PROGRESS MADE IN HARVESTING

Southland Times, Issue 23793, 15 April 1939, Page 18

PROGRESS MADE IN HARVESTING

Excellent Returns In Southland HEAVY WHEAT CROPS REPORTED Good progress has been made during the last few weeks with harvesting and some excellent returns have been obtained from cropping. Not a great deal of threshing has yet been done, but the early results have included some crop averages which are considerably above the average.

On Mr James Grant’s nroperty at Bayswater a good crop of Cross Seven wheat is estimated to thresh out at 80 bushels to the acre and a cron of oate on the same farm will probably exceed 100 bushels to the acre. On the Woodlands farm of Messrs Dennis Brothers, a crop of oats threshed out at 121 bushels to the acre. A very good return from a new variety of wheat, Tairoa, was obtained by Mr R. H. Shuttleworth, of Benmore. This is a big variety of wheat giving a lot of straw. The crop threshed out 56 bushels of first-grade to the acre with a total crop of rather better than 60 bushels. . A few crops of Montgomerie red clover have been saved for seed in Southland this season, but it appears doubtful whether there will be any return. The clover requires the big bumble bee to fertilize it and during the wet and cold January and February weather the bees were not about. They are now plentiful, but it is doubtful whether the seed can ripen before the winter.

Farmers who have been cropping extensively should remember that this practice impoverishes the soil unless efforts are made to restore the natural plant foods taken by grain crops. A few Southland farmers are planning to follow grain crops with crops of peas for seed or for ploughing,in.