COUNTRY NEWS AND NOTES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13737, 19 May 1910, Page 9

COUNTRY NEWS AND NOTES.

-* JOTTINGS FOR FARMERS. Daring the past week a mob of '300 costs was taken from Clifton station, idawke's Hay. to the Taranaki district, where it ie itated they will be used in the destruction of weeds and undergrowth. The goats were of mixed tgis. and were just as easily managj<l Aβ a'flock of sheep, with the difference that on the road they travelled bette'.v Our fJrey mouth correspondent telegraph* '11l li ' c Agricultural Depart"•out- is liavin;; a thorough inspection of the West Coast made, with a view In the total eradication of noxious words, especially ragwort; and an officer'of the Department has been scut from Wellington especially to make the necessary provision to have it exterminated betoii! it sheds its seed. Considerable- expense Ls bciiri incurred by the Department to ensure the desired object. The threshing season in the Lincoln district is now "completed, and accordIng to the quantity oi .straw, the yields 'havo turned out , disappointing nitli few exceptions. Messrs Terry JJro«. threshed for .Mr ./. A. Henley a paddock of (Jarton ositw which yielded £1 buslicls per acre, and another paddock threshed out ">8 bushels per aero. The mill put through ■(000 bushels in i 22 hours, and for 10 hours there iverc only two men on the stack. This; was the best run ol the season. , Some time ngo, remarks the "North ' Queeneland Kegister," a Melbourne firm i of pipe manufacturers offered handsome | ■inducements to a Bowen farmer to grow | goitrds for the manufacture of calabash i pipes. Some of the KeLsev Creek far- I mei'j* procured seed and. planted same, j with the result that a promising crop j of gourds soon made their appearance. ' However, like all other valuable crops a pest has appeared on the sc.en-e- in the; shapo of the white cockatoo. These i birds hare played great havoc with the j crop, and the growers will be heavy Iceers. The prospects are tluit wheat ciilti- , ration in Southland will bo in big swing I lor iiext season's harvest (says the ••Southland Times"). As previously \ stated in these columns some fifteen or twenty years ago wheat was grown in ' v Southland to a much greater extent ■ ' tlian it ha.s been of late, but* one or ■ two lean harvests,, brought about by sever© frost*?, caused wheat-growing to decline, and tho area was given over to oats. Ex-Canterbury farmers ar© largely responsible for wheat crops regaining their popularity in Southland. Tliewi agriculturists have been drifting south, and they recognised that as Southland Jand gradually became better drained the'risk of frost affecting wheat was lessened, and they accordingly patronised the crop which in Canterbury they had been accustomed to. • Their enterprise has been well rewarded, find in every case the ex-Canterbury men nrako no secret of their satisfaction with their settlement in Southland. The men from the Xorth having piven the load, others ere now following their example, and expectations are • that wheat-sowing thia autumn and 7iext spring in Southland will be on an extensive scale. At Saturday's meeting,of the.Timaru A. and P. Association, Mr T. Teschemaker stoutly denied the assertion thit Lincoln College was a thorough,'success theoretically, but in no other respect. ,*lt hud, he said, been remarked by ' many that the practical farming work at Lincoln College was not of a beneficial nature to the students, and that ' the place was not conducted on paying lines. As a member of the Board of managers, he had made it his business ito find out tho year's results, and ho ]iod some facts to produce which spoke rather well for Lincoln College. 1e , thought his figures would prove* that t/m College showed very good practical -' .results. . One peddouk— No. 7 —of \twenty acres, yielded 46*1 bushels Bor- •" ?'dier wheat to the acre, which sold at 4s ''-•'O.l a bushel. Thje paddock's yield i-; ' was worth £U 6s an acre, and.the .total. ; - -profit of it was well over £5 over and i above . expenses. Another paddock —No.'O—had been worked with equally Rood results. This 'paddock yielded 52 bushels of Bordier wheat, "and the resultant profit was .