GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 683, 7 December 1909, Page 10

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

h vjf Cliristclnirch wool sales on Thursday. | New iJealarid this season will probably ov wtt nnn. a .lialf jto.thrce-quarters.of a million lambs more lhan was the case last season. Last year wo exported just over three million ambs. Tho increaso in Australia will proI ably bo slight. . In Argentina the period of dry weather which so upset that conntry's h«d to bo iiaportod, will . ; . Jio ; doubt havp-affected",tho sheep and lambs' l causing a lapul supply for a period, followed, - iSf lla P J s >;'' 3 y'rajrodUce(f.'Outpnt. 'As far as can tie mado out, however, tho current expectation H ? in the world's total supply ef lamb this year, and this, coupled with the , looreritcpiryj : means smaller;prices. Nominally, forth Island lambs are now worth'about 1 ( J3. each, but tt is understood that very few have been, or are being, bought at that prico. It is estimated that tho two Wellington coin- ; panies havo exported ho- more than about .10,000 lambs at tho ninter late of freight Some ' 'v a J'Christmas time, tho pnees of forth .Island lambs mil .range: from 7s,' Cd. -p ??•> ilj®. foi;,"those of Canterbury from 9seiltiihato is made .in spite ''of .the' increasing values of tho skins. If this forecast should proye oven approximately right, it is - certainly fortunate that' the . prices of' wool aro satisfactory. It 19 anticipated that much larger numbers of old owes than usual will be - Bent.to- the-works tnis reason." • - . I ;IA French naturalist, assorts' that.if the world ! . . birdless, man could, not inhabit it after I .. tiDie, !,in .apito - of all-.spray? and wisons that manufactured for the do-:,,sttuchon-l!of ■•iiisects-r ...The insects , and ' slugs / ,JJ |U 'd simply,Ciit all;tlio.orchards and.crons in that time.a;,; f-5 s!^, % a t;,falitor ;:in praising .calves by hand giittat. they become very 'gentle' and confiding - ! iJW, ; W:aAy^importaht : item; ; esnecially' where. ; ; neiftirs are'kopt for milk-cows. The gentle and co,ahding cqw.Mtrluch isito bo handled for ten: ■t ee n years/; is 'looking "'.after,' v.'.-':''?? l ® Company won both first V,?!® 3 m the cheese section at the New Plymouth i; both classes; bat' -,i thjiiChees'es:,',werf!,'sent::by..mistake Aubk-' iatld. - ,i '' ;; „In Mr. J. T. IJowe, the fluiakama Dairy, factory, dircotors ;evidently sccured a bntter.nuiker of lexcoptional 'ability. : After securing , . 5,' ,pnze at .. Hawera, < ho . has won (at New .Caranaki ■ trophy,' taken second _place for Dairy/Companies' prize: and fourth place for the Lovell and Christmas ; :.;;Cu"p.:j,,7 4 -;:-..;;.',c;v''::!^.:;- :: The first lot of cheese from the Alton Dairy 1 , -Falitory -was ready: at,the eiid bf -last week for I removal to I'atea.' : • - A- correspondent .writes 'suggesting. that it | :■ wollld.be wise on ..the part of the Government ,: to;; have _ collections made of all tho Native juncaceao,, ;;cyperaccae, ; =and . gramineae, whenin'J,Bower,;: iuid-; ; sc&!of. them sent; to' the prinaj cipHl-.schools,' especially, m, tho rural 'districts, J:;«o. 'could, got''a: good knowledge of |the grasses, . etc., of' tho country, - and so •i gaiii : information' which would prove useful ' :to those .who intend to, go on to tho land. It . :13 for . practical work, lie'says, to wittcmpt to gam. a' ltnowlerlgo from photo-' • : graphs as;many of them : are difficult to identify,: even with dried specimens. , : '.Th«i;;mort;,imporbnt,genera'of;.the grasses'.are -:agrC'stis/i-'danthbiaia;. Jestrica; "poa, :',;.'trisetilffl, x triticum."i:The cyperaceae ,aro inoro ~ useful . for.icattle; and:are valuable.in the higher flat .country. .. , . At . ono time, not so long ago cither, there - wasiia very ;dividedropinion among Wairarapa ■: (farriiors as ;j.to', the'merits:\bf,'v the.' shearing madhino.'.^riiOt»fi'ohom ; >'regarding: it;'very- ■ coldly, = alleging - that •••it-shore;, the j sheop too • closely,;, rtfld- that:; the wool was affected 1 m . consjguence jth® .next- season'.; But:• sheafing: <iac)nnes. nre .coming* very -much into .favour

amongst farmers .in the Wairarapa. Several settlers in the' Masterton -district *, have : in-:; stalled machines, and * others intend to • follow'' suit. jiert.season. •_ V Wnting' to:.a' friend in 'Pahiatua,' Mr. W.' Norrell, who recently left to reside . at • Te Aroha,> states that a good dpal of' land was changing hands :at Te Aroha, buyers being, principally , from the South', Wairarapa; and Taranaki: He also; states thafin: the town of To Aroha, houses were: very hard to get.':' .. : The retrenchment at, the -Moumahaki State' Farm is :to form of threo .questions to the . Minister for .Agriculture '.to-mor-row, and,, although .the, natures of the.-replies' which will be given are not beyond-the bounds'; of correct'.surmise, .still their expression will .be.interretifig.-vSome of the Taranaki journals have devoted, considerable' space, to. tho matter, and. certain 'peouliar features - of 'this curious act/oi petty "retrenchment'have naturally; not. esoaped notice., ... .

