We took the steamer from Wellington and went down the coast by water to Dunedin, a distance of about 300 miles, the time occupied being two days, calling at Lyttelton, about halfway on the road.

The provinces of Otago and Southland form the southern part of the South Island of New Zealand, the River Waitaki being the northern boundary.

The coast climate of these provinces is colder and wetter than that of the North Island, and more adapted to persons of robust health than those with any weakness of constitution; but the interior valleys, although liable to sharp frosts in winter, are hotter than the coast lands in summer. Along the coast the prevailing winds in winter are West and South-West, and are cold and accompanied by rain; but inland, at a distance of 20 and 25 miles, these winds lose their strength, the rainfall is much less, the sun much stronger, the air dry, bracing, and exhilarating, and it is doubtful if a more healthy climate could anywhere be found.

A considerable portion of this part of New Zealand is mountainous in the extreme. The backbone of New Zealand, the Southern Alps, branches out as it were when it crosses the border of Canterbury, and what in that province is little more than a single mountain ridge, breaks up into range after range, Pelion piling itself on Ossa, until you reach the West Coast, where the mountain glens, grooved out by the action of mighty glaciers, make fiords and inlets equal in magnificence to any of which Norway can boast; where line-of-battle ships could sail up deep lochs, landlocked amidst giant mountains, in waters disturbed only by the roar of the waterfall or the crumbling avalanche.

But it is not amid scenes such as these that the peaceful agriculturist can most profitably pursue his calling. The time will, doubtless, come, and we see no reason why it should be remote, when every mountain glen will have its hamlet, and rear a race, it is to be hoped, as bold and virtuous, and as devoted to their country, as mountaineers mostly are.

Distance is almost annihilated by steam. The freezing process enables all perishable products of the farm and dairy to be as conveniently removed from New Zealand as from the Continent, and there is no reason why any body of tenants of, may be, some too grasping landlord, should not leave him to tend his own cattle, nerd his own sheep, and transfer themselves in a body to some mountain glen in Otago or Southland, and go right on with their operations after a three months' break, and never feel that they were transplanted. That is the manly way to strike, not with Winchester rifle and dynamite. Here is room for another Switzerland, and another Tyrol. They could jödel as merrily, and sing their ranz des vaches as cheerily at the foot of a glacier in New Zealand as in their native land. The valleys catch the sun in summer, and hold it in Otago as they do in Central Europe; and fruits that only drag out an existence along the coast flourish in the interior. Peaches, apricots, walnuts, and vines all do well.

Some few years ago there was a project to run a railroad up into the interior of Otago. The subject is still being agitated; but New Zealand went so heavily into debt for building railroads along its more easily accessible valleys that it was not deemed prudent to go further until there was more settlement along the lines already built, and they had arrived at a stage when they would pay a larger interest on the cost of their construction. A Commission was appointed to examine and report on the area and value of the lands that would be beneficially affected by such a railway. They reported as follows, and the names attached to the report are those of men of undoubted integrity:—

"A general view of the importance of the line may be realised from the following facts:—It would start from the Main Southern Trunk Line, only seven miles south from Dunedin, thus having at one terminus a population of 45,000. The district to be traversed contains at present a number of industrial centres. There are 23 post offices, I0 branch Banks, and 25 schools, having 36 teachers, and 1,503 scholars. A Resident Magistrate's Court is held at eleven different localities. Three newspapers are published locally.

