The Cocksfoot Seed Industy.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 460, 5 April 1890, Page 6

The Cocksfoot Seed Industy.

Mr A. Moeitzon, of Moribzon and Hopkins, of Dunedin, after a trip through Banks Peninsula, has come to the conclusion that the cocksfoot ?eed harvest for that district will fall considerably short of last year’s yield. Fires on the West Coast have destroyed a great quantity of cocksfoot in Taranaki, and on the whole there are indications of a rise in price as compared with last season’s values. Mr Moritzon, in the course of a letter to the Otago Witness, says :

lb is a well-known fact that we can always realise more per lb in Dunedin than in Christchurch, and the extra expense of transport here from any part of the Penirsula is only some 6d or 7d, and in some instances only 2d or 3d per sack against us. Repeatedly we have been told by buyers here, when offering cocksfoot say at oid or 4d, that the same quality of seed can be bought at 3d and 3id, f.o. b. Lyttelton. I will give you now the l-eliablo number of sacks grown in the whole of Canterbury since 1885, and may mention that only an infinitesimal portion of same is grown outside Banks Peninsula.

1335 50,829 sacks. 1836 57.652 ~ 1837 .. 42,095 „ 1838 45,708 ~ 1889 49,259 „ 1890 39,904 „

Noth.—Returns from 1885-1889 ai-c compiled by the Government. This is including the cocksfoot grown in other parts of Canterbui-y, which, as mentioned before, is only a small quantity. This last year is compiled by myself, and, if anything, rather over than under estimated, as several days’ threshing had yet to be done when I left; bub I gob quantities fairly reliable, should the good weather then prevailing during the week continue, and all the seed be saved. From the above you will see that there are 10,000 sacks short this year. On our own Peninsula, seed this year is vei-y scarce ; and from the Taranaki district it was reported some time ago that fires were raging amongst the cocksfoot fields, which is borne out by large orders having already arrived from the North Island, as also numerous inquiries for good seed. For the last four years crops on Banks Peninsula have been very small. This is due to several causes : Firstly, a great portion of the land has grown seed from 20 to 25 years and shows signs of exhaustion —namely, too thin to cub, and seed getting too light. Secondly, the low prices, helped on by a bad system of working on halves, the one portion being early fox-ced into the market and sold almost at any price by the parties who cub and thresh, most of whom leave the district till the following season, only to be repeated again and again as the season comes round, as they always realise beforo leaving. I have pointed out to most cf the farmers the benefit that would accrue to them by taking over the thresher’s half and pay them to15d, this being the price they generally getfor their half, and which seems to satisfy them. Should the settler not be in a position to pay the cash, it would be better toget a small advance on the seed, rather than be forced by the labourer to sell at a starvation price when there is no demand. A good few settlers objected to boirovv money on their seed, as they told me that they were not only chai’ged interest, bub also a commission for procuring the required loan, independent of a selling commission. This is nob “done, I believe, in Otago. I believe most of the settlex’s are seeing the error of working the crops on halves, but prefer now to pay the cropper a stated sum per lb l£d —for all clean seed delivered by the cropper to the farmer. This prevents the farmer, if so inclined, from entering the market when there is no demand for the seed. Thirdly, it is due to the good px’ices obtained of late for mutton and lamb for freezing, also the high prices for wool, and farmers have burned out more sheep,- as also store cattle for the market, and this paid them considerably better than cocksfoot, hence less ground shut off. One man who had over 3000 sacks last year- has only 2000 this year ; another who had 2000 sacks last year has nob a bag this year ; two obhex’s who had 1206 and 1500 last have only 120 and 170 respectively this year ; in fact everyone is deficient. I have further been told that if the good piices of mutton and wool keep up, still less cocksfoot will be harvested next year. Fourthly, it is due to a severe southwest gale that blew all over the Peninsula during January and damaged the seed badly. I have not seen two dozen good samples that would equal the seed of last season or the season before in colour and weight. Most of it bad to be cut on the green side. There is also a great deal of light seed this season. Fifthly, it is due ta the low prices of the Tai’anaki seed, which was offered last season at to l*, f. o. b„ New Plymouth, and at locally, but- the seed is neax-ly all of a ba i colour and cannot be compared with Akaroa seed of last and previous years. I have visited Aylmer’s Valley, Long Bay Road, German Bay, Robinson’s Bay, Du Vauchelle, Barry’s Bay, French Farm, Wainui, Okains Bay, I.e Bons Bay, Waihikiri, Lavaricks, Decanter Bay, Mackintosh Bay, Little Akaloa, Pigeon Bay, Little River, and other minor bays only inhabited by one or two settlers, who chiefly carry on sheep and cattle farming. The hills and mountains are almost all denuded of all timber and bush, and during my visit the country looked very dry, owing to a long dry summer," But the settlex-s were very much annoyed by fogs hanging about the hills in the early morning, which prevents them from gathering the seed, as the grass requires to be dry and crisp to let loose the seed. It is astonishing to see the settlers toiling, when opportunities offer, from early morning till evening in places on the mountain bops, scarcely accessible, helped by children and women. In most cases the seed has to be packed on horses and earned even by men to tracks, where a sledge will take it to the main road, to be bullocked to the different bays for transport by steamer to Lyttiebon or Dunedin, or by train from Little River to anywhere. I honestly assert, to judge by the hard labour given in collecting the seed, the farmers should never receive less than 4d per lb. After the grass is cut it lies from eight to ten days to dry ; it is then threshed, nearly all by the flail, near the spot where it is cut, and carried to the threshers’ cloths by women, men, and children. Threshing mills have been attempted, but have proved of no success, as they cannot conveniently be moved about. The cleaning is mostly done by the farmers, who have their own cleaning machines, also by Christchurch firms, who have macliines erected at Lyttleton, and store there at the same time. We are prepared to clean in Dunedin with a good machine at 6d per bag, if 300 bags or more. Cocksfoot is of late years also getting into more favour with our Southern farmers, and everything this season is pointing to better prices, and we should not at all be surprised to see prices rising to 4d per lb and above.