GENERAL FARMING NEWS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 777, 29 March 1910, Page 10

GENERAL FARMING NEWS

Commenting on : the complaints of .inaccuracy in' the crop estimates the' Tiiriaru "Post" says:—"The climatic changes which caused such a variation' in the 'quality of/the 'grain/ also had a great deal.to,do, with the inaccurate estimates of tho •'. -Agricultural ■'■ Depart-; ment. . .;.;,;.. :; When, experienced farmers ostimat-ed. their jlvcrago. yields, at' nearly double what the threshing returns, actually gave, it. is scarcely. sur T prising that: the Agricultural Department's estimates .were' wide of tho mark. At'thO.same time if the statistics are to-be based on.replies to ques/ tionsput to.'merchants'or millers, in-', stead of on'information obtairied.:from the grain-growers: themselves, they.arenever likely-.tpgive satisfaction,". If, the figures arovn'ot'vfairlylaccurate theyare. no use to.itli'e people/fbr-l.whpse'special benefit we'vpresiime they aro' obtained, and it would be better riot to publish statistics at. till .those 7 that are. 1 inaccurate, and misleading." Trip payments to suppliers .'.of; the Thames Valley Co-operative .Dairying Co., Auckland, for; butter-fat supplied during last month, (at lOd. per lb.) to.tallod £4422 10s. 6d., as against.£377B 14s. lid. .for February of- last year. The amounts paid to, the • suppliers at the various creariieriesla'si 'raonth-vvere as follow:—Netherton, £725 lis.'3d..; Waitoa,. £671 '■■3s.' sd. j'.Wharepoa, £522. 13s. lid.; Paeroa,.-£477:145'.'11d'./-jVla-tatoke, £477-'•'•3s.'. 5d.; Hikutaia,- £443 19s. Id:; Manawaru,- £377 os. ■ 5d,; Tu-. rua, i£3l2 2s/ 8d..; Ngarua; £233 12s. 7d.; "Wardyille, £188 Bs. 10d: ", . ' ■'The Tokomaru Flaxmilling" Company has disposed .of a . "thousand ''tons • ofgreen flax to Timukanui, Ltd, ' i,As "showing the/dangers and'hardships of back-block > settlers' in ■ New Zealand, our Gishdrne- correspondent telegraphs, that/Mr; T. E. Toneycliffe,' '"Wlio has, returned from- an v overland;, journey, relates... a sensational experience in tho Waieeke.'.'Valley.; Shortly before he got there a large landslip took: place on the Opotiki side,of Mr. i). Graham's station." It ._ totally wrecked a settler/sWvoolshed which con.tained.a quantity of wool. It severed tho -bathroom from the house and twisted-the latter, right round. Tho settler heard the, rumbling noise, and .with his wife rushed to savo the two, children who . were in . the bathrooin. They 'had hardly got outside when the sliding, earth, with "large tree stumps,' struck the, bathroom arid turned the house round. A quantity of wool was recovered, but it had to be spread out and dried.. .-. .

; The other day the death of Sir Malcolm M'Eacliam was chronicled. The "Pastoralists' Review" now recalls the fact that the Strathleven, the pioneer ship of the frozen meat trade in Australia was fitted up by M'llwraith, M'Eacharn and. C 0... and Sir Malcolm himself personally supervised the initial shipment. This was in 1879. Sir Malcblm M'Eacharn' was in latter years connected with the pastoral industry in Queensland, and owned a lot of land in- that State. :

The market valuo of the field crops of Canada for 1909 is estimated by the Census and Statistics Office at 532,992,100 dollars/an increase of no less than 100,458,100 dollars, or over '£20,000,000 over the previous year's harvest. The total acreage under crop last year is given as 30,065,556, as, compared with 27,505,663 acres the year before.. Of the increase in value of Crops 54,640,000 dollars is. duo to larger yields of wheat, -barley and oats; a little over ten millions is credited to the hay crop; three and a, half milHops to rye, .peas, buckwheat, mixed grains, and flax; and six and a quarter millions to vegetable crops. The total Wheat crop is placed at 167,744,000 bushels, • valued at local market prices at 141,320,000 dollars. Of this 150,649,000 bushels, were- spring wheat raised from 7,088,300 acres and valued at 125,478,000 dollars. Spring wheat averaged 21.25 bushels to the acre, and fall-wheat 24.31 bushels, as compared with 16 bushels and 24.40 bushels respectively in' 1908.