"First, as to its agricultural and pastoral interests. There are 39 pastoral runs, with 1,131,666 sheep, the annual revenue from which may be estimated at £281,458. Mr. John Roberts (of Messrs. Murray, Roberts & Co.), Chairman of the Taieri County Council, in his evidence before a Parliamentary' Committee, estimated the return of wool to be 20,000 bales, or about 2,500 tons. The extent of agricultural land is not less than 550,000 acres. There are two millions of acres of pastoral land, capable of carrying a much larger stock of sheep than at present. As the leases of the large runs fall in, and the lands are sub-divided into smaller areas, so as to be occupied separately, or by the owners of adjoining agricultural farms, and worked together with the improved low lands, it is page 29 calculated that the carrying capacities of the country will be largely increased, and a yearly revenue from flocks will accrue of the value of half-a-million sterling, and a tonnage for export of 5,000 tons, exclusive of fat stock. The various settlers examined spoke without exception of the remarkable fertility of the soil, and concurred in stating that from 30 to 50 bushels per acre of good wheat have been obtained, and from 35 to 70 bushels of oats. Turnips and other root crops thrive excellently. Such is the superiority of the climate for the growth of cereals, that places situated at an altitude at which grain would not grow in Britain were found to yield productively. Wheat was shown to us at Naseby of good quality, which had been grown at a height above the sea of 2,000 feet. Mr. Roberts states in his evidence in relation to the high land in the Hindon and Silverpeak districts: 'Good crops are grown 1,500 feet above the sea; oats and magnificent turnips. 'The height of Strath Taieri Plain at its lowest point is about 625 feet above the sea.

Oat Harvest in Southland.

"In addition to its agricultural capabilities, the district can produce fruit and vegetables of all kinds of surpassing quality, the consumption of which is at present limited to the immediate vicinity. Near Clyde we saw vines growing in the open air loaded with grapes, which were ripe and well-flavoured, some of the bunches weighing 3lbs. each. Peaches, plums, apples, pears, nectarines, strawberries, and other fruits, were all growing in profusion, of large size and excellent quality.

,'It is an important fact to be taken into account in considering the extent of the agricultural resources, that, with the exception of the small area specified as already alienated, the whole of the land in the district is still in the hands of the Crown.

"From Hindon onwards to its terminus at Lake Wanaka, the line proceeds through a chain of agricultural plains, ancient lake basins, the soil of which appeared to be well adapted for the growth of cereals and root crops. Its character is fine alluvial silt, easily worked, and showing capability of raising crops of good quality, and of a high average. These plains are surrounded by hills, from which numberless perennial streamlets flow, affording an easy and unfailing means of irrigation, should it be found necessary in very dry seasons.

"The Strath Taieri Plain commences 34 miles from Dunedin. It is 20 miles in length and contains 37,000 acres arable, of which 18,172 have been already sold. The total area of the plain and adjoining tableland, capable of being classed as agricultural land, is 97,250 acres, of which 56,550 have been sold. Gladbrook, at the lower end of the valley, is noted for the excellence of its fat stock.

"The Maniototo Plain contains 150,000 acres of arable land, of which only 31,236 have been sold by the Crown. We examined settlers from the Eweburn and Sow burn Blocks, and from the Kyeburn Hundred. A settler on the Kyeburn Hundred who had broken up 300 acres described the land as specially adapted for root crops. In the Eweburn and Sowburn Blocks witnesses stated that their averages were—wheat, 40 bushels to page 30 the acre; oats, from 40 to 65 bushels; barley, 25 bushels. Peas had been tried in several instances with the result of excellent crops, the produce being used for feeding pigs. All the settlers concurred in the opinion that there was urgent necessity for improved communication, which would lead to the land being profitably occupied and production largely increased.

"The Ida Valley contains upwards of 60,000 acres adapted for agricultural settlement. It is about 20 miles in length, by between five and eight miles in width. Several blocks of land have been recently opened for settlement. In the lower part of the valley, at Poolburn and Tiger Hill, 5,000 acres have been taken up, and in the upper end 2,377 acres. We found that good averages of cereals prevailed equally here. One settler (Mr. McIntosh) said: 'We can't get any sale for our produce. We have all last year's oats here yet, and we can't sell them. That is how we are placed, and why we want a railway.' Another said he would be prepared to increase the extent of his farm and cultivation if there were the means of sending away his produce. He had had 1,100 bushels of wheat of good quality from 45 acres last year.

