The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-11-09
WHEN tie settler has eLos-
en- his farm, he will lose
no time In proceeding there,
SO as 20 begin the new
round nf axistanca at once


SO as 70 begin the new
round oil existence st once,
| The farm may be OF 5000 acres, or
Of {, 900 moTgen, which IL about o,oeV
acres, and il will be readily under
stood that in such wide area OF IN
broken land there Is much TO DO. AS
likely as not the farm will consist OF
an almost unbroken plain with Few
fluctuations. OF perhaps II may have
a few rocky kopjes on its borders, TO
vary the monotonous outlook. There
may be watercourse, which very
likely will be dry II the time OF the
year is between April and October
Most of the water-courses are dry at
that period OF the year, and form drifts
only, which sometimes are. terror
to the trekkeT. For In Rhodesia the
farms adjacent TO the railway are
pretty we'll all taken up, and 1t Will
be necessary TO trek to some distant
spot, either by bullock or mule wag-
on, SO as to enter into possession OF
an unbroken farm II Is TO be borne
In mind that while the farms" are
large in size they are cheap enough,
costing only some IS. per acre for
the freehold, and even then may be
acquired on extended payment terms.
Surely there Is every inducement here
to the farmer who would seek to own
his farm.
Mules and Oxen.
The settler must needs start OFF
with mules or oxen and slowly trudee
along from day to day towards his
destination. 1t is pleasure to trek
Oh the weld. 1t is best to start at sun
rise, and get on good part OF the
way before. ten or eleven O'Clock.
Then 1t Is well to outspan your teams
and prepare the forenoon meal. The
outspan must be near water, for that
is the first consideration for the mules
and oxen They will forage for them
selves on the weld and pick up suf-
fcient TO keep them going from the
sweet weld grass The heat OF the
day is always trying, and lasts pretty
well till o'clock Ia the afternoon,
when the teams may be inspanned and
TIE Journey renewed For the most
1
part the roads are good, but some
| times the drifts are difficult TO nego-
tiate, and II is just as well TO leave the
wagon then and negotiate them on
foot. II Ia characteristic OF the roads.
which are merely tracks through the
weld, that near to the riveT-beds they
are frequently broken up by the heavy
rains which have fallen during the
wet season, and great chasms often
occur on the track. A detour must be
made to avoid these washed away
roads, as, II you travel In buck
board" or a covered ambulance wag-
on, you will certainly have d hard
time of II II you try to negotiate a
track that has been partially washed
away. The Journey Is interesting
enough as you push on In the cool of
the evening; then you may see game
Of all kinds on the weld, such as stem
box, duiker, reedbuck and all kinds
Of sntelopes, and the supply of fresh
meat for the journey depends upon
being able to stalk some Of these sue
cessfufly. But there 10 plenty of 9th
er game, not only of animals but
birds, such as bustards, guinea-fowl
and snipe.
But the trek to the farm comes to
an end, and then the real business oi
agriculture begins. The oxen, mules
or donkeys, which have brought you
ing up the farm, and the sooner the
work is started the better.
The clearing has first to be done
and stumping will most likely be the
first task 1t consists OF removing
stumps OF trees from the ground. 80 al
to make continuous field The
stumps are the relics OF the native
method of clearing the weld. The,
break down the branches of the treei
and set fire to them at the base, and 1
possible the stump is then removed
j More often than otherwise II IL lief
behind, and the native cultivation goe
i round about It. There are great ex
panses of territory where such stump
: exist In large numbers, and the onl
{ thing for the settler to do Is to star
Z and remove them. They may come II
y useful for building q dam over
0 donga, SO as to conserve the waite
supply. but In any case they mus
q come out.
o II the settler IL wise he will hav
seen that his farm has large catcf
e msnt area, az during the dry month
q from April TO october he will want a
Is the water he can get. Possibly tAer
It is an alluvial valley with black, rio
soil. and alongside may be porto
of red formation" soil. or granite 70
= nation. These are the three prime
he pal soils In RhodesiA and 1t Is usul
l. TO have them mingled on most farm
ID They all have their uses, but the re