The Waikato Times

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1289, 2 October 1880, Page 2

The Waikato Times

Equal and exact justice to all men, Ot whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press the People's ricjht maintain Un.iwcd by influence .md unbribed by g.iin.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2,1880.

Waikato was one of the first places visited by Messrs Grant and Foster, and notwithstanding that their notice of it was written after they had seen all that could serve to I attract in the sister Island it is ex- ! tremely favorable. Perhaps this j will not create so much surprise in us as in our Southern friends, who, from habit, look upon their country as being immeasurably superior to ours. Touching first at Hamilton, a brief visit was paid to the Piako, where at that time, the beginning of January, the country was looking very well, the clover in many places being " rich and deep." The swamp lands, and the methods adopted for draining them are referred to, and then the writers turn to Cambridge, the farms around which place they describe as being " well advanced," with fields of " moderate size and surrounded by hedges ; nice houses are springing up rapidly, and the country is beginning to wear a very pleasing and homelike appearance." At Cambridge the delegates were present at a meeting of the Farmers' Club, at which they spent a very pleasant evening. From Cambridge they drove over " a road full of holes, axle deep," to Maclean and Co.'s Paeroa Station, being no less struck with the beautiful scenery around them, than with the clear evidences of prosperity and progress which every where opposed the eye. At Paeroa they were somewhat surprised to find that soil, which they describe as " composed of a good layer of alluvial soil on a vast bed of loose pumice, which a rapid stream would carry away by thousands of tons in a few hours," should produce such a fine grass. The subsoil seemed to them a perfectly hopeless one, but results proved them to be wrong in their estimate. Through this country they rode as far as the waterfall at Huitahatata, at which place ended their first visit to Waikato. In recording their impressions, Messrs Grant and Foster enter into some details regarding the means used for getting the land under cultivation, and they refer to the system of surface sowing on some of our fern lands. Upon one point it seems to us that they have been led into a mistake. They say the fern "is burnt off about the month of February, and, on a good piece of land, grass seeds and clover may be simply sown in the ashes, and will in about three or four months fatten a bullock to the acre." We are open to conviction, but this seems to us a most extraordinary result of aby no means ordinary experiment. The remarkable fattening properties of the clover, which are quite different from what it possesses in the Old Country, are ascribed to the climate, which allows it to grow nearly the svhole year round. Immense crops oi turnips, carrots and other roots, 3oukl, they found, be grown without manure, and crops of carrots and potatoes were shown to them equal :o anything they had seen at home liter the most careful cultivation, [n the case of turnips, sown broadcast and left to shift for themselves,

