Romance of the Harvest.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 14042, 28 October 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

Romance of the Harvest.

BRINGING IN THE WHEAT AUSTRALIAN SCENES.

The bustle in the Wimmera shows the magnitude of the grain harvest. The yards at the railway stations and flour mills are scenes of activity. There are great stacks of grain sacks, some of. them as big as warehouses. Strings of waggons, with two, four, six, arid eight horses, or bullock teams,, are awaiting their turn to be unloaded. These are streaming in from daylight to dusk from all points of the ; compass. You can trace their progress for miles. across the open . plain, from the top of one of the great* wheat stacks, by the dust-cloud which hangs over the driver and team, almost, motionless, in the atmosphere. "You could writo your name on it," was the expressive Way in which one of the teamsters described its tenacity. These great waggons, rolling in with their heavy loads,' and 'drawn 'by powerful teams, illustrates the progress in labour-saving devices made in wheat-growing', as in all other forms of industry. The two-horse! dray, like the single-furrow plough, has long,since been discarded. The modern waggon will hold three or four dray-loads, and save as many drivers.; ' This is the keynote of the methods 'adopted jn dealing with the wheat'harvest.' Economy in production is necessary V in order to face the world's-competition, which fixes tho world's prices for the, gram. Labour-saving appliances are even applied to the building of the gram:stacks in the station'yards. Formerly tlie men had to lump the bags on Mtheir backs' up unsteady planks. Now nearly all the sacks. are hoisted up '.from the.'waggons •to the stacks with a " whip," worked, by a horse; Almost as; fast/as a hitch can be thrown ground them; they are;, run up to tho . top of the stack,, and.tneje'ed. away hy expert stack-builders, ,as. neatly' as a ™ ayor ]flvs a course of bricks yar^atJVfinyjp, ; Sheep Hills, Warraeknabeal,v and 'other Wimmera towns present a remarkable specs tacle. Iho wheat stacks have i turned the yards, into what -look like great fortifications hastily, thrown, up .''-by some beleagured , garrison: If ttie wheat specials could, clear the grain away fast, chough; these stacks wdriltl 'not 1 bo .built at all,' except;. of .course*, in the mill yards, where they nro wanted. Jitit wlu'le;th'e;rush;is-on,;'ibho. trains arounable to clear;iiore>thanja small portion of the The bnlk.is^stacked the rjulis,' ; so;;ilia't; it fflity- ; :be handy;Jfor ?Joiding ■ as v sottn '• as 'trucks' are for;!its transit, y/:;:'; ','. / ' , .'": :/';■'".c^-' This, tfirlcj; J' winch' 'has practically been a' trial .to teams, ■ travelling'!to; the railAray.vstatiftns, , the, grain iiiea"s, ; land ; the locoiiidtiyes.'and; railway trucfe .engaged ;in^clearin£'it,, has been 1 itt'jbagh pressure for a ; month. It will:£pntinue\ for. : - : weeks longer.-.befof o>i it' eases : on*; •,:•• In.' i,a& stacks are •growing .tohuge. prdjwrtionsS at- soma. 6i • the', railway stationfe;;' '■;'"-.■: "i. '/"''"<• \ '„ A special officer has been sent up'to ■the vYMmmerd;';byvthe, railway; department'- to' assist-the 'traffic superihteindents in marshalling .this-: heavy/ wneai. traffic, so that, like the'farmers with their waggons and teainsi'; economy; in. time and: strength niay 1 ' be 'secured: in dealing with it.-^lt;is this admirable' organising ability shown "by tho rail-way-department, in handling this.traf no which has enabled- the Work /to smoothly. In November* .when it-was. ■ anticipated there .would ; be a.; g°°sV harvest in the a,conferenpe' of all the depot statiorimasters; Wimmera lines' and was held at Biillarat. A.plan of campaign was organised, which has turned out welL In such' fashion:',* ■ red tape > brokeu down, and service put on their ■ mettle to makcy u success of, a great Shippers and" large'niilbwners,b6tJ. , „ Mel bourne; and .locally, / ei'-s -.-i every railway station., Values* arii governed by prices.in; London in; seasons when; .as now, there w a *ur--plns for export. bushel, 01-, ieriu" -of fair, average quality sells as readily at ruling market-price.- as. though it were gold. vQccnSionally a shipper in need of a. parcel, do \ . load, without delay a ship already at mer under charter, for? which ho .has. not previously made';, : ,fpll' provision,* will advance a farthing fir a half-pentij' net bushel over the ruling price. lS*m. ! this apparently trifling,; increase wijll often secure all ,that is ,bffermg / /for the< dav so closely does competition".for,a product the ' world; wants; regulate; prices An occasional, bag/is samploa, with a gr.iin" trier "by the buyer to, test its quality. This yeay therms, no trouble in respect to this. ; Xhe main is plumn and bright,,.and m .the Wimmera, owing to; superior.method* , of farming, it. is very free,; from wil<& ,v i and rubbish. One could buy int./ safety' with his eyes shut the create* portion of these Wimmera loads. .' A%.-. the teams come in, one pre^ing^• clrtse . on the other at busy of tye, day, the, waggons are .driven/ on t0..,;, weighbridges, and the whole,/weighed;. at one operation. Then trip waggons are quicklv unloaded; a,nd 'return .to ( the distant fnrhis, , If/one coiild.take, a bird's-eveview of Northern from Servieetpn ', to Wangaratta;: one might see in daily nrbcession.with this array of golden grain, -for.the ,"-streetbred peoplei" of:this and.other lamm., v some 15,000 to, 1(5,000 wacgohsiand dr»~. s and ! 60,00Q t0'65,000 draught apiv mals.-; ' •■•.- •■'•■'■>'. ■ ;•- ,-. ,; ■-,.'.. ■'/ ../But to impress one's- imagmfttifin with the picturesque sid© of gathering in this great grain harvest, one has; only to stand on the: overhead/ bridge ; nt 'the Murtoa railway station, and. follow with the mind's eye / Iho array of wheat specials which Tim past this point during the: 24' hours. Everv two or three hours they roll by with .700 to 800 tons apiece.. At night the roar of one has scarcely died away before another is being got ready or tbp' track cleared for: a returning traint with a rake of 50 to 60.empty trucksi. going out to'be filled,