CHAPTER II. 



LAYING OUT THE DAIRY FARM. 



The ultimate success of dairy work will depend to a great 

 extent on the farm and how it is laid out, the soil, the rainfall and 

 the water supply. It is quite possible to make a living on a poor 

 farm badly attended to, but every dairy farmer wants to make 

 something more than a mere existence. There is an old saying, 

 and a very true one, ' Poor land makes poor farmers," and it keeps 

 them poor too. If a person can afford it, it is better to pay a fair 

 price for good land than get bad land for nothing. It is most 

 discouraging for the worker on a poor farm to see his neighbour, 

 who does not work nearly so hard as he does, always having better 

 crops, his cattle always in better condition, and the whole family in 

 better circumstances. Of course, there will always be some farms 

 that are better than others, but while land is so plentiful and cheap 

 there is really no excuse for a man going on bad land when there is 

 so much good available at the present time. 



Those who are intending to settle on the land should not be in 

 too great a hurry to do so without having a good look round to see 

 which are the best districts. If dairying is to be the sole or main 

 industry, secure land in a district with a good rainfall and as 

 temperate a climate as possible, with good natural water, if available, 

 and good drainage. If a good flat or two can be secured, so much 

 the better. The advantage of this will be felt in growing summer 

 fodder. The farm should be undulating, but the hills not too steep. 

 Although a temperate climate is the best adapted for dairying, if 

 the factory system is at work it will not matter much if it is rather 

 on the warmer side, provided the rainfall is good and there is plenty 

 of water available. Some of the most successful dairies are in hot 

 districts, where water is plentiful and green feed is grown all the 

 summer through by means of irrigation. 



The soils in this colony differ so much from those of the eastern 

 colonies that a new-comer is apt to judge by appearances, and 

 neglect land that is sandy and think it is valueless. Anyone who has 

 not actually seen the results obtained from some of the sandy 1 >ams 

 here could not credit the amount of crop that is grown upon them. 

 Make inquiries from those who have been in thedistrict fora consider- 

 able time as to what the capabilities of the land arc. When a farm has 

 been secured and the improvements been gone on with, do not 

 ring all the timber. Leave some growing here and therefor shelter 

 as well as for appearance. It is often snd that stock do not need 

 any shelter in this or that district. They may do well running 



