CROPS IN THE ASHBURTON COUNTY.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 6962, 16 January 1888, Page 6

CROPS IN THE ASHBURTON COUNTY.

[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT. 1 The Ashburton farmers werfe treated to a wind last week th&t was genuinely typical of the boisteraus nor' westers of the early days, before the broad open, ex panse of tawny tussock $iad given place to numerous plantations of _ees, miles of water races, and thousands of acre* of grain enclosed and sheltered by tall gorse fences. On Tuesday,' Wednesdays' and Thursday the nor' wester blew with all the force that used to characterise the winds of the olden days, and those who braved the clouds of dust,.and the excessive heat of a scorching sun.did not do'sdffcom mere choice. Being in the open was a little too breezy to be pleasant.

Still, wheu one has a special journey to make it does not do to be too particular about a bit of a blow, or to think of waiting for one of those perfect days tb*t occasionally follow a heavy downpour 6f rain, especially at this season of the year. Being desirous of seeing what the crops were looking like in the Methven district, Istarted on Tuesday last, and did a beat up through a portion of that extensive grain growing country. During a forty-two mile journey I was pleased to see that generally the cereals were looking remarkably healthy and promising. The wind was twisting and knocking the heads o corn about in a most'cruel manner, and I have since heard that a considerable amount of damage has been done in some parts of the country; but the bulk of the grain is in a much better condition to stand a bit of a shakenow thanitwillbe a month hence, and if the violent nor' westers willnow keep offfortheremainderof the season there will not be any great cause to regret the bit of. a'blow experienced last week, followed as it was by a nice, steady downpour of rain and a couple of dull, cloudy days. On my journey up to Methven the first bit of crop to be seen worthy of note was a very nice paddock of wheat belong—g to Mr D. Williamson. A little higher up Mr O. Digby has a nice compact farm of good rich land, and he has some beautifully even crops of both wheat and oats, that atpresent promise an unusually heavy yield. A little higher up still, near Mr J. Johnston's, there are several paddocks of barley, but it only promises a light, medium crop, and the same may be said of one or two paddocks of wheat; though a pleasing exception was noticeable on an adjourning property now in the occupation of Mr Sutton. Immediately opposite Mr Sutton's cheerful looking little homestead there is a big paddock ot wheat that ought to make him smile every time he looks across the road, for it Ls as nice a crop as one could wish to see. Higher up, and adjourn—a- Winchmore, Mr R. Miller has some promising looking crops, and a very nice lot of turnips. On the Winchmore Estate there are about 12,000 acres in wheat and oats, and an extensive breadth of turnips, which the recent rains will place beyond the reach of fly and help well through the next spell of dry weather. All the cereals on Winchmore, with the exception, perhaps, of a small piece of late sown oats, are looking remarkably well, more particularly the paddocks that lie back from the mam road. The manager (Mr M. Stitt) will again have the pleasure of harvesting some heavy yields j and, judging frompresentappearances, the threshing machine will give several fortyfive up to fifty bushel records. All the oats, with the exception of the small patch above-mentioned, are well forward, while the wheat ears are just changing from a deep green to that beautiful rich golden hue, which betokens the first stage of the ripening of well-nourished grain. At Morten Green I saw a splendid crop of oats, as well as several good paddocks of wheat.

On Messrs Gould and-Cameron's Springfield Estate there is again a very large area under crop. I saw one or two paddocks of wheat and oats that had evidently been sown late, and were consequently very backward, but on the other hand I saw a large breadth of wheat that at present promises a very heavy yield. A good length in the straw, evenly grown all over the paddocks, heavily headed, and of a splendid colour, the wheat promises to turn out as well as any ever grown in Springfield, and that is saying a good deal. I also saw the best looking crop of barley I have met with this season. There is a big area in turnips, and as these were mostly in. broad leaf the rains of Thursday and Saturday last will have a most beneficial effect. In paddocks that were under white crop two years ago, healthy-looking flocks of sheep are now grazing on luxuriant crops of grass. On Mr Donald Cameron's farm, Mr Ulyett's, and a number of others in the district, both wheat and oats are looking remarkably well, and generally speaking the coming harvest promises to be a most encouraging one for tbe majority of farmers in the Methven district. In some parts where the early autumn and late spring rains interfered with sowing the crop is light and backward, but this will not materially affect the general average.

The grass feed is holding out splendidly, and never since the first acre of tussock land was broken up has feed grown more luxuriantly than it has this summer. The grass was a bit late coming on, but it is making up for this by promising to hold out a month or six weeks longer than usual. Advantage has been taken of the superabundance of grass to make an unusual quantity of hay, 'for there are now more stacks about in different parts of the county than has ever been seen in any previous season; and it is hoped this may be taken as a pleasing sign that farmers generally are more fully recognising the value of having a few tons' of good hay to help their stock through the winter and well into the spring.

While in the Methven township I had the pleasure of being amongst those who were welcoming back Mr William Morgan, who had just returned from a visit to his friends in the West of England. I also had a chat with Mr Rennie, a new arrival from Scotland, who has come to settle in New Zealand. He has evidently been trained in one of the best schools of theoretical and hard practical Scotch farming, and he will be a valuable acquisition to any district he may choose to settle in. Mr Morgan has introduced him to the Methven district, and by doing so has rendered yeoman service to his fellow settlers. Mr Rennie had only been in Canterbury a few days, but he expressed h*m««»if highly pleased with what he had seen between Lyttelton and Methvea, and fairly

astonished at the splendid appearance of our cornfield. When told that we were just emerging from a long period of deep depression he appeared to reply with an' incredulous smile, and to wonder how we managed to so successfully hide every sign of poverty and distress. His account of farming at present in Scotland was not an encouraging one, and he appeared to think, from what little he had seen, that the condition of the New Zealand farmer stood out in very pleasing contrast to that of the British agriculturist. Mr Rennie is perfectly sincere in the hopeful opinion he has formed of hisnewly adopted country. I, for one, thank him for the cheerful view he takes of our affairs, and trust the numerous readers of the Wekkly Press in and around Methven will join with mc in giving Mr Rennie a very hearty welcome to the Ashburton county. He is sure to succeed -wherever he settles down, and if there are any more of the same stamp left in Scotland, he would be conferring a benefit on the State by inducing them to come out to New Zealand.

Mr Morgan's account of the present condition of the English farmer was not a cheerful one, and though he thoroughly enjoyed his trip, he seemed to have nb desire to again settle in Old England He is quite prepared to admit that " there is no place like home," but he prefers that home to be m the mountain regions of Methven rather than in England, under tbe present unsatisfactory state of matters agricultural.