LAND VALUES COMPARED

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16376, 25 June 1927, Page 10

LAND VALUES COMPARED

GISBORNE AND WAIKATO THE PAET MANURE PLAYS The Poverty Bay flats are much richer than the productive Waika'to lands, but despite this the production from the Waikato farms, at least so far as butter-fat is concerned, eclipses that obtained from similar areas in the Gisborne district. The reason for Waikato's success is artificial manure, and no secret is made of this fact. Heavy dressings of up to 4cwt., and even fiewt. and 6cwt. of manure to the acre in some cases, are applied to the Waikato land. These applications are reflected in the yields, which in one instance goes up to the enormous figure of ,1951 b. of butter-fat to the acre for a season. Pew farms can touch this, but there are others, and large ones, too, which have averaged over 1001 b. and 1701 b. to the acre for a season. Has any Gisborne land ever reached such figures? So far as can be gathered, Poverty Bay farmers are now seeing the wisdom of judicious fertilising, and many are making annual applications, which, however, do not go beyond 2Jkwt. to the acre. Good results have, been obtained in the past without, manuring, hilt as the grass takes its requirements from the soil these ingredients need replacing; close observation is showing that this is so. On account of its great fertility the land around Gisborne is quoted at a much higher figure than the Waikato land. A Waikato farmer, who was in Gisborne recently, stated that lu was astounded with the high juices asked for land here, but he was equally astonished when he was taken out to the rich flats and saw for himself the quality of the land. He said he would not. be slow in disseminating the knowledge he had gained among those Waikato men who were wont to boast of the fertility of their farms. So rich are the Gisborne flats that it has been remarked that some of the land still retained for sheep was too good for that class of farming and should be given up to dairying. (July this week another man stated that this land was too rich even for dairying. Whether this be so or not there is a big future in front of the dairying industry in Gisborne if the pastures are properly treated and manured.