FARM NOTES.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XL, Issue 5776, 1 March 1912, Page 6

FARM NOTES.

In travelling about tin- country districts in South Taranaki one is agreeably surprised to see that there are very few noxious weecls on the farms, and especially is this, so in

the case of ragwort isavs the Hawera Star). In conversation with an officer of thi' Agricultural Pepartment a Star reporter learned that one of the reasons for this was that farmers within the last, three years were responding more readily to the requests of the department to have their lands kept free of objectionab/le plants, Another rv.isvn iissiirnetl for the improvement shown was that on the advice of the departmental officers, fanners htul cultivated infested areas, with the resulr. that once this experiment had been tried, ragwort particularly had not appeared again.

The Kansyitikei correspondent of. a contemporary .says : "The fat lamb trade is very brisk, and iillhoUgll slightly later than usual, some good stulT is being seiH forward by the local !l>uyers. A particularly line line was secured from Mr A. 11. (Irittin, of I'pper Txitaenui. From 3*20 penned, 251 were accepted, and killed out' the line average of 39Alb. . This line was so good that the WaTiganui Meat. Company has sent Mr Gridm a complimentary bonus of. Oil per head."

The crops in the Limestone riains ■and Calcium districts, Southland, are looking well. The grass seed liarvest is likely to be a good one, and many of the iiekls are already cut and stooked awl waiting to'We threshed.

The potato crops in the North Canterbury districts are reported to •be rotting in the ground. a.nd though large areas have been sown with potatoes, it is nut expected th-at farmers will realise more . than sufficient to pay for the seed. The crops, in addition to suffering from the wet weather, are alleeted with blight.

During1, last month 29-4? horses were exported to Australia from New Zealand, mid eight to the Pacific Islands. A total of 5-fc' head of cattle were sent away to the Pacific Islands : and 125 sheep and 47 pigs. Twenty sheep .were consigned to Australia. The following are particulars of the horses shipped :— 2(5C5 ■ti.ru.usrhts (3O stallions, 147 mares, 87 geldings, 2 colts), 2 halfdraughts (1 gelding, .1. filly), S thoroughbreds (4 mares, 1 gelding, . 1 lilly, 2 foals), .14 hackneys (2 ' stallions, (5 mares, 6 geldings), 0 light horses (3 mares, 3 gelding's), 2 Shetland ponies* (1 male., 1 female). 1 pony cob. 1 trotting gelding, 1 donkey stallion, 1 entire colt.

The six agriculturists from T'ruguav, who are visitingll .New* rZ^aland are due at Hawe-ra on March 6. The following 1 day they will inspect the Moumahaki Stale Farm. The visitors will also be shown over the leading dairy factories and) the principal farms in the district, under the guidance of a member of the stall1 of the Agricultural Department.

Last month ten cows belonging to Mr John drigg, of the Longbeach Estate (Canterbury) netted the handsome return of £2(i 2s 6d, being- at the rate of ii' 2 12s 3d- per cow. Several of the cows gave 951b of. milk per day >ot a 3.8 test. The herd is of the .Dutch- Friesian type.

The Ok'aiawa correspondent of the

Rawera Star says :—"'The pig market is booming1, and considerable rivalry exists among the buyers. I>uring the present -week the has ■been visitetl by, two buyers all the way from (!-isborne."