OUR NORTHERN LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 19

OUR NORTHERN LETTER.

(Fhom Our Own Correspondent.) April 2. TE HOTI. Like scores of other settlements of the Waimate Plains, Te Roti, well situated under the southern sunny lea of Mount Bgmont, has its creamery (managed by Dlr George Whittingcon, who by aid of an Alexander separator and s. 6-h p. Ramsay and Sons' engine separates daily some 600 gal of milk), its church, school, public hall, post office, and railway station. Iti climate is fair, laud excellent, and drainage good ; and its green terraces, River Waingongoro, and creeks add to the ptcburesqueness of the place. Among its chief farms and industries', THE DEVON I'ARJI ig situated on rising ground oh the Skeet road, and owned by Mr George RDach, who daily strains 4-Ogal of milk from 23 shorthorns, getting 2£d a gallon from the adjacent creamery, and is as happy and jolly as any s»ndboy. Atnogat his garden treasures i« a nut tree iv full fruit, which was grown from the seed planted there by the proprirror of Devon F*rm. A GOOD CROf. Further on B{?niontw\rd.i Mr Oftleb Kneebone is growing yewc by year noteworthy crops of potatoes on his land. He ha« just floishod ] digging up seveu tons of red Derwents from less than » quarter acre, and last year fee exceeded that. 'IE BOTT STATION FAJIM, nestling down on a sunny slope, and about four miles north of JSoroJauby. owned and successfully farmed by Ur William Ct:avr.i\ who has taken out of the lavk3 scum phenomenal crops of cereals. Here the pasture ia rich, aud m&jntains in good condition 100 head of cattle, 56 of which are shorbhoru milkers in full profit, they Yielding daily averages of UOgal. The Uvm "is well watered by the Waingongoro River, which bounds tho property on th« I western side. RPRING CREEK FAHM consists of 130 acres of rich volcanic soil, situated oiose by th» Te Roti creamery and the railway station.' Mr P. O'Connor, the haarty owner, i* at home and gladly converse. From ■ him I karn of the wonderfully productive ! uaiure of the soil all around the southern eido 'if Mount Bgmont An evidence of it is beiore tub in. tbe mangel-wnrael field, waay of these tubers ins&snriug over 2ft, wiih a 2ft girlh. Last year Springbank grew mangels ah r,he r*te I of 120 tons to the acre and potatoes at the rate of 23 tons per acre. Mr O'Connor now m:lk3 40 Ayrshire cow?, whioh yi&kl 60gal per day. TAN«r,EWOCD KABM. Come along ay.d »?.» 'I'anjjlßWOod farm— its jolly owner, Mr John Cleaver ; his 30 railkors yielding 70gal ; his celebrated draught snares by Chieftain out of Knockdone; his beautiful Nelson-bred whita bull ; his prime Berkshire pigs crossed by a Rowe boar, and his 27 cowa, yielding sufficient milk to turn their owner in a ! profit of £4- an acre last year. A PRETTY HOMB. ' About a mile down the Te Roti lane Mr W. Mantle owns * co*y nook ot richly cropped broad acres. His garden, orchard, aad nursery i are places worthy of note. 1 SUSSLOPE. Further down the lane towards the setting sun, Snnslope, home of Mr Michael Kelly and family, is annually yielding to its persevering owner aceepUble "profits. Twanty-three years ago th" lands of Sansdope grew v/ild forest ; now all smilpH after years of hard toil, and 23 cowf yield 70ft*l of milk dailyA SUCCESSFUL PRIVATE DAIRY FACTORY. •Turned by the dammed water of a creek in the valley of Te Roti is the mill wheel, doing the work of the private butter factory of Mr Robert Fitton, who uses aßurmeister separator and home-made box charn, which turns out over lewt of prime butter weekly SPRINGBAXK FARM. Bounded on the west and north by the Austin and Boyl^n roadfl is Springbank farm, model home of 150 acres owned by Mr William Binnie, who is in the field taking up a crop of red Derwents not often seen. In the next field turnips will, in spite of the blizzard, be. yielding over 40 bushels to the acre. Further off scores of f*tted cattle are holding comfortable confab, and on the other side a beautifully-formed Ayrshire bull and putebred heifers are seen only to be admired. Mr Binnie is going in for first-class breeding cattle — more than that, he h»s got them. A CIIAT ABOUT FATTED CATTLE AND FROZEN MUTTON. The other day Bike and 1 had an interesting chat with an intelligent farmer about fatted . cattle and their ruling prices. Quoth our wellinformed paiitoralist : "You come from the Squth Island. Can you tell me how it happens you can get such big prices down there for fatted cattle as compared with what we get here in : the north?" "Well, in the first place, we have & less circumscribed area, bigger markets, larger consumption, and consequently keen competition." " That may be all right, but do you of the south produce better beef than we of the north ? " "So far as I know, the Wanganui beef always had a great name down the West Coast of the island, for when it used to come down there per steamer Wallaby it commanded big prices." " Bigger figures than Christchurch ? " "Yes, according to the cattle auctioneers." "What rules the West Coast markets just now ? " " Beaets j weighing from 7cwt to lOewt would be fetching from £8 to £11 each, and indifferently fatted

