CANTERBURY CROPS

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 December 1925, Page 3

CANTERBURY CROPS

A SATISFACTORY OUTLOOK (Special to “Star.”) IRWELL, December 1. Many fine sights are to be seen in the fields at present. The crops are in a very healthy condition; many crops of oats are out and looking well; grass seed is very plentiful and there are lots of large paddocks shut up for seed purposes. A paddock not far from Rangiora seems to be a very heavy crop and if there are no stprms ?(> should yield well over 60 bushels to the acre. Loburn has not got the same healthy colour as it had a couple of months back. The nor’ westers seem to have dried it up a little although there is not much room for complaints in the crops, which are out in ear, mostly oats. Sheep farming

is the general rule in the Loburn district and very little cropping is done. Springston County has some very fine crops and some very poor ones. Some crops will only thresh out about 20 bushels to the acre while others will in appearance at present run about 70. Ellesmere district has not the same acerage in crop as last year. A paddock of French barley has been out in ear now for over five weeks. This French barley is really a trial this year, and seems to be a fairly good barley and very early. Oats are very plentiful and there are some good crops round Dunsandel and Little Rakaia. There is only about one-third

the wheat area in this year, but peas, both garden and partridge peas, have been drilled and many fields of peas are well above the groiind. Some paddocks, where necessary, have had a light top cultivation to kill the weeds and loosen the soil. There is also a large acerage of potatoes in, anti some farmers were planting last week. Many acres of potatoes are • above ground and looking very promising. Mangels have struck this year better than in previous years. Some farmers are going from five o’clock in the morning till seven at night hoeing and cleaning the root crops. It is necessary to do this owing to the scarcity of experienced farm hands. Most of the shearing has been finished in the Ellesmere district and now the sheep farmer has a smile at the fat,lamb prices. Some good lines have gone to the Addington Market and good prices have been paid, prices varying up to 37/6. Higher prices were paid earlier in the season and just at present 35/- per head is near the mark. Most shows have been well attended and the stock has been in good condition. Great business was done at the Ellesmere show with tractors and for several days after the show a Fordson tractor was brought into the district and several other makes, but , the Fordson outclassed all other makes for sales. Next came the Peterborough. The agent takes the tractor out to the purchaser on a motor truck and it is landed in the farmer’s yard. Many tractors are put straight out to work. They are fast taking the place of horses, and it is expected next autumn there will be about,2oo tractors in this district alone, about 50 per cent, being Fords.