THE WHEAT QUESTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9087, 22 June 1888, Page 3

THE WHEAT QUESTION.

Sir, —As an extended culture of wheat may prove one factor in the future prosperity of the Auckland Provincial District, and as it is of considerable importance that such varieties of the cereal are grown as will command a ready sale, a discussion of the subject must prove of advantage. I forward the following letter, written by a well-known Auckland miller, who, for good reasons, does not wish his name to be mixed up with any correspondence on the question. From a miller's standpoint, it is a very good and opportune letter. As will be noticed, if Auckland farmers were inclined to produce certain classes of grain, and, of course, in sufficient quantities, this province might, to a large extent, be independent of imports from the Southern districts, which would mean that money would be retained here that has now to be sent away ; in addition to which, extra labour would be required to produce larger breadths of wheat and oats :—

Auckland, June 15, 18SS. To " Agricola." Dear Sir,—Thanks very much for your letter re winter and spring wheat in yesterday's Herald. It was very good, and will, I think ; with the assistance of similar ones to back it up, benefit both the millers and farmers. In regard to the question under discussion, the whole thing lies in a nutshell as far as we are concerned. We must have winter wheat for milling, to make the white loaf now demanded by the poorest, and if farmers will not crow it, we simply import from the South. 'I his is a concrete fact from which there is no getting away; and good money, which should circulate North, is diverted elsewhere, as we have to suit our customers, or resign the trade to rival Southern millers, wlio will make to suit their patrons, so our farmers must grow the grain we require (g winter J spring) or let better men do the business. To snow you that good winter wheat can be grown here, I send you a sample of some velvet chaff raised at Morrinsville (that hitherto despised light land. This wheat weighs Sslb per bushel, and some of the Waikato tuscan (spring) went &3 to 651b per bushel. The local spring wheats seem to have a greater percentage of moisture in them than the winter, and they are not worth so much per bushel. Hence the top price that wo have given for spring is 3s lα, while for good winter we have paid 3s 3d, all delivered in our store, Auckland. The question, how to grow wheat, is for farmers to consider. That is their business purely. This, I may remark, that they might grow it if they went in for systematic rotation of crops. Of course, I can understand that spring wheat after turnips in the Waikato suits them remarkably well, but when they all do this, and cause a glut in the market, they cannot expect millers to purchase wheat they do not want, though they do expect it, judging by the growl they make when they (the farmers) cannot sell it. With reference to your remarks re gluten in winter and spring wheat, that is our reason, and you can understand that there is a maturity about the winter not found in the spring. Farmers seem to have cut their spring wheat while too green, thus accounting for the greater percentage of moisture and less percentage of gluten. If farmers would grow a crop of clover and oats together, cut the oats, aq,d plough in the clover, and then sow the winter wheat, this ought to help them, as you know that clover leaves three tons per acre of roots in the ground, to say nothing of the green tops, all of which would be ploughed in. It would also help considerably if they ploughed their stubble at once, and sowed mustard or rape for ploughing in. This wousd cover the stubble land, and prevent the growth of weeds, about which some so strongly object to in growing winter wheat, lisend you a sample of oats'trom Morrinsville (Canadian oats). These are quite fit: for milling, and about the best sample in the market. If such wheat and oats as I send you can be grown North in quantity (and I do not see why they cannot), there should be no reason to import any from the South.

BKPiiY.—The samples of wheat and oats are both first-class, though there ie good land at Morrinsville, or was when I was there some time ago. Farmers who are purposing to sow winter wheat, if they are in want of seed, should go in for some of this velvet chaff, as both that variety and Hunter's pearl can be sown from May to July, according to the state and location of the land to be sown. In regard to the oats, it is not unusual to get upwards of sixty bushels to the acre down South of this variety (Canadian). When the fine crops of winter wheat that have been raised during last season in Waikato are taker* into consideration, together with the fact that a little more money has been given for winter than for spring wheat; and when ib is further borne in mind that the millers put it down as an indisputable point thab they muse have a larger proportion of winter wheat, I think wheat-growera will come to the conclusion that they must so adapt their system of rotation cropping as to be able to grow winter wheat jusb as well as spring sorts.—l am, &c, Agricola.