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AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.

The time 'has arrived wjb.en. specnlation..'arS to the probable result 6f;'the*K ! comkig harvest engages the" attention of a considerable section of the community. A thoroughly reliable estimate 1 can scarcely yet be made out ; still it is satisfactory to know that reports from every part of this atud il^e North Island are very favorable. The crops generally look well, but rain is T)adly wanted, particularly on'all the high ■and lighter lands. Should all go well •during the next six or seven "weeks, an ■abundant harvest may be secured. One «annot, however, help looking forward •with some degree of anxiety to a scanty supply of labor when the harvest time arrives. Labor' is now more scarce and expensive than it has been for many years past. Every branch of trade is very active, public works, on an extensive scale, are being constructed in every part of the country, and the goldfields are prosperous. These varied sources of employment require and absorb every batch of immigrants as they arrive. The inference is that, when the harvests come to be gathered in, wages will be excessively high, while the supply of labor will not be at all equal to the demand. During the next quarter of the year, Otago could easily absorb ten times the number of people likely to arrive, and . even then our requirements wpuld not be met. - "' It is, however, pleasant TT r to reflect tiiat, with the prospect of 'increased cost_ of labor, the farmer has every likelihood of obtaining gOQd prices for his ' produce. Already we^ learn that the harvest in Great Britain has been' a failure, while in Spain and France it has been unusually abundant. Iri parts of Germany and northern Europe it has been considerably below the average, but in America — particularly in California — it has been good. Informatiohregarding the crops in South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales is, as •usual, somewhat indefinite, -but as ft.rulereports are favorable. The former Colony is the principal wheat-growing country, J a "and has this season about 800,000 .acres under crop. The -yield is estimated at ■from twelve to fifteen bushelsTper acre. The former estimate,-though somewhat below that of last year, would give a total yield of about 10,000;000 bushels, or about thiisfceen bushels per head for the entire population, thus leaving a considerable margin for. export. In. Victoria the people are" sanguine as to results, and anticipate that the yield will meet all requitfements -of the Colony. But even should Victoriaor any of the neighboring Colonies hot require a single bushel from South Aus- j tralia, the latter will find a ready market iri England. It is assumed with some show of reason that^instead of eight to nine million quarters (64,000,000 to 72,000,000 bushels), whicK. has for years past satisfied the latter; she will have • to import at least fifteen or sixteen million quarters thisyear-^thatis 120,000,000 to 128,000,000 bushels. Therefore, although New Zealand has this season an increased acreage Tinder wheat of 30,877 acres, occuring chiefly in Otago and Canterbury, there is not much cause for alarm. This year Otago has 108,323 acres under grain crops ; of this 33,660 is under wheat, thus showing an increase of breadth of 10,849 acres over the last season. With an average of twenty bushels to the acre, or

four bushels per acre less than last year, the gross yield would be about 700,000 bushels. In the Provinces of the North Island, the proportion of wheat crops to the total acreage under grain crop 3is as low as between two and three per cent. ; but in the Provinces of this Island the proportion ranges between eleven and fifteen per cent. The aggregate wheat crop of this harvest has been estimated by the Eegistrar-Greneral at 2,448,203 bushels, which, gives an average of a little over nine bushels for every individual in the country. These figures, of course, are somewhat conjectural, and must be taken for what they are worth. They are, however, based on the calculations of former years, and therefore form a fair ground for estimating the quantity of wheat we shall likely have to spare for export. Erom the above figures it will be seen that', while the greater portion of the season's yield will be required for homeconsumption, a ready market will be found in England for the surplus.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TT18730109.2.12

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 258, 9 January 1873, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
722

AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS. Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 258, 9 January 1873, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS. Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 258, 9 January 1873, Page 6

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