PROGRESSIVE WAIKATO

Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15852, 24 November 1923, Page 6

PROGRESSIVE WAIKATO

Motumaoho railway station is situated on the Auckland-Rotorua-Thames line. It is 13 miles from Hamilton and four miles from Morrinsville Junction. The main road from Thames, Te Aroha and Morrinsville to Hamilton runs through the district, the factory being one and a half miles from the Motumaoho railway station, 17 by road from Hamilton, and about five miles from Morrinsville. Motumaoho is bounded by the Kirikiriroa Road Board's district, and the confiscation line from Cambridge to Taupiri, on the Hamilton side, and the hills between Kiwitahi and down to the Tauhei boundary on the Morrinsville side. Motumaoho’s Early History.

Originally Motumaoho consisted of two large properties named Norfolk Downs and the Kuranui Estate, together with a considerable portion of swamp. It was sheep country, and even to-day fescue grass causes certain farmers some inconvenience. The Norfolk Downs country was owned by a syndicate, and it was about the year 1911 when it was cut up into farms consisting of 80 to 400 acres. What is termed the old homestead block is still in existence. This is grazing land of a gentle undulating nature, carrying 900 sheep and 200 head of cattle. In the early days it is said that the Kuranui Estate was a much better proposition from a dairy-, ing point of view. So recently as eight years ago tbc swamp on the Hamilton side of the railway line could not be penetrated for more than five ; chains. Since then, however, it has , been coining in very quickly, and it is ’ one of the best, paying propositions in the district to-day.” Between eight aad nine years ago the school had an attendance of about a dozen. When the writer called in during the week there were 70 pupils on the roll. This , alone gives some indication of the progress the district has made. That Awful Main Road. Pen cannot adequately describe the conditions of the main Morrinsville- I Hamilton road at the factory and for a few miles further on. The side roads are footpaths in comparison. It is in an awful slate and is one of the worst, if not the worst road in the whole of the Waikato. And that is saying a great deal. As a matter of fact, it isn’t a road at all. It is a series of lumps and Doles, in some eases feet deep. It puts one in mind of a tr\ck across undeveloped country. The only road to compare with that portion of it is the one leading through the returned soldiers’ settlement at Mangateparu, a description of which appeared in these columns last Wednesday. It is hoped to have the Motumaoho road in order by next winter. Well, if it isn’t, there will be no road at all; and that’s all about it. Insufficient money and hard heavy traffic was the explanation given when the cause of the state of the road was sought. And this brings up the question of the toll-gate system. Can Matters Be Rectified? Can this matter be rectified so as to give satisfaction to all concerned? The Motumaoho road is, in every sense of the word, a main road. Tharefore the settlers are not the only people who use it. Under these circumstances why should they he compelled to keep the road in order by paying heavy rates and taxes to the Piako County Council? It is not suggested that they should not pay : something towards the upkeep. But | should not other users—motorists, for instance —he made to take a share in keeping the road, or that portion of it at least, in good order? It is a somewhat difficult question to solve, and so far the only method by which outside revenue could he obtained would be by the erection of tollgates. Of course there would he the usual cry of goins back to the days of barbarism, etc. But what about Taranaki? Look what the tollgate system has done for the roads there. It is safe, and a pleasure, to ride, or drive on them. One is not in fear and trembling that you are going to he pitched out of the car, or cart, or off your horse, at any moment. Judging by remarks passed at various Automobile Association meetings held throughout New Zealand, motorists desire good roads and are not disinclined to pay for them. Here is a good chance for them to make a start. Of course the argument might he put up, “Give us the road first and we will pay then.” It takes a lot of money to make a road, such as that at Motumaoho, in a satisfactory state. If the arrival of the road grader is any criterion, then it can be assumed that a start to repair the damage is contemplated. The grader arrived at the factory on Tuesday last. Millions of Lbs of .Milk. Great has been the progress of .Motumaoho’s cheese factory since it

