OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 11

OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

(From Oub Own Correspondent.)

A FINE NEW YEAR

To the delight of the farming portion of tho community, and no doubt to the city dwellers as well, the New Year has been graced by some very line weather. The old year, however, went out in a downpour that will not be forgotten for some time. Indeed, it is some considerable time since we had ae steady and as heavy a rain at this 'time of tho year as we had on New Year's Eve. The rain commenced in the early evening, and continued during tho most of the night, and when we ■went to inspect our rain-gauges on Nevy Year's morning we found that lin of rain had fallen during the night. The rivers and creeks were in high flood, and many of the streams were uncrossable. During the day tho weather cleared, and up to the time of writing the conditions have been all that one could desire. It is to be hoped that at last the weather has taken a definite turn for the better, and it cortainly looks up to the present as if tho advent of the New Year brought in good weather almost to the hour. A nor'-west breezo sprang up almost as soon as tho rain stopped, witn the result that the land is -drying up - nicely, and the creeks and rivers have run down. We do not want too much of that kind of . weather, but at the present it is to be preferred to rain for many reasons. The months of September and December were the wettest of the year, and the latter very nearly equalled the former, though not quite. - The rainfall for the year has been below the average for the last 25 years, it being, roughly, 22in, as against the averago of over 25in. We had nearly 6in in December, and about the same quantity in September, so that more than half the total rainfall for the year fell in 'those two months. That means that the heaviest rainfall came in two of the busiest months of the year. It can be easily gueesed why we are so far backward with much of our work. Of .course, the rainfall has Varied in different districts—indeed, places within a few miles of each other have had quite a different tally. This is always tho case, but I think that it is more marked this season than usual. At Orari Gorge Station over 12in of rain fell "in December, and over 57in for 'the year. In many other • places the falls have varied by as much as lin for tho month, so that it will be seen that tho figures I have given are only approximately what has been the rainfall in the province. ' WORK BACKWARD. 'The work on the farm is very much behindhand, and fino weather is wanted to enable- leeway 'to be made up. The ■worst position is in regard to the shearing. It is not often that so many downcountry farmers have the clips still on the eheeps' backs as is the case this season. The up-country shearing is usually only beginning, but this year many 6f the lowjcountry sheep-owners are in She • same position. It will be difficult to get tho back country sheds manned till the farmers have finished, though it must be acknowledged that 'up to the present time there has been no scarcity of shearers. If the ' weather had been favourable there would have been no difficulty in the matter at all. In fact, the chief trouble is to get xa.cn to work the teams. Tho fancy jobs, such as shearing, thrashing, and perhaps harvesting, seem to command men when steady billets do not appeal to them. Thero is some difference of opinion ae to what will be the state of tho labour market

■when the harvest is in full swing-. Something depends upon the weather in the meantime. If the shearing and tuimiping are finished before 'the rush of the harvest sets in it is not improbable that there -will not be such a great deal of difficulty with the harvesting. Some men will, of course, come out of the towns for the harvcet, and everything else will be dropped in the country for that job as far as possible. Some of the branches of tho Farmers' Union are agitating for the city activities to be dropped for the time being in order that attention may ho centred on the harvest —the ingathering of tho people's foodstuffs. This is a very laudable _ movement, provided that the matter is not overdone and that 'thero are safeguards placed around the procuring of men from the towns. There may very easily bo a good deal of dieappointment if men leave their town jobs and go into the country ■without some previous arrangement'. -No man should leave the job he is at 'till he has an engagement to work in the harvest paddock. If he goes on the "wallaby" on tho off-chance of getting work he may find that jobs are not so easy to get, and he may lose over his venture. By far the more sensible way is to get the work first, and then take a change into the

country. It appears to .me aleo that the men who should be the first to volunteer for the harvest are those who in their

young' days, before they went to the towns, had some insight into tho work on the farm. They w'll know what they are to expect ill the way of work, and what is expected of 'them, whereas tho complete novice, no matter how willing he may be, may be sadly disillusioned when he gets into tho harvest paddock. It will need strong men and true to handle the stuff this season, because there is a big bulk of it everywhere. Last season 'the opposite ■was the case. The straw was not above half as long in most cases, and tho heads were not filled, so that the sheaves wore light to handle. In fact,' women and boys could handle tho stuff last year better than some men would be able to do this season. Moreover, the wet weather has tangled much of it up. There aro thousands of acres that have been badly lodged. Some of it will never be any good. It will bo impossible to gather tho worst of it ud, and much of the atuffthat will be handled yill be very much twisted end tangled. I havo never seen

