MAKING A FARM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13779, 18 June 1908, Page 7

MAKING A FARM.

UTILISING CHEAP LAND. NEW METHODS.' TRANSFORMING A WILDERNESS. BY OCR SPECIAL- COMMISSIONER. • The farm,' in the making of which New Zealandors should be particularly interested, lies to the eastward of the Waikato River, about mid-way between Ngaruawahia. and Hamilton.' The district surrounding it is known as Rototuna: but nob well known, because, in the first place, it is comparatively new as a settlement, and in the second . place, though within easy sight of the Rotorua lino it is separated from it and the main highways of the province by the river. The name of the farm is Horsham Downs, and its owner as Mr. A. Lorie. ■. The special feature of interest about this farm lies in the fact that it is being made from low-priced land, long despised, long deemed useless, and it. is being made under methods comparatively new. Less than two years ago Horsham Downs was a wilderness of, scrub and fern. So wild was it that its owner had to stretch a line of fencing-wire to guide him to.his earn]) — tent pitched under the lee of ■■> dense manuka thicket. To-day, out of its total area of 2000 acres, 1000 acres have been put into grass with the plough, and 500 acres of swamp have been burned, drained, and surface-sown. It is carrying 3040 heavy-framed sheep, 158 young cattle, and 3+ horses. KNOWLEDGE AND CAPITAL. This transformation has been effected by a combination of capita 1 and skill Mr. Lorie represents the first and Mr. Joseph Barugh the second. Mr. Barugh is one oi the best-known and most successful farmers in the Waikato, and he brought to the work practical experience of Waikato conditions and special knowledge of modern farming methods. . The soil of Horsham Downs is darkbrown- and friable, .similar in character to the rhyolitic loams peculiar to this part of Auckland, and probably identical in. its origin. That it. is not naturally rich is proved by the vegetation it carries where •unimproved and by the fact that it had gone a-begging for very many years at ten shillings an acre. In fact, some of tho adjoining land was sold comparatively recently for 5s 6d per acre, Even to-day jt would be classed among Auckland's so-. called '"poor soils.'' Yet this soil has been made to produce grass, which in its first season will carry all through the year, without the assistance of root crops or any other artificial aid, four sheep to the acre, end after that three sheep to the acre. , '"".-. MAKING RICH PASTURES. Farmers will want to know how it has been done and at what cost. Well, it has been done by careful and thorough cultivation; by the application of the right class of manure, at the right time; by properly seeding and judicious stocking. The cost is £5 an acre. This is distributed as follows: - —Clearing, 10s: pVmghiug, 7s; six discing;;, 10s 6d; tine harrowing, Is; rolling, 2s; drilling, 2s 6d; chain-harrowing, Is'; grass seed (consisting of 51b Italian rye, 41b Canterbury, 2lb Timothy, 151b cocksfoot, 61b cowgrass, 21b white clover), £1 la; 4ewt of manure, which consists of 2cwt superphosphate and 2cwt bone or 4cwt of basic slag, averaging Whout £1 ss; fencing in 100-acre Moots, 10s; sundry expenses, '10p: total, £5 an acre. ; •-,- ;■ -,-.- ■ This seems a big amount to pay for putting in grass, but after all the main question is.: Will -this class of working yield a, profit? And the answer may be found in the following facts: — . ACTUAL RESULTS. On one block of 270 apres put down in grass in the fashion mentioned 700 sheep were carried and fattened in . the five months' between April and September, or right through the winter. The profit from

grazing these sheep works out at 25s per acre for the five months, leaving the grazing "during ; seven of the most productive months in the year to the good. .Another block of 80 acres of grass sown at. the end of March and stocked as soon as the grass was in condition, is carrying 912 sheep and 19 head of cattle. The feed is so abundant, even now that the stock can make but little impression upon it, A black of 240 acres put down in grass early in March, or during the worst period of. last season's drought, and stocked five weeks- after completion of sowing with 1300 dieep and 73 cattle has put a big value on the animals, and the feed is so abundant that it looks well ablo to carry this number right through the winter. Sections 22 to 24, consisting of 100 acres of grass put down at the end of March, is being held in reserve for future use, but 150 breeding ewes have had to be put on in order to-cheek the luxuriant growth. Section 13, of 70 acres, put in grass in "Match, 1907, and top-dressed with 2c\vt superphosphate in March, 1908, is carryin;' 200 breeding ewes, which cannot keep \ down the feed, and cattle should be put qn to assist. The 200 ewes have been in since February hist, prior to which this section was carrying fully the same average of, stock. Section sa. of 45 acres, put down in grass ; during March, 1907, and top-dressed during ; March, 1908, with 2cwt of superphosphate, lias been carrying 150 breeding ewes continuously until a week ago, when they were taken off the paddock, not because the feed was short, but because they were required to check the too heavy growth in another paddock. Sections 7 to 9, of 65 acres, sown in grass in March, 1907, and top-dressed March, 1908,' with 2cAvt of superphosphate, is carrying 443 breeding-owes and three horses.. The remaining sections which I saw were put down in the same fashion, and are being held for ewes to lamb on. They are models of perfect pasture. These paddocks after being stocked last season were shut up for hay, and yielded over a ton to the, aero, worth at least £2 per ton on the. ground. ' The fact of the stacks not being touched shows'that there has not been any scarcity of. grass, and the paddocks from which the hay was cut are, as 1 remarked, models of what pasture should be. TOP-DRESSING EXPERIMENTS. The only portion of Horsham Downs under cultivation when Mr. Lorio took possession was a,, stretch of old grass country originally a part of the Freshfield Estate. This stretch of grass was subjected to topdressing, and is a very good illustration .of . what improvement can be effected by this method of fertilisation. A block pi £0 acres was treated. In its original condition it was able to carry about, one head of cattle to two acres. It was dressed with two tons of basic slag, at a cost of £10, or 2cwt per acre at a coat of 10s per acre. > Twenty-six two-year-old heifers were then placed'on the 20 acres, and remained on it for five, months. In this time they grew top fat for heifers in calf, and had to bo removed to poorer pasture. Reference to ■ the farm books show that these cattle gave J a return of £39 for the five mouths' grazing, while the actual return for the expenditure of 10s per acre in manure equalled 24s per acre. This 20-acre paddock had a three month' rest after the cattle were taken off it, and was then top-dressed witn 2cwt of superphosphate in June— too late in the season for tlra best results to be obtained. It was. uses'! as a run-oft tor '. 500 ewes for three months, when it was ' ftWi for hav. The exon was an excellent KsafK-e '".&;■'£ " '(>■:':"'r~: . ."■ ■'■:'■■'. . :■■'■•:'■";'■:•'.; : ■'■."''■ '-.''••■■'J-

