GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 805, 30 April 1910, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

' 'Buyers at.'tiie'Addingtori weekly market, complain that an unnecessarily large proportion of the baeoners and porkers offered' are : riot properly finished.off,- and. it: is. pointed'out' that farmers suffer ..' considerable _ ; financial, loss as a result of, sending in pigs.- in indifferent condition... The Atkpl correspondent.' of .the ' "Southland' Times" writes: "Threshing is finished in tho localities around here and tho.farmers may feel quite satisfied —if. farmers, ever' do-Hit the ruling prices of this year's-cereals.': -AVhcat has been, sold at 3s. Bd. per bushel, and barley at 45."3d. The chief difficulty is now tho inconvenience of readily procuring trucksto convey the grain, to f&e Bluff,-for,:export..; .TjKtil greater facilities are available ; for roomy and cheap storage at the-Bluff, this trouble will probably-continue.' It is not. to he 1 expected' that the Government- will build extra .trucks-ito. meet the grain . traffic in the'busiest period,- whilst at the samo : time hundreds of trucks are standing loaded." . Mr. Jagger, who sold his property at Moutoa to the Whitaunui Flaxmilling Company recently, has purchased Mr. \Valden-s property, midway between Shannon and Foxton. ; Mr. W.. Powdrell has been elected chairman of directors of -the Patea Farmers' Co-operative Freezing Company, which has taken over the Pateafreezing, works. The "Timaru Post" says that potatodigging at 'Wiliowbridge is revealing some: excellent' crops. Three' machines are at work; employing a' largo number of hands. The South TJp-to-dates have proved great croppers, giving.the best yield for years. . Mr. D. Lundy dug 18 tons to the acre, and Mr. W. J. Roberts 17$ tons to the acre.' In other places, however, the yield has dropped, to as low as five and four tons; but on the whole the output will bo very considerable, aiid tiie quality , superior. The Taranaki property market appears, to bo in an active condition. Tho Aurbroa correspondent of the Hawera "Star" says: Before next spring we if ill, see many fresh faces here, although up to tho time of writing only a few farms have changed hands. There are many more sales lindei negotiation. The high price of land is too tempting to.resist, and settlers of long-standing are seeking fresh fields. Mr. M. Rucfkin has purchased 100 acres at Tokaora at £60 per acre, and considers he has got a bargain. Mi. D. Hennessey has purchased a small.farm'on Palmer Road, and will be leaving us shortly.. The Mangorei Dairy Company occupies fifth position on the grade' list for the past scasuii with tho fine grade of 92.87—1e5s than half a.point below the "rade secured by the top factory. The .Daily News" says when one considers that Mangorei has over 1.50 suppliers,-and manufactures butter from cream received from eight-differ-ent creameries, embracing the wholo scope of country from Carrington Road :o Lepper Read, such a result is one that tho factory manager (Mr. J. Simpson), butter-maker (Mr. T. Robinson), creamer)' managers'and staff should be proud of. In tho flush, of tho season the factory was turning! out 73 boxes of uuttor daily. Now the -output has dropped to 33 boxes.' Pasteurising has been undjrtakon throughout the,season ivith' satisfactory results. The • testa at present range from -3.8' to 5.4; and the average must be well over 4.6.

"I suppose you are pleased to sec that tho buyers aro again giving fourpence for pigs," said a member of the "Eltham Argus" staff to a local farmer. '1 don't seo much to be satisfied about," was the r'eply. "It is all humbug tho way the pig buyers work the farmers. When pigs are plentiful and wo. have, fat ones for sale, down go the prices as far as possible. Now that the winter's on, and our milk supply practically, done, and scarcely any fat pigs, to be got, tho buyers make a big splash and advertise ,that they will, give fourpence a lb. That is only to induce us to'keep in the pig business, and when .we have got lots on hand again down will go tho prices with a rattle. There is' nothing in the offer of fourpence, now, because scarcely anyone has fat; pigs to seli." , One. of tho leading orchardists of (jfippsland South was induced to experiment ih exporting apples to London (writes the Melbourne correspondent of the Sydney "Telegraph"). He sent a consignment of 100 cases, for which £100 was realised. After deducting freight, commission, etc., he received as his'share £50. That will bo his last consignment. Mr.' Braik, Chief Inspector to tho Waiigauui Education Board, says scholarships are' required for clever boys and girls taking tho agricultural course, and it-would be a splendid.. thing if the board, or'the board;in 'conjunction with l.he Count}' Councils and the A. and P. Associations, could award several scholarships annually to enable such pupils to proceed to tho university or to Lincoln College. . . Tho 'wool classes in the Wanganui Education Board's district are stated by the Chief Inspector not to have filled up (jtiito'so readily as was expected, but it is c<msiibreil that too early a ptart'liaa been made. There • are requests from tho more remote centres.for the services of an instructor. Presently both instructors will probably have as much on their hands as they can manage. A recent South Island visitor to Tatea remarked . • admiringly upon the beautifully 'mid. healthy state of the farm lands he had seen in South Taranaki. \ "Ifs like coming to another world,'" was" his emphatic comment, and hi-, wont on to remark that the natural order of things seemed at present to be reversed, . the sunny north ■ bearing cvi-. <16nt tokens of un abundant -"rainfall, while-tho south' country, which commonly has no '-reason to complain of kck .of rain, is suffering, seriously 'from, the '•Ireuts of drought., This is particularly true of the region around Oamara and inland in the neighbourhood of Windsor and Eldcrslie. The butter-box factory at Kongotea is. again in full swing after tho recent nre.. It is reported that the factory again had a very narrow escape of being destroyed by fire, as .it ,was only, the strenuous efforts «f tho employees a few mornings ago. that - .saved the property. The practico of "trotting" up stock; 'at auction sales, that is, bidding by the owner to raise the price, is not by aiiy , means Uncommon; according to the statement ;of .a solicitor at the "Magistrate's Court (says tho "Oamaru'Mail").; Mr. Hjorring. stated that' his client, tho defendant in an, assault case, : had been desirous of defending tho action in order tb show that.this "trotting" practice was a common one. . The magistrate said he could hardly believe that it was so comraori as stated. . He pointed out that such bidding, .if more than one bid.were mad*) by the owner,, was a fraud, and punishable as such. The. Sale of Goods Act provides as follows on this point-.— "Whoro >a. sale by auction is not notified to be subject to a right to bid on behalf of the seller, it. shall ..not b'e lawful for the seller to bid'himself or to employ any person'..to bid 'at' such sale, or for .the auctioneer:.knowingly to '.take .any bid from the'seller'or. any such person."'•