Grass Seeds. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 1933, 12 March 1891, Page 7

Grass Seeds. TO THE EDITOR.

. Sir, — It is just two months since we had the pleasure of issuing our circular re cocksfoot to the Akaroa farmers, in which we set out; our belief that grass seed would open firm this Beason. This our belief is now fully borne out from personal observations *nd facts, and from what Mr Moritzson saw while travelling Canterbury, Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Poverty Bay, Auckland, Taranahi, Wanganu', and Marlborough districts. If the farmer gets his du^, cocksfoot should be

saleable fdr autumn sowing and for export at from 4sd to 5d per Ib, as per quality ; and again we trust that by spring the prices set out in our previous circular will be realised, as we consider s§d to 0d ?s not out of the way considering former prices that have ruled, and that markets are actually bare, including England and Germany, where 60a to 65s is easily obtained for good samples, which would leave far over 5d per lb nett to the farmer on the Peninsula.

We shall now review the prospects of the different provinces, so far as Mr Moritzson hasseen them, and what influence each will have upon the grass seed market (both cooksfoot and ryegrass) this season. Canterbury, as everybody is aware* from the very south to the north has been more or less afflicted with a sevore drought. No grass seed of any consequence has been grown, excepting on the Akaroa peninsula, and the demand from Canterbury, for both cockafoot and ryegras?, hag already Bet in, and we have orders on hand alone for some 5000 saoks clean ryegrass, and for cocksfoot we could find a market for some 20,000 sacks.

Now, as to the North Island. At the oateet wa may state that the late Government have given special facilities to bona fide settlers to take up new lands, under fairly good conditions, which has certainly nob its equal in the South Island, this statement being corroborated by the number of applicants from the South Is 1 and for lands in the North. This fettling baa chiefly taken place in the Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Poverty Bay, and Taraoaki districts. Vast areas have been cleared of bush, and you will hardly credit that over 250,000 acres are ready this season to be put under grass and crops of some kind, and the seed grown in Taranaki, Wellington, and Poverty Bay is far short of supplying anything like the demand. Now, considering that the balance will have to come from Akaroa, Southland, and Obago, and bearing in mind the strain our market will have to baar from independent outside demand, you oan easily judge for yourself how the market will shape. Here, again, we must mention that the crops of cocksfoot on the Akaroa peninsula, although fairly good in quality, will be short compared with last year, which, from statistics compiled on the spot by ourselve*, amounted to some 40,000 sacks, which quantity was far below previous yields. Of this season's yield we will speak further on. The grain crops, as also the ryegrass in Otago and Southland, look well indeed, and, if safely harvested, should bring grist to the mill — especially ryegrass, whioh will be and is in good demand, and being very high in Poverty Bay, should certainly bring from 5s 3d to 5s 6d for first-class jnaobine dressed, and 3s 9d to 4s 6d for clean farmers' seed, which latter price we realised a few days ago for a parcel.

Wellington province, which Mr Moritzson traversed some 11 years ago by coach, in company with the present energetic member foe Clutha, has undergone vast changes. Mr Mackenzie, by-the-bye, gave an opportunity of listening is the House of Representatives to some very nonsensical speeches, after which the writer came to the conclusion that the business of the country would be more efficiently carried on if a further reduotion of members were to take place, say by half, or better still, the House to be abolished altogether, and the affairs of the country again vested in provincial councils, or some such local scheme.

Vast areas, formerly bußb land, and traversed by Mr Moritzson, are studded with prosperous farms and townships, especially near Palmerston, Woodville, Danevirke, and other places too numerous to mention. We can prophesy a great future for the town and province of Wellington, with its magnificent harbour, unequalled in the colony, the great back country opening up, and the central position it occupies. On Friday, the 30th of January, 25,000 tons of shipping were lying behind the beautiful wharves with no wharfage to pay. The keen eyes of the southerners have discovered the truth, and they are opening branches of their houses, and are determined to hold their own outside of Otago also. They are also erecting magnificent warehouses on the reclaimed land. One thing I observed most strikingly— namely, that there is not the energy and push in the business people of the North Island that there is in the Otago and Southern population. I suppose our cold climate is partly the cause of this. Wellington province was visited by rather too much rain, and cocksfoot crops will not be very heavy, and what there is will be mostly of dark colour. Our representative saw several samples, but they were cut on the green side for his fancy. There are also grown some fescues, crested dogstaiJ, Timothy, and other useful grasses ; also rape, but we have information to the effect that the rape crop has been a total failure owing to the continuous wet. The Wellington merchants have been baying a few parcels of this season's cooksfoofc at 3§d to 3|d, but farmers are already asking 4d to 4§d, and are easily getting- this price. Well, the Akaroa seed will be worth fully 6d more. Mr Moritzson had loDg conversations with the SBed buyers re prospects of the season. It seems they are taking advice from what has been reliably gathered on the spot. They are now eagerly buying to secure stocks, even at enhanced values, pooh-poohed by some of them, before our appearance. We hope that we do not create a panio or a rash, bat we are glad to see that the grower is getting a few of the plums.

