CAVE (South Canterbury).

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 40

CAVE (South Canterbury).

January 3. — The month of December has 1 been very hot and sultry. On one or two .- days we had torrential rain. To wind up the old year, the thermometer registered 83deg - in the shade 1000 ft above sea ievel, on the 28th. On the 29th it "registered 86deg, and on the -30th ' 94deg. That was hot enough. " for any whits man. The New Year; came with good cheer, and everyone welcomed '.■it with good wishes,, ' _ The Crops. — In and around the Cave the crops are looking well, and some of the -' grain is " already -in atook." Over" the Cave *Mll and down the Pareora Valley there are ■- some good crops of oats. Mx* W. Little has .a, field of oats alongside the road which looks like yielding 80 bushels -to the acre. Round' Cmnnington' Station 'the oat crop looks well. There is a field of 150^acres belonging to - . tiie Canningrton Station, which should give 60 bushels to the acre. In the Upper . Pareora Gorge the crops, are a little late, . - "but ,they look well. On the "White Rock River ihe oats look better than I have seen them ior many a long year. Cown the Motukaikai

River there ia not much land under crop. — Mr Zimons has a small field of oats which looks well. Messrs Howell Bros, have no

crop ft* ing the road on the Cave side o£ their farm, but they have a good field of ■ oats on the top of the Downs. Mr A. Hamilton has good crops of oats and wheat. On the, high side of the road Mr B. Elworthy # (CraigmoreX has a fine crop of rape some ~ distance from the road; there are some grass - fields looking well. About thj^Motukaikai '•homestead there is a splendid field I^ of ' oats. Some grass fields on this farm would be'>hard! to beat. The feims ort this estate facing 1 " tie faieors Kiver~ Save oat; fields," looking 1 well.A wheat field looks a bit thin. Mr R. Grainsford 1 'has good crops of both' 1 oats and -wheat on his farm. Mr JSTeedhani has a f airish-looMng crop of oats, but it. is a good bit back .from -the road. Mr Packer has a' medium crop of oats on his downs, but he has- a "good crop of rape alongside the 1 j

Pareora River. Mr Klynack,"on the "■opposite Fide, has oats and barley and » small bit 'ot wheat which looks to be a medium crop. <~isx J. Hyland has good crops of wheat and! oats on his farm. The prospects for the iarmers are bright in this part of South

Canterbury. -Recently the leading newspapers -were prophesying c, good* time in the near future for the farmers, especially fof wool, tnrfc I am very much afraid, after such a wool Bale as we had in Timaru on January 4, that the future' is far distant; or, as Artenius Ward put it when he told the story about'tis wheeling a barrow of raw material over « bridge, a man sitting on the side of the ■bridge looking at him 1 , said : " There is a great future before that boy." Artainus Ward •aid that until then, he thought it was -behind. Glancing at the farms from, the Upper Pareora Gorge- down to the railway" station, I find Mr R. Smith on his gorge farm has a, nice crop of chin oats. The crop of Mr A. Smith, of F-airfield,' on a piece of downs,- is just' about ready for the reaper. It should go 40 bushelsT Mr David Foster has a field of oats and wheat, which is on « nice slope of- the Coal Creek Hill, lying well to the sun. It should give a good account of itself when threshed. Mrs- Hogg's wheat crop is fair. Messrs Brosham,, Barry, and Scannalan have excellent crops of jvheai; and oats. Round the Greenhill road Mr T. Chisholm and Mr George Smith have ai lair crop of oats and wheat. Messrs' Lawlawasar Bros, have a field under crop some, distance from the road. I was- not' close to itj but it looked a fair crop. Mr -A. Roberts, -oh the Greenhill, has a field of oats that does' not look' too well ; nor does Mr S. Roberta's crop, lower down on the ridge, look as well as it might. These two farmers ' have done a lot of work on their iarms, and they deserve better from 'the land than they have got. There it a lot of twitch on" these two farms, and this ia a disadvantage. In all my round the turnip crops; were looking well, but some of the rape has become blighted, and the farmers have, turned! their sheep on. folk <• ' • School. — On the 20th December the Cave 'School held its picnic, a large number of pupils «nd parents being present. Mr J. - Hamilton, the chairman, did all he could 4o make the sports- a success.' A dance was held in the evening, and all went home well satisfied.

Saleyards. — The Cave Saleyards Company is pushing on the building of the saleyards, and the place- looks as if there were y«t some life in^it. The Saleyards Company thought the .Timaru auctioneers wouldi take shares ra the company, but up to the present they h"pv« taken none.

Personal. — Mr and Mrs Ritchie came to Cannington Station on December 50 for the -"jiolid-ays.

. Mails. — The mail service ia now a. bi-weekly one. This unfortunately makes it a day later than before ere the "Witness arrives.