FLOCK RAM FAIR

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23587, 14 March 1942, Page 4

FLOCK RAM FAIR

ENTRIES FOR NEXT WEEK REDUCTION IN SOUTHDOWNS The following is the number of entries received for the flock ram fair of the Canterbury A. and P. Association. which is io be held on Thursday and Friday next on the showgrounds. Owing fo the showgrounds being occupied by the Army, traffic to the grounds will enter by the Whiteleigh avenue gate. For comparison, the 1941 figures are also given. Thursday—“A” Sale

HEAVY CROPS RECORD OATS YIELD REPORTED Some record yields are reported from different parts of the province. Wheat has frequently threshed up to 75 bushels and there have been odd cases of 85 to 92 bushels. Oats have yielded more than 90 bushels, one at Lincoln College failing by a mere two bushels to reach the century, and one is reported from the Harewood district of 138 bushels an acre. A measurement of the area in such case would be useful for record purposes, as it is doubtful if there has been a return approaching this figure, at all events in New -Zealand. In any case a substantial acreage difference would still leave it a record. On the Edendale estate a number of years ago crops of from 100 to 113 bushels were harvested, but nothing approaching the Harewood figure. A habit grows up on the average farm of referring to a paddock of 10 or 20 acres, but a measurement frequently reveals a discrepancy. The exceptionally high wheat yields have to be taken with those on the other end to arrive at an approximate idea of the crop as a whole. One man told the writer this week that his one paddock of wheat threshed 15 bushels. The average wheat yield, however, will be an excellent one, Peas are producing some very heavy yields, one from the Ellesmere district being reported at 92 bushels an acre. No crop responded better to the rains than the peas, but there has been more difficulty in harvesting them on account of the excessive growth. Sixty and 65 bushel yields are commonly reP °Earlv potato digging supports predictions of good crops in most parts of the district. A Harewood grower lifted 22 tons of table potatoes from one acre. He had to scythe the tops to get “a fair go at the spuds.” HYDATID DISEASE CANTERBURY’S UNPLEASANT REPUTATION "Whatever the reason may be, the province of Canterbury has been for years notorious for the prevalence of hydatid disease, not only in farm animals but in human beings also. It is doubtful whether any part of the world, even Argentina or Uruguay, which are known as hotbeds of hydatid infection, can show a worse record. In these terms, Sir Louis Barnett, chairman of the Hydatid Committee, endorses the views recently expressed by Mr E. E. Elphick, Superintendent of the Livestock Division of the Department of Agriculture at Christchuich, who emphasised his concern at the frequency of hydatid infection in Canterbury. , . . Sir Louis Barnett, m an interview, said it was generally known that hydatid cysts were common among farm animals in all parts of New Zealand, but Canterbury appeared to be far worse in this respect than any other district. “It is of course easy, but it may be unjust, to say that the Canterbury farmers are more neglectful than those in other parts of the Dominion in carrying out the two main preventive precautions that have been so consistently advocated,” said Sir Louis. "I refer to the regular dosing of dogs with efficient and reasonably safe , worm medicine, such as arecoline, and the withholding of raw offal (liver and lungs) of sheep as food for dogs.” As further evidence of the special prevalence of hydatid infection in the Canterbury district, Sir Louis Barnett quoted the following comparative tallies for recent years of the admission of patients suffering from hydatid disease to the four main base hospitals: WelAuck- ling- Dunland. ton. edin. Chch. 3 Years ending 1940 20 25 25 69 3 Years ending 1937 14 24 27 84 Total for 6 years 34 49 52 153 WEIGHT OF WHEAT SACKS WARNING TO GROWERS Wheatgrowers are urgently advised to take every precaution against putting more than 2901b of wheat in their wheat sacks. The regulations in the matter of weight fix the maximum at 2031b gross, Including sacks. Where this regulation is infringed the penalty may be the rejection of the truck at the wharf by the watersiders and its return to the sheds. At a time like the present acts of carelessness like this may seriously delay the handling and dispatch of the grain to its destination.

1941. 1942. Southdown 2650 1880 "B" Sale Shropshire .. 34 20 Border Leicester 266 260 Ryeland 125 148 English Leicester .. 696 808 Southdown-Suffolk .. 62 65 Suffolk 7 9 Dorset Horn 4 12 Friday—“A” Sale Corriedale 910 1024 "B” Sale Romney Marsh 1150 ~ 762 Lincoln 7 1 Merino — 3 Halfbred .. .. 127 231 6038 5223