PASTURES AND CROPS.

Dominion, 24 February 1913, Page 8

PASTURES AND CROPS.

OFFICIAL JANUARY REPORTS. Reports supplied by,officers of tihe Fields and Experiments Division of the Department 'of Agriculture give the following information as. to the fcondition of :the' pastures and crops during January:— ;■■ New 'Plymouth.—Most of the; hoy and ensilage has bten made, and tho yield is well_ up to the'average.''. Pastures are looking particularly well, and, there is an abundance of feed; The root crops as. a 'whole aro below the average; many are very patchy. Tho late-sown turnips promise to be far . better than the. early.: Maize is looking well. ■-,: ... '•'.-'• Stratford.—The fine dry. weather of. last month, began'to. aJTcct the pastures, and the milk supply was on the decrease ami turnips at'd'standstill. . During tho early; part of January very heavy rain fell, which freshened up all vegetation, and saved the late-sown turnips, mangolds, etc' The farmers' winter feed is now well assured. .Poverty Bay.—There,is.fair feed 'on.tho inland hill country, but'near the coast pastures aro rather short and dried up. Water for stock is short'in some lccali-, ties.. There will be good cropsyof. maize,. as they.got a fair, start- before' tho; very dry'weather set-in.... Settlers are taking advantage of tho dry weather to get fires through the- logsnhd. standing '. dry .trees. and a cPnsidevablo area of bush country has thereby received n good clearing of useless timber that has hampered, mustering and other work:'-.-'' . North Wairarapa.—Tho month was very sultry' and dry, pastures and all green crops suffering accordingly. In the Ekctahuna district there were occasional showers, which' wero of great value to stock owners, and there is abundance of. feed. Within, the vicinity of Mastcrton: the country is dry. Masterton.—Caterpillars made their appearance recently, and did a good deal of- damage, oats suffering, the. most: ' Algerians appear to resist the ravages: of tho pest. Tho turnip-fly.'- also has dono cenr siderable damage, and in some cases the turnips have had to bo resown. There hnvo been some excellent' crops of good clean cccksfoot-?ccd saved this year, and n lot of'really good seed has been allowed to"gO' to waste. ■■' There were.some very good crops of early potatoes, and the present crops are looking very well. ' Feed is plentiful throughout the district. ' Blenheim.—Owing to the lateness of tho frosts, the yield of'peas' is below the average; in some cases they were so ,'pcor that threshingorerations had to cease. ■ Seddon.—There have been record crops, of barley, ranging froni 50 .to 67 bushels' per acre. .Most farmers'in .this district are fortunate in having, a considerable amount of rape on hand, enabling thein to hold lambs pending settlement ;of tho freezing works' dispute. '■ '