhood, keep a good pig dog. One day in a month is often not lost in pig hunting. LIST OF TOOLS REQUIRED FOR ALL WORKS. Two American axes, grindstone, five (1 six) feet cross-cut saw, files, set of wedges, maul rings, handsaw and file, hammer, gimbiets, pretty strong and different sizes, strong spokastiave, tomahawk, or small bench axe, auger, smoothing plane, foot-rule, strong line, garden spades, grubbing hoes, flat hoes, Dutch hoe, dung lork, strong iron rake, six teeth at three inehes apart, bill-hooks, fern-hook, scythe and stone, sickles, wooden rakes, Lay fork. In the event of your having working bullocks, you will require bows, yokes, chains, plough, and harrows. [lt is better to leave purchasing these tools until you have arrived in the colony. The tools and implements brought here by immigrants are, as often as otherwise, but ill suited for colonial purposes.—Ed. N.Z.]