EARLY CANTERBURY AGRICULTURE.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20497, 16 March 1932, Page 18

EARLY CANTERBURY AGRICULTURE.

I CROPPING SIXTY YEARS AGO. Looking Uack through an 18<4 file of the "Weekly Press," "Straggler" came across an article on very much similar lines to the "Rural Rides" in Saturday's Press, except that in those days the visit was an annual one, not a weekly. There is a further difference in that the old time scribe irequently wrote ot the '"barren plains and various other aspects ot the husbandry with a bluntness that would make one extremely unpopular these times, but 111 any case some of the comments would bo inapplicable today. There were no trees and 110 water races in 1874. Discussing cropping in the Ashburton County that year the writer mentions that the sheep fanners are giving every encouragement to the agriculturist, giving the land tor one or two years' cropping after which it is laid down in grass. . . "The winds in the Rakaia district are very strong," ho mentions, "and raise clouds of dust that are very objectionable and very injurious to_ crops. For 18 miles between Rakaia and Ashburton there is nothing to break the monotony of the road but two poor dogs that are tied up in the gateways to prevent the sheep from mixing. They are supplied with food and water at regular intervals and tales are told of weary travellers across the barren plain stealing the poor dogs' water." But in regard to crops: On the Acton station there have been no less than 100 ploughs at work at, once, and this spring (1873) there have been no less than 7000 acres ■ turned over for autumn sowing.

The "Miserables." From the top of his "hack/' no doubt, arid possibly with something of a, "liver," this is how the countvy north of the Rakaia appealed to him : "When one- crosses the Rakaia on the way to Christchurch and travels, through this dreary part of the country towards Bealey'.s, one cannot help getting the miserables. Jt is a very poor country, and lor mile after mile there is nothing but an occasional sheep or bird to break the dreary monotony. However, at Mr Bealey's there is some good land. . . . The crops are no better than last year, if as good. Several people, have already turned their cattle into the corn, :is it ifi not worth cutting. The hot winds come with a force that people in Christchurch and those lucky districts near the sea have no idea of, and paddock after paddock was scorched and withered up. The average wheat yield of the district in 1873 was 11 to 12 bushels, oats 17, and barley seven. "Conrtennv is a large district, but a great deal of it i,s unproductive, principally owing to the great difficulty of procuring' water. In some places there are wells about 200 feet deep, which take as much to sink a* would build a fair house. The' district generally is much, affected; hv drought, and in manv places no grain would he harvested were it not for the strippers which are now in general use. No doubt tracts of the district now divided into small holdings will he-r-o-ue v hat it always ought to have renin inr-d —'sheep country/ " . ■'The public nouses in this district are very far apart—a bad sign, as a rule, of the.prosperity of a district," he observed.

Concluding a five column story, which embraced most of the Asliburton county, the Malvern. Yaldliurst, Stj'x, and Heathcote districts, the writer sagely remarked "that if the weather continues fair there is little doubt that the farmers will have pood luck. Generally speaking, though, there are woeful exceptions. Trusting to have to report even more favourably next year we conclude our report ot the crops." > It is interesting to note that in 1874, when strippers were coming into general use, the records show tliat the .area of wheat cropned in New Zealand was 132,428 acres, yield in c; 3,391,684 bushels, at an average yield of 25.01 hnshels to the, acre. We are not far ahead of that to-day! Five years before, in 1869. the total area cropped in the Domm-

He was the era when plantations and water wefe'to transform the countryside, even though we still have our nor'-westers and our droughts. But stock do not go waterless to-day. All this work was done by the settlers themselves, without. costly machinery, and under a non-interfering Provincial Council, which many old timers regret was ever allowed to pass away. The extension of the work that converted the plains from the conditions of t>o years ago to what they are to-day might well bo undertaken. There is surely room for a limited system ot irrigation, where 20 or 30 acres of a holding could be watered to ensure some measure of provision against the dry seasons that we may expect periodically.

