OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 1866, 26 August 1887, Page 7

OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

(From O° e Special Agbicdxtukai, y Contributor.) Ohristchurch, August 19. The Season. The protracted stormy weather has lost to our farmers a great deal of the good start they were able to make with their ploughing and seeding during the fine weather of last autumn. Wheat sown then is strong and healthy, but that put in later is only coming on well on dry 6oils; where the land is heavy or wet it will in many instances have to be resown. Farmers are very nxious for dry weather, as the season is getting far advanced, and a lot of land is still unprepared for sowing. Wheat is being sown almost exclusively, wherever possible. It would be thought that the high price of barley would have led to some attention being given to that crop, but such is not tbe case ; our nor'-westers are too rough for iv, Oats will be grown to 'a less extent than last year, unless they have to take the place of wheat where bad weather delays the sowing. The total area in grain will be larger than it was last year, but an approximate estimate cannot be formed until the next month is over. The season therefore cannot be described as favourable for farmers ; indeed, in some districts they say that this has been every whit as bad a winter as last. m Live Stock. Oue thing stockowners have to be thankful for— tkere is abundance of grass. Sheep and cattle ate in good condition, and are being placed upon the market iv very large numbers. Lambs are beginning to be dropped on the early farms, and so far as I have heard and seen, no material losses have been caused by the late severe storms — and they have been the most wintry of the whole winter. There is a remarkably good growth of wool, and if we escape a concentrated winter being dropped into September the next clip will be the best on record for Canterbury. Hill flocks have wiucered unusually well, the snowfall on the " back blocks" having been comparatively lighter than on the front ranges and the plains. The fat cattle market has not improved during the month. Nice little fat heifers have been sold as low as £4 a head, and steers £5, aud the heaviest weights that have come to auction have not exceeded £8 10s. These prices are equivalent to about 18s per 1001b for prime beef, middling and iuferior descriptions selling down to about 14s. The best beef, however, is that fed by tho local graziers, and sold privately by them— to the disgust of the auctioneers — at up to £10 a head for bullocks, equal to 20s to 21s per 1001b. The Christchurch market has been completely glutted with fat sheep, and the consequence is that prices have dropped 2s 6d a head within the last fortnight. Crossbred wethers (" freezers ") sold this week up to 16s 3d, and merino wethers (quite extra quality) to 14s 0d ; but prime sheep are selling at 4i below these prices, and midUl.iig descriptions of crossiredßand merinoes aC 9s and 6s respectively. The first lambs of the season were marketed last Wednesday, aud the best of them sold at 12s to 15s. Store cattle and sheep are attracting a good deal of attention and good lines have not suffered by the depreciation in fat stocks. Bacon pigs are in good demand at 3|d to 3|d for approved weights of grain fed. Neither sheep nor cattle (fat) are of as good weight or quality as they have been in previous years. Ensilage.

The success of the experiments which have been made in this process of storing fodder will lead to its being extensively adopted in the ensuing season. It has been demonstrated that no expensive buildings or appliances are required iv order to preserve green food in a nutritive state for use during the winter. Ab many correspondents have asked for information, I cannot do better than quote from a letter addressed from Ireland to The Times (London), describing amode of ensilage which has been followed out with success here in Australia : — " The grass was heavily laid and a little spoiled. It was cut and gathered in bad weather, and built into two sound stacks— [l would prefer oblong stack*, as being more. convenient when cutting down] — «teh of which was about 15ft diameter. The only precautions taken were that the grass forming the outer edges of the stacks should be well trampled, and that the outer edges should be kept during the erection of the stacks a little higher than the middle of the stacks, the grass being merely forked into the centre without trampling. The stacks were raised to 10ft in height, then allowed three days to heat, when the temperature of the stacks rose to 140deg Pahr,, and the mass settled down considerably. The operation of building up the stacks ■witii fresh, loads of grass after each settling was repeated for several day, the thermometer still marking 140deg Fahr. The stacks sank to about Bft, when the soil for about lyd round ««b stack was excavated to the depth of about Ift and thrown by the spade on to the stacks. The only covering the stacks got was this soil, which, formed a bed of about lft in thickness, the stacks bping exposed to all the rain which «ell during the last two months. Assuming that the grass required to form one ton of hay would jorm four tons of silage, the contents of the two stacks were estimated to be about 60 whs. On the 20th of December about a third of the soil on one of the stacks was thrown down, the eSlage was found in perfect preservation, with not a particle of waste on the top of Jae stack, and only a few inches on the side. In building thestaek a few cartloads of green rape «id also of turnip tops were put into it ; these turned ou<; in fine condition, and were eaten *ith aviJity by cattle. The silage is of a light Jellow green colour, and is what is termed sweet '"age. This experiment shows that neither costly buildings nor expensive pressing machinery are requisite to the successful projection of sweet silage, and the conclusion he "is arrived at is that a farmer may nut his fcwadows late in the season and in'bad weather ; "lathe can, at a trifling cost., collect the grass wto convenient-sized stacks pn the fields where t&egrasß is mown ; and that he can cover them a little soil thrown up from around. And *^ea the former may calculate on possessing a |™ck of sweet silage which will provide cattl*^ W '** l) 8 & ree<J tty devoured by his Most of the ensilage here is of much the same pwottr as oakum, and «nells something 9«ween molasses and new mown hay. I will enueavou c to get a sample by the time tbis appears

in print, and send it to you to show to inquirers.

Clydesdales.

Mr W, Boag's purchases in Victoria, which were described in last week's Witness, arrived safely last week, and two grand horses they are. As they cost upwards of £1000 it will be seen that Mr Boag has not lost confidence in the future of the horse market. He tells me that in Melbourne and Sydney really good draught horses are readily saleable, but inferior sorts are not wanted. Mr W. B. Campbell also has staked a good round sum in horseflesh by his purchase of the Clydesdale horse Prince of Glamis, which he brought over in the Rotomahana with Mr Boag's purchases.

Cattle for Melbourne.

Mr George King left for Melbourne this week by the Mararoa, taking with him 20 head (18 heifers and cows and two bulls) selected from his well-known Ayrshire herd. They were all stud book animals, and several of them were well known as prize-winners at the Christohurch and other shows. Their strains of blood are known and appreciated .in Australia through the late Mr Richard Gibson's herd at Barbiaton, which was recently sold at a high average, and which largely consisted of animals bought from Mr King, and their progeny. The present shipment will be too late to compete at the Melbourne show.

Grain and Produce.

The Christchurch markets have shown little variation during the month. Prices of wheat, locally, are too high to admit of profitable shipmeat to London or Australia, and holders will not make concessions, as they believe that stocks hore are no more than sufficient to hold out till harvest. Oats are in fair demand. Potatoes are unsaleable here -except at about 30s per ton, f .0.b., sacks included ; and it is hard to see how a profit can be made in Sydney on this price. Cheese is a drug in the market at 3d to 5d per lb, and only prime butter is saleable, the price being about Bd, f.o.b.

Horticultural.

The schedule for the coming season of the Christchurch Horticultural Society announces shows to be held as follows: — Bulb Show, September 15 ; Great Spring Show, November 11 ; Rose Show, December 10; Carnation Show, January 5 ; Autumn Show, February 26 ; and Chrysanthemum Show, April 27. Prizes are offered in 451 classes, and Otago exhibitors will be afforded every information and welcomed at the shows.