A NEGLECTED ELDORADO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14457, 25 February 1909, Page 2

A NEGLECTED ELDORADO

CfiXTJUI, OTACQ'S DORMANT IXUUS'LRiES. fossimijtjks ok Fruit culture.

Tim fruit-grower jointed to a row of l-etilthy-kioking trees, Jnlf Jiiddoii beneath tlicir immense crop of plums. The fruit w;« Jaryo, black, and ripe, lie. flavour was beyci'id ditseription. its profusion tail t.lio branches, unci the portion that hud fallen likl the ground beneath Ik trees. "It in of no value—no use ;it all," said tiro -fruitgrower. "No use!" ecJicc-tl ths pressman. "Why they're hungering for that over -there," arid lie nodded i" the direction in -which lin thought Dunedin lay. The fruit-growa- selected a plum thai was still -slightly hard, and another that was rip'j to bursting -point, ami, lightly and ■firmly, pressed the two together: The result -was, of course, disastrous for tli'; ripe plum, for its skin was broken, and itu rich juice rind pulp were lest. "That," raid the fruitgrower, "is why. The -fruit r.fter v.e pick it and pack it, lias to travel 20 mile.} on waggons and 110 by railway before, it reaches Dunedin. What -would those .pluirn be like after such a journey? Yon c:l!i imagine it. If wo had a railway kudy, wo could pick that fruit in the

afififiico]), lake it to (.ho trucks, awl it iniglit be in Dunedin the following morning. If wo had the railway, we could put tliat fruit, (i«,ii. clean, and tklioiously ripe, on the Dunedin market for Id a ]iouii<l, ami maybe leto, mid it would pay . us. _ A«_ it is, v,v aro forced by transport diflleuitico, to send it. away when it is still green, and charge bigger prices for it— both of which tell against its purchase in the city." "I tint convinced." said a well-known politician a'-d sociologist, on Saturday— and he knows New Zealand " like n book"— "1 am fully convinced thai -(bin district could, given lailv.ay lacilitie.s, carry an enormous population-. Down thai way, down tile Clutha irom Roxburgh, there are over 30,000 acres, every bit of which. lln (Jo-varmnen-t j.oiuoltgist. says, is suitable for fiiiii-gr.owii;;, T'ii.tl lueiim thai that area, •properly cultivated, might, .support 10,000 pcupl:.'. That is quite apart from the. 'im-l.-.'t'llis'j possibilities, uiuler irrigation, of the great lllmlia, Valley between Roxburgh ami Clyde, and Clyde and Cromwell." 'J'he parly that on Friday drove over the country lying between the (.)l;ij;o Contral railway tine', and Roxburgb, was more

