THE HARVEST IN THE GREY VALLEY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1730, 19 February 1874, Page 2

THE HARVEST IN THE GREY VALLEY.

[t.KOM OTJII OWN COKRESPOKDENT.]

The gathering in of the harvest is cow all but completed in the Grey Valley, and whatever may be the result of similar operations in future years, the autumn of 1874 will be remembered by our farmers as one to be thankful for, and to be ever spoken of as the year in which a standard will be fouud when comparisons are made 1 respecting annual yields. From sowing ! to reaping the weather has been favorable, and if the grain crop this season does not i in the aggregate show an immense increase on former years, it is because the area in cereals i 3 not relatively large, I owing to the greatly increased acreage laid down in English grass and other descriptions of pasture land. In 1871 the harvest up to the last month looked in fine condition, but just at the cutting time, and, in fact, while the harvest was being gathered, a spell of very unfavorable weather, including heavy and continuous rains, set in, laying the com still uncut, and soddening great quantities of produce lying in, sheaf. The consequent heating inflicted serious injury on the farmers In some localities, amounting to almost absolute ruin in certain instances. The hopes of what promised to be a bountiful harvest were not realised, and the progress of agriculture in the valley received a check from which it did not recover until the profitable market, with high prices for farm produce, opened by the rush to the Inangahua, gave it a fair start again. Tn the autumn of 1872 the harvest again looked well, although the expectations of the farmers were not raised to any great pitch,, for there were heavy stocks of last season's crop, such as it was, remaining on hand, prices were very low, and there was little or no demand for any description of farm produce. To make matters worse, heavy rains set in just as the crops were ripening and coming to perfection, this weather culminating in the great flood of February, '72, with all its disastrous results, in which the farmers had to bear their full share. When matters were at the lowest ebb, the great rush to Reefton took place, and this event may be said to" have saved the farming interest in the' Grey Valley from threatened, if not pertain total extinction. To show the "Intimate relation existing between the mining and agricultural interests, and to prove how closely the success of the one pursuit' depends upon the progress and prosperity of the other, a few facts will sufficed y The gold-fields in the Grey district never' since the first first discovery were in a more depressed conditiou than they were in the beginning of 1872. The workings"" at Napoleon — the last of large mining rushes — were exhausted ; and in fact Napoleon may be considered the only new allnvial discovery of consequence since it. took place. There was, therefore, great stagnation in the mining districts, numbers were leaving, loading became scarce, there was no demand for fodder, and' stocks, limited as the yield at the harvest was, began to accumulate, with the inevitable result of a ruinous reduction in prices. When the prospects of the farmers were gloomiest, and a recovery seemed hopeless, the excitement about the Inangahua quartz reefs began, and an almost incredible change for the better took place in a few weeks. A great influx of population took place, as every one knows, freight became plentiful, with high rates of carriage, and farm produce was once more in demand, and as "good as gold." One of the largest holders of produce in the Valley was, just before the Reefton rush, advertising; oaten chaff in quantities to suit purchasers at L 8 per ton, and within one month he was disposing of it for cash at Reefton, as fast as he could deliver it, at from Ll7 to L2O per ton. The same individual had "wasted," as it afterwards turned out, tons of sound firstclass potatoes in stock-feeding, being unable to sell them at L 5 per ton, and he disposed of the refuse afterwards at L2O ' per ton. If the 1872 rush to the reefing districts and its consequences were not v very beneficial to numbers of those who invested in mining or in business pursuits in the locality, the Inangahua proved a veritable mine of wealth to the farmers. The excitement lasted just long enough to enable them to dispose of their produce, put money in their pouches, and set them straight on end again. So much for the relative positions nf the so-called " conflicting, interests" of mining and agriculture and their independence one of the other. In June, 1873, the farmers were in a better position to pay more attention to the rearing of stock, and consequently a good deal of the land, which under the old style and circumstances would still be utilised in producing yearly decreasing grain and tuber crops, was laid down in English and other grasses. This, with a greater regard to the absolute necessity of observing the recognised system of rotation in cropping the land, has placed agriculture on a firm footing as a lucrative pursuit, rendered those engaged in it beyond an entire dependance on accidental circumstances, as the following calculations will show.

