The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1919. “THE BEST WEALTH PRODUCER.”

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16590, 12 November 1919, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1919. “THE BEST WEALTH PRODUCER.”

When speaking in the House on the Financial Statement Mr. S. Oi Smith, member for Taranaki, referred to this as the most wonderful province in New Zealand and the best wealth producer the Dominion has as a province. Making every due allowance for Mr. Smith’s enthusiasm for the land of his birth and for his devotion to its interests, it is not difficult to find much evidence to support his claim. ■ The current number of the New Zealand Gazette contains such evidence in agricultural and pastoral statistics contained therein. There aro no provinces now and the statistics refer to land districts, which are, however, almost identical with the old provinces. Barring Nelson, Taranaki has a smaller area of occupied land than any other district, the area being 1,703,863 acres. Of this no less than 325,900 acres is standing virgin bush, so that for productive purposes the area is really only 1,377,963 acres. This area supports 349,824 head of cattle, including 144,809 dairy cows, 937,227 sheep, 30,931 pigs, and 24,585 horses. Assuming that a horse or five sheep are equivalent to a horned beast, we arrive at an equivalent of 561,854 head of cattle maintained on 1,377,963 acres, or one head to 2.45 acres. Reckoning on the same basis the Auckland district has the equivalent of 820,060 head of cattle on 3,548,417 acres, or one to 4.32 acres. Hawke’s Bay has the equivalent of 1,714,650 head on 4,346,987 acres, or one to 2.54 acres. Wellington has the equivalent of 1,763,984 head on 4,361,861 acres, or 2.48 to the acre. None of the South Island districts approach even the Auckland figures, and they all fall very far short of Taranaki in carrying capacity. Taranaki carries a far greatar

number of cattle to the thousand acres than any other district and in addition more sheep to the thousand acres than any district except Hawke’s Bay and Wellington. It is worthy of note, too, that the Taranaki County, with an area of 187,675 acres of occupied land, caixies more dairy cows than any other county in New Zealand, except Southland and Waikato, which, however, have respective occupied areas of 1,962,336 and 278,143 acres. By far the most densely cow-popu-lated county in New Zealand, however, is Waimate West, which has 15,730 dairy cows on 45,117 acres, hut it has very few sheep. The figures given above show that in stock-carrying capacity Wellington and Hawke’s Bay are almost equal to Taranaki, but when the wealth-producing capacity is taken into account Taranaki can claim supremacy. It supports a greater population per square mile than any other district. For the twelve months ended August 31 the exports from Taranaki were valued at £3,683,641, equal to about £2 13s 6d per producing acre, as against an average of about £1 per acre for the whole Dominion. The secret of Taranaki’s success is small holdings, good stock, and the utilisation of labour. The average bolding in the district is 273 acres, against a Dominion average of 538 acres. The average in the North Auckland district is only 232 acres, but that includes some thousands of suburban holdings in the vicinity of Auckland city. The average production of butterfat per cow in Taranaki is the highest in the Dominion, due perhaps as much to better feeding as to bolter stock, for the returns indicate the growth of more winter feed in the shape of hay, ensilage, and roots in Taranaki than in other districts. The other element of success is labour, and the statistics show that in Taranaki the employees (including working proprietors) .on the land number 12,125, or about one to each 112 acres of producing land. In Hawke’s Bay there are 10,689 employees, or one to 400 acres, in Wellington 16,829, or one to 260 ■ acres, and in Auckland and North Auckland combined 31,608 employees, or one to about 200 acres of producing land. Satisfactory as these Taranaki figures are, they can be immensely improved. The greater part of the district is still comparatively undeveloped. It is the counties round Mount Egmont that are producing most of the wealth and supporting most of the people. But the land further away will in course of time give as good results and Taranaki as a whole will more than hold its position as the most productive district, acre for acre, in the Dominion.