THE FARMERS' LOT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11630, 11 May 1912, Page 7

THE FARMERS' LOT.

IX BKITAIN AND NF7\V ZEALAND

A SOUTHLANDEE'S DEPRESSIONS

(Southland News.)

Mr "William Middioton. late of Otnra. who is now on a visit to Britain, writes to a frieiul in Invercargill from Darlington, England, under date March i'O. recording sonic of his impressions in regard to agriculture iti the Homeland,,! l'n.m which it will ho seen that the lot of the farmer in Now Zealand compares most favorably, especially as regards taxation. Mr Middletnn remarks:— I have not yet made up my mind whether to return to New Zealand or not, but 1 think it is probable T shall. The land appears to mo to he relatively much cheaper here than in the Dominion, but still the fact remains that the fanners here are not doing over well hv all accounts. There is a hit- of land in the South of England for sale at from £lO to £'ls per acre, and it appears to be of belter quality than. say. Morton Mains: at all events the grass on the poorest of it never presents that white, bleached appearance so prevalent in many parts of Southland for a lame portion of the year. This, I 'think,' is partly <hie to the very slight amount- of Yorkshire fog in the pasture as compared to New Zealand, and also to the humid climate and the almost total absence of the devastating winds so common in New Zealand. Here they are- very unusual, and never prevail for more than a few hours at, a time. On the other hand, when the land gets wet here in the beginning of winter it- remains wet practically all winter and well into spring, and it is onlv in the driest parts where you can fold sheep- on root crops. In this part, of the country (-Durham and North York) it would be quite useless to attempt it- away from the valleys of the larger streams, as the hulk of the laud is a stiff clay which holds the water even when drained. In the Wolds- and Downs eountrv further south there is a much larger area (it for this purpose, but even there it would be quite impossible to attempt to graze cattle on turnips. The winter is about over now. and. with the exception of about ten. days' hard frost and light cover of snow in the early part of F-ebniarv. has been very mild and open, and- the .grass is as green as an emerald, and is more forward than it would he in Southland, except along the coast, at the corresponding period, say, the middle of September. On the other hand, perhaps, owing to the want of sunshine, the feeding quality of the grass is not equal to its appearance, and the majority of the cattle, except those running on'the very pick of the land, arc fattened with the assistance of oil cake and other similar foods even in the flush of summer. I think this fact and the almost general prejudice which exists against labor-saving implements has something to do with agriculture not paving better. Although wages are much down, work costs more here, as a- large number are employed, and methods are slow. In tin's district cattle are much better bred than in. Now Zealand, being chieflv Shorthorn, and are generally well finished at about thirty months old ; also very well bred cattle are imported from Ireland and finished here. Hoggets fattened on turnips with a. "little" oilcake are bringing from 42s to 50s wlpeli ought to leave a good margin, and good beef about 05s per hundred whieh T imagine leaves only a Mil nil' profit after all the hills are footed. Farmers in New Zealand are given to complaint about the local taxation, but if thev had a little expeneenoo or it here thev would go hack and say very h'ttle when the Tate notice came round. But'the owner of the land here is in much worse case than the tenant. In most cases he is not getting; more than 2 1 . per cent, on the current value, r.m. much less if he happened to buy it about forty years ago. Selling values have gone up considerably from whar thev were ten years ago. and a good deal of land is being sold, and the Government claim about 25 per cent, of the -estimated increase over a previous valuation. This is termed unearned increment, even if the unhappy victim i-- : celling for much less than he originally gave for it. In the case of town property a man perhaps sells a home and half-acre of land in th.~ suburbs for, say. £I4OO. having given £ISOO a few ve'a'rs previously, hut he can still he bled for unearned increment, as they siy the land has, gone up in value but the buildings have deteriorated ._ T believe property-owners in New Zealand have hem known to complain on rare Decisions of the method? of Sir Joseph. and his friends, but they have still something to he thankful for, a.s Sir Joseph has not yet attained to the peculiar ingenuity"', and fertility of resources of Mr Lloyd G serge.-- ■- •