one, yielding over" 25 toils and giving a return from this source worth 30s per acre. The paddock has been changed front a comparatively poor on© capable of carrying only a limited amount of stock in the winter-to a good one, having a capacity of two sheep to the acre, all through the year. . r "monetary BENEFITS. These details may seem dry to the ordinary 'reader, but to (lie practical farmer they should be full of interest. They show in a striking fashion the monetary benfits of treating land-with judicious liberality, and they prove how remarkably well these cheap Auckland soils respond to cultivation, and the right use of manure. The preliminary dressing of 4cwt of basic slag, or its equivalent weight in superphosphate and bones, followed by a dressing 12 months or Bo later of "2c\vt of superphosphate or "Jag, will seem to some men extravagant ; but the results won show unmistakably that such expenditure is an excellent investment, yielding both, in extra stock-carrying capacity, or in yield of hay a high percentage on' the cost of the manure, and not only doing this, but leaving a magnificent pasture ami fully 50 per cent, of unexhausted manure for future use. ' IMPORTANT LESSONS. There are two points to which I should like our tarrneis to pay particular attention to. The first is, that both Mr. Barugh and Mr. l.orie are convinced that tjio amount of cultivation given under the expenditure, of £5 an acre is well repaid by actual results, and the other point is that the best value from .manure is obtained when it is applied early in the autumn — the best month being March for top-dress-ing, that is, it the object be to get an abundance of good food through the winter. Mr. Lorie gives it as his opinion that the best results of thorough cultivation are only obtainable when taken in conjunction with some months of summer-or winter fallow, and after seeing the results won on laud fallowed and not fallowed I am inclined to agree with' him. GRASS-FED LAMBS. The object aimed at in farming Horsham Downs is to raise grass-fed lambs. Only a small area, will be devoted to root crops, and this more as a stand-by than anything else. It is for this purpose that a heavy supply of grass in the winter is desired. There is no doubt that whether for the English or the local markets. lambs raised in. this fashion will have a quality that will always maintain the lcputatinu that NewZealand now holds; and 1 believe I migtit go further than this, and say that when the practice becomes common throughout, the vast extent of Auckland sheep country, " prime Canterbury" will come second in quality to "'prime Auckland." Judging by the experience of recent years it. seems its if New Zealand farmers will have to depend a good deal on lamb export, and any experiments tried in the. direction of raising this class of product economically and of high grade are of great importance to the Dominion. BENEFITING THE STATE. j The making of a farm like Horsham i Downs has been of direct benefit to the State. The work of putting in a thousand acres of. grass with the plough in two years; of erecting mile? of fencing, and digging miles of drains; of erecting handsome buildings, has distributed large sums of money. Mr. Lorie informs me that he has paid'railway freight alone on something over 25Q0 tons of material. This is not all : the pastures made out of the once useless lands add to the national wealth by their yearly production of stock, and help in many ways the development of our industrial"life." And there is more in the- work even than this. It has dianged a district I once thought to he about- as desolate-look-ing as any in New Zealand to a place of beauty. Where was once barren-looking, rolling downs, monotonous in their garb of scrub-and fern, there are now far-stretching undulations of rich green grass. The low flats, once impassable morasses, are. changed into meadows. The chain of lakes, once but' the haunt of wild fowl, made unapproachable because of the thickets of raupo and manuka are now natural mirrors to reflect the loveliness of the surrounding scenery.' Years ago, where this fine farm now stands, was "one of my favourite shootinggrounds; and. I. thought, then that nothing would ever change its dreary aspect,. Today I consider it one of the beauty spots of the Waikato. To the men who have effected this transformation all honour should be given. They have added to the wealth of the nation and by their expert- ; ments have increased our knowledge of i practical farming, opening the way for great ' future developments. ! It might be of use to some members of ! the Government and ,to a certain section of the public *rho believe, altogether in the small section for the small farmer to learn .that- the greater part of Horsham Downs consists of small sections held by various owners for 45 years, and lying during thattime almost altogether unimproved. There is one remarkable fact about these Auckland loams. When once they have been improved they never go back to their original condition, and under proper methods of farming they continue to improve until they become as productive and as-profitable to work as any in the colony. Tims, although the initial work of clearing,' draining, ploughing, and grassing, must for reasons of economy and utility be undertaken in large areas by men with capital and special farming knowledge, there is no reason whatever why later they should not be worked in smaller areas. The mechanical condition of the soil and its kindly , character together with the beneficent elimata it enjoys renders it- specially fitted for intensive cultivation, and I believe the : time will come when this part of the Auckland province will see a higher class of farming carried on than any other part of the ; Dominion.