HOMEBROOK ESTATE.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15939, 28 June 1917, Page 7

HOMEBROOK ESTATE.

NO WHEAT CROPS THIS SEASON. I ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S DISCUSSION. On an average nearly half the Homebrook Estate at Southbridge, recently purchased by the Government for tho settloment of returned soldiers, it put into crop, mostly wheat. This year, however, there is not an acre sown in cereals up to tho present. Tho late tenants' leases (tho property was let in several blocks) expired about two months ago, and for some timo it was uncertain as to what would bo done with tho land. It was offered for salo by auction somo time bofore the leases expired, but oniy ono block was sold, tho remainder being withdrawn. Subsequently tho unsold portion, over a thousand acres, was bought by tho Government. It is now too late to prepare the land for winter wheat,'and tho property i s being used for grazing purposos. The fact that no portion of the estate has been sown in cereals was mentioned at tho meeting of tho Ellosmore County Advisory Committeo onMonday. It was stated that usually from_ 400 to 500 acres of the land was put in crop. Mr J. Cunningham said that to allow nil tho property to remain in grass was going to diminish the wheat supply from the Eliesmere district to a marked extent. Assuming that the area usually sown in cereals was 400 acres and yielding 30 bushels to the aero, which was a very conservntivo estimate for a place like Homebrook, or that matter, for almost any farm in Eliesmere, the total yield would be 12,000 bushels of grain. At six bushels por head it would feed 20C0 people for a year. The members of the committee agreed that under the present circumstances it was unfortunate that such good wheat land should not be cropped this year. A member suggested that part of the land might be sown in tho spring, but the secretary said that farmers round about Southbridge woro not very keen abotit_ sowing wheat in tho spring after their experiences of tho last two seasons.