CASUAL RAMBLINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10413, 10 April 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

CASUAL RAMBLINGS.

TEN ?EARS AFTER,-No. 111. CHANGE. [BY A. TRAMP, ESQ.] WRITTEN , (OR THE AUCKLAND WEEKLY NEWS. .Mount Kgmont-Mountain Influences-Two Great Lawgivers—lnspirations-Wlnt the Mountain is Responsible For—A Hill with Snow ou—Nature Changes Slowly - Judgo Kettle - Cruelty to Animals—The Sulky-Docility of tho Trotting Horse—On tho Kuad—Fitzroy Bacon Factory— The Pig^Market—Heans, Pi;;, ami Treacle-Try Treacle for Pigs-Tho Clmnpion Carer—Waiwaektfho Toll Gate-Bell Hock-At Waitira Itoad-'fho Patent Milker— l co Fiirm-Waitara, Mount Egmont-like Newton King-is too extensive a fact to bo ignored in any descriptive picture of New Plymouth and tho district ( of which it is tho centre. Egmont occupies the largest space in the landscape, and exercises considerable influence on tho affairs of tho inhabitants. Titranaki without its mountain would never be recognised. In passing over the Waitara in favour of the present site of New Plymouth, the original explorers were no doubt actuated by a desire to get as closo to tho beautiful mountain as possible without losing grip of the sea; having, maybe, a shadowy notion that the sublimity and grandeur and purity of tho eternal mountain might inspire the immediate ami future possessors of thoir selection with lofty ideas, noble aims, unci liberal sentimonts. Sir Georgu Grey tolls us that when he contemplated framing ;i constitution for New Zealand ho sought the splendid seclusion of the snowcrowned mountain king, the Mighty Ruapehu—Mount Egmont was too small for him—and from its magnificent solitudes and vast recessos obtained tho inspiration that bestowed upon the unconscious colony the most liberal and democratic constitution in the world. There is nothing new under the sun, and this proceeding on the part of our great constitutionalist was not original — Sir George merely imitated Aloses. The great Hebrew law-giver went into the bush at Mound Sin:ii and received tho inspiration which gave tho Jews a theology and a constitution. Moses remained thore forty days, if I remember rightly, working out the details. Sir George does not inform us how many days he dwelt in tho desert, but we may take it for granted it was " same us Moses." Forty daye seem to b>) about tho avorage time required for the incubation oi a first-class religion or constitution. Inspirations are sometimes in demand by the literary department of a newspaper office, but they are not always in stock, and cannot bo supplied at a moment's notice. Different writers have different modes of catching their inspirations. One popular author on the Auckland Wkkkly Xkws staff sits down at his tublo and whistles as a sailor does for a wind; a former ll.ineur would wulk out and have a game oE pyramids ; ono scribe soeks it ab the bottom of a long beer; another iu n three-fingered nip of w—sky—breatho it gently. Soma wrap thoir heads in a wet towol; others writo without any inspiration—very useful fellows these, literary mechanic*, without whom a newspaper could not be produced. For myself, 1 go totho mountain— Mahometwise—if there is ono h.uidy, it not I wait till it comos—the inspiration, not the mountain—or until the patient chief whips ono up for me. Tho chief is a whale on inspirations. His latest is to send me to London with the Premier. As ho was the first to insist on Mr, Seddon accopting Her Majesty's invitation, ho no doubt considers himself responsible for tho safety of King' Richard, and wants mo to look aftor him. They will have to make room for Boomorang, too. It must havo been tho influence of Mount Egmont operating on the conceptive faculties of the New Plymouth Fathers which (jorininated tho groat idea of converting an indifferent roadstead into a safe and spacious harbour by the construction of the Breakwater. The mountain iufhonccs no doubt inspire New Plymouth peoplo with those lofty ideas—of themselves—so much admired by thoir neighbours. Groat Egmont! " Breathes there a man with soul so dead" who can look upon tho matchless baauty of glorious Egmonb without oxpressions of admiration anddolight ? Yea; one. Ho was a judgo—a youthful judge—for some exhibit—rabbits probably—at tho Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Show ; whonce, returning to his homo in the South Island, and whilo the train was standing at Sentry Hill Station, he discovered Mount Egmont in all his stately splendour, bathed i , ) the radiance of the bright morning sun. Pointing to it with his finger he earnestly asked, " What hill is that with the snow on ?" A shivor ran through tho smoker and there was dend silenco. Several New l'lymouthites fainted clean away— to hear their beloved mountain, tho majestic Egmont, spoken of as a " hill with snow on" was tuo much for their feelings. I was sorry for tho mountain and more than sorry for that simple young man from tho South countree.