PRICE OF MAIZE. MAY HELP FOWL WHEAT MARKET. —«— An Auckland report says that maize is very firm, and with a probable scarcity of supplies in the future values have advanced. Merchants are now asking 6s 3d per bushel. The cause of the advances is the difficulty of obtaining outside supplies to augment the insufficient Dominion harvest. Last season three shiploads came in from South Africa, but the exchange difficulty prevents this source, or Java, from being exploited at the present time. Both South Africa and Java are on the gold standard. With good fowl wheat available in Auckland at practically this figure, or it should be, as it can be bought at 4s 4£d in Christcliurch, there should be little demand for maize for poultry needs. Maize is not such a good feed as wheat for poultry in a warm climate like Auckland. It is too heating, even in the winter.

GERMAN BUTTER TARIFFS. SERIOUS POSITION. ITROU OfR- OW* OOBRESrO.SDEST.) LONDON, February 2. Great anxiety regarding the butter position must bo felt until tho Government's tariff policy has been officially proclaimed. In the meantime there are rumours that Denmark and the Argentine are to have the benefit of preference. "The Times" Parliamentary correspondent states:' — The intention is that substantial profcrcncc shall be given throughout the scheme to goods imported from other parts of the Empire, but this may not be adjusted finally until the Ottawa Conference, which is now expected to open on July 19th. It is suggested, for instance, that one way in which preference could be given very effectively would be by including Empire goods in the 10 per cent, category, and by including similar goods from foreign countries in the second and higher catcgory. It is understood that those who have been enquiring into the subject have considered a further possibility of extending a lower rate of preference than that given to the Empire to other countries which are willing to give this country reciprocal treatment in their markets.

New Zealand's hope lies in a free trade for her butter and a tariff on Danish. Even then with the German prohibitive tariffs Denmark will be forced to ond as much butter to England as she usually does, or more. Up to November, 1930, the basic duty or. butter imported into Germany was 25 marks per 100 kilos (2cwt), or roughly, 12s 6d per cwt at par. The imports of butter into Germiftiy in the year ending November, 1930, were 131,200 tons from various sources. In November, 1930, the duty was increased from 2o marks to 50 marks per 100 kilos, and the imports for the year ending November, 1931, were 99,000 tons, or a drop of over 32,000 tons, or 24 per cent. It may be said that some of that decrease was due to the general trade depression, but those in a position to know maintain that it was almost entirely due to the increase in duties. As from Saturday last, Germany has increased that basic rate from 50 to 100 marks per 100 kilos. She has also put on a surcharge of 36 marks per 100 kilos of butter from countries with a depreciated .'currency. These include the Argentina, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Lithuania, and Russia. There is a qualification in that they have fixed a maximum quota of 5000 tons from each of these countries, and for this quantity they will be able to market it at the old rate of 50 marks plus the surcharge of 36 marks for the countries with a depreciated currency—that is, at 86 marks per 100 kilos. That rate is actually in force to-day. The two countries mainly affected are Denmark and the Netherlands, and to a less extent, Latvia and Russia. These four countries send more than 5000 tons a year. It will take Denmark ten weeks at her present rate of export to exhaust the quota, so. that in March,-if the German (government persist in these new regulations, Denmark will have to pay a duty of 136 marks a 100 kilos, or roughly, 69s per cwt at par. Denmark will naturally turn to Great Britain to unload her surplus supplies, and this market cannot absorb the quantities except at disastrous prices. Strong representations are being made to Germany by the Scandinavian countries and by Holland, with threats of immediate reprisals. It may be that the pressure brought to bear on Germany will be too great and that she may be forced to modify the new duties before the quotas are exhausted. Already a manifesto has been issued by the Central Association of Finnish Agriculturists, inviting all citizens to join in a boycott of German-made goods. It is proposed that this boycott should last until the withdrawal of the raised duty by, Germany.

The first sale of marked calves (at Hawera) held outside the Waikato district was, a great success. . A line of five calves made £ 7 ss, considerably more than double the best price for unmarked calves at the regular sale. The average price of marked calves sold under the hammer was £4 7s 6d. considered highly satisfactory in 'view of conditions. A feature was that a large percentage was secured by South Taranaki farmers, thus keeping progeny of some of the district's best stock in the province. Jerseys predominated and also met with the best sale. One hundred and thirty-six calves were sold under the hammer, while most of the others were sold by private treaty at average prices. The average butter-fat backing of all the calves catalogued was 3741b in 280 days, while in some lots . it was considerably over 4001b. It was considered that the prices paid indicated that buyers were not speculating, but were out to secure stock with butter-fat backing for herds.