THE RECORDER.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1003, 8 July 1879, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE RECORDER.

OUR EXPORTS OF PRODUCE. The exports of produce during the past month have fallen somewhat below those of last month, consequent, no doubt, upon the indisposition of holders to quit grain hastily. We are now, too, near the end of the grain season, and it is only natural to expect our exports to fall off. In addition to the quantities given below, large quantities of wool, chaff, hay, skins, hides, stone, etc., have been sent away, but none of them are of sufficient importance to be included in the following tables wheat. Sacks. Hull (England) 8,184 Sydney ... ... ••• ••• 540 Dunedin ... ... ••• 3.030 Auckland ... ... 3,249 Wellington ... ... 1>734 Napier... ... ... 27 Waitara ... ... ••• ••• 430 Greymouth ... ... ... ... 134 Hokitika 340 Total 18,354 Total last month ... ... 12.754 oats. Sacks. Melbourne ... SOO Sydney ... ... ••• 1,745 Adelaide ... ... 3,004 Dunedin ... ... ••• ••• ; >3 Auckland ... ... ... 5,443 Wellington ... ... ... ... 1,734 Wanganui ... ... ... 500 Napier... ... ... ••• 1,35!) Waitara ... ••• ••• Tauranga ... ... ••• S9O Greymouth ... ... ... 300 Hokitika 450 Westport ... ... 10 i Total 17,340 Total last month 24,673 BARLEY. Sacks. Melbourne ... ... ... ... 4,(553 Hobart Town... ... 1,527 Dunedin ... ... ... 000 Wellington ... ••• 10 Napier... ... ... 10 Greymouth ... ••• 2 Hokitika ... ... ... 5 Total 0,737 Total last month 2,292 potatoes. Sacks. Greymouth ... ... 150 Hokitika ... ... ... ••• 30U Total ... ' 45(5 Total last month ... ••• t>o2 flouk. Sacks. Sydney ... ••• 3(50 Dunedin ... ... ... ••• 1,210 Auckland ... ... ... ••• 940 Wellington ... ... ... ••• Wanganui ... ... ... 433 Napier... ... ... ... ••• 1,554 Waitara ... ... ... ... 10 Nelson... ... ... ... 1,200 Greymouth ... ... ... ... 100 Hokitika ... .: 370

Total <j 537 Total last month ... ... 7,713 pollard. * Sacks. Wellington 904 Hokitika .., ... ... 12 Total 970 Total last month 1,149 bran. Sacks. Sydney ... 30 1 Auckland 220 Tauranga 86 Greymouth ... ... ... ... 200 Hokitika ... ... ... ... 500 Westport ... ... ... ... 60 Total 1,366 Total last month 2.02S OATMEAL. Bags. Sydney ' . ... ... ... ... 40 Wellington ... ... ... ... 130 Wanganui ... ... ... ... 10 Napier... ... ... ... ... 30 Greymouth ... ... 30 Hokitika ... ... ... ... 100 Total 340 Total last month ... ... 334 CONDITION AND ,<PRQSPEOTS OF AGRIOUI/riIRS IN THE NQRTH ISLAND.

At the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce held recently in Auckland, the cliairman (Mr. H. Firth) made the following remarks on AGRICULTURE. Having noticed our forest, mineral, and other resources, it is fitting that I should direct attention to our agricultural operations. The northern part of New Zealand has a soil at least of average fertility, and undoubtedly possesses a climate far above the average, being subject neither to long droughts nor parching hot winds. These advantages might fairly be expected to enable the farmers to supply our own requirements in the two great agricultural products of cattle and corn. Now, what are the facts 1 They "are these : We have, during the last fifteen years, paid not less than three millions sterling for cattle and corn alone. We have not far to seek for the causes of such an anomaly. They are throe—(l) The native difficulty ; (3) the fern difficulty; (3) misdirected industry or speculative fanning. THE NATIVE DIFFICULTY. The native difficulty, up to a recent date, has offered a serious barrier to extended agriculture, by limiting the area of good land, and thus enhancing its value to a point beyoncl that at which profitable farming was possible. The conquest of Waikato, and the operation of the Native Land Courts, have of late years placed at-the disposal of our agriculturists large areas of good land. And, though native difficulties cannot be expected to disappear altogether for some time, they may be wisely left to that natural settlement which our steady pro-

