NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 181, 6 August 1886, Page 6

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Farmers, as a rule, bestow a very the fabm small amount of attention upon the garden, garden and the raising of a good supply of vegetables for the family use. It is not an uncommon thing in travelling through Otago, to see a house standing in the middle of a bare paddock, and not a tree or shrub to be seen near it. The owners of these places are perhaps indifferent about the matter, or they have become accustomed to the appearance of things, and it does not strike them ; but if they were aware of the impression it makes, and how much to their disadvantage is the contrast between the neatly kept grounds of their more tasteful neighbours and their own bleak house they would endeavour to make some improvement. Not unf requently the settler finds himself unable for some time to undertake theforming of a, garden, even though he may be anxious to do so. Others have a disinclination for the work of gardening. In these cases the common vegetables might be raised by the plough. A good supply of vegetables is a great aid to the housewife in meeting the daily wants of the family, besides their importance on the ground of health. A few drills reserved for the vegetables at the potato planting and turnip sowing will insure a good supply through the summer with very little trouble, as the cultivation can be done by horse labour. A good stock of fresh seeds should be laid in. The few shillings of outlay will be well spent money, but at the same time there is no reason why some seeds might not be saved from year to year. The Live Stock Journal of a recent the scotch date contains the portraits of two collie dog champion Scotch collie dogs. The champion rough - coated collie, Eclipse, and the champion smooth-haired collie, Rutland, and splendid specimens of their breed they appear to be. They are the champion dogs of their respective breeds in England and Scotland. Accompanying the illustrations is an interesting account of the Scotch Collie by the Rev. Alexander Stewart of Nether Lochaber. The rev. author of the article in question is evidently in love with his subject, and claims for the collie that he is the most intelligent and sagacious of all the breeds of dogs the British Islands can boast of; that he is of very ancient descent, being the old indigenous dog of the British Islands ; that no other dog is so versatile or j many-sided as the collie, for he can be got to do I anything that a dog can do, and not only does he excel as a shepherd's dog but also as a sportsman's dog; as a deer-stalker's dog, as a retriever by land or water, as a vermin hunter, and killer of wild cats he takes the palm, and to sum up,, the rev. writer says : " When all is said that 'can be said, it just comes to this, that of a pure, ' strain, rough, or smooth, the Scotch collie is far and away the best all round dog in the world." The above is the gist of three columns in our contemporary in praise of the collie. Although I cannot agree with the rev. gentleman in all that he claims for the collie, I am sure that all who have any knowledge of the dog in question will agree with me that for intelligence, willingness, and hardiness in working all kinds of stock, the collie, be he English, Scotch, or Irish, excels all other dogs. If this question were put individdoes fabm- ually to every farmer in the colony, i ing in new I fancy there would be a considerZEA.LAND able amount of diversity in the pay ? answers received, and the opinions expressed would probably range from an emphatic "No " to a decided " Yes," according as the individual had prospered in his agricultural pursuits or otherwise. For my part I would say that when farming pays in other parts of the world it will pay in New Zealand, at any rate it is certain that if it does not pay here it does not pay elsewhere. The climate here is more favourable to farming than that of i any other country in the Temperate Zones, and the soil of the agricultural lands of the colony, I — excluding, of course, all unfit for cultivation — is not to be surpassed for producing all the corn and fruits of temperate climates, and in the North Island many sub-tropical products as well. There are four things necessary in order to make the farm pay — good climate, good Boil, good husbandry, and good markets. In our case the first two are provided by nature, asd it remains for I

man to supply the rest. If a farmer-, does not employ a good system of husbandry, according to the circumstances of his case, or cannot obtain remunerative prices for his produce, it is not the fault of the country. Therefore, I say, in answer to the question at the head of this note, farming in New Zealand pays as well as anywhere else, or perhaps better. Want of success in farming is often due to embarking in it without sufficient capital. Too many start before they are ready, and if they have- the greatest good luck they succeed, but they cannot survive one or two bad seasons, and then condemn the country generally as a place where a man cannot make a living.

I was led to enter this subject by mb iyess' reading Mr Ivess'- estimate of the estimate, receipts and expenditure of a 200acre farm, as published in the Witness of the 23rd of July. Mr Ivess challenges anybody to dispute his figures, and I feel rather diffident about criticising them. It is a well-known fact that it is a risky thing to commit oneself to figures, and farming above all is one of the occupations that cannot be regulated in advance by figures not even approximately. But in the first place Mr Ivess' method of working a small farm of 200 acres is absurd, for he says nothing about cows, or pigs, or poultry, nor of growing roots or hay for winter food. Does he expect ordinary pasture to carry three sheep per acre through the winter without the aio\of any turnips, or does he, think that a farm of that description could be worked profitably by means of sheep and corn only ? Then some of the items in the estimate are so vague, as for instance the increase from 450 sheep— £37 10s. I feel curious as to how the ten shillings was arrived at — the compiler of the estimate probably thought like Rory O'More that there is good luck in odd numbers. We arenottold the number of lambs expected or their estimated value per head. Aeording to Mr Ivess' statement the occupier of the farm appears to have no capital beyond his two arms. The State, then, under Sir George Grey's scheme is to provide land, plant, stock, &c, and the occupier or State tennant ha» simply to go on to the land and make all he can over and above 5 per cent, on the estimated value of the land, which is equal to a rental of eight shillings per acre. But I fail to see how theman working under the scheme referred to can give any security for the land to the State. Mr Ivess says a private mortgagee would require 8 per cent, on the money advanced, but he forgets that no man could borrow to the extent of the full market value of the land. If the farm is worth £1600, the owner will require to pay down a portion before he can give any security for the balance. He could not take up more than four or five pounds at the most per acre, aud ho may be content to make 5 per cent, on his own money, though paying 8 per cent, to the mortgagee. Some six years ago Mr John Grigg, of Longbeach, read a paper at a meeting of the Ashburton Agricultural and Pastoral Association on the question " can farming be made to pay in Canterbury." In the course of his paper, he sketched the plan of a 200* acre farm on a mixed system of husbandry. He estimated the capital required for plant and stock, at £471. Annual expenses, including rent at 20s per acre— at £450. Annual return at £74} leaving a balance of £293 for interest on his capital, and for the labour of himself and family. His scheme, I consider much more feasible than Mr Ivess', but anyone can make farming pay on paper, and it is perfectly absurd to endeavour to figure it out in advance. It; puzzles a good many farmers to figure out their position at the end of the year, unless they keep careful acoounts of their operations as they go along. Agricola.