KAIAPOI FARMERS’ CLUB.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2410, 26 December 1881, Page 3

KAIAPOI FARMERS’ CLUB.

The monthly meeting was held on Monday evening. Ten members were present; Mr Coup, chairman, presiding. A letter was read from Mr Marmadnke Dixon, stating that the precis of his paper read at the October meeting, as published in the “Lyttelton Times,” misrepresented what he had said. It was resolved —“ That Mr Dixon be asked to allow the full text of his paper to be forwarded to the * Country Journal’ for publication.’’ The snb-oommittee reported on the question of alteration of the days of meeting, and their report was adopted, to the effect that the regular meetings of the club be held on the third Monday in each month, and the meetings be advertised in the daily and weekly papers of the previous Saturday, With reference to the question of providing f oft the more certain reading of papers at the meetings, Mr J. Wilson gave notice to move that at the next meeting a ballot be taken, and the members ballotted out against the respective months of the year be expected to provide an essay or secure the services of a friend who might lead the discussion. Mr Jos. Turner then read the following :

The paper I purpose reading tbis evening is upon an article which you are all perfectly familiar, vis.—wheat. I shall have to apologise before 1 commence for the meagreness of my paper, on account of the short notice I received from your chairman, in oonsesequence of which I have not been able to acquire the information I required to moke the subject so interesting as I oonld wish, and trust to my memory and experience for what I have to put before you. Wheat being the staple article of food need by the Anglo-Saxon race, it is not all surprising that we, as part of that great Eeople, should be constantly on the alert to ear of or see any new sample of that cereal that may be introduced to the grain growing portion of our community, Tbis trait, I notice, is to an unusual extent developed in the character of our Now Zealand agriculturists, for if at any time a new sample of grain grown in some foreign country or neighbouring colony becomes introduced in our midst, our farmers are anxious and eager to try the new importation. This, sir, is exceedingly creditable, and shows the true spirit of progress with which our agriculturists are imbued. In the early days of settlement in the Australian colonies (I speak now of between the years 1840 and 1850, and previous to wheat being grown in New Zeitland to any extent), the assortment of wheat grown in tho two grain growing colonies at that date was very limited. I allude now to Adelaide and Tasmania. Adelaide oflrmmenoed with the Tuscan, and has religiouo'.y continued to grow that grain up to tho present time. Why they do this I am not prepared to state, but it strikes me, taking a miller's view of the matter, that if they introduced some of our Champion and Hunter’s white wheats, and cultivated them in sufficient quantities for tho requirements of their millers for a mixture, it would be profitable to th emeelvcs and a boon to their millers. These samples, grown in their dry climate and used with the Tuscan, would give a mellownei's to their flour which, at present, it does not .possets. Their brittle dry Tuscan produces a flour of an equally dry nature, tho bread from 1 , which (although of excellent color and largo in size) becomes dry and tasteless aft tr it becomes a day or two old. This would b o obviated by the introduction of the change of seed before alluded to, Tasmania, the nei’.t in order as a producer at that time, was b little more liberal in her assortments,

