THE NORTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 5995, 3 February 1881, Page 3

THE NORTH.

No. VII.—WAIKIEKIE. ; ; .'-,. [from our special reporteb.] : . y . In ' commencing one 'of his poems, Gowper has.the following ejacnlatory lines •—.'.'"'. V- . -, '.." Oh for a lodge insomevast wilderness, . -.... Some boundless contiguity of shade." .' . i Not many ages ago', in this'country, such a lodge miglit have been found, and such an amount of shade enjoyed.- Before theadvent of the Maori race to these shores",'probably' the whole of the North was,one vast forest, existing in all its pristine glory, untouched either by fire or the axe.- Traces of timber, ' once growiny, exist in nearly ali localities,;: even to the .northernmost part of New Zealand, where now, ; shelter -trees .being gone, the land has been changed: into a saridv desert. Along.the coasts, on the banks of tidal creeks, on many inland ranges, and in soil adapted to its growth, forests of kauri luxuriated ; while on : volcanic .land . and sandy loams mixed bush, consisting of a great variety of trees, found a habitat, the swamps generally producing groves or belts of' Podoccirpus Dacrydioides. 1 hardly need state that during the past fifty years the' woodman's axe has made considerable inroads on these forests.; Imt probabty tires have committed the most destruction. ', ..

Land is known.in this country as bush land or open land, the latter being generally covered with fern, which, according to the quality of the soil,- may be stunted in its growth, or so tall as to reach to a person's head when on horseback. However, the height of' the fern is not always, ari invariable aud certain indication ot'the. fertility or otherwise of the soil that produces it. Wherever fern grows to any extent, it is liable to a regular conflagration,: perhaps of annual occurrence. These repeated burn-ings-offr—sometimes intentional, at other times; by mere accident—ultimately afiect very considerably the height of the fern; as they may also affect the productiveness of the soil, especially in the growth of Pteris esciilenta —roots which at one time yielded the chief food to the natives (rarahtit). ■ In this Northern tour I have observed patches here and there of very fertile open land—land that had been either all fern or fern and scrub mixed. But, as a rule, the selections made by settlers have been of forest land, light or heavy, or perhaps both on the same holdius.'. Clearings have been made in proportion to the time and labour expended; many settlers having feHed nearly all their bush, and not a few having stumped and ploughed some of their paddocks. I was not a little surprised to see the extent of the forest still existing in certain parts of the North. From some of the hills at Waikiekie, for instance—and there are any number of hills there—looking in one direction, the. bush seems interminable, stretching away as far as the e3 - c can reach —range after range, all clothed with virgin forest.'. There is plenty of country yet to be taken up, and abundance of work to be done before all this laud can be brought into cultivation. ' •■ :

On Thursday, December 2; riding from Mauncrakaramea to Waikiekie, I found quite a change in the character of the country and the soil. Scoria land was left behind, and I entered \ip<sL what is : so. .prevalent many localities—clay and iiniestone. .Much of. the latter class of land is very superior, and the extent of it large. •■ In one •: part of my journey I was takeu to the top of a hill to "have-a'--view of the country,'-when no less than 40,000 acres of limestone land 1 were pointed out to me, consisting of first and second-class soil. In Waikiekie some!.of this soil seoms very rich, throwing o'yit most luxuriant grass'and.'clover.'. : .""" ~'.' ■.'", Lying between Mangapai and Wairoa, and bounded by Maungakaramea, Ru rangi, and Mareretu, isthe district o£ Waikiekie, containing 30,000 acres of land. I believe most of the block is in • the hands of private parties; and as only two or three thousand acres- are in possession of residents of the place; it is evident that an immense/quantity of land is locked up, being owiied by abseiir tees'. ' A 'portion of ■ this '. block'. was set apart for military settlers—oo acres being the amount they were entitled, to—but the scheme has;iios been a in the at?tempt .to get military men to become s cultivators -of the. soil. At present there are about twenty families in tlie district, averaging 1 0.) ixj:a c.ich, from 60 acres to'soo acres buing the size of farms.- They began to settle .1-1 years ago. .The.'land generally is undulating and hilly, in. some parts much broken—a ,<:reat portion only adapted to grazing purposes. The soil is limestone and 'clay, with, a few rich alluvial flats. Cattle and shesp are grazed. In the winter settlers depend almost entirely upon the bush as a run for tlieir cattle. Not much ploughing done by any of the settlers. The plough drawn by bullocks in preference to horses. noticed patches of corn .and potatoes on some of the favms. Fruit trees have also received some attention. ■ ;. ■

