THE CROPS.

Press, Volume XXXI, Issue 4194, 6 January 1879, Page 3

THE CROPS.

SH-WYIT COXTSTY. . Thu county, spreading as it-does, from the Waimak-riri'to the Bakaia, contains much of the richest land on the plains, and has been longer under tillage than the other parts of Canterbury. At Biccartoh and on the heavy lands which spread from Christehureh towards Sam—bridge and north of Ohm tehureh towards the Waimakariri, there are some excellent yields, but on the high lands on the higher plateau, and in fact wherever the soiris sparse, many of the crops are an utter failure, and beyond affording a scanty meal for sheep, of no use to the cultivator. Many enquiries are beingmade for strippers, as by these machine* ve*y light crops can be saved at a profit, but as in ordinary years they are comparatively useless in Canterbury, few are procurable at present, though, ho doubt, our merchants will speedily be able to supply the want'if the demand becomes urgent, for,in Adelaide they are in very general nse. £n | that thickly peopled area, spreadirg for j miles round the city, grain crops are few, j grazing being more profitable j but taking the] whole OHWty quite as large aa_ci-age is under crop as in any previous year, _od_m SouthHs-aia esf>e«a_y there js a large increase. Much of the land which wm formerly swamp has produced splendid looking crop*, but on the ground borderjqg these swamps, -which, »» ] year* has borne the reputation of yiesjeting the j highest average, many failures are reported, < owing to the drought, ai?d, strange as it may ] appear, in many e*ses the crop* on the higherplan- bare auSexed. less.. The great mem the value of land appears to haye h»d a beneficial effect in promoting careful agriculture, and improvements are everywhere to he seen, whilst reapers and b_t_6rs and other labour- : ■savin* joae-iaea _*ra; _e*n T«ry generally ! parchased -J aid in the economy of farmingThe late showers b#ve had a most beneficial effect in most v&taxipei, and the heads of grain in many' crops h-va filed out wonderfully, bu* in others, which were fax advanced, a second growth is. feared, ami in some cases baa «#t»_Py tafcea $*"#> tbe (FP°t o * in g *° the hfljt w«-%, Umax ipfe> Jife i#h the least moisture. $» «* taking the county through, will be from eighteen to twenty bushels per acre $ of oats, from twjßAy-five to twenty weight, and «- barley, »yj twenty-fix. As before rem-rked, many crops are exceptionally heavy, whilst several thousands of acres are perfectly valueless, except v scanty sheep feed. We append ft det-M account of the various neighbour-

HOBTH _&_AIA. Though the township of Bakaia is on the south side of the river, we cannot .refrain from speaking of it here, as any special notice was. omitted in describing the county of Ashburton. Bakaia, from a small public' house and store, has within the last few years risen to considerable importance as a county, town, and now boasts two handsome hotels,'; which bear very favourable comparison with-: many town houses, a new town hall, capable; of holding nearly 300 people, a substantial; looking ban., a number of stores, amongst which we noticed some new ones just put up - by McKerrow and Co., a fine set of offices and grain store belonging to Messrs McLean and Winter, a new post and telegraph station, whilst in the immediate neighbourhood many' new houses have gone up. The population of the town proper has increased to about 400, and sections have risen in price from j £12 10s to £70 and over. It is quite a bus—ing: place, and the traffic on the line to.and from the. station is very considerable, and we could not help noticing the piles of merchandise, including many labor saying machines, which were to be seen in the neighborhood of the railway. At the north bank of the Bakaia there has been little cropping t_l this year, but there is a ■ considerable area now under grain, and next! year there will be more: than doubls the quantity, great preparations being already' made for sowing wheat for next harvest. Mr; B. Derroch has 500 acrw of wheat* in crop, ; Messrs Anderson and Drumrhond "800, J and these latter are breaking up over lOOO.acres' for next season. Mr Saunders,"who owns: some 7000 acres in this neighbourhood, has cropped 2000 this year, and we hear intends :to carry out more extensive operations next year. Messrs Beaky, Bobinson, and Pagan have all good sizjd paddocks in wheat. There : is little or no oats or barley in crop, except a few of the former for the horses. MrJJoe has also some crops. ' Except Mr Fagan's farm, all the land, is new, that gentleman being the only farmer growing wheat in this locality till the present year. The residents; in - this neighbourhood complain much of there being no station between Bakaia and Dunsandel, a distance of some eleven miles, and intend to request the authorities to take steps. in the matter., There. ris a * goods siding near Mr Loe's farm, but no pass—lger station. It is- to bo hoped the | petitioners will be successful, as not' only-will; it be a great convenience to the present resi-i dents, but.it will.alsojnduce.otheTS to_li__in j the locality. We are glad to report the crops j generally as looking very well considering the j dry season,, though, of course, they are very| light on the high land. It is expected the average yield will be, say, twenty bushels of wheat and thirty-five of oats per acre. Ofj barley there is very little and nearly all sown! early is a failure, but the late looks well, andj with a few more good showers w ill yield aj fair return. On the high torrace land towards' Dunsandel, crops arejconsiderably thinner.aßd| need more rain very much. .;;.: .3 ! -TTNBAXDBX. j

