AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

A writer in the Mataura Ensign makes the following remarks ou the crop prospects in Southland : — " In an average Southland harvest the earliest pickle of oats begins to burst tbe sheath about Christmas and harvest commences by February 15, and anything much earlier is a bad sign of the crop. This year the first ear was not visible till January 8, and there will be no cutting to speak of till the beginning of March, the cold and wet of December having told its tale on even the earliest farn's. There is a general thinness of the crop, which a continuation of drought would have made worse, and even the recent rainfall can do little to mend. The average return of oats in this district will be 8 or 10 buhhels an acre less than last year, so farmers who do not want to court disappointment need not order more bags than two an acre less than last season. A select few will reach the yield of '88, but these only on the best conditioned land and management. This estimate is made for laud under ordinary rotation, not newly broken up subjects, and refers to oats only, wheat being so late that tho presence or absence of a night's frost renders any speculation on the yield and quality quite superfluous. Turnips wero in a state of suspended animation for a time, but are now making progress vigorously. November broadcast sown may be pronounced a failure, and what were put in by the same mode at a later stage promise very moderately ; but drilled plots are a success, and the prospective appearance of the two systems leaves no room for more than one opinion, viz., that on all farms under regular rotation, as every farm should be, tke broadcast system must go to the wall and fallow take its place. What turnips are to be grown must be drilled on clean land and treated with dung or artificial manures whether it pays directly or not. The extent under potatoes in any year is so small that the crop is more used to keep the pot boiliug than as a source of revenue, but the tempting prices that are heard of induce regret that a larger breadth have not been planted and that what have been planted are not promising better. Only the driest soils will give an average produce, and however good may be the price the benefit to the district will be a trifle. Beet culture at one time spoken of has not reached a trial on account of the backward weather, and a reason such as this goes to show that under any circumstances it ought not to be sown above a retentive subsoil. The green crop prospects of the season consequently point in the same direction as those of corn, and unfortunately the wrocg way." On the first market of the year (says the Australasian) a deal of interest was taken in a couple of pens of halfbred black-polled Angus steers. This was the first draft of stock so bred that has been brought into the Melbourne market. They were bred by Mr H. Hyerc, of Whitefield, on the King river, and were from bulls bred by the Australian and New Zealand Land Co., New Zealand, from station cows. The draft consisted of 28 steers and two heifers, and realised an average of £11 5s ; the two cows sold for £20 12s 66. These may be considered excellent prices for animals that were barely three years old. Messrs Dougharty, Sou, and Parker, to whom the cattle were consigner!, state that they realised fully 3s per 1001b more than tho best cattle in the market. A number of deaths among hhe.ep has been occurr ng in a distiict in Victoria, the symptoms presented being somewhat similar to those connected with the mortality among stock at Winton. Several kinds of weeds have been growing on the place for years, and have been eaten by stock without any bad effects. Within the last 10 or 12 years three or four cattle died, the cause of death being attributed to snakebite, those reptiles being very numerous in thab part of the country. A po*t mortem of a sheep revealed nothing more thau some measure of inflammation in the lungs. The causes of the deaths remain, therefore, as obscure as before. In Billarab a crusade has been made against the sparrows. The " season " for the receipt of eggs aud heads terminal ed on Saturday, 12fch inst., by which date 59,482 eggs and 15,5 i 6i 6 head s, making a total of 75,028, had been received and paid for. A meat preserving company isboing established at Deniliqnin (N S W ), with rh° object of creating a trade, in dead meat, and by chilling to export to Victoria and other markets, which, it is considered, may be effected at muoh less expense than by the present plan of despatching the animals alive. Mr A Crawford, manager of th<i Government travelling dairy, has forwarded to tho Soeret^ry for Agriculture a renort upon dairies and dairying in the North-eastern and Goulburn Valley districts. He states tine (he ilairicp inspected were generally w-11 kcp\ r\n>! that i.i ! some instances considerable ingenuity had bean displayed in providing suitable hn'l^ipg" wi*Ti a cool temperature. But at one yLnv w-'i'-ed tludairy wp.s under the bed, " and," s".y<s Mr Crawford, (> the good lady <,f (be hou-c lit:' ' thi vdance aud showed me 10 dKhcs of v.h.i .