A WORD TO AGRICULTURISTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume V, Issue 1444, 4 July 1868, Page 4

A WORD TO AGRICULTURISTS.

To tho Editor of tho Heealu.

—Without depreciating in the slightest degree tho great importance of the mineral treasures of tho Thames, and other districts, to the City of Auokland, and tho Provinco g"nornlly, I cannot allow the present season of wheat' sawing to go by without having a word with your agricultural roaders It iB not one source of wealth alone that makes a nation ; the combination of many sources is required. But if one branch of industry more than another inclines to make a poople prosperous and great, that ono is agricultural commerce. A country may bo possessed of the most abundant mineral treasure?, and yet be poor. It may be possessed of inexhaustiblo mines of gold, iron vrnd coal, and yet havo but a struggling exi»lonco. A company may possoss all tuch advantages, and many more, but unless supported by a numerous, skilful, successful and contented agricultural population, it will bo anything but n prosperous one. 'there have been nations who prided themselves—and justly, too—upon their extended commerce, aud a consequent population, who have gradually disappeared from the list of peoples during tho lapse of years, but those who have, along with commerce, cultivated agriculture havo been more successful and enduring. Indeed it may be an open question whether agriculture should not be looked upon as the natural and legitimate occupation of all men until they evince at least a peculiar and individual aptitude for something olse. For these reasons I think too much attention cannot bo paid to agriculture, in the widest sense of tho word, the more espojially in a young country like thin. But other reasons there are than these by which I should urge tho agricultural portion of our community, to .renewed efTorts to grow a large breadth of cereals this year. Tho present time is an epoch in the history of our adopted country. But twelve month's ago one might have hositated to urge so energetically upon the agricultural community to lhy without delay a largo breadth of land under wheat. Then our population waß leaving ns faßt, and those who wero able to get away from amongst ua counted thomeelves lucky for so doing. Times, however, are now changed. Already a stream of population has set in to our shores on tho discovery of the immense wealth of our Kold-field*, which are yot in their infancy. This stream is doily gathering in strength, and widening, and at no distant day, wealth and population will bo turned towards this favored Province from all parts of the known world as tho most promising field for investment. And, wero we to judge from prosent appearances, Auckland province will possess of hor own a population of over 100,000 in a few months' time.

> Hence our agricultural population should be up and doing, A vnat amount of provisions of all kinds will be required by our increasing population. 5 Money i« becoming more plentiful, and will soon be ' abundant, and liberal prizes will bo obtained for ■ all ■ kinds of ngricultutal produce. Snrely our < country settlors will not allow the present oppori tunity to pass them without deriving full bonefit J from it. Ihu money spont during the war w«s frittered away. That portion of the war expenditure which should have remained amongst us had to bo s sont to a foreign conntry for thoso Articles of food f which ire could have grown ourselros. fcurelv, after * what wo hnvo suiforocl from our former folly, n 3 repotitiou of the gamo shortsightedness \rill not 3 again occur. t .-ilthougli a slight improvement has been made in 5 our agricu;tural prospects within the last throo year-, t they are still very different from what they ought ? to have been. As far buck as 18-52, within a radius 3 of fourteen miles around Auckland, thero wcra 1558 - acres of wheat grown, and in 1867 there were only J 1675 aorcs, an increaso only of 117 acres over what 1 was grown fiftoen years ago—an average yoarly 2 increase of something less than 8 acres. Our popuL lation has much increased since then; and had we I kept extending our cultivations in tho same energetic manner as ws onoo did, Auckland would truly have been a wealthy province ere now. It i» true that war retarded our progrens very much, but only south of Auckland. The vast tracks of land to the north were undisturbed by the native revolt, but their progress has not beon commensurate with the advantages they possessed. Xhe warm 1 sunny Tallcyo to tho north are in much tho 1 samo position as when they first came from the hand of nature. What has boen the great drag upon our advancement in material wealth is the disposition of so many of our Northern settlers to aim only at getting us many cattle as will afford them a bare livelihood, and then their energy for adrancemont censos, with difficulty producing a sufficiency of potatoes to supply their own families. I will next glancc at the old identities in the production of a potato crop. In the year 1852, within the above mentioned radius, 1158 acres were grown, and in 1867, including the proditcc of the whole province, we grew only 5067 acres. This is not all the increase wo ought to have made in fifteen years. Tho war may bo offered as an excuse, but tho remarks respecting tho wheat-gcowing in the north is equally applicablo to potato-growing there. Iu 1852 we exported from the port of Auckland, wheat to the value of £1371; flour, £4029; oats, £348; hams and bacon, £1610; onions, £1270 ; potatoes, £1462; and cheese, £346. What value of those articles did we export in 1867 ?, But the above articles are only a few of tho items exported fifteen years ago, but the comparisons are sufficiently suggestive of the present unhoalthy state of our agricultural operations. In those early days tho farmers wrought with their own hands, paid attention themselves to their own businesses, and in that, we blieve, lay their success, in contra.distinguiehmont to tho affectation and expensive habits of our preseni agriculturalists. As tho present season is mild and genial, there is yet ample time to put in a large acreage of wheat boforo the middle of this month, which, on clay soils, is better timo than earlier in the season, let it be I sown with a fair supply of bone-dust, and the produce will bo such that none will bo disappointed with their investment. There will be no want of a remunerative market for tho prodtico of the whole province now, and with the establishment of small flour-mills in suitable districts, there oeems no reason why foreign-grown flour should not bo banished from our ports.—l am, &c., Arr Agriculturalist.