FARM and STATION

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20274, 27 June 1931, Page 24

FARM and STATION

ADDINGTON MARKET. I

WEDNESDAY'S SALE. As all of the freezing works in the district "will be closing by July Ist, Wednesday's sale at Addington repre--1 sented practically the final local auction of the season for export buyers. Unfortunately, the lamb market eased a fraction during the week—by an eighth of a penny (to 6d a lb) on first grades and by a halfpenny on seconds. The very rapid advance in the last six weeks made the recession a possibility, and the duller market at Home this last week or more made it a certainty. Nevertheless, to finish up the season with the bulk of lambs averaging from 5Jd to 6d a lb is satisfactory after the drab prices of three or four months ago. It is interesting to note that when the season concluded last year, the schedule for export was to 7Jd, there being an advance of a halfpenny in the last few weeks. Last season opened strongly at B|d and* declined slowly to 7d in May. -The subse quent disposals at Home showed' that these prices were on too high a level, and exporters had to face rather substantial losses. The trend of the market this season has enabled them to make a fair measure of recovery—so far, at all events. There will be fairly substantial quantities of lamb arriving in England in July, and this may be the main factor in tlie weaker demand there at the moment. The season, from a fattening point of view, has been an exceptionally good one, and very, satisfactory" weights have been coming forward. Approximately about threequarters of a million more lambs will bo exported this season from the Dominion than last year, and in this increase the South Island will be represented by a full proportion. With general products so low in price and so hard to dispose of, the fat lamb outlet has been a godsehd to farmers. A comparison of values at Wednesday's sale and that for the corresponding sale last season is as follows: —

It was expected that mutton would ease in sympathy with lamb. It did so ia the ewe section, but the reverse was ihe case with wethers. There apparently is a good demand for twotooths at Home, as the schedule for 48's has been improved to 4d a lb, and for 49-56's to 3|d. At the close of last season the respective prices were 43 d and 4|d, the best prices of the season being 6d and s|d, which ruled from the opening down to the beginning of March. The sale for wethers on nesday was sound, but not so spirited as at the sales immediately preceding. Ewes at the close oflast season's ex-, port period were 2Jd.for 48's and 2§d for 49-56's, as against 2§d and 2fd this season. As ewes were scarcely saleable

By "Straggler."

afc tlio commencement of this season, the latter prices are very acceptable. Fortunately the good feed has enabled farmers to carry sheep along to the better times -without them going back.

Fat cattle are maintaining recent levels with the utmost difficulty. As a matter of fact, it is only the primest quality that is doing this. Secondary cows and heifers on Wednesday wero at the lowest values for years, and their disposal was extremely difficult. Just on 60 steers came from the North Island, and as they were nearly all good weights they supplied a fair proportion of the market. The prices they realised would not leave much margin for shippers, but the probabilities are that the margin, whatever it was, will be ttaned into a definite debit by the consignments on the water during the midweek storm. It will be rather remarkable if casualties pre not heavy. North Island cattle at the moment are destroying the Canterbury fatteners' market, and are likely to continue to do so for some time. Our North Island friends might remember this when they develop hysteria over the wheat and flour duties. Comparisons of values last year and this are: —

There were too few store sheep forward to provide much idea of values, as only a few pens were sold, and these to a circle of l?uyers that could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Tlie Fields Instructor at Hastings reports the case oi a Pakipaki farmer who successfully harvested two crops off a 26-acre paddock between October and January during the past season The area was sown down in the autumn of 1930 with two bushels of certified perennial rye-grass and one bushel of barley per acre. It was consistently grazed from July until October, when the paddock was shut up, top-dressed with 2cwt of ammoniated super and 10 cwt of lime per acre, and irrigated. A splendid growth resulted,' which was cut for ensilage, commencing on November 20th. The crop yielded approximately 175 tons of silage. The paddock was immediately, top-dressed with lcwt of ammoniated super, irrigated afresh, and closed up for seed about the beginning of December. The crop was cut towards the end of January, s the seed stapked, and a yield of 90 sacks of seed obtained. The aftermath came away well;_ and in February was .carrying over eighty dairy cows, day grazing. , ! . ■ > .