gress will promote, and to the good sense and wants of the natives. If, in place of waiting for the nod of a phantom native king, with proposals to wake him a real king, our polititians would give the natives open courts and open markets for their lands, the peaceful and permanent settlement of the native difficulty win eventually be secured. THE FERN* DIFFICULTY. The Auckland district has no natural grasses of any value, the country bein« covered chiefly with fern or forest. The fern difficulty has been almost as costly as the native difficulty ; arising from the circumstance that much of our fern land would neither produce grass nor corn profitably, unless treated on a svstem which we are now only learning to "apply with advantage. The results of large and costly experiments warrant me in saying that the fern difficulty is disappearing. From the causes I have indicated and others to be presently mentioned, a wretched system of agriculture has been in fashion, which I may justly term speculative farming. SPECUTATIVE FARMING. Our farmers, disregarding the the wellknown laws under which Nature inflexibly acts, have grown a particular crop because they supposed it would pay, rather than adopt a rotation of such crops as their lands were best fitted to produce. \ wholesome necessity is compelling many of them to abandon speculative farmitioand to fall back upon a system more fa accordance with common sense and wellknown natural laws. Some of our critics say that indolence is the chief cause of our dependence for the chief articles of our food upon our neighbors. They volunteer the opinion that this indolence is the result of climatic influence. Whilst I admit, in a measure, the chaise of indolence, though I prefer to term "it misdirected effort, I altogether deny the alleged cause, namely, climatic influence. Some amongst us may envy the rich lands of our Southern neighbors, which by reason of being covered with rich natural grasses, and having an unrivalled fertility of soil, have produced abundance of sheep, cattle, and corn without diffi. culty. This bounty of Nature has developed an exhaustive system of agriculture ill-litted to promote perennial fertility. By tlie circumstance that Northern lands will not advantageously produce a good crop of wheat more than once in four years, we are prevented from adopting an exhaustive system of agriculture, which, however great its apparent temporary advantage, can only have one termination, namely, the inipoverislnnent of the soil, and of those who cultivate it. For, let land be ever so fertile, continuous crops of wheat, without any attempt to restoro to the soil the elements of fertility, will not only impoverish it; it will ultimately, under such a system, refuse to grow wheat at all. South Australia is an example of the exhaustive effects of long-continued wheat-cropping. For, notwithstanding the constant breaking up of new and virgin lands, the yield of that colony rarely reaches 14 bushels, and sometimes falls to the low average of six bushels per acre. lam happy to say that in the Auckland district of New Zealand, a hard necessity is compelling our farmers to abandon the imperfect system which lus impoverished them, and is forcing then to adopt a judicious system of rotation of erops, which, supported by a rcguln application of fertilisers, will ere long enable them to supply all the cattle and corn we require. Under such a systen their lands will be kept fertile, and thej themselves will become a substantial i\nj wealthy body of agriculturists. I haw only to add that under even the, as yet, but partial application of this system d rotation and fertilising, tho average yield of wheat during the last three years k been 28 bushels por acre. I THE NEW STRAW-BINDER REAM ING MACHINE. ■ (By the Special Reporter of the Lytteltaß Times.) H Mr. Horatio Bunting, Windmill Koifl who has attained some celebrity as aroifl grower, is at the present time engagediH completing a working model of a nc<H straw-binder reaping-machine, inventtfl by him, and for which he has obtained® patent. In producing this new agiiH cultural appliance, Mr. Bunting has ke[fl certain points in view as eminently desiifl able, the most prominent of these bciiS to do away with the nuisance arising corn dealers, stock-owners and others,!,™ the presence of small pieces of wiretH the chaff, an addition to fodder whicliiß scarcely calculated to benefit the stoclH and to which has been ascribed mischievous results. The subject pretty well discussed at the last meeting of the Agricultural and Association, and the opinion was generally expressed that a machine " fitted with magnets for purpose of guarding against the of pieces of binding-wire in the feed," would be a desirable Still better must it be if the enabled to dispense with tho use of foreign substance in binding the if they are shown that a machino used which will make its own straw as it travels along, and fasten the as effectively as the most workman has ever succeeded in doing, of course far more expeditiously. Bunting purposes, then, to discard binding wire, the use of which is familiar, and instead of this to from the crop for tying up the His machine, as it goes along, is to from the bulk of the cut straw a proportion, twist it into ej, band, a series of bands—a separato ono formed for each sheaf. Any band is to be produced at the the operator. While the sheaf is compressed tho band is to be placed it, and the ends are then to be together, and tucked in betweci) thp "in a workmanlike manner.'' On released from the compression, the of the sheaf would tend to former bulk, with the result that of the band would be rendered still secure. How far successful Mr. been in solving the problem to has applied himself, cannot be with certainty until his machine has fully tested. That lie deserves to cessful is certain, for he lias self unremittingly to his task, himself now and again baffled b)' foreseen difficulty, or vexatious])' while certain castings or special mechanism were being prepare' always determined to carry his a successful issue. His first &t e P prepare a model in niiniajrflve, of which lie could more'closcly the working results. When, immense amount of patient wi model was finished, it had to u e lessly discarded as too intricate successful in the harvest amended and far more simple P r was determined upon, and events new model was fiuished and only as a moclal,-howover. < the working model is being patie 111 structed, and will, it is hoped, for the inspection of the public i a fortnight. The machine, pleted, is to be on view at the s e of Mr. William Wilson, from Bunting lias received valuable P aid in carrying out his project. valuable aid has been render*?' clJ 1 direction, by the mechanical George Critchley, a mechanic Mr. Bunting speaks in warmest commendation. The reaping .portion of Mimachine does not differ to an} extent from those already indeed it is proposed that the »