than ever iutpre«ed with ils possibilities. To a ivonsm standing, mivyihe, on one of tlw great pik-s of /-clrist rock at. Cunrov's .- Cully there is nollking niarvollous in the country all about, beyond its picturesque desolation. It strcUdies for utiles in every ijl'itction, brown, groy, or ydlow, showing Jiot a .vestige of vagetAtion except here aaud tiiore where, by human agency, water had Ioui:<l jla way. Ureal, stretches of if, are us flat as a liilljiTd ta,ble, otlicr ];orl.ioii3 islopo broadly and boldly away to the foothills of the imumtaiiti, Wi t'ho only relief tho eye gots h all'oßkd by (.he irregular heaps of fauljisiieally shaped rocks. AVhen, (icw.-toually, one doto get away from the ■l.ioad, billowy, plains of .silt, and finds oneself anion;; hills of jnmbic.d up rocKs, lio cannot bo ImLimpre-**! witlilk twisted ap.paaraiTO of the country. It looks as if it ■had 'been reduced to a semi-liquid state, •treated with a gigantic egg-beater, and allowed to liart'oti. l'hc.so iiKiiioioiioiia plains and dolioatcly rciiuda-l f.lapi* ami piles of weird rock's «vro,_of coiikc, all InoM of Uie. immcins;) I,'faeier that, in prehiiilorio agw, covered tho country. The soil, 10ft to 20ft deep, which (as. Mr lilnckmoxe, Government Pomologist,, (■•eclaros) " contmius all the elements of fertility," is simply the silt de|<o.site<l liy tho maKs of midline; ice. It is tremendously rich, this soil, w rich that it. will grow almost. a.iiytbiug, People- have frequently brought it away' in small quanilles in ordor to grow pot plants in . it— geranium?, for .i-.is.Umee, Wiiiich havo a peneftant for particularly rich earth, But to grow anything the soil must have a certain amount of water, so as (to again, quote Air .lit.ickinore) to hold in solution the subtiunctts LinKspensible lx> the. life of the plan!, lieforo this soil—which, it is,slated on good auUmrity, can, unaided, prcshu-e 40 orSOffrain.ci-opsin as many years— can lie of service to agriculturists "or liortiiouli-urists it niiisljw imitated. Toojie, stand big as before on the recks at. Convoy's Guliy, the country stretching away north and sunt ii contains oil the. (dements of a huge joke. In Ik North Island and in the South Islam] big- blocks of country ciro being cut. up, ajid eager laudseekers, waving tlicir proof or 'the capital that is beJiiud them, crowd ami clamour for a 100-aoi'e. toc-

lion. In North Ola-go. for balance, -there

were, a year or two ago, a score of anxious applicants for a piece of laud (Jut stretched

along im iniconiproiuitiiwr hillside, and contained lit-110 beyond Uiro rocks and sparso tussock, .idem in Olago Central are hundreds of thousaaids of acres of la-nd of sur-

pacing viuluitvJs, yet so <Jry tliat it will grow nothing, not. even a California!! thistle or it Imnulj of sorrel. It lies like a. garden iwwly dug ;;iul .rolled hard wiili a Cambridge .rolior. Meandering through it is a great stream, containing enough water to jriiiko this <kvt<<if blossojn like a rose garden, and aii'ord (iiuic than an cvdequato livelihood to the ninny hundreds of educated farmers; crying for luml. The climate, can be IxsiUai nowlicre in Now Zealand. The winter, of cotireo, is rigorous, yet. by no liwaiiH unbearable. Fntit trees, i't is kmrnl, live ooinforlobly throiiyli I,ho frosty seasons. Tito summer borders on the sub-l.rophical, ami, if not particularly early, it is, to tlia cidtm-ist, a very effective)' suimmer. Things grow ami nourish and ripen tkirougkly Kat.irff.TCtori'.v. That observer at Convoy's Gully sees the boat sliinnuoiMiig all ovor those plains and hills of silt—a beat that quiwra rJI day ajid evory <!ay, a nil scorns to sprur; from the. ground' rather than from tlio sky, and tliat is beloved of peaches, atid figs, awl poiiKvoranates. The country has no iioxious -woods, no drainage problems, few or no L'lijrinoi'j-iiig dilfioultica in Uie way of rends cr railnays. Hundreds a.ml hundreds of thousands of pounds ivo.ro spent, uud are hem? «pent, on railways that open questionably g„od couctry, and thai probably for years do not pay interest.J A comparatively small sum spe.nl in distributing a ;|»i"l.ianof IheClutha over those 1 , plains would .immediately iiroduce a district as verdant as Indiclutha, ami as productive as a Chinamans' garden. It Jiutrlit. *.|,retoli, wiles wiw, from Clv-cm to Kovburgh. and be tk jkvklc-u of New Zealand. It. might grow fruit in Rlioll almw-urica that, every town from In-vert-argil! to Chrislelmruh jiiiirht Jiavo it .-t half (or less) the. present price:;, and still *110 growers might, prosper. Jr-mato—irri-.gntc—irrigate: Hint for years has" lieeu the cry from Central Ota;ro. and still nothing lias been done. The fioveriiuront ha« vc!."<| £100,000 towards irrigation, but h;u ]•/■'. Itaycd as jvt no overwhelming anxiety (o spend (ho money, l'coplu on the Centra! brow that sundry officials hivo travelled through tlioir country and re;»rUxl on possibilities, 'but the mac'-incry of ofl'reialdom moves w tdowly that • 7 raujy rv-'egat? to the next po-nc-at-ion >' of ueing a comprehensive cheiw actually put into operation, or eve. coimncnivd.