Hawke's Bay has, like Canterbury, been .suffering for some three months from a severe drought. Good seed,' &c. is very scarce ; but about the Hastings district evirything looks better. In this provicce sotno 30,000 acres aro to be put under gra?H, and no seed is in the district, so to speak. Sheep, uofcwithatandiog the drought, looked very well, »s the creeks and rivers in all places had plenty of good water as yet. The breakwater at Napier, we believe, will be a success, and a boon to the town and district when completed.

In Poverty Bay the ryegrass crop will bo of fair average, although some say it wtfl be short, birt it is wonderFul how the seed comes forward when prices rale high. A great deal of this seed will be wanted within the province. Six shillings a bushel is easily got for good seed f.o.b. In fact;, we know 'of several transactions having taken place at 6* 6i f.0.b., and even that price was got for a 400 sack lob on the farm; but unfortunately the whole was consumed by fire before delivery, with no insurance on it— a heavy loss for the poor farmer. The breskwater at Gisborne is a perfect farce, and so many thousands of pounds thrown into shallow water, and not into deep, where it should have been. The small Bteamer taking passengers to aad from vessels arriving, and drawing 3ft of water, can get behind the breakwater at high water and culm weather. Auckland, of course, produces very IRtle in cereals and seeds, but their maize growing seems to expand, also the kauri gum and flax trade. I saw the Leading Wind, which was on fire, scuttled and sunk in the hsrbour. The harbour is next to Wellington for facilities, but it surpasses Wellington for beauty and scenery and for yachting and excursion?. The surroundings of Wellington harbour are. ugly in the extreme. The town of Auckland has beautiful munrand-

X* a% Btreefcfl « c « however, badly kept, but hit nf^l *? me a b ? 8y town ' There » « good bit of wheat grown m the Waikato district, but £ 88 * 9 «« complaining bitterly about the w^LFf c8 m hey "f? S aid in Auckland for their wheat. Taranaki, like Wellington, had contmuous rains, more so than the latter-not three successive dry sunny days for months past, and although the cocksfoot crops were expected to be heavy in the early part of the 'son, there is many a slip, & c ., &c. The crop Mi «. 8 ? ' ba<J colonr » and was not saved v « Titzson was there; and since then when Mr _. us of its failure. Some was news has reacW - rains, and had to be fed laid down with hea>^ '->n on the ground. We 5 " ? a l. ba JJJ J en rottllu >- if »t is all saved do not think that the crop, 7 0,000 sacks (very problematical), will excesfl *. ' -l v in the some 15,000 sacks were expected ea... lei c n B season. Bust and sprouting has also rate.. ' „ appearance in some places in the crops', 6wtoe> to the rains and warm weather. Oar representative visited the districts of Hawera, Patea, Feliding, &c, and the same tale is told as to wet everywhere. The pastures, however, simply look magnificent, and one farmer, who farms some 20 miles inland from Feilding, whose credibility can be vouched for, assured us that for three months in the year 12 sheep to the acre cannot keep down his graft's, and for the rest of the season he averages a good five sheep to the acre. Se had been offered 4d for his cocksfoot. In Hawera a splendid sight is obtained of Mount flgmont, its hoary head covered with snow, and with the rising sun shining on it, it looked supreme, standing well out against the pure, cloudless, blue sky, keeping solitary watch over God's grand creation, in times past, in times to come, when men perhaps, like the moa, shall tread earth no more. Butter is and will remain the chief industry of the greatest portion of Taranaki, as the graziog lands are simply lovely. Take it all round, the farmers' butter here is superior to that of Southland and Otago. Farmers here are also wiser than their southern friends ; their churnings are bigger, they have one quality and one colour in one cask, and they run very even all through. But, above all, the farmer here sells at once at market value, no matter how low the price, to the shipper, who buys round the district through an agent every week, and do not allow their butter to turn into veritable cart grease to be shipped to London, the most sensitive market of all as to quality. Otago can only export butter if the factory principle is adopted, or, say, that the cheese factories now in existence add a butter plant and manufacture butter during October, November, December, and not later than January. Farmers will also have to look for pure water and pure pastures for their cows. We believe butter factories will be more numerous in Taranaki shortly ; one enterprising gentlemen has now five at work. Farmers receive from 6d to 7d per lb (casks in), and factories get 9d and o£d (casks in). This prioe was given during our representative's stay. He had also the pleasure of seeing the famous factory of Ohew Chong, at Eltham, who beat all comers at the Dunedin Exhibition.

