THE CROPS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2293, 26 January 1882, Page 3

THE CROPS.

; (Bt odb SPEOiir. Bejpoetee.) THB SOUTHERN DIBTEIOT. I (Concluded.) i Taking Waimat* as the centra of our final I inspection of tbe cropi m the southern dis- , trict, and travelling thenre m tho direction of the Wuihao, some very fair field* of grain are to be tern on both tides of the road, on I Downlande particularly (the residence of Mr L. Price), there being some very nice looking red chaff wheat of considerable extent, and a 1 paddock of oats being oat with a titter that t promises very good return*. Striking the Main South Boad, and following on m the s direction of the Waitaki, the prospect is not i by any means discouraging, both wheat and oats, what there is of the latter cereal, look- ] iog very healthy and strong, and promising I, to yirld if anything, m rzorig of, ralher than c under, the seaton'i average. On the Waibao Flat a very nice field of barley, belonging to a Mr M. Studholme, was being harvested at the a time of our inspeotioo, four string binders t being at work at it. This gentleman has a great tiptnte of crop this

y>-ar, no less than twenty nvicliines D . diilermil kind* liriDg nece^ary to l.arre.t tr effect unlly. There »'«i «onie pimd puddocksi it wbei>t m this vicinity, wiiile the uplan< to hehind look green anil fresh, I lie pastui ie showing very little indicstir.n of drought. I id tbe neighborhood of the Waihao riil"n ie ktalion the greater part of (he land i» don to patture, «nd «nyon« acquainted with tin diltrict a foir years ago who had nut. iren ' m the meantime would fail to ro-c-gniso th [reality, so grett. a change having bee] wrought by cultivation and improvements o onekird and ano'ber. Continuinz onward to the Waitaki Flat the signs of cultivhtio lesien and thrre is not much to notice. Wha st there ie is principally wheat of raediur rl promise. Oo McLean'* downs there are full if fix or eight ttioueand acre* nf crop this eea«on c the bulk being wheut, and bath this and th :» oats may bo taken as a fair average crop ni a through. Harvest it m full swing, and labo .1 appears to be fairly plentiful m this part o it the district. Journeying up the flat toward c Bedcliffo hero and there a patch a g crop may bo teen of fair quality and i» parsing the Kcdc'.iffe Hotel, near where theri I ia alto a paddock rr two of wheat, signs o c cultivation vanish, excepting here »nd tln-r ,- a station crop for home use. until tbe Ilufca c ternmca Valley is r< ached, where the dull hu c of the hills and ths monotonous brown of th< > fluts ia a?ain relieved by waving fields o corn rapidly ripening, and of otht-r field already ripe being gathered m. At th< entrance to this valley Mr Hayes has a mag nificent crop of about 6IH) acres of oats, which ia now being harvested, and further on Mr N Lane, of Oamaru, has h fine expanse of botl , wheat and oats, about 800 acres m eiteiit , Other extensive crops are alto to be iiolioec I m this magnificent valley, and there are thret I good stretches of wheat, m all about 18QC . seres, belonging respectively to Me«ri Godsel . and Turnbull and Hie Honor Judge Ward, that promise remarkably well. There is no evl ' denoe of th' drought having been ( xperiecced m , this part of the district, at all event*, and the , returns will certainly be gratifying to those ; gentlemen who have befn far-seeing enough to secure land m th's very beautiful valley. . Crossing tho ITakateiamea river, on to the Waihao side, Mr Meek ban 700 acres of crop, , chiefly wheat, that looks well, and it may be , remarked that, the general churacter of tbe crops all round tlii> locality is superior to that , of the pjddocks at a lower lovcl.nnd nearer the , S'.a, while thry arc quite as forward. This is i con'rary to predictions when tho lund m i\w , neighborhood was opened for sale 1 few years , ag;>. Coining over Waihouruugi, wbero llv re are 7000 acrei down to lermnnent posture, a large [.atch of wbeat of about 1000 aero.