"The Manuherikia Valley is an extensive plain, containing a large amount of valuable land. It is estimated that the agricultural area is not less than 160,000 acres; of this 30,000 acres have been surveyed, and nearly one-half of the surveyed land has been sold. A great deal of land of superior quality is yet to be surveyed. One farm of 1,250 acres, of which there are 280 under cultivation, was an excellent sample of the rolling downs at the upper end of the plain. Wheat gave 30 bushels to the acre, and oats 30. But in this instance it was the excellence of the root crops which specially attracted our attention. The crops of turnips, beet, and carrots sown on the first furrow were most remarkable. At the lower part of the plain there are 30 settlers in the Spottis Hundred. One farm, containing 500 acres, is nearly all broken up, and there are about 170 acres of English grass. Butter and cheese-mating have been undertaken here, but beyond supplying the local demand, there is no encouragement at present to extend the manufacture. The grain export may be estimated at 30,000 tons annually.

'On the Earnscleugh Station, near Clyde, thee is a moderate extent of agricultural land, on which good crops of wheat and oats were grown this season. The Bald Hill Flat has been nearly all taken up and cultivated. The valley of the [unclear: Clitha] narrows to a gorge between Clyde and Cromwell; but there are numerous fertile patches where orchard-growing could be carried on profitably At Cromwell the valley opens out into a wide plain stretching 30 miles, as far north as the Lakes. The area of agricultural land is not less than 150,000 acres, of which 20,000 acres have been alienated. The Hawea, Tarras, and Wanaka blocks are all of good quality. In the Mount Barker block the average yield of wheat was 35 bushels per acre, and in some places the yield of oats was 70 bushels. On the Hawea side of the Clutha several settlers were examined. They concurred in the estimate that there were above 100,000 acres between the Hawea and the Lindis, on their side of the river, all suitable for cultivation. The average yield of wheat was said to be 40 bushels to the acre, and oats 35 bushels. In the words of one of the witnesses, sown grass 'grows splendid.'

"Within the influence of the terminus at the Lakes, there are several important valleys on which a large population might be settled. The Matukituki Valley, opening to Lake Wanaka, contains an area of 14,000 acres arable, of a quality little inferior to that of the celebrated Taieri Plain, Motatapu Valley, 1,000 acres; the Makarora Valley, 10,000 acres; and the Forks, 4,000 acres.

The railway is not yet built, but even without a railroad pastoral pursuits can be very much extended, and as for agricultural pursuits and dairying, as we shall shortly show, there is plenty of room for extension in other directions in Otago and Southland that are already amply provided with means of transportation.

Dunedin lies at the head of a bay which has been deepened so as to allow deep-water vessels to come right up to the town. It is a compact little city of some 45,000 inhabitants, nestling at the foot of the hills overlooking the bay. It was founded as a Presbyterian settlement in 1848, and for a dozen years afterwards maintained a simplicity and austerity of morals that were worthy of the country whence the settlers came. Their almost Puritanic virtue was somewhat rudely interrupted in the early sixties by the discovery of gold, which brought to their shores that heterogeneous horde that always accompanies a gold rush, the arrival of which almost startled the little community out of its propriety. The restless energy of the new arrivals gave an impetus to the little city, which for a long time carried it ahead of its rivals on the coast. The Union Steamship Company, well-known as possessing the finest fleet in the Australian waters, was originated, and developed into its present flourishing condition here. After the gold became exhausted, Dunedin was first in the field with its refrigerating works, and with its accustomed energy is in nowise behind with development of its dairy and cheese factories.

A few words as to the difficulties the early pioneers had to face may not be out of place here. The first settlers arrived in the ships "Philip Laing" and "John Wickliffe," on the 23rd March, 1848. One of them writing some time afterwards, says:—

"The prospects were not very cheering to those harbingers of the present community, and doubtless the hearts of many failed them while sailing up the harbour, on seeing on both sides steep hills, densely wooded to their summits, without a patch of open land, except the barren sands of the Maori settlement. The discomfort of being conveyed in open boats along with their household effects, from Port Chalmers, and being landed on the shores of Dunedin, its surface an entanglement of scrub and flax, without a roof to cover or protect them, or a known face to welcome them, and the dread uncertainty as to how or where provisions were to be got until they could grow their own, the time of their arrival being near the beginning of winter, must all have tended to damp their enthusiasm.

