AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL ASSOCIATION.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7526, 16 April 1890, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL ASSOCIATION.

-Shfrttworfgenf ral meeting of the above w»8 held ea March 20. The chair was occupied by Mr Johu Ferguson, the President of the Assogation, and there was a good attendance w members. received from Messrs John Dean** J. Wilkin, John Anderson, jun., and R P. Murray-Ayn&ley for nonattendance.. ] 'J he report, which was as follows, was taken as rejd ■:■— " Before #pceeding to read the report of the past j!fear\s proceedings your Committee desijg to refer to the great loss sustained by *fe Association in the decease of Mr 6. Gfftld, which took place on the 2Sth MarcWtst, and to express their deep regret at flat event. The permanent basis upon fhlch the Association has been for some yeWs past is largely owing to the munificent donation made to its funds by that gentleoan at a time wnen it stood in need of monetary assistance. Mr Qoold was ever titdy to assist the Association in any way be considered conducive to its interests. A considerable number of the books in ifte Reference Library were Sven by Wm. Mr Gould filled the office of -Fftoldent for some time, and SD his deceive he was one of the patrons of the Association. Your Committee have macb: pleasure in presenting to the members we following report of their proceedings during the past year. The gross incora* they are clad to report nas exceeded t»t of the previous year, as frill be seen onfreferring to the statement of accounts nfav in your hands. The comparatively Pyorabel state of the weather during theishow days, particularly so on the second fay, had the effect of bringing together a wry large concourse of visitors, which, iocjading members, exhibitors, and theiraltendants, approximated 20,500 persons. Bβ cash takings at the gates, ncluding those persons who came by rail, amounted to £895 Is 6d, as compared with £74110s 6dln the previous year. His Excellency tie Governor, Lord Onfllow, honored tbk Association with bis presence on the grounds on the people's day of the show. As evincing the interest taken by hfe Excellency in the general work of toe Association he gave two medals for the encouragement of a better class of hackney and carriage horses. These prises have been duly awarded. Twelve meetings of the General Committee have been held during the year; two general meetings of the Association for the election of new members, and four special meetings of Committee, together with several meetings of Sub-Committees. The number of exhibits at the last show fell short of those in the previous year, being 1448 as agaiast 1500. The falling off was, however, confined to the merino sheep classes. In the other departments of the show the entries were up to, and in some cases in excess of, the previous year. > The entries were a 9 folio wh :—

Sheep ... ... 379 Cattle ... ... ... ... 130 Horses ... ~ 213 Pigs ■;. ~co Sheepdogs ... ... ... 22 Dairy produce ... ... ... 99 Cured and preserved meats ... 42 Bones and other artificial manures 5 N.Z. manufactures and produce... 83 Extra exhibits m New machinery ... ... ... 13 and seeds ... ... ... 64 Implements and machinery ... 316 1 Total ... ...1448

"£596 9sha3 been awarded in money prizes., together with a number of champion gold,, {liver, and bronze medals and books, lac private prizes amounted to £170 12s, most of which have been awarded. , ! The hearty thanks of the Association are due to those gentlemen and to those firms who Have contributed so handsomely to this fund. The cash account of the Association shows the - receipts of the past year to have been £3145 4s 6d, and the payments, including £548 Is for interest, to have been £3018 11s sd, reducing the -Baink overdraft by £li 6 13s Id. It now stands at £3740 19s 4d. The Treasurer's accounts and the books of the Association! have been doly audited by Messrs C. C. Aikman and F. Waymouth, and found correct. There are 138 life members, land 422 annual members' names oa the books of the Association. Yous Committee, however, regret to have to report that notwithstanding repeated applications which have been made for

payment of subscriptions, entailing much expense, there still remains unpaid £161. The attention of members who are still in arrest is directed to the heavy overdraft, which should suggest prompt payment of all subscriptions. The "New , Zealand Country Journal " has now entered upon its thirteenth year, and continues to be self-supporting. The Editing Committee have, however, to regret tha) some of their supporters; are not so punctual in their payments as might reasonably be expected. She .Editing Committee, while thanking those person who have contributed articles to its columns, venture to hope that others will contribute papers during the current year. ' HEBIi BOOK.