- . There is a larger area in cereals at Dun-; sandel than on any previous year, and, taking! an average, it is certainly the poorest yield; per acre, but still the crops look very little; worse than J tney did this time last year.} About the station there are some very good] paddocks, but going towards Hororata on. the Malverna one finds theurops exceedingly; poor, and in very many. cases they are utter j failures and are only Job to*'-provide a scanty! meal for sheep. The soil in the neighborhood: of the Dunsandel railway seems to hold the; damp well, and there*are some good wheat! crops of over twenty-five bushels to the acre, 1 whilat the oats in many instances run from, thirty to thirty-five bushels. There is.alsp some excellent barley. Messrs Hart, Mad dison, and Sowden have some good wheat. The former gentleman's crop looks like forty bushels per acre, and that of the two latter <j gentlemen runs from thirty-five to fifty bushels. There were some very fair grass; crops in parts of this neighborhood. . ~...- '.'B__W2m ,- ...:.- .": ; On the north- bank of the Selwyn and; towards Burnbam the crops are poor, but on the south bank, on Westonra's station, there is some fine grain. . , - , ; ■"'■'-' -OIIiESTOH'. '^;. Down towards and at Bolleston the crops are as a rule very poor, as the light high land has suffered very severely fr,om the drought, and in many cases sheep are being turned into the grain. Getting toward)i the Hawkins, however, one finds the grain looking a better' color and -promising a better yield. There, has been much more rain in this locality, and in fact anywheree„e close under the hills, and wherever there has been a sufficient depth of soil to retain the moisture the country looks '■.'■■.-■■''-■■■ ■'■- ' -AiVBBK. .. ;..': Here, thongh'there has been more rain, the '. nor'-westexs, have done a great deal of harm,: and the crops -as. a whole are looking poor,; though there are a few exceptions. The late rMpßrhave in some cases been .of great benefit to the grain, and if suitable weather continues in some localities, there will be fair yields.

, -COPETBNAy Ajp TBMPIEXON. At Gourtenay there are many fair crops which promise a good average yield, but at Yorktowh -alt" theupper "parts' of TSmpletbo, the crops are miserable. In the heavier lands towards Lincoln ancLPrebbleton, some of the grain looks well. The area under grain in these districts is liaxdly as large as last year. _AI__TJBBT AND HABEWOOD BOAD. About Yaldhnrst on the light shingle land, the crops are extremely bad, but in the richer and heavier land near the -Waimakariri and on the Harewood from the river to Papanui, there are some splendid crops, and in many cases a very rich harvest will be gathered. There is less in crop than last year, so much land being laid down in permanent pasture. The bay crops in this locality were very fair, and the root crops, especially potatoes, look well. BICC-BTON. In the lower part of this district the crops generally look exceedingly well, and promise a higher average yield than last year. . Wheat will give from thirty to. thirty-three bushels, oats from thirty-eight to forty, and barley thirty-five bushels per acre. Throughout this neighborhood not one really bad crop is to be seen, and some are exceptionally good. A field of wheat, which we think belongs to the John Hall, promises at least fifty bushels per acre, and on the road to Cashmere there are some large paddocks of wheat and oats xexj heavy, fifty to. sixty bushels being their estimated produce/ If anything there is a larger area in crop here than last year. The potatoes are looking splendid, and promise a capital return. There are few other root orops, but what there are look fany In the upper part of the- district, however, the drought and nor'-westers have played sad havoc with the grain, and many of the crops are very light indeed GHEES PABK _K_ TAI TAPTJ. These districts, which run from Ahuriri station and the border of Lake Ellesmere towards Lincoln, Bpringston, and Spreydon, contain much rich land, the crops on which are very fait. On Borne of the light, sandy soil near the lake, however, there have been some complete failures, and a large field of barley, sown by Mr Goodwin, never came at all, and this is by no- means a solitary instance. The hay crop has very generally failed, with the exception of a few paddocks in the swamp, in one of which, of thirty acres, that has just been cut, from twentyfire to twenty-seven bushel* per acre have been obtained by Mr W.'JJ. Andrew.' In the paddocks near __. Tapu, on both sides of the river, there are many crops looting Te ry well, as, although the straw is light, they are heading up capitally. In this neighborhood more land than usual has been sown, and should anything Hke favorable weather intervene between now and harvest time, it is a pleasure to record that an average of at least thirty bushels of wheat per acre will be realised. The oatg appear to have suffered most from the drought and nor'-westers, but these give promise of, say, from tlnrty-three to thirtyfive bushels per acre. As to the barley, not, much lias been sown, sjid of thif thp early maj' be put down gene'rajiy as g. failnre, while _ie late crops are not advanced enough for any estimate to be placed on tha return. =