portion shall >lO made applicable to anv ordinary reaper. As nauat, the cut ;: n w ni full upon an endless apnm, ana transferred to a second apron, forming )'(. *'From th» top «f this it •ill slide; down a curved incline, on to th« binding table. In the upper part of thia incline, thnre will be a long. (M .,rro\v door, hanging vertically, arid ~f bring opened or closed at the ~f tin- driver. En starting the wa",'iVr, t'>M door would be open, and. th*> L ;' il ', n |'j|cul. would fall through it into a '■jii nii'i-1" formed by a repetition of the incline. A curved wall of straw ' .chi:* bo formed, and the door of i'],;., rh-im'H'V I »'ing closed, the straw ~,'nlil slide down its tisuat ori to the bindj"' 1 , i In the centre of the curved fjirre will bo'a perpendicular slit, which the accumulated straw witl j v . jmd the action of forming r 1..,,,.1 and binding a sheaf will be as f",|| ...vs ; -At the right-hand aide of the ijiniliit'C tal'lr "toofciri'r at it from the is a large wheel, and from a point t„ it-.-i circumference an arm project 4 ~,,r fc;ib!e r wheel and arm bring af angles to each other. At the end ami, and at right angles to it, is a .iijorfiT arm. terminating in a hook, wl-.i'.'l revolves, thin hook i< Juiced downward into the at raw accuniu,l in the curved receptacle, and ;w it l liinviiiriit is continued, a certain quant: M , ~f straw, grasped by the centre, m i,'|t out, and drawn aoroaa the table to the rear. At tho itamo time, the hook ts rotated by mearu of suitable hev 1 ■ 11,■<i gearing, and the 3travr is thus rwi-.ced into a band. Meanwhile, rirt.d linirer is pushing out more straw j-,.,',,, ' the receptacle, just, as a further eaanti'y would be introduced by hand for llin-'tlie'ing the band. As the drawing out ~„a f.visting of the band goes on, the ihwif is accumulating above it, and by the time this is ready, one end of the Imnd u elevated above the sheaf, while other end is yet in the receptacle Then: has been lying in a suitable groove, jnnt below the level of the binding table, n curved arm, terminating in a pair of 'mutnl lingers.. This arm now tlies up, its lui./i.vM clutch the band close by the openi'i'oiii which it ia being drawn, and a knife H'es pint and severs the connection widi the straw in the receptacle. Th" lingers continue to rise, until the two ~f tho band are brought together ~V c r the sheaf. This is in the meantime Iwing duly compressed by a pair of arm--;l little to" the left, shaped like a pair of caliper!*, and crossing one another in a similar manner. Another most ingenious ~f mechanism now comes into us-. \ j>;iir of fingers take hold of the band twist them together. Then a foot ]np.4 liown upon the sheaf. It has on either side a curved draw, and one of ;iic,-;c pulls the twisted ends of the band ,i„wu to the sheaf, when the second claw immediately completes the operation, by twilling the ends under the band, accomplWii r'g. in fact, a sort of titcking-in proSo far as can be judged by a careful inspection of the smalt model, and ot th„ linished part of the working model. Mr. bunting's clever machine is fairly ,iui!ile in its construction, as simple, in mi", as any of the wire binders now in 115,1. F f also seems probable that the ma/sine v.-ill accomplish what is claimed for i!,ti!.»:gh, fs already intimated, this cau--10! ! e sa 1 isfacforilv determined savtv » v I rial. This much has already been a inniial rated that the principal actions v.r machine wo t' Ic very satisfactorily. n.-,kiug of the band, for example. V/." v.-eH done. Our leading agricul-»-w.! will no doubt embrace the earliest v i'' ", I.v ol' seei; ig 1.1.e new aspirant ter I ,'i«v and it' the straw binder pr- .! ,11, 1". i.s certain that Mr. Buntim.' ,eii ! 111 1 1 no cause to regret the time and ,t>„•!•••' ' l l I'.as devoted to so highly i'»::e ;; lei". It maybe a.ilded tha f I i■■'''■■■ ■: I ;;i -1" of the machine v. ill be ,ul;r so tha-t any length of si.'.-i.'.." I:l.iv il* i vely tri d.