L. ; j I GRASSLAND FARMING. I

£2O PRIZE FOB ESSAY. A few months ago at a meeting of Workers, from the staffs of the mam in- i stitntions giving attention 'to grass I farming' advancement a special com- ' jnittee was appointed to explore ways of bringing about greater co-ordination and co-operation in efiorts to bring about the discovery and dissemination of the facts governing grass farming efficiency. Recently at a meeting of this' special committee one of its members, Mr R. P. Connell, of the Department of Agriculture, Palmerston North, who is acting as secretary of the committee, reported that an anonymous - donor had offered a prize of £2O for an essay, on "The Scope of' Grassland Work, both Field Work and Research Work, in New Zealand, and the Possible Methods of Co-operation among Grassland Workers." The subject, of the essay was prescribed by the donor of the prize. A condition of the competition is the right of publication by the committee of Winning or other essays. The special committee, in accepting the ofier of the prize, fixed July 25th as the final date for the receipt of competing essays. The competition is open to all. The length of the essay is limited to 10,000. words. ■ In publicity now current the attention of farmers is being drawn to the desirability of using Bran as a stock food at the present time, also to the ' availability of supplies at low prices.^ BBHHHHBHBraH

RUKAL BIDES.

A USEFUL RAIN. (By 11.A.M.) i\o. XXXIX. The rainfall of mid-week overtook all arrears. In the two days during which the storm continued over Sin of rain fell in the City, and this about represented the downpour in most of the country districts. For the month of June just on 3}in have been recorded in the City, making the total for the year to date nearly 9 Jin, within an inch of the precipitation for the corresponding period last season. Though bitterly cold and extremoly hard on Btock the rain will be most use ful. The sub-soil was very dry, and the birds were busily at work in scratching up newly sown seed. The iain will give the seed n hold and stop tho •istivities of the feathered _ tribe. Stock had a rather strenuous couple of daya. but it was the best part of tho year for them to withstand, a bad burst — no lambing or shearing. If the front ranges are to be taken as a guide the back country will be carrying a heavy blanket of snow. Mts. Somers, Alford, Hutt, and Torlesse arcclothed down to the bottom, and from the Plains they present a great sight. There were a few heavy snows prior to that of this week, but the weather has been mild enough to clear them away, with little more than a temporary hardship on stock. Tho . cause of losses in high country flocks is the succession of snows, and the continuous hard frosts, which prevent a thawing. The condition of the front hills suggests that there will be a recurrence of frosts on the Plains, of which wo haVe already had a good supply this year. The rain on the heavy land, notably in such areas as the Halswell district has made it temporarily unworkable. A few turned over fields to bo seen yesterday- were little better than a quagmire. On the light land through towards Rolleston the country previously was very dry, and the rain has brightened np crops markedly. Though one the coldest-and wildest weather bursts for a good many years, the visitation will do more good than harm. Dairy Cattle Feed. One pleasing feature of dairying this last few years is the much better provision made for winter dairy herds. Cows rugged and with straw and hay carted out to the paddocks, are now the general experience in districts sucb as Halswell, where dairying is a main activity. Extensive mangel pits are to be seen on most ef the farms, and on the whole the provision appears to be ample. A decade or so ago a dairyman visitor from another district would be startled by the poor provision made in many districts for herd 3, both in milk for town supply, and those -out of profit. Frosted Potatoes. A grower of potatoes in the Templeton district mentioned to the writer yes-

