THE BRUNTWOOD ESTATE. (By Cincinnatus)

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1355, 8 March 1881, Page 2

THE BRUNT WOOD ESTATE. (By Cincinnatus)

No visitor to the Waikato bent on inspecting the farming operations of the distiiot tthould go away without having taken a run thiough Tamahere, aud, going tliitlier, without looking at the five estate of the Messrs Douglas, to which they have given tho ouphonious name of Bruntwood. The piesent may not be a veryfavoruble time, but "nothing can be expected to presaut a vc.y bright appearance under the influence of the hot, dusty weather we arcnow onjnynm-,or ratnersutfering under. The estate which now consists of 1200 acres of Und, the whole of which except a gully or two, 13 fit -for the plough, has been. acquiied gradually. The nucleus was the farm of 600 or 700 acres, purchased from Mr Robert Kirkwood, in whose hands it had already gained somewhat of a name from the adaptability of its soil to tho growth of clover and! grass. The greater portion at the period of the sale was in a state ot nature, and only a temporary homestead had been established, though an excellent barn had been erected on the site of the present steading, and still remains. The rest of the estate was purchased partly from the Maoris and partly from Mr John Martyn, a section of whose, of 180 acres, lyiug on the Hautapu side of the Tamahere Creek, and comprising some of the best land in the district, is now an integral part of Bruntwood. The property is very compact, and is, enclosed by a substantial ring fence, chiefly of puriri posts .and wire. In all their fencing, tho proprietors seem to have been guided by the suiind maxim that a good fence is the cheapest, and that in nothing is parsimony (not economy) more disadvantageous^ exercised. A portion of the land, con. sistmg of light titreo swamp, has not yet been brought in, there being, however, plenty of rough feed upon it. Several hundred acres are also surface-sown, comprising most of the land which was laid down at first, and about 500 acres have been ploughed and sown down with clovera and grasses, and subdivided into convenient paddocks. The grass, without exception, has done remarkably well. In illustration of this, Mr J. A. Douglas told me that the 18'J-acre paddock (Martyns) has, since September last, kept 118 head grown cattle (nearly all steers), 70 sheep, and about a dozen horses. The rest of the stock on the estate consist of 100 head of breeding cattle, r kred Herefords or better, 10 other milch cows, 68 maiden heifers, 72 weaned calves, 20 horses, and about 1 2 )0 sheep. The Hereford herd are put to none but pure-bred Hereford bulls, of the Duke of Edinburgh straiD, bred by Messrs Maclean and Co. While therefore great care is exercised in tho breeding of oDttlo, it is to Bheep breeding that the Measra Douglas have principally turned their attention, and the result is that they are raising up a valuable flock of Lineolns, For some considerable time the breeding 01 sheep has been carefully attended to, but in October, 1879, the Measis Douglas became tho possessor-* of .1 stud flock of 51 pure-bred podegree ewo hogget", which the} r put chased. from Maclean and Co., at twenty guineas apiece. Tho sires and dams of these ewes were all shipped in the " Ardvar " by Mr Thomas Russell, by whom they were selected in Lincolnshire. On both sides they inherit the most fashionable blood in England, being by Kirkham, Howard, and Dividing rams, out of Needham, Diulding, Kirkham, Russell, G-arfitt, and Ghost ewes. They wore all lambed between July and September (inclusive) 1878. One of the hoggetts wa3 killed by a neighbour's dog, but her place has been fillcil by ti ewe which took the Ist prize at the Christchurch Show in 1879, bred by Messrs Sutton, of Southland. The number of the flock is thus still kept up to 51. Another of the ewes ( Howard - Dudding) had a fine lamb on the Ist of August last, by " Chimsby ;" the purebred imported ram winch Mr Douglas keeps exclusively for the stud flock. "Griinsby" is by "M.P." (by the 100guinea lam, since bought from Mr Kirkham by Mr Thomas Russell, and now owned by Maclean and Co.) out of a Biscathorpc ewe, bred by Mr J. Kirkham, of Cadeby Hall, near Griinsby, Lincolnshire. He was selected in England by Messrs Grant and Forstor, and bought in Auckland in Mr A. Buckhnd's sale, by the Messrs Douglas, for the sum of 76 guineas, the nett best ram fetching 55 guineas. "Grimsby" is the only ram used for the 51 pedigree ewes. For the old flock, they are using a ram bred by Messrs Sutton, of Southland, which took the first prizo as a ram hogget in tho Lincoln class at the Christchurch Show 1879, and to a selection of tho same flock they put a two-tooth ram bred by Messrs. Anderson, and bought at the last Agricultural Show in Auckland. All ewes not considered good enough for ram-breeding have been put to Southdown rams, to breed early lambss for killing. The weight of wool in the Sutton ram's fleece in 1879 was 22^1bs, and over 201bs last year. Grimsby' gave a better return than this from considerably less than a year's growth. While little doubt can exist as t» the value of an improved breed of sheep for wool, the want of a suitable market is a great bar in the way of producing well-bred mutton. Various remedies have boen proposed to remedy the present state ot matters, and perhaps out of so much pi inning and contriving some good will eventually arise. Let us hope so. In addition to a plentiful supply of feed for the stock, Bruntwood is well supplied with water, the Tamahere creek, which intersects the estate, affording a never - failing supply. The Messrs. Douglas have not as yet gone extensively into cropping. Littlo indeed in the way of white crops has been grown, excopt by way of experiment. A patch of ground sown in peas last spring gave a very fair yield, and there is every reason to believe that this cereal would prove a profitable crop. Its usefulness hardly needs dwelling on ; but as an adjunct to pig feeding its value cannot be too highly estimated. Of root crops the Messi'9. Douglas have grown a considerable quantity, hitherto with success. This year they have drilled in about 80 acres of Aberdeen turnips, the land having been ploughed once out of grass, and well harrowed, and manured with 2 cwt. of guano to the acre. Most of the crop is well advanced, and looks greeu and healthy. They have also drilled about ten acres ' of swedes. For this crop the land was ploughed twice and ridged. The fertiliser applied was Crans manure at the rate of 2 cwt. to the acre. One paddock was cut this year for rye grass hay, the stacking being accomplished with the aid of one of Holmes and Sons (Norwich) patent elevators, a most usuful machine on a farm, and a great saver of manual labour. By its aid the hay 1 can be lifted on to the highest stack, and the latter dan be built with a greater regard to symmetry and stability than by the old methods. This is only one of the many convenient implements which the Messrs ' Douglas possess. "It has been said over 'and over again 1 that the first sowing of grass will nbt'last many 1 years in ■Waikato; ■ but 1 while- it may ill general be true, it is not so in particular iQstances,in proof- f of which I, was .shown a paddock a'djomiiW , the , homestead, x the grass ',-ia %iiicn^ is^jbw'elye' 'years old, Saving beeii ,' one" 'oifcC tfie r ' "first pieces laid dowi* "by "Mr _ &irk v wo6cL , ', It has * always . -been Jiea^ily. stpcke'dj* liufc at' the' r t seaioiY'iuere^is an abundance of good feed on it, and it slws no

