PRIMARY PRODUCTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18026, 27 February 1922, Page 10

PRIMARY PRODUCTION.

INCREASE IN DAIRYING, FRUITGROWING OPERAi'IONS. FERTILITY' OF , THE J3OIL. Tho County of Tauranga embraces an area of 651 square miles, the capital value of wbich is £1,644,042 and the unimproved ratable i value £933,635. ' The population, excluding the borough, is 3947. { of whom 1369 are ratepayers. There ujf a general rate varying from Id to 2a according to. the. riding. There are 400 miles 1 of formed roads in the county, but only 30 to 40 miles of metalled roads. The greatest need is metalled roads establishing communication with Other centres and catering for the .tourist traffic from Rotorua, and the council is ooifcentrating its efforts to that end. The prosperity of (ho town mainly depends on tile farming industry, the most important branch of which is dairying. Over 300 farmers supply cream to the Tauranga Co-operative Dairy Association's butter factory in the borough, This factory was established in 1905 by Mr. P. Blomquist, who conducted it for three years. It was then acquired by the suppliers, and has since been run as a cooperative concern. The company haa built several houses, for its employees, and recently completed'' the erection of a new ferro-concrete factory, equipped with, modern machinery. The dairying industry in the Katikati district, to the westward of Tauranga, is well catered for by the Katikati Co-opera-tive Dairy Company, Ltd., which controls a butter factory in a central position near the Waitakoho River. It is estimated that about 5000 cows are milked for these two factories. The secretary of the,svo companies is Mr. C. E. Macmillan, to* whose judgment the flourishing condition of the two companies is largely due. The pig-raising industry has assumed such proportions as to warrant' the establishment of the Bay of Plenty Bacon and Cold Storage Company, Ltd., which has just built and equipped a bacon factory in the business area of Tauranga. This factory draws fat pigs from a large territory. Many farmers in the district are engaged in raising and fattening cattle, and are well satisfied with the success'that has attended their operations. Stock sales are held regularly at Tauranga and Katikati. An agricultural show is held at Katikati every year, and an effort is now being made to revive the show in Tauranga, it having been allowed to lapse during the war period. Fruitgrowing is an important industry. Stone fruits, especially peaches, do remarkably' well, but railwav communication for the quick marketing o.f this produce is almost essential. Apples and pears are extensively ,grown. The district is unrivalled in 'New Zealand as an area for the