MOTUMAOHO’S GREAT PROOUCTIOH THE HINTERLAND OF HAMILTON. SOME STARTLING FACTS AND FIGURES. (By Our Special Commissioner No. 6. Motumaoho is one of t,ho greatest producing districts In the frcai South Auckland province, it is a “young” country, and even to-day, great, and all as It is, it is not producing half what it can, and will, later do. Its story of development savours of a romantic talc, so wonderful has it been. Men seem to be contented 'here and women, too. They see something tangible for their labours. It must not he thought that it is a case of sitting back and waiting till the 20Ui of the month comes along with the cheque. People have to work hard In the Motumaoho district. But it seems to be ■such exceptionally fine producing country that har’d work becomes a pleasure- Even men who went, in quite recently are satisfied to stay, and thos»; who have been In occupation of itheir farms for some time arc also content to remain. Here can be found settlers who arc prepared to talk frankly about their land, their herds, and their achievements. They are proud of them, and rightly so. The farmers own their own cheese factory, the output last season being equal to 450 tons of ijiieese. Phenomenal increases have been the order each successive year, a riel as our Americans cousins would say, it’s “some factory." And these enterprising and industrious farmers have their own herd-tenting association as well —an institution worthy and deserving of support because of the good work it is doing. A farmer knows at once how his herd is doing from day to day, and from which cows to breed. The children attending the Motumwho School are. bright, cheerful and intelligent, reflecting these outstanding qualities in their parents. Generally speaking, the roads arc good—that is in comparison to others In the Waikato, but there is an exception. It is a stretch from the factory on towards Hamilton —“it’s simply awful." Sheep do well on part of the Motumaoho country, and more will he told about this particular aspect later. "The swamp” Is one of the problems of the Waikato, and surely something can he done with it, the same as is being accomplished with the Piako, the ißangaftiki and others. The Motumaoho swamp on the Hamilton side of the railway is excellent producing land. It is claimed for the other side of the line that it could be made just as good. Drainage has been carried out to a certain extent and trials made for improvements with, it is said, good results. In a later article, the pros and cons of the Motumaoho swamp will he dealt with. Prom enquiries made and opinions expressed, those who should know say that with "closer settlement” and more top-dressing and cultivation, which the land at the Motumaoho can easily stand, it Is capable of giving 50 per cent, more production than it does to-dav. It can be made to pay handsomely. Even during the few years it has been “brought in" this state of affairs has been manifest.

The original factory was owned by Goodfellow, Ltd., and a year and a half after it was erected it was purchased by the farmers as a going concern. Since then there has been no looking backwards. In order to cope with the increased production the directors and shareholders have decided to build another factory in which will be installed new and up-to-date machinery, together with eight vats. Provision will also be made to increase this number to 10 provided the extra ones are needed. And if things go on as they have done in the past the whole ten vats will be needed very soon.

was built in 1912. In this district the average is a beast to two and a half acres. There are 55 settlers on the rural delivery, of which 43 supply the factory—practically all in the area. The average amount of milk delivered daily at present is 4500 gallons, or 45,0001 b weight. Two and a quarter tons of cheese are being manufactured every 24 hours. The “flush" of the season has just about arrived and it is considered that the factory is working at the peak. In order to cope with the enormous supply of milk, two shifts—night and day —have to be worked, as there are only four vats for cheese-making. In eight years the output has risen from 80 to 450 tons, and it is confidently expected that the 500 mark will be reached this season, especially if the autumn proves to be a good one. The average butterfat from the whole of the herds of supply last year was 2501 b per cow. This season’s payment has been based on 2461 b of butterfat per oow—an exceptionally good figure. Quoting balance-sheets (kindly supplied by Mr A. Meharry, the manager),' some startling facts and figures are worth recording. During the year ending June 30, 1918, the milk received weighed 4,302,9971 b, and the amount of cheese manufactured was 191 tons. The next year 4,880,2731 b of milk was received, an increase over the previous season of 577,2761 b. The year ending June 30, 1920, saw a great increase of 1,114,5131 b, while in the 1922 season a total of 9,149,3601 b of milk was brought to the factory, the enormous expansion in weight being 2,097,2971 b. The average butterfat for that particular season was 3.88 per cent, and amounted to 358,5991 b. Last season 9,542,1531 b of milk produced 384,9321 b of butterfat, which averaged 4.03 per cent. These figures speak for themselves. New Factory to be Built.

