NEW ZEALAND OATS FOR CAITHNESS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4869, 29 June 1901, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND OATS FOR CAITHNESS.

SirJ. Q-. Tollemache Sinclair, although he is approaching the eighties, is evidently a man of enterprise. !He owds Thurso Castle, and about 78,000 acres, and is encouraging bis tenants to experiment with new varieties of oats. In a letter to the ' Caithness Courier,' after referring to tests of various oats by Mr Spiers and Dr Aitkin, and coming to tbe conclusion that Tartar King oats would be most suitable for Caithness he sayß : ' it appears to me that as it is advantageous to obtain seed from a distance, tbe farther tbat distance is the better, and I have accordingly purchased ten quarters of New Zealand oats this year in Mark Lane, London, which was started to weigh 511 b per bushel (a weight they often have reached) but some of which only weighed 481 b per bushel when delivered. Even at 481 b they are 81b heavier than any of the oats quoted in Dr Aitken's table, and this at Is extra for every pound weight over 40, makes the quarter of such oats worth 8b more, or more than 50 per cent more than the highest price of oats in Caithness this year. The quantity of meal which one quarter of New Zealand oats weighing 481 b rendered at the Mill of Halkirk was, 1 boll 7 BtoD'es, 81bs. I haye given a portion

of tbese'New Zealand oats to tenants of mine occupying farms with every variety of noil and climate, and tbe result at this year's harvest will be most interesting and important. . . Next year, if I am spared, I propose to purchase one hundred quarters of all tbe varieties of oats mentioned by Mr Spiers and Dr Aitken, which I will distribute amongst my tenants to see what varieties suits best for each kind of Caithness soil and climate. I pro* pose also to offer a prize for the harvest of 1902 to the Caithness farmer who produces the heaviest oats, provided they are not over-dressed so as to injure their germinating properties.'