THE HARVEST

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LX, Issue 17, 3 March 1939, Page 4

THE HARVEST

THRESHING WILL SOON BE

FINISHED

YIELDS VERY SATISFACTORY

It is a long time since farmers have had such a period of fine weather for harvesting as during this season. The threshing mills have had practically a straight run since they first went, out and in consequence there is now very little crop left to thresh in 3ome parts of the district. A continuance of the present weather will see all but a few very late cereal crops threshed by the end of next weeK,

On the whole the yields have been very good, quite a number of wheat returns over 60 bushels to the acre having been reported, in one case of 90, while there have been comparatively few threshe3 under 40 bushels. Barley everywhere has yielded remarkably well. The highest return reported is 110 bushels to the acre, but yields between 80 and 90 bushels have been fairly numerous. Another interesting fact is that the grain generally is plump and of excellent colour and the proportion of seconds is very small. There should be no cause for complaint about the milling qualities of the wheat, even in those cases headers have been used.

The different varieties of garden peas are also turning out splendidly. Not only is the sample really excellent, but the yields have been such as to make the crop a very payable one. A Dunsandel farmer obtained 73 bushels to the acre and a Squthbridge farmer 59. Returns from 45 to 55 bushels have been reported frequently. There were, of course, a few failures, but even after allowing for these the average yield from garden peas is likely to work out at about 40 bushels to the acre, which must foe regarded as very satisfactory. Pea threshing has been going on at the same time as the threshing of the cereals, and only a few very late crops of peas will be left to thresh after another fortnight if the weather does not break.

A noticeable feature at present is the large quantity of threshed grain standing in paddocks all over the district. This is due partly to the unusually rapid rate at which threshing has been done by the large number ,} of mills now in service, but mainly $> the difficulty in securing sufficient railways trucks. That loading could be done very rapidly when trucks are available was shown at Southbridge today. Ten trucks, brought in by the morning train were all loaded with grain in a few hours. The difficulty from the Railway Department's point of view is that there is a heavy demand for waggons from all parts of Canterbury at present.