CANADIAN WHEAT IN NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2727, 20 June 1906, Page 20

CANADIAN WHEAT IN NEW ZEALAND.

The magnificent samples of wheat grown

in- Otago Central, which were exhibited s ' at the Dunedin Winter Show, naturally suggested the' idea that some of the more valuable ■ Canadian (Manitoba) -wheats might be grown to equal perfection and ' greater profit in that favoured*, region. .The climate "over the garden wall" is . not greatly dissimilar to that of some of the best wheat-growing districts of Canada, and the soil has shown that it Is "well suited for wheat, and experiments with Canadian varieties might be carried out with good prospects of success, and little danger of loss. Results of trials By the Royal Agricultural Society of England nt the Woburn experiment station, seem to indicate that some of the- varieties may be grown in England, and that being so there should be little difficulty with their cultivation in suitable districts in New Zealand. All localities are not suitable, it being understood that trials at the Canterbury Agricultural College resulted unsatisfactorily, a dry climate and warm sun being required. One important characteristic of these Canadian varieties is that they are specially adapted for spring sowing; in the - Dominion autumn drilling ia out of the question, and consequently Canadian farmers are entirely dependent upon wheat that is adapted for spring drilling. In the latest Woburn experiments of which details have been published, two varieties .were drilled about the middle of March, and were harvested in tho second week of " 'August, the descriptions being Preston 6nd Red Fife. The latter gave much the better -result, yielding twice the quantity of the former, while the quality was superior, at least in so far as the .weight per bushel may be accepted as • an indication of quality. The yield, hoWeY.er, was not very encouraging, even in " tKe case* of Ite<l,File. as it was considerably under 24 bushels per acre, yet the

shortage in the gross returns was partly compensated for by the higher realising value of the corn, the price obtained being 36s per quarter, as compared with 32s procurable for average English wheat of the season. The seed used in this experiment was in its third season from introduction, the original stock having been imported from Canada two seasons previously and cultivated with tolerable success at Woburn. In New Zealand, as in -England, everything is to be gained by drilling in autumn instead of spring, and it would therefore require exceptional inducements in the form of bountiful returns of superior quality t to warrant the substitution of spring for winter wheats. These do not seem to be forthcoming, at all events as regards quantity, in the case of the Canadian samples experimented with at ; Woburn, but with the brighter skies and warmer sunshine of Central Otago better crops should be obtained.