AGRICULTURE IN CANTERBURY.

Kumara Times, Issue 1580, 20 October 1881, Page 2

AGRICULTURE IN CANTERBURY.

Although New Z aland does not blow such a loud trumpet about her growing prosperity as some of our other colonies, it may be questioned whether one among the whole number could

adduce such satisfactory economic statistics as the “ Great Britain of thd South” is aHe to put - forward. A correspondent of a provincial contemporary seta forth some of these in connection with the Canterbury province. lii 1876 the production of wheat was 1,770,3(j3 bushels, of oats, 2,888,683 bushels; of barley, 620,699 bushels; and of potatoes 17,895 tons, the total acreage then under cultivation being 152,982. By last year the acreage had increased to 389,729, and the products were 6,461,400 bushels of wheat, 7,776,275 of oats, 1,124,281 of barley, and 37,466 tons of pototoes. A tharvelous development, truly,, to ImVe taken place during only five years in a single province. It is satisfactory; tod, to fiiid that the yield per acre ahdwa a substantial increase in every instarlbe except wheat, which exhibits something of a tendency to £<ll off in productiveness. Even more wonderful is thd prosperity of the sheep-raising industry. Less than a Century ago, we are told, the total number of these nnimald bu the islands was S 9. Now they are estb mated at 12,000,000 head. From these facts and figuies it appeal's that* although the new Zealand Legislature may have sometimes gone ahead with the development process at too swift a pace, no bounds can be set to the ulti* mate prosperity of the colony. For the present it has quite sufficient labor and enough railway purposes and the Government can, therefore, afford to dispense with immigration and borrowing for years to come.—Globe.