GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1096, 7 April 1911, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

The''Minister for Agriculture, who has beeii in Tnfanaki .for ..some time., is expccfeilib'ack in Wellington to-night. -.. ; A.'young- Jersey, bull by Noble of.Oaklauds was brought to '' New Zealand .by the Buapehu, which arrived yesterday. Three Stratford breeders-. are the .importers. ' -. ■-...'■■ ■'. The Pahiatua,Akitio.'A. and V. ■ Association is -endeavourmj! to .secure a:' Site for a. show ground; ■ The matter, has been under consideration for. some time, and Was a°ain dealt with at a meeting this week, "when Mr. -Burgess explained that members of the Finance Committee had inspected a number of sites, and afterwards met Ev. Yule, who said he was quite prepared to ..deal with, the association in respect.to the property he leased from the Natives on the Mangahao road, between the