sign of giving out' yet. The situation of the residence and farmstead is very convenient, being almost in the centre of the estate, and adjoining the main Tamahere Road-. There are two barns or woolsheds, the largest of which lias been erected by the present proprietors, -with the necessary stabling, stock, and sheep-yards, with two neat little workmen's cottages close by. The residence of Mr- Douglas stands somewhat back from the road, and aw.iy from the yards, and fronted by a pleasant lawn and orchard, with flower jnrtcsrrcs. With boidering rows of sheltering pines, it presents at once a picture of comfort and beauty. Trees of all kinds, from the ornamental pinus insiguns and macroCtirpa, down to the useful, and at times no less pietty apple, pcav, plum, and peach treea, seem to do lemarkably well. In the garden -,va,s a sm ill patch of maize, winch has attained to a good bize, and promises a heavy yield. The older peach trees appear to ha,ve suffered from the common disease which lias settled upon their fellows in most parts of the district, in a lesser degree perhaps than many, owing to 'their liuvjng been well sheltered by pines. The yoanger trees, however, look healthy enough. In the lawn there are a number of bee-hives of different kinds, but Mr Douglas prefers the "Langstroth." Eveiy thing seemed badly in want of rain, and under the kind influence of showers the prospect, good as it really Avas, would have been greatly improved.