AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14564, 15 January 1913, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE.

A LIVE STOCK EXPERT'S

OPINIONS.

Mr R. H., Harrowell, who is in charge of the live stock .side ot the 'Pastoralists' Review" is on his annual visit-to New Zealand at present. This year he is devoting the most of his efforts to enquiries as to C'orriedale slu-t>p ami Clydesdale norses.

wicn regard to the horses, ho told a "Provs" reporter yesterday some 01 our production figure as tiie best o.er there. if one analyses tne resm.s of tho. last Sydney iioyal Agiiculu.i.u iSiiow. oho will oeab.e to remise t-.ie position tiie New Zealand-bred' noises havo obtained. While here ho wi;i endeavour to ascertain the popular opinion as to the. typi_'of'l_'ly„e_ialo'; whether it lie in 'ta.our'oi tne new type— a lighter, oleaner-.rgged horse t_u_ is the older type. The tooling in Australia is lor i.n< oreeamg ot a iarm norse of the newer type, out it imisi Oe or _,ood'hard bone. Also . lucre is a'growing objection'to somuch, white v «oout tho lots. In some of tiie country districts tne wnite leg hair is attacked and eaten otl by a blight, popularly callo<l art "aphis." The,extent.of this trouble and us exact nature has not yet been definitely ascertained. He tcferred to the matter, as it was to bo noted that a lot ol ttnefy-lired horses ot the new stamp showed -much white. Another matter wnich New Zealand breeders, who thought of the Australian market, should consider was that hies were very bad in many districts' and had reduced horses and stocK to j <--;. condition, though lood was. plenti.,i:. Trio horso with the docked' tail Was at. great disadvantage, for, as all whi nave noticed tho horses work in pairs head and tail, keeping hies oti. 'mo stumpy-tailed horse gets no mate. One farmer, a representative man. had declared to him that he would never again buy a docked-tail horse. The matter was ono to be considered, as that style of disfigurement' was popular in the Dominion.

J'he trouble in Australia over the supply of agricultural labour is acute. It is difficult to get men at the critical time—harvest time—spreading altogether from November to January, and the consequence is that a good deal of land over there which is now ploughed for wheat does not get the treatment it should owing to the.dimctiity of getting labour for fallow ploughing, winch has been found on„of.trie gifatbtt.safeguards against ciought Times. Yet at the same time the plough had putcrops tor ever on lands which in ti.nes past produced the hne merino clips which nelped to make Australia famous as a wool-producing country. The crossbred sheep are increasing, too. Manufacturers are complaining of the decrease in super-fine merino wool in Australia. The fact-is that the merino has had to give way before the advance of closer settlement, and more intense methods of farming. - Over large areas o[ Queensland. South Anstra.ia. ami New South 'Wales, a robust tvoe of wool is needed to withstand. the" hot, dry cl.mate. The consequence is that the majority'of ram-breeders are devoting themselves to sheep growing a good strong staple. New South Wales and Victoria show decrease in the hcautifu'> fine wool flecks, and Tasmania :s still well stocked with that class of merino. Closer settlement had brought a demand for quicker maturing sheep. Experimenters are busy with the Corriedale, Camlale, Ideal, . and half bred. The Corriedale. in particular, is becoming well known, and at the same timo the necessity is becoming apparent for its exact breeding to be understood. A movement is on foot, and is progressing, for it to be given a definite place in the Victorian register.

. Asked as to immigration. Mr Hnrrowell said that the great difficulty was to know where the immigrants went. Certainly on a number of farms and stations One. might hear the dialects of English provinces, but the general opinion was that the bulk of them stayed in the towns. If so. they had been improperly recruited from* the cities. As.Now South Wales had got a good stream of immigration running, the Government issued orders to stop the tide for the present. As a matter of fact, the public funds were very low, and there was great difficulty in raising loans, whether for public or private purposes. This had brought a very necessary pause in the reckless expendi. ture which had been going on.