OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET

Otago Witness, Issue 2660, 8 March 1905, Page 27

OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET

{From Odr Own Cohbespondent.) CHRISTCHURCH, March 6. Although the weather has been \ery catchy, good prog re** has boon made The with the- harvesting of the Harvest. • graini crop-, most ha\mg been cut. and a fair proportion threshed oi stacked; but much is yet m the stool^, ami will have -^uffcied some damage* from \n~-t week's rain. The wea-tlic-r is still \eiy unsettled, ami holder* of old wheat and of new wheat saved m good order are pretty independent about sfllmg. A good deal of new has changed | hrinds at from 3s to 3s 2d, at country 1 stations, according to quality and location : but sorre farmers are. asking much above this price. Oats have been selling freely at Is 7d to Is Bel for Gartoas and spariowtulls, and a smaller business has been dona

1 in Canadians and dims at Is 8d to Is B£d, and Danish at Is 6d to Is 6£d, all at country stations, the lower price in each case being for slightly discoloured lots. Very little really prime malting barley is seen here this year, most of what is offering being at the best medium qualit3', which sells at 3a 6d to 3s 9d, and poor quality, I which is plentiful, selling at 2s. to 3s 6d ; « prime samples would command 4s to 4s o<-J. The wet weather has discoloured much of the cocksfoot, and well-saved 141b seed vrouM easily command 4-d pel lb, fair 13'b seed 3£d to 3|d. Ryegrass is hardening, and good farmers' seed from old pastures is _l fetching up to 3s 6d per bushel, the prices for other qualities running down as low as 2p fpr very light seed. There is an impression that both cocksfoot and ryegrasi will be dearer. Oats also arc regarded p"• "■being good property. g The outbreak of potato disea-e has caused a stir among both growers and Potatoes. merchants. There were inquiries from several quarters for Derwents for April delivery, but growers are uncertain whether they will be allowed to send potatoes out of infected districts or. not. If exportation from Canterbury were prohibited, there would at once be a slump in the local price, as the production, evert if reduced by disease, is far in excess of requirements. " On the other hand, if no restrictions are placed upon the movement of potatoes from sound fields, prices will be very high, in consequence of deficiency of the crop in other districts having to be supplied. The disease is very generally ci:s- ! tributed. Mr T. W. Kirk, Government biologist, has been examining some of the infected crops in South Canterbury and North Otago, but it is not likely he will find out how the disease was introduced. i A great deal of lo"-s has been :aused to tomato growers this season Tomato by the "eleepy disease" and Diseases. the^-ecl-worna. In some cases the loss extends to hundreds of pounds. A large number of houses have been erected dui'ing the last few years, specially for tomato culture, and in some of these the crop has been totally destroyed. It seems that very little can be done beyond sterilising the soil to prevent the disease attacking future crops. Large quantities of tomatoes are grown here under glass for the local and Dunedin markets, and the price this year is exceptionally high, the outdoor crop being almost a failure owing to unfavourable weather. Thus grower? under glass feel the loss more than they ordinarily would. The suppy of miii. has fallen off vevy much during, the last month, and Dairying-. as storing, is beginning, shipments for i&e rest of the season will be small. There have been inquiries from Australia and elsewhere for parcel* for shipment, but it is said that -the^

Canterbury factories have already placed the whole of thfrir output. The grading conference at Lyttelton a fortnight ago. and the meeting of the National Dairy Association in Christchurch in the evening, were very successful. The 'attentions of Messrs Mason, Struthers, and Co.; and the captain and agents of the lonie were very highly appreciated. There is nothing to add to the report in last .week's but it may be remarked that Mr Kinsella was very emphatic in saying that the farmers must help themselves in proyiding such improvements as cool curing rooms for cheese," grading stores for cheese, and inspection of farms and milk. Thfr Grovernjnent must not be expected to do everything. Mr Kinsella also insists that we must not be content to produce a ''shilling butter," and he points out the importance of more regular methods of marketing' the produce, as under the present practice -of eending a factory's make Jier-e> one season and therer the next, it never- gets known. It was one of the smaller Canterbury factories which scored highest on this occasion.

Th& prices of breeding ewes are becoming sensational. Good young Sheep. hatfbred. ewes are selling at 263 to 27s 6d, and fair lines up to 255. Peonle ar© quite prepared to see SOs touched afc the Amuri sal© next Thursday. They wonder when the boom is going to stop — if I were to give an answer it would be "Very shortly." Ido not think there will be a slumps but some of the causes for the high prices will disappear, and the extreme values will vanish with 'them. Some of these ephemeral reasons are — the plethora of feed, farmers being generally understocked, many subdivisions of. large holding? in progress, fewer station sheep in the market, the high price of wool. •Wool may easily fall another 2d or 3d per Ib, and a dry season would bring prices of sheep down with, a run, while sheep farms once stocked up will keep themselves going, and have a surplus for sale. Some rjf the Amuri and other wool kings are netting ikffc &oas vsl °& stations £ot sbeejj

farms), and are stocking these instead of selling their cheep. which will materially reduce the supply of sheep at this autumn's fairs.

This will be a busy month in the stock trade. ' The- Culverden Stock Ewe Fair will be on Thurs- — Sales. day, March 9 ; the Burnside (late Wm. Boag's) clearing sale on March 14. Mr Davenport's imported oattle and sheep on March 15, Christchurch •Rair> Fair on March 16 and 17 : Culverden again on March 23 ; and the regular markets, which at this time of y-Dar are big affairs.

Fat lambs are coming forward well, but fche freezing works are> far Items. behind their last year* turn-

over. The lambs are prime and heavy, and a large proportion are classed tegs. Pre-sent rates are s|d to sgd for prime lambs, and 5d for tegs. Wethers sell extremely well, being oompeted for by both butch&rs and importers; freezing weight 4d, heavy 3^d to 3£d, fair to good ewes 3d to 3£d pel lb, gross.

There was not such a rush for pens in the Lincoln College egg-laying competition as was expected. It wa3 decided, on the score of economy in building, to allot only 38 pena (two pens being kept for reserve birds from distant competitors), and these being exaotly applied for up to the time of cloaiitg, no ballot was necessary. -It i& unlikely that the Government guarantee of Id per lb for apples shipped to the London market will be availed of in Canterbury, as the crop is not a heavy one. and growers have outlets for their whole production. ~

Mr M. Murphy, lately secretary and now president-elect of the Canterbury A. and P. Association, who lately underwent a serious operation, is convalescent. Mr J. B. Beid (of the Elderslie family), New Zealand representative of the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company. ha=. left on a trip Home. Ja3. Kowe,, the well-known 213 breeder.;

has returned from a visit to England and America.

Dr Levinge la*t week severed hi« conneo tion with Suunyf-ide Asylum, and began private practice in Christchurch. It is nor stated whether the Ayrshire herd at Sunnyside, which Dr Levinge brought to to high an excellence, is to be kept on or not.