TARANAKI NOTES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 957, 4 July 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

TARANAKI NOTES.

(FROM OUR OWN COEHE3PON DENT.) FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, Of the many prosperous institutions established from time to time in the

Hawera district, the Normanby Horticultural Show may fairly rank as one of the most successful. Like all similar undertakings. it had to commence in a small way. I remember at its opening, soma years back, how poor was the display in many lines of fruit and vegetables, apples especially being a miserable exhibit of only one plate of about a dozen specimens that would scarcely have done credit to a common crab tree. Year by year, how-, ever, the exhibits have steadily increased, and as each annual show has come round the Committee have found that they would have to find increased accommodation for the succeeding one. At the last show visitors from other parts of the Colony, declared that it was the best exhibition of the kind they had ever seen, especially in regard to the quality of the exhibits. Apples alone would have made a show by themselves, and every other variety of fruit capable of being grown in the district was equally as well represented. Vegetables also would have caused even a Chinaman to utter a gutteral exclamation of surprise. The strongest class in this line, and one that has been made a great specialty of, is potatoes. This is principally owing to the generosity of Mr Smith, of the Manaia Nursery, who has annually given a prize of LlO to’encourage competition and excellence in this class of vegetables. It was confidently asserted by the best judges of these tubers that in potatoes this district could easily whip the world. Both the soil and climate seem specially adapted for growing them to perfection, and I kuow of no other port of the Colony that would prove such a perfect realisation of an Irishman’s paradise. In floral exhibits, also, it would have been difficult to have found a better display, and the beauty and perfection of the various blooms was a general theme of admiration. Owing to the marked difference of climate found in the various settlements lying between Hawera and New Ply mouth, the exhibitors were enabled to show a variety of fruit and vegetables, extending from a semi-tropical to a sub-alpine nature, as one placa will grow to perfection what would fail iu another, although only separated by a distance of a few miles. For instance, black currants bear abundant crops in the vicinity of Stratford, but fail to yield a return in the neighbourhood of New Plymouth, whilst the latter district can produce guavas and other semitropical fruits to perfection, the plants of winch would wither and perish iu the colder regions of the former. It has generally been found that the bush has beaten the open land ip most of the competitions, and this is, no doubt, greatly due to the valuable assistance afforded by the shelter of the standing belts of trees, which many settlers have had the wisdom and forethought to leave around their homesteads. I remember a gentleman, who ownsi one of the best open farms adjoining the Waimate Plains, coming to visit me the third-year after I had taken up and uccupied bush laqd in the Ngaire district. When he saw a number of young apple trees that I had planted between the stumps of fallen trees, quite bending to the ground with their load of fruit, he was greatly RBtonished, and assured me that, although he had annually for over ten years spent considerable sums of money in buying arid planting fruit and shelter trees, he had so far never been rewarded by a single apple.

COCKSFOOT. The growing of cocksfoot for seed used to be one of the most remunerative industries on the coast. Formerly the Maoris used to make a regular harvest by cutting the seed growing on the Mountain road, and I have known them to obtain as high as 6d per pound for it. Gradually, however, as year by year larger areas were shut up and devoted to this industry the prices came steadily down, until, it averaged about 3d ; but even at this price, with anything like a fair crop, a good thing could be made out of it, and it was far more re munerative than any other industry that the bush settlers could engage in. The year before last, however, it suddenly dropped to a penny and a penny halfpenny per pound, aud in consequence most producers found that their seed did not realize nearly sufficient to pay the wages of cutting and threshing alone, and several who had gone in rather heavily, were almost if not totally ruined. This year the price recovered for a few weeks, aud thpn again dropped, and there is now but little"demand. Cocksfoot grows to a great height in this district. I have sec-n some that measured over seven feet, and from five to six feet is a common thing, Jdo not think that there will ever again be anything like the amount of seed saved in this djstript as formerly, as most of the farmers haye bjurnt their fingers tho last year or two, and are grow ing cautious, and the seed is getting very dirty fcom the admixture of foreign grasses, and requires a lot pf labour and first-clsss machinery to clean snd dress it fit for market.