COLONIAL AGRICULTURE.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 81, 8 October 1879, Page 3

COLONIAL AGRICULTURE.

The deficiency ih ; tbe wheat crops of the greater portion of Europe and mary of the .districts of America, caused by unseasonable' weatliir^flobds arid storms, is. naturally ci eating some uneasiness,' and at Horde matters are ; boginiiirig to assume rather a serious aspect, vln additioirto an unusually protracted and sererei iwinter, t jtnd the floods, storms, and cold Weather., bl the spring and months, latest advices intdrrn^ us thafc ; the ; pfbspectsi of tK4 farmers are. stilt further darkened by the bad weather prevailing during harvestTtinieT There is eye;ry reafon to feaji tjhat large as -; wis the number of bankruptcies anipiig .the agriculturists ttuu was gazetted last year— more than double that dfahypreviousygarof late —that number will be greatly exceeded WQ£se,]?r^enl year. can»ot, withiiigh^wnta, tithes, and taxes, wake both ends'meet when subjected to teen co^petition-;\vith countries where^ rehts'are notfsorWgh, and labor cheaper, and when, -as atthe. present time, bad seasons and bad harvest weather super- : Tened insolrehcy mnst become, much J&oj^gejieraT than it ;:was even last year. The land at} Home ;has ; been under ;■ :W* c and having bad jsomuch Virtue extracted from it re'qnires that its productive -powers should be stimulated m order t o >prevent gradually . increasing deficiency of yield. Though J^tehj^niaybe, and is; done iti this diree-W'-'rJ a -judicious rotation of cropping, thexSOUrS^U requires a large .amount of manuring. Fertilizing ageriti whether natural .or artificial, whether imported from. foreign countries or produced m tte fariuryard, : aU ;mean capi^l-^even ■tSH 6 fatter is ■ nqmeanitem of expense/in • ■ Wages, horse feed^nd wear and tear of v plant, while m the case, of . guano , bonedust, or cheinicallyKprepared manures, the cost of tlie article-^from £7 to £12 rper.*ton---has to j;be added on, and the tenant farmer fin;ds that what with high rents, taxes, and manures, the balance . -the year's transactions is oil i the - wrong side of thoMedger. It must be extremely unsatisfactory to him to find that after toiling as tie has clone, rising ,^-vly, and late taking rest, and eating tne bread of carefulness, he is not one whit the. better, but rather the worse. JNO wonder, then, tbatttiany are casting about for fresh, fields of labor before the supreme evil isniponthem, and they •am^^hlesslT *5ld up andleft without lylull gj. " They see the inevitabl-s dis•'.■■.tmctiy/ 'looming up m the immediate -future; should they remain where they ■;\M?e, and with commendable prudence tl»y have resolved to sell-off, and betake themselves to; other lands where they will not be~ so heavily handicapped m svthe great raceaflife. , Many are turning a longing eye to America, and still more i to Australia ..and New Zealand, .where . thej can acquire the fee simple of land ; jat considerably less a sum than they are now paying yearly as rent, to say nothing <?f- tithes and taxes. : ? : ' : < '^Wrtb, $ vifetf to aid those who have not yet decided whether Australia^ or Few Zealand is io be their adopted tome, we reproduce from the TFa»y^ai Herald the following interesting paragraph showing, the. relative grain-pro-ducing powers of the two countries ;-^ Now Zealand bids fair to be one of the largest grain growing countries m the world. In the year 1877-8, no less than . 11,260,000 bushels of; wheat and oats were grown ; •■whilst the yield during the year 1878-79 had increased 'to 14,247,000 .bushels. '. Victoria, with more than double the population, pros duced only 3,062,000 bushels, The yield during the past^year was 26 bushels or^wheat, »nd 31-e;b,ushels of oata^per acre ; while the respective yields m Victoria were only ■ 123 and lS'S^btisheli per acre. Presuming that our- contemporary's /figures; are correct, the result of the Gomparisori seems almpstUncredible,and must tell immensely m" Kew -Zealand s favor, when the exodus of British farmers from the land o£ their birth takes place, as it inevitably must, sooner . or later. We may also -add for further information -'that the" average yield of South Australia hasjdeclined within the last five-and-twenty jears : from 30 to 5 bushels per acre: -We have not the ireturnsiorJSrew; South T^ales.or Queens, land—^the other colopies -which go to make, up the vast continent of Australia—but we'Wlieve that their average is not above that of Victoria Thus we" , see that .the yield .of wheat m New Zealand is one hundred and twenty per cent, greater than, or more tlian double; tiiatof anycolony m Australia, while with double its population, the latterdoes not grow, a quarter of the quantity. INew Zealand^ not like Australia, suK ject to long droughts or hot "winds, which prove, so destructive alike tb crops and pastures. We suffer from a jsuperV" abundance of the precious element rather r than from its deficiency, Tliis caused m a great.measure,. the almost wonder, ' fnl productiveness of root crops m the cblbny; In the matter "of cereals the only difficulty we have to contend with is m the direction of another of the elements. We are liable to high -winds just about harvest tiuie, but this need ;;•* • cimse the farmer, no anxiety if he follow •the system which, of late has beeii federally advocated and adopted at Eofl»e r thirt <if Qfttting aa sooa §,» tlw

straw begins to change color, and leaving the grain to ripen m the sheaves. When we add that New Zealand enjoys one of the healthiest climates m the world, and is entirely free from the poisonous reptiles and insects with which Australia abounds, we think that the tenantfarmers at Home,, who are bent on seeking fresh homes, but are still undecided as to the relative merits of Australia and New Zealand, will have no difficulty m awarding New Zealand the preference.