"The pioneers of the settlement were neither daunted [unclear: uor] discouraged by their difficulties. Bracing themselves to suffer hardships, to endure fatigue, to do their duty, they did it nobly and well—a fact attested by the solid foundation on which the institutions of the province rest, the character the settlers have gained, and the success which has attended their efforts. At the close of the first year of the settlement, 1848, the population consisted of 745 persons. "

Of such stuff were the pioneers of Otago made. Compared to what these settlers had to undergo, emigration is a holiday pastime; the difficulties are all overcome. There is comparatively nothing to do but enter into the land and possess it. No tedious voyage of a sailing ship, but first-class steamers to land you with the regularity of a railway train. For a roof, as good hotels, perhaps not as large, but as comfortable as any in the world, and railways north, south, east, and west, to carry you wherever you want to go. In spite of croakers, we will not believe that the manly spirit of self-reliance exhibited by the men who founded Otago is extinct in the British races, but that it is the want of information as to what this colony really is, which prevents many of them from travelling the road so nobly made. That we are here to supply, impugn it whoso list.

From Dunedin, the train winds along the coast-line south, at a distance of about 15 or 20 miles from the sea, through settled farming country, for 50 miles, to Balclutha, whence it strikes inland and west into the plains of Southland.

Leaving Caversham, a populous suburb of Dunedin, it enters a tunnel and drops into the little valley called Green Island, where there are coal mines, a soap factory, a couple of flour mills, fellmongery and iron rolling mills; then rising over a spur of Saddle Hill, a well-known and prominent land mark from the sea, the level and fertile valley of the Taieri plain opens out (a plain may be ten or a dozen miles long by six or seven wide). It is full of rich pastures and cornland. Substantial homesteads snugly ensconced in well-grown plantations; here and there a church and schoolhouse, well-trimmed hedges and well-fed beasts attest the comfort, sobriety, and prosperity of the settlers. This valley was one of the earliest settlements in the history of Otago, and its culti- page 32 vation being undertaken by an earnest, sober, God-fearing race of men, bent not so much upon acquiring riches, as upon making homes for themselves, the result has been as it generally is in such a case, the riches have followed of their own accord, and a more prosperous, sturdy set of men, titan the farmers of the Taieri plain it would be difficult on the face of this earth to find, and what they have done can be done in a hundred places in New Zealand, provided only that the same sterling quality of integrity of purpose is brought to bear upon the business in hand.

There is also here an extensive pottery works, and a large dairy factory. Here a branch line runs up into the interior towards Lawrence, some 30 miles inland. Then over the Clutha River, past the rich flats of Inch Clutha, from where the line strikes west and more inland, and we lunch at Clinton, some 74 miles from starting.

Up this valley of the Clutha is some beautiful country. The Clutha is one of the few New Zealand rivers that are navigable, and is a river of great volume. It is said to discharge as much water as the Nile, but that we don't know anything about. There are three or four very large estates up this valley, that of Messrs. Begg Bros., of Mr. James Smith of Greenfield, and of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, which comprise in the aggregate some 150,000 acres or thereabouts. A very large area has been put under the plough, and is now in English grass. Wheat of splendid quality is grown, extensive fields often averaging as much as 40 bushels to the acre, and as the soil is capable of yielding 50 to 60 bushels of oats, and is splendidly adapted to the growth of root and green crops, it is all that can be desired from a farming point of view. The wool grown is of the highest quality and the country is admirably adapted for dairying.

There are extensive lignite beds in the valley of the Clutha, and fuel is very cheap.

A steamer plies on the river, and conveys goods to the Clutha railway station, whence they are carried by rail to Dunedin for shipment.

