NOTES FROM A COUNTRY CORRESPONDENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12164, 16 February 1914, Page 4

NOTES FROM A COUNTRY CORRESPONDENT.

During the last few days there has been a vcrv large area of crop cut hi the }<orvc : i, YVTilowbrUlge. and Clenavy districts, and the bulk of the crop is "now in steok. Tin l cuttiiisr of the crap on the lieavv land this year ha-? been a verv dih'ieuiL ta-k, there being a hri'er area lban usual Ivinir down and badlv tangled. Samples of grain that have been rubbed out from the eroi) that is fving down are Vfi-y light and sbrivelled'. and it U expected time a i£ood inaiiv of the crops on the heavy land will rot thresh out in r.roporiinu to the amount of straw. The crops o't the lighter land have stooked tin well, the'heads in the majority of cases being will filled and the threshing returns on this land are expected to be good. Threshing mills have made a start in the different districts, but it will be a few weeks before reliable itiformation re retur: s wil! come to hand. There has been a irood demand for ewes and store lambs throughout th" South Canterbury district, and high prices have been owing to the abundance of feed. Fat lambs, however, are very scarce this year, end this is accounted for by tlie wet sea-an making the pasture too rank and waterv. At some of the railway stations where about 30 or 40 tnicies of lambs used to be tracked each week for the freezing works at this time of the year, there are oulv about four or six trucks leaving this year.