There is no observable change in the mountain during the past 10 years. Still wo know it mast be undergoing a change, although we perceive it not. VVhab period of time may olapso boforo the action of the frost and snow and the sun and air reduces it to the level of a common hill withoub snow on h, is a calculation I must learo to exports in this lino of business.

Think it's about time I left Now Plymouth ! Do you ? Very well, I shall just put Judge Kettle in the sulky and start. The Judge Kettle I have j usb yoked up is not the learned and popularly-esteemed magistrate ef that name. My Judge Kettle is a horse, his father is Judge Betdon, und Ina mother a Standard-bred lady. He has some very distinguished relatives in America—including Maud S. And by the kind permission of His Honor, Judge Kettle ib his name. Ho is high-spirited, staunch, and tireless; chestnut in colour, and topped with a white Sowing mane, and hie tail sweeps the ground. Tho botfly that attempts to effect a lodgemenb on him is a dead fly. To cut a horse's mane and tail, as in the case of polo pontes, and deprive him of his natural weapons against his inveterate enemy the bot-fly, is sheer cruelty, and I am surprised tho Animals' Protection Society does nob take steps to prevent ib, Fit, and well, Judge Kettle will take nobody's dust. He's a dandy, just) three years old, no more. The sulky is by Cousins and Atkin; a picture of ib may be seen in my now book, "Ramblingsin Gumland and Squatterdom," just issued from the press. Besides the sulky, the book contains one or two things never before published. No respectable family should be withoub a copy. "All righl), air? ,, "Yes; leb him go, Jones." Mr. Jones is our livery stablekeeper—l need nob mention we always stop at the best. " Head him for Waitara." Jones lets go, and he tears off iike a lion. As an instance of the remarkable docility of the Standard bred trotter I may state that I drove this hoise from New Plymouth to Waitara and the other places mentioned in this narrative in tho belief that he was thoroughly broken in to harness. It was several months after that I learned he never had his head in a collar before—tho fact was I harneasod up the wrong horse. But these animals take to pulling as naturally as a kitten to the capture of a mouse or ducks to water. The road undulates from the time ib leaves Jones' stables till its gets to Waitara, and keeps on undulating to Urenui and beyond, till ib gets stack up ab the White Cliffs, where sulkies cease to be of any use as a means of locomotion. Yet it is not, by any means, a bad road. Experienced horsemen say that an undulating—not too steeply undulating, you know—road is the easiest] for a horae to travel on. A fen minutes brings ue to the suburb of Pitzroy —I notice friend Jones rune a 'bus there

regularly now. Wβ turn the corner and down to the Waiwakaiho bridge, dose to which a hindeome and convenient-looking bacon factory baa recently been established. They have jusb started curing operations on their first batch of seventy pigs; as to the quality of the product wo cannot speak till we taste and try—or should we uy fry in tbii case t Judging, however, from the

careful way the raw material isbeinjjselected id should be good, This new market at their doore ought to prove a veritable godsend to Taranaki farmers.