£7 10s 2d per acra, ■whilst another wheat peddock brought ,in£3Cs Id p acre. The total acreage in wheat was 131, and the average yield 41 bushels. This was considered disapDointing, and there was, lie would . admit, no allowance for interest. Thor.? , were 102 acres in oats, and thqy work- ,, ed out at t>2 bushels to tile •acre. The j season, however, was considered an rstremcly disappointing one, and with this overy farmer in South Canterbtiry ; - would aprcc. Tbo College made a goed i nrofit. t<v>, out of the sale of atiraw. He /' tlid not think that any farmer could ;' say that tho College was worked on purely theoretical lines only, for it was worked on sound practical lines. Ex- ' pnnsee were fairly heavj r for lecturers ', '• in chemistry, etc. SCARGILL. •I At a meeting of householders on Monday evening .last the following were Ltl elected a school committee for the eni'M snitii» vcar:—SFcfisrs Jasper 'Stewart •I '(cbairman), J Ellison. A. J. Hn';iii, R. f M. Hollaml, and W. F. Pannett (secref tary). • Owing to the boundaries of tire -, - district not having been ' denned the i) - • meeting was not held on the usual date. f " OXFORD. '£ Milking herds are. looking splendid, I * and owners report that the yield has [ ' not fallen co imicJi as it generally doos - at -U\is time of year. As the worked- ': out bush areas -are improving in graz- , ; ing qualities, more fat stock is pro- ;• duced, and several nice lines of fat ;; bullocks have recently been railed to sj the Christehurch yards. Formerly the , : district produced: only enough for local oonsumption. i . RANGIORA, I A meeting of the North Canterbury ; Ploughing Match Committee was held ■ on Monday at Rangiora. there being a ffood attendance. Mr T. Wgllie was ; , eloctott chairman of the Jlatch Commit*fP* Programme of events similar to that of last year was approved. An extra class for coulter cut and cast R ?ares waa added. Tho committee d<v. ( .cided to make enquiries for a paddock Ij! for holding the match in abotit the end of July. The rules were aoKl ,} approved. lASHBURTON. : At a well attended meeting, held in ■ the Ashburton Baring square Church on Monday evening, it was unanimously \ resolved to invite Dr. J. L. Henry to i? condnct a united evengelistic mission in \ Aehbarton. £ Mr C. J. Harper, for many years g chairman of the Ashburton County i ® mentioned as a probable canj£ oidate for the seat rendered vacant by the Jeeignatioiv of Mr E. Gates. METHVEN. Fannors in the Methven district have lH>en rather unfortunate this sea- |" Ppß, as up to a couple of weeks ayo i they could get in the vicinity of 3s 6d ! ; per bushel for their wheat. Very little threshing had been don© then, ; , and now, when the threshing is almost comploted J thsy find that the bottom «as practically dropped out of." the j wheat market, and that the prices at ' ;,' pnwpnt offering for this cereal are only I" nominal. Several farmers who a few weeks ago were offered, and declined. 1 ';' 3s 5d per busher for wheat, find that '.r at present the best they can get for .( ti» same sample is 3s, and the addii- tional expense of storage and insurance ;' r haa been increased. Farmers are unV *ise in not accepting 3s 6d or there- ! -i' - aboutc for wheat, as holding on to it i; ou the off chance of getting more has 'ft very often i-esulted in serious loss.

This is. csp-cially applicable to v geason like the when large quantities of damaged grain are on the market end there is a limited demand.

i Owing to the advent of the dairy I ir.du.strv in the Methven and adjacent I snh-di-tric-3. tbe demand lor . good | cows or heifers of a suitable class is ex. | ceptionally keen, and prices have gone !up in .'onsequence. It is anticipated | that as the milking season dr-iws closer, j .say in July or August, prices will advance -till further. Even at the enhanced prices offering, farmers find some difhVultv in getting their wants supplied. Jerseys particularly are eagerly sought after.