NOTES ON A TRIP TO THE OLD COUNTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2363, 8 June 1899, Page 44

NOTES ON A TRIP TO THE OLD COUNTRY.

'MR THOMAS BRYDONE'S ACCOUNT OF HIS RECENT VISIT TO BRITAIN.

(Written for the Members of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society.) ! Mr Thomas Brydone, who recently returned from an extended trip to the old country, has embodied his impressions in a pamphlet specially written for the members of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and we have been courteously supplied with an advance copy, which we reproduce below: — My friends of the Agricultural and Pastoral Society of Otago gave me such a splendid send off when I left Dunedin in May last for a trip to the old country that I have had a feeling ever since of being under a deep debt to them which I can never repay. Thinking, however, that a description of what I saw, especially in the farming way, on my journey Home and back might be interesting, I now gladly put a few notes together, more by way of trying to show my gratitude than for any useful information I can give, as I must confess that I don't think the old country or any othex can -teach the New Zealand fanner j much in modern farming, but still it may interest those who have not been Home ] lately to hear something of Avhat I saw on my journeyings. By way of a preface I may tell you old settlers that the old country, however beautiful and well-fanned, has a fiendish climate in winter, and however much we "may growl about winds and rain here, we should thank our stars that we live in a country where the sun shines almost every day, and where we have a moderate temperature and plenty of pure air for man and beast. So many public works and smoky towns now exist everywhere ovei England and Scotland that three-fourths of the island is in smoke from year's end to year's end, and that, combined with rain,' snow, and fogs, produces an atmosphere that is most distressing to a New Zealander. Probably I may have been unfortunate, but after 30 years" in New Zealand I found it most unsuitable and disagreeable — to such a degree that'l left .'the old country before my holiday had expired, and was very thankful to be back in the antipodes again. When you can get away from the smoke and the fogs of the low country to the Highlands for a few months in the summer it is very nice indeed, but when winter approaches the weather is killing, and you have only a few hours of daylight from November to March. I left Dunedin by 'Frisco mail on the 11th " May, via Auckland, calling at Samoa and Honolulu, seeing but little of either as the Moana. only, stopped a day in each place. What I saw of- Samoa rather disappointed me, but Honolulu is an exceedingly prelty place, very much modernised to what it was when" I was there 22 years ago, being now . quite a busy place of business ; but the lovely trees and flowering native shrubs are so beautiful that you can almost fancy yourself in fairy land. The climate is a bit tot, but not like the close muggy heat of Samoa. The Americans have developed sugar of late years in Honolulu, and cotton to some extent, and it is a wonderful place for tropical fruits. Copra seems to be the only export from Samoa and appears to be in the hands of the Germans. Copra is the cocoanut cut into chips and dried in the sun by the natives; then shipped to America where the oil is extracted from it, but I did not hear that the trade is flourishing. San Francisco was reached up to contract time, after a smooth and pleasant voyage, the only incident of note being a small file in the hold, which was quickly extinguished by our worthy captain and officers without great damage being done. San Francisco is well known as a great business city, where fortunes are quickly made and as quickty lost. It is a city of fine buildings, bad streets, and worse morals, and is lighted by electricity. Electric cars run everywhere at an all-over fare of 2^d. I got a trip % of about ten mile^ one day for 2£d. "The streets in the city are so bad that a carter was jolted off his dray and killed when I was there. From 'Frisco I travelled overland to Vancouver, a distance of about a thousand miles, as I wanted to see as much of the country as possible. A deal of the route is through very interesting country, occupied by many comfortable looking homesteads, and not a few of an inferior character. The couutn>- has all been covered with timber originally, and whenever you get on to poor soil or mountainous coifctry the timber still exists, but the heaviest and best seems to have been cut out. Pine seems to be the only timber. The best soil is on the river flats the same as here, and when you get up the hillsides it is poor and only occupied by stunted pines. The farms are small, say from 150 to 200 acres, and wheat is the principal crop ; a little barley, not much in pasture, some hay for winter food, and almost no roots. Hardly any sheep to be seen and not many cattle. On the whole I should judge that the New Zealand settler is better oW than the Oregon one. Irrigation is adopted wherever water can be obtained, principally for growing lucerne and meadow hay. The climate is splendid, as may be judged by the fact that I saw wheat growing at an altitude of 2500 ft, and grapes and peaches are grown in the open for the market at over 4000 ft, where the railway passes. Farming is done on a large scale in the Central States, which I did not see. There is very pretty scenery now and again, particularly about Mount Shasta, 14,400 ft high, and the Shasta mineral springs, where nature and art have been combined to produce some beautiful effects in geysers and waterfalls. We had a look at the busy city of Portland, famous for the export of wheat and timber, and left the railway at Seattle, which is a new city that has sprung up on the coast, and Is the principal starting point for steamers for the Klondyke goldfields. Like all cities