>, belonging to Meters Buchanan aid Clupham, is pssjfd, the rr.ad leading to tho Waihao dowm eitate, formerly kuowi os Parker's, but now the property at Mr Dou^'a". Thisgeutieman has gone to very great expense m improving this beautiful property; extensive drainage operatljns having been carried out and nil tbe fences newly eroctid, besides which the a!ation buildings hare all been rebuilt, and extensive plantations laid out. It ii ez-p.-cied tint there will be about 9000 acres <f tlnglisli eras* on this run next j ear. Coming into Waimate by way of the Gorge, a few ni 6 crops of oats are seen on the flats nn Her fie limestone formation on to right, and then cultivation — that is on a largo seale — ceasts until the township is re ached and pacsed. Leaving Waimate and turning up the Hsok road, the general appearance of tbe country ia bright and cheerful, tho grans is not burnt up as might have been expected, and the crop? though not henvy, are bralthy and matured. On the Hook Down*, tbe bulk of the land is down to pasture, still there are extensive crops of both cereals of very promising appearance. In the Hook Valley, tbe crops generally are good, and Messrs McGoverin and Hur.ly hove a very nice paddock of vcWefr chaff, 140 acres m extent, which ia expected to run fully 30 bushels per acre. These gentlemen are examples of what ein be done by pitience and perseverance.' Eleven years ago they were unable to fell their first crop of wheat on account of its being smutty, and they shipped it Home, realising very well on it. Now they have a very mug farm, the buildings on which are patterns of neatnesa and order, and the whole place presents an air of comfort and industry that ia very pleating to see. Higher up the valley Mr Donald Ross bas a 6ne patch of oats, and Mr Medlicott has some very nice wheat, which promises a josd yield. Nearer Makikihi, Mr Q-. F. Lovegrove has a very fair strip of barley and a paddock of 300 acres Canadian oat«, m which three McCotmick ttring binders -were at work, on bis farm is the best m the district. This gentleman has alto another 300 acre paddock of Tartarian oats, which are very promising. It is expected that there will bo 1700 acres of crop, nearly all wheat, on this estate next year. Across tbe road Mr J. Andrews bas a Tory good looking stretch of wheat, bMh red and white, ' and further on Mr J. Miller bas some sound, 1 heallhy-lookiog wheat, now being cnt. On the Sherwood downs the paddocks of wheat and oats are good and forward, and m several of them harvest operations are m full swing, In the vicinity of ths Makikihi railway 1 station the wheat is looking well, but nearer the Hook, along the main road, a very fine ' crop of velvet chaff, parity cut, has been spoiled by the heavy rains. The standing part is laid, and the stooks show signs of sweating. Travelling Timaru-wards, aaothet paddock of nice wbeat is met with showing signs of weather, near Messrs Quinn'i Farm, on which harvest operations have been commenced m good ordinary crops. In Horseshoe Valley, Mr A. Martin has a broad stretch ' of crop, wheat and oats, which looks remark- ' ably well from tbe road, and should give fair ' average returns, and, nearing borne, Mr J. i Soriiib, sen., bas a nice patoh of wheat, of 130 acre*, on tho Pareira. At Saltwater Creek Mr J. Smith, jun., has a good orop of oats, 315 acres m extent, m which two string ' binders were at work, and, adjoining him, to > the soulhwaid, Mr (J. Talb;t has 530 acre* of ' wheat and oats that look fairly well, which I were being harvested ia good condition. Generally speaking, a review of the eropi • m the southern portion of the district ii 1 much more reassuring than m the northern • portion, the signs of drought being far less ' apparent, and the condition of the grain 1 healthy, though perhaps" showing m some • parts undue maturity. Tbe oats are certninlj ! far more promising south than nortb, and oui ! estimate of the season's yield already given 1 will suffer no diminution m the portions o! ' the district now treated nf. t-'i ■ . i