MR. P. K. McCAUGHAN'S WANTWOOD LAND SETTLEMENT SCHEME.

Southland Times, Issue 2521, 31 August 1876, Page 2

MR . P. K. McCAUGHAN'S WANTWOOD LAND SETTLEMENT SCHEME.

,© (by oue special kepokter), 4S> Having heard that Mr McCaughan, the large landowner of Wantwood Station, had a quantity of very valuable land which he wished to throw open for settlement on a rather new plan, I started a few days ago from Invercargill to hare a look at that part of the country. The railway from the town eastwards runs, for the first few miles, as most of the readers ofjthis journal know very well, between level paddocks of large tussock grass, a good deal of it sold, but very little cultivated. At Woodlands, 12 miles from town, the immense tract belonging to the New Zealand Land Company begins, and here also begins the utilization of the soil. Large turnip ; fields, flocks of sheep, [and mobs of cattle make their appearance, and afc rather i long intervals the land has been ploughed ] for grain. With the exception of the I Oteramika Bush, through which the line i passes, for a short distance between i Morton Mains and Edendale, the Com- I pany Viand stretches right away nearly to I G-ore, the present terminus of the line in j the Dunedin direction. The road to J Wantwood for about 13 miles .is that < northwards to the mining district of i Switzers. It skirts the tuasock hills on c the eastern slopes of the Croydon ranges, c whilst on the east the Mataura lliver \ runs almost at the foot of a long low i terrace of land for some mileß, and be- t tweea rich alluvial flats, or yellowish [ brown knolls of slight elevation. The 1 Croydon mountain, with its dark grey t peak, lies immediately to the left of the t road, and from it springs a long succession v of bluestone ranges running northwards, v all of them with the acute angles which t mark Croydon itself, rounded off, and one I of thsm crowned with a thick New .Zea- i;

land bush at the summit. These ranges continue for some miles on the left, and finish as they began, a mile or two from Wantwood, with two or three sharp peaks. In the meantime the clear and rapid little Otamete River, which runs into the Mataura, has been.crossed, and the track leaves the road to Switzors, and turns off to Mr McCaughan's homestead. The comfortable^ bluestone house, with itß facings i -of \y el lovy limestone, very like Oamaru stone,, the large and well laid oafc garden, the trees planted along the ranges, (for the name of Wantwood is singularly appropriate, not a solitary native tree being in sight for miles), the busy life among the wooden buildings near the station, and belonging to it, form a striking and most pleasant contrast to the treeless loneliness of the eternal tussock hills between Wantwood and Grorc. At Wantwood I had a most friendly and hospitable reception from Mri and ; Mr MeCaughan, the latter of whom on jthe following day accompanied me on my visit to the land about to be leased. \ I slept at Wantwood that night, and in the morning before starting, walked round the grounds, admiring the thick live hedges of well-trimmed gorse or Gape broom, which stretched in various directions, and far outside the garden, as if laid down by, some horticultural genius with a fancy for fortification, some New Zealand Vauban or Cohon, marking out his lines with green hedges. Just in front of me Maori hens walked as leisurely through the hedges as if they were domestic poultry, and black or brown rabbits either stood still, or moved slowly out of the way as though they had never heard of such things as guns. The laying out of this garden, and the purchase and planting of the thousands of various kinds of beautiful pine trees on the hills, cost about LSOOO. The Wantwood run contains about 35,000 acres, all of which, except about 1,000 acres, is purchased j freehold land. About L20.000 has been spent in various ways in improving it. At starting our track led downwards from the homestead to the valley of the little Waimea River, small patches of whose course from time to time came in view as we rode on towards the Hokonui ranges, which begin very soon alter the Oroydon ranges terminate, and trend away to the westward. Beyond the valley of the Waimea, in the distance to the right, the Blue Mountains bounded the view, one of them covered with snow, which had fallen in the form of an elegantly I fringed long table cloth over a grey marble table. la front the Central, Eastern, and Western Dome, with their attendant but lesser elevations, raised their white cupolas, like gigantic wedding cakes, with huge loaves of sugar on the tops of them. The laud which Mr McCaughan proposes to let consists of about 12,000 acres of splendid rich soil, stretching onwards to the west for some miles, and across from the tops of the Hokonuis to the right, to the bank of the Waimea on the left. What is very curious is that the magnificent rich black soil which we find on the river flats extends right to the tops of the Hokonuis. It is evidently of the best quality, and its friable character, and dull grey brown look, reminded me forcibly of the best land in the alluvial flats by the banks of some of the Australian rivers, though the latter, from the comparative unsuitability of the climate, would not yield anything like as heavily in grain, turnips, potatoes, or grass as the Wantwood land. A practical farmer who had had experience in Scotland, Canada, and New Zealand, and who was riding with us, in reply to my inquiry, told me that that soil would yield on the second furrow from 50 to 60 bushels of wheat to the acre. The yield of potatoes where they have been put in as a crop, has varied from 10 to 20 tons. One sight presented itsolf to me which I have never seen paralleled in all my travels in many colonies and countries as well as in Great Britain. Two or three paddocks have been sown with turnips, and the yield is perfectly enormous. Almost close together at every part, like great white pebbles on a seashore, are turnips 9, 10, 11, 12, and even 13 inches in diameter. Through the winter 10 to 12 sheep to the acre are fed on these turnips, which cost altogether for seed, ploughing, harrowing, &c, only 20s an acre. It seems a pity that there is not sufficiently cheap communication with Invercargill, and a sufficient demand for this wholeBome vegetable, lo make i it worth while to send Wantwood turnips here. There can be no doubt that the land Mr McCaughan intends now to lease is of the finest quality at every part. The turnips are so thick that the rabbits make no material impresgion on the quantity, though these terrors of the large landholder abound, and our dogs killed 24 of them that day. Of these 6 or 7 were black or iron grey rabbits. The principle on which Mr McCaughan proposes to lease this land is the same as that adopted generally by the large landowners with regard to their tenant farmers in the old country, only- with these important exceptions, that the land is naturally so wonderfully rich without any manuring, that it can be cultivated at very little expense, and that the rent is a mere fraction of what it is in Great Britain. Mr McCaughan is also willing to clear the land, supply seed, and also plough and harrow the ground if required, and will receive payment for the rent in produce if required. A good opportunity is thus furnished for practical farmers with small means to make a good start, especially as any reasonable arrangements will be made to assist them in their operations. When it is considered that the average yield of wheat in "Victoria is only from 15 to 16 bushels, and in South Australia not more than 11, whilst on the Wantwood property it is from 50 to 60, it will be seen that there is a far better opening for success here than in the Australasian colonies. It is quite true that among those who have newly landed in the Australasian colonies there is a strong prejudice in favor of a freehold rather than a leasehold tenure of land. To a considerable extent the advantage of the former is illusive, not real. A very large proportion 3f the small farmers in t&ese colonies drag on a miserable existence, living in poverty for years, with the constant anxiety lest they should not be able to pay the money which has been advanced to them by capitalists at high rates to purchase the land in the first instance, and support ;hem whilst they are making it produc;ive. The time will probably soon come ;vhen different and more practical views will be entertained, and when such a ;enure as that proposed by Mr McCaughan for the leasing of veiy'good and will be greatly preferred to the free- 1

hold of very b.id land, .especially when, as i8 often the case, the latter after a few years passes from the possession of the owner to pay off the mortgagee, j