AGRI CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE.

Southland Times, Issue 1338, 22 November 1870, Page 3

AGRI CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE.

So far as the season has gone, Southland hat no reason to joi&in the apprehensions prevailing elsewhere respecting the crops. In many respects the season throughout has been an exceptional one. Commencing with winter, the weather was, comparatively speaking, mild, varied by sufficient frigidity to render it refreshing. Spring sej; in beautiful, and continued so until the early crops had become sufficiently strong to withstand the morning and evening frosts incidental to that period of the year. One or two heavy southwesters came away during the month of October, bat with the exception of having carried off a few peach blossoms, we have not heard of any damage sustained. Certainly a better season for putting in crop could not have been desired. The summer, so far as it has gone, has been equally fine. Hot sunshine, with enough moisture to keep the ground verdant, was the rule during the early part of November, and although latterly rain has been somewhat scarce, the drought simply affects the surface. Springs and water* odurses continue to flow freely, so that no immediate danger exists of the sub-soil getting parched. The only exception to this seasonable 'weather was a heavy fall of hail, which, took place the middle of last week. Happily, it was of short duration, and although it brought a chill into the atmosphere, which lasted for a day or two, by the end of the week every trace of it had disappeared. Sunday was a particularly hot day, and we are within the mark when we say that in the vicinity of the bush lands the thermometer must have ranged at blood-heat. The, evening. of that day Bet in with a peculiarly florid sky, which was regarded as a sure indication of high wind. Nothing of any importance however ensued, so that the spell of fine weather remains unbroken. " As a natural consequence this state of matters bids well for not only a heavy but likewise an early harvest. In some neighboring districts wheat 13 fast coining into ear, with a good, strong, well-matured stalk of from a two to two and a half feet high. Potatoes are going on fast. In some of the earlier localities they are getting into bloom, and, judging from the general appearance of the crop, the average per acre will be the highest Southland has yet attained. During past seasons Waikivi west has had the distinction of being the earliest district to produce potatoes fit for the market, and to all appearance it will not be behind-hand this ye»r. From one field, we saw a growth exhumed at random, the potatoes being as large as ordinary henVeggs. Indeed' potatoes from the farm referred to would have been in the market a week ago, but for an impression that it had been already supplied. It turns out that the supply was imported from Melbourne, and as » firet instalment from the

district is to be sent in forthwith, we may calculate upon the new provincial crop being for sale j in a day or two. This is something like a couple j of weeks earlier than the first of last year's pota- j toes made their appearance. J The sorrel nuisance has been making alarming progress within the last few week*. We hare ; had our attention directed to one paddock at the junction of the Wallacetown road which is literacy one vast growth of the unhealthy red plant. ! It is rapidly running to seed, as shown by the . fact that the nuisance is spreading right and left, ' so that the neighborhood is in danger of being J pollute! unless prompt action is taken. The la ad in question has been sorely neglected. ] It either is or has until recently been unocoupied, a circumstance which no doubt accounts for the neglect. This fact shows the ne- j cessity that exUts for some legislative enactment | upon the subject. The evil is of such a magni- 1 tude, that the farmer is almost bound to use pro- | cautionary measures for keeping it in check, but cases like the foregoing, where the gronnd hap* pens to be in dispute, or not occupied, no «ueh precaution exists. Bad as the thistle is, the far* mer is beginning to look upon it as harmless compared with the sorrel. It is a matter for the' Council to deal with, and now that it is in session, a more useful and at the same time urgent matter could not be taken in hand. Theparroquethas also become particularly troublesome. Whether it is that of late they hare multiplied tremendously, or that the reunion movement has brought the entire brood of the united provinoe down upon us, we caanot take upon ourselves to deoide. One thing is evident, that instead of one or two as heretofore "pimpering "about the outskirts of the bash, flocks of them now wing their way over the plain, committing wholesale depredations whereever they fancy to alight. In this way a large amount of grain is in a fair way of being disposed of without passing through the debit and credit account of the husbandman. Our reports from the orchards continue favorable. Both fruits and flowers are getting on remarkably well. In some of the more favored spots cherries are commencing to color. Apples are well formed), and with a continuance of the present fine weather, a few weeks more will sea them well on towards maturity. The strawberry beds that have been properly attended to are ripening in large quantities, although the largest proportion of those which have been more negligently trained, are not much further advanced than full blossom. . So far as we can judge, the. latter class predominate. Indeed some of the beds we have seen were completely choked up with weeds and undergrowth, so that the season's produce can hardly have had fair play. The settlers seem to be getting so accustomed to the spontaneous character of their growth, that what little attention they really do require has been in many instances neglected. The effect is likely to be a shortcoming in the yield, or at all events an inferiority in the quality, so that the result will no doubt induce its own cure. As we have stated above a good many peaches have been torn off the branches. The cause is attributed to a'higb wind, preceded by a uighf s fro3t. Those that remain on the trees are promising. Berries are going to be a very heavy crop. Gooseberry bushes are actually hanging, and in many instances they are forming so large that the branches already show atgua or uuuomg. ■ jguiiuufc uuaiiw my miut-_ tarty provided, so that a plentiful supply of fruit may be put down amongst the more promising features of the season.

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