A Good Record.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 28 April 1890, Page 3

A Good Record.

■•» , ■ OXE HUNDRED AND TWENIY-TWO I . BUSHELS TO THE* ACHE. E As a grain producing country Now I Zealand has long a nee taken high rank, and deservedly io, for not only t 13 the quality her cereals pretty well all that could be desired by any reasonably minded miller, but the avqraga yield per acre, taking one year with another, is as high a i that of almost any other park of ihe world. Wo have our strips of light laud here and there, with their a .«• tend ant small, averages of grain when periodically put under white crop : out we hate A9 a set off many ( choice spots that have repeatedly given somewhat phonominal yi-lds of grain, roots or grasses. It has 1 however, been left, I think, to Mr E. Gates to reach, if not to beat, the world's record in toe matter of oat growing. He is the fortunate owner and occupier of a fertile block of land within a mile of the Tinwald railway station, and -within about thfa same distance of the large gran* aries that Hne the western side of the town of Aahburton. The property is known as Cfrove Farm, the lower portion of wbioh was in a pretty rough state up. to within tbo last four yean Since the old homestead has been in Mr Gates' possession he has drained and br< ught the land under cultiva ion to some purpose, and is now the proud possessor of a valuable little property. This season he had a little over 100 acres nnder white crop, sixtyfive acres being in wheat and the balance in oats. The wheat has been threshed, and yielded a total of a trifle over 3900 bushels, or an average of sixty bushels per acre of "first iqiiality grain. Th* whol eoi it was Tuscan , and the sample very prime. One lot of about fifteen acres averaged eighty flvo bushels per acre. The wheat record is not a bad one but the oats is bigger still. I saw the grain iv various stages of its growth, and it was without exception eqnal to anything else of the kind I have met with. There were a little over 35 acres of oata (Canadians), and when we.l iv ear they presented one of the most gratifying pictures a grain grower could wish to look on. They stood over sft high in all parts of the paddock, and were remark' •bty etch arid heavily headed. In view of the present prices ruling for oats' Mr Gates does not feel aaueh inclined to thresh, but he has had the produce of seven acres put through . the mill, and the yield from this little lot was 854 bushels, or an average of one hundred and twenty two bushels per acre. Unless Kuipoi has beaten this, Grove Farm has, fit any rate, just about reached if not passed the world's record. The figures I buve given above are thoroughly reliable, and not only this but tlie seven acres threshed out was % fair average sample of the -whole block of 85 acres under oatß. As a further instance of the fertility of this farm I may mention that on the 100 acres that were under crop there is now an abundance of spl end d feed and last week Mr Gaea had running there no less than 1200 head of stock, including sheep, cattle and horses. In conaection with the Grove Farm, Mr Gates has a piece of Ughter land up on the Laghmor wad. He bad 100 acres of this down in Tuscan wheat this season, and harvested a nice little crop that has threshed out just 80 bnshels per acre;— Weekly Press.