Some Orchard Lands of To-morrow.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 13, 28 September 1910, Page 33

Some Orchard Lands of To-morrow.

Specially written for the “ Weekly Graphic" by Major Boyd-Wilson.

ROK the man who lives an outdoor life, who prefers the quiet delights of the country to the noise and bustle of cities, and who is withal a gardener at heart, there can be no pleasanter occupation than that of fruit culture. It is not an art that can be acquired in a day. and he who would be successful in his wooing of the Goddess Pomona must be content to serve a long apprenticeship in her service, ami to be diligent in performing all the ritual that is demanded from worshippers at her shrine. It is not sufficient to plant a tree, then fold one’s arms, sit down and say: “In due season there will be fruit.” More, much more than this is required. The land on which

the futme orchard is to be planted must be selected with the greatest care, the soil must be kept in a high state of cultivation. the trees must be carefully pruned, each variety according to its individual requirements; war must be relentlessly waged on pests, both insect and fungoid, by scientific spraying and syringing, and it may even be necessary for the grower to experiment in the vexed and difficult question of manuring before he can expect to see the trees in his orchard laden with the finest fruit they are capable of producing. Fruit-growing is an industry which bids fair to become of great importance to New Zealand in the near future, and in suitable districts the production of apples for export to the Home markets will af-

ford congenial and profitable occupation to an ever-increasing number of settlers. Many parts of the country are, of course, unsuitable for this pursuit on account of climatic conditions and the prevalence of high • winds, which have anything but a beneficient effect on the trees. Again,

all soils are not adapted, to the culture of apples, so it behoves the would-be fruitgrower to select carefully the land which is to be the site of his future orchard.

In the Nelson province it has been proved that there are large areas which are especially suited to the well-being of the apple. Thousands of acres of smiling orchards cover the landscape in the Waimea, Motueka and Riwaka districts, and as yet the industry is only in its infancy. Fresh orchards are being planted yearly, and many aspiring orehardists are on the look-out for suitable land on which to commence operations. Land in the vicinity of established and proved orchards has risen steadily in value until it Is prohibitive to the man of moderate capital, and it has become necessary to seek land further afield. Nearly all the river beds and terraces adjoining the Motueka river for at least thirty miles of its course are suitable for the production of fruit, and the same may foe said of its numerous tributaries; and it is beyond Spooner’s range, in the vicinity of Kohatu and Tapawera, that there lies large stretches of country which only want the hand of tho fruitgrower to turn them into apple orchards second to none in tha Dominion. Land can here to-day be bought for a tenth of the sum that is

asked and freely paid for orchard properties in the vicinity of .Stoke and Richmond, and it is equally adapted for tha growing of fruit. Moreover, it is almost equally well situated for getting the produce to market, for the railway line from Nelson -has now reached a long way up the Tadmor Valley, and there are railway stations at both Kohatu and Tapawera. A tributary of the Motueka is the Motupiko, and in the valley of the latter there are lands which have in front of them great possibilities for apple-growing for the export trade. The .Motupiko i«s a modej-ate-sizeil stream. Rising in the neighbourhood of Lake Rotoiti, iu the Spencer range, it flows in a northerly direction, and forms a tributary of the Motueka, joining the latter river on its left bank a little below the Kohatu station, on the NelsonTadmor line, where a road bridge carties the coach road to Reefton, across the combined rivers. One of the great attributes of thiri valley is tho almost complete shelter from boisterous winds which it enjoys, rhe land on the riverHats, if not equal to some of the richer lauds to be found la the Dominion, is

eminently suited for the culture of all fruits, and is similar to a great extent to that of the Waimea. It is a riversilt of varying depth deposited over a pebbly subsoil, and in many places, especially on the terraces, a clay intervenes between the silt and the pebbles. The stony -nature of the subsoil ensures ample natural drainage, while the silt is generally deep enougn to retain sufficient moisture to resist lengthened periods of dry weather. To-day there are thousands of acres in this valley depasturing sheep, and growing cereals, roots and potatoes, which, in a few years, will be turned into apple-bearing orchards realising four times the profit which is now derived from them. Already a few of the more progressive of the settlers are turning their attention to fruitgrowing, and here and there are to be found a few acres under apples. This year some thousands of young trees are being planted, but this is only the commencement. When it is found that these apple lands are reaping large profits, others will do likewise; a wave of immigration will flow into this district, and soon it will be studded with orchards, as even to-day the country around Stoke and Richmond is studded.

The climate leaves little to be desired;' as already mentioned, wind is conspicuous by its absence, and for the rest the climate is that of Nelson, only about five degrees colder. In winter there are sharp frosts at nights, and in the early mornings, alternating with cloudless, sunny days, broken at intervals by rain; and it is argued that apples grown in this colder climate will prove to be better keepers, and, therefore, more suitable for the export trade than those produced in a warmer clime. . The view looking up the river is superb. Bordered on either side by hills of about 300 ft. above the stream, the valley, which averages about two miles in width, winds in a southerly direction until the horizon is closed by the (in winter) snow-clad ranges of Alt. Spencer anil AIT. Robert. Here and there portions of native bush have escaped the axe and fire of the pioneer settler, and in most of the cleared paddocks are to be found noble trees of black and red biix-h, which roar -their stately heads high above the ground, and form a grateful shade from the heated rays of the noonday sun. The district has also its attraction for the sportsman. Red deer roam the hills, there is abundance of excellent quail shooting, and the rivers are full of trout. It is in this favoured district that in a few years’ time apple-growing for the export trade to Europe will find one of its most trusted strongholds.