On the whole, as in other districts, settlers seem to be in a comfortable position. What they possess in land and stock seems to be their own ; and having no rent or interest to pay, is, of course, n.decided advantage., Tbe abuse heaped upon the North has had one good effect—capitalists have refused in numerous instances to advance money on land (I am alluding to the North generally). This in the end has proved beneficial, and settlers can indulge in the pride of--.pro-prietorship to their hearts' content/. The blessings of education and religions instruction are placed with'n reach of the children of this district. Two ' half-time schools have been carried on for a period of four years. They are situated about five miles apart, so as to accommodate both ends of the settlement. A Sunday-school is also conducted by workers. .Religious services are regularly held, and are sustained by preachers of several denominations. ■ It may. here be stated that in an extensive district like Waikiekie population is needed. For men with small capital the place is strongly recommended. Land can generally be purchased from absentees at a very low figure. There are several parties in Waikiekie who commenced' with a small amount ,of capital, and are now in good": cireum'siances.. ■ ■. , : ' I had the pleasirre of taking dinner with' one-enterprising settler, who has a farm of upwards of 200 acres, that, cost him only., about £f:0: It-is bush land. . He has'been on' : '

it two or three years, and is gradually Vetting it into, grass 'and clover—and such grass ! and such clover «-■■ He boasts that his ;feed will carry, during six months of the : year, a beast and a sheep to the acre; and I ;do not doubt his word. "This feed, it must '■ fe r M membered, is in the P°° r North,, and in iUailuekie—a place that very ;few people 'know, anything .at.,all iibout. = This, settler nas. his.cows,, and. his wife makes: butter. Kuniuhg-about are a lot of fine pigs. He has, besides, horses 'and working bullocks, and, m iact; by industry and economy; l:c : is making a fair and comfortable "livelihood. I mention this case just : to show what can be ■« on , e , m 11 ' a - I dls I t »? c t, "where roads,are so'bad that bullocks have to do the work of horses, theyjbemg of litthrservice except for α-idhi" ■ Another settler assured me that such wasthe luxuriant state of his grass that it would easily carry five:<sheop. to the This -was among the stumps and logs, and gave . proof that.. the . soil must 'bo something superior. - • "■•- Vi '"'-■'■'" ■ " ; ■ ■•-. ■; In this district I found peach trees mostly all dying" out,' particularly those that had : been planted for a number of years. 'Other trees appeared' to do pretty weHr-though certain varieties'had.the most fruitl, ■

