The Star. FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1898. THE STATE FARM.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6071, 7 January 1898, Page 2

The Star. FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1898. THE STATE FARM.

— — ♦ [Specially Contributed to the " Stab."] In the minds of some of my readers, I have no doubt, there still exists a prejudice against anything and : everything to which the word " State " is prefixed. gv>ch ininds shrink from the 'thoughts of State banks, and forget they are enjoying State schools and State railways. There are n*any, though I hope their number is daily decreasing, who cannot bear the mention of the State farm. But what do I mean when I speak of the State farm ? I mean, that it is the farm of you and me ? Of you, the man of much wealth, stored up in one. form or another; of you, the happy middleclass man, who has neither poverty nor riches; and of me, the poor mm, whose heritage is poverty. In • short, it is " our farm," if we will only realise thjit we are members of a State, members of a! commonwealth, who should each seek tie other's weal, who have at least this jinuch in common, that we are living onjthe "same soil and are xinited under one constitution. Yet .to hear some of our M.H.ft/s speak about it, you would think* they were making remarks against a thiig which had excited their bitterest enmitp". It is a good thing when the managemeit of any public institution is made the sibject of criticism, for we know how often the best intentions of good legislators have been frustrated by bad administrators. ' But were the State farm perfection, anil "were it the most paying concern on oarth, it wonld still fail to please some of its critics. It is the practice of some men, who havi not a second idea in their heads, to sneer ac every effort that is made for the amelioration, or

(to use that good old Saxon compound word) the betterment of their fellowinen. The State farm has done good, nevertheless. I have known many cases of men who had been struggling hard with adversity find on the State fa»m ease from their struggle mwhat we must still, even in this fair land, describe as the battle of life, though the term seems to jar rather awkwardly with the idea of a commonwealth. They

nave come to the farm with empty pockets, " stone-broke " in our colonial parlance, and they have cheered up when they have been tliere a few months and found the means to keep themselves and their families, if they had any. Of couree, the wages are not large, as the object of the farm is not to compete with private enterprise,- bufc to assist persons in necessitous circumstances. It is not fair to judge of the farm yet as a monetary speculation, seeing the short time, comparatively speaking, that it has been in existence. Pew will dispute, I should imagine, that it is better for a man to feel he is working for wages than to bo the recipient of aid which is extended to the needy out of charity. The sense of manliness is preserved, and the State farmer cannot regard himself as i a pauper. Ho should try and realise that he is working for the benefit of his community in making good pastoral and agricultural land of that which he found encumbered with timber; in helping , to create a beautiful. orchard, and thus to aid' in making the desert rejoice and blossom like the rose. The Levin State farm is situated close to the township of Levin, one of the settlements which has sprung up in the vicinity of the forests which partly clothe the slopes of the Tararua ranges, and the plain which stretches to the westward at their foot. It is reached by rail from Wellington in a run of about three hours. Three sawmills in the vicinity find, work for those of the residents who are not engaged in agricultural or pastoral pursuits, or in supplying the wants of their neighbours. In viewing the native bush one finds many scenes, where the tree-ferns tower along the edges, and the birds in spring time make the air resonant with their songs. I was sfcrnck with the beauty of some of the sunsets. The mountains capped with snow form a picturesque background to the wooded plain afe their foot ; and when the crimson tints of the clouds and vapours blend with the snowy haze you see the mountain tops glisten through the forest trees as though they were bedecked with rubies and pearls — an exquisite scene, and one that you cannot help regretting does not occur more frequently. ' ' Now \et us turn from the picturesque to a few dry facts. The farm consists of BQO acres of bush land, being a part of what is known as tha Horowhenua block. About 500 acres have been cleared and laid down in grass. There is a very convenient stockyard, a large cowshed, stable and storeroom, and a well-managed piggery.^ One of the principal attractions on the farm is the orchard, which consists of a section ten acres in extent. It is a square, fenced with a neat palisade, which reminds ono of the days of Maori pahs. A cottage and storeroom combined, and another smaller building provide shelter for some of the State farmers. In it are planted over 2000 fruit trees of many sorts and varieties. On either side of the main avenue, which runs from the entrance to the back of the section, is planted a. row of cherry trees, whose white blossoms make a pretty show early in the season, and their fruit be is tempting reach of the hands of visitors. The trees are planted in rows 15ft apart, a space of 10ft separating each tree. They comprise several varieties of apple, apricot, peach, plum and . cherry, and there are besides red and blauk currants. Close to the entrance are planted over 200 roots' of choice vines, which should yield a good crop of grapes in years to "come. The ground is a very good, strong soil, a rich clayey loam intermixed with sand. A crop of potatoes was taken off it last season, the planting and lifting giving employment to a number of men. The yield was very satisfactory, averaging 13 tons to the acre. Several neat cottages have recently been erected for the accommodation of those who are employed in dairy farming. Tents have been done away with, and all at work on tbe farm are under roofs.