A new freezing plant has been installed. It is capable of making two tons of ice every 24 hours, and a trial run was made on Tuesday last. This machine is a real good investment, as the following will show. In warm weather and when it is not kept cool, cheese depreciates from 1 to 1* per cent in weight. Roughly cheese, last year’s output, brought from £BO to £9O per ton. The Motumaoho factory’s 450 tons of cheese would realise at least £36,000. Of that figure (taking one per cent of loss), at least £360 worth of cheese would be wasted. It is contended, and has been proved in some instances, that the freezer will save that amount. As the whole plant did not take as much money to instal, it can readily he seen that it will more than pay for itself this season. Electric Light Just On. Motumaoho had its first electric light on Friday of last week, and its first electric power last Tuesday. And this honour was conferred on the factory. Prior to that all the nightwork had to be done in lamp-light—a very poor substitute in a factory. The men always work in hare feet, on account of having to keep the floors practically flooded with water) so that perfect cleanliness can be maintained. There was always something lying about which could not he seen very well in semi-darkness—result, badly harked shins and sore toes. To-day —or to-night rather—all is changed. If it is a pleasure to work at night, well it must lie so in comparison to what it used to he, now the electric light is flooding the building. The greater part of the Motumaoho district has been reticulated and the work of erecting poles is still proceeding. The wires have been led up to houses and cow-sheds, hut the whole job lias not been completed as yet. i Farmers will not have much longer to wait, however, and it is reasonable to suppose that everything will ho in order in a very lit tie while. Norfolk Herd Testing Association. Most of the Motumaoho suppliers are members of that necessary institution, the Norfolk Herd Testing AssoI ciation. It is now in its third year I of' operation, and the original system of herd testing has been adopted. In the district under review 35 bccd§

with over 1600 cows are being tested. Tests are also carried out In the Tauhei, Tirau and Waitoa districts. Oa account of the bad winter, combined with the late spring, the cows have not been testing as well as they would have done under more favourable conditions. But quality will come out with good care and feeding. The Motumaoho branch is in charge of Mr A. Tosh, who gave the writer the following interesting information. The best herd for the month of October was one consisting of 27 cows, including 10 2-year-old heifers. The average test was 5.06, and the average butterfat yield was 44.12, the best cow giving 66.27 and the worst of the herd 24.4. Up till Tuesday last the best herd for November so far was one of 18 cows. They averaged 4.7 with 45.52 of butterfat. The highest yield in this particular herd was 61-2 and the lowest 17:32. For the four periods up to November 30 it is anticipated that quite a number of cows will do over 2001 b of butterfat. Some good performances to date are for 127 days, 2451 b; 105 days, 2221 b; 123 days, 2131 b; 134 days up to 2251 b. Judging on these figures the cows specified should not fail to return over 5001 b of butterfat per cow for the season. By this method farmers are enabled to see and know from which cows to breed, and they intend to increase their herds in this manner. It is said that 60 per cent of what a cow eats goes to feed her and 40 per cent is turned into milk. It stands to reason, therefore, it is not a good policy to keep poor cows. It would be a much better proposition for the farmer to pay a good price for a cow with a good test than to purchase say three for the price of one. One cow of such * a nature is less trouble, gives as much * butterfat, and eats a less quantity of grass than the three of an inferior nature. So which is the better proposition? Enough said. The results of testing and breeding in the Motumaoho district are shown by Mr id W. F. Stark, with eleven 2-year-old heifers from tested cows, which gave an average of 35.641 b of butterfat for the month of September, with a test of 4.95.

These results speak for themselves and show that the farmers of Motumaoho are out for improvement every time. And they are on the right track.

It Pays to Cultivate. That it pays to cultivate is shown beyond all question from returns received on the 20th of this month by one of the Motumaoho farmers. The writer met this particular man riding along the road, and naturally the conversation 'turned on the land and Motumaoho land in particular. This settler owns some swamp land on the Hamilton side of the railway line. He has swamp-harrowed it and top-dress-ed “every inch" of his place with 2i to 3 cwt of manure (super) to the acre. The result is that he has some splendid feed. He is a firm believer in “pumping" manure into his land, and he gave instances where lie had proved beyond all doubt that bis contention is correct. So convinced is he that it pays to top-dress heavily, that he intends to try an experiment with a ton of manure to the acre. He reckons the country can stand it, and he also is convinced that the land can be made to produce three and four times its present output. It is his intention also to make his own country carry a beast to the acre instead of one to an acre and threequarters as it does now. And it can easily be done, he says. Of course it will take capital, but he expects a return of it all next season or the one following. “It is a good, sound, solid, safe and capital investment.” Last month this man’s cheque for one month from 300 acres of Motumaoho land amounted to £6OO. In the words of another song writer, “Would you believe it?” The writer saw the statement of accounts together with the cheques concerning them. It’s the truth. (To be continued on Nov-ember 28.}