HARVEST PROSPECTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1918, Page 7

HARVEST PROSPECTS.

CANTERBURY'S WHEAT CROP £ careful inspection of wheat crops in all parts of the Ellesmere district justifies the opinion (states the Christchurch Press) that the 'Prime Minister was unduly optimistic when he expressed the belief at Southbridge a fortnight ago that the farmers were in for a bumper harvest. Mr. Massey's inspection of thecrops was necessarily of a superficial nature, and anyone travelling through the district at the present lime might well be excused for coming to the same conclusion, or at least forming the opinion that there would be a good average Harvest. While the barley is likely to average 40 bushels to the acre, and the oatg threshed so far have yielded up to expectations, theTmlieatioas all point to the probability of the bulk of the wheat giving a disappointing return. There are numbers of wheat crops that iooL quite good enough for auything from 50 to 60 bushels to the acre, t>ufc it will be surprising if many of them exceed from 35 to 4(! bushels, and the chances are that a large prfyortion will not exceed 30 bushels. ihe wheat looks very well standing in the paddock, but a'glance at the sheaves or stoofcs in cases'where cereals have been 1 reaped at once arouses suspicion, for the heads of the sheavos"in many cases taper off at the top, indicating that the cars are not properly developed and well filled. Another thing that tends to the belief that all is not, well is the fact that the sheaves are unusually light in weight, whilo an examination of the heads goes to show that in every sheaf a large number seem to have withered off and contain little grain of any value. As already stated, this condition of affairs does not exist merely in any one part of the district, for the early wheat crops generally seem to be affected in much the same way.