"During the year a considerable num. ber of entries of various breeds of cattle have been Received for the proposed herd book, » portion of which is now in the mincer's hands. It has been suggested to the Committee that the time has arrived when there should be one general shorthorn herd book published, embracing the pedigree stack of the whole of Australasia, to be called the 'Australasian and New ZealandShOTthornHerd Book. Withaview to testing the feeling of breeders in the Australasian colonies, a circular was prepared and forwarded to the various AgriI cultural Societies, and to all the principal breeders as well. The Council of the National Agricultural society of Victoria ! have received the project with favor; and ! steps h&vetoeen taken by that body to give '< effect to the movement, wnicn It is hoped will result in the carrying out of the • proposed work at an early date. If, how•evtsr. this arrangement does sot receive i sufficient support, a herd book to include • other breeds will be published, in order that existing pedigrees may be kept up. : ■, HOB3S PABADE. "The annual parade of stallions took place on the Association's grounds on SaturuaT, September 28th, when sixty-five horses and seven mares were on parade aa against thirty-six b* the previous year. ! fcAH AND EWE FAXB. "TherinV and ewe fair took place on Thursday, 3 larch 21st, when 2810 rams and 122 ewes w re catalogued. Although the prices real ised were not exceptionally hieh, taeitreater portion of the several lots found iurcbasers at fairly remunerative rates. I * . SHALL B-ABMS. "With « view to encouraging small farmers to pursue » better system of farming than that generally prevailing in Canterbury, the Committee resolved to offer prizes for the best kept farms, under the Following leadings :—For farms ranging from 50 adres up to 150 acres, anywhere between the Rangitata and Hurunui, first prize-; £23, second £10 ; for farms ranging frim 150 acres to 300 acres, prizes as above, (The Union Insurance Company offered, tbioitgb the Association, the sum of £20, together with a cup valued dBS, for I the best kept dairy farm, nob less than SO acres nor more than 100 acres, within s radJus of { twenty-five miles of Christ- j church, IS is a matter of regret, however, that the class of farmers for whose benefit these prizep have been offered have not responded ; more numerously, as eight entries are all that have been received. It is, however, hoped that some good will result even from so small a number of competitors. The best thanks of the ' Association are due to those firms and gentlemen who have contributed the whole of tie funds necessary for carrying out the work, and to those gentlemen who have gives much time to inspecting the j several firms. Two inspections liave | already been made; the final examinations will take place before the end of May next, when the Judges will make the i awards, -which will be published in due course. . | THE DAIRY DfDITSTBY. >i ♦< Your Com ncittee regret that not much progress has been made during the pastyear towards promoting a better system of butter-makfuK. -It' J* humiliating to note that while Victoria and New South Wales butter h»s in London ranged from • 79» to 155s 4 per nvt, New Zealand buster bra rare*/ exceeded 79*. The great eaßerioTirt- of the Australian butter over 'that "of Hew Ze&liuid cannot be attri-buted-to: &ay superiority of the conditions under which it isproduced, but rather to the strenaoas efforts made by the Agricultural Department in Australia t© disseminata Information and foster the trade. It must, however, be remembered that the X&ctorv system has been established, especially in New South Wales, for a mncl* longer period than in Canterbury. — STOXIOOS W4CKOS. i " The report of the outgoing Committee last year «Us»U atauuie ltmath with th*

