THE COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15498, 27 January 1916, Page 10

THE COUNTRY.

! NEWS AND NOTES. JOTTINGS FOR FARMERS. A mcsjage from Timaru says there was a in the weather last night, and rain set in, with every promise of continuing. A fairly big and very prime line of fat lambs came down from Methven oil Tuesday morning, and was put off at the Islington freezing works. Quite recently a much bigger line was ser.t down from the Methven. district, and by the time the train reached l.auristou there were 5(5 trucks of fat stock on. This helps to show that whiie stock owners lower down on the plains are hard put tp it to feed their stock, the Methven district has been specially favoured, and though feed cannot bo said to be abundant, there has not been, up to the present," any serious shortage. Fat stock of all kinds arc bringing much higher prices in Adelaide than they are in New Zealand, even allow- | ing that the sheep in iSouth Australia j were earlier shorn than here. Prime beef, according to "Elder's Weekly Review." of January 12th, was estimated to reaiiso 45s to 55s per IGOlb. and a few exceptionally choice lots ov.ui higher. Prime merino wethers made 29s to 35s Od, and useful to good 23s to 23s 6d, prime crossbred wethers 33s to 355, and odd pens higher, good 28s to 2ils 6d, prime crossbred ewes 27s to 31s. others 24s 6d to 2<3s 6d; prime crossbred lambs, off shears. 25s to 3ls, useful to good 21s •to 255; good to i prime veal calves 53 s to 80s, yearlings to £5 .10s. Bacoriers £'4 3s to_ £6, porkers 50s to £3 14s, choppers £'" 10., to £12, and stores at proportional rates. A sheep-race of novel and ingenious pattern, the conception of Mr Duncan Sutherland, has been successfully installed at Omarama, North Otago. One side of the race carries vertical 3in rollers at short intervals, and the other is adjustable, so that the width of the race may be altered to suit circumstances. The race narrows gradually from the entrance to the exit, where are the familiar three-way gates, and the advantage of the whole arrangement is that two sheep cannot jam at the wide end. because the sheen on the roller side always has the advantage of the other,. The more the sheep on the plain side pushes, the more the rollers help his competitor to keep ahead, and eventually to show him his tail. Sheep cannot damage each other in the race by crushing. The adjustable width permits of tlie advantages of the race being utilised whatever size of sheep is being handled. The othcj- day a Ilobart citizen received from Sydney a small sample packet of an American chicken food. On opening it he found it alive with a tiny little dark-brown beetle. This was submitted to the Tasmanian Government Microbiologist (Mr H. M. Xicholls), who identified the insect as the most destructive of the flowerbeetles, a creature known to science as Tribolium confusum. If this becomes established in houses it is i liable to become a great pest. It will | cat anything from red pepper and snuff | upwards or downwards, and if it gets | into a bag of flour or anvthir.g of "the j kind it soon spoils it, for it gives it a very unpleasant taste and odour. At present it is not. apparently, known [in Tasmania, and it is to be hoped it

tyui not get esiaonsneu ncrc. Uns was not the only pest in this particular packet (says the Hobart ''Mercury"), lor nearly all the contents wore swatlicrl together with the webs of one o£-the. grain moths, probablv tlio ZNTorliterranean flower moth. Mr ' Xicholls remarked that he had seen some of the flower-beetle?, though not Triboliuni conlusurn. in packets of prepared cereal foods front America. Anyone who noticed any of these little insects in a packet would do well to burn the lot, for the food was not. likely to be any good, while it would be a very serious matter . for householders, grocers, and millers if the beetles in question became established. HAXMEIt • SPRINGS. On Tuesday, Mr and Mrs W. J. Thomas, of Clarcnce House, gave a social evening to their many friends, to enable tbeni to soy farewell to their son, Corporal James Henry Thomas, who is leaving with the 10th Reinforcements. Corporal Thomas saw nine months' service with the Samoan Expeditionary Force. Quite a. number of the soldiers from the "Red Cross -Hospital, were present. Music and- games helped to pass a very pleasant evening. JSongs were given by Mrs Ashton, Misses Thomas (2). Miss Stewart, and Private .March; instrumental selections by Mi':-. Dodds. Misses Tracy, "Watson, Ronnell, and Mr Christen son, and a recitation by Master Lewis Moar. Private March and Mr Murray, on behalf of those present, wished Corporal Thomas every success, and a safe return. DARFISTLD. Ihe hot -weather of the past ten days has ripened crops very rapidly, arid farmers have been forced to make strenuous efforts in order to keep pace with the -work. "Dawn till dark" has been the rule, but even then the grain ripened in many cases more quickly than it could be cut. Fortunately, comparatively little wind was experienced until yesterday, when a strong nor'-wester biew all day. Conditions have been excellent for getting the crops harvested' in good order. The quantity of binder-twine required has been much greater than was anticipated. This, however; is not regarded as indicating a larger yield, but rather as being due t'o the/short straw and tho bulky "flag."' Not much threshing has yet been finished. Great interest attaches to the machine tallies, owing to -the -difficulty of accurately assessing the damage caused by frost, which has made growers chary of relying on estimates. Many old residents now attribute unaccoultable failures in the crops of past yestrs to frost, -which at the time was not recognised as the cause of the trouble. Mr A. L. Holmes last week threshed -10 acres of oafs, which he estimated to realise a bare 30 bushels ner acre. The actual figures were a little over 38 bushels per acre. The same paddock, under the same kind of seed last year, yielded an average of only 34 bushcis. This return i> somewhat puzzling, in view of the smaller rainfall this year. Possibly it is duo to the fact t.hat the ground was in better order after two season's tillage, enabling it to make full use of the light snowers. which were rapidly dissipated on "soil ies;s thoroughly worked.