Sheep thrive well if carefully looked after during the winter months. The New Zealand and Australian Land Company report that in their large flock of crossbreds, including many hoggets, the death rate was only 7½ per cent.

There is no dairy factory in this district, but if the settlers were there to supply the milk there would be ample room to keep one or more going.

To come back to Clinton where we lunched, nothing tells what the climate of a country is as does its vegetation; and as the tables are decked with laburnum, hawthorn, monkshood, and wallflowers, it may fairly be inferred that all fruits and vegetables of a temperate climate will flourish here. In a few more miles we cross the Waipahi trout stream, bright, shining in its livery of sky-blue and silver, and "Change here for Kelso and Tapanui" is the word.

Up the Tapanui line, with Kelso as a centre, for a radius of 25 miles, is a fine agricultural country, interspersed with rough spurs, all of which are, however, good grazing country. The district is amply watered, and has good roads page 33 and bridges. The price of land, in private hands, is from £2 10s. to £10 per acre.

Trout in the Upper Selwyn.

Gore, 100 miles from Dunedin, is a place which has sprung up into prominence in the last few years. It is a town of about 1,000 inhabitants, and has banks, hotels, grain-stores, flour mills, and all the signs of a steadily progressive community. The people of Gore say it is the centre of the best agricultural district in New Zealand. Be that as it mays the settlers there are doing well.

The Waimea Plains railways starts from here, and runs up the plains to Lumsden, some 37 miles, from whence another 37 miles takes the traveller to Kingston on Lake Wakatipu.

A loop line from Invercargill, running through Wallacetown and Dipton, meets the line from Gore, which going south and then west to Invercargill (making the whole distance from Dunedin 139 miles), encloses in a sort of irregular triangle a considerable area of country. A branch line from Invercargill to the Nightcaps (23 miles), another to Orepuki (43 miles), one to Seaward Bush (13 miles), and one to its shipping port, the Bluff (18 miles), finishes the list of the railway communications of Southland.

From Gore we run past Mataura, another pretty township, where there is a paper mill supplied with power by the falls of the Mataura River, past Edendale, through open, well-grassed plain country, the dairy factory looming large as we pass the station, the plain growing wider through the Morton Mains Estate, and into Invercargill at 3.50, having occupied seven and a half hours over 139 miles.

Invercargill is a fine, well-built city, with wide streets named after the Scotch rivers, the Esk, Tay, Spey, Dee, etc., and has buildings which would disgrace no European capital. The New River runs right up to the town, but the port of export for the city is, as we said, the Bluff, some 18 miles distant. There are here three freezing works, which will handle this year about 200,000 sheep; bacon and ham factory, flour mills, grain stores, and all the paraphernalia for dealing in farmers' produce. The population is about 5,000.

Invercargill stands in the centre of the Southland Plains, which comprise a tract of country beginning at the Hokonui range, in the north, stretching from the water-shed of the Mataura River on the east, from the sea on the south, and the Oreti River on the west. These plains are in area about 30 miles by 20. A considerable portion is forest land still held by the Crown, the remainder is a very gently undulating plain, all more or less adapted to agriculture, although generally the soil is not of a very rich quality. The largest estate on the plain is the Morton Mains Estate, comprising about 35,000 acres. The rest of the open country is chiefly occupied by small settlers, many of whom have been long established, and are fairly prosperous. They go in for mixed farming and dairying. Turnips do especially well, and fattening off sheep, stores being bought from the owners in the adjacent high country, is an important feature in their husbandry. There is a dairy factory at Woodlands which is paying 8 per cent, on its capital and its suppliers 3½d. per gallon for milk. Land is worth £2 to £6 per acre, and near town £7 to £15.

The Valley of the Oreti

extends north and south from Invercargill to Five Rivers, in distance about 65 miles, and it has an average breadth of about 30 miles.

Fully three-fourths of this is low, flat agricultural land, a great portion of which is river bottom, and very good wheat-growing land.