I lip observer at ■ .m-oy's Gullv need have no doubt about the <.)Vocl water has on tin.- soil. Where Government enterprise has improved Ibis country litLli* more than in building incliU'etonl road*, private cuterprise has done wonderful tiling. Have mid there tho weter lms been gaihorcd up in the hills, ami l;-,i.s lieoii brought by races down on to the gentle slopes of the undulating _ plains. Then it is distributed over sections of laud. The cifat is extraordinary, in odd corners one sees, ill the Dlid.4 of u banvu wiideruoss of soil and «am!, sharply angular patches of the most vivjd green, A close view discloses, in/ the neighbourhood of tho water races, a profusion of fruit trees and poplars and Willows, lusty iu appearance and sinmlv 11 mass of foliage. Tho fruit twos bear profuspjy, and the ground beneath theni, where allowed, is covered thicklv with I he lino.,i. pasturage. In it little corner of the plain near Couroy's Mr hursen aiul a few oilier.! have their fruit gardens and their little [arms. The valley is simply blooming, tne, orchards are maguiliceut, and the ;:.uima.is grazing thero are too fal almost to move about. And ail this is brought r.b.nn by mcaus of two or three iieads of Water collected up in (lie ranges and okilfully directed on to tho plain.'. If ihe observer slid doubts, let him journey into (.'muuy'.s (Jullv. lie will, by the way. be m historical "ground. The time was when this gully was tho borne of hundreds of diggers,' who. wiilv pick and pari, prowled all' around those scarped )'pr;!'s anil look away a great quatititv of fi-Qld. Only one, Mr W. Ua'.fsou, remains. He brought a water-rate from a ilislant gully of the Old Man Range, and utilised it iu gold-washing. He made a little money, and then determined to use his race for a jidw purpose. He took up a Utile laml-a smafl, nicely-sheltered gully,— turned J'is water into it, and planted fruit ij'ee;, 'Hie result is a, vorilable garden in the v.dd-rfncs.-!. One proceeds through the itoi'v, :veii;g -vaii-ely a. sign of bineim l::Jiii ; 'i!:iii. T!n> soil on the slopes is rich (ittJ tliy|), Iml as bare us. the jugged rocla ■ : »QYC ili and fho. pJi5 gpltl pu

Usvory linml servo only to add hidcousncFS 'to Iho prospect. Suddenly one comes round on to .Mr Dawson's rich tittle vallcy-a line oasis in Uiio sun-scorched country. His orchard Bl.ref.olws av.'.iv up (lio val'lev; his Irces are healthy unci piioniionsly productive. His property includes a couple of small paddocks covered with rich grass. The plentiful foliage gives tho little "place an air of Coolness and rcstfulne.ss—an ell'ocl heightened by the profuse hospitality of lis owner. Here and there, m-jstly in the open air, ono .sees grapes and tometoes ripening. Viewed from a difilunf hillside, the little holding somehow looks like a mistake—it refuses so absolutely to harmonist- with lire harsh appearance of Ihe countvy, Right on in the direction of Roxburgh there was the same rich soil lying scorched arid barren, its possibilities being occasion.ally demonstrated by a plucky settlor and a water-race. Where (hero was water fiiem was veg-elation, rich and green; .where there was no water there were only rabbits and, further south, the tenacious iiiatlikouri. Butcher's Gully, Bakl Hill Flat, and Shingle Ook were visited by the three members of Parliament who were in the, country on Friday. Presently the Saddle at Coal Oeck was climbed, and Ilia less desolate-looking valley which'holds Roxburgh came into view. As Roxburgh wa.s nearal orchards wore everywhere discovered—all maintained by irrigation. Mutiy were visited, and in one Ihe fruitgrower mentioned at the beginning of this article was met with, lie was in an orchard where fruit grew in incredible abundance. Many tons iiad been sent away, yet plums, punches, and apricots cumbered "the tress in all directions and lay rotting on tho ground.