of noxious weed? throughout Catertmry. Investigations made daring Ifeveala the fact that these wedsare still greatly on the increase, wdtorntp {Brossica campestris) is spreadfstoan alarming extent. In some disbpte to such an extent has it increased tfet Infested farms have this season sil&ed a loss of quite 25 per cent, in their cfli crops. In the month of November tfs plant tinges the landscape with its lSifc yellow Howers for miles, and in anost every direction. Little or no afempfc seems to have been made towards lessening the evil, vhich, if neglected Bgch longer, will become a serious nCtter for land owners and land ocupiers alike. Another weed, which, till vjry recently, was a comparative stranuer ix Our pastures, is the Oxeye Daisy {ChrytWihemum Leiuanthemuni). This plant is ttoyr spreading rapidly in many of oar pastures. It has not one redeeming point about it (except perhaps some latent medicinal virtue or the beauty of its flowers). No kind of stock will touch it. It imparts a bitter flavor to hay, particularly obnoxious to stock. Its spreading radical leaves rapidly kill out the finer grasses. To our fist of "Twitches" (Poa Pratensis and* Agrostis Vulgaris) another & graaaalhrmaking itself conspicuous. We refer to Triticum Sevens (or English Couch Grass). Every English farmer is familiar I wich this troublesome farm pest. Speci- [ mens of this grass have been forwarded to 1 the Association's offices for identification from several parts of the provincial district, proving that it has established itself in the colony. Carduus Arvensis (so called Californlan Thistle).—We are able to state that vigorous efforts are being made by many farmers to extirpate this pest from the land. It is a matter for regret, however, that in a number of cases it is left undisturbed to grow and ripen Its seeds, to be scattered broadcast over the country. Cutting them down just as they commence flowering checks them to some extent, but half measures will never j?et rid of it. Those who have had to deal with this farm pest, know how tenacious of life it ia. CLOVER BBKDS. "The growth of clover seeds has now taken its place amongst the regular crops of the farm, owing to the fertilising influence 'of the humble bee. The samples produced are exceptionally good, being far superior to the imported article. While on the subject of seeds, it may be well to caution those farmers who are turning their attention to the growth of turnip seeds as an industry, to remember the risk they run of having their stock plants inoculated by the wild turnip. It is extremely risky to attempt the growth of each seeds in the proximity of fields of this plant. The sale of seeds grown under such circumstances is almost sure to lead to ultimate litigation between the grower and the purchaser, when the grower would, in all probability, be cast in heavy damages.

PLOUGHING BY STEAM. " Your Committee are of opinion that to continue the growth of cereals in the future with any margin for profit, every effort must be made to minimise the coat of production, and, they believe this can best be done by the further use of laboursavins machinery. They are of opinion that the cost of ploughing might be considerably reduced by the use of traction engines, with attachments for drawing six or eight ploughs immediately behind them. This system of ploughing is admirably adapted for the level lands of Canter-, bury, and it has the advantage that large areas could be got over early in theeeaaon. Nor is this the only advantage which would attend the general adoption of itnis system. Almost constant employment would be found for the engines other than threshing and cutting chaff. There are large areas of Canterbury which would be greatly benefited by subsoil ing, which Eas hitherto been left undone for want of a lees expensive process than that of horse power. In view of this, the outgoing Committee leave a strong recommendato their successors to provide for a trial of this system of ploughing on a sufficiently large scale to illustrate its advantages. The rooms of the Association have oeen fairly well supplied with papers and periodicals. The Reference Library has received some additions during the year. Your Committee would remind its members and others that books for reference purposes are always acceptable. Finally, your Committee desire to place on record their appreciation of the valuable services rendered by the gentlemen who have acted as judges at your annual show, and also to acknowledge the assistance of those members who have assisted in carrying out the work of the Association during the year jast closed." The President said that the members would find the work of the year included in the report before them. Still, he would like to say a word or two on the progress of the colony. They had had a great harvest, and it had been well gathered In, and though prices were not large, many farmers would reap good profit by feeding their sheep on oats. The frozen meat industry, which was the backbone of the industries here, was prospering most favorably, and he was sorry that he could not say the same for the dairying interest. Whilst farmers' butter was being sold at 6d per lb factory butter was realising 9d and 10d per lb. This he looked upon as a means of briagingabout the prosperity of the rural population, which he looked upon as being the means of prosperity of- the colony. He desired to thank the members of the Association, and particularly the Committee, for the support they had afforded him during his term of office. He wished to express the regret he felt that one of their number, through failing health, who had sat for twenty years at the Board of the Association, was not with them that; night. Hβ alluded to Mr William Norman, whose straightforward and energetic work had been the means of laying the foundations of the Association deeper and stronger. He now begged to move the adoption of the report and balancesheet.

The Hon. J. T. Peacock seconded the motion, which was put and carried. Mr D. Craig said for the first time in the history of the Association for the past few years they had achieved something towards their progress—in figures, at least. They had a credit of some £177, and had been able to reduce their overdraft by some £126. This was a circumstance upon which he congratulated the members of the Association.