Some of the terraces are inclined to be cold and damp, but a drain or mould plough recently introduced has worked wonders for this class of country, and has made all the difference between poverty and prosperity to the settlers.

Large tracts are laid down in grass, which is chiefly used for fattening stores. Close settlement extends all along the river up to Lumsden. Around Lumsden and higher up the land is chiefly held in large blocks—the Castle Rock Estate of Hon. Matthew Holmes and the Five Rivers Estate being the principal ones. There are two dairy factories in this district, one of which is a milk condensing factory on the Swiss plan, the product of which is now largely used in Australia and the intercolonial steamers. The arterial roads are in first-class order, well metalled and gravelled, and bridges wherever necessary.

The Mataura Valley District

has the town of Gore for its centre. It extends through the Waimea Plains to Lumsden, up the Mataura and Waikaia Valleys to the Umbrella Range, and southwards along the Mataura River to the sea.

Starting from the sea at Fortrose, following up the valley of the Mataura to its junction with the Waikaia River, and thence to the Umbrella Range, is a distance of 70 miles, the whole of which for an average breadth of 25 miles is chiefly agricultural country, interspersed occasionally with low, rolling ridges. A considerable portion of this area is cultivated for grain, a still larger portion is laid down in grass after cultivation, but probably one-half of this large area is yet in its virgin state. The cultivated land yields good crops of wheat, oats, and barley, and grows splendid grass and turnips. None of the highest ridges in this country are over 1,000 feet above the sea level. It is backed up by the Umbrella Range, which is good pastoral country, and rises to a height of 7,000 feet.

The lowlands produce splendid cattle. All the best English and Scotch herds are represented in this valley. The Polled Angus on the estate of the N.Z. and A.L. Co. at Edendale; the Hereford on the Glenham Estate, on the property of Mr. Rich, and on that of Mr. J. Holms, of Waimataka; and the shorthorn cattle on the property of Mr. Carswell, of Pinebush. The best breeds of long-woolled sheep are also well represented, and thrive exceedingly well. On the higher country merinos and their crosses are the predominating breeds.

Some very large blocks of land are in private hands, some of the largest being those of the N.Z. Agricultural Co., Mr. G. M. Bell, the Edendale Estate of the N.Z. and A.L. Co., and the property of the trustees of A. McNab.

In the lower portion of the Mataura Valley dairying is one of the chief industries. The Edendale factory, the first one established in the district, by the industry and perseverance of Mr. Thomas Brydone, the general manager of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, is now receiving 3,500 gallons of milk per day, for which the producers receive 3½d. per gallon. About four miles distant is the Wyndham factory, receiving about the same quantity of milk. Altogether there are eleven or twelve dairy factories in Southland, the produce of which is sent to Port Chalmers for shipment to England. Seven of these are in the Mataura Valley. The whole of the valley is especially well adapted for this industry. Nearly all the milk is made into cheese. As a rule the factory companies sell their whey to some one who makes a business of buying it and rearing pigs. The valley as a

Knox Church, Dunedin.

whole furnishes every advantage for carrying on mixed farming and dairying, and there is room for an immense increase of population. Anyone with a capital of £300 to £500 could at once start, stock and cultivate a 200 to 300 acre farm with as reasonable an opportunity for success as anywhere in the world.

The pastures are exceedingly rich, and large quantities of sheep and cattle are fattened every year for export to London by the freezing process.

No manure is used in cultivation, except about two cwt. guano per acre when turnips are sown, to give the young plants strength to resist the attacks of the fly to which they are liable.

