RESERVES OF OLD WHEAT.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10144, 17 September 1898, Page 7

RESERVES OF OLD WHEAT.

The London "Standard" of July 25th says :—As an illustration of the narrowness in the margin between the supplies and consumption of wheat during the current cereal year, the " Corn Trade News " states that the reserves of old wheat in exporting - Mv «, ■**&».- -%srrvj 'w ovriiwilmjtl UIIACU ¥TIVXI~~ITXIiL clover. s We should only be too glad if the ter of Lands would take steps to have seej supplied by seed merchants tested in tfi same way as tests are made for adulterate food, sj lm It is only right to say that the Hon. M'Kenzie in his table refers to—among, other natural grasses—meadow foxtail crested dogstail. Now it is a well recognis a fact that only a moderate percentage ,f these seeds germinate freely. We ha , ,, known, in our tests, meadow foxtail to tal. upwards of a month to germinate, and tiC same remarks apply, more or less, to dogstail. ■ - The question ot purity and a moat important I ' oris, but to some exte e the farmer is , often to blame, as he quently endeavours to buy a "qheap articlg instead of relying upon those houses—at a we are happy to say there is more thi e one in New Zealand—which have perfe, machinery for cleaning seeds, and wlj' under no circumstances would deseeri'd at all, and it is only Vacauee the recent high prices attracted wheat from thousands of small and unrecognised stores that the mills have been kept going. Stacks of old wheat held by English, farmers at the present time are probably smaller than they have been before for a century or two, as recent official leturns of sales in the statutory markets are the smallest on record.