One of the features of the great show to ho held shortly in the Argcn'tine - (nays the "Feilding Star") will ho the illustrated catalogue of Ronmey sheep and sheepbreeders in Now Zealand which Mr. E. Short is having prepared to take over with his exhibits. It will comprise over 60 pages, print-ed on art paper, the illustrations being especially good and tbo text in both Spanish and English. While the Parorangi stock naturally occupies a prominent place in this.edition do luxe of an important phase of sheep-breeding, there is nothing exclusive about the volume, for it portrays the principal Romney sheepbreeders of the Dominion, arid gives readers a good v idea of the men who are interested in that narticular breed" of ■-. sheep.

Says tho "Akaroa Mail":—Tho two creameries erected in tho Western Valley, and Terawera Valley, Littlo River, have proved a boon to dairy farmers in the surrounding district, especially to the holders of sections of tho Morico Settlement at Puaha. One settler there possesses 40 odd acres. Ho keeps 17. cows, besides his working horses, pigs, etc., and last month his milk cheque amounted to £17. This is an extraordinary good return for almost the last month in tho milking season, and proves decisively enough that there is room for closer settlement on land such as that at.Puaha. Tho price this year obtained for butter-fat has been excellent throughout,. tho average being about 10} d. i

Speaking at the Hawera branch meeting of tho Now Zealand Farmers' Union on Saturday, the president (Mr. J. R. Corrigan) referred to the great number of young men who were continually migrating from tho country to the towns. He deprecated' this, and contended that if life was. made more sociable in the. back country it would probably, have a tendency to stop, the exodus to tho bis cities where there were so many attractions. .

The ".Waifcato Argus" says 'of. tho blight which has been attacking the turnip crops in the north: —Whatever be tho cause, the. present visitation •is most serious, and cannot fail to have prejudicial.effect upon stock matters during the coming winter. Feed will, not be so plentiful as at one time'expected, and though is yet. early to say, the disease.'may spread until the district is practically cleared of turnips, to the loss of tho farmers and stock breeders, fo say' nothing of the Waikato Winter Show Association, who have been looking forward to a phenomenal exhibition of roots. Such a calamity—for it would he no less—should still further turn attention to'other winter fodder crops, which in'addition to being nioru certain in their growth and yield, would also bo more suitable for dairy cows in calf and other animals- in similaj condition than swede turnips have ever been.

The following remarkable prices for wool" are quoted: by the ; "Pastoralists' Review.", .from, .the, .price. .lists .of.;';the Loudon January sales: —Langi • Willi (Western. Victorian),., washed lambs 48} d.,. Er'cildoune (Western Victorian), ■washed -fleece Slid., washed lambs 48d.; < , Shaw (Wilcahnia, N.S.W.), 'scoured .fleeces'.33d.;- Dunlop (Darling River, N.S.W.), scoured fleece 30d.; Eo (Western Victorian),:- greasy fleeco ISJd., greasy > lambs 28d.; S. Wilson over Mount Bute (Western Victorian), greasy fleece 17£ d., greasy lambs 24d.; cross over S.C. (Sir Rupert Clarke, Bart., Bolinda Vale), merino, first combing, 16Jd., comeback fleeco 19d., necks 16Jd., broken 15d., bellies Hid., lambs 15} d.,' crossbred fleece 18} d., lambs 14d.; while several New Zealand crossbred clips made from 15d. to 16Jd.

