WESTERN DISTRICT FARMERS' CLUB.

Otago Witness, Issue 1191, 26 September 1874, Page 6

WESTERN DISTRICT FARMERS' CLUB.

The following paper was read by Mr. John dimming, of Jacob's River, at a recent meeting of the above Club. Mr. Cumming commenced by saying that: — Much could be said in favour of the deferred payment system of disposing of the Waste Lands of the Crown. Under this sj'stem many will be enabled to occupy land who would not otherwise be in a position to do so ; many who would not lay past as much money as would purchase the land outright will be induced to settle down and change tlu-iv mode of living. Many who, although good colonists, have acquired the habib of moving about and spending as fast as they earn, will be induced to become industrious settlers ; it will be the means of providing many with homes, and it will be the means of keeping a constant supply of labour in the country; it will be the means of inducing many to stop in this counrry who would otherwise be likely to leavJ it—but for all that is commendable about it, it is admitted by almost all prac-^ tical agriculturists that it would be of far more benefit to the country, if the area allowed to each holder under the Act was extended from 200 acres to at least 320 acres. Disposing of the Waste Lands on the system of deferred payments is intended, amongst other things, to suit new arrivals. It may suit a few of them, and it may suit a number of those who have been for some years in this country, and it is particularly well suited to the owners of teams, whether of bullocks or horses. It is very convenient to have a piece of land that will grow some feed, that will spell a few horses or bullocks, a-id afford the means of profitable employment when not busy on the roads; and if the area allowed to each holder was extended, it would not only fulfil aU the good purposes that the 200 acres allowance will, but it will do a great deal more —it will provide permanent homes for men with families, inasmuch as it will afford employment both for the man and his family. It will also be the means of giving employment to those new arrivals who are not inaposition to occupy land at once ; and it is a weU-known fact, that by far the greater number of those landing on our shores require to get employment in order to put them in a position to occupy land ; but those occupying euch small holdings as 200 acres are not at all likely to employ labour. In order to m .ke farming permanently profitable, the pastoral and agricultural must be c >mbiued, and this cannot be done on 200 acres. I do not wish to give you a sermon on that text which says " Ii is not good for man that he should be alone," but experience has taught nine tenths of those who have tried it, that it is neither convenient, agreeable, nor profitable, for a man to be alone on a farm. A great deal of the work is of such a nature as to require two men to perform it aright, and 200 acres is too little tv give profitable employment to two men for any great length of time. Two men could find profitable employment for a few years, by adopting the continual cropping system, bvit this is ruinous, and, if persisted in, in the first place the farmer will ruin the land, and, as a matter of course, he must abandon it, or the next step will be that the land will ruin him. People may find it profitable to farm on 200 pcres, while they have grazing privileges outside their own pro perty ; but that privilege will soon come to an end. I can remember that some five or six years ago there was plenty of room to run cattle in the Jacob's River Hundred, but that has come to an c. d, and so it will in the deferred payment blocks, and then it will be that the owners of small holdings will find themselves so hedged in, that the tendency will be to sell out. An extended area would be likely to make the settlements more permanent. It would be useless to attempt to lay down any rule as to what should be the size of farms —that must be regulated by circumstances, such as the quality of the land, where it is situated, capital, energy, and so on —but to say that it will pay to farm on 200 acres, such as the majority of the land which is now available for this system in the Province of Otago, is to say what is not the fact. When we can get it, and a large town drawn side by si ie, then it will pay, and when we can command £4 and upwards per cwt. for our beef and mutton, then it will pay to grow turnips, fatten cattle, make manure, and work the land by a rotation system, but not till then. It may be that those who know farming only in theory or under the old style of the single furrow-plough, and a great many etceteras of the same sort, they may think 200 acres enough, and those who occupy tons of thousands of acres of those lands, and whose interest it is to try and keep thosft lands,tlieyniaysayitisouough; but I think I apeak the mind of almost every member of this club., as well as tho mind of almost every practical fanner in the country, when 1 say it is not enough. Were I to suppose a f.irm of 400 acres, having 300 acres of it fit for the plough, two men can attend to what stock it is capable of keeping, and with four horses and a double furrow plough, put 100 acres of it in grain crop every year, the fourth horse to be a hack fit to assist in harrowing. One-third of the farm is quite enough to crop a I a time. I do not mean to dictate, and say that people ought to do so much ; but from what I see done in the district, I reckon

what can be done, and I shall mention a few cases known to most in proof of what I say. Messrs. M'Farlane, who have been from three to four months breaking up land on the Company's property, have exceeded two acres a day to each plough throughout. Messrs. Johnston and Younger, who, with three horse-teams, ploughed, sowed, and harrowed 130 acres in nine weeks. They had assistance to carry seed, but nothing beyond that. Messrs. W. and G. Calder put in a like quantity in about the same time. Both of these were on the Company's property.

Mr. A. M'Olymont, with two three-horse teams — he had the assistance of one man all the \ear round, and a second man for about three months- did the work on his farm from harvest to harvest, put in 200 acres of crop, and sent his horses to cart gravel during a part of the summer. Mr. George Cumming, with two threehorse teams, the assistance of one man all the year and a second man for about two months, did the work upon his farm from harvest to harvest, and put in 250 acres of crop. Mr. James Mackintosh, with two double furrow ploughs, prepared 460 acres for crop. He had the assistance of seven extra teams to the harrowing. The last that I shall mention is by no means the least. Mr. H. M'Lean has done the work from harvest to harvest on his farm of 160 acres for several years, putting in a considerable quantity of crop every year, and this he has done single-handed. When T say single-handed, you all know what I mean, as that gentleman has only one hand.

From these figures, it may appear to those unacquainted with farming that it must pay very well. Only some two years ago it required the price of the produce of some 40 acres of an average crop of oats to pay a man's wages for twelve months. Supposing the price of oats to be what, it was then, and supposing we return to the old system or fanning, in order _ to put a maninpositiontoraiseasmuch grain as will pay his own wages, it would be necessary to furnish him with a pair of horses and feed for them, a plough, harrows, roller, dray, &c, and to give him land and seed for it, besides assistance in harvest. Hut we do not wish to see oats so cheap again, and Aye do not intend to lay aside ourimprovedimplements. We mean to advance, and we do not despair of being able soon to overcome the great difficulty of the harvest ; we expect soon to be able to take our seat on the machine that will turn off the sheaves bound ready for the stook ; and when we will have reached this, then two men will be able to do as much work as seven can with the present appliances ; and with our present appliances, seven men can do as much as fifteen could do with the scythe, or as much as twenty could do with the reaping hook. But it is useless to talk, for at this rate, the money that would be realised for the grain wotild not pay for harvesting, let alone all other expenses ; and only those who have tried it know what these expenses are. It is with pleasure that I submit this to yoiT, a number of practical men, who, T know, would not allow an exaggerated statement to pass withoutbeing challenged. This ought to forbid contradiction, at least from those who know farming only in theory. In my opinion, the system of deferred payments is very well suited to the requirements of Otago, and when an opportunity presents itself of returning members for the Assembly, I should like to see every agricultural district in Otago return those who will support thi-i system, and who will support an extended area under it.