Commencing at the old Twelve-mile Landing, near the Arnold River, the first cultivations are those held by MrDelaney, formerly a portion of the property of Mr James Molloy, and theclearirigs of Messrs Du'very and Gillon. The flood of 1872 destroyed the splendid crops then just ready for cutting here, and since the whole area is laid down in grass, its qu.ility and adaptability for grazing purposes is evidenced by the fine condition of the cattle running on it. The rext farm is that of Messrs Campbell and M'Beath, a fine property, which is now in the market for sale. Kelly and Mulling, at the new Twelve-mile, are preparing the whole of their land for dairy purposes ; in fact, in this part of the district cow-keeping seems to pay better than any other branch of farming. The market for this locality is at No Town, and the surrounding diggings, but the miners themselves are now combining a little farming and dairy keeping with their regular avocation. At No Town, Messrs Finnipan, Rnhau, and Fisher have set example in this direction on a rather exteusive scale. Returning to the Grey Valley proper, the first holding above the Twelve-Mile is that of Mr Jas. D. Coch-' rane, near old Camptown. This was one of the first, as it is still, one of the best agricultural properties in the Grey district, and the produce from Comber, the name of the farm, may be said to lead the market in the district. The oat crop here this season ranks among the first in quality, and the fine paddocks of English grass are a ploasuro to look at. . The yield

here this season is above the average. At Camptown, the property of the late George Muir, cow owned by Mr H. Magill, needs no description. The prices realised at the late sale, for lands . and crops, are a sufficient indication of the value of both. The small holding of Mr S. Sullivan, at the foot of Red Jack's Creek, and that of Mr J. W. Ross, at the bottom of Nelson Creek, contain good crops, and show care and industry in the manner of their cultivation. Of the several farms in the valley of Nelson Creek that of Messrs Drennan Bros., at Try- Again Terrace, is largest and most important. The land has become noted for the quality of the potatoes grown on it, as well as for the high yield per acre. The live stock here is also of a very superior quality and in good order. Further up the creek are the clearings of Messrs Austin, R. W. Potts, and Stephens, all of which are in good crop, and ready for taking down. Mr T. Jones, the pioneer of farming and dairy-keeping in this locality, has moved further down the creek, his former holding being in the possession of Mr A. Jenkins. Across the Grey River, at the junction of the Black Ball Creek, Mr Wm. Kinsella has a nice little patch of high class cultivation, and further along, at the foot of Moonlight, the farms of Mr John Magill, Mr Alex. King, and Messrs White and Garth are likely to maintain the reputation of previous years for heavy crops. Between Nelson Creek and the Ahaura, the fine grazing farm of Messrs Craig Brothers, at Bushholme, is worth a journey to, see. There are here more than one hundred acres of splendid grass land in one clearing, in the highest state of culture, fenced and fully stocked. Persons who only remember the Grey Valley as" it was a few years ago would, scarcely believe what progress has been made in this direction. Next above | Craigs is Mr David Jellies land. Here the oat-crop is gathered in first-rate order with a good yield. The holdings of Frand and Ben Gough, Jacobson, Mirfin, M'Kenna, and Nottle. complete the. list on this side of the river below the . to wfiiftf -Ahaura. On. the landing side of the riVe^Mr Geo. Nottle has a fine pad-p 4qclc;^^lngli3h grass, fully stocked, and a nursery at present and an orchard in the future, the property of Mr George Wooltey, ?re quite a feature in the landscape. The . grounds surrounding St. Mary's school are partly, under cultivation and partly laid down in grass. The foregoing list gives the number of holdings in the Grey Valley between the Arnold and Ahaura Rivers, including*'., those above three acres in extent in the .. No Town, Nelson Creek, and Moonlight districts at 25, with a total acreage fenced, cleared, and set with crops or grass of 750 acres, of which about one hundred , and fifty acres are in oats, principally for .chaff, 600 acres in English, rye, and other important grasses, 50 acres in turnips, grass for hay, and other descriptions of feed. These figures are approximate, but they may be relied upon as within the mark, for the estimates were obtained separately from each holder, but with, the understanding that the individual results were not for publication. The number of horned cattle, not including a quantity usually kept in stock for beef by Messrs Devey and Gillon, at the Twelve-Mile, is given at t 175, and horses at 108, thus giving a fair proportion of stock to the acreage. The estimated average yield of the oat crop for chaff this season is a fraction under one and a half tons to the acre, giving 225 tons as the probable yield, with 200 tons of potatoes, at an average of 4 tons , to the acre, of all the land in cultivation below the Ahaura township. We reserve the particulars of the country above the Ahaura for a future issue.