HARVEST NOTES.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10270, 13 February 1899, Page 3

HARVEST NOTES.

—»_- Changes in the weather Avhich involve rain at this season Avhen the grain crops are in stock must prove tantalising to the farmers. No sooner had the traces of the somewhat heavy rain of the earlier part.of last week A*ajnished, and oxrting to stacks had again comm_nced in keen earnest, than driz- : .zliaigrada-■began on ~ Saturday, • morning, necessitating a complete suspension, of work and partly loaded drays had to be left in the fields, amd those who had tarpaulins placed them over the partly made stacks.. This uncomfortable drizzlirtg rain kept on all day and into the night, but on Sunday the sun cam- out warm, and there was a fairly good drying bree_e. So far as can be noted by the barometer the weather is none too •fettled, ar*d such as to cause anxiety. During las. AA*eek much of the corn intended for stock threshing has baeu made into stacks. Several late fields have been neiA'ly cut m the North Canterbury district, and promise larger yields than, the earlier crops. Beans axe cutting out an average crop. Potatoes are still doing well. A limited area of this crop, which aatis flooded near Chainey's and White's bridge, are irretrievably damaged to the total extent of about seventy to eighty acre*?, which Avere expected to give rather large returns. Grass is growing well, amd the supply of sheep feed all over is ample for a month or two. The weather at Waixnaite has been most unsuitable for harvest operations. During last week it was more or less showery, and r.ll/hough cutting was. not hindered to any very great extant, the sheaves were too damp to carp, in until Thursday or Friday. On Friday night a regular downpour set in, and continued more or less throughout the night. On Saturday rain fell again nearly all the day, consequently the stooks must be thoroughly saturated. The bulk of the grain around the Waihao, Willow Bridge and Hook districts is now cut and in stook. Very little stacking has been done on account of the unsettled state of the weather. In nearly all cases the crops are exceptionally good, and heavy yields are looked for. Both turnips and rape have done exceadingly well, and large areas are under crop. Turnips promise an abundance of feed for the winter. In the Tai Tapu district there are some very heavy yields this year (writes our carrespondent). Mr Cooney, McOwen's Bay, off 150 acres of all round crops, averaged 70 bushels to the acre. Mr Thomas Macartney had 5800 bushels of barley off 80 acres—one paddock of 15_ acres yielding 95 bushels per acre; Mr Taylor-Hunter had 103 bushels of barley per acre on 12_: acres ; 'Mr O. L. Lin-brick had 65 bushels of barley, and his yield would have been much better only for the caterpillars ; Mr Thos. Leatham . has 100 acres of magnificent crop of barley, wheat and oats, .which is estimated to yield over 100 bushels to the acre, on his swamp form, and on his Greenpark farm he has threshed 70 bushels of barley r»er acre off 30 acres; Mr Geo. Witte has threshed 80 bushels of wheat off his large paddock.