EDITORIAL FARM NOTES.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9024, 9 February 1895, Page 10

EDITORIAL FARM NOTES.

"Weekly Press." THE SEASON.

'*ne bljtn winds experienced lest week nave not been so disastrous a* might have been expected from the fury of the blast. Exposed orchards have suffered Yety severely, In come caeee two third* of the crops have been blown off. Walnuts, which Usually escape, have suffered considerably. The value of shelter belts has been forcibly Illustrated during the gale referred to. We have aeen orchards which are protected by shelter trees which have suffered very little damage. The experiences of last week shouli determine all who wish to grow fruit upon planting shelter belts. THB GRAIN. Owing to the wind coming from the loutb-we-fc, which Is always a cold wind Charged more or leas with moisture, the damage to grain from shelling has not been very serious. A considerable amount of damage baa been done, however, to the ■tending crops, which have been very much laid, but the gale has passed off Without any great quantity of rain. THE QUALITY Of the grain is reported to be excellent, well filled, aud weighing well. All that is now required la a week or two of fine weather, when • satisfactory harvest will have been gathered in. We wish we could see some prospect of better prices. THE TURNIP CHOP has suffered somewhat in exposed situations, being swept by the winds, otherWise the proapecta are above the average. THE DAIRY. Beporte from the Home markets are not ▼cry encouraging owing to heavy stocks, and an unusually mild winter in England and on the < Continent. Still, a close observer will notice that ptices for a firstclass article are atill remunerative. Factories, however, which do not turn out batter of first; quality have a very poor proapect before them. CROPS IN THK MANAWATU. An esteemed correspondent in this district writes us:—"ln midst of harvest terrible wind yesterday, but not much damage done. The crops here are heavy for wheat and medium for oats. The Mart on %nd surrounding districts have belter crops than ever J have known. Some wheat above Marton on Mr Beard s farm will run over forty, and on Sir William Fox's old property the wheat is the best that has been known. The oats, too, are better, I think, than I have before aeen them. ' Farmers in this district are farming on more scientific principles, and are reaping the advantage. In the Sandon district the crops are medium, but I think will thresh out well. They are much earlier than usual. The turnips are promising to be a good crop, especially in the Carnarvon district, and the rape, which baa been a auccesa, has already been fed ofl once and sometimes twice." COLONIAL BRANDS. A conference of Intercolonial Stock Inspectors was recently held In Brisbane, when ife waa decided to adopt methods by which the stock bred in the different colonies could be distinguished. It was decided by resolution that the stock bred, In the different colonies bhall be Indicated by dote placed at not less tban lin nor more than Hln from the brands Iα the following positions :—From Queensland, at the. top of left aide brand; from New \ South Wales, on top of right side brand ; from Victoria, at bottom of left aide brand and from South Australia at bottom of fight side brand. , * The adoption of some each method of branding might be found applicable to New Zealand, at least In those districts where cattle stealing is sometimes prevalent. . SHIPPING RABBITS TO LONDON. • ' Over 40,000 rabbits sent to the refrigera- > iory works of the Vletorian Agricultural '' Department for shipment to London. It Iβ strange that no steps appear to have been taken In tbla direction In New Zea- '), . land, though a large number of hares have r bean, febipped with good results. . . THBBBAPBB AND BINDER TRIAL < feeld under the auspices of the Otago A. tad P. Association has not, according to »V the Taieri Advocate, proved a success. It was expected that the M'Cormack, Buckeye, Hornsby, and the Adriance, W. A. *' Wood, and Masssy Harris would all have competed. However, there were only two makers represented, the Maasey Harris sad the Walter A. Wood. The Massey Harris was awarded first and tne Walter A. Wood second. It was contended that the trial was hardly a fair one, as the -:' Winning machine was driven by an expert , , While the latter was in charge of an ordinary farm hand, but as. this was '\ optional there should be no grounds for ■1 complaint. The failure of thia trial con- ,;' firms us In the, opinion that the day o I '..°-.. trials for these machines has passed. . Farmers have long since come to their own f■', conclusions. In fact, each machine has :' Its own advocates. The man who uses the ITCormack la loudest In Its praise, and M on with each and all of the other machines, each having Its points of excel- :, lence. ' THB HOBART FRUIT CONFERENCE. We learn from Mr Blackmore, one of the Government experts, that It is the intention of the Agricultural. Department to ■end two experts to attend the Fruit Conference, which Iβ to be held In Tas- . - Mania In April next In conjunction with the exhibition now being held In Hobart. cV conference of experts from the various solonles should be productive of much ' good, bnt we trust that a suitable exhibit of the fruit products ef the colony will be sent, which will thoroughly illustrate the ' . suitability of New Zealand for the grow- . Ing of all fruits suitable to subtropical and temperate regions. By this means persons might be Induced to settle In the colony '~ . -with a -view to developing more folly onr capabilities for fruit growing. icmoit products or the farm. Iβ a recent issue we pointed ont that <mr fanners would have to face the new order of things by adapting their system of farming to the changed conditions. Wβ are folly persuaded that so far as New Zealand te concerned tbe collapse of grain growing as a profitable Investment is not em unmixed evil, for had it continued profitable to grow grain for sale our wheat growing lande would have become so exhausted and fouled with weeds as to become utterly unproductive. Especially aloes this refer to small farms where little or no system wan carried out. Under tbe new order of things the manufacture of grain Into mutton, pork, dairy produce and poultry, &c, will be found more profitable, and tbe land will be kept in good feeart, tndeea improving In condition. XKW TABWTT O» WHEAT— ,, EARLIEST OF ALL." We have before na a sample In the ear Ot this new wheat, grown by Mr J. Studholme, jnn., of Coldstream, Hindu. It was sent ont by Messrs Carter and Co., ■ seedsmen, England, In 1883. As Its name ■-. indicates It Is a rapid grower; the sample before ns was sown in August last, and ' ■ was harvested on the 21st January; estimated yield, forty busheli per acre. The . heads are long and well filled, the straw is } said to be strong and noc too long, well ( ; calculated to withstand high winds. We fancy that thia wheat will take a prominent place among the variatlee grown in this colony. ■;,' THE FLOCK BOOK. This work Is progressing. Duplicate copies of all the entries have now been %>l Ctt warded to tbe various centres for g\V by tbe local coramUtces, who |g|,~ wilt carefully Inspect each entry, and U K< AMtsetrj Inspect the flocks.

A STRUGGLE FOR THS MARKET. Oar latest cablegrams inform us that the Danes are selling butter at any price for the purpose of ousting Australian butter for tbe English markets. It Is said that they arc making preparations for a long struggle. In consequence of this action there is a glut in the market, and recent shipments by the Oroya are being stored, a small portion of the cargo having, been sold at 91« per cwt. Some of tbe New Zealand butter landed in first-rate condition is realising 94* to 903. It 13 evident that our dairy farmers have a bard fight before them. Their only hope of victory is to make butter of the beat quality. WANTED, QUIET CATTLE. We recently expressed the opinion that if them was anything in live stock export trade, New Zealand would have a better chance of success than any of the larger colonies, where cattle are not so domesticated. Paddock-fed cattle will take more kindly to confinement and to their now diet. We have confirmation of this contention by the cable news from Melbourne to the effect that eight of the cattle shipped per s.«. Gulf of Bothnia have died, having refused to eat dry food, and others are expected to follow them. It is only natural to suppose that such would be the result of driving comparatively wild cattle on board ship without sufficient previous handling.