eo much crop down as is the case this season. There will bo a considerable amount of waste in consequence; but, on the other hand,' it must be remembered that tho same rains that laid theso crops made un those that wero late in the sowing, and that would not have been any good at all if the wet weather had not come. Tho latter benefit will, in my opinion, nioro than balance the other. Oats would have been very scarce indeed if thero had not been some rain to bring the late crops along. As a general rule, the wheat-grower gets the most important of the' cereal crops in first, and that, of course, is the wheat. The oats go in last, and have to take their chance. It is not too much to say that the harvest has been put back a fortnight or throe weeks on acount of the rain, and the crops are all the better for it. Fino weather is wanted now to ripen them up and to prevent the appearance of disease and rust and Wight. Many of the paddocks are not a good colour on account of the wet, and there is also some rust present. I think, however, that this is less in evidence than was the case earlier in the season. The heavy rains have washed a good deal ot it away, though thero is somo to be seen in tho later-sown crops. The crops that should have come in early are hanging fire a bit, and a sunshiny time is needed to make them come in as they should do The hay has had a bad time during the past month. A great deal of it is spoiled, and is scarcely worth the saving, though it must bo put awayonceit is cut and. cooked-up. In many cases the aftermath is well up around the cocks and between tho rows of hay as they lie about the paddock. From all appearances there should bo a good do? I for clover seed saved *his season if tho aftermath of clover that is coming along after the hay is cut is anything to go by. A. good deal of salt will have to be used to sweeten up somo of the hay which has been lying about the paddocks for weeks, and some of it will only be fit for bedding purposes after all. The grass seed harvest is being hindered for the same reason that the hay and other things have been put behindhand. Still, there was not a great deal of it ripe. .During the last day or two there has been quite a change in the appearance of the grass seed paddocks, and I notice that the reapers are getting to work in many of the paddocks since New Year's Day. It is to be hoped that tho weather will continue calm and fine. The stuff has to be fairly ripe beforo tho reaper is put in, and in that condition it is a prey to the nor'-westers for which our province is noted. There will also be some stripping done I have no doubt. There will not be the same need for this as there was last year, when the grass was too 'short for the binder to deal with. Some of the ryegrass may be seen to be flattened out, just as the crops arc, showing how heavy is the growth on the good land. Tho turnip-sowing is in full- swing since the weather cleared up. Much of the ground had to be worked up again, as it was set and the weeds had begun to get a hold;' but, on the whole, the late-sown crops will stand a better chance than the earlier ones if tho rain keeps away now. The land has got quite hard where the fain beat it down, and it will do the land good to be rooted up again so that the surface might bo made loose and the weeds given a check. In the early sowings the plants do not look a healthy colour as yet, and the plants are, on many paddocks, not as thick as they should be. ',.-.. The rapo is coming away well, this being just tho seaeon for it. Farmers realise that there is nothing that can equal rape for the putting on of weight as far as 'lambs are concerned. During the last three years there has been far too little rape, tho dry weather being fight against the crop. Consequently the weight of the lambs that have gone into tho works has been below the average and below what it should be. This "year that should not be the ease, there being a superabundance of feed everywhere, with plenty in sight for some time to come, though the stubbles will not be ready for some time to come except in the earlier districts. STOCK NOTES.

This leads me to say that stock of all sorts is literally in clover this year. The feed is rather too plentiful, if anything, though that is a very good fault. On many of the runs the grass will get a chance- to seed and sow itself again, and tho same remark applies to some of the paddocks that were sown down last year, but which did not strike well owing to the dry weather. The sheep on some of the heavier land had commenced to scour owing to the excessive wet; but during the last few cTays the feed has dried up a lot, and the stock is looking all the better in consequence. It docs not take much sunshine to put those matters right. As I have indicated, the shearing is very much delayed, but the 'wool is coming off in good condition. Indeed, it is a long time since the clip was so good, and the prices that it should realise should be above those of last year. The length, condition, - and quality are all that can be desired in most instances. There have been some losses among the shorn sheep, there having been a few very cold snaps. It is always risky shearing in the wet weather; but it appears that there aro always some who will take that risk when they get pressed " for time and are anxious to see the sheep shorn. It is tantalising to have to turn a shedful out with their wool on when tho sheep are nice and dry and the rain is pelting down outside. But if the rain is heavy.and cold it is the- safest thing to do. Kven if no lives are lost, the ewes suffer from tho chill that they get. They go off in 'their milk. there is often a good deal of mismothpring. UUnfortunately, the losses that I have heard of have all been ewes with lambs at foot. That means a double loss.

In conclusion, I can safely say that tho promise for tho season is bright, and it is a good sign that tho New Year has come in with just tho sort of weather that wo want.