terday' that the trade seemed to be unaware of the damage, done to cro{>s by the succession of severe frosts prior to this week's rain. If the merchants did know, he averred, potatoes at 30s a ton w.ould not go begging for a market. Ordinarily froßts do no harm—aa a matter of fact, arc essential to ripen off the crop—but the difference this season is that the soil has been abnormally dry, and on the lighter and loamier land a proportion of the potatoes are frosted. Whether the effect will be sufficient in the aggregate to curtail the supply to any appreciable extent is doubtful. Probably it will not, but nevertheless growers with potatoes in the bag, lifted before the rain, and awaiting a market, should not send them forward without proper looking ovpr. Already some rejections have taken place at port, on account of the potatoes being frosted. With Such a heavy crop this year, and. with th'o collapse in prices, growers cannot expect much latitude from buyers who bought forward earlier in the season at practically double the present price. The Linseed Market. Enquiries amongst growers of linseed —of which crop over 90 per cent, of the Dominion's output is grown in Canterbury—point to many of them having received a rather unfortunate setback in the disposal of this ,year's crop. A good deal of it was grown on contract at a minimum price of £ls (for a special variety) and £l4 a ton, the matter of an increase being regulated by the parity of imported seed. However, the contract seed had to be delivered by the end of May and many growers have been unable to fulfil this condition. The current value for local seed is about £8 to £9 a ton on trucks, and sales have actually taken place at these, figures. The season this year was late, and it would appear that in future contracts growers should take the precau-. tion of making the delivery a month later.

AUSTRALIAN WHEAT YIELD.

LAST YEAR'S INCREASE. Now that the final estimate of the yield of wheat of Western Australia is available, a close approximation of the wheat production of the Commonwealth can be made. The yields of the four principal producing States are in marked contrast to those for 1929-30, as adverse weather conditions told severely upon the crops in that year, except in Western Australia, where output was greater than in 1928-29. Figures for Victoria show an increase of 28,401,782 bushels compared with 1929-30. Those for New South Wales disclose an increase of 31,863,000 bushels, of South Australia a gain of 11,526,433 bushels, while the yield of Western Australia is up 13,810,309 bushels. As the total production of the Commonwealth amounts to about 212,418,387 bushels, the aggregate yield represents an increase of 85,892,614 bushels on the 1929-30 crop. Seed and consuming requirements for the year are placed at 54;000,000 bushels,-and the carry-over from the previous season is estimated at roundly 12,000,000 bushels. This would leave approximately 170,000,000 bushels available for export. In the last few months liberal quantities of wheat have been shipped abroad, the weekly volume being very satisfactory. Id the early part of the season the wheat trade was considerably disorganised owing to Government interference, but as soon as the trade was freed of Ministerial meddling the export of wheat went ahead rapidly. To June 11th tlie Commonwealth hnd shipped wheat and flcur of the equivalent of 106,724,390 bushels of wheat. This was apart from any wheat and flour sent to New Zealand, but shipments there have been light. Yields of the several States comparo with those of the previous two seasons as under: — 1928-29. 1929-30. 18S0-31. Slates. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Victoria .. 4G,818,833 23,412,587 53,814,363 N.S.W. .. 49,257,000 83,9)8.000 65.811,000 South Aust. 26,82-,091 23,345,091 34,871.526 Weet A list. 33,790,040 39,081,183 52,891,492 Queensland 2,515,561 4,235,172 4,500,000 Tasmania .. 455,330 376,000- 500,000 Other .. 16,557 27,738 30,000 Total .. 159,079,421 120,425,773 212,418,387

ROOTS COMPETITION. MALVERN-COURTENAY. The award of tho judges—Messrs B. J. Low and F. Freeman —has been made in the roots and green feed competitions conducted by the Malvern and Courtenay A. and P. Associations. A description of the inspection of the crops appeared in The Press some weeks ago. The points are set out under various headings—weight of crop, quality, freedom from weeds, gross value (according to tho variety of crop), cost of rent, and net return per acre (after deducting rent on valuo of land). The table appended gives the awards, the weight of crops, and the net value. Swedes and mangolds are set down at 5s a ton, and white fleshed and mixed turnips at 3s a ton.

The green feed competition resulted in J. I). Henderson (Halkett) being awarded first prize, A. Hawkins second, and C. G. Jarman third. The details show several rather striking features. One is that a crop of white fleshed turnips, grown in Canterbury, should provide a' weight (estimated on a careful weighing)' of just on 60 tons to the acre. This is C." Jarman'a field at Greendale. A second feature is the return' of 67.46 tons of swedes on the farm of A. W. Adams, at Sheffield. Both of these crops were specially noted in the Press description at the time of the inspection. The past season admittedly has been 'an exceptional one for turnip growth, but even making allowance for this, the net return per acre, shown in the final column of the table, emphasises the capacity of most of the farms in the Malvern district to grow turnips successfully.