One of the most extensive dairies fu: the North is kept by Mrs.Uabe, of Waikiekie. This was the first farm I visited-oh : arriving in the district. Iy was rather surprised to find : such a number of cows . regularly 7 ' milked—3o, I believe,, is the quantity. Saltbutter is the product lnann- ; factored at' this farm. The cows'are generally milked about seven, months, and then turned into, the/ bush;; This.; is a suitable place; for; rearing: and fattening pigs, and.a large number ot a good breed . are usually kept.-;- About'.five acres of oats and two of maize were growing on some of the level land/ ■ It is not often that cowsheds and other farm,,buildings take'up much of the attention of the Northern settlers; their cows away in,the bush, they.have no need for the shelter'and warmth, of a well-built cowshed; but Mrs. Babe lias a really excellent building, in size CO feet by 40 feet, with.stands- on each side for cows—holding 2S altogether. There are places ..for calves arid a hay-loft above—the whole . affair a great convenience. In extent this'-dairy farm is 200 acres. Elsewhere there is a 240acre farm, used principally for a sheep-run. Mrs. Babe is'blessed with a family of sons' and daughters, mostly grown up, and able, therefore, to attend to farm and dairy duties, i Mr. Freeman is quite" an-• authority in Waikiekie. For some years, he was teacliing under the Board of Education, first at Mangapai and afterwards atWaikiekie, and seems to have gained general respect. He is now devoting his : attention wholly to farming. His place is appropriately named Limestone Hill. One hundred and forty acres is the extent of his holding, the'Svhole of it undulating and broken." The most broken is cleared and in grass., Altogether there. - might her CO acres' in grass,' which carries a certain number of sheep and cattle. A small extent of land has been stumped, cleared, ploughed, and fenced , for cropping. Here I saw oats and potatoes growing. Considerable attention has been devoted to growing fruit-trees—the 'orchard containing about 200 trees of different varieties. Soil, being somewhat light, sorrel,, has taken possession of the orchard, but I do not consider that so bad as cocksfoot grassy though, both: are a nuisance amongst trees. I observed amongst the apples such favourites as the Irish Peach, Stone Pippin, - Cellini, and Melon; amongst the pears;. Williams' Bon Chretien, Flemish Beauty, and Winter Nellis. Mr. Freeman, recommends Hiding's Superb plum as worth growing. The fruit is very large, the shape roundish, oval, the skin greenish yellow, covered with a thin bloom. It is a fine, rich and sugary plum. Mr. Freeman kindly accompanied me round part of the district.. We called at Mr. Neville's farm, which, compared with many properties in the neighbourhood, is level and easy of cultivation. Hei-e. I noticed a young and somewhat extensive orchard laid.out, tree 3 looking healthy and making 'wood. Apple trees appeared to have the preference, of which there were a great number of sorts. There wei-e a. few shelter trees planted, but some of them were too close to the., fruit, trees. Let'me here digress and state that a frequenfc mistake is made in planting such trees as gums, .pines, and. poplars too near, : fruit-trees. The consequence is that; these strong-;.rowing trees, sending out a mass of roots in all directions, rob the'soil of tliose constituents that should ,go to the support of the fruit-trees. In'one orchard that I visited, the owner had to cut down several, large poplars before he could get trees' in then; vicinity to bear'any fruit. ; Mr. Pigeon's was .the next place we called 'at. ;Me farms 100 acres, and oh his more recent clearing has-a splendid sole of grass, grazing upon wliich are a;more-than usual number of sheep to the acre. A Once excellent' orchard, that must have- produced .largei quantities.'; of fruit; ; slibwed : signs of .neglect, the trees suffering in conesquenee. ■ : Uliat the .famed limestone land, will produce, after the bush is felled and properly, burnt,. I.'.saw at Mr. : Romitree's. Better grass .could;hardly..-be desired," its nutritious charact3r. - beiug | apparent- from the condition ,6f the stock. .From theii'i size, some .of; the .'young'cattle .might have beeil taken to be •much older r than they' really * were— an excellent criterion ojf the Ymalities of both Soil and feed. Mr.' Rountree has 224 acre's, and lias been .farming in :: this district-' for ftfur years. The ground is undyilatiiig'and'.well watered: Near the house "auejiuge blocks of limestone :; and a clump of bush.has been left for shelter. ' A quantity of bush is felled each year, and burned at theiproper season. Theiriilkingcows are a good class of animals :—their excellence consisting in the amount of butter, that is churned from their milk, of which a careful record is kept by Mrs. Rountrec. In course of time, amongst other improvements, a new daily is to be erected ; and as grass and cows increase, the amount of butter from this farm will, no doubt, be something astonishing. Although ihe time he has been on the farm is comparatively short, Mr.' Rountree has already got the plough to work, with which he has put in this season's crops. A limited - number "of fruit trees have been planted, arid sheep and horses" are 'kept' in addition to" the dairy stock. " • '"....'

In a broken, bush district, like Waikiekie, of course the Toads are just the reverse of 'first-class; but'-I suppose time will remedy some of the present defects. Where bullocks are used it does not matter about their being too level or good. Still, when roads are very bad, settlers may be cut off from a ;inarket. As an instance.: Last winter, : when mutton was stl per pound, there were fat sheep in Waikiekie that could not be got out to the wretched state of the. track. And yet iu some parts of the North thousands of ponnds havo been expended Ott works 7 that may never be remunerative. Produce, such as wool or butter, that has to be shipped to Auckland, is sent by steamer from the Mangapai wharf, which is distant from Waikiekie .probably ten miles and upwards, according to the part of district started from. , What appears ~to be much wanted is a maiu road to Tokatbka," on the Wairoa, "which would not only open up an extensive area of good country, but also a market for produce, especially .'or beef and mutton. By : having such a road, cattle could be driven through in a day,- and realise perhaps 30s more a head than would be obtained in Auckland.- Settlers have fine buHoeksrnnning in the bush, some of them very fat. and heavy, and it is important that, as they are got oiit, tiiey.. should'be, dispo'sed of- at the; ■beet market;. •■-•-*•- • ■ * ._..