-hi said was thebesfc milk iv the district". Sh" vpfp; me to Taste it, but I was ziot thirty ju t V j n '" At anothfr daiiy. made of. sheefb of b\»k, >!n> fowls kept guard by night aud tbe pig by dnv, and " still tho nwncr was not satisfied wi'h tin price of butter," ndds ]\lr Ct&vjc rd. FW.-if '•>rncticnl hints ar2 a!?o r;iven how to ti .kf '->if. butter. In order to more exactly determine- tho ( ii^ds of inoculation against pleuro-puuunjuuia, i~xtensive experiments li'ive Ineu arranged by (he Baxony Agricultural Society, \vhi<-h ai" supported by the Government, t'.ixtt-en hr-ifer* 1 , from various parts of the country absolutely

free from pleuro-pnenmonia, have been collected inoculated in three different parts of the body # the wounds being treated antisrptkally, and the animals have been pent. !o a farm where pleuro is reigniDg extensive)'}', b-'.ing mix<'d with the diseased csttle. The experiments are conducted by Professor Schulfz. Faxes have become established over a large area of Victoria, and ths consequence is that not only are lambs killed, bui in some localities where turkeys and other poultry were, raised in large numbers not a bird can now be kept, unless in yards very securely fenced with \?ire-netting. The Mafp.ura Ensign give 3 aorao particulars of ferret breeding in the Waimea Ylaias district as conducted by Mr T. R. Tanner. One hundred and fifty female and 50 male ferrets are kept. Two hundred ferrets have this year been supplied to the Government, and 200 more are ready to bo sent away. The great desideratum is to keep the animals cool, as they cannot stand heat. The Ensign says:— "The Government pay 7s 6d per head for those they take, and this price is not an exorbitant one when the risks run and expenses incurred are taken into account. Tne buildings alone require to be on an elaborate scale, and there is always a great risk of distemptr making its appearance; indeed, not long ago a contractor on Jhe Tapanui side was minus £250 through disease breaking out amongst the lot he was rearing. All of those recently sent away from Riversdale went to the Waitaki ; but we are informed that there rre considerable numbers in Southland, especially in Croydon Bush, where there is good cover and plenty of scope for exercising their rabbit-hunting proclivities It is difficult to hay whether they are increasing fast, bub there ore many obstacles to their so doing— poisoned grain and rabbitexs' trap?, for instance. A good many get caught in the latter, but are either liberated or knocked on the head. The rabbiteis cannot very well deal in them, because they aro all earmarked after the manner of sheep before leaving the breeding establishment. It takes 150 rabbits a day to feed Mr Tanner's stock ; and he tells us that he finds cats the best food for sicMy ferrets, which seem [to : pick up wonderfully on this diet. The grtatest number of ferrets produced in a litter at Rivorsd«le was 12 ; the average has been eight anc 1 a fraction. At Waikaia we heard of 15 in a litter." j A gentleman intimately connected with tba wool trade states thab this season's production of wool in the Auckland district shows an in- [ crease of 25,0001b as compared with that of last year. On the 29th ult, the Canterbury Frozen Meat Compauy killed the millionth sheep slaughtered at their workg, at- Belfast. The fir.it sheep killed there was butchered on February 16, 1H53. ' As marking the expansion of the company's business, it may be noted that neaily half of the million have been killed during the past two years. In viefl no doubt of It pain lion on the lines of last session's Fair Rent Bill, the Southland Land Board has been instructed by the Government to proceed with a revaluation of lands held on i deferred payments and perpetual lease. Writing to a friend concerning the effect of the Australian drought upon the produce trade of Auckland (sajsthe Post,), a gentleman connected with a well-known produce firm in the Northern capital remarks:— "The drought baa been a godsend, and a most unlooked-for one, to us. We have had Melbourne and Sydney travellers over buying up everything they could get hold of, and our farmers have been :ible to sell everything they could produce, including all sorts of rubbish they thought worthless. la one instance I know of a farmer who had some of what he deemed worthless chaff, and was using it for bedding for his cattle, and so turning it into manure. He got hold of one of the Australian?, bagged up all the chaff, and sold it to htm for £2 15s per ton. Our farmers ' are jubilant. Many have almost lost their heads over their excitement. Another farmer at sold to an Australian squatter 400 tons of chaff for £4 per ton — £1600— cash, paid on