OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 20

OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) CHRISTCHURCH, January 22. When writing last week the agricultural and pastoral condition of the province generally was such that rain was very urgently needed, but since then warm and humid rains have fallen, and while root crops and pastures have very naturally benefited considerably, harvesting operations have been temporarily retarded. Th© rains that have fallen, have meant the salvation of the turnips and rape crops, but unfortunately the muggy weather has been in a measure harmful to the white* crop—the greater portion of which has now/- been reaped, and the sheaves in the stock . are showing sv tendency to sprout. Oat-thresh-ing from the stook has been general during the past week when weather permitted, but returns revealed by the thresher, show that expectations have not been realised. One of the Chris (church contemporaries that Had estimated that the yields of both .wheat and oats in North Canterbury would average between 50 and 60 bushels has. retracted its statement, and now computes, under the unfavourable weather conditions, an average yield of less than. 30 bushels. In a former letter I drew attention to- the ! unreliableness of the Government statistics and the manner in which the estimates were arrived at, but since then it is pleasing to note that the New Zealand Farmers' Union in practically every branch has qu.esi tioned the unsatisfactory manner in which the agricultural statistics have been compiled, and doubtlessly in future the department will give more attention to. this- important matter, and will not again, mislead the general public by the publication of statistics, which only represent rough guessing. So far as the first stage of harvesting operations is concerned satisfactory progress has been made notwithstanding the wet weather, and the greater portion of th© wheat crop in the low-lying districts has been cut, and is now in the stook, while the remainder is more or less at the ripening stage. In the districts lying immediately under the ranges the rains have had a very beneficial effect, but those crops on the lower-lying lands have suffered deterioration as a result of the continued' dampness ; and, in fact, in Mid-Canterbury on Saturday iast farmers reported that wheat that was in the stook was beginning to "chit." On Sunday the weather changed, and a strong breeze from the north-east quarter penetrated the reaped crop and threshing operations, weather permitting, will be extensively carried out during the present week. Oat crops, the greater portion of which is now .out, will be necessarily discoloured. The cocksfooting harvest will also be unsatisfactorj-, and the bright prospects of a few weeks ago will by no means be realised. The Hessian fly has made its appearance in several districts since I last wrote— ! namely, at Selwyn and Sduthbridge, —and i reports from those, districts show that this pest has considerably reduced the prospective yield. . ' . , The alleged dispute between the Canter- j bury A. and P. •Labourers' Union and the ; threshing mill proprietors is a matter that . has been general]? discussed by aIJL sections of .those- interested in the; farming.;' in- ; due try, and the Farmers' Union has brought , pressure to bear by calling public, meetings to protest the demands <3f the. employees. Candidly speaking, • vis no dispute, and the whole trouble,-.has -..been given undue prominence by a few alarmists, who have no real interest in the issues involved. However, a meeting was held at Christchurch on Saturday at the instance of the Farmers' Union, and it is understood that the mill-owners and farmers have a \ery strong case, to set before tho-Concilia-tion Council'should the dispute .be brought before that tribunal for settlement. There, has been little or no activity in regard to the grain, market, and farmers are beginning to recognise, that prices, as far as the .new season's cereals are concerned, are not going to- come up to expectations. In any case a few small lines of badly-harvested grain have been placed on. the market, but it is impossible to acf : cept the prices paid as a" basis for calculate" in.g future values. .Millet's are to obtain, a new supply of the ne\v se&=.,V son's wheat for the purpose of mixing it's with the limited holding of old season's stock,-but in consequence of the .umfavour-. able weather thev aro looking .askance at samples that are being brought'forward for delivery—-threshed from the stook. It is very evident, however, that a larte .qua*); tity of wheat wiJl he threshed from the

stcok, and compared l with last year the j quality will be inferior, the skin of the | wheat, generally speaking, being thick and tough, and the grain, shrivelled. Fortunately the rain, during the past week has had a tendency to materially improve- the stock feed supply, and prices for all classes of live stock have shown a decided improvement, and, as a matter of fact, at last week's sales rates on an average were fully from Is to 2s per head better. Export buyers are operating keenly, and there is every prospect of prime freezing lambs up to 38'ft realising during the present week up to 12s 8d on- the average. With the assured prospects of a fine autumnal growth of vegetation store sheep will consequently command higher value and rates than have obtained during the past four months, and as a demonstration of this it may be said that at the chief provincial sale last week the major portion of a good entry changed hands at materially enhanced values. The demand was keen, and there was am inclination on, the part of farmers-, move particularly dealers, to do business. Indications this morning point to a continuance of good harvest weather. CANTERBURY HARVEST. CHRISTCHURCH, January 22. The wet weather which prevailed during the past few days momentarily put a stop to harvest operations, but now there is every sign of the weather clearing, and during the coming week the harvest will be in full swing in all parte of Canterbury. So far, the samples of wheat placed on offer have been few in number, and the quality shows a great variation according to the district in which it is grown. Old season's grain still commands former prices, but the new season's grain is selling at somewhat lower prices, buyers being in many cases somewhat- doubtful as to its condition. During the week sales have been made on'a basis of from 3s 9d to 3s the latter price being paid for prime quality Tuscan, a factor which prevents exporters operating. There is a difficulty in securing freight, little being obtainable for some time. There is great shortage of cornsacks, and in many cases merchants have cleared the whole of their stocks. A full shipment is expected to arrive in Lyttelton within the next 10 days, but it is doubtful whether this will suffice to meet the demand. There is little of the new season's oats yet forward; indeed, supplies have been barely large enough to meet the demand for shipment coastwise. Algerians are chiefly in evidence, other varieties being scarce. Past season's stocks are now very low, and command prices quite up to quotations; but for the new season's cereal the general price at which sales have been ! made has been Is 6d to Is (on trucks : at country stations), but in most cases prices from £d to Id higher have been ! asked for and given for parcels very | prime oats. It is generally believed that the. barley crop will be smaller than last year, I mainly as a result of the severe i storm on , Christmas Day, which broke the straw, I preventing the grain maturing- pro- ! perly. In consequence of this many samples, although of excellent colour, are | thin and attenuated, with the result that • there is a very wide range -of prices—i superior samples realising 4s per bushel, while lines of poorer grade, range down l to 2s 9d. As yet offerings are limited to j perennial ryegrass, for which there is ! fome inquiry from the North Island. j There is a short supply, but of Italian ; ryegrass a fair amount is still on offer.

