THE SEASON IN SOUTHLAND

Southland Times, Issue 19458, 24 January 1925, Page 12

THE SEASON IN SOUTHLAND

HARVEST PROSPECTS. BALFOUR. The Balfour district has commenced the year 1925 with the promise of a good and early harvest of grass, oats and wheat. The season has been good, and that, combined with better farming methods employed, has caused the district to have a different appearance from that which it had when cropping was the mainstay of almost every farmer. Of course, a great deal of the land has been heavily cropped in the early days, and the requires time to bring it back into a profitable grazing country, and it can only be done by a liberal amount of lime and manure, combined with hard work. There is ample evidence this year that farmers are waking up to the fact that carrying sheep and doing them well is the most profitable line of farming, as it is estimated that well on to 2000 tons of lime came into the district this season. Grass cutting is now finished, and the mills are now making a start on their season’s work. There is a larger area of ryegrass cut for seed than last year, and very much heavier crops. The writer saw one crop of 50 acres in stook, which used 53 balls of twine to tie. Although such crops are not common, they are all good. Dogstail is now being cut, but there is a much smaller area than usual, while the same applies to fescue. Some very good crops of oats are to be seen, and a greater area than last year. On the average, the yield will easily be double or more of the 1924 crop. About the same quantity of wheat has been sown, the principal wheat growing part of this distric being the Mataura Flat, where there are crops that must hold their own with any others in New Zealand. A considerable area has been sown in root crops for winter feed, and on the average are looking well. With favourable weather during this month and February there will be abundance of sheep feed. Lamb prices are high, so there has been a good area of rape and soft turnips sown for fattening. Owing to the dry weather of the last fortnight rape is beginning to ripen. With lamb at lid per pound, the danger is that too many ewe lambs will go to the works, which is bad for the country, as there are too many old done ewes being bred from now; but with the high prices for mutton, there is a better chance of a good number of these being fattened off. The farmer is wise who keeps his own ewe lambs, even if tempted to sell. KNAPDALE. The oat crops are fairly good, but the acreage is small. I think the turnip crops will, on the whole, be good, as they have got a good start with the rain at about New Year time. The grass harvest seems fair, but there is not a very large acreage, so far as I can see. The stock, on the whole, are looking well, and big drafts of lambs are going away, fat off their mothers. HEDDON BUSH. Wheat. —Only small crops are sown in this district, but the crops look well, promising a yield of 35 bushels per acre. Oats. —Fully a fourth more acreage is sown in oats in this district this year than last, and the crops are looking well. The returns this year should be about 30 per cent better than last season. Rye-grass.—The quantity held for seed this season is greater by a fifth than last season, and the yield will be about 30 bushels per acre. The seed is in good order, and will weigh heavier than lost season. Dairying in this district is in the nature of a side-line, being all home separator work, the cream being mostly taken by the Southland Dairy Federation. The supply is diminishing daily, owing to the very dry conditions prevailing at present. Sheep, notwithstanding the very dry conditions, are looking very well. The strike of all fodder crops is good, and promises a liberal supply of winter feed, if only we would be blessed with a plentiful fall of rain—at least 24 hours’ rain is wanted to. I ensure an abundance of winter feed and to j start the grass paddocks growing a plentiful | supply of grass before the winter feed is called on. The outlook for farmers is good, and it is to be hoped it will continue so. CAROLINE. All kinds of crops in this district give promise of being better than they have been for some years. ] The oat crop, though the area is not | large, is Joking particularly well, with the straw long and thick and the heads well filled. Litle or no wheat is grown here now, tho farmers making their money easier by fattening stock, besides keeping their land in better heart, and now merely grow enough grain for their own use. There are two or three paddocks of ryecorn just about ready for the binder. One farmer, who sowed it in the autumn, has fed it off three times during the late winter and spring, 30 acres practically wintering 200 ewes, which came out in better condition at shearing time than those which were fed on turnips. Many farmers do not know the value of this fodder, or much more would be grown. The turnip crop promises to be a record. A plentiful rainfall during December and early January set it going, and in most cases both swedes and green varieties are meeting in the drills. The trouble, in all probability, will not be shortage of winter feed, but where to get stock to eat it. Fat stock being at such record prices and feed so plentiful, there is bound to be a clearing out of all surplus stock. Farmers would be well advised to keep the best of their ewe lambs, as young ewes are scarce, while the tempting price of lamb is an inducement to freeze more than usual this season, with the result that young ewe? will be very short next year, MOKOTUA. A larger am has been sown in oats this season than usual, and whilst there are one or two poor crops, the majority are well above the average in regards to length of straw and estimated yields per acre. There are some good crops of oats grown by the following: Messrs I. Halder, W. Sim, J. Wilson and Jno. Brown. Unfortunately there is a good deal of smut throughout the grain crops this season. There is practically no wheat grown here,; all there is, being an acre or two sown by a few farmers for fowl feed. There is more grass saved for seed, the bulk of which appear to be heavy crops. Unfortunately some appears to be a little frosted and the yield of seed per acre reduced by the high winds of the last day or so. The local mill made a start threshing grass from the stook last week. No grass crops have been saved this year for hay. The long spell of dry weather has been responsible for a big drop in the milk yield. The drop being more noticeable on the bush country and rain is badly required both to freshen up the grass paddocks, for drinking water for stock, and also at the houses. Turnip crops are backward for the time of year and it appears that unless rain comes soon, there will be a shortage of winter feed. Club root and blight have made their appearance amongst root crops.

Electricity is now being tried for cooking, in plane of gas, on the newest restaurant trains. A fireman testing an alarm was startled to hear soft music on the line. A moment later he heard a woman singing. A full concert programme followed. The reason for the music is a mystery. One theory is that the wire of the alarm was picking up from an earth line, another that it was the result of induction on overhead lines