THE HARVEST.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16141, 20 February 1918, Page 3

THE HARVEST.

CROP.S DAMAGED BY RAIN. The continued wet weather has occasioned a good deal of anxiety amongst farmers in the Ellesmere district-, for the harvest is not more than about half finished. Not more than a third of the wheat has been threshed, and the greater part 01 that remaining unthreshetl is in the stook; in some cases the sheaves have not been stooked owing to the shortage of labour. Investigation shows only too plainly that the rain and the humid weather conditions have had a serious etfect ui>on a good many of the wheat crops. A great many cases of sprouting are reported from all over the Ellesmere district, and if the weather docs not clear quickly a great doal of damage will bo done. What farmers would welcome at present is a strong drying wind— preferably a nor'-wester bo that the threshing mills could get to work again in a lew days. The sheaves have had such a severe soaking that most of the . grain is aoft, and in the right condition '. to sprout quickly, especially in warm ; weather. Some farmers had taken the ■ precaution of stacking their wheat be- t tore the rain came, and in such cases | tho grain is, of course, quite safe. The . labour problem has, however, prevented many farmers from doing any stacking, while others have preferred to risk waiting for the threshing mill so as to avoid a second handling of the sheaves. Nearly all tho oats have been, threshed, and'are safe in the sacks, but some of the barley remains in the stooks, and is suffering tho same damage as wheat, besides being discoloured very badly. The rainfall in Ellesmere has been considerably below that recorded in Christchurch and certain other parts, the fall registered iu most parts of tho district being under 2} inches. Had the weather cleared up quickly after the downpour of Friday and Saturday last little, if any, damage would have been done- The showery conditions 6ince have been the cause of the trouble. NORTH CANTERBURY. The break in the weather on Sunday encouraged the hope that a spell of tine weather was about to follow, but these hopes were shortlived, the north-west wind which sprang up veering round after three hours to the south, and then to the south-east, with occasional showers of drizzling rain, which continued up till about mid-day yesterday. Farmers are now beginning to take a more serious view of the situation. There is still a large area of wheat in ttook, and unless a good drying wind eets i n there will be considerable loss. Several farmers complained yesterday that wheat was growing in the stooks, and especially is this so in the Springbank district and on some of the lowlying farms near Woodend. Complaints are also being made that potatoes are showing signs of blight, and in some cases rotting. , .. HORORATA. 3.06 points of rain have fallen in the 'Hororata"; district since Friday. _ The continued wet weather is having a bad-'effect on the,grain in stook. The crops that have been threshed have not yielded- up to expectations, there being 'a lot/of straw-for the amount of grain. Up to 47 bushels of wheat has been threshed, hut the average so fails about 30 bushels per acre. THE GERALDINE DISTRICTS. The conditions prevailing iu the Gcraldino districts are most unfavourable to the harvest, and at the moment of writing the outlook is extremely gloomy. After the heavy rainfall of last Friday and Saturday, it was hoped that the weather had cleared, but following" the intense heat of Sunday, rain again fell eteadily and continuously, and consequently all harvesting operations are at a complete standstill. Unless the prospect is brightened very speedily by a period of fine days, it is to be feared that the icsuits will be disastrous, and especially the wheat-growers will suffer very heavv loss.

In the country between Geraldinc and AVoodburv, and about Pleasant; Valley, the Four Settlements, and Kakahu,' the reaping machines had been busy until AVednesday night, and hundreds of acres of wheat are now standing stooked out in the paddocks, •where at present it has undergone two thorough soaking?. In the event of the weather remaining warm and wet for several more days, there is great danger that the <jrain will begin sprouting and growing in the stooks, and, unfortunately, there arc cases where this has occurred already. A drying -wind would now be most useful in lessening the harm that has been done, and if happily this should prove the next climatic variation it might save endless trouble in turning snd opening out the stooks. At the first favourably opportunity for carting, there will be ail urgent call for every available hand to assist in getting the wheat .crops into stack. In tho> earlier part of last week the paddock* were being, cleared of their contents most vigorously, and a number of the smaller holders are lucky enough to have their grain in safety. Through Gapes A r alley and in the j Upper Kakahu, Beautiful Aralley, and Opuha neighbourhoods, the harvest as usual is considerably later tban elsewhere, and on some of the foothill farms, the binders may probably not have finished work for another month. Hereabouts it is reported that the grain yield will be rather below the average; iced on ihe grasslands is more plentiful than for many years, and the turnip and rape crops are making fair progress. An evident want of this neighbourhood is a rabbit cannery: out if the rabbits continue to increase ps they have done during the last two years, there will soon be scope for some such institution in most of the | hill districts. Tteports of the damage caused by I disease in the potato fields arc heard ! frequently, but in the gardens as a rule [ it is the two crops, potatoes and marI rows, which have done well, while | most of the rest hare acquired some j specially beastly kind of blight. To j note a few more evils, the wet '.as j caused a great deal of the orchard fruit to split and spoil; the turnip i and rape crops in many places are half-smothered by spurry; yet in spite of all a regular visitor at this time of the year, to any of the districts near Geraldine. would probably give an opinion that he had never seen the country looking so well; and in this, with most of the grasslands ankle deep in feed and the cleared stubbles already lost under a vigorous growth of clover, he woufd be nearly correct.