THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK.

Evening Star, Issue 14626, 24 July 1911, Page 1

THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK.

I The agricultural returns that have been ; recently gazetted, if they do not us ol j record yields per Acre and barns bursting with cereal treasures, at least- assure us that some of the prophets of evil who persisted on spelling disaster for the season of 1910-11 were a long way out of their reckoning. Rural and racecourse guessers are far removed from fallibility—you never know for a certainty until the numbers are up. There has of late been acme room for uncertainty in connection with our agricul- ] tuval statistics, because there were no collections of this valuable information, in cither 1909 or in 1910. This year these icterus were garnered when the census was taken in April List, after the corn and pulse crops were aJI harvested, and no doubt farmers ware able to approximate more closely to the yields than when walking through their striding crops. The departmental authorities believe that, the returns published may be taken as sub etantislly correct. They show a considerable decrease o! grain and green crops compared with recent years;, but- not to an extent that can be regarded as at all serious. Taking the wheat crop, we find that in the I season IGO9-10 the acreage under this cereal I was the most extensive in our agricultural i history—namely. 311.000 acres, which gave j our farmers 8,661.100 bushels, or an average | of 28 bushels per acre. For the past sea- | god the .acreage war. 302.541 acres, that j yielded 8.W0,926 bushels, or nn averagCof j 25.73 bushels per acre. This yield is lower Hum it, has been since ISOI-02, when if foil to 24.76 bushels. It will be recognised that there is very little room left for lamentation by our wheat farmers when it is remembered that the average yield of wheat per acre in the neighboring Commonwealth for the season 1909-10 was 13.73 bushels, and that was the highest average ever obtained since wheat exporting began The next most important crop to Otago and Southland farmers particularly is that of oats. The area harvested last season was 302.058 acres, which yielded 10,093,564 bushels, or an average of 33.42 bushels per acre. Decreased attention has of late vcars been paid to this cereal, for in 1909 the oat crop covered 406,908 acres, and in 1910 377.000 acres, and the violds were, respectively 46.46 arid o7 bushels per acre. The barley crop does- no: so immediately concern South Island cultivstoiti, but it has evidently received less attention than formerly. There were 33.212 acres under crop, compared with 41.500 acres in the previous season, and the yield per acre fell from 31 to 27.72 bushels last season. That very necessary tuber the potato has also suffered from comparatively unfavorable conditions during the past seai-on. In 1909-10 there were 30.500 acres tinder this crop, that gave the cultivators 6 tons to the acre ; but in the season jtitvi closed the acreage decreased to 28,185. and the returns averaged 4.90 tons per acre. Here, again, by comparison with Commonwealth production, it will bo seen that our ratio ot productiveness is indeed an enviable one, Victoria is the greatest producer. Tasmania taking second place, and New South Wales ranking third. In no year have the Victorian fields ever given more than 5.45 tons per acre (less than 2 j tons in 1904-05), and Tasmania, where the soil, climate, and general conditions are j highly favorable for potato-growing, the j highest yield has not gone beyond 5.87 j tons per'acre, and in the season 1909-10 the average was but 2.82 tens. { The returns published indicate that the i Otago and Canterbury districts have been called the drought, and that the green crops have given .most evidence of the want of accustomed moisture. This has probably not been e.o general as'is sometimes thought. ■ A more hopeful aspect is to be gained by the fact that, contrary to expeetitior.r-, the entries for potatoes and j roots for the approaching show in' our Phovnix-like Agricultural Hail show a marked increase over those of last year. Visitors are pro in tod a display of, potatoes, mangels, and carrots that- will demonstrate the fertility of soil, and make Australian visitors laugh when told that. th\>y come from drougnt-afflicted districts. No doubt the shortage in the rainfall has caused a deflection in rural Industrie:-- from corn-growing to dairying and sheep-farming. This diversion will also find expression in the approaching Show, for which.the entries in factory cheese and of hams and bacon show a noticeable increase. Dairying and pig-feeding naturally go together, and hence it is that the North island is so far ahead of the South in this important branch of rural industry. Auckland provincial district gives styroom and paddock range for 71,895 pit.s. T.inniaki for 50.265, Wellington for 44.472, Canterbury for 32,073, while Otaeo can only muster 25,848. I he intimate connection between pig-feeding and dairy farming is further shown by the returns that pla.ee 73 per cent, of the Xorih If hind rattle amongst the dairy eo\\« and heifers intended for dairying, and only 27 per cent, of the South Island c.title destined to such u.se. If the. increased number of entries in the bacon and ham classes at the approaching Show indicate a growing determination on the part- of our dairy farmers to launch out moi'o extensively into this profitable b.v.nch of farming, great, benefits will ac•trne, both to prodievn? ;i.i:d consumer. There, are already 'o hrnd line breeds of IJerkshiie.. Yorkshire, and Tarn worth pigs, that are in favor with bacon turere. and, according to experts, pigs require no better .attention than a good grass paddock with a liberal supply of roots and a little mithrashed pea-haulm, for a few weeks before killing, with plenty of water and a fair amount of shelter. Everyone hits local experience of the excellent quality of the locally-ctind hams "and bacons in Dune-din, but taking a larger view of the pi< r pi est ion makes it desirable that the pork and bacon industry should grow to export proportions. The British market' is open, meat-carrying steam-ships are increasing' in size and swiftness, and the equable temperature prevalent in the Dominion is very favorable to curing operations. If we can go to Australia to institute comparisons, showing our natural advantages, we. can also go there to find stimulants to enterprise. The number of pigs in 'the Dominion is leturncd at 745.092, showing a.n increase of 3,964 over (.he previous year, but in the Commonwealth there were over a million in 1905, with decreases in that number on following years, in consequence of a growing expansion in the- export of bacon! hams", pork, and brd. which tot died in value, according to the last returns available, no less than £36.129. Our own exports of bacon and hams comprised 1,994ewt in 1908, , and 1.364ewt in the following year. . or a. decrease of 62Gewt. This shrinkage- in _ what should be a most important adjunct to the cultivation of our soil has no doubt justified the com•mer.ts made in the last report issued by the Department of Agriculture to the effect that pigs are not receiving the attention they deserve. " .Most farmers," it- is reported, "keep some, but there is often " room for improvement in the conditions ' "under which they ? L re housed and fed. "Granted that tuberculosis is most fre- ' "quently commmrca'ed to them through ; '' the medium of factor}- skim milk, it ] " must be admitted that a predisposition j "to disease is caused by the animals being j " kept in in.-anitary and enclcsm- s ! "and buildings." " This mu c t be regarded ! as disclosing a somewhat serious condition of things in connection wi-h a branch of rural industry from which much is expected in the future. This is made the more serious by reading the reports sent in by inspectors in charge of the various dairying districts. One of these officers

