CURRENT TOPICS

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19851, 12 February 1930, Page 14

CURRENT TOPICS

THE HARVEST. The last fortnight of fine weather ha permitted harvesting to proceed apac? I and there are few parts of the provinci | where reaping is not in full progress. A run on the Main North road on Monda\ as far as Parnassus revealed the head way made in recovering harvest arrears Thore are only occasional crops ol wheat standing north of the Ashley Everywhere fields of stooks are to be seen, and in the aggregate the crop ha* stooked up better than appearod probable before cutting. In most cases th' width is not to be scon across the top 1 of the stooks that was noticeable last season, but that was an exceptional year. Not a great deal of threshing has been done yet, but a few mills art at work. Again, there is quite an amount of "leading-in," which suggests that the growers in such cases are not going to rush their wheat on a market that may become glutted now that harvesting is coming in with a rush. In the Omihi Plat some particularly good crops have been cut, judging by the number of stooks, and these will help to offset the lighter returns that will bo the rule on the faces. Lato oats 'ire looking well and should help to make up the shortage in chaff that the earlier crops predicted a scarcity of in the district. Between the Waimakariri and Ashloy rivers the greater part of th»; wheat is in stook or * being reaped. There aro many fields in the Kaiapoi and Woodend districts well studded with stooks. A few of the paddocks were badly laid and tangled in patches, but a good job has been made in cutting them. An instance of this is provided by a crop tin the Woodend district which provided the subject of an illustration in Saturday's Pre S3. It was flattened down worse than any crop the writer has aeon for years, and was, withal, about the heaviest he has come across in the province this year. Most of it had to be qut one way, and it is rather remarkable how the binder handled it. STOOK FEED. The problem of the stock farmer at the moment is to know what to do with his feed. Eight up the road lambs are to be seen on rape feed—very few lambs, as a matter of fact, are not on it—yet there are many big fields that are now at their best, and a few past it quite unstocked. Lambs have still good feed on the "breaks" they are on, and, thie being the rule, the balance of the fields run the danger of going past their best. The position explains why medium rape lambs in the market are selling so well. Few Canterbury farmers have a surplus they think it impossible to get away to the works—lines of attractive ewes and lambs, have been singularly few at Addington this season—and surplus lambs from the hill country and those from other provinces, which were such a factor in last week's supply, are assured of a very sound demand. The feed must be consumed, even if the margin for fattening is disappointing. Towards the Parnassus district a number of excellent stands of lucerne are well stocked with lambs, and a few exceptional fields of red clover also meet the eye. To those who have a soul above the £ s. d. of farming a run through the upper end of North Canterbury provides a real pleasure. Such extensive views of pastoral and arable lands as those obtainable from the tops of the Omihi Valley or thn Cheviot . hills and the Waikari end of the Weka Pass are not come across in many parts of the country. THE WHEAT YIELD. The present is a most difficult year in which to estimate the wheat yield.

There is a good deal of "patchiness" ii the crops. The storms have done somi damage, but there has never been i known case ia which the anticipatioi was not much "worse than the realisa tion. The wheat "disease" turned oul a myth—as stated at the time, the damage was the result of the storm—and the crop was well enough advanced in most cases not to be affected beyond a minor extent by the broken straw, The seed had formed, and the maturing process proceeded naturally, although not as completely as if the stalks wore unhurt. Where the storm affected crops most was in the pre-ripening stage. Little weight of grain would be got from the decumbent stalks in such cases. The extent of the damage in such cases is impossible to estimate. Fields within a few miles of one another were affected in widely varying degrees. It is this irregularity that makes estimates more or less guess work. However, it is probable that in the aggregate returns will be better than predicted. A farmer in the AshSurton County-who "header-harvested" is wheat got 48 bushels to the acre as against an expectation of 40, but in this case it was claimed that the machine did not miss any of the decumbent straws. It picks them off the ground. In North Canterbury, on the otfier hand, another farmer's crop is running out a little over 30 as against near 40 last season. Most observers in a position to express an opinion had forecasted an average of 30 bushels to the acre. Under the improved conditions it would not be surprising to see this exceeded by a couple of bushels Last season the yield was 34.60 bushels' A decline of 2} bushels and a reduced area of 23,500 acres (which is estimated) would mean a decrease on last season's aggregate return of about 11 million bushels. NORTHERN SHEEP PRICES. At the Tuakau sheep sales—the principal fair in the South Auckland district—last week there was a big entry of 19,000 sheep. Young ewes sold at a price that suggests the number coming south will be reduced this season. Two and four-tooth ewes realised 28s 3d to 30s 3d, and good four and five-year-old ewes 258 6d to 27s 6d. Older ewes that were not quite so well done were much more reasonable, and a number of lines of sound mouth "oneyear" ewes were sold at from 13s to 16s. At the Hamilton market there was a special entry of ewes direct from the Gisborne district. Again there was a large attendance of buyers, and competition was keen throughout. Practically the whole yarding of both Gisborne and local sheep was sold under the hammer. Best four-tooth ewes made from 27s to 27s lid, six-tooth ewes 25s 6d to 26s 6d, four and fivo-j;ear-olds from £1 to 245, local twotooth ewes 295, and local four and five-year-old ewes 19s to 23s 6d. WOOI. SELLING SEASON. As it is customary for Bradford to be blamed for every ill wind that blows in the wool trade (writes our Bradford correspondent), the Auckland cable blaming Bradford for not wanting a lengthened selling season caused little surprise. The writer is not going to defend the action of the British Wool

Federation, but it is plain that New Zealand wool interests have misunderstood Bradford's position. Nobody here wants to dictate any policy to either growers or selling brokers. They give their advice for what it is worth. If selling brokers keep the sales going till the end of May, those buyers who want to attend can do so. Tf local values do not satisfy New Zealand pastoralists they can send their wool to London but nobody can say whether any improvement will take place later in the year. BLUE LUPINS.

Motoring with two farming friends through the Eyreton district the other day "Straggler" came across a blue flowered crop that for a moment puzzled the party as to its character, but the case was speedily diagnosed as one of blue lupins. Increasing interest is being centred on this crop. Its value for green manuring is well realised, but it has been proved of decided assistance in stock feeding. Several farmers in the Nelson district make 1 a practice of growing it for their sheep, and in Western Australia its virtue is recognised by tho holding of competitions amongst growers, to whom substantial prize-money is awarded. On Mr R O Dixon's property at Eyreton over' 30 acres were cut one day and left in the windrow and later threshed with the harvester. The seed of blue lupins at present ranges about 7s 6d a bushel

By the Niagara, which sailed from Auckland yesterday, Messrs A. M. Weir, of Southland, and P. Mills (Hawera) left for Canada for the purpose of purchasing purebred Ayrshire cattle for breeders in New Zealand. They have been empowered i>y the Ayrshire Breeders' Association to purchase not less than four high-class young bulls.