Marlborough bad splendid weather, and most farmers were busy stacking, leading in their grain, and delivering into store. Oats, wheat, and barley fields have given prolific yields and of good quality, and farmers will be in a position to Bay that their province is the land where milk and honey flows. There is some linseed grown here for a Dunedin firm, and some ryegrass which is locally wanted. Flax is exported and freezing hulks are to be opened. But as it is the intention of three rival firms in this place to start freezing, and as there is only room for one, it will either not pay any of them, or two will give up the business after losing money. From Nelson the chief export is fruit and hops. Of the latter some 4000 bales are expected to be gathered and shipped. Values, owing to the bareness of the market, are very firm ; Is 4d to Is 2d was realised for old stocks, and growers are looking confidently to the market opening at from Is to Is Id per lb for best quality. The crops looked beautiful. From Nelson the West Coast towns were visited, but nothing of import" ance is to be reported from there. A small rush Beems to besetting in near Hokitika, and good results are reported. The old digging towns of Waimea and Stafford Town have now a very desolate appearance. Our representative crossed the Teremakau in a wire tram, and happened to be on the train, Brunnerton to Greymouth, that was attempted to be wrecked, but was fortunately spared to compile his statistics on cocksfoot at Akaroa. In Reefton and other places gold mining seems to be at a standstill, but there are any amount of brokers ready to pounce upon likely investors, and it appears that at present most gold extracfciDg seems to take place from shareholders' pockets. Reefton alone possesses enough brokers to do the whole share business of the colony. A visit was paid to the Globe, Keep-It-Dark, &c.

Mr Moritzon next directs his steps to Aksroa peninsula. We stated in a previous circular of ours to Akaroa farmers that cocksfoot would open firm and be dear, and this was borne out by the fact that Christchurch merchants are already paying 4Jd and 5d on the Peninsula, and see.l has changed hands at 4§d and 4|d (twice through the riddles). We have sold this week ourselves some 1000 sacks at 4|d and 5d f.o.b. Lyttleton, and 5Jd and the above has been got for small lines for machine dressed seed. We haTe now telegrams in our possession from New Plymouth, Hawera, Patea, Palmerston, aad Wellington, quoting seed from 4d to 4^d ©n trucks at wayside stations, and we do not think that merchants at New Plymouth or Wellington will take less than 4|d and 5d per lb f.o.b. for seed that cost them 4d to 4^d at country stations, and this very seed is not; within £d to Id per lb in quality compared to Akaroa seed. In the earlier portion of this letter it is stated that it was very problematical whether the small quantity of seed that was expected to be saved in Taranaki and Wellington province would be seoared. Since our representative left those districts there seems to have been constant rains and floods, which have made an awful hash of the cocksfoot crop. Now we will give you the quantity of seed actually grown, or very approximately, on the Peninsula: —

I Port Levy and Purau are only approximate, as I the seed was not gathered when Mr Moritzson I was on the Peninsula, and quantities might be below that given above if the wet weather conI tinned. It was raining very heavily the last few days during his stay. This also holds good of some of the other bays as a few day's threshing had yet to be done. There will be at least 1500 sacks less than given by us. Thi3 would give a deficiency of 7000 sacks in round numbers on the Peninsula. Canterbury, where very dry weather prevailed during the whole season, will be some 1200 saiks short. Taranaki and Wellington provinces estimated their crop in the early part of the season, as nearly 20,000 sacks ; but from latest reports 8000 sacks is nearer the mark, as compared to 15,000 saoks last year, a deficiency of 7000 sacks, and nearly the whole of this seed is of very bad colour and very light. Hawke's Bay expected 5000 to 6000 sacks, but there also, owing to the very dry season, 3000 -^cks will only be gathered. .Last year some &W " acks were K r °wn, showing* a deficiency of 20^0 "inte*?' Thiß ia round fi B°- Tea shows a shortage oom^Z Kd with laßt y«» r ol ' Akaroa Peninsula ..< ••• J'^ **¥" Canterbury ... »• £#» Jg Wellington and Taranakf ,» 7,0^0 £» Hawke's Bay > _W

