WHATAWHATA.

Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3486, 1 November 1894, Page 2

WHATAWHATA.

iiER. —-The father has-cpme;just in;time to >ave : tlie : 'earlier Bpwti;ctcps,f/;Suph; of jlipt; clear daysccmingdireotly'Vifter sKat'p, • -frosts had a,rao't iipou : .'jhe lieavy Faipu; ■andiin|rnahy^ ' • paddocks which were iwinter; the surface soil aiid ' cracked ; in /Summer drought' than,: early/ ; However,'; the recent rains will soften tfie land.and enable vegetation to. get ahead a 'bit; .In the ifaceof suoh uu unfavourable. season' it is a'atonishing how:well the ; ':grass grows!upon the township flat, and 1 this in spite of heavy stocking, though it is' becoming,smaller and smaller every year.: A large^number 'of'.- cattle I 'and horses are' generally : to be'-found about ihe township:run, and these'look as well, if; not'better, than maiiy'that are kept in enclosed paddocks! : Improvements; T Writing, of '.those townships lands, events have provedfche wisdom of throwing the small seotiohs into tidy,'sized block-V and selling . them at moderate prices.: Quite a number '.'.-. of comfortable homesteadsnow surround the,biisiness part of the townKhip, Messrs S. and J. Calder, KeinDthoi'iie', Charlston, • Iwerson, Limmer, : Orawfurd and Edgeouinbe have nice, mostlyfenced in; and improved, and' inispme in- ;.:: stances with comfortable buildings upon ; •' them. The latest of these settlers js Mr . '¥,. Storey, who occupies a nice block of : land near the school, and appemtohave :. 'spent ;a good, deal upon it; ttwe con/ trast: this bona fide progress in. land settlement with the old order of : things, \yhen these' lands',-, together, with large areas still nnoiiltivattd,' were lying an open run, and; : fast becoming a seed-bed i for the pfopogation. of "briars and all kinds of Iweetls, the spiuid policy of altering the size, and. also the price, of j the sections is readily. seen, It is only :|,■'•'; right to add that this laiuUsof,splendid ' : iquaiity, and close' to' a market both for, 'gefteral farm produce and for milk, '/This ■ is',:really the secret for successful land /settlement, Five or ten acres of good ;':■ land: in :■ the vicinity of a ImarkeVaud ;: civilization is better for- small settlers ' thau five :lfundred; if situated in; the ■ -out-of-the-Vity'places that are generally ■J,-. good deal.of discussion

has taken place among dairy men. in reference to the difficulty in getting the herd to come in at one time in the spring, the object being, of course, to prevent the cows coming in too soon—before the pastures give a good bite of grass—and the results of efforts in this diredtion have been anything but promising. I had an opportunity recently of inspecting some dairy cows belonging to MrChas, Limmer, that had calved in August. These cows with the herd, which altogether comprises some forty-five auimals, were fed on turnips during the' winter and were in fine condition when calving. A daily ration of ■hay was given after calving, and the result was that upon the first of September Mr Limmer had a good supply of milk for the Te Kowhai creamery and the calves were well advanced, jri fact, : finer calves could not be wished for. Mx Limmer, who certainly manages his, farm' in good style, ridicules the idea of trying to keep back the, early cows, but. meets the difficulty by preparing extra food supplies for those that will come in early> Something of this, kind; will have to be done by milk suppliers generally. It would tend towards having a better milk supply for the creameries in September, and would probably remove the trouble which was 1 so widely experienced- last season, that of getting the cows.in calf, and which is now, generally attributed to their being kept back in the early part of the season; ■ ' ■. ; ' •