at that." " And here," ejaculated the gwziet with a sigh, " we'd be glad to get from £fl lOtt to £6 for guoh weights primely fatted, auch, foe instance, na you see grazing over there," jerking his thumb over *t a coupla of score if plnmp Herefords. "Why not try to alter matters ?" asked I. "Iq what w&y ?" he rejoined eagerly. " Well, you are suffering from gridironed monopoly in both the shipping oirc'.es and the meat markets, and it affects your mutton, wool, tallow, hides, skins, butter, and cheese." "We are well aware of all that," replied he, grinding his teeth ; " but how are we to remedy the evils ? "' " That is a big question needing much answering ; but, to begin at the root of the evil, why not form a co-operative formers' and graziers' cattle steamboat company and ship your cattle away?" "Ah, yes, that's just what we do waur, for the present shipping companies take all the proflt away from everyone. Cattle graziers have cause enough to try the experiment. Were that proposal well mooted among North Island graziers and some such prospectus issued I feel sure all sharers would be eagerly taken up by the farmers." "Why not try it?" "Try it? Will you ventilate the matter through the columns of the Witness?" "I will endeavour to do bo."—« "I hope you wil), for we farmers are looking to the Witness as our representative to advocate all our best causes ; and considering the big support your journal is getting in the North Island I and many more of my clais feel it would be only right and jusb." " The whole policy of thß Witness is to give everybody fair play, politically and otherwise, and to aid and advise farmers who have spent the best part of their industrious lives in carving oufc of the forest and fern homes for themselves and their families." "Yes, yes, we acknowledge all that freely ; but what about the great difference in the prioes of our mutton and those of the South Island ? Can you tell me anything about that ?"' "1 balieva the true answer to that may be found iv the following incident. I shall give it to you as related last year to me by the gentleman himself, a riuli farmer who resides in Itangitikei: " ' While at Home on a viiit hot year (1895) I saw everywhere on the meat .'looku and iv the wiadows cArbha fleilicrs of Lcndoo and Edinburgh *• New Zealand frozen mutton—Canterbury. 1' Knowing that thousands of caroasea went annually from the North Islaud, I thought: it very strange t!a*b none of it was exposed, and although I sought far and near I failed to see a morsel. " Frozen mufcton from the North Island of New Zealand ? " queried * trader in n big way incrndnously in answer to my question. "Why, I watch all shipments, and hhve never even heard of any as likely to come. It's all Canterbury mutton that cornea to London." "Is it," answered I. "Is that Canterbury mutton on your hooks there ? " " Undoubtedly! " replied he. "Can't you read?" "Ob, yea. The ticket says it is; but it isn't all the same." " Wliafc do you mean ? " asked he searching!?. " Simply that while the ticket saya ' Canterbury' the carcases s*y * Ngxkaurangi Fntziiuj Works, Wellington!'" "Do you isvan it?" "'Yes. See, here is their brand o^ this carcaae. , Here is a Canterbury mark. Observe the difference between it and that oa th« North Island mutton." " There ii a vast; difference; but are you sure ? " "At oertaiu as that yon are talking to mo. I could, if need bo, swear to the brands on tbo North Island carcases." " What object would the Canterbury exporter have ?" " All in a nutshell. Thcs monopoly there purchase the North Island i mufcten for about two shillings less than they give i for the ruling Canterbury mutton; then it is ! shipped off as Canterbury mutton to the old I country, and Eold here at top Canterbury prices."'" " Well," broke in my facmer friend in astonishment, " that's pretty rich. I'd like io know who is doing such disgraceful thing* '. Do you know ? " "Of course. 'It is nought I else but Ring, Monopoly, Corner, and Coo> j pany." " But surely our Liberal GtOfernmeM with its much vaunted fair pluy will see justico i done to the north ?" "Perhaps w*re proper representation made the Premier msghft goo tbrt ' Agent-general to ferret out and rvclity the evil." " 'Tia n crying shame, and ought to ba aeon to immediately. Could you advise us hew to go about it?" "The orthodox way if, when *ny public grievance reqniran discharge or amendment, to get the member of the district to biiug the matter before tbe Houee ; or, whatis generally much more effective, by petition of the | reiidentp." •• Would you, for instance, undertake to prepare ».uch ftpsfcilion.for us V " "With pleasure, proVidad you farmers will dipply ma with all particulars." "It is * matter of such moment to as that I, for one, shall lose no time in g-.tt>.n£ cattle and ehesp growers to join handi." And so we parted. ! i ! |