WEATHER AND CROPS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1316, 20 December 1911, Page 8

WEATHER AND CROPS.

SOME OITICIAI, RKPOIJTS. • : Reports from 'officers of (ho - Agricultural Department in Hie various districtOn the urather during the ■ pnr-t month and the'condition of the .pastures.' and '■. crops"are 'published in the. Department's .'• ■ 'Journal." ; Aniong-t the reports ore 1 the following:— ' ' New Plymouth".:-A very ' vet. cold niohlb, with frequent thunderstorms and ' hail. ; The gi-a.-> is Very • backward, and (his, combined''with''the cold weather, has been very damaging." to - the returns of dairy"farmers; who'are not only gettingless milk, biit'there is a lower test. As this-is n dairying district aiid the spring and early sun'iiuor mouths are considered the best for'milk; Hie 'outlook is not. bright. Pastures are very backward; a scarcity of grass for this season of the year. Oats ore short, in straw, and backl ward. The.ro is less blight in potatoes. A steadyjnercasc is noticed in (ho amount of-land-under-cultivation, fanners realising the necessity of renewing (heir pastures and growing more winter feed; also, that-cultivation-is the only means of eradicating blackberries and other noxious weeds/ -The weather has delayed the root and maize crops.- It is a cold and backward season. . Stratford.—An exceptionally heavy rainfall for tho month, accompanied by hail aud .severe thunderstorms, which' haveinterfered with the sowing of turnips, mangels, maize, etc. Although showing a. marked improvement during the month pastures are not as good as usual at this time of the year, growth being retarded .by .the cold cutting winds, which have also caused adecrease in the milk supply. There is little growth in green fecd, ; and roots are backward as well as potatoes... _ Tfawora.—The weatbnr has been unsettled in. the extreme, and at limes quite windy, cold north-west winds with rain' a,nd hailstorms having been almost eon- . tinuous, with very little' sunshine experienced. The unseasonable weather has had 'a bad .effect on ..the output of milk at the factories,- .which is said to be at least .13 f>er cent lower than'for the corresponding period of Inst season. In spite of unfavourable weather conditions, pastures have made, good and feed is now fairly' plentiful, though not' so good as usual for this,tipie .of the.year. Jloizo is' exhibiting very slow growth, and. mangels are, making a poor'start, in many cases having,.had to be rcsown. . .Wanganui,—November has been w-ct iind ■■boisterously windy, with' occasional thunder, accompanied by torrential' downpours, of .rain, and hail. The..temperature"', has shown u marked absence of l seasonable v.armth- generally, and there have .been short periods..of.quite cold weather. Pastures and crops -in. spite, of. much .wind, and .absence of seasonable •heat, anil favoured by circulation of ample moisture,'are doing well. Roots, etc., are doing well. . ■ Hastings.—Slrong'wiiuls. have continued throughout the month, accompanied by cold rain on the inland ranges. Little rajn has been experienced on the coast. Pastures are good ,on "the back country, but on the cpa.sl and lower country there is little growth.- lircen. ferd is fair, and crops .'are promising fairly well. Toe grass-seed is not a heavy crop, but it is Clean. . ' ■ ■•■'.-.. AVaipukurau:—This month's weather has been pr'actieally'a repetition of that of last wiiifls'irith r a-little more rain from Tnkapau south, "but northof this just about, the same rainfall as last month, and just as much wind, which dries up the rain nearly as quickly as it falls. The continuous high winds Are drying up the grass in high country anil in soil of a dry nature. Other localities are looking fairly well. Green j feed and crops looking fairly well. Mangaweka.—The past month has been Very rough and boisterous. Rain has fallen oh fifteen days. Shearing is being kept back owing to tho wet, and the prospects of settled weather are not yet very bright. Heavy losses have taken place throughout this district in cattle. If farmers would only make more provision for winter their losses would not be so great. Grass counlrv is looking splendid, but near tho Kiiahine Ranges, where the rountfv had a bis set-back by last year's drought, and in the Kimbolton cotmtry, the grass is very backward. Crops, oil a vcrv limited scale, are looking well. In hinnv" qases lambing percentages are very low.* The Kimbolton country is bare of cras=, and is verv badly affected with brasi-gr'ib. Still," all flip country looks well, and stocks are healthy. Ohakune.—The,weather' has-been Very unseasonable, high winds having been experienced, and heavy cold .-rains. A severe thunderstorm, accompanied by frequent, flashes of lightning, and followed by a heavy.downpour, look place. 'A few sheep have been shorn, and have suffered through the w ; eather conditions. The unsettled weather has greatly -retarded general shearing. Pastures hove ininrbv>d, the 'improvement being 'more noticelble on sheltered areas. In parts' of the iistrtct docking has just been, completed, lambing percentages being in son'io in-Jtnnces-as low as 25 per cent., the last •etnrns being obtained, in Rangaww aiid Pimgatawi Blocks. Those engaged ■in lairy-farming have felt the influence of ho "weyflier,.- the returns being cpnsid■v'abiv below that of the corresponding nnntli of last season. - ■ • Jrastcrtou.—A very, boisterous month, villi thunder, and! hailstorms, There has Kfin.a.grsat deal of rain, with very high rinds, drying up the country immediately liter the rains; the stormiest November npntii experienced for years. A. frp's't did e'nside.rahle damage Jo the potato-crops. I'he, high wint(s .have . done considerable lajnage. to the orchards, some .trees-being ompiciely stripped." A good growth •in U pastures,.exceptionally good in places, mi the Inch-country "has been greatly afccted by the high winds. What green odd .is *iu -is very .good.. Several crops >f.dwarf, maize, have been sown for fced--11(5, stud tlo.cks. These, are doing well, s well as other-maize' crops. Mangel, iniize. and kale crops are being sown for xpc'riiriental purposes'. A considerable .rea 'is i.n oats, aiid tho crops are imtsty.looking.very .well. Recent frosts have etarded the growth- of potatoes, other-, .•ise.lhe.prospects arc good,. ■Pabintiisv—The month's- weather has ieeu. like spending a .mouth-., oft' Capo forn iu September or October. Shearng is being delayed, outdoor work is bong hampered . owing . to. tho soil being ■hat is. known as too., ejiirty to do. .-myhing with it. This kind of.weather is aiying- a bad effect on things generally, 'bore, is .not the .quantity of food iu the astures there should be for tho mpnfh of icvembcr. Except where a stimulant has cen used, green feed is at a standstill ii; cases.- Crops generally are lookng- fairly ,well. ... Pleuheim.—The weather for the piat ".oiith has .boen cojd.a.nd unseasonable, tpong gales have been continuous; .genrally ending in a good, fall of rain, with now .in .the higher country, and. on- one c-casiop with a heavy fall of hail iu'the. 'a' "■.a!lp,v.,. Xho nights .'have been cold, ud.on two occasions there were 5-de-rP?s Qf.. frost, but, ..fortimalelv,-. no ser.us damage was doue. If the present ■eatlicr continue*:.the crops must, sutler, s harvesting' is now under way.