Mr G. Gbay, chemist at the Agricultural College at Lincoln, then read a Saper on "Manures." Starting with a ascription of the requirements of crops in the matter of food by way of manure, Mr Gray proceeded to state that grain crops and grasses were always assisted in their growth by nitrogenous manures, that root crops were assisted by phosphate atanure, and the leguminous crops, such as peas, beans, &c, by potash manure. He then proceeded to deaf with the question of the disposal of the turnip crop by means of feeding oft and the returning to ■ the soil by the sheep of the nitrogenous materials, pointing out that it was necessary to assist special crops by manures, i and in this case the three great divisions which he had spoken of were necessary to be observed. If not, then they would find that the food-producing capabilities of the plants would be very j much less. In respect to the ordinary commercial manures, Mr Gray first dealt with the constituent parts of guano. In this there was a fair proportion of nitrogen, phosphates and potash, and in Peruvian guano they met with these constituents is a soluble form. Some little j time ego a local deposit of guano wasj found at Akaroa, but the quality was very Tollable, from exceedingly good to almost worthless. Nitrogenous guanos were best suited for top dressing grain and grass, and nitrate of soda was a manure which also would be best adapted as a top dressing, but the soil had not a retentive power on the nitrates. Thus it was best to apply nitrate of aoda to growing crops. Sulphate of ammonia was less active than nitrate of soda, but was more liable to re-1 tention in the soil than nitrate of soda.! It should when good contain some 20 per cent, off nitrogen. Thanks to their meat freezing industry, they now met with many forms of animal guano or blood I manure. He had analysed a sample from! the Belfast Works a* the show of 1888,| and found that it contained 5.8 of nitrogen i and 26 per cent, of phosphate. It would, he would point out, be far better to keep the superphosphates astd manures separate. Mr Gray, then dealt with bone manure, and .pointed out that steamed bones 1 were more readily broken down than raw bones, and therefore were more easily assimilated with the soil. As regarded their local bone manures, it was in & fair mechanical state. He found that they contained 43 per cent, of phosphates, 2.8 of nitrogen, and 9 percent, of sand. This was,fax too large a proportion of sand, and showed carelessness in preparation. Some remarkably good bone manure had been recently imported from India, which had a large quantity of phosphate in it. Mr Gray then proceeded to deal with suDerphospbate manures, and described the method of preparation of superphosphate mannres by treatment of sulphuric acid. Bone superphosphates were weight for weight more valuable than mineral superphosphates and this was shown by compariSon. to speak of the New ZeaJjHMHnoerphosphates ex- , . .■ .: . IMiinilr

aminedbyhim,whichhe said were fate value, bat owine to the difficulty _ of getting good phosphates the/were rather fow cfkfs. The mean of samples examined by him I * a * rui t ,2l phosphates and 1.7 nitrogen. He next ipoke of potash manures, which he Pointed out were obtained mainly from the potash beds of Prussia. The value of ™ aau «*f was twofold, via, the commercial and agricultural value. The latter "was the one in which the grower was most interested. As the value, commercially, it was arrived at per unit, and thus they got the value per ton. ine agricultural value of any manure could only be fonnd by experimenir on the basic of comparison witn a piece of land not manured and one manured, and they could also work out the comparison on the basis of the weight of manure used. Of coarse they had to contend with climatic influences, and this was a very important point. If any one wished to ask any question he should be ready to answer it.

Mr Cunningham asked if superphosphates were the best on light land and in a dry season.

