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of the farm. The building, which is a very fine structure, is intended to accommodate forty-five pupils, though there were forty-seven at the time of my visit, the reduction of the fees having increased the attendance. The fee, which was formerly £65 per year, is now £40. All the pupils have separate bedrooms and all other necessary conveniences. The College is also well furnished with lecture-rooms, laboratories, &c. The farming implements are of a very complete character, and include Wolseley shearing-machines, dairying mechanism of the most modern kinds, and all other apparatus necessary for giving the students a good general idea of the farming industry in all its branches. About twenty cows are kept, and a good deal of sheep-grazing is done. The land is of the best class, and grows heavy crops of cereals and green fodder, such as English grasses and clover, as well as turnips and other root crops. The area of the land is 660 acres, and it is" subdivided into a number of small paddocks, every one of which has running water passing alongside it, either from springs or from the local water-races. The establishment is under the charge of Mr. W. E. Ivey, who appears to have special capacity for the position he holds. Mr. Ivey showed me all over the farm, and explained the operations conducted there.; Westland District. I next visited the Westland District, which adjoins Canterbury and skirts the West Coast of New Zealand. The first thirty-eight miles of the journey from Christchurch is done by railway, the present terminus of the line being Springfield. For the greater part of this distance the train traverses the great Canterbury Plain, which showed signs of the drought that has affected it this year—a season which was reputed to be the driest known since the settlement of this part of the colony. All the way through the Land Districts of Canterbury and Westland the track crosses and recrosses a numerous succession of rivers and mountains. The scenery, which is of a most beautiful and diversified character, includes the famous Otira Gorge. Opportunities were given during this trip (154 miles) for observing the hydraulic gold-mining operations at Kumara and adjacent places in the Hokitika district. The country near the West Coast is generally densely covered with bush. The soil is very poor, and quite unsuited for agricultural purposes upon any scale worth mentioning. In addition to the poorness of the land, the rainfall is exceedingly heavy, averaging more than 112 inches. At Hokitika is stationed Mr. G. Mueller, Commissioner of Crown Lands for Westland. That gentleman supplied much interesting information tin reference to the working of the land-laws. In his company I was driven by Mr. John Marks to Kanieri, which is closely adjacent to Hokitika, and has attracted attention as one of the centres of gold-dredging operations. Thence we proceeded to Kokatahi, about twelve miles from Hokitika, having during this short journey to cross and recross many streams, swollen by the melting of the snow upon the mountains which surround this spot on all sides but the coast. The object in visiting Kokatahi was to inspect a settlement occupied by eight holders of Crown grants given under clauses made specially applicable to Westland District in the Act of 1885. The system is that of the homesteads already referred to, under which a free grant of land is given without any payment except the cost of the survey. The area dealt with under these conditions varies according to locality. In Westland a person eighteen years of age or more may select 50 acres, and a person less than eighteen may select 20 acres ; but the total area available by any one family or number of persons occupying one household must not exceed 200 acres. Five years' residence is compulsory, and at the end of that time a free grant is given on condition that within eighteen months the selector shall erect a permanent dwelling-house, and that he shall each year bring under cultivation one-fifteenth of the area if it be open land and one-twenty-fifth if bush-land. After inspecting the holdings I questioned some of the occupiers, who assured me that, even though the land is given to them, it would be impossible to make a living upon it without some capital. The clearing is heavy, and the excessive humidity of the climate practically limits the operations to grazing and dairying, as cereals will not ripen here, though on some of the sections a little is done in growing apples and other hard fruits. By great industry the holders, the chief of whom has been eight years on his land, appear to be just making a living. Whilst in this district I obtained information concerning a noted experiment with a village settlement at Jackson's Bay, about fourteen years ago—an experiment which shows the necessity for fostering rather than forcing a system of occupation in small holdings. A number of foreigners and other persons not specially adapted for the work were conveyed to Jackson's Bay, near the mouth of the Arawata River, at the southern end of Westland. They were placed upon blocks of land, varying from 10 to 70 acres, and were charged nominal rents. As they had no money, the Government built houses for them at a cost of about £25 each, relying for repayment upon the wages which the men were enabled to earn upon public works that had to be started to support them. The settlement was in a place which offered no outlet for the produce that might be grown, as there was no population engaged in connection with other industries, and most of the settlers had no previous training in the cultivation of the soil. The experiment was a costly failure, and it should not be without its instructive lessons. From Hokitika we proceeded by way of Kumara to Greymouth, our course lying chiefly through mineral and flax-covered country close to the sea. The population is principally supported by mining. At Brunnerton (eight miles from Gre)anouth) we were conducted over the property of the Grey Valley Coal-mining Company, by the Mayor of Greymouth (Mr. Matheson) and the manager of the company (Mr. Bishop). The operations of the company are at present limited to one part of their property. The men are working upon a seam varying in thickness from 12ft. to 16ft., and the output amounts to about 700 tons of coal a day. The company are endeavouring to open up a trade to Port Pirie in coke, and it is expected that this will assume considerable dimensions. Greymouth district is distinctly a mineral country, and, apart from a little working of flax, little is done in other industries. The cattle and sheep used for food are imported principally from Wanganui, in the North Island. Nelson District. From Greymouth we went by sea to Nelson (215 miles), where I had an interview (in the absence of Mr. Greenfield, the Commissioner of Crown Lands) with Mr. J. T. Catley, the Receiver of Land Revenue, who gave some particulars about land settlement in his district. A number of settlers are prospering on small holdings, under a system having only a local application, but they