CHICORY FARM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6272, 20 March 1882, Page 4

CHICORY FARM.

On Saturday last we paid a visit to the chicory farm of Messrs W. Gregg and Co., at

Inch-Clutha, and were agreeably surprised to

notice the extensive scale of the work under

:aken by this enterprising firm. The industry

carried on here is on a larger scale than in any

other part of the province, or, we might add, the Colony, for within the past eighteen months thousands of pounds have been expended on the farm. The property, which is situated on the banks of the Molyneux, just opposite the Balclutha railway-station, is in every way adapted for the production of this root, -so extensively used in the manufacture of coffee. The soil, as everyone knows, is of extra-

ordmary depth, and will stand cropping for

years without resorting to artificial manures. Messrs. Gregg and Co. had for some time

previous to making this purchase endeavoured to procure a piece of land suitable for the cul-

tivation of chicory. Experiments were made in several districts, but none of the results were deemed satisfactory until a trial crop was grown on the luch-Clutha farm, then the pro-

perty of Mr Baird,

The firm were so satis-

tied with the result of the trial that they at once went into treaty for the purchase of the property, consisting in all of about SO acres, the ultimate result being that it changed hands at the very high figure o£ £20 per acre. But there was still a great deal of expense to be incurred before the ground could be brought to a proper state of cultivation. In places the farm was heavily timbered, and even in some of the clear parts it required an outlay of £10 per acre to clear the land of the totara and black pine stumps. Then there was the expense of preparing the soil for the first crop, and the erection of a kiln at a cost of £1500. This kiln, to which is attached a commodious shed, is a very substantial concrete structure, fitted up with all the latest appliances and conveniences. The entrance on the ground floar leads to the three large furnaces, which

during the drying season have to be constaiitly attended to. The fuel used is coke, a good many tons of which have to be imported from Dunedin every year. Last season charcoal was tried, but even though it was manufactured on the ground from the tree stumps it had to be abandoned, as it was soon found to be too expensive.' The kiln is on the second flat, and is 45 feet by 24 feet. The peculiarity about it is that it is floored with patent tiles, perforated with numerous small holes. These tiles were imported from England at a cost of £110, as they were not obtainable in the Colonies. The machinery for washing and chopping the roots is in the shed (a wooden building) at the rear of the kiln, where there is . also a small vertical engine for driving' both machines. . : '

Formerly the roots were sent to Dunedin, where they were dried and roasted, but this

for several reasons was soon found to be a very unsatisfactory £>lan. In the first place the carriage was a very heavy item, for one ton of the root in its green state is as heavy as five times that quantity of the kiln-dried article; Again, it was found that when the root was dried in Dunedin its quality had deteriorated considerably, owing probably to the extra amount of handling it had received, and the time that elapsed between the digging and the kiln-drying. Since the erection of the kiln the chicory grown found dried ori the farm is much superior to that which used to be dried in Dunedin.

The season this year was anything but a ' favourable one, yet the crop on the Inch- \ Clutha farm promises well, and the yield will ■ be equally as good as it was last year. j The crop requires to be well looked after, and in order to have anything like a fair yield continual attention must be devoted to, it from the time the seed is sown till the roots are fully developed. Messrs Gregg and Co. import all their seed from Belgium—a country celebrated for chicory-growing. They have not attempted to raise .seed, and it is not at all probable that they would succeed even if they did, for it is so very fine a grain that it is carried away with the least puff of wind. As one of the principal objects sought after is to have long roots, it is evident that the soil must be ploughed very deep, and considerable trouble must be taken in pulverising the soil, so as to prevent the roots becoming forked. The land is generally ploughed three times, to a depth of fully 14 inches, and then rolled and harrowed till fine enough to receive the seed, which is sown in drills with a specially-manu-factured machine. After the young plants come up they have to be thinned and weeded and drilled, and weeded again," until the time arrives for digging. This is generally about the Ist of June, and is the busiest season on the chicory farm, no less than 15 hands being employed. The digging is a work of some magnitude, as very few of the roots are less than 18 inches long. Some of them even exceed this length, and last year a root measuring no less than 5 feet 6 inches was dug up. It was some time before a strong enough graip could be procured for digging. The common graip generally snapped about the middle of the handle, on account of the great strain, so that three-pronged ones of extra strength had to be made by the local blacksmiths. At present there is a good portion of the farm lying in its natural state, which it is intended to bring under cultivation year by year. As some of the land is greatly encumbered by large stumps, this will be a work of some time and expense, especially as the land has to lie in fallow for three years before a crop can be taken off. The firm, however, are determined to persevere in their undertaking, and Mr Gregg is confident that in a few years the whole of the farm will be under cultivation. The firm have been very fortunate in Securing the services of such an able manager as Mr James Torrens, who spares no amount of trouble in endeavouring to ascertain the best methods of cultivating the chicory. From experience it has been found that the plants do not thrive so well unless artificial manures, such as bonedust and guano, are used. The latter gives the young plants a start, and the bonedust continues to supply nutritive matter to the plants while growing. This year a quantity of rape will be sown, and ploughed in as green manure by way of experiment. On one side of the farm the river was encroaching on the land, and it was found necessary to expsnd a large sum of money on protective works. The plan adopted was.to sink blocks of concrete, weighing half a ton, below the bed of the river. To theso are fastened strong galvanised rope wires, which, passing over fascines 20 feet long, were made fast to posts driven into the ground about 14 feet apart. In all, about 20 chains of the bank has been, fortified in this manner, and so far it has been found to be an effectual barrier against the inroads of the water. As yet there is no very great demand for chicory outside of ]S[ew Zealand, and the duty in the Australian Colonies prohibits a proiitaaLe ejcport trade arising in that quarter, Messrs Gregg and Co., however, require a good deal of the root for- their,own firm, and also supply several firms in the North Island. Everyone speaks in favourable terms of the quality of the chicory grown on the Inch-Clutha farm, and it is on all hands admitted to be much superior to the imported article and to what is grown in Canterbury.