CANTERBURY CROP RESULTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3384, 22 January 1919, Page 12

CANTERBURY CROP RESULTS.

CHRISTCHURCfH, January 17. The gooa night's rain that has fallen will do an immense amount of #ood to grourio! crops of all kinds, but the surface soil is so dry that oven more would be welcome. The harvest is not yet general, so the rain will cause little delay, and all grain crops that are still in an unripe stage should be improved by a bettor filling of the grain. There has been some forward selling or oats by merchants, but only an odd lot has been purchased from growers on rubbed out sample. The earlv cut Algerian oats are naturally light, having been grown on the drier land, and one sample has been sold at 4s 6d, on trucks. An offer of 4s lOd -for Garlons was not accepted, but it is reported a sale was effected at ss, at a country station. No sales of new oatsheaf chaff are yet reported. It is too early; yet to say definitely how the market will open In Canterbury, but £4 10s to £5 is mentioned as a probable price. The barley crop is smaller in area than that of last year, but the yield being larger, will have the effect of giving a total about equal to

the averago of the past few years. Any shortage is being made up by importing from Australia. It is expected that the market will open at about last season's prices. The market for grass seed has not yet opened properly, only small lots of perennial Italian having been on offer. The former ia likely to be a short crop. With a quantity of last season's seed on hand a- promising crop of white clover is expect-ed, but will be much lower in price than that of last year. The red clover crop is likely to be smaller. Some offers for potatoes for forward delivery are now being made, but the market has not yet settled down /to anything like a definite figure, and there is as much as £2 per ton difference in the prices mentioned. Last night's rain should do a considerable amount of good to the potato crop, which so far ia looking very healthy.