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with him a not inconsiderable sum of money. He bought out an 

 original selector on the river frontage and, aided by a number of 

 sturdy and willing sons, he soon cleared some hundreds of acres on 

 his holding and is now cropping TOO acres. So far he has had oc- 

 casion to be well satisfied with his yield cf hay, which, during the 

 first year after the plough was put in, was something in the nature 

 of an experiment, as seed had never before been sown on the area 

 proper, although Mr. Robert Herron, a squatter, on the opposite 

 bank of the Murray, had for some years been tilling one of his home 

 paddocks. This paddock, however, was stiff land, while Mr. Kirk- 

 ham's is a soil of a much more friable nature. The success of Mr. 

 Kirkham has given a great stimulus to the development of the 

 area, but so far most of the work has been done either on the river 

 banks or close to Pinjarrah, where some of the richest paddocks 

 were taken up very soon after the declaration of the area. Here 

 there is most cheering evidence that the legislature acted wisely in 

 consenting to bestow 160 acres upon every bona fide settler, for the 

 holdings close to Pinjarrah are nearly all of this class, and improve- 

 ments in the effacement of timber and replacing red gums with fruit- 

 trees are proceeding apace, as if each selector were' vicing with his 

 neighbour to see who will first be qualified to claim his title from the 

 Crown by reason of having fully complied with all the conditions 

 of the Act. The Messrs. Olsen Brothers, whose place is a few 

 miles further to the south-east, being determined to lay a good 

 foundation, have put in a well-concerted series of drains before 

 hurrying on with the sowing of seed. Last year was, nevertheless, 

 made good use of in the breaking of land in readiness for 1897, 

 and, at the time of writing, not only had the drainage scheme been 

 completed, but the fallowed land, which had been sweetening for 

 12 months, was disclosing a very healthy young crop, and the 

 owners of it could contemplate it with a sense of security, no matter 

 how heavy the rainfall might be, for the drains were faithfully doing 

 their work. A serious drawback to the area is being removed in 

 the erection of a bridge across the Murray. Up to the present 

 time the only access to the railway station has been by means of a 

 ford that is Hooded in the winter, during which the settlers have 

 to make a detour of 16 miles in order to cart loading to and from 

 Pinjarrah. As soon as the disability was brought under the no! ice of 

 Sir John Forrest by a deputation of the residents, the Premier, in pur- 

 suance of his policy to help the producer, put a sum on 

 Estimates to construct a substantial bridge, which is to cost, wi h 

 the necessary making of the road leading to it, about /.'_>, ooo. 

 When these works are completed the selector on the Cut. hip area 

 will be closer to his market than his compeers on any other area, 

 with the exception of Jandakot ; but if the Coolup railway station is 

 to be considered as the market, for the carting ends there and the 

 freights for the short run to Perth are very light, the Coolup grower 

 is nearer than any other holder of a free homestead farm, for there is 