Snow lies occasionally, but as a rule not for more than two or three days at a time. Once during the past twenty-five years (the winter of 1878) it lay for a fortnight to a depth of six or seven inches. West of Invercargill lies the

Aparima Valley,

which stretches from Riverton on the south to Mount Hamilton on the north, a distance of fifty miles, the width being about twenty miles. It comprises a tract of grand agricultural country, a great proportion of which is settled in farms of 200 to 1,000 acres. In the northern part of this valley there is still a fair area of Crown lands not taken up, but they are being gradually settled upon. It is well adapted for mixed and all-round farming, and grows cereals well, chiefly oats, although a large portion is adapted for wheat. A large area is rich grazing country, and is laid down in English grasses. There are three dairy factories in the district making cheese, although not on so large a scale as the Edendale and Wyndham ones. The price of land in the valley ranges from 50s. to £10, according to quality, location and improvements. Still further west comes the

Waiau Valley,

which comprises a large tract of agricultural and pastoral country, and which is capable of carrying a large population. About 50,000 acres on the west side of the valley is about to be thrown open for sale by the Crown. The eastern side is principally held in large blocks of freehold, interspersed by leaseholds from the Crown on the higher country. The Merivale Estate is one of the finest portions of the valley. It is about 40,000 acres in extent, and includes some of the richest agricultural and pastoral land in Southland, having a limestone bottom and being well adapted for wheat growing. There is probably about 200,000 acres of land in this valley fit for settlement in the hands of the Crown. There is a railroad to Otautau, within about twenty-five miles of the Waiau River, and another skirting the sea coast from Riverton to Orepuki.

From Dunedin north to the boundary of the province the railway runs through high wooded hills, up which it winds, looking down on the shipping at Port Chalmers, and rounding a precipitous bluff where there is a sheer drop of several hundred feet to the sea, it drops again to sea level at Blueskin, where you meet the first small patch of agricultural land. Mr. K. Fergusson's Ayrshire cattle bred here are famed throughout the colonies, and many a pedigree beast is shipped from here to Australia. The Waitati stream is a favourite resort for anglers. The line then again winds up wooded hills, past the Seacliff Asylum, and again drops to the sea at Waikouaiti, from where on to Palmerston, some eight miles, is good agricultural country; perhaps one of the oldest settlements in the colony, for here it was that the late John Jones landed in the forties, and laid the foundation of a splendid fortune.

Alighting from the train at Palmerston, and saddling shanks' pony, we footed it down the valley of the Shag, on roads as good as any turnpike road in England, through fields well fenced with gorse and hawthorn, now in bloom, and the apples and the elderberries just breaking out. Well-fed cattle are browsing in the rich pastures, and the lazy calves lying on the roadsides look at us with large, inquiring eyes, wondering whether it is worth the trouble to rise and get out of our way, and decide it is not. As we cross the Shag a big trout makes a jab at a fly, and we climb the hill to look at a property now in the market, Bushy Park, which is a fair sample of land in the Shag Valley and Palmerston districts.

There is a large wooden house, two-storied, with spacious hall, with tesselated tiled floor. Stained-glass windows lead up a wide staircase. Some twenty-five acres of pines, in double rows, flank the hill as you rise, the deep olive of the pines, the pale green of the young oaks, and the variegated greens of the New Zealand native bush, picked out with the star-like white clematis, contrasting well with one another. The property consists of 2,200 acres; perhaps 500 of it are flat, the rest rolling downs. It is subdivided into seventeen paddocks, and has this spring, month of November, 7,000 sheep on it, besides 250 acres wheat and 50 acres oats. With 300 acres of turnips it will easily winter 5,000 sheep. A gentleman who can afford to buy and pay for such a property, and would interest himself in the working of it, would derive a good income from his investment, and have all the conveniences of civilisation he could want, a railroad station at his door, good trout-fishing, and a hare and a rabbit once in a while to keep his hand in. A feature of the place is the deer park, where are some seventy red deer, which have thriven for many years past. The estate is bounded on three sides by water—by the sea on one, by the Shag River on two. Scarlet rhododendrons, lilac and banksia roses were in flower, and a camellia bush growing in the open air attests the mildness of the climate. There is the usual dairy factory in the district. A branch line of railroad runs up the valley to Dunback, some twenty miles from the sea, up to which place there is soil sufficiently level for agriculture. After that, as you go inland, the country gets too hilly for anything but sheep.

Oat Harvesting in Southland.