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Waikato Times, Volume XLII, Issue 3390, 22 March 1894, Page 4

The farmers of Waikato are apt to' I grumble about/"))ad times," and if they-do' not* get ? muc'h { - as. they want for thejr stock; and farm produce, some of them not infrequently mention prices thejror their/»fathers) useclwget'for similar •■comhioSitieV in theyOid Country: years agOji'and that at a time when farming was considered these men could pay England a short visit now, they would certainly ehdbrs'eth'e colonial saying:'' Home was never like,this F'.fpr find, that farming lin as it may be—is a lucrative employ- 1 ment when compared with what it ieenout here for say 'lo*b'pso years can hard ly, believe that f arrni ng i in, EngNr,has,- ( " gone-itp ;the dogs/'.to anything like, the extent that it-has, unless they have rkep.t/ up ;cij.correspondence with farming friends left behind ,• when; they in which:; case vtheyo havej.nduubtless! listened to many a tale "of > woe. 1 the -' Contemporary '.Review '.for; I January^lhere^is, by,,, MrHarold E,.Moore,.alKentish farmer,.l ;the perusal of which-wouldUmakei 'our farmers more-contented with itnctsth'athavein the past mainly Ihas been decreasing, while the num'ber" agricultural* iabqurers^no

longer abfe to fine! full employment on the land, has-been increasing year by year. who had only small felt the effects of prices. They were ;|e|mjly; farming the fullest capital allowed, a larger area than t jto}ir;melms would justify if the land held by them was to be efficiently managed—a fault not unknown in theWaikato. Thus two or three unfavourable soasoiwat the present prices rendered them unable to farm longer. Among the tenants of older,}standing have beenUmany who, . in ; the days >•■ of agricultural prosperity, had made : much profit, and possessed a capital; frequently exceeding £'2o of £3O for each acre which 1 they'held! They ( have therefore beem able* to,istand forproe time against the losses of recent years. v^en; -thßir f of less capital'was ] no = longer'' able to farmithey wereable-totak'e over his responsibilitiesj'iri the hope that a better time would .come,,and that the addition to the farm soitaken over would not make iv- corresponding increase in the working expenses of the increased area. That better;time jnever has come. The result is that for the past two years areas upon which: these farmers, at one-time, possessing large have lost the whole of their money, are coming into possession of the landowners,'who can find noteriants able and willing to farm 'them. The owners in a great number of cases are endeavouring to keep land in cultivation, ;but when, as'under existingcoriditions, a return of interest on the capital js doubtful—even where there is no rent to pay—many of them are not able to find the necessary amount for ; the ; land, which f, thus j becoming absolutely idle" and ukproductive. I j In thei mea'ntiine I those. concerried ! with farming have endeavoured to I ■ lessen the' expenses as faras possible ! by reducinginthe / number of labourers. The agricultural • and 'census returns show that for the ( year 1892 !si'X'''';' ; -;acres ; i ;; !; ;o'ui' of every; ..thousand, jof lanct in' England remainedi.idle; and this fact <:; tends - to : show* that the capital''available for far-, ming possessed both* by'favmers and'? landowners,,, is; at ;; becoming exhausted. In every year since the first publication of'the.returns up to 1891, an increasing area has been shown under cultivation, the annual increase 50,000 acres/ ( ;|[hg|i2 for the first time there ;a stoppage in this increase, but an absolute reduction Vthe large'exient'of 208,000: 'acres. wJhgi i ( o r rthe ■ number^of those 'engaged on the land, the census re;turns: sliow' that ( 'the ; number of %ri'cnlt'ur'al 1 labourers l W England' and' Wales, which ..in I§7l was 980,054, and'.;, ..bad-further-. declined j m i) 18?l to/P,52Z. The inumber'of farmers!; in JB7l # was\ andjn 1891 it,ha<ffallen'to > jThus -aj;population, ok of 280,000 persons, almost equal to half the total population of our colony, f who with their families were? twenty years ago supported by wages and profits derived from work on the land in Ertgland,\must now be seek) ing a maintenance, in some other manner. ' If the lahil"directly supported' the same number; as in' 1871, then the diminished number of workers,Gpreviously,(named; (.wliich,- with' those dependent upon ' them, must exceed 1,000,000 persons, would now bo :: maintained by returns i from tlie. ■lahel in -place being driven to find], a livelihood from town trades. Had the. .farmers \of : England; last; year realised from the: land ;a ; value 1 equal to twenty years; ago, T their last"' 1 year's': income,' would, .M'fe, :probably 'oeeh'lii^.OOtiSOO 1 "to £00,000,0001 more than ;it • (actually was, and'almosttho whole of'this 1 sum woiild have been spent'for the benefit ; of trades and manufactures. Mr , Mooresays many and various remei. :dies have been suggested,, .which can i be d i vured" iri£6 J f biil ,f d ifferent classes, \\ya. } reductipn;.:of;i;ents; protection, •or some means of artifically raising ! the' price* of produce;'the growthfp!" ;new crops, arid "legislative''reforln? ; None ( of'{ -these) methods j find- imuch 'favour with the writer of the article ; ObuEP :the reduction, t of rents,.is,.of some ' lvalue, but when! the.returns from a 1 |fai , m.|do//npt ;: equal the expenses.byf )from)£2 to £3 per acrej-'whichis tlieo

case with some farmers'this year, it is obvious that a reduction of even 10s per -acre in- the annual charges will not he an adequate remedy." .He admits tliat .if by protection wheat was kept iifc 40s' per quarter—at some of the country, markets it is now 24s —with good cultivation and care the farmers might' expect, a small profit. The growth.of new crops he,had not found a success, .He had tried tobacco, flax; beet-root for sugar and fruit,'and .'the returns given by the last'' mentioned crop : will prove of interest to our Waikato orchardists, who are never content :wiih a less profit than Id per pound clear of ex j pehses,; or,weare.misinformed. Mr Moora had an exceptionally good crop—about nine tons—of greengages and damsons, which were sent to the London market,' The average price realised was. Is 5d for each half-sieve containing 281b. Before this fruit was'in the market the expenditure on each '2Blb. was 3d for picking, 3d railway,; charges, 'and M market charges. This gave a return for the fruit averaging ;7d for every 281b, exactly :, |d per lb, out 1 of which the cost of carting,to the,station and the incidental expenses, of cultivation had to be paid. The prico'ps the best obtainable, four salesmen having been tried in three, different markets. The only method of farniingthat MrMoore found profitable was dairying, and in his, article he gives some very interesting and instructive information as to /'the-' number of cows kept in the European Kingdoms, and the number of acres of land in cultivation in each, but 'the space -at ; our command will not admit of our treating this subject at the' length we could wish.