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THE HARVEST OF 1879 SO.
; We are able this morning to lay before
^our readers the result of our enquiries
^respecting the wheat harvest which ha3
now been safely garnered. That result is
an extremely satisfactory one, though the
more sanguine anticipations of the
early part of the season have not been
realized. This is due not to any deficiency
in the crops, but chiefly to an exception
ally severe storm on the 10 th of November
last, which has reduced the outturn by at
least one bushel per acre. There is, how
jever, great cause for gratification in the
fact that throughout the whole period of
harvesting our farmers were favoured
with fine weather. The grain has not
been scorched by hot winds, nor injured
by excessive moisture. Taken all round,
a better sample has rarely been produced
in South Australia ; and the opinion of
persons well qualified to give an opinion
is that it is worth in the English market
Is. Cd. to 2s. per qr. more than last
Eeason's produce. The latter has won
the highest distinctions at the Sydney
International Exhibition, and it will be
interesting to note what the Juror3 say
concerning this year's growth, which has
now gone forward to the South Aus
tralian Court.
Coming to the details as furnished by
by our correspondents, we gather that
l,4S0,CC0 acres have been reaped, retarn
kig an average yield per acre of a trifle
over 11 bushek. This givc3 a gro£ 3 out
turn in round numbers of 10,300,000
bushels, by far the largest quantity ever
produced in any single season in tha
colony. From this the requirements
for seed and home consumption have to be
deducted before we can rrrive at the
surplus that will be available for ship
ment. Beckoning 1,600,000 acres a3 th9
area likely to be placed under cultivation
next season, -ne have to allow ],G00,000
btshels for se=d. In former years the
dlowance was fixed at 1 J to l£ bushels
ui acre, but thin sowing is so prevalent
now, many farmers not using more than
three-quarters of a bushel, that an average
of one bushel is, we believe, ample. For
food purposes 5 bushels per head for a
population, say, of 205,000 will be needed.
This will take 1,325,000 bushels, making
a total for home requirements of 2,925,000
bushels. The figures w-11, therefore,
stand thus : —
Bushel'.
Tohl Crop ... ... ... 16300,000
Required for seed and food m 2,925,000
Surplus ~ ? 13375,000
This surplus, which is over four million
bushels more than the aggregate produc
tion of last year, when calculate! accord
ing to shipping measurement represents
5n round numbers 061, SCO tons as available
for shipment to the various markets of
the world. This does not, it will be ceen,
come up to the standard 400,000 tons,
which has been popularly accepted
as the quantity we should have far
export, but it considerably exceeds
the surplus of any former year. So
far our heaviest shipments were made
in 1876, when, owing to the excellent
crop, which averaged 11 bshs. 57 lb. per
acre — thehighestjleldforthelastdecade —
we sent away 230,000 tons. Last year we
exported 160,495 tons. It will thus be
seen that the quantity of grain we have
for export dining the current twelve
months will be more than double that of
1879.
One of the most noticeable features in
connection with the harvest is the excep
tionally heavy crops which have been
reaped in individual fieMs in various
parts of the colony. The South-East
takes the lead. In the Hundreds of
Gamtier and Blanche, where the pro
duce last year was under 8 bushels
to the acre, the farmers have reaped
from 10 to a3 much as 50 bushels,
the average being set down at over
20 bushels. At East Belalie the general
average is computed to be not less than
20 bushels per acre, and in several other
northern districts many unusually good
crops have been gathered, ranging from
8 to 30 .bushels, per acre. It is also a
aiDgular fact that some of the oldest
districts ;n the colony, which are generally
regarded as worn-out and fit only for
grazing purposes, have here and there
turned out splendid yields, reaching up
to 20 and even 30 bushels an acre. On
the other hand, some of the new hundreds,
which did so well last season, have pro
duced very poor results. rFor the County
of Hanson (Axkaba), for instance, which
averaged 13h bushels in 1878-9, the
return this year is orly 6 bushels
per acre. In the Countir3 of Kewcistle
and Granville, which last year yielded
nearly 11 bushels, the produce this season
does not exceed 5i and 4i bushels per
acre respectively. There is no doubt that
the terrific gale which passed over the
country on ^November 10 seriously injured
the crops, which were in many places so
beaten down that in reaping the stripper
could not touch them. This diminished
the yield in some fields by as much as 5
bushels per acre, and many of our con
tributors think the general average of the
colony would have been fully one bushel
more but for the storm referred to.
It is impossible to give a thoroughly
satisfactory explanation of these startling
differences in the rate of production. ? In
the absence of more specific informa
tion all that can be said is that
they appear to be due to ' the
caprices of nature rather than to the
result of good or bad farming. No doubt
good farming is generally followed by a
better return than would 'be obtained
under a system of slovenly farming ; but
it is a remarkable fact about the season
just passed that splendid crops have been
gathered where least expected, and where
there has been no variation in the mode
of cultivation for years. Some of our
correspondents attribute the good yield to
the circumstance that the rainfall was
peculiarly favourable to the growth of the
wheat plant. On examination of the
meteorological tables we observe that
very little rain fell till May, and that
from May to September inclusive there
was an average fall of a little
over two inches per month. In October
and November there was enough
iroisture to nourish the crops without
stimulating the development of red
rust, a cHseate which appears to have
dore vc:y little damage. There is a
general agreement in the testimony that
ccrly sowing has not been followed by the
good results which are supposed to
follow this practice — in fact, one farmer
lays it down as an axiom that early sowing
in a dry season is prejudicial to the pro
duction of a heavy crop. In support of
this he te1ls rs that he sowed a block of
land in April before the rain came and
had a veiy poor yield from it, while from
an p^jo^Tig block of precisely similar
land which received the seed a month
later he reaped 25 bushels per acre.
The advantages of fallowing land are
admitted by most farmers, but it does not
always follow that land so treated yields
the best crops. This wa3 particularly
noticeable last year, when some of the
poorest yields were taken from soil which
had been allowed to rest. This season,
however, fallowed land seems invariably
to have produced much better crops than
u green' land — whether better than suc
cessively tilled land is not very clear. It
would be very valuable information to
the agricultural community if specia
reports were obtained from those farmers
who have been successful in reap
ing crops, say of over 20 or 25
busheJ3 per acre. The Agricultural
Society niiqht undertake this work, and
render useful service to the great body
which it represents. It is only by noting
every phase in tho process of wheatciil
ture that we shall be able by-and-by to
build up a theory which will be of advan
tage to the unskilled selector.
We cannot close our remarks without
returning our acknowledgments to the
numeroTis correspondents who have so
promptly responded to our enquiries for
information. By their assistance in
previous years we have been enabled to
present the results of the harvest
with what we believe to be tolerable
accuracy ; and although we have expe
rienced some difficulty in obtaining tha
exact area under cultivation iu tho nc'.
hundreds, we believe our figures will be
found to approximate pretty closely to the
official returns, which are not likely to be
issued until the month of April.
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