THE CROPS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15488, 15 January 1916, Page 2

THE CROPS.

ELLESMEEE DISTRICT.

UNFAVOURABLE PROSPECTS

Seldom, if ever, in the history of the D-ominion has the need for a bountiful harvest been greater than it is to-day, yet, so far as certain parts of Canterbury—indeed, a large part of the province—is concerned, the prospects arc very discouraging. Especially is this the case in Ellesmere, which is essentially a grain-growing district. There is. abundant evidence that the harvest that has already

started will prove to be one of the poorest on record, and similar to that of IS9B. Dairying and stock-raising receive a good deal of attention, but grain-growing still forms the principal branch of farming in Ellesmere. Each season a very large portion of the land is sown down in cereals. At the request of the Prime Minister, and encouraged by the record prices obtained for their grain last season, farmers went in very heavily for wheat-growing, with the result that, the autumn and winter being very mild, the acreage sown in the Ellesmere district was fully twenty-five per cent, larger than is usually the case, j There had been no bad weather to hinder cultivating work, and conse- | quently much of the land was worked more thoroughly than ever it had been before. The result was that the crops came away splendidly at the start, and Up to the middle of September there was every indication that the farmers were in for a great harvest. It was about that time that anxiety began to be felt as to whether enough men would be available to harvest the crops, and certainly had things gone on as well as they had done agriculturists ' would be faced with a difficult problem at the present time. However, the rain that was so badly needed did not come, but instead thero were many nor'-westers which, along with the abnormally warm weather, soon began to tell on the crops. Then about the middle of October the heavy frost came and did a tremendous amount of damage to the growing crops —the first time within tho knowledge of the oldest residents of tho district that frost had been known to affect crops to any extent, much less to kill gorse. No rain of any consequence fell, and in November there was another frost and another long spell of dry weather, and it was soon evident that the harvest would bo a failure. Farmers, however. did not give up hope until the middle of December, up to which time rain would have saved many of the ! later crops which aro now scarcely worth harvesting. No other part of Canterbury seems to have suffered so severely from tho .vant of rain as Ellesmere has done. It is nearly two years since there was a good fall of rain, but notwithstanding this fact the harvest, would havo been- fairly good but for the frosts, and the several north-west winds. Dozens of crops were fed off, partly because they -gavo little or no promise and partly because many farmers were at their wits' end to know how to feed their stock. In many other cases crops were cut green for fodder. It would bo a fairly liberal : estimate to say that the average yield '! per -acre of land sown would be thirj'teen bushels. In a normal: . season j the average yield for the - f district would easily, reach forty bushels, and if tho conditions were very favour- ■ ablo the returns would bp several bushels higher. It is a very difficult matter to say just yet how badly Bome of the crops have been damaged by the frost. "Many of them with- , ered off .completely, whilst othera con- : tinuc4 "to d€sslop, hut'{s tHtv.r6S!ii , 6''"'o'f grain show an unmistakable brown ring. It is feared that * threshing time, which will very soon start in earnest, will reveal a very unsatisfactory stato of affairs. A few small lots of barley in the neighbourhood of Dunsandel have already j been threshed. This part of tho district, it may be mentioned, usually grows a good deal of barley, and the returns are usually good. In one case a farmer sowed a little over .seventy acres in this cereal, but he is only able to- thresh the grain off forty-five acres. According to the rate at which the grain was coming from the mill, the farmer would be fortunate if he had five hundred bushels to dispose of. The same man has often had yields of forty to forty-five bushels. Dozens of other farmers are in tho same position with respect to wheat, oats, and barley. So far 03 Ellesmere is concerned, there is going to be a big shortage of wheat for. milling purposes, and reports from other districts,' notably Ashburton, which grows a much greater quantity of wheat, being a larger district, are to the same effect. No part of the Ellesmere district has suffered so badly as Irwell. The crops thero-are an absolute failure, and the return will be exceedingly poor. Paddocks that last year produced forty and as high as sixty bushels to the acre scarcely give enough this harvest to leave any margin after meeting expenses. No crops worthy of special mention are to be seen from the roads, and much feeding-off has been

done. "Round about Lake road and Brookside and in parts of Killinchv the prospects are little better. A few medium fields of grain are to be seen, and on the good lands about Killinchy, and there are some potatoes that would do fairly well if rain came soon. Southbridge 'and Little Rakaia farmers are in for a very small harvest, and the whole countryside is showing tho effects of the" abnormally dry season very much. Several fair crops have been grown on the "Drumroslyn" property, but other well-known farms, including "Willisden," will have littlo grain worth threshing. The outlook is brighter round about Milltown. and Messrs D. McClelland and B. McEvedv seem to have been very well favoured. • The . Doylestou cereal crops are patchy and thin, with a fair field of wheat here and there. A crop of wheat on M r A. Quigley's farm is well worth mentioning. Though showing signs in places of effects of the frost, it should yield well up to sixty bushels to the acre. The most favoured parts of the district are Lakeside and Sedgemere. In these localities the frosts did not do anything like the amount of damage wrought in other parts.. In fact, comnarativelv few paddocks have been affected at all by frost. The three staple cereals have all done fairly well. On one farm,'the property of Mr I. McGill. Sedgemere, the crops have done wonderfully well. Two splendid crops of barley are to be seen, both of which should run well up towards sixty bushels to the acre, and some wheat should easily run fifty. Other farmers in the same neighbourhood have one or more fields of wheat and • oats that should give a payable return, though none have done so well as the crops mentioned. The cereals round .about Leeston are about on a par with those in the surrounding districts, medium in places but very poor in some instances.

The potato and mangold crops are needing rain very much. The early potatoes are too far gone, to benefit to any great extent, but .the later tnbers would show a very great improvement had sufficient moisture." The small farmers who-devote most of their attention to dairying have had a very bad time during the last two seasons, and the milk supply has fallen off to a very marked extent. Unfortunately, there is practically no hay or other fodder, and unless the autumn and winter bring more favourable conditions mortality among cattle will be serious.

Harvesting work is now is progress throughout the district, and should the dry weather continue for another month there will be little to do beyond threshing.