THE COMING HARVEST.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14554, 3 January 1913, Page 8

THE COMING HARVEST.

(BY Orn AGRICULTURAL EDITOR.)

The preliminary estimate made by tho Department of Agriculture of tho amount ot crop in tho Dominion this season shows that there is a decrease in the areas sown in wheat and oats. From what can bo seen by a run through by train from Christchurch to invercargUl the yields will also bo below thoso of last year, which wero abovo the average. The season has not been so favourable as last year, as the long wet winter and spring not only delayed the- sowing of grain but considerably retarded tho growth of tho autumn sown crops. This season there are thereiore, many light and uneven crops, and the amount, of yellow nag on the wheat does not betoken a thoroughly healthy growth. On tho medium lands with subsoil drainage, or in those districts wnere tho sunaco drainage is good, there aro many promisiti" crops of wheat and oats, winch though not as heavy in the straw as last should yield well. On tho light lands of the. Canterbury plains, which were specially favoured by weather conditions last year tho crops aro in many cases light, while others aro good. In the Oamaru district there aro many fine paddocks of wheat and oats, though not nearly so many as was tho caso last year when tho district made such a good recovery from tho dry spell thathad affected it for several years. On tho colder down country, between Oamaru and Dunedin the crops, nearly all oats are for tho most part light. Jurtlicr south tho best crops aio to be seen in tho Mataura district, which has not had such a heavy rainfall as was experienced further west in Southland. From Invercargill westwards the crops aro both later and lighter.. Tho si %n----ern end of tho Dominion is now experiencing a warm dry spell and occasional showers would bo welcome as the soil under tho present methods of working cannot do long without ram. The harvest will not only be j late but irrciilar. Some few paddocks of oats have been cut on the Canterbury plains, and these and a few paddocks of grass seed in stook are tho only signs of harvest to bo seen from tho train, though, this does not coyer tho whole of tho early cropping districts. Among farm pests, wild turnip, with its golden bloom, is an all too familiar feature, but as it only appears in land under cultivation, it is not such a serious menace as tho Californ-an thistle, which has now gained a strong and rapidly-increasing hold in Otago and Southland. It is timo that some steps wero taken to ascertain tho best means of checking tho spread of this pest, which must be causing considerable loss by reducing tho feeding area iv pastures, and limiting tho yie.d of gram crops through tho space it occupies. Prosecutions under tho Noxious Weeds Act aro proving of no avail, for on tho whole tram jqurney to Invercargill there is not tho slightest evidence to bo seen that any steps are being taken to keep in check, let alono eradicate, the pest. Constant cultivation of tho soil through the summer and autumn to prevent the plants from halving access to the air. is about tho only practical way in which the thistle can now bo checked, since it has got such s, hold. In some cases, in Southland particularly, there is little else to bo seen in paddock after paddock but thistles. The benefit of tho extra cultivation would largely compensate for tho labour required to check tho thistle, so that the land can bo cropped and laid down in grass again. It would not bo a bad idea if the Minister of Agricurturo wero to convene a conference of practical farmers and experts to discuss this matter and try to discover a proper method of procedure, for tho thistle bids fair to take complete possession of much of the best agricultural land , in a few more year's time.