Here the water difficulty has been successfully overcome, and that of transit faces the people. A railway was promised them years ugo, and in good faith thtv planted many aures with fruit trees. Almost at olic-o* what promised lo be an important industry was threatened with death. Rests of all rorts appeared, and nourished .amazingly among the trees. The giowen tried a lot of good old-fashioned remedies, but the pests seemed to enjoy life moie than ever. The grower,-; wcio about to give up in despair, when Mr Ulatkuiove was appointed Government Romologisj. lie luet the Roxburgh pcqdo and told them how they couid clean their oiehards within a. very short time. J hey laughed at him. lie conducted a demonstration ai.d pio'.cd bis assertions. Then they believed in his methods, and to-day the'orchards in that country are astonisningiy free from pests of all kinds. A word of praise is certainly due Mr Rlackinorc. The writer travelled ■with him right through the district, and he. seemed lo know every fruit tree in it. Orchard-owners hailed him with undisguised pleasure, and plied him trustfully with all -kinds of questions about their fruit trees, .lie yam advice freely and promptly, and there seems little ' doubt that this advice has helped the industry greatly. Alt- Dlackmoro takes a tremendous interest in his work, and if (he result of that work is as apparent in the remainder cf the South island as it is in Central Otago, there is not anvwhore a more valuable public, s-jrvant. Meanwhile, the orchards that have done so well are not nearly to profitable as thev might be, because the fruit, has to go 20 .miles or more on waggons and dra-vs. For instance, the writer saw, on Friday, a big tilted _ waggon laden with fruit starting for Edievate. That fruit, which, by a railway from .Roxburgh, would have been in Dunedin en Saturday inorniu".', would not arrive in the city till Saturday evening. • That means that it will 'not be tn the consumer,;' hands until Monday or the following- day. in order that it may ieecp it is sent Irom the orchards almos't m a. green state, by which it lutes half its attractiveness and marketable value. The Roxburgh oidiards have, during the past few; seasons, doubled their production of fruit every year. This season, it is computed, 2000 ions will kuui the district. A railway to Roxburgh would mean riper and cheaper fruit and more of it. Mr DJackmore is emphatically of the opinion that every acre of the country in the valley of the Chtba from Ettrick to Cromwell is fitted in a superlative degree for fruit-growing. The Roxburgh people, lie considers, have proved ii. Th:y have brought practical, sensible, and up-to-date methods into operation, and can therefore produce fruit that, for quality is second to nothing in the world. What has been done by irrigation and common seii'e in Roxburgh can be dune on Ihe drearv plains where once the prehistoric glacier held sway. "Only give it water.'' ,-ai! Mr .niiickuiflrc, "and il. will grow anvlliingfruil, grain, timber, vegetables, all that the climate will permit." Mr Rlaokmore went on lo point out lliat 20 yi'ars ago, this country was richly Coated with tussock and native grass. Fires, overstocking, and the inevitable rabbit had so reduced the pasture that it was unable, of its own accord, to gather the-ncces-ary moisture from the atmosphere and retain it. in the 'nil. The scorcliinr sun did the rest. The whole-plain might bo induced to again carrv vegetation by a system of dry tillage, >ai'd the pondngist. but the genera! opinion was thai "water carried on to the laud bv races, ns Ins been done in a. few instances already, would be more eli'cctive. *' I