The port township of Foxton is not without its natural attractions. It is situate on the banks of the Manawatu River, which is navigable as far as the township for steamers up to 150 tons burthen, and bathing, yachting, rowing and fishing may be freely indulged in as pastimes. The outlet of the river is about six miles by its own course from the town, and between the pier and the seaboard are many beautiful landscape scenes on either bank. At the mouth of the river, which resembles an estuary, good fishing grounds exist for deep sea lines, and good “takes” are frequently made. In clear weather, peeps of the islets of the Straits and the fragmentary rocks of the sea and coast to the southwards add variety to the surroundings, while northwards stretch miles of sand, a bit of Mount Egmont, and the chains of the Ruahine and the rugged Tararuas. The town of Foxton is not much to look at, but some of the homes of the back country are worthy a visit, if only for the capital grapes grown there in surprising page 1129 quantities. A ride through the lanes of the farm-land blocks is not one of the least of Foxton's pleasures. The soil is light and sandy, the climate mild and dry, and the staple industry flax, there being no less than seven companies engaged in the manufacture of the hemp from the raw material. The population of Foxton is 1102 persons, who live in 205 houses, at an altitude of only ten feet above sea level, and at a distance of twenty miles from Longburn, the junction of the Foxton railway and the Wellington-Manawatu Company's line.