the principal of which were, the red and white lamas, red and white velvet, and the golden drop wheats. These samples, when properly amalgamated, produced the best quality ct flour than manufactured in the colonies, not even excepting Adelaide. But of late years, for some reason or another best known to the farmers there, the red and white lamas have almost become extinct in that colony 5 also, the velvet wheats are not grown at the present time by one-half what they were even so late as twenty years back, and they have_ substituted other kinds of an infinitely inferior quality, consequently their flour now is inferior to that of Adelaide or Victoria, and very little better than New Zealand. The red lamas is a wheat I should very much like to see grown in New Zealand, and more especially on the Canterbury plains, whore I think it would grow to perfection and retain all its excellent qualities. It is an exceeding thin-skinned grain, heavy, and consequently a good producer of flour in quantity, and possesses within itself a sufficient combination of strength and color to allow of its being manufactured without the assistance of any other sorts. But whether it is as good a yielder per acre as our agriculturists could wish I am not prepared to say, although I have heard of crops being raised on land somewhat similar to our best plains land, which yielded from 30t035 bushels per acre, but as a rule I believe it does not yield so much. Still, I have no doubt, were it given a fair trial, and having the advantage of an infinitely superior grain-grow-ing climate such as ours, it would return a crop equal to some of those at present grown here. The white lamas very much resembles the rod in shape and yielding capabilities ; a little thicker in the skin, probably, but still a good flour producer, and of excellent color, bat not sufficiently strong for milling purposes without a mixture. The red and white velvet wheats, also, are very much alike, so far as shape and size of grain is concerned, and weight exceedingly well, in fact, quite equal to the lamas, but they have not that combination of all the good qualities which the former possess. I believe, as an acreage yielder, it is a much more prolific grain than the lamas. The golden drop, next| and last of the Tasmanian wheats we shall notice, is a grand yielder per acre, of excellent color, but very thick in the skin, and possesses little or no strength ; consequently it is not, by any means, a favorite grain with the miller. This wheat also, like the previous sorts, is almost extinct in Tasmania, but I believe it is now being grown in Victoria and Now South Wales to a considerable extent, the climate of these latter colonies being, apparently, more suitable for it; and while it has retained its excellent color, the change of climate and soil has considerably reduced the thickness of its skin, and improved the strength for manufacturing purposes. We here see through practical experience, which is always the most reliable, the advisability of an interchange of seed from one climate to another or from one district to another. We will now turn to our own highly favored colony. In the early days of New Zealand, before the Canterbury plains were under cultivation, wheat was grown in the North Island, and in the province of Auckland more particularly, by the Native population, and what surplus they had oeyond local requirements was shipped to Australia. Twenty-five years ago the wheat grown in New Zealand was almost unsaleable beyond its own market, on account of its inferior quality, and did not realise as much by Is per bushel as that grown in ths other Australian colonies. The wheat was soft, thick skinned, and utterly unfit for competition with either Adelaide, Victoria, or Tasmanian grown grain. What a change now to the period we have been alluding to, even in the North Island. The wheat grown there at the present day will bear favorable comparison with any in Victoria or Tasmania. The question naturally arises here, why this improvement, and from what cause does it occur P My own opinion is that in those early times, when the Maoris were the chief agriculturists, the cultivation of wheat was being carried on where there was no great extent of country, on small patches of ground, almost surrounded by heavy timber or dense sotnb, and no attempt at drainage. The land was kept in a continual state of moisture, consequently the grain never had a chance. The rainfall also before the country became cleared was considerably greater than it is at the present time. Possibly there may be other causes, but nevertheless the fact remains that as the country has aged, so has the wheat grown in that part of New Zealand improved in quality. Coming now to our own part of New Zealand, viz, the Province of Canterbury, I regret that I cannot write from actual experience dating back more than about five years, consequently I will confine my remarks to a few of the varieties of wheat at present grown here, and their qualities for milling purposes. The principal kinds grown in the Northern portion of Canterbury are the Tuscan, velvet chaff, pearl, Hunter’s white champion, Essex and Busaian. In the southern portion of our province, there are two or three of the other sorts grown in considerable quantities, but as I have had little or no experience of their qnalitiee we will pass on to those we have mentioned as being grown in onr more immediate neighborhood. The first we purpose noticing will be the Tuscan (purple straw). This, as yon are aware, is the kind most sought after by our merchants for export to the English market, the millers there evidently preferring it to any other sort grown in New Zealand. Why they should do so I am rather at a loss to understand, otherwise than for its exceeding strength, which it undoubtedly possesses. In other respects it is the moet unprofitable grain that is grown here for milling purposes, and actually not worth so much to the millers by from 2d to to 3d per bushel in consequence of the small quantity of flourjit produces in comparison with most of our other varieties. The foregoing remarks I wish you to understand apply to our own immediate neighborhood, but will not apply to that grown in the higher portions of the Ellesmere district. The lower portions, bordering on the lake, of that district partake very much of the same nature as onr own. I attribute the superior quality of the Tuscan grown in the latter district to the fact that what little there is grown there is sown as an autumn, and, not, as with us, as a spring wheat. The winter sown grain is very much thinner in the skin, consequently a better producer of flour in quantity than that sown in the spring, and also of an infinitely superior color. I have no doubt that if onr farmers having land in those portions of our district outside of the Eaiapoi arid St. Helena islands—l say excluding those districts, and confining their operations to those portions where the land is dry, and not of a swampy nature, that Tuscan grown on such land as a winter wheat would produce a sample quite equal to any grown in the Lake district. There are one or two other kinds of Tuscan grown in our province which partake very much of the properties of the purple strew, of somewhat inferior quality ae regards strength, but superior to the former for color. We will now notice the velvet chaff. This wheat will, when appreciated at ite full value by the English millers, command the highest price in that market, especially it grown on the plains, or on dry land. It possesses strength superior to onr spring sown Tuscan, of infinitely better color, and a grand yielder of flour per bushel. Such a combination of excellent qualities are to bo found only in this class of grain. Hunter’s white wheat seems to be the farmer’s favorite, as the greater proportion of grain grown at present in our province is of this class, and long may it continue so, for without it (or some other of a similar nature), the millers in Canterbury would be at their wits’ end to produce a flour suitable for their trade, ae they require the largest proportion of this wheat as a foundation, other samples being only used by them in a very moderate degree in proportion to that of Hunter’s white. It is a wheat possessing moderate strength ( out not any way equal to velvet chaff), and excellent color. It is for this latter quality the millere use it eo liberally. Ite yielding qualities exceed that of the Tuscan, but do not equal that of velvet chaff. Pearl aleo is an excellent class of grain, and admirably adapted for exportation to the English market, and will, when it becomes more known abroad, be much sought after. Of all wheats at present grown in the province of Canterbury this takes the palm as the largest flour grinder, on account of its plumpness and exceedingly thin skin. Although it possesses excellent color and strength, it is a grain that cannot bo used with any degree of freedom by our millers, as it possesses that very undesirable quality of making the bread (what our good ladies designate) crumbly, otherwise the pearl would be equal, if not superior to the velvet chaff. Champion—This is a wheat about which very little is known so far as its milling capabilities is concerned, in consequence of it* not being grown to any

