An article on the wheat harvest in the "Australasian" on Friday, January 5, 1900 says the crops have suffered severely from a rainless period of nearly three months.
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The yield per acre will be lower than that of last year, but the total return will be the largest yet recorded, because of the extensive area under crop.
The wheat area sown is 2,443,000 acres, and, allowing for hay, of this 2,260,000 will be harvested.
From this area an average yield of 9.37 bushels is estimated, producing a total return of 21,195,000 bushels.
OTHER NEWS:
Allowing five bushels per head for food (5,900,000 bushels) and 2,250.000 for seed, or a total of 8,150,000 bushels, and deducting this from the gross yield the indicated position, says the "Australasian" writer, is that there will be 13,045,000 bushels available for markets outside the colony.
According to the Government returns the estimates for the following counties are: Lowan, 190,000 acres sown, average 81 bushels; Borung, 400,000 acres, average, 91/2 bushels; Karkarooc, 410,000 acres, average, six bushels; Tatchera, 280,000 acres, average seven bushels.
The "Australasian" writer deals with the counties as follow: Lowan shows an increased area as compared with last year, but the average yield is considerably less.
Several causes have contributed to bring about this result, the chief, however, being an almost rainless winter, with frosts alternating with hot winds in October, just as the crops were coming out in ear.
The damage done was very great, the top portion of the heads being blighted to such an extent that the embryo grain was totally destroyed.
A similar condition exists throughout the adjoining county of Borung, though the fallowed land, of which there is a great deal this season in the latter country, has come out well, the crops suffering less from adverse weather conditions than those sown on unfallowed land.
The crops in the southern portion of Borung are better than those in the northern part, while the latter in turn are better than those in the mallee counties of Karkarooc and Tatchera, which lie to the north and north-east.
OTHER NEWS:
These two counties have between them an area of 690,000 acres, and consequently they largely influence the aggregate yield for the colony.
Last year the yields in this section were very poor, but this season they art substantially better, though not up to the average expected a few months ago, when the growth was most satisfactory, and the promise excellent.
Throughout the Wimmera and the Mallee a plague of mice caused ... damage.
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