The assistance giten by the State to settlers in Canada was referred to by, the Rev. Angus Mac Donald, in a lecture at Auckland the other day. Mr Mac Donald said each boy, or girl, in Canada, on attaining tile age of 18 years, could apply for a homestead, a section of land comprising 160 acres. The settler must live on his farm for at least six months in the year, erect a house not smaller than 14 feet by 16 feet, and a stable to hold two horses and cow. He must also plough 15 acres each year for three years, and at the end of that time, if the homestead inspector is satisfied - with tho improvements the settler receives a deed for his land and becomes a private land owner. Tn districts where land is plentiful a settler can often obtain the free use of the section adjoining his farm. At the end of three years' tenancy the settler commences to pay the Government for the extra land at_ the rate of 12s 3d an acre, and he is allowed 12 year*; in which o complete the purchase. This arrangement enables entire families to take up blocks of land in the same district and to help one another with cropping and reaping.

The idea of a fountain pen goes a very long way back, and no one can be considered its inventor. Certainly a crudo fountain pen was in use in England in the seventeenth century, hut antiquarians go back a good deal further than that in their history. It is claimed that the idea , w*as'Chinese —they were the inventors of fountain pens were in use in China hundreds of years before the Christian era began. , .

Wethers — Kx. prime , — to 33 — to 25 Prime . 26 to 28i 17 to 191 Medium . 22 to 25h 14 to 16i Lighti . 16 to 21 11 to 13h Ewes— 153 Ex. prime . — to 25 — to Prime . 19 to 22 5 12 6 to 14J Ordinary . 14 J to 18 9J to 12 Light . 12 to 14 7J. to 94 Aged 9 to 11 5J to 7

£ £ £ £ SteersEx. prime heavy — to 22 — to 15 Prime heavy .. 143 to 17J 10 to 12} Prime medium weight 11 to 141 71 to 91 Med. quality ,. 84 to 10i 53 to 7 Light 6 to 8 — to 5 Heifers — Ex. prime .. — to 16 — . to 11 Prime .. 9 to 121 ' 6 to 7S Medium ... 6J to 81 31 to 53 Light •. 5 to 61 — tto 3J Cowsiii Ex. prime .. — to 15 J — to Prime .. 86 to 12 51 to 7i Medium .. 6 to 81 81 to 5 Light 41 to 51 — to 3

June 25, June 24, 1930. 1831. Ex. prime s. to K. 31 ». to 23J Prime I 26 J to 28 18} to 20 Medium . 22 to 25 16 to 18 Light . 18 to 21 121 to 15} Store . 141 to 17 81 to 12

Swedes. Netl Tbns Beturns &. B. d. 1 A. W. Adams .. 67.4G 14 5 7 2 W. Stone .. 64.35 13 10 3 3 A... Clarke .. 41.18 8 18 10 A. W. Adams .. 39.41 7 9 0 Mangolds. 1 W. Stone .. 57.71 11 15 0 2 E. E. Hawko .. 50.875 9 10 4 3 A. W. Adams .. 50.78 9 7 4 A. Hawkins . .. 36.13 5 10 7 WMto rieslied Turnips. 1.0. Jannan .. 59.88 7 2 1 2 A. A. Wright .. 53.31 6 6 3 3 S. 8. Ounn .. 50.16 5 17 8 J. E. Cullen .. 39.16 5 0 8 W. Watson .. 37.65 3 19 W. A. Hawko .. 35.75 4: 3 4 W. Beans 22.11 2 5 4 T. Pascoe .. 17.18 1 13 2 * . ' Mixed Turnips. 1 W. Austin .. 40.3 4 7 2 2 T. Innes . ., 38.15 3 15 6 3 IJ. I. Wright .. 33.86 3 10 7 G. Giddings .. 33.1 3 2 6 L. I. Wright .. 29.05 2 18 7