POTATO CULTURE} In a communication to an Ulster journal, Ireland, Mr David J. Ryan, of Baihe- ; borough, draws attention to an experiment which he has witnessed- this season, and which seems to him to foreshadow import- . tant developments. A neighbour of Mr i Ryan's happened to have a few potatoes lying- in the window of an outhouse behind I glass during all the winter from the day 1 they were- dug. He noticed them when ' setting the last of his late crop. They - were shrivelled and shapeless, but he o-b- ---; served very small green shoots in their i "eyes." He cut them and set them in the ! end of a ridge, talking care not to mix j them with the rest of the setting. This ! was on May 10. They received- exactly ; the same labour and manure as the : rest of ! the crop, for which the seed was, prepared in the usual way. They were overground in a fortnight after setting-, or a fortj night before the- ordinary, seed. They ! were blossomed on June 17, and the blossoms ! were withered when the rest of. the field j was only coming into blcom. They were fit for digging on July 20, within 10 weeks of setting, and a month before, the .seed j treated in the ordinary way. , -; 1 "Having the experiment under .my eye ' from the beginning," proceeded Mr Ryan, I "I can vouch for the above, facte,, but the 1 most remarkable part remains. ,The seed : specially treated consists of four tubers, which were cut in four, and planted on a "ridge 4ft long- and 4ft wide-, with; furrows 2ft in width. Thus the cultivation of these potatoes occupied 24 square feet. Off 24 square feet we weighed 241 b of marketable potatoes and 51b of small ones, sound and fit for feeding-—roughly speaking, 2st of useful potatoes, being at the rate of 36 tons per Irish acre. Valued at 3d per stone, this crop would come to' £72 per Irish acre, overlooking the fact that they came in one month earlier. On an equal extent of the same field, treated similarly in every respect, unless as regards the.seed, which was handled in the ordinary way. there was a stone and a-quartsr cf useful potatoes, being at the rate of 22J-. tons per Irish acre. The difference between the two systems of preserving seed potatoes amounted to 13? tons, or £27, per Irish acre, omitting the fact that the ordinary ; aged were a month later. It should not bV forgotten that potatoes ripening within "1$ weeks, of set-ting do not require spray-,. ,'fng—an important consideration when up-\W-date farmers are spraying two or three i'iiAies."'

- 'Mr Ryan goes on to say that the ground in which the potatoes were planted was reclaimed bog. They got an average dressing of farmyard and a light dteseing of artificial manure, the latter in the proportion of three of superphosphate to two of k&inifc. They were all sprayed once. TJi«

locality is unfavourable to early ripening, so that in more, favourable- districts even better results might be expected. "The experiments," he continued, "go to prove that if we treated seed potatoos in a proper manner \vc could' have them one month earlier, and increase the yield 50 per cent. This experiment may bo commended to the attention of all farmers interested in the culture of early potatoes. It must be evident to any intelligent farmer who has given the subject any thought that our present method of dealing with seed potatoes is very wasteful and; unscientific, not to say barbarous. They are pitted as soon as they are dug, with the danger, if wet, that they will rot, and if dry of heating. By spring they are a mass of white stalks and roots, all of which come out of the substance of the tube.r, and must be broken off in turning, and so much of the strength lost. When this is repeated again at the picking it is evident that the vitality of the seed has received a great injury before it is put into the ground. The process known as sprouting is also open to objection." There is strong ground, in Mr Ryan's opinion, for believing "that the aims of scientific agriculture should be to retard the growth as far as possible until the proper time, and until the seed is placed in the propsr situation, so that it may go ahead - without loss or check. This can be done by keeping the potato in the light all the time, as the sprouter is forced to do in the cn-d. In the l sphere of scientific agriculture altogether too much attention is now devoted to producing now varieties. If we could only properly cultivate the sort 6 we have we could increase our yield 50 per cent. We want a thorough and scientific investigation of the methods of preserving seed, especially seed potatoes."