The pig-producers are satisfied with the price offered—three pence per lb for any quantity—but they aro disposed to grunt souiewhiib over the conditions us to quality and feeding, etc. Such conditions, I fancy, can scarcely be too stfict. Offal-fed pigs aro not good for bacon, and no curer of repute will have anything to do with those slaughter-house scavengers. Indeed, offalfed pig is not a food fit for human consumption in any shape or form. I was not aware that beans, as a pig food, were objected to by bacon curers; and it is only lately I have acquired the information that treacle ia a fattoning and wholesome food for pigs —one is always learning something. " Bacon and beans," and " pork and molasses," aro two national dishes of tho sons of tho Stripes and Stara And they figure largely on the menu card at a certain hotel in Auckland every Fourth of July, I fail to see any good or sufficient reason why the beans and the molasses should not bo incorporated in the pig instead of being eaten separately with the bacon and the pork. This " concentrate" or beans, pig, and troacle, besides being directly moro economical to the pig consumer, would come lighter on the stomach and lessen tho tendency of these mixtures, ub at presont taken, to cause indigestion. Pig farmers may bo scopticil about the fattening properties of molasseis, but when they run short of other foods thoy cannot do better than try troaclo. Tho Auckland Sugar Company supplies molasses at a nominal figure per ton, and tliere is no duty bo pay on it as a pig food—tho Customs people taking care to make it unpalatable with brimstone or Borne othor ingredient equally objectionable to school-boys. For tho information of pig proprietors I may state that wo havo a banon curing factory in Auckland, where thoy can also got threepence pec Ib—cash down on the nail—for sound well-fod pigs in any quantity. The bacon and hams cured by this firm aro equal if not superior to the best Canterbury—especially the hams. If any Canterbury curer feels aggrieved, let him trot out his hums—Cummins!

Tito next object of interest on the road, after passing the bacon factory, 13 the Waiwakaiho toilgato. The price of admission to this ontortainment is sixpence. The man in the box is of a cheerful disposition, an exceptionally rare quality in a toll collector. As a side show, ho keeps a small temperance hotel, which is very convenient for thirsty travellers—especially ladies—and tho dust-choked cow-spanker* at Newton Kings aaleyards, opposite; and he wears a wooden log, which perhaps accounts for his singular amiability. That boing so, I should advise the Taranaki County Council to put nil their toll collectors in wooden le<:s. For some time there wore two toll{rates on this road, bu« they havo hud the decency to remove one of them. Half-way is tho village of 801 l Block, an ancient pioce of furniture. The chango to bo noted here is that they have burnt down one of its two pub?, and established u creamery, which is good. The Judge trots along gaily, just cocking his oye right and left as he springs gingerly over the bridge*, and I sit behind him as innocent as (ho unborn million.-' of tho fact that ho is doing his maiden performance in harness—makes my hair stand on end when I think of it now. At Waitara Road wo pull up and take a mirvoy of tiie oldest established dairy factory in the district. I first visitod ib in company with it 3 founder, the late Mr. Thomas Bayly, the big man of Waiters— left no successor to his tlirono in that metropolis. Two miles beyond the butter factory is the homestead of Mr. Lee, whore si patent milking machine, driven by a fivo horsepower gas engino, is at work ; its hum may be heard ovon at this distance—it makes as much noise as a Hoo Web printing machine. Tho milking machine! appears to bo h success, but farmers generally aro in no hurry to adopt it. Perhaps they are waiting for tho invention of a iiwoliino to wash up and clean tho goar belonging to the apparatus. Certainly ib U ncit wise to ( bo in too big a hurry to tie onoseli to any particular patent. In those progressive days it is just as well to wait for the latest improvement. The machine has yet to be invented that will do away with the drudgery of a dairy farm. I have had no opportunity of interviewing the old identity dairymaid of Tarauaki as to her opinions on the milking of cows by steam; bub no doubt she feels "her occupational gone "— Doar Little Buttercup. And what about thai) pawky cowboy ! The patent milker will put a sot on him, too, and send him to pull at something elso than cows' teats for living. The noticeable featuro of Mr. Lee's farming is that ho milks nothing but Jersey cows, which is tho very rare exception on this coast, where Shorthorns are the rule. The farm — about 500 acres— managed with considerable skill and experience, and carries 150 head of the aforementioned Jerseys, besides a few sheep and horses—am not sweet on Joreoys myself. There's the five o'clock train coming I I let the Judge look at it from a respectable distance, and when safely past we trotted gently down the hill to Waitara.