OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 3298, 30 May 1917, Page 10

OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

(From Ode Own Correspondent.) A FINE AUTUMN. Ono does not hear any complaints about the state of tho weather at the time of writing. As a matter of fact there is no fault to bo found with it, and tho truth is that we are experiencing remarkably fine weather for the.time of the year. Indeed, sometimes it is easier to imagine that we are in the middle of summer than that wo aro at tho end of autumn, so warm is tho sun and so balmy is the air. Nor'-westerly conditions have prevailed tor the past 10 days or so, and wo are hoping that they will last for some considerable time yet if they continue to spell drying breezes and a warm sun_ with an almost total absence of frost at night. It is to be hoped that wo do not have to pay for the present fine spell later on. Wo aro trying to recollect that during tho month of June—in fact, right up to the shortest day—tho weather is often everything that one could desire. If it lasts good till that time we shall not mind sc much. THE FARM. In tho meantime we are losing none of the golden opportunity to put in as much wheat as we can. The land has' got to such a good state that the seed is going in with every hope that the result will be a good ono. Ten days or a fortnight ago it looked as if drilling would have to stop altogether; but since that time the conditions have improved out of all knowledge. The land is nice and curly, just in the right order, and the seed is germinating very quickly for the season of the year. I have seen some of it up inside a fortnight. The plants are growine fast as'well; indeed, some farmers say that they have never seen more rapid growth in tho crops at this time of tho year. All this is very satisfactory, and it is also pleasing to record that the appeal of the Government to farmers to grow wheat is being replied to in a most practical and thorough manner. There can bo no doubt that the area has increased already, and, given a fine spring/ the autumn-sowing will be augmented to a considerable degree. I hear that the North Island is responding well, and, if that is so, there can be no question of the result of the appeal to farmers. Wo arc expecting a good harvest next season, after having had three indifferent ones; and if that should be tho case it is quite on the cards that wo shall have a surplus instead of a deficiency. If such should be the case the millers will not be in such a hurry to buy as they were this season, and unless the Government buys itself growers may not be ablo to quit when they want. to. It is to be hoped that the Government will take -Control of the whole crop, and buy it as soon as tho farmer has it ready to market. There may be a surplus, but that should be a matter for congratulation, seeing that we have been on the short side for some time. Even 2,000,000 bushels more than wo require would not be a serious matter financially or otherwise. If we could get it away it would be eagerly sought after by the Imperial Government. There are some farmers who, though they have put in a good deal of wheat in refonse to tho appeal of the Minister of griculture, assert that they have no confidence in tho promises of the Government regarding the purchase of wheat and the price to be paid. They base that belief on the assertion that the Government in the past has not kept one of its promises to the wheat-grower, and will break its word again if it is found expedient to do so. While I cannot go so far as to believe that the Cabinet would or could go to the length of breaking its promises for next season were it considered expedient to do so, I am certain of this: that if the Government had in the past given wheat-growers the consideration that they asked for there would have been no occasion for a special request at the present juncture for an increased area. Indeed, farmers go so far as to claim that already the Government is not keeping up to a promise made by the Minister of Agriculture when he was touring tho Dominion that there would be sufficient men left on the farms to keep tho teams going. Tho men are being taken wherever they aro fit, and as for sending men back from thfi camps, that lias not been thought of apparently after tho Minister got back to Wellington. The only factor that has saved the situation as far as tho agriculturist is concerned is tho turning down of so many men by the Medical Boards. Wo are all hoping, with the Minister of Defence, that the Second Division will not be cafled upon. No labour can hope to take tho place of our ordinary farm lads and the young married men that have now got into positions on the larger farms. Even were they willing to do their best, substitutes would take some considerable time to become proficient in the nraltifarious duties that farm hands are now called upon to perform on most farms. It has excited no wonder among wheatgrowers that the Hon. Mr MacDonald had to go over to Australia to purchase from a million and a-half to a couple of million bushels of wheat to_ keep us fed till our next harvest comes in. Tho Government Statistician's figures are sufficient to show that the yield is far below that of tho previous season. There was at tho last publication of returns a deficiency of something like a million bushels as against the returns of the previous year. The Statistician is of opinion that this is the result of later thrashing owing to tho scarcity of labour; but thero is no justification for that belief. Thrashing was commenced early, and was