extent here. Fortunately I have had several opportunist of testing thii excellent grain, and I hope the day it not far distant when instead of the bulk of our wheat grown being Hunter’s white, it will be that of champion. It possesses a considerable amount of strength, much more than that of Hunter’s, and rather less than velvet chaff. Of excellent colour, and a first-class yielder, it is a wheat which stands alone in its excellence ; no other class at present grown in this province is capable of producing a flour equal to this. It possesses sufficient strength and color required within itself without any mixture, to produce a really first-class article. And I am convinced that if this wheat was more extensively grown and shipped to the homo market it would, in a very short time, when it became generally known amongst the manufacturers, bring up the average price of our wheat there from two to throe shillings per quarter, it being honestly worth that much more than Hunter’s white to English millers, on account of its greater strength. Essex—This also, is a wheat very little grown in Canterbury. Evidently, it is not a farmer’s favorite. I am sorry this is the case, as it is a wheat which supersedes all other kinds for its excellent color ; and if grown in sufficient quantities to supply our millers’ requirements for mixing purposes, our flour would very soon take first, instead of second place, in our interprovincial markets. As it stands pre-eminent for color, so also is it the extreme of weak ness. There is another class of wheat lately introduced to our district, commonly called the Russian, but as I have only seen one or two samples of this grain I have some hesitation in giving you my opinion of it ; but I believe from what little I do know about it, that if the cultivation of it is persisted in, it will, in a very short time, equal, if not supersede, the velvet chaff in quality. I have endeavored, gentlemen to place before you as concisely and intelligibly as possible the different natures and properties of our wheat, with this object in view, viz., that our agriculturists should have a knowledge of the qualities of the grain they grow, and also to give them some idea of what kinds are better suited for exports. The English millers require strong wheats to mix with their own, consequently it my remarks will in any way encourage the growth of those classes of grain suitable to the English market, I have no hesitation in saying that our farmers, and consequently the country, will very soon reap a very desirable and pecuniary advantage. On the motion of Mr Pashby, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Turner. It was decided that at the next meeting the question of holding the annual foal, grain and root show, with which it is proposed to incorporate an exhibition of industries, fruit, vegetables, and flowers, will be considered.