of the sort it is a very fast place, and I should say rather disappointing to the many enterprising inhabitants, as I don't think they get much gold from Klondyke. From Seattle I took steamer to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, 100 miles distant. Victoria is the capital 'of British Columbia, and a quiet old-fashioned town whose only show place is the Parliament House. After spending a day there I had to take to sea again — another 10Q' miles to Vancouver city, which is on the mainland, and should have been the capital of British Columbia, as it must be very awkward having the capital away on an island 400 miles from the mainland. We hear so much about Vancouver that 1 was anxious to see what sort of place it is, and must say that I was greatl/ disappointed when I did see it. The country is mountainous, covered with bush, with sounds or inlets just like the We*t Coast of New Zealand, only the hills are not so high, and the timber is very heavy at ti.s bottom of the valleys but light and scrubby on the hillsides..,- There is no open pa&turrcountry at all, and almost no level grcund of any kind suitable for farming. Thefe are some swampy flats on the Fraspr River, about 10 or 15 miles away, but the most of it seems subject to constant flooding. Vancouver being the terminus of the Canadian-Pacific railway, and that company having got large concessions- of land, forced on the selling of city and suburban sections to an unnatural extent — far beyond what the country warranted, and the place looks as if it had stuck half built. Of course there is a good deal of through traffic that creates business in shipping, but to secure prosperity a place wants land that can be settled and made productive, and that can never be at Vancouver. Of course there are valuable minerals in British Columbia, but it is a large territory, and the people go where the metals .are, and have little or no connection with Vancouver. From «svhat I coiild learn those mining districts are good and bad, like goldfields elsewhere, and the country is a very inhospitable one to live in. I met a few New Zealanders who would be veiy glad to' get back again, and the result of my observation is that New Zealand is a better country by far either to work or live in than British Columbia. Labourers' wages in 'Frisco and all along the west coast of California and Oregon run from 6s to 7s a day of 10 hours, and I heard of no labour troubles on all my journey. Shortly after leaving Vancouver the railway crosses over to the valley of the Fraser River, and follows that river and its tributaries for hundreds of miles through most inaccessible and mountainous country right up to the glaciers, 12,000 ft high. No doubt the Canadian-Pacific railway is a most extraordinary triumph in engineering skill, and it has opened up some of the grandest scenery in the world and connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on British soil by an iron road 6000 miles long. After getting to the summit of the Rockies the railway descends very rapidly on the eastern side, and there you leave the bush-covered country and enter on open prairie. The general character of the country is bare- and bleak, and a good deal of it is too poor to support any stock, but you drop on big blocks here and there which carry a fair quantity of , stock. They must have very hard times < in winter, however, and I have no desire ■to be a ranch-holder in these parts. Only i horses and cattle are kept, as sheep could ! not live where the ground is covered several feet deep with snow for five or six , months in the year. I left the Canadiani Pacific railway at a place called Moosejaw I Junction, and Iturning soaithwards soon ! entered the United States again. As you ! come south the country improves, and after j travelling 2300 miles you get into wheatgrowing country, the farms being of mode- [ rate size and the crops looking well. I ' noticed that all through this part of ■ America, both in the States and Canada, | the homesteads were built on the j crown of the ridges, or the I highest part of the farms, the object | being that the snow would get blown past them, or at least be thinnei than in the sheltered places. The railways have snow ■ fences along them most of the way. Min1 nesota is a great wheat-growing state, and when you get within 100 miles or so of Minneapolis the whole country is occupied by fields of wheat. The couirlry is undulating <md, having patches of bush left .-snd numerous small hikes, it looks very pretty. I had a look at the big flour and saw mills in Minneapolis, where the MisMf- , sippi is dammed up to provide water power , for the great mills, which power is mo&th converted into electricity that lights the ' city, drives the troni'j, and turns machinery 'of all kinds. This is a city of some 250,000 people, and something like 100,000 horse powei is obtained from the river. The flom mills are said to be the largest in the world and are quite a sight to see at work. The saw mills are also very large and the way jin which logs are handled is astonishing. I had a look at St. Paul's, which mamrfaci tures boots and shoes largely, and is a thrivj ing city. From there I went to Chicago, ! and, amongst other things, had a look at Armour's meat works, where they kill on an average about 6000 cattle, the same j number of pigs, and 7000 to 8000 sheep | a day. This is only one of three or four similar factories, but it is the largest. , Chicago has a population of about a million people, and is a very pushing place, but dirty and not beautiful by any means. • From there I went to Canada * again to have a look at its dairying and farming in general. I was delighted with Canada as |it looks very pretty and prosperous. The I farms run from 100 to 200 acres as a rule, but some run to 500 acres. Wheat is the j principal crop, and very fine crops they were. Most of the land is under cultiva- , tion, and I was surprised to find that the ! soil can stand so much cropping without manure, but the heavy coating of snow it has for so long a period seems to have a renovating effect. The crops looked like 30 bushels, but I believe they do not turn out so heavy as that. The farmers have only two buildings on the place, a dwelling-house and a barn — generally both of stone, with thick walls to keep out the frost. The

