DEMAND FOR GRASS SEED.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 9017, 17 March 1908, Page 6

DEMAND FOR GRASS SEED.

COCKSFOOT VERY SCARCE,

RYEGRASS HARDENING

The head of the seed department of a leading produce firm in Masterton was interviewed by a representative of the Wairarapa Daily Times to-day, with refereuce to the state of the grass seed market. The seedsman said that the only serious scarcity was in cocksfoot, which the agents reported to be almost unobtainable. The area under cultivation this season had been 12CU acres smaller than that of the previous year. This circumstance, combined with the ravages of recent fires, was blamed for the deartn of seed. There had been a rise in price of three-halfpence a pouud iv the past two or three \. .eks. With ryegrass there had fortunately beeu v much greater cropping. The sowing in the South Island had covered 10,000 more acres than in the year before, and as a result this season bad,opened with the price at Is fid per bushel below last year's opening rates. Since the first sales there bad beeu au advauce of about 4d per bushel, owing to the extraordinary demaud created for seed to re-sow fireswept land. In the Hawke's Bay district locally grown rye-grass was scarce, aud the bulk was being disposed of in the province at about fid in advauce of last year's prices. In conclusion, he stated that cocksfoot and ryegrass were likely to advance further. Other varieties of grass seed were in good supply, aud the price had not. yet been affected.