Mr. J.-H. Young, the originator of the ;shcaring-by-contract system in Australia, has relinquished his interest in die'firm bearing his name, and has decided to go on the.land. 'Mr.'Young started the ; contract system in 1895, and, though, an uphill fight, the business assumed enormousSince ' the ' inauguration of . the system Mr-. -Young-has shorn' nearly' fifty' million ; sheep.-: 'Other contractors .'have sprungi up in ; his.'wako. arid it is now-, estimated. ; tha't: sheep' are shorn-by 'contract' annually.': . -.:..':"

■',• One-, of-: tho: notalile.,English. 'Short■hprnJ'b'iillsV of..tho "season is Proud Roman, bred by Mr.,:-J: : :M*William, of. Garbity, N.B. Ho-is' red:, ill . colour, and , was got' by Achilles (93962).- from Proud/Rose,' by, Pride;of Avon. (86878). He was fourth, prize-winner at the. Royal' Show at,: Gloucester, .and- was sold; recently-to,, an /Argentine buyer fbr ; l6ootguineas.' ':' ; .;',.: .- ;

,Mali:ing'<"tho.:.'seveiith- fruit steamer.to leave Ta-smariia for. London -~and English-', ports',- .the''Royal Mail steamer Moldavia, ; 'says the\Hob»rt "Post" of. "March 14,: sailed on''Saturday ' laden' with 11,428£ : cases of apples from Tas- 1 manian orchards. ./This is,, the-.-second largest quantity taken by' 'the mail steamers, ,'tho, largest amount .'being to. tho credit of the R.M.S. Malwa, which lifted 16,900 cases!'' ': To'."date 'tho amount, pf;. fruit;/ shipped from Hobart to '■ trans-oceanic' 1 , ports is 115,058 4 l cases,";• made: up of 2827 cases,-to South, America and 112,2714 to 'the, United ,Kingdom. There.have .been .shipments. L to Australian ports;' the .'amount, in re-.-spect..'to,: the. latter- reaching > approxjmatelyyi'4',3oo case's.: -'The amount': of fruiti.shipped-to all .porta"--'.to date, therefore, -equals'-abbut caseif. This week there will • be further heavy shipments-'to' tho United on Thursday,-and,... Friday next, .'tho steamers Otranto, Safpedon, Pericles, and -Somerset, will arrive, .and will'load in all'upwards of 120,000' cases. -..-■

.As-the 'proposal- to form a stockowner's co-operative meat company in Central Northern. Queensland lias been abandoned, efforts are being made, to-arrange', for a conference between representative pastoralists and meat works proprietors to, discuss the surplus stock question. A certain proportion of the pastoralists think, rightly or wrongly, that the meat companies have-not, been offering .thein fair values'for their stock.'

The Edinburgh ''Scotsman", recently gave prominence to : 'a long letter writ-' ten from New Zealand by a young Scottish farmer who has baen in New Zealand for a year, and who has already met with success in his new home. In tho course of his letter he remarks:— "I have had five years' experience on farms at Home, and I find it very useful here, as the. work is done in practically, the same way, though all the farmers hero work, themselves and their families. There is no 'high-fal-utin' in New Zealand like there is in Scotland. No 'airs' are tolerated, and if.a young fellow wants, to. get work and wants to get on, he must be prepared to do the same w'ork as is. done by the 'hands' on famis at Home, and not be afraid to' dirty his hands or' to put on old clothes. I mean tin's for young farmers and. would-be farmers. Of course, a regular firm hand will have his work here just as at Home. But thei.liours are shorter, and a ,man is treated moro as a man,- and allowed to use his brains —if he has any —not ordered around, as at Home."

A marked'improvement 'is taking place in Siberia in regard to,cattle breeding. Shorthorn _ and Jersey cattle are i gradually taking the place of the long-horned, small, and unproductive native breeds. The dairy business is growing rapidly, and thousands of ton's of good butter aro shipped to Holland, Germany,' and' England. The native sheep are being replaced by Cotswold and Southdowns, and horsos are also improving.