RURAL RAMBLES, WEST TAIERI.

Otago Witness, Issue 1848, 22 April 1887, Page 16

RURAL RAMBLES, WEST TAIERI.

I Along with all the rest of Dunedin I took advantage of the favourable weather and the cheap railway fares on Good Friday«morning, I and had a most enjoyable day on the hills which ! form the western boundary of the famous Taieri Plain. Although the train .was delayed nearly I half-an-hour beyond the advertised hour of ! starting on account of the great crowd of pas- ! seugers, and the short supply of carriages occasioned by the extra demand principally for the transit of volunteers and excursionists to the North, the delay was not of very serious conse- | quence, so that reaching Mosgiel station the ! journey across the plain by the fine level road was soon accomplished, and the ascent of the hill adjoining Messrs Boyd's farm brought the muscles into different action, and afforded a J change of recreation. A more enjoyable day l for a pedestrian excursion could scarcely be conceived. Light fleecy clouds partially interrupted the sun's rays, and the atmosphere being clear, with scarcely a breath of wind, a splendid j and extensive view was obtained both of near and remote objects. , The view of the plain on a late autumnal day is in many respects not so interesting as on a i summer morning, when the cereal crops waving their heavily laden heads in \he passing breeze I gladden the hearts of the farmer and the spectator with the cheering prospect of a bountiful harvest to supply the wants of both man and beast. It has, however, its own special advantages, as it shows more clearly by contrast the immense amount of industry and Scientific experience expended in bringing what a few years ago was almost an unprofitable stretch of swampy land into one of the most fertile districts of which any country can boast. Very fow of the old original settlers are now alive or residents on the spot to witness the grand triumph of their energies in bringing an unproductive expanse — unproductive except in so far as Nature in her capriciousness raised a variety of herbage not so well adapted for the benefit of our race as other sorts which, by dint of skill and enterprise, are made more suited to oar necessities— into a state of fruitfulness which is an abundant reward for the hardships and toils endured. It is true that some of the old natural adornments have suffered in the process, particularly the native bush which set off the centre of the plain, and which now, through indiscriminate and injudicious felling and careless clearing, presents an appearance of desolation and waste which shows rather the signs of decadence than of progress, and contrasts most unfavourably with the belts of healthy f oliaged trees by which mauy of the homesteads are surrounded. • , ' Perhaps at this season a better idea of the progress made can be formed than could be done before harvest operations commenced. The hedgerows, in most instances regularly planted and trimly kept, clearly define each of the fields in their regularity of shape, whilst the light colour of the stubble fields gives an idea of the extent of land which has been cropped, and shows off to greater advantage the healthy sward of the pastures and the deeper shade of the turnip and other green crops. All the cereals have been safely stacked or threshed out, and labour is now "principally devoted to potato lifting, preparations for ploughing, and making provision for winter requirements. As the day, however, was very generally devoted to holiday pursuits, but few were attending to their ordinary avocations. As we climbed the hill the presence of sportsmen or would-be sportsmen made itself known by the almost incessant firing heard in all directions, coupled in 'some instances by the yelping of dogs and the shouting and bawling of haflin' bipeds. If every shot fired found a lodgment in the corpus of the bunny against whom it was directed there must have been a material tbinniDg out of the pest in this locality. Fortunately I encountered an old friend out for a day's rabbiting, and having been obligingly accommodated with a fowling-piece, managed in a few minutes to bag a pair. The country is so very much broken on this as on other ranges "that it will be impossible to exterminate the rabbit here, and the utmost vigilance will require to be exercised to keep •the plague within bounds. ' The feed on the bills for stock during the coming winter is very good m this vicinity, and the general growth of manuka scrub, whilst it is very injurious to the pasture, gives a fair amount of shelter to the grazers during severe weather. Crossing the summit of the range, in a short time we were on the dip down to the Taieri river, with its muddy water moving silently onward to the ocean. The scene on this side is very different to that on the east of the range. On the latter the country, though broken, and having here and there a few precipitous sides, with rocks jutting out in several places, is valuable for its grazing capabilities. On the former it is almost unfit for any purpose which ingenuity could suggest;- even forest planting would be attended with lut little success, as although the roots might entwine among the boulders and derive a miserable pittance from the meagre soil, the tops exposed to the ruthless blasts which sweep down the gullies would certainly

be rent an^^ttei^VaQCNatare's"' strongest " " efforts prove 'ineffectual in .promoting grpwth. . TKe< scene, althdngh'* not'vtlfe most thoroughly l desolate I have gazecl uponfrecalled to mtmory the words of the "'Ettrick 1 Shepherd,", one who knew and was, a frequenter of such spots, bat by far more tame in their character : What bard could sing the onward eight ! ' The piles thafc frowned. t£e gulfs that yawned c beneath • •- . ' i Downward a thousand fathoms from the height, Grim as the caverns in' the land of death ! Like'raountains shattered in^the Eternal's wrath, When fiend* their banners' 'gainst his reign un- • ' furled, ■ i ; A grisly wilderness, a land of scathe ; Bo'cns upon rocks in dire confusion hurled, A rent and formless mass,-th~e rubbish of a world. When the Central railvyay is open for traffic an opportunity will be afforded to many t<> view . the stapendous.wonders which the' interior portions of Otago contain. The progress being made with it, however, leaves ttje,date of opening, I am afraid, somewhere in the far away future. ; „ .' , , 4 Declining day warned. me that; the time had come to retrace my steps, and the descent was made much more readily than -tfie ascent, and at half-past 6 Mosgiel station was again, reached, ' and a comfortable ride on the train brought a whole crowd of us safely' home. „ , ' , In the journey across the plain homeward I detected a peculiar and onifpous §9?ell coming from a Swede turnip field. Want.pf , time and close fencing hindered me from making an inspection, but in the meantime I may express the hope that my suspicions majr.Vbe groundless, and that the smell, arose frot^ some other cause. I. M.- 1.