! it. seemed wonderful that such results, as were seen should follow, nud . iissfcruclv them that when land so treated could produce so much it ■ deserved more attention ; even \\ ith the existing high rates of wages a little better management would, they say, be amply repaid. This, however, is a subject which involves much thought and study ; more perhaps than the- delegates had time properly to indulge in. Waikato. farmers have not, however, passed it by unheedingly, and though cloubt•less they will admit the force of Messrs. Grant and Forster's argument, they have long ago come to ,t\\Q conclusion that wherever possible it is better to avoid employing labour. As to the growth of cereals they consider the country too new to have been properly tried, though it seemed patent to them that the fern land would -not be fit for the production of wheat until it had been grazed for eight or ten , years. This they explain from the fact that the fern root contains a large amount of tannin, which makes the land sour. They describe a paddock which they saw of 1500 acres of wheat (probably Mr Firth's) sown on land only two years from the fern ; and the fears they expressed regarding the yield have been amply verified ; the crop being anything but a good one. It is somewhat strange that no mention is made in this connection of the suitability or otherwise for the growth of cereals of the ti-tree land in the district. Perhaps it is by reason of the great preponderance of fern land and swamp over that which is neither one nor the other that the latter has been j unconsciously overlooked. The ' swamp land is very favorably spoken of, as adapted, when drained, for the growth of grass, roots, and grain. The general appearance of the stock in the district pleased the visitors, and the sheep which they saw they describe as being for the most part well-bred and in good condition. We hardly think they are right in saying that the breed of cattle most generally preferred is Hereford, for, although many breeders have shown a great affection for it, shorthorns are, we . think, much more common. The draught horses were found to be surprisingly good, but the worthy delegates got hold of a little fiction i about hacks, which they say are broken in by " hammering " them with a stockwhip ! One of the most pleasant differences between i farming in Waikato and in England was the absence at present of any need for artificial manure here. " Luxuriant crops of roots and " clover can be grown without it, " though it is not denied that a •' little guano or dissolved bones " may sometimes be of service to "the former." There is also no need of artificial food, the cattle fattening on grass and turnips alone. The state of the roads is regarded as a serious drawback, but in this we think they exaggerate a little, the worst roads in the district being good for the greater portion of the year, even in winter. Passing over the references to fencing and ploughing, which are merely descriptive, we find an allusion to the great want of trees in Waikato, notwithstanding that every kind grow " with a wonderful rapidity. At " Cambridge it took two men to " span with their arms the trunk of " a pinus insignis planted only 14 " years ago." Of the Thames Valley Messrs Grant and Foster speak in terms of high praise. " The soil," they say, " is in general " dry and covered with fern, which "is often very luxuriant, varied " with flax and raupo swamps, " usually of no great magnitude, " but extending in some cases over " an area of several thousand acres. " The country is level and easily " ploughed. . . . Where the " land is properly attended to, " results are obtained equal to those " we have mentioned in Waikato." So far we have briefly touched upon that portion o£ the report which directly refers to Waikato ; in another issue we shall examine those parts of the report which have a general reference to the colony as a whole as a field for emigration.

Erratum.— There is no truth in the statement published in Thursday's paper, regarding 1 a man named Eccles, chamman to a survey party at Te Awamutu. We have made enquiries and find that our informant read it in the Herald, and thinking it true, dropped it into the Editor's box, in case we should not have been duly informed by our Te Awamutu own correspondent. Of course, had we known the source from which our informant derived his information, it is needless to say that we should not have given it credence or what is more to the point perhaps — in view of the daily increasing pressure on ou rcolumns — space. The whole tiling we are credibly informed was concocted to gull the ScraliVs penny-a-liner, who fell into the trap as usual.

The usual weekly debate of the Hamilton Debating Club was held last evening, the President in the chair. Mr J. M. Gelling was duly elected a member, after which the Treasurer (Mr Hay) moved the order of the day, ''That the State system of education should be free, compulsory, secular, and elementary only." He was followed on the Opposition side by Messrs K. Hill, Lttishley, Park, and the Revs. Messrs Griffen and Calder, and on. the Government aide by Messrs J. Knox, E. M. Edgcumbe, Bradley, and Chitty. The adjournment of the debate was moved by the secretary and carried.

The Pukekura Highway District Board appears to be the only one which has any regard to the convenience of the travelling public. A few days ago we noticed that a finger-post had been erected at the junction of the Hamilton, Cambridge, and Te Awamutu roada at Ghaupo, and now the Board is about to erect a similar guide at the junction of the Cambridge, Ohaupo, and Te Awamutu (swamp), at Howie's corner Pukerimu. It is a pity that the other local bodies do

. not follow tjhi.s example. The cost would be very trifling, while the boon that would be conferred on travellers would be incal- ' c liable.-^ Signposts are badly wanted at '■> the turn oft of the Alexandra road at i Ohaupo ; at Rangioahia, at the Narrows L road m the Cambridge district, m the Pi«\ko, and other places. v , '

The prognostications from the Obsorvatoiy, Wellington, an published in, i our last issue, were fully verified on Thrtr^day afternoon by a. severe thtimler- | storm accompanied by wind nncl rain passing" over the greater part of Waikato. s -Flasir succeeded flash of lightning silmost * without intermibson all the afternoon and far into the night.