While practically every patch of potatoes in and around • Otaki is badly affected with - blight (says tho ," Mail") it is noteworthy that about. ilanakau, WaikaVa, aiid Ohau thcro/ is - very little 'blight. There aro--many ; crops . there which -havo not: been . touched, and look remarkably well. \ The owners ■. of these-, crops are naturally keeping an. anxions eye on them. There is a general opinion: that potatoes will. be;>orth a lot-of money dnriiig tho noxt winter, and those who;: have a. good crop should do well out;of : them'.. Mr. .T. yv. Wood, of 'Levin/has purchased a farm «at Bunnythorpe; ' where -he intends ia} carry. on dairy .farming. Mr. Wood (says the, 'Foildmg Star") will bo an acquisition' v to*; the,- Methodist Church, and ho was. for i many; years a/ member of the school committee., On--Tuesday .evening,-Captain P. 0. Smith, on bji". half of the mombers of the Eifle Cliib, of which Mr. Wood- bad-held ;the post of: secretary; pre--tented him- 'tfith .a handsome .'silver-momited; salad dish,;'as a sraall token of'thnir- apprccia-' tion of the work he has done for the -club. Ho had resided in Levin for fourteen years. ; It is'stated that the Auckland A. and P. Association i? \th6: oldest in New : Zealand.'.The secrotary, Mr. Edwin Hall, is in possession of several ancient; records, including a report of the association • published .in 1811, before even Chnstchurch was founded. •.

: .It us . reported that Mr. W. Goidsby,: of Hawera (says the ."-Star ") was. unfortunate with the 'third contingent-.'of'- draught horses 1 ho f™ 1 ? .to the; Sydney market, losing' over <was - due. to the coal, strike having affected. interests.': The horses were of particularly good quality, and included hrst-jrize winners in'the show ring ; also sev•.,eral. bought at' from' j£3s to .£SO, In ; some inthe 'horses brought a few pounds'more .than Mr. , tfadsby. gave - for .them, but the heavy expenses. attached to;' convoying the .horses ,to the Sydney: market made the loss .general:' ;;.•":... ~.. A strawberry , grower on tho Frankton Road nas adopted -an ingenious- contrivance where, with to .combat, the small-bird nuisance (says I tho ; ">Wakatipu -Mail"). Ho'fias made a small /wooden wheel which ' is. attached to ■ a shaft ■and . by., moans': of .■ a j et,of. water continually 1 revolves. Ono or more of .the spokes of tho [ wheel which .are-apparently longer: than 'the I rest,: come regularly in contact, .with a piece of jtin,. making, it- noise similar 'to 'that of a person .hitting' a kerosene tin;' To make the icontnvanco all tho;moro .effective a sham man is rigged ,up alongside. ,It is .keeping the birds |,;away from strawberry patch just now, .but Jlr. H.^Angelo,/who is the inventor, says .that ,tho birds are-so . " cheeky " that thev may drop down to tho little game. ■ ' Tho , importance of the lionoy 'industry is referred to by tho ".Poverty Bay Horald" which says: " The ■ best of our honey, it is worUiy of remark, is able to command as imnch as,ifi42 por : .tCn.in;London, or'a higher ' price than, has; 'secured by any foreign ftoney that has over, reached the English mar--ket;: New Zealand's bees are not yet sufficient in number to supply the local demand, and , yet; tho ; value ■of the' product. last year,.-iS-' "s----timatedat\ not less than . .£45,500. The point that wo wish to impress Ms that there is money in honey if tho pursuit is followed upon practical lines. A gentleman who has had charge ipf an extensive orchard near Gisborne f.ir a number of years, and who also owris an apiarv of close on one hundred hives of b°cs, infj-'ig :.vis .that ho ,is .'satisfied from - experience; thnt more: money, in: honey than in fruit : Por, one thing <jUiereis: a,, sure, 'and . cortainmarket. It isj .an industry that ia particularly "suited to a person of' liniited moans or ;tp' those who are physically unfitted to battle with the soil. It is light labour and' prohtablc. A man with an . acre or two of land in a. smtablo locality , can, do well on bees. ■ ■■■■ / : . • • ,£ he . corM ,l arca Pf-Bntain in tho season of 1909 showed an. increase; of, 1.6 .per cent: over .\n® .area of IDOS. ...Tho. area m wheat showed an increase ;of 12.1 per,.cent., and'in oats 41 per cent. ..J'- ■