GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1023, 12 January 1911, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

The New .Zealand .Utility Poultry Club has. decided to. hold a. seventh- egg-laying competition for fowls," and a second duck competition, to extend over a period, of twelve months, frorii April next. The egg yield in the present competition (says tho

."Press") has been exceptionally great, the leading pen of six pullets having , laid 110-1 eggs in the first eight months, and a dozen other pens of birds havo each recorded, over 1000 eggs.

Otago fruitgrowers are at present, ill a whirl of bustle forwarding their .produce.to market from Alexandra. r Peaches, apricots, and plums are coming in fast, and- tlie railway- station presents a] Busy appearance every morning. Should'the hot weather-continue, the fruit will coriio iii too quickly, so that -in, the 'interests of the producers if is hoped the district will .bo'blessed with cool .weather for week longer. Tho crop this, year is exceptionally heavy, and High prices are ruling,, so that growers have little'cause for complaint.' ... ■

A Masterton poultry breeder ha? some remarkably consistent egg-laying ducks. One Indian runner (according to the "Age") has laid 220 eggs in 22G days, and another duck of the same breed has laid. 101 eggs in IfiS. days/ From a" pen. of 'four ducks of the"Jvtij{j]it Strain, and ona'-Buft Orniiigton, : 357 eggs ?!iave keen collected ins24&Bays.i These figures arc', well .ahead 'of '-'the ,'lcadiiig pen ;at ,tho. egg-laying competition how being held ■at .Christchurch. Another pen o|» ten Pekin ducks laid 11-19 eggs in .143 days. The owner of these".ducks expects one of his Indian furiiiers- to reach the record number of 300 eggs in, 3G5 days.

In several parts of the Ellesrn ere district of Canterbury the caterpillar has made its appearance, and though its ravages have not been so serious as last veal' a fair.apiount.ofldainage has.been /done; The"pest i.i not'confining its at-' tentions alone to the barley, as in former years, but may be found amongst the wheat-and oats. - Tho. pest made its appearanco. cxp'eptionaUy'..early this .season, due, no doubt; to. tho mild winter experienced, which favoured the hatching of the grubs. In.'corisequencc.of the prevalence' of'.the' pest in ffeme cf tho crops, farmers aro anxious, to get their cutting dono,as soon, as .possible.,';.

•V'"Tho season. has beeu a poor one for both sheep and lambs,remarked a local expert to a "Poverty Bay Herald" reporter, the other day. This," ho said, was tho outcome of tho bad .lyipter or dry summer. Feed in -some—parts", such as Mangatu, is getting away," But'.there is lib snbstanco in it.,- Ori . some . properties where feed is short; '.the' sWe'p.; have dono better. Prices for fats' aTe .now ranging from 12s. to 135., of 2s. upon December figures:?.' Prices, however, are on a-par with those of last year. Lambs are fetching, from lis,, to. 12s. in the wool, or 10s. to lls.-it' -thorn.

• A. Nelson resident ."states, that a little borer has attackoff'thsjblackbprries there, and it is hoped that* .it will do much towards keeping them-down;; The borer attacks tho six inches: from the end and then -works out towards the tip, completely-checking the growth.

In the opinion of a successful .dairyman in South 'i'aranaki, tho..carrying capacity of the land between-Hawera and I-iliama on., the one side aiid -flic' Sk'cet Road on tho, other—the richest land in Taranaki— :is'a cow-ito an. aero-and -a half. ■With the land' cut up-'irito' sm'ailer holdings and. "intonse" methods-of-farming pursued, this land, he opines',' could cari'y almost an animal of tlie Jersey or Ayrshire breed to tho. acre. .-

: Blackberries.have prevented people settling in this, district (says the li'Ombay correspondent of the Auckland. "Herald"), but it lias been proved that two or three ploughings of arable land will, with Hie aid of the • grubber and harrows, clear tho land of. these . pests. .On land not economically ploughable, goats properly fenced in, and put on thick enough will; in time, keep, down, the blackberries, and if helped by - the slashor and fire will eventually ei.ear the land of the same.

The larvae of the saw . ily, commonly known as tlie pear slug, has been very noticeablo in Canterbury ■ orchards this year, attacking pear, quince, cherry, arid plum' trees with great impartiality. It is not a difficult pest : ta ,'eope with, as spraying, with a solution of hellebore, or arsenate of lead, will speedily rid -a treo of, tho pest, but fruitgrowers will be interested to know that, the pear slug is not without its natural enemies.. • Mr. \V. E. Goodwin, of Halswell, showed a "Press" representative on Saturday a specimen of a small beetle, about a quarter of an inch in ■ length, which preys nn ■ the pear slug, and he attributes the scarcity of pear slug in his garden -to the attentions of this useful little insect.

The-farmers about these parts (writes the I'mutaoroa correspondent of the Dannevirke "Evening News") are. busy getting their hay cut and stacked at present, and the cows loo}: as if they arc going to have a good time this winter. I believe tho hay crop is turning out very well, and there are some good stocks already on (lie different farms. The oat crops are looking very well here. Some crops are already cut, but others aro not so forward. ,