NELSON NEWS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 56, 7 March 1930, Page 14

NELSON NEWS

THE HARVEST SEASON

GOOD YEAR ON THE WHOLE

■• (From Our Own Correspondent). NELSON, 6th March. The fine-month, of February turned what promised to be a very poor season for the farmer in the Nelson province into a season which should result in a little.better': than average return from the land. In the early part of the season an unprecedented amount of wet weather was-ex-perienced; hay. crops were spoilt, crops were drowned, tomatoes and potatoes were in'a soft condition and susceptible to blight. Judging from the returns from crops already threshed, the yield is .well up to the average, and the sample inmost cases.'. quite; good. Pea crops suffered ratherbadly.'for these crops will not stand too much, wet; but the acreage under this crop at present is very much smaller than formerly. On the other hand the growing of green peas for canning purposes has become a very important industry, and thousands of bags have been gathered in the Waimeas during the past season. Pea-picking has become a payable proposition with the /air sex, many good cheques having been "knocked up." Tomatogrowers, earlier in the season, prophesied that the crops would be a complete. failure, but inquiries have elicited that after all things were not so bad, and_ the returns in most cases have been quite satisfactory, the higher prices secured compensating for the decreased yield. Root crops show much promise, and with a few showers to keep them going there should be no shortage of turnips, swedes, and mangolds, while potatoes will no doubt be greatly helped by the present fine weather, which will have the effect of checking the blight which threatened earlier in the season. ■ Tobacco-growers are taking full advantage of- the fine weather, and harvesting operations are in full swing. The growth of leaf seems to be heavier than usual, and if the weather remains reasonably fine there should be little difficulty with the drying,. as the crops are being harvested in good time, and drying operations should be practically over before the damp weather sets in with its attendant mould —the bane "of the tobacco-grower. The apple crop promises to show a large increase on last year. The early rain, had the effect of giving the fruit plenty of colour—a valuable quality when landed', in the Home markets. From the dairy farmers' point of view the season has been an excellent ione. Some hay was .spoilt, but growth has been so rapid that in many cases second cuts have been made and harvested in perfect condition. Owing to the plentiful supply of succulent feed, factory returns have been good in spite of the low prices ruling. The dairying industry' is increasing rapidly in the Waimeas and surrounding districts, and numbers of machines are about to be installed ready for next season. With the judicious use of fertilisers and the growth of suitable fodder crops to. tide over the dry period, farmers are finding that dairy farming pays, and instead of being in many cases just a side line, it is rapidly becoming one of the main industries of the district. A'number of Nelson apple exporters are complaining that there appears to be little prospect of improving the shipping arrangements from Nelson, which produces two-thirds of the total of fruit exported from New Zealand. There is an agitation for the formation of a live local fruit council concentrating on Nelson problems and entirely .uninfluenced by the views of other districts. The Fruit Export Control Board comprises six members, including two Government nominees. Five members of'the board are, residents of the North Island, while the only South Island member has left New Zealand on an extended trip. Growers are criticising the heavy expenditure being incurred for administration in Wellington, and such apparent blunders, after four or five years' experience, as the shutting out of first early varieties in favour of cookers, whose closing date for acceptance for export is 11th March, compared with the Gravenstein variety on 10th February and the

Worcester variety on 14th February, IB causing discontent. Miss Beryl Price, a pupil of Nelson Girls' College, has been awarded a Lissie Rathborie Scholarship, given for excellence in English and history at the Junior University Scholarship examination. Miss Price, has entered Victoria University College.