THE TOKANUI MENTAL HOSPITAL ESTATE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XVIII, Issue 1, 20 January 1919, Page 34

THE TOKANUI MENTAL HOSPITAL ESTATE.

KING-COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT.

By

J. DRYSDALE,

Estate Manager

The Tokanui Mental Hospital Estate comprises about 5,000 acres, situated to the southward of Kihikihi, on the northern limit of the district that is still known as the King-country. The boundary of the property extends to the Puniu, the river that for many years was recognized as marking the division between the pakeha and the Maori. That division, however, no longer remains : large areas of the tribal lands have been acquired by the State, and the European settler has also secured through the Native Land Boards assured leases for lands that aggregate hundreds of thousands of acres. The district south of the Puniu embraces a territory that is being rapidly' developed. The settlers who are doing this are drawn from all parts of the Dominion, and if mistakes are to . be avoided many of the methods that are profitably practised elsewhere must be discarded here. The district already supplies an important addition to the production of the Dominion, and it is safe to say that the volume of its • output will immensely increase in the near ' future.

The general features of the district and of the Tokanui property are those of low hills, wide valleys, and swamps, some of the latter being of considerable extent. The hills are in the. greater proportion ploughable and suitable for cultivation. The open valleys are extensive, and the swamps easily drained and decidedly fertile. The natural vegetation is bracken-fern, manuka, and tutu (taupaki), with a proportion of flax (Phormium), toetoe, andkoromiko. Introduced shrubs are gorse and broom, and with these is a heath that forms a very conspicuous feature when in flower. It is said to have been brought’ from South Africa, and to have escaped , from confinement in the gardens of the earlier settlers of Pirongiathen known as Alexandra. There are but few native trees in the northern part of the King-country, and there are not any on the Tokanui property.

The soil .is popularly described as of a semi-volcanic nature. It varies from a loam to a clay of . comparatively open texture. Both the loam arid the clay contain pumice in very varying proportions. These soils—with which the farmer and grazier are concernedupon a rhyolitic formation which is in the form of rock of every degree of texture'and. appearance. Some of the rocks are soft, being

simply eld-together pumice, while others are almost - as hard as limestone' and at first sight not unlike that rock. In some places the rhyolitic rock is in the form of water-worn or weather-worn boulders. This is specially noticeable on the hill immediately above the road approaching the Hospital buildings, and it.' is interesting to note that the name Tokanui signifies large stones or rocks.

From the point of view of the farmer the soil would be described generally as being light and open, and easily worked. It is of a medium fertility, and is particularly responsive to the application of fertilizers, especially - phosphatic manures. Lime also exerts a very marked and beneficial effect, even so small a quantity as 5 cwt. per acre of carbonate of lime soon manifesting its presence.

The soil is particularly adapted to the production of' leguminous plants, the growth of red clover even at the first cultivation being phenomenal. The Waikato in the earlier days of settlement was famed for its red , clover, and that characteristic is being exemplified again in this new territory of the King-country. Root crops of turnips and swedes are the mainstay of the winter, but with the advent of certain diseases that affect these plants, especially the latter, farmers are giving more attention to the growing of mangolds.

Lucerne promises to become popular in the district. A small area of 4 acres sown on the Tokanui Estate in January of last year has given excellent resuits. A liberal quantity is being fed daily to the dairy herd of . fifty cows. This is cut in the morning with the mower and carted out in the evening. This area of 4 acres produces more than sufficient green feed for the herd, and the surplus is being converted into hay for winter use. While relying mainly on the pasture it is important for the dairy-farmer to supplement the pasture during the dry season with some green fodder, than which nothing is better than lucerne. ,

Cereals, such as wheat and oats, produce fair crops, but the soil is not of a sufficiently strong character to permit of the raising of grain crops becoming general. The ' river-flats of the Waipa and the Puniu are well adapted, for the purpose, but these lands are of limited extent. In grassland lies the future prosperity of the district, and it« is towards the establishment of productive pastures that the work of the Tokanui farm and that of settlers generally is mainly directed.

In preparing the land for grass it has been fully proved that useful pasturage cannot be secured by burning off alone. Some form of cultivation must precede the sowing of grass-seed. The method generally adopted is to cut the - natural vegetation and then burn off. There is then an alternative of ploughing, harrowing, &c., or diskharrowmg, followed by sowing the seed. This latter system (disking) has been very considerably adopted, as it does not involve the cost of clearing or grubbing out the heavier roots of manuka and tutu. Disking should immediately follow the burning, so as to obtain the best results from the valuable ash. With one to two hundredweight of manure per acre on. this burned and disked surface a useful and profitable pasturage will be provided for probably three years. Then the plough can be used without further cost, the roots during that time having decomposed. . '

It will be recognized that at an institution such as a mental hospital the provision of an ample supply of milk is essential. For this purpose, as already indicated, a herd of fifty cows is maintained at Tokanui. A number of these are registered Shorthorns, the sire being from imported stock. Naturally the farm also provides the inmates of the Hospital with potatoes, vegetables, fruit, &c. It is proposed in future contributions to deal with the growing of root crops and lucerne, dairying, &c.

* At ' the request of local settlers and certain public bodies in the Kingcountry it has been arranged to publish from time to time in the Journal accounts of farming operations on the Tokanui Mental - Hospital Estate. It is the aim of the authorities to develop this property systematically on the best lines, and the experience gained should thus be of considerable value to the district generally. . The present notes by Mr. Drysdale serve as an introduction to the proposed series.—Editor. ... .