delivery. He should net at least a clear £1000 or £1200 on the transaction. Wool has also fetched very fair prices." Among the known breeds of polled cattlo one scarcely ever hears of a white polled breed, and yet it is extremely probable that the first polled cattle in England were of a white colour. The late Rev. J. Storer mentions in his book, "Wild White Cattle of Great Britain," no less than four herds of wild or semi- wild white-polled cattle that were kept in parks in Great Britain, all of which were believed to be descended from the original wild cattle of the aountry. Some of these cattle were said to be as large as shorthorns, the flesh was of excellent quality, and some were, good milkers. Crossed breeds from these white-polled cattle existed in several places, and were highly esteemed, but I fancy they have long since disappeared A breed of white-polled cattle cropped up in America in a rather peculiar manner. Mention is made in "Flocks and Hircii" of a lined of wJiifcepolled cattle, owned by a . farmer in Wiscousin in 1815. They are described as having black muzz'es and ears, ar.d bl:iek spots about the foot. Of lai" year-, thi y have been lired to Galloway bull'?. The writer in the journal quoted says : " The=e white cattlo were, favouritesjbecauso they were very docile, large and rich milkers, and fair beeves, being of good size and reasonably hardy." Since, Mr Sfcorer's work appeared additional light h.is been thrown on the subject of. these white-ijo l ]^'! cattle. The reports furnished by the United S f 'ites Consul in Russia .show that there is a breed of white pollpd cattle of a thickflashed type in tba*; country. Now that bornleis cattle are justly coming into favour with stockfartner.s, all that relatis to the oldest and purest of polled breeds is of interest. It is said that 200,000 cattle and horses die annually in the Umti'd States from horn- f hrusts whi<-h is a very high price to pay for thu useless and dangerous horns. In bis address to (he Renfrewshire Agricultural Association recently, Professor M'Connell said that English cowmen who had been accustomed to .'.horHioui co-vs wero quite unfit to tackle Ayrshire cows. The shorthorn cow was a huge boast, with a quiet temperament nod lar^e teats. On f the o f ht'r han<l, the, Ayr~>hir»; w,».s a smallish now, with .in etiergttio t'oipiiramfnfc and small texts When an English cowman was put in cba-gc of fin A' r-hire now th<- wv\\ nnd the cow soon betran to quarrel, the cow's skin br;gan to :;.t a'.»ru '<.! ! h'r^ and tb ?->, i»id the farmer ft 'Ui'l sVi.ro cv ( > iii M)'- 1 tiut Mr-hires didn't pay. The Ayrshire Agricultural Association b d }•.',! - rin-vn p. regulation — h;id iu-.de a reguiiti'M ', ) ,»t th^ tents should b<? made larger; but *hf y were rob lartrc e> cucrh yot TLc Ayrj- - . ii-jd mirth* r f>ulr, r .n "< ■j ;u was ' aeir up- : tan 'Wipe horn-. He had ,a.\\ il> ri. nMe to see •■'■\ ." tti'j lior:;- >-tt:>"! ' b • rr-im-f 1 — jor r!i -y were 'rui-'^' 1 — ir- t*'ii' i T r y; -t" 'i'-u I'spenied to him th-ih '.hty ••■(re. M.yj.'y trai-xw io this way so that the cow eouH do *hi' rr.osc harm to bi r i f'ghbou'-.s " n y gor ; r>f. ri'h.->r i'h.-> Ayrs: .i r e had '_," t th° rlippoiinon to clrr v>t" Vr neighbour ,O~n <-b - 1i.i.l tin 1 c'l.r.c . u:'i '!. • •]ain;i»'.'r} doua VTV T koi'- -' ct< 'ifci-n fj.r.'i !. i././u The cow j woulil lo^lc >(i'i!>.lly wrij wiiljunL theße. upturned hoi us, which ('n< v did not havp dt-ipinaUy. Mr Spcir a^rfe'! wi Mi what ProT';-ter Wl«W l « /'umiell about f '■•i • -linri |<,<t,s of Usi' *i\ r-vhirc. They had ]'(\\i\ too ii.it h .iHe-irjo,! '<, mi'A vf-s.'-'-h and too little to teats. Aa English, cowmauhadfcaic'

that he would "just as soon milk rabbits as these 1 Ayrshire cows. He was sure there would be a r better demand for Ayrshires, both from England and from abroad, if they bad larger teats. . —Mr Allan said they should make it a point not • to breed from any but a bull that was out of a cow with strong teats. —Professor M'Connell endorsed this remark, and farther said the fancy .for upturned horns was all a matter of»taste. The Ayrshire would look quite as well with her j horns turned downward, inward, or without any horns at all. They could easily breed out the horns if they liked. A hundred years ago the i Galloways had horns, but -these had been bred ! out by selection, and they could do the same with the Ajvshires. Another large addition to the food-growing , resources of the empire is heralded in a report j to the Canadian Government on the Great ; Mackenzie Basin. Hitherto the whole area was considered to be uninhabitable, owing to the severity of the climate. The commissioners ! give another account. So far from the climate ; being that of prolonged winter, it will permit of grain cultivation, and the commissioners say that there are 650,000 square miles fitted for the growth of 'potatoes, 316,000 suitable for wheat; and 407,000 for barley,