GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 755, 2 March 1910, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

.It) is reported from Shannon that Mr. Jaggcr, of. Jloutoa, has,sold his property to thc.'Wliitanui Flax'milling Company. Messrs. Dalgety and Co., Ltd., are erecting u largo two-sforied building in Wairoa, 'Hawke's Bay. In regard to -the experimental wheat crops that were grown in the Mastorton district, it is stated by the "Times" that, there appears to bo very little difference between tho wheat grown on light soils and that grown on the heavier soils. However, the -actual' results can, of course, only be ai lived at after threshing, and.-will be awaited with interest., . Mr. IV W. Fairey, of Nelson, has completed .'arrangement's for sending a bullock and a cow to the Koyal Show at Sydney. Both'are entered for the fat stock and beef classes. There is.good reason to fear that tho potato crop, in North Canterbury .is seriously damaged by. the blight. Last week a farmer' in the Tlangiora district .made a trial digging in a crop that from appearance a ■ short; time ago promised to yield about sixteen tons to the acre, and the result was only one sound tuber from a considerable number of roots. It is stated by a M'isterton exchange that the feat of Mr. -L. Donald's cows in annexing three prizes in the recent open" butter-fat competition,. under the auspices of the Masterton A. and P. Association, constitutes a New Zealand record. A crop of swedes in the Mastorton district .has been . attacked with a disease that is quite now to.local farmers, but which it is hoped will not prove disastrous. .The matter is being investigated by the Government Fields and Experimental -Fa-ms Division. The "Poverty Bay Herald" reports that -output: of 1 : butter ;at the Kai Ora Dairy Factory has been greater.this season than ever before, both for export and local trade. The - grade , has also been higher by two to three points. Although a point' is lost between Gisborne and the grading. station, the butter has graded up to 9} and Ss.per.ceni., which is very satisfactory: The. average tests of milk at the Kia- Ora Factory's various creameries during, the .past month aro as follows:— Patutahi 4.1, ■ Waerenga-a-hika 4.1, Ormond 4.0,. factory 4.1, Matawhero 4.5, Gisborne 4.4, Te Karaka 4.1, To Ariii 4,1. A week of fine weather' passing,, a feeling of autumn'- in. the. air,; the, harvest ■ nearly .finished; and nobody particularly well pleased with it;.such is the' state of affairs in our own small part of the island, and the next man tells his neighbour "things might be worse." So writes the Woodbury . correspondent of the Timaru "Post'.",','^ ', ', ,"■ , Timoru continues, to be strongly dissatisfied with "the refusal of the Government, to. station a -dairy produce grader at -tiny-port.', Speaking at the last Har- ' bour Board meeting, one of- the members said that', in' view .of,the'short.,time, the • grader would, be required, and then oiily at/intervals,, and the little or no expense involved, he thought'the Government's attitude was incomprehensible; in • tact, there must be "something behind ' it all-.. ..... •;■ •.. ■ , ,J -'h° majority ' of.- the 'farmers,;around Masterto'n who - have grown, maize crops •this -year, are stated. by,;,tke' VTimes" to be exceedingly, well pleased'with - the : results." riioy. are convinced,' however, ' that better; results . still" could have been obtained had the seed been sown closer together, in which, case the yield'per acrewould probably have beeii much heavier. .Says the "Oam a ru,.,Ma , U".:' "About 15 ausnels to the acre, and mine's not the worst, is. the depressing reply one receives to inquiries concerning the results ot threshing, and those few fortunate in--9 Wffif w |. lo ? e w c ™C?..yi«l < l.more than 2 bushels oi-wheat" are'the synosuro of all eyes and the,.enyied in all hearts. ''■The-jyalue of top-dressing pastures (says the - Mastorton "Times") is clearly dV monstrated on,- Messrs;."!),-J. Cameron's and w. Cameron s properties, where ex-penments-are'at present being earned out. ine latter is now grazing two cows where formerly he-.could only-graze one, and the highest results" have not yet been obtained. Heavy rain' fell'at'.,Ashburton during fcaturday afternoon ,and-continued until bunday morning, the. fall amounting to iiJ xi ° e stackin S of grain is completed, the ram will prove vcrv beneficial. Ueed had commenced to go off. A consignment' of 1200 boxes of butter will be shipped from Dunedin by the Kaikoura for., the : .London: -market. - This represents the last shipment of the season irom that port. The dry weather experienced has very seriously affected tho export trade.. Some 600 crates of cheese are also being shipped from Dunedin bv the kaikoura for Londou. ■ Mr. Jas. Graham, a recognised authority on the commercial side of Southlands agricultural affairs, in the course of an interview last week, said this season s wheat was very-dry and firm, and its condition was altogether exceptionally good, although somewhat - small in pickle. Weighing a sample bag, which no had before him, Mr. Graham found that it totalled 041b. to the bushel, as a sainst the, usual New Zealand averago of (wlb., 'being also 41b. above the Eng-lish-wheat standard of GOIb. In reg.vd to oats,' Mr. Graham ' observed that the weight pw bushel was' always the principal feature of the harvest, and he was sorry-to say that the. yield-would be a good deal short of recent years. The samples which had come forward could be taken as a fair criterion of A grade Garton oats.(the variety usually referred to in • market quotations), and whereas the eminently-satisfactory rate of 48 to 501b. per bushel was the run of things' last year, it, was hardly likely that 441b. would- be exceeded this year. Generally the yield per acre was certain to v/orlc out -at considerably below the abnormal crops of last, year. Heavy oats, Mr. Graham continued, were the sort in -demand for the Home markets,' but as the English standard was JOlb., the Domin-ion-grown grain of 411b. would stilhuiuiutain its place for export. DAIRYING AT ASHBURTON. Speaking,at Saturday's meetiug.at Ashburton which considered the proposal for the establishment of a dairy iuctory, Mr. John Xambie, chairman, of tho Ashburton County Council, said that as th»y were aware the Ashburton Plains wero now; all well watered by the county races, and the-, land, was carrying much more stock; than in. tho early days, and ho felt'sure that, the dairying industry could now he largely added to other branches of farming, with ■ every prospect of success.-. With the water-now available on Che. Plains, and with the. prospect of a system of irrigation in the. near future, the conditions were such in Canterbury as to enable them to compete with anyother part of tho world in each branch, of tho dairying industry. The development of the dairying industry would; too, tend to encourage much closer settlement than was the case at present, and he hoped to live to see the day when r. number of the large farms' in tho district would bo worked in much smaller areas than at present. The Ashburton County could easily carry live times its present population, and the dairying industry was one which could bo made to profitably extract more from the soil and still keep it in good heart, than any other branch of farming.