barn is a big building of two storeys, the I top storey being for holding the hay and straw required for the stock in winter, and the ground floor houses all the live stock, i including pigs and fowls, so that the people j in charge can attend to the lot without requiring to go outside, and the stock being all in one building keep one another warm, j There is generally a water supply also inside. Farming in Canada does not seem to be a money-making thing, as the most of the farms .are too small to do more than i make a bare living, and the farmers have to j be very economical; still you find very few j farms for sale, and when one is in the > market it is generally bought by a neighbor. The country was all heavy bush at one time i but there is very little of it left now. I saw less dairy-farming than I expected and was led to think that it is going rather out of favour in some districts. The system of working is much the same as in New Zealand," and the returns not much higher. I took some trouble to find out the best piggery in connection with a dairy factory, but failed to see one as good as Edendale, which was a satisfaction. I should have ! liked to have seen some of the State dairy i farming, but time did not permit. I had a ' look" at Niagara, and in Toronto saw the Massey-Harris Company busy making reapers and binders -and bicycles for New Zealand, which ought to be made in New Zealand if our implement makers would, keep up with the times «nd have up-to-dale machinery in their works. It is quite a | treat- to see the automatic plant the-,Ameri- ! cans have for manufacturing everything, and j between them and the Germans, assisted by the English irades unions, England must be losing an immense quantity of her trade. , From Toronto I went * down the St. Lawrence River through the 1000 isles to Montreal, and then by Lakes Champlain and George to the Hudson River, thence to New York, a most interesting and lovely tour, but one which is often described and with which I will not occupy time. At Montreal I saw a cattle steamer being loaded for England — some 500 to 600 three and four-year-old steers, well bred, good quality and very quiet. When in Liverpool I paid a visit to the depot at Birkenhead, where foreign cattle are received, kept lintil sold and killed all on the Same premises. The buidings for holding the cattle are three j and four storeys high, and nice and com- ! fortable for the cattle. The Canadians were j the best quality, the Slates next, and the Argentines the worst, being big and rough and only about half fat. After spending some days in New York, staying at the Windsor Hotel, which was burned down j the other day, I had a fair trip to Liverpool in the 10,000 ton steamer Teutonic. She was a very full ship, carrying over 1000 souls on board, so you can guess there was not much room for roaming on that craft.

It may have been expected that I would have devoted a good deal of my time to the frozen mutton and dairy produce trades, but so many people have gone Home with the mission of regenerating the London butchers and butter-men and have failed to leave any impression behind that I hadn't sufficient confidence in myself to try. and left it alone. I may just &ay' that our products are gradually gaining ground in England and prejudices disappearing, and that if we on this side will only be careful to keep up the quality and see that everything we ship is the very best, a rise in prices is sure to. follow the increasing consumption. Both North and South America have a great advantage over New Zealand in being near enough to land sheep and cattle alive in England, and fresh killed meat is always preferable to frozen, and can be sold as English when frozen cannot, but we must " put a stout heart to a stey brae " and must succeed in the end.

(To be continued.)