THE CROP YIELD.

Southland Times, Issue 17663, 22 February 1916, Page 2

THE CROP YIELD.

To the Editor. Sir,—ln your Saturday sub-leader on the crop yields of the dominion you say; ‘'Southland's soil has not suddenly become prolific, and hy any test this district bares comparison more than favourably with the northern parts of the dominion.” In this you are entirely wrong—the reverse being the case, —as the figures given below will show, and which I think you will agree with me are a fair test. I Quote from the N.Z. Year Book of 1312 (the latest records I have). If .1 remember correctly you made a statement some two or three years ago in one of your leading articles that the productiveness of a district was best shown by the value of its exports. Taking the exports of the North Island provinces and comparing them with those of Southland, we fined the latter-district the least productive:—

The value of a crop cannot be ascertained until it is marketed, so a mere estimate of a crop yield is of little value, for it is within the bounds of possibility that a 20-bushel crop may be worth as much per acre as a crop yielding 2fi bushels to the acre. The people in the northern districts may be ignorant of the results obtained by farming in Southland, but It is equally true that many in this district are ignorant of the better results obtained outside of Southland. —I am, etc., C. WARBURTON. February 21.

.District, Av. Value Acres in Value of Exports Occupation. Exports, per ac. Auckland 7,769,048 3,528,417 9.1 Taranaki 1.358,271 1,719,107 25.3 Hawke’s Bay 3,211,086 2,960,238 18.5 Wellington 4,434,755 5,272,155 23.9 Southland 3,164,134 1,413,029 8.11