; The Hamilton Lawn Tennis Club opened the season yesterday, and notwithstanding the amount of rainfall the court * was found in excellent condition and will ■ daily improve. This afternoon *;here will f be a meeting of members to select 7 adie>>' ! and gentlemen desiring to join. It will be remembered that the court is a sanded j one, and although a novelty in these i parts promises to be a success.

People living on the main thoroughfares leading- into more than one Waikato township -would do well to exercise a little ' authority over their offspring to prevent ' their becoming 1 such pests to equestrian passers-by as they generally are. A gentleman informs us that he was very nearly thrown from his horse on the road leading from Seddon's hill'to Grey -street Hamilton East, owing to the mischievous conduct of half-a-dozen children, who, waiting until he drew near, rushed out on the road and uiged a dog at him. The horse reared, and had he not had full control of the animal, tbe rider must assuredly have been thrown. It would be well, should such a thing occur again, to put the matter in hands of the police.

Hares are rapidly increasing in the neighbourhood of Cambridge and farmers are beginning seriously to ask if they are after all an unqualified good. We have reason to believe that the average number killed in the Pukekura district is about three or four a day and yet there is nc appreciable diminution in the total. There is a homeliness about •' puss" which no doubt endears her to very many people, but even they are beginning to grow tired of saeing valuable fruit trees barked. With the immense quantity of cover in the neighbourhood it will be no easy matter to keep them down.

Mr. Trewheellar, baker and confectioner is having- a verandah erected at his premises in Victoria-street, Hamilton, the benefit of which will be very apparent a few weeks hence. Mr. Price is doing the work.

The members of the Comus Dramatic Club are making great progress in the rehearsal of the two pieces shortly to be produced, " Meg's Diversion," and "Your Life's in Danger." It is understood that the Club will give a performance at Te Awamutii in aid of the building fund of the proposed Anglican Church ot Kihikihi.

A Cricket Match has been arranged to come off shortly between the Hamilton Public School Cricket Club, and the boys attending the Public School at Cambridge. This i.s a furthur indication that there will ho no lack of this game during the coming season.

There will be no lack of potatoes next year. Every farmer appears to be putting 1 in more than the usual area, while in two or three cases the usual limit is far overstepped. At Hautipu, one individual is going to set 30 acres, while in the Te Awamutu district, we hear of a field of 90 acres, Avhich is to be planted ■with these roots.

We are informed that the Eoyal Hotel Hamilton East is about to change hands. Capt Dawson having sold to Mr Schofield of Huntley. Mr schofield has, we belisve, had considerable experience in this line of business, and is likely to maintain the reputation which this favourite hostelry has always held,

we are glad to learn that Mr J. Cochrane who, it will be remembered met with a very serieus accident on Saturday last, is gradually recovering, and is expected to be about again in the course of a week or two.

Sheep worrying is still going on in the Pukekura and Pukerimu districts, and the damage done is something astonishing. A few clays ago Mr. William Beynolds lost 20 valuable well-bred lambs from the attacks of dogs. It is really disgraceful that such a state of things should be permitted to continue, but the difficulty is how to apply a remedy. It seems to us that the only effectual means of putting" a stop to the evil is a heavy tax upon dogs and the sooner the Highway Boards are in a position to do this the better.

The numerous friends of Mr G. Natlen, M.K.C.V.S., will be glad to hear that he has gone to England on urgent private business and will be absent for some time. We are not aware that he has made any arrangements for keeping his friends posted in his movements, and presume that, under the circumstances, the best thing they can do is to possess their souls in patience,

we are pleased to be in a position to state authoritatively that the whole of the Waikato and Taupo subdivisions of the Auckland district are now entirely free from scab.

Mata, the New Zealand horse, has been heavily backed at 10 to 1 iorthe Melbourne Gup during the past few days, and is now second favorite.

