LANDS REPORT.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 November 1918, Page 6

LANDS REPORT.

FOR TARANAKI DISTRICT.

Wellington, Nov. 27.

Following is the report for hist year of the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Taranaki District:—

From a farming point of view the past year has not been quite as satisfactory in some respects as some preceding ones, due in nn.vf to unusual climatic conditions and the generally disturbed state of the labor and money markets- The winter proved an exceptionally wet one iiv Taranaki, especially in the northern portion of the district, resulting in a high percentage of mortality amongst young stock, owing mainly to lack of substance in the feed; and in the early summer and again in midsummer the district (more particularly in the south) received a set-back wifh the dry weather conditions that prevailed. Otherwise farmers generally have had. good returns on the whole, owing to the satisfactory prices that continue to rule for all classes of farm-prod nets, though they have not benefited (o tlie same extent as if better climatic conditions had. prevailed.

Fluctuations in stock-values have boon a very marked feature during the year, and have been even more evident during the past few months. Tn the early spring stock reached very high price*, young stock in particular—yearling steers, for example, bringing as high as ■•GO 10s per head and heifers £7 per head. Tl;<; same stock now, though six months older, have dropped to prices r.int'ing from £2 to £2 5s per head. Tt i= probable that there will be. a shortage in winter feed as indicated bv the existing stock-markets, but as (he winter advances and the state of food crops can be gauged more certainly it is reasonable to expect that resultant stock-prices will have an upward tendency again. On the whole the season has proved to be a fairly good one throughout the district for crops of all kinds with the exception of potatoes, which, coining away vigorously in the earl'ipr part of the growing season, afterwards became largely a failnfe owing to blight. Tn the south part of the district turnips and swede crops were loss successful than usual, owing to the prevalence of club-root, due, it is believed in some instances, to continued cropping of the same ground. Crown tenants generally are continuing to develop their holdings remarkably well, notwithstanding the serious drawbacks inseparable from a prevailing shortage of labor through depletion of man-power, increased cost of grass-seed, fencing-wire, building-material, etc., which have pressed more heavily on the holders of the less-developed lands. The statutory reports received from tho Crown Lands dangers for the year show as follows: Value of improvements required, Al.'j't.lOS; value of improvements effected, fliri.s3o.