AGRICULTURE IN OTAGO.

Otago Witness, Issue 847, 22 February 1868, Page 7

AGRICULTURE IN OTAGO.

The status which, our Province holds, j agriculturally, is , not, of a high- character. 1 Apparently contented with ,the production of the. common— though indispensableitems of corn and potatoes, our farmers j feel, brought to a, standstill when the .result of these yields is so ,far below the cost of production, a^to, leave a balance on, the ..wrong side- of the account. ,'No country. ( is. in ;, a' , .prosperous .condition ■when the requisites of which its soil and-. climate are fitted, to produce, realise,"-less-thanra fair return to the man^ who devotes ,his. energies to.,their supply." ,It .matters not whether the products be food raised by the- ground, in corn and, cattle; clothing, in fibres and- wool; or reproductives, in seeds, and stock, the same rule holds good ,in ,each case; . so that, if every producer turn/ Ins attention to the one department^ jthe returns from it arcfar in excess, while from the other two they .are, sensibly.- deficient. Hitherto with us, the energies of agriculturists have been devoted' to .raising oats, wheat, and potatoes, , and in, a- subsidiary degree, barley, mangold, and turnips, whilst.other articles, 1 have been altogether overlookedor forgotten. The result has been that, from the ruinously, low prices ruling, for the past season, the depression has been felt -by all, and a feeling of indifference to, or want of confidence in the occupation has ..gained a ; strong hold on ,the minds of the settlers, and has resulted generally in a determination to abandon cropping, and turn attention entirely to . , flesh - and wool. _ „ The cry has lately ■been :• " Get every thing under grass; ploughing won't pay ; wheat at 4s @d, and .oats, at 2s 3d, with potatoes at L 3 10s, will not yield enough to pay wages, le*-. alone a margin for our own trouble and profit." That there has been'good ground for, the complaint, as, well as hope for a change, no one can deny ; bat how long is it to last ?. Eacharriving mail brings the news that the value, of wool is declining and the production greatly increasing ; while it must be. clear ,to every one, that if all our farmers are engaged producing mutton,-; with our, limited population the consumption will, never amount ,to what can 'be raised and disposed, of annually. .The' high prices .which have for so long a period been obtained for, wool, making the occupation fcf .the .runholder.a matter of covetous desire, seem to. haye 1 passed for the present, anda reaction, threatening that branch pi industry, has, apparently ,se,t, in, , whilst; the , value of grain^has ia the Home markets, ."which must regulate ours, 'been steadily; increasing,.' until, it> is>,now at a highly remuneratiy.e .point., -„. What, the,

farmer ought to jdo, and what jit will , be our steady aim to assist him in doing, is to strike out some new course, to follow some pew path, to abandon the- beaten track, I and hew out a line,- which, though it may not' appear so easy at first aight, yet possesses, all, the requisites .for . the speedy 'attainment^ of , success. , Nature has • liberally furnished, tho Colony .with her choicest gifts : a splendid climate, a fertile soil, facilities for llaborr r and many other advantages, all "conducing vtq make ifc, instead of ah importer, of, necessaries, a liberal contributor to . less,, favored countries. - One serious disadvantage our farmers labor under, remarking, of them as a class, 'and that is, they, have not been bred io and brought up in , their profession. Too -many entertain the belief, I that if a man has been, prosperous. as a 'carpenter,, a merchant. ,a .sailor, or. a pucker, lie can retire to - pursue the common life . of a farmer. • It is a great mistake, which those who have tried the experiment w : ll be the first to confess ; and in our remarks subsequently, the idea of a Training' Farm arid School," iis well a3 other leading incentives, will find a hearty advocate. ' '