NOTES ON THE COMING HARVEST.

Press, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5364, 4 December 1882, Page 3

NOTES ON THE COMING HARVEST.

[From the f Weekly Press."] The reports from -all parts of the provincial district- of Canterbury as to the appearance of the growing , crops are of the most satisfactory character. Indeed, good news comes to us from all parts of New Zealand of splendid prospects. The next two months will be a titno of great anxiety for all interested in fanning, which means the whole population; for, although the farmer is the first to feel the effects of a scant harvest, the same cause acts to the detriment of all classes.of business people. If we fail to procure from the soil its increase of wealth we have to fall back upon accumulated wealth, or, what is still worse, we are obliged to resort to borrowing in order to keep our necessary expenditure from suffering a check. The past three years have not been as remunerative as might have been expected, owing to various causes, which, to a great extent, were unavoidable. The terrible havoc caused by the furious north-west winds which blew continuously for a week last, January will be fresh in the memory of every grower of grain, when a plentiful harvest ready for the machines was ruthlessly threshed out to the extent of from 30 to 50 per cent, of the whole yield; and in those terrible days the . unfortunate farmer was compelled to stand helplessly by, unable to avert the loss of his year's labor. The consequence was that many hardworking men who had staked their all in the chances of the crop, had either to succumb, or to make another start—in I many instances on borrowed capital. We frequently hear of the exorbitant rates of interest, made up in the way of charges, commission, &c.» which no doubt are very heavy and difficult to meet on the part of the farmers; but we must remember that the risk is great, often from causes over which the farmer has little or no control, as experienced last season. We may here digress for a moment to remark that we shall always be subject to heavy losses from high winds until planting on the plains is carried out on a large scale. Belts and masses of trees would serve to break the force of the hot winds which now eweep unchecked across the plains. We have frequently drawn attention to this matter, and. we are glad to note that landholders are gradually recognising the importance of the matter, and. large quantities of wattle and gum seeds, as well as of other trees, have been sown this spring, which will be sure to bear good fruit in a very few years. With the prospect of an abundant harvest it will be well for us not to calculate on very high prices ruling; not that a few bushels extra per acre all over New Zealand would make the slightest difference in the home market, but when we read of a large corn average all over America and Canada, and in the great corn producing countries of Europe, it is reasonable to infer that prices are likely to be materially affected. Still, granting that these predictions may be realised, it is well known that a plentiful harvest and low prices adds more to the wealth and comfort of the country than scant returns and high prices. With plenty of cheap com there generally follows plenty of food for pigs and poultry, and other advantages entirely absent in . time of scarcity. Humour has it that harvest hands will be scarcer this season than they have been for some years past. If this assertion be well■ founded, it points to something radi-: cally wrong, and this suggests the advisa- ' bility for those who hold farms of their own, to offer suitable inducements to steady men and their families for settling in the rural districts instead of flocking into the towns. The holder of four or five hundred acres of arable land would find the erection of two or three cottages a good investment. These cottages could be let to industrious laborers and their families, -who would be glad to give a portion of their time in payment of rent. There might be an acre or two of land attached to each whereon vegetables, &c, could be grown by the tenant. Employers of labor are constantly meeting with deserving men, who are compelled to swag the country during harvest time, and from whom they might make their selections. The advantage would be mutual. On the one hand the farmer would have trusty labor at his disposal, and on. the other industrious laborers would be able to make comfortable homes and to occupy their spare time in cultivating their plots of ground. The question of offering facilities for the settlement of a thrifty laboring population throughout the settled districts is one which might very well occupy the attention of oof legislators, with a view to the advancing of money Jby. Government on long terms, and at; low interest, for the purpose of encouraging the owners of land to erect such buildings as we have referred to. Until come such measures are adopted we must be prepared to learn that our p«n* laborers are H*e most unsettled class the community; and that the best of them will find their way to other colonies, in search of more comfortable homes. This

is far from a desirable state of things, seeing that we have had the defraying , their expenses to this colony. Thanks to the strides which have been made of late years in agricultural machinery, we are to some extent rendered independent of Tna.TiT»al labour. Still there is work for a large number of hands on every [well managed farm of any magnitude, ; which no improvement in machinery can compass. The various industries now taking root in the colony will all create a demand for imnniO labour, which must be supplied if such industries are to succeed. We refer to dairy factories, meat freezing, and manufacture of flax. The careful farmer will take care to have all his harvesting arrangements completed, machinery overhauled, and everything ready to commence harvesting, at the earliest possible moment, when every hour will be of the utmost value. The grain grower can only turn his money over once in the year, hence the necessity for vigorous action to secure the largest possible return.