states, with regard to the Wanganui district, that " pneumonia in its var ©us forma "still claims a fair number of young pigs. "Judging by the reports received from the "abattoirs, bacon factor es, etc., it would "appear that tuberculosis is on the increase, which is probably contributed to "by the conditions under which pigs are " kept on matiy farms, shelter and drainage " being alike inefficient. If we hope to "check the spread of tubeiculosis among "swine, there will have to be a radical " change in the system of housing and "feeding." Ofher inspectois report in the same condemnatory strain. Amongst the valuable adjurcts to farming that is still lamentably in the background is that of poultry farming, which may be said.to be only in its infancy, and a very backward child at that. Its stunted growth 16 the more to be deplored because expert* are employed by the State for the purpose of letting our farmers know what are the best methods of running the industry on profitable lines. There are four breeding stations, where education is free, and from which stock of approved strains can be obtained on reasonable terms. Yet with these advantages at our doors we have no more poultry and eggs to dispose of than will meet domestic requirements and supply the ocean-troing sreamrrs that frequent our ports. Our exports are nil, while the annual value of poultrv products in New South Wales is estimated at. £1,202.000, in Victoria £1,547.000. and South Australia £399,349, and out of the surplus in these States an export trade is being built up, particularly in the form of frozen poultry. All these aspects of our agricultural condition and prospects, as well as many others of mir.or importance, will naturally be under the public eye at Show time, and will no doubt form subjects for discussion and inquiry among'! the hundreds of country visitors who will scan the exhibits with a critical eye. Even the best of them will go back to their pastures convinced _that m these days of progress and competition it will not do to be- laggaicls in enterprise.