GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1032, 23 January 1911, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

The six'fat (two . and four'Herefords), 'fattened by Mr. \V. Birdling, of Kairanganui, Waitara, which w-ere 60 successful in the s-how ring in Tnranaki,. were'recently sold to Mr. J. ,W. Harding, of.lnglewood, who.had them killed,at tbo'Waitara Freezing Works'on Tuesday for shipment to England. Farmers will bs interested to learn that th-ss-j bullocks were faltpucd on grass pasture alone, without the aid of turnips or .any artificial food, and the weights far cattle fattened in this way are rather surprising.-. Tho Shorthorns weighed rty spectivoly 14781b. and. 14441b., and tho Herefords 12671b., 12221b.,. 11821b., and 11211b. The fat 'tak-m- from them was 5891b., of which 4211b. went into oteo, 421b. gut, and 4261b. was crown, Tho linglisli' farmer would . find' it hard to believe that cattle could to this weight on open pasture in the Dominion. ; ' •'

About twenty carpenters are at prescut employed on the new grandstand at the. ,Solway showgrounds, Magterton. "

The milk supply is falltng'Off considerably in the Newbury district, reports a: Manawatu "Standard" s correspondent,' who also, states that the New.- Zealand: Dairy Union's cheese factory is receiving' about 600 gallons daily, and of that quantity making just upon .a ton and three.quarters .of chceso a week.: -The chceso is grading well, the last shippient being 90* .points. There is still a great demand., .jpr Jhe .chceSo-locally, especially tho small sizes, aml ! ifc./is"very difficult, to keep tho i supply going. . The company is t canning half a ton after' the style,of the Dutch clieese as an experiment. Last , month the company paid out =£435 in this district at the rate of 11M.'per lb; for butterfat, the largest cheque being ,£97 9s. 10d.< So far the .Dairy-Union have -paid llld. all the season.

A number of good rapo crops may be seen in the ICaitawa. district. Mr. A. Stovenson has a fair area of land in oatsi< which, will be ready for harvesting in a' few days (says a correspondent of tho "Express").

Tho Masterton district hay yield is expected to' be a good one; . .

The Inspector of . Noxious Weeds has' been malting a round, of Woodvillo (says an exchange), and has ..been- Warning people that they must dig up all. tho blackberries on their grounds.- He gives tho alternative of cutting and trimming them, so that they will be of no value as fruit-growing bushes. ' ,

At a meeting of the committee of tho Wanganui Agricultural Association, repiies wero read to circulars tent-to several leading breeders, asking for suggestions as to the best methods of increasing interest in' the local show, and augmenting the list of entries. Canvassing for entries was strongly advocated, while ono letter contained some suggestions for encouraging: the, young farmer -to show "natural feed" stock, in contradistinction to the pampered article,. and dwelt on a contention for encouraging the young farmer to exhibit. " \

At the annual meeting of the Ivaitawa Co-operative Dairy Company, held prior to the., commencement ,of the present season, a suggestion was made that to import (artificial manures direct from tho works would mean a considerable savinot in money to tho shareholders who wero requiring the article.. At a meeting held a few evenings ago'(savs an exchange), jt was'.-decided toimport a quantity of basic slag', and superphosphates.' "

• The grass fin 'the N/swlinry district is' •beginning to look parched and dry, - and a good soaking rain would bo very beneficial. Despite the dry weather, farmers have no cause to complain,-for they have been able to.do their harvesting "under favourable conditions.

Master ton. Cq-oncrative Dairy Company' has retfeiVe(l that its first shipment of butter realised 112s. per cwt. on .tho London market, says the "Age."

A correspondent of the "Eketahuna Express" says that it is an unusual thing for ICaitawa'sottlers to complain of,wanting rain, but complaints are being made at the present-time. Portions of the district aro very dry, and rain is required to assist ■ the pasture until the autumn growth sets in. -

"It has been commonly thought that wheat could not ripen in Woodville," pays a correspondent of the "Hawke's Bay Herald," "but Mr. Fletcher, of tho Napier Road, has grown to splendid crops in the last two years, and 'finds' : that it ..will, ripen and make a first-class sample." Continuing, tho writer says:—"lt pays much better than 'dairying,' too, though a whole farm could not be put into it."