soon finished, simply because the stuff was not there to thrash. Men will go with a mill when they cannot be procured for other work. The'life has a groat attraction for many men, and the pay is good, particularly if the job can be got at while the weather is good and the days long. Farmers are now making up their" income tax returns, and wheat-growers arc finding that they have lost money over last year's crop. Their returns are smaller by a big percentage, and the Government price failed to bring the proceeds up to anything like what they were last year. In my own case I was surprised when I got the balance sheet completed to find how much below the results of the previous year were the figures of the period just ended. Empty bags reached the merchants in huge numbers, showing that the farmers were deceived in their crops wofully. Millers realised that there would be a shortage, and they bought up stocks as liberally as possible—at least those who could manage the finance did so. Let us hope that the returns that will bo made up at this time next year will show - moro satisfactory results, and that the war will then be over, and well ended. Where wheat-sowing is not in progress ploughing for turnips is in progress. Lea land is being turned over, and is ploughing up well. The land is nice and dry, and in eonsenuoncc the soil is crumbling as it falls away from the mouldboard. This means that the frost will get into the land thoroughly, and that the ground will work up splendidly when the spring comes. It is recognised by lots of farmers that if one wants to get a reliable crop of turnips the land must be ploughed in the winter, and the sooner the better. Of course, where the teams arc busy sowing wheat there can be no thought for the present of doing anything but what is in connection with that cereal. For rape, too, the land is all the better for an early ploughing. Casual hands aro getting the gorso cut and things generally fixed up for the winter. A good deal of this work will have to stand over till more labour is available. Potatoes are being dug all round, and one sees quite a number of women helping in the work. Most of them pick up after the diggers, but to-day I saw one woman manipulating a fork in real good style, while the children were apparently doing what they could to do some bagging. That, is, undoubtedly, the right spirit to meet the difficulties of the times. In some cases where the husband has to work the team he digs some rows during the dinner hour, and the wife picks up during the afternoon while the man returns to the plough. The process may be a slow one, but at any rate the job docs get done in, time without hindering other very essential work. The potato crops vary a good deal, but there can be no doubt that there are a good many about. Some of the tubers have reached a very large size—too large, in fact, for the table. A medium-sized tuber is certainly much the best for culinary purposes. I have known a man bring into the house an armful of potatoes literally, the tubers being large enough to carry in that like logs of wood. Some crops are miserably poor, however—scarcely worth the digging. But I imagine that we shall not go short of potatoes before next spring or summer what-ev-r may bo the position in regard to wheat STOCK NOTES. It is asserted, with a good idea of truth, that seldom if ever had grass grown so quickly for the time of the year as it has done during the past few weeks. It is certain that the paddocks have not looked greener at any time during the year, and there is a healthy bite for stock everywhere. Should the weather continue anything like fine during next month, there will be sufficient grass to keep sheep going well into the winter. There may not be a great lot of feed, but what there is is good, and very suitable for the season. It- ia very fortunate that the grass has come away so well, because there are so very few turnips about in some of the districts. It is true that the tops have freshened up in tho past woel: or two, but the roots are small and woody. There are districts where the root crops are good, but I am afraid that these aro few and far between. Certainly they are not to bo seen my way, and the problem of spring feed will be a more serious one than the matter of supplies for the first part of the winter. Where the roots are being fed flown it is found that the quality is not us good as it should be—a thing that w r as also very noticeable last season. It looks as if roots must keep on growing right away in order to be of the best quality. If they receive a check they deteriorate in quality. For my part I did not get my turnips sown as soon as I would have liked; but I am now glad of that, because I find that the later sowings are the best in the matter of feed value, if not in point of size. Rape has made a good second growth —in fact, I have seen some paddocks where tiic second and third feeding gave the best results. The country is very pretty with peddocks of green crops, which are not to bo seen everywhere. This green stuff was evidently put in to take the place of turnips, and tho grass coming away so well has rendered it unnecessary so far to' feed the stuff down. However, it will all be wanted later on—of that I ani sure. One of the chief topics of conversation among the farming community is tho blockage at the works owing to the shortage in the shipping. It is a strange thing that some works were full up a few weeks ago. and now they are taking sheep from their regular clients. Perhaps they got some away on one of tho boats that have been lifting a few carcases; but very few can have been removed during this month. It will, of course, be a most serious matter if wo cannot get our stuff away; but farmers are taking the matter in a very philosophic manner at the present time. Most of the fat stuff is away, and there is room for most of what is remaining, as the country is undoubtedly understocked. It is expected that something or other will turn up before next season. Events tread en each other's heels at such a ra.te that there is no use meeting trouble halfway. Since commencing these notes heavy rain has commenced to fall. The glass" is very low, and we may get a downpour. So far the nor'-westerly conditions nave accounted for the low glass; but if the weather should take a southerly turn we may get some heavy rain. It is not wanted, and if it comes it will hinder tho drilling which has been pushed with such good effect during the last 10 days or more.