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THE WHEATFIELDS OF THE
PENINSULA. -
Our Green's Plains correspondent writes:
— 'Being anxious to (ascertain (if possible to
within a bag or twoVthe exact yield, or pro
bable yield of the Peninsula crops, I took
a bee line the other day for Ardrossan,
passing on the way Bome heavy, crops in the
hundreds of Kadina, Clinton, and Cunning
ham, all more) or less not improved by the
late 'heavy rains and rough weather: The
dams and . tanks, however, by ; the wayside
seem to have benefited considerably bv the
rains, except in a few steep places, where
washaways have occurred. In one particu
lar instance a large dam on the higher side
of the road lad evidently over-exerted itself
in trying to stop a flood, and then let it all
go, embankment, road metal, and all, into
an adjacent wheatfield. At Port Price and
Ardrossan new wheat and favorable reports
are coming in freely, and shipping is expect
ed to be quite up to previous years. Having
inspected the 'pubs' of Ardrossan, also
Smith's famous plough factory, where about
40 men with up-to-date machinery are con
stantly employed manufacturing implements
for the tillers of the soil, I continued my
journey down along the coast, keeping well
within sight of the blue ranges of Mount
Lofty, distinctly 6een across the gulf. From
Ardrpssan to Black Point the crops are no
better than they ought to be, and are
scarcely likely to exceed six bushels, al
though farther inland in the hitherto de
spised Mooloowurtie scrub, some -really
good crops are 6aid to exist, and a much
larger area of this country will be put un
der cultivation next year, judging by quan
tity of jgcrub already rolled down and ready
for burning. Between Port Julia and Port
Vincent four bags to the acre are being
reaped within a stone throw of the water's
edge. And, by the way, Port Vincent, ap
proached from the north, is one of the pret
tiest little bays around our coast. Beauti
fully curved and defined by nature, and shel
tered from every stormy wind that blows,
it is an ideal harbor, and its smooth white
beach, with other attractions and more ex
penditure, will some day make it a fashion
able watering place. A large quantity of
wheat will be shipped from Vincent this
season, and that reminds the inhabitants
that the channel requires deepening, the
jetty lengthening, and a few other slight at
tentions from the Marine Board to enable
the' port to deal successfully with its grow
ing trade. The crops seen along the road
to Stansbury are from fair to middlinn,
but are said to be much better put Curra
mulka way. In the immediate vicinity and
to the west of the town, however, some
splendid results are being obtained. Here
also are located some of the best kept fruit
gardens in the State, notably those of
Messrs. Pitt, Cornish, Anderson, andWurm,
each about 50 acres in extent, producing to
perfection almost every variety of fruit
that can be named., and of the finest quality
and flavor that the heart of man could
wish. Mr. Wurm's olive plantation alone
i6 worth travelling many miles to see. Here
also, barley, oats, wine, wool, and lime in
rich profusion grow, promising a large fu
ture lor the place, and abundantly warrant
ing the construction of the new jetty so long
asked for. The trade at this port has near
ly doubled itself during the past five years,
so also has the old structure that does
duty for a jetty, and the trade must go up
very considerably yet in the near future,
but not so the jetty, as it is already about
4 ft. too high. The residents, however, are
now determined to have a new jetty, in
deeper water, where larger vessels can come
in to cope with the ever-increasing trade,
even if they have to pay for it themselves,
or, as one said, even if they never pay for
it. Between Stansbury and Wool Bay some
maeniticent crops are growing, almost on
the clinV edge, where the 'wheat might be
cleaned and rolled down on the beacli
without the trouble of carting. At Wool Bay
there is also trouble and dissatisfaction
about shipping, tor although there is no
jetty at the bay, the- Marine Board are
hreatening to levy tolls for shipping off the
beach. At this some of the residents have
already got their wool off, as they declare,
and rightly so, that the loss of time, added,
to the inconvenience and cost of shipping
as they have to do it, is quite heavy enough
now, without any additional toll. In fact,
the want of jetties and shipping facilities
all along the coast is a great drawback to
the Peninsula farmers, who have spent
more money and labor in clearing and im
proving otherwise worthless land, and In
helping themselves^ than an equal number
of farmers in any otherpart of the State,and
they may tUexefore be easily pardoned if
they do occasionally grumble a little. Be
tween Edithburgh and Yorketown, the wheat
crops are much better than for some years
past, the Penton Vale settlers sharing equal
ly with the older settlers in the four-bag
returns. The salt industry on the lower
end of the peninsula has been a great boon
to fanners and teamsters in bygone years,
when other industries failed, but although
there are a considerable number of teams
still on the road the traffic is not nearly as.
great as usual, owing probably to the fact
that it is harvest time. The late heavy
rains have seriously deJaved the scraping
business, and although there are scores of
scrapers hanging around waiting for the
removing of the waters, there will be little
salt ripe enough for scraping before Christ
mas. Minlaton and Maitland districts
again promise big returns, although on the
whole the crops do .not look quite equal to
those of last year. Nearer the coast, how
ever, the crops are, if anything, better than
last year's; and so right oh to Kadina. via
Arthurton, Wetultee, and Aeery. the croDB
are much alike, the best I heard of being
seven bags to the acre, and the worst six
nishels. Thus, judging from what 1 saw and
heard, the Peninsula should overage 'about
12 bushels, unless of course the acreage has
-een stretched too much at seed time. Very
little interest is being taken in the forth
coming Federal election, the farmers every
where beinji too busily engaged with the
weather and the crops. I asked one bush
politician what he thought would be the re
sult of haying the election at such a busy
time as this. He said, 'Election; why there's
surely no election for this district again bo
spon.' 'No,' was the reply,. 'but what about
the Federal?' 'Oh, the Federal,' he eaid
much relieved, and evidently thinking about
mrvesters. 'Well, I never tried one of
them; mine's a Sunshine.' '
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