A meeting of the creditors of .John James Trethaway, of Ngaruawahia, a debtor, was held* in the Courthouse, Hamilton, yesterday. The report of the trustee was received and adopted, and a recommendation was made to grant the : debtor his discharge.

In order to ascertain whether the report of the wholesale exodus of labouring classes was Well founded or not, the Government have had returns prepared showing the total number of arrivals and departures to and from the colony during 1879 and 1880. Up to the 31st iilt. the return is as follows: —During the year 1879 23,957 persons arrived, and 5,234 left, leaving 1 therefore the balance in favour of the colony of 1 7,723. During the year 1880 up to Sept. 10, 10,029 persons arrived and 4,740 left, and therefore the balance in favour of the colony is 5,289. The total Government immigrants in 1877 was 10,311, in 1880 (September only) 1,918. During the current year, 3,846 have arrived, from the Australian Colon ies,, and 3,765 left for Australia. This proves the stories of the ■wholesale immigration of the working classes mere canards. The Wellington Chronicle stated that 50,000 left the colony in a year. It was also alleged that 700 houses were vacant in Wellington alone, but careful official investigation proves there are only 256 empty i bnildings in the whole city, and most of ! these are of a very inferior class. j

Sporting men will regret to hear that Mr W. K. Carter's well-known trotting mare Miss Whiffler has been suffering from bad health, lately. Under the skilful treatment of Mr Allora, V.S., she is however gradually recovering-.

I At a meeting of the Managing i Committee on Thursday morning to carry j out the detail's of the banquet at the Public Hall, Cambridge to J. B. Whyfce Esqr., on the 7thinst it was decided that the tender of Mr E. Hewitt be accepted for the catering.

Hercules the thorough-bred entire is meeting with great success in the Wai-

kato his bone and sinew beintf evidently approrcd of by fhe settlpra in the district For hw-weekly round see advertisement.

We would draw attention to Mr Mow's now ad\ertisenient Mi Moses, who it i duett shipper fiom England, offi-is some r.we baig.uns m thuo\erv <3av lequirenii'iits n\ lite. flu* biothicn ot Nob. o. 17, and 2! , Lo\al Change Lodges, ,uo lequested b\ John Ivnox, Esq., Dcput} Grand Master, to attend the funeral ot liro. New all, W.M., at Ngaiuawahia, tomorrow, at 2 p.m. Town and suburban lots, rural sections, and farm sections of fi om 50 to joo arres ; aho, if not privately sold, the Homeste id t inn of the A\ onmore estate, Waitoa, are tor sale. Particulars may be. obtained trom Mv Aitken, Auckland; Captain Stcclu, Hamilton ; Mi Geoijje K. Clark, Cimbudge, and Mr Ihomas Rowe, Waihou. Messrs James Martin (Hamilton), Houffhton and Son (Cambridge), and Duffus and Dirk (Ie Awamutu), arc appointed agents in Waikato for the Singer sewing machine Messrs Hnnte; and Nolan announce that a special cattle train will lca\e Papakura on Tuesday to convey stock put chased on Monday at their Papakura Cattle Fair to Waikato. Mr Kennedy Hill, favoured with instructions: from A. Y. Macdonald, Escj , Railway Manager, uill sell by auction, at his mart, Hamilton, on Saturday nc\t, the house situated on the Point, Neraruawahia, and formerly used as the P. W. Oflue. I .Y. Fit/patrick, Esq., Land Affent, of Ngaruawahi.i, has for sale, with immediate possession, thu Knowles farm, Whatawhata,; a splendid property. Messrs Hunter and Nolan, instructed by Mr John Short, jun., who has sold his farm, will sell 1 on the farm, Orakau, near Kihikihi, on Monday wtek. Ocrohci 11, the whole ot that gentleman's li\o and dead stock, all of the best description, and entirely without reserve. 1 Mr George E. Clark, Land and Estate Agent of Duke-street, Cambridge, announces several very \aluable pioperties in the maiker.