jaXCOLH, PB_BB__TO_, &BT> S-88-DON.i Oa the low lying lands in these neighborhoods there are many fields that look Tery\ promising, though hardly up to the average of last year. The wheat will give from £hjbrty to forty "bushels with favorable" weather jind the oats from forty to forty-five, busheis.: "Jfaere islitjjeh|rijy ?P~ D i fhereis —.very fair. About the area 13 under crop aslfit year, and there are exceptionally goc4 crons at M* Shsip'f ibijtwsiOE three other piaces, which tend to make the average high. On the higher lands further from the swamp there are many very -poor; crops indeed, «nd the average will be very lo#i The green crops generally are not up to the mirk, _nd if the dry Weather lasts potatoes yrEll be sesreas The p-sture ___* appear tb have suffißre* most ftp* thedrought* ia-m-py

SPB— SGBTOH. The higher lands in this district, like those in the upper parts of Lincoln, have suffered severely from the drought and not'-westera. Even in an ordinary year, without there is an exceptionally heavy rainfall, there are always many sufferers in the exceedingly light land; bordering Shard's Track, so when we think] of what the past season has been, we must' 'naturally expect to have, to record many; failures. In the rich land near the L 1 ? creek, and along the swamp, there are some exceptionally heavy crops, and some oats grown by Mr Moffat, of Lincoln mills, would; challenge competition in any seaaon. The: root crops are also looking well on the low heavy land. EELE_____ DraTEICT. In this important grain growing district! there is a : larger area under crop than last: year, but as a whole the yield per acre wiß be considerably less. In the low lands j towards Lake Ellesmere the crops never:; looked bettor, and many fields promise a yield of from' sixty to seventy bushels per acre. On the higher land, however, the wheat has been in many places cnt for hay, and there are localities in which it is not worth cutting at; aIL The late showers have helped to fill the' grain, but in some instances where —he. crops were too forward the grain has grown and left matters worse than, before.: Oats, as a rule, look better than wheat, and there is some, capital early barley towards the Lake. Bound Leeston the grass seed crop has teen a failure, except on the very moist land, and the same may be. said of the potatoes and other root crops. The pasture lands, as a whole, ase in a wretched condition.' At Mr Matthews', -at; the Lake, and-at Mr Hall's, there is splendid grass and .good crops, the season appearing to have suited that locality. The district is improving fast, better buildings are going rip, and, in spite of the bad season, signs of material prosperity are Lucre—ring. In many cases, where; the grain was very thin, the farmers turned their stock into the grain, fed it down, and then ploughed the land and sowed it with turnips for winter feed for the sheep; At Irwell there are good fair crops, the land being of that quality that retains moisture, bnt comine; towards Doyleston they are very light ■ in ■ places, and a considerable area, is: badly blighted. On the drylands, towards Dunsandel and Bakaia there is a wretched yield, but at Brookside and at a' part of Killinchy the crops look wonderfully well ' considering. About Southbridee Mr -Charles Bouime and .'■'_[r Campbell of-Bell-field are-'the -largest growers of grain. The j wheat here is pretty good, but the oats are' very light. Mr Bourne has' some excellent j wheat, , which, should give at least forty: .bushels per, acre* and a crop of the same cereal belonging to Mr o'Boyle, in a paddock, near Leeston, is much admired, and" if any-j thing better than Mr Bourne's. 'Mr Oamp-i -bell has.fsome exoeßent oata;! Taking the grain which will be harvested; of course: ex- ■ cepting all which has been fed down by stock or cnt for hay, the average yield throughput'; the district will be. some twenty bushels'of; wheat per acre, as against thirty bushels lastj year. Oats, which last "year ran to thirty- j five, will this season be barely up to twenty-. two bushels per acre, having Buffered more! severely from the drought than the wheat.'j Of barley a very limited quantity has been 1 sown. The early near the Lake looks well,| but the late is very poor indeed. It has been! decidedly the worst season ever known at Ellesmere both for grass and root crops.