Mr Gray said in a dry season, of course, of the dissemination of phosphates would be retarded. Mr Cunningham said that what ne wanted to ask Mr Gray was whether superphosphates were valuable to be used for light lands. Mr Gray said that he thought on the whole that superphosphates woald be useful on light lands. They used them on the College farm, but with a manure drill. Sir John Hall aslred Mr Gray on what particular kind of land lime was most useful, and for what crops. Mr Gray said on heavy clay soil or on peat soil lime would be beneficial. If they were to apply caustic lime to alight soil they would destroy the organic matter in it. He might say that he had written a paper on the subject of lime as a manure for the. next issue of the Country Journal. Mr John Grigg said that he was sure they had all learnt a great deal from the interesting lecture by Mr Gray, and. he was sorry that more farmers were not present. He thought that it taught chem, in addition to other lessons, that they, as farmers who knew nothing, should not buy manures without an analysis of their value. Fortunately, they had such gentlemen as Mr Gray and Professor Bickerton, who would prevent them from being taken in. He (Mr Grigg) thought that they, as an Association, ought to have lectures such as that given by Mr Gray that evening. He begged to move—" That a hearty vote of thanks be given to Mr Gray for his able and interesting lecture, and that the paper be printed in the Country Journal." Hon. J. T. Peacock seconded the motion, and trusted that lectures such as that of Mr Gray's would form a part of the proceedings of their meetings. Mr Gray had let them into some of the secrete of the trade, and now he hoped that farmers would not be taken in so much as they had been in the past. The vote of thanks was then carried unanimously amid applause. Mr Gray thanked the members for their kindly vote, and said his services were always at the command of the Association.

The election of officers was then proceeded with, and the result was as follows:—President. Sir John Hall; Vice President, Mr S. Garforth; Hon. Treasurer, MrD. Craig; Auditors, Messrs C.G, Aikman and F. Waymouth; General Committee, Messrs H. P. Murray-Aynsley, J. Anderson, junr., W. Boag, P. Canningham, P. Duncan, J. Deann, J. T. Ford, J. Grigg, Joseph Gould, W. Henderson, Geo. King, J. Mcßeath, D. McMillan, A." W. Money, J. T. Matson, W. Norman, H. Overton, J. W. Overton, A. E. Q. Rhodes. E. G. Staveley, and J. Wilkin. Sir John Hall said that he had been nominated without his consent, and as he was the only candidate, he had been elected without his consent; also, he had already served the office of President, and there were many other gentlemen who should have been elected. However, on the understanding - that the {Committee would allow him to retire when they had selected another gentleman to act as their President, he would accept it. Mr P. Cunningham hoped that Sir John Hall would not retire from the Presidency during the year, but that he would hold it during the entire year. He, for one, could not but think that it was a great mistake that the Committee should elect the President over hundreds of members.

Mr s. Garforth thanked the members for the honor done him by electing him as Vice-President. --*•-. .

Twenty-four new members were elected on the ballot. .

The President mentioned that 131 new members had been elected during the year, and he trusted that this would Dβ an Incentive for 500 to be added next year. Mr Acton-Adams moved *< That it be an instruction to the Committee to classify, the entries at future ram fairs according to age and breed." He thought that this would be a very good thing to do, and would tend to make the fair far more inte-' resting. Mr Nbavb seconded the motion. Mr Grigg suggested that the motion should be put in the form of a recommendation to the Committee to consider the matter prior to the next ram fair. Mr Henderson said that at first the Committee had classified the sheep, bat the auctioneers had objected. Mr Adams would only be too glad to accept this suggestion. < The resolution, as amended in accordance with Mr Grigg's suggestion,', was carried. .

Mr Lewin moved—" That a vote of thanks be accorded to Mr George Kjngfor the zealous efforts made by him in getting new members for the Association." He understood that Mr King had got no less than 160 or 170 new members. Mr C. Amos seconded the motion. Mr Geo. Kino deprecated any vote of thanks being passed, though he was very much obliged to Mr Lewin. It would be invidious as compared with other members of the Association.

w Mr Lewin, under these circumstances, would withdraw the motion.

Mr Gbigo moved—"That a sam not exceeding £4000 be voted for carrying on the work of the Association daring the ensuing year." .Mr P. Cunningham seconded ~ the motion, which was carried.. , , ; A hearty vote of thanks waa accorded to Mr J. Ferguson, the retiring President, for the able manner iv which he had carried on the work of the Association- daring the past year, , on the motion of Hon. J. T. Peacock, seconded by Sir John Hall, both gentlemen speaking in the highest possible terms of the work done by Mr Ferguson daring his term of office as President. Votes of* thanks were alao carried to the Vice-President and all the others officers of the Association. MrC. Amtbs offered a prize of £10 10s for the next show.