THE HARVEST

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22004, 30 January 1937, Page 17

THE HARVEST

PROSPECTS IN ELLESMERE

LATE CROPS SHOW BEST

PROMISE

Ideal harvesting weather has prevailed in the Ellesmere district during the last two days, and the reaping of early cereals has been in progress on most of the farms. All crops are much later this season, and many of those sown in the late spring will not be ready for the reaper for at least a fortnight. It is a long time since crops of all kinds have been so slow in reaching maturity. This is especially so in the case of -peas, three parts of which are usually cut by the third week in January, whereas scarcely any have ripened sufficiently for harvesting yet. The reason is, of course, the exceptionally wet season, the frequent showers causing the peas to continue growing and flowering, and the straw in the cereal crops to remain in a sappy condition. Better Spring Sown Crops

It is now quite apparent that there is going to be a reversal of the usual order of things this season, in that the spring sown cereals, wheat in particular, will turn out much better than the grain sown in the autumn and early winter. A perusal of the rainfall records during 1936 makes the reason fairly obvious. Almost 20 inches of rain in the months of February, March, and April thoroughly saturated the soil, making it difficult to get early sowing done, even on fairly free country, and impossible on most of the heavy land. Further rains kept the land in a sodden condition, and nearly five inches in July gave the early crops little chance of doing well. A substantial part of tne spring sowing had to be delayed until October. Many farmers who usually grow a considerable area of wheat found it impossible to get their land into condition in time, and _so the greater part had to be sown in barley and peas. It was apparent two or three montns ago that the early wheat had not stooled out properly, and that generally the crops were thin and not likely to produce the usual large heads. One or two paddocks of wheat, which have already been threshed, have given disappointing yields, ranging from 32 to 36 bushels, whereas 50 bushels or more might well have been expected from the class of land. There has been the same expend ence with early barley, much more of which has been threshed than is the case of wheat. The quality of both the wheat and barley threshed up to the present is, however, excellent.

Reduced Wheat Sowing Unavoidable A reduction in the wheat acreage is apparent, due rather to circumstances over which growers had no coniroJ than to any disinclination to sow as much as usual. But for the abnormal weather there would certainly have been a much larger area m wheat The spring wheat is. in most cases, doing very well. It has stooled out far better, has headed well, and ll J e should make up to some extent for the shortcomings of the early sown gram. Very little wheat has been beaten down by the weather. . . . There appears to be a substantial increase in the barley acreage, an while the major portion of the early sown crop is decidedly on the light side, most of the late sown barley is really excellent, and many high yields mav be looked for in those localities suited to this cereal. A good part of the early oat crop is very light, but there arc some line areas of late ,sown. Quite a few been beaten down and badly tangled, presenting a difficult job for the reaper. Comparatively little grass seed is being -harvested.

Peas Remarkably Good

It looks as though pea growers are in for a win this season, particularly those who have "one in for the garden varieties. Low prices have tended to make the growing of partridge peas much less popular than was the case a few years ago. Areas of partridge which have come under notice have made tremendous growth, reaching in some cases to the height of the gorse fences. ,

Clover Crops

Seldom has the district known such a season for white clover. Scores of paddocks have been a mass of clover for many weeks. Four or five weeks ago there was every indication of something like a record acreage being cut for seed, but since then other growths have shot ahead at a rapid rate, making it impracticable to harvest a substantial part of the area closed up. A fair amount of cutting is now being done. Red clover is also making great growth, notably in paddocks where hay has been harvested, and it will not be. surprising if the quantity of seed saved has a marked effect upon prices. Except in some low-lying areas where they were drowned out. potatoes are looking splendid, but it is 100 early to make any estimate of yield prospects.

Growth of Weeds One other respect in which the season has been one of the most remarkable on record is in the growth of wild tares, wild oats, and wilds of all kinds. Some grain crops have been ruined by tares, while in others large patches have been overrun, the tares showing up to the height of the heads of grain. Harvesting in these cases will be an unenviable job. Wild oats are very prominent in all parts of the district. There has been an increase in the number of small threshers and once the grain is fit it will be dealt with rapidly if the weather is anything like normal.