THE SOUTH ISLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18089, 13 May 1922, Page 10

THE SOUTH ISLAND.

A HIGH LAND DISTRICT.

FARMS AND STOCK.

No. IL

[BY OTJK SPECTAI, COMMISSIONER.]

There are strange contrasts and carious similarities between the extreme northern and the extreme southern of New Zealand land districts. Auckland stretches toward the tropics, and is Linked up with islands that lie toward the equator; Southland strotches toward the Antarctic, and includes the Campbell, Enderby, Auckland, and Antipode Islands, which roach well the frigid zone. Geologically, Auckland is one of the newest parts of Now Zealand; Southland one of the oldest. Auckland has apparently only recently arisen from the sea; Southland has been above it so long that its mountain ranges are worn to mere stumps of their former greatness, and yet at no distant date it has subsided so much that the beds of its old glacial valleys are now over a thousand feet below sea level. It has been my good fortune to see at one time or another a great deal of Soutliland, and I recognise what a really interesting and romantic district it is. Its west coast, which includes all the great fiords, has no equal in the world for magnificent scenery. 2ls mountain ranges, which extend from Preservation Inlet to Milford Sound, are more, impressive than any other portion of the Southern Alps, and its chain of old glacial lakes from Poteritere to Te Anau and Wakatipu are not rivalled by the famous Cold Lakes of Otago. And yet, apart from its wild and in some cases stillunexplored western mountains and its WLormy Antartkj islands. Southland is one of the finest agricultural districts in the whole of this Dominion. It is a land of broad valleys and extensive plains, and moreover it is remarkably well farmed. In spite of its somewhat rigorous climate, it has been made exceedingly productive, and .1 have to recognise this is largely owing to the skill and energy of its settlers, because, besides making good use of their best soils, they have, by means of the drain plough, lime cultivation, and careful rotation, turned soils little better than the Auckland gumlands into profitable farms.

Famous Friesians and Herefords. I evade Invercargill my centre for a few days and travelled east and west of this fine centre as rapidly as weather conditions would permit. Unfortunately for me, and for Southland too, the weather conditions were very unfavourable, strong cold winds and colder rains prevailed, which ruined great areas of standing grain. I saw in some places stooks rotting ia the fields, and fine heavy crops of oats which certainly did not look worth cutting. One of the most interesting places I visited was Waikiwi, a beautiful little property of about 30 acres, which, in conjunction with Victoria Park of 220 acres, form Mr. W. D. Hunt's famous stud Friesian and Romney establishment. Mr. W. Brash, &e manager, accompanied mo round the stock, and I had the pleasure of seeing that wonderful- cow, Westmero Princess, which has put up the Dominion record of 9371b. of butter-fat and looks capable of exceeding the 10001b. mark, for during the last 100 days she has averaged 881b. of milk daily, with a test of 3.7. There were a number of other fine cown, but what impressed me most was the quality of the young stock, which will go out* through the length and breadth of New Zealand (rather than to other countries, I hope), and will play their part in improving our herds and increasing our production of batterfat. " j

Modifying the Eomney.

I have seen the effects of this wonderful strain of Piertjie in several parts of the Dominion and I am convinced that nothing will more surely make dairy farming in New Zealand " highly profitable than the widespread diffusion of this class of animal combined, of course, with the necessary care and feeding. Another important feature on Mr. Hunt's farm was the style of Romney being evolved. Experience has shown us that no other breed of sheep yet produced is so suitable for our moist districts or low lying lands as the Romney. It is not, however, by any means the perfect sheep for the export mutton and lamb trade. Mr. Hunt is aiming to evolve a type which whilst retaining the wonderful constitution of this breed will more closely approximate to tho short-legged ' plump carcase in mutton and lamb so much in favour on the English market This, together with the production of a heavier fleece than is possible with some of our popular crossbreds, is a result worth striving for, and would, I am sure, confer great benefits on •the sheep farmers of the North. I also paid a visit to Mr. A. Holmes' Waimahaka estate some 30 miles to 'the eastward of Invercargill. This estate illustrates what I said about the permanence of settlement in the South Island. It has been in the possession of the same family for over half a century, and seems likely to be held by the same family for an indefinite time. The Waimahaka Herefords arc practically the oldest established purebred herd in the Dominion and are famous in many parts of the world. Winning Farms Prom Kud Plats. When I knew Invercargill first I 'was particularly struck with tho estuarial lands which border the town, ,- They reminded me of the marshes or Messhes" in Dickens great novel " Great Expectations." The mudflats and sea rushes under grey stormy skies seemed so desolate and so hopeless. A wonderful change has come over them since my last visit, for the Prisons Department, acting in conjunction with the Invercargill City Corporation, has carried out a .ureal scheme of reclamation. Some 2800 acres have beon enclosed between banks, ranging from 6ft. to lift, high, which shut out the tides that formerly submerged the whole area at high springs and partly submerged it under ordinary neaps. Where the cold tides of the now river estuary once flowed are now spread t-he Borstal farm, worked under tho Prisons Department, with the j labour of al>out 30 prisoners. At present there aro about 1500 acres under surface sawn grasses' and crops, and this area 13 by no means up to its full productive capacity, and yet from about 1100 acres last year the returns from it totalled £8500, fat cattlo giving £5000. dairying £2000, pijs £492. crops and other products making up the balance. There are at the present time numerous stacks of oats and hay, an excellent dairy herd and a larire quantitv of stock on the farm, and its value should rapidly increase. After seems it I was more than ever convinced that there are fortunes to be won from such tidal lands as aro common in other parts of Now Zealand, and particularly in North Auckland, where the conditions are so easy for reclamation and tho climate so favourable for the working of such areas.