In all ... ... 17,200 do We do not know tne quantity grown in OW& '? and Southland, bat do not think IC wonla materially influence the market either for or against a high price, which we feel sure will be 6d per lb for prime heavy Akaroa seed by spring. Mt Moritzson made the acquaintance of a member of an old Edinburgh and Belfast seed house representative while at Akaroa, who frankly, stated that the cocksfoot prices (60s to 655) would hold good for some time to come, as no Beed is expected of any cons3quence_ from America to pull our market down, especially as America never sells below 50s, and will not grow sufficient to satisfy the.Eoglish markat. Even with a good season Akaroa Peninsnla will never get the same large quantities of seed as it had in former years, as given below :— 1885 ... 60,829 eacki 1889 ... 49.239 tacks 1886 ... 57,652 „ 1890 ... «.837» „ 1887 ... 42,059 „ 1891 ... 34,853t „ 1888 ... 45,708 „ * Revised, t This is allowing 1500 sack*.

This shows a steady facing off, owing to several causes; E'irstly, owing to lovr prices, farmers have put cattle and sheep on their holdings; secondly, the decided giving out of old cocksfoot lavd — some portions have been for 20 and 25 years under seed, and show too' light a crop to be payable; and thirdly, large areas are getting too dirty with fog, thistle, oapeweed, docks, and gooaegrass, and the seed is not worth gathering. Although our letter is beaded " Grass Seed," you will kindly excuse us if ft is not confined alone to ryegrass and cocksfoot, bt*t ; has rather gone off on several occasions from the subject in question. But as an enthusiast travelling through this fair country of ours, Mr Moritzson could not help observing other matters of interest to me, and he has given them in this letter as they appeared to him. Having travelled a good few countries ere be came to New Zealand some IS years since, he feels more than ever convinced that this is the most fertile and lovely country under the sun. A grand future is in the near distance, and notwithstanding public debts, past bad Governments, and depressions, it is almost impossible to hold the present sturdy, industrious settler and miner back from developing the vast resources of their own adopted Buenos Nova Zealandia. One thing we should certainly not lose sight of — although the cry comes from the big towns to have no further immigration — there is still room here for some ten millions of people of the right class. That nobody can deny. Vast tracts of fertile lands are waiting for tho axe, the plough, the seed, corn, the reaping hook, the pick and the shovel. Every inch of our land is constantly singing out, " Delve into me and you shall reap," and it would be almost criminal on our part to deny this grand country to any who are willing to come, considering we ourselves have come to better our worldly possessions, to breathe pnrer air, far away from the congested parts of older civilisations. New Zealanders themselves are only too often running down this country to strangers who come to look round. But although taxation for the first few years might appear rather heavy, we have compensated them by giving a "paradise" instead of, as some 50 years ago, a " howling wilderness " to live in ; and very shortly any industrious person would reap tenfold. The prosperity of a new country depends a great deal on the number of industrious inhabitants, provided, of course, the lands are there to be tilled; and why we should send cargo after cargo of grain, wool, and other produce to Europe, only to be loaded with freights and other heavy charges, which count partly against the producer, instead of having it consumed here, has always been a mystery to A. Mobitzson (Of Moritzson and Hopkin). Manse street, Dunedin, March 1.

Aylmer's Valley and Akaroa Long Bay Road G-prman Bay Bobinson's Bay ... Devauohelle Bay Barry's Bay French Farm Little Biver Pigeon Bay Holmes' Bay Lavarloks ... Decanter Bay Mackintosh Bay Okain'a Bay Little Abaloa ... Le Fon's Bay ... Waihifeiri ... (Jough'B Bay ... Wainui ... .._ Stony Bay... „„. PortLevi ... Purau JLO9I. xoyu. Saoks. Saoks. ... 1,010 1,050 147 175 336 628 478 590 815 1.317 ... 1,016 1,609 670 700 ... 7,560 7,560 ... 5.355 6,375 725 1,360 90 500 125 120 30 170 ... 4,000 3,070 ... 4,270 5,210 ... 6,088 6,870 860 1,370 ... Nil 10 73S ] ,103 40 50 ... I.OfO 3,000 „. 1,000 1,000 36,355 41.837 36,355 /Deficiency ni ;,. 6,<iBs