THE CORN CROPS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11842, 20 December 1901, Page 5

THE CORN CROPS.

INTERIM RETURN.

' [by TELEGRAPH.PRESS association.] . Wellington, Thursday. The following notice, being an interim return of the corn crops, appears in to-night's Gazette: The work of collecting statistics began on October 14. Figures now to hand enable me to give an interim return of acreage under corn crops, and the amount of grain , on. hand. The cold dry weather experienced over the major portion of the colony during the spring and early summer has had an injurious effect upon the growth of . crops. The .welcome rains, however, experienced during the last 10 days have acted beneficially, and will do much to counteract the results of the drought. It is possible that a deduction may have to be made in the area given under seeding • " for threashing" in certain districts, as the stock have been turned upon young crops where the feed was scarce.

Wheat: The area under wheat ; still shows a further decrease. This is no doubt attributable to the low price prevailing and to the fact that the demand is mainly a local one. The decrease this year amounts to * over 40,000 acres, the area for threshing this season being 165,012 acres. The quantity of wheat on hand is 1,250,000 bushels less than at this time last year. Oats: Last year an increase of over 50,000 acres was shown. This season's crops show a decrease of 78,569, acres for threshing and 2746 for chaffing: " Feeding down" shows, an increase of 4767 acres. The quantity of oats on hand, has decreased by over 1,500,000 bushels. Barley: The area under barley for threshing is 27,800 acres, showing a decrease of over . 3000 acres. Other crops: Rye, maize, and hops show decreases. The faSt that the acreage of hops has fallen off is no doubt due to the very low prices prevailing, and to the fact that many farmers in the Nelson district are turning their attention to fruitgrowing on a much larger scale than formerly. Peas and beans show increases. Linseed shows an abnormal increase, viz., of over 2000 acres. This crop seems to have found favour with farmers in Poverty Bay district, good prices being obtained for seed yields. . The crops are not sufficiently advanced to allow an estimate of the yield to be made, but this will be done as soon as it can be with any degree of accuracy. John D. Ritchie, Secretary for Agriculture,