THE CROPS.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2105, 22 November 1880, Page 2

THE CROPS.

Writing upon this subject, the “ Ashburton Mail” of Saturday says; travelling through Seafield one notices on leaving the mill that more rain has fallen there than near the Ashburton township. At the same time one cannot help remarking that there has not been rain enough to make the crops stool out properly, many looking as if they were in want of wet weather. There is a very large area sown, and if rain (considering there are many of the early crops in the shoot leaf) were to fall speedily they would come right away and yield an abundant harvest. Another shower now, and one when the grain is in the flower, would amply suffice to render the crops both heavy and of good quality throughout the plains. In the Waterton district the crops are all looking very well. The broad leaf and rich green color of the plant everywhere noticeable, is enough to gladden any farmer’s heart. In some of the grass paddocks the effects of the worm are still seen, but a few showers would soon cover the bare spaces. Where this destructive insect, however, has done its work amidst the grain, there is no hope of redemption, the plants being bitten off just below the surface, without a chance of recovery. However, these cut patches are luckily few and far between. The plants ere now well rooted, and have covered the clod, preventing the evaporation of moisture, and if seasonable weather comes, the average yield of this large district will be forty bushels of wheat, fifty bushels of barley, and sixty to seventy bushels of oats. More rain is falling near the foot of the hills, and the crops are looking splendid. Speaking generally, it may be said there is a fairer promise of harvest than for the last three years.