ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13708, 26 March 1908, Page 3

ON THE LAND.

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

REPORT FOR THE YEAR

NEW ZEALAND'S DEVELOPMENT.

The summary of the agricultural statistics t of New Zealand, as published in the Ga--1 zette of February 20, 1903, contains a largo amount, of interesting information, and at I the same time considerable matter for re* 3 flection. Agricultural figures, unlike those in 1 the Financial > Statements, cannot easily , bo juggled with, and the published returns of the number of stock . or the acres under grass or cultivation can be accented, broadly sneaking, as hard facts. At the same time even agricultural figures do not always mean exactly what they say, and it is well that New Zealanders should study this report of their • ' Agricultural Department with a considerable *„ amount of care, for it will help them to , realise what position they are holding in * the greatest of all their industries. No one will deny that in the cultivation > of the land is to be found the real basis of agricultural progress, and it is questioni able whether in this respect the Dominion > is showing so satisfactory an advancement 1 as we could expect, considering the increase in population, in the money value of land, • and in the price of agricultural products. . * The increased area of land under oceupa- ■ tion for the last twelve months is only ' 155,805 acres for the whole of the Dominion, and the total increase of land under cultiva- \ tion, even including grasses and plantations, < is only 158,652 acres. This does not represent more than a percentage of 0.50 on the total area under occupation, and who will say that this can be considered satisfactory? That in a time of unexampled high prices for nearly all kinds of produce > our farmers have only increased their cul- ' tivations at the rate of half an acre during the year for every 100 acres occupied shows 1 what we have frequently contended, that they depend far too much on grass. It is, of course, remarkable that with so small a . proportion of cultivated land, New Zealanders are able to raise so much produce and to ship over seas a surplus from their farms almost equal to the total value of the country's imports. Still the main point is that they might do even better than they are doing. The real test of land production lipg in its value per acre per year. Allowing an ample margin fo» the local consumption of farm produce, it is doubtful whether the total yield per acre of the | occupied land in New Zealand averages j more ' than 16s 6d. It must, bowever, be recognised that by far the greatest proportion of land occupied consists of rough and practically unimproved areas. In the matter of stock returns the year's statistics show a decrease in cattle of 35,451 and in swine of 1145, but they show an increase in horses of 10,198 and in sheep of 875,301. The total number of stock in the country is larger than at any previous time. Wo have now 20,983,772 sheep, 1,816,299 cattle, 353,257 horses, and 241,128 swine. Reducing the whole to sheep it gives us a total of about 30,000,000 head, which means a stock-carrying average of less than one sheep per acre. This in its way, considering that out of the total .area of 37,564,278 acres occupied 22,234,029 acres are in .rough native pasture or unimproved, is not bad but the very fact that so largo a proportion is altogether unimproved is a very serious matter. The area of cultivated laud is represented by 994,240 acres under corn and pulse crops, \ '/05,342 acres under green crops, and 114,771 acres under plantations and orchards. The most marked increase , is in green crops, . these showing an addition of 64,999 acres for the year, while grasses have only increased by 50,075 acres. As the total area under grass, native and sown, is 35,690,653 acres, this increase must be considered small. It is somewhat interesting to note the provincial returns as given, in the report mentioned. From these it may be seen that Auckland shows the greatest proportionate increase in grasses laid down under tho plough, and also tho greatest total area of grasses reserved for hay. Wellington and Hawike's Bay have the greatest areas in surface-sown grasses, Auckland taking third place with 1,123,797 acres. In total area of grasses Otago (which now includes Southland) stands far above all other districts of New Zealand with 10,143,862 acres," Canterbury coming, next with 7,474,695,' and Auckland third with 4,881,224 acres. These large areas of grass in the two South Island provinces, it should bo remarked, largely consist of tussock and other native pasture, Otago's total under this heading being 8,291,175, and Canterbury's 4,946,755. Where land is devoted so extensively to the sustenance of stock, so much so indeed that New Zealand might well be described as a purely grazing country, the real test of productiveness is, of course, the stock-carry-ing capacity per acre. In this matter it will surprise a good many people who believe still that the South Island has a preponderance of fertile soil to find how far the iNorth Island surpasses it in the average of stock carried per acre under occupation. In this respect the North Island has a great advantage over the South. Reducing all stock to sheep the North carries twice as many head per acre as the South, and this is the case even when the area devoted to grain in the South is omitted, which need not be, considering that much stock is carried on grain lands, on tho stubble and on clovers i springing after the grain has been cut. "A CHEAP FRAME HIVE." . (Reprinted from Bulletin No. 5, second edition, by I. Hopkins, Govt. Apiarist.) Though there may not be much gained in the long run by making any other than good substantial hives in the first place, there may be settlers to whom the question of a shilling or two extra per hivo is a consideration. In such cases the following directions for making a cheap frame hivo which will comply with the provisions of the Apiaries Act'should bo of service: — Secure a complete kerosene case, and carefully knock off one of the broad sides; nail on the original cover, which will now form one of the sides. If the sides of the case are not level all round build them up level with fillets of wood. Tho inside depth should lie lOin. Next nail on at. each end, half an inch below the inside upper edges of the case, to suspend the frames from, a fillet of wood gin thick by |iu wide, and the length of the inside end of tho ease. I would strongly recommend the purchasing of "Hoffman" frames from tho manufacturers, as' they require to be very accurately made, and are rather difficult to make by hand. If, however, it is desired to construct them make the top bar 15-16 in wide by Jin deep, and- 18|in long. Shoulders should bo cut out on ends Jin long, leaving a thickness of |iu to. rest on the fillets. The ends should bo, B|in long, the same.width as tho top,bar, and gin thicflc; bottom bar 17iin long, I'm wide, and jin thick. There are ton frames, and as they only cost Is in the flat and about lOd postage, or say a trifle over' 2d per frame, it may in many cases pay to purchase them. An entrance Sin wide by 6in long should be. ait out of tho lower- part <>£ one end of the case, and a small alighting board be ■ nailed on underneath, projecting from 2in to Sin in front. The cover can be made from the side knocked off, and should have small fillets, lin wide, nailed on right round the edge, to overlap the- body. Cover the top with ruberoid or other waterproof material, and let it overlap the edges. Top or surplus honey boxes can be made i in the same way, but will not require a . bottom. i When setting them out for the bees tho hives can be placed on four half-bricks, one - at each corner; or, better still, sink four < beer bottles neck downwards in the ground, , and set the hives on these. . | The cost of this outfit, if the settler makes i frames^ and all, will be under Is, after pay- ! ing, say, 4d for the box; and if the frames i ate purchased, under 2s 6d, and his own ; labour. ; Mr. Stewart, of Crookston, Southland, had ] over 200 of such hives in use last season ] (1906-7), from which .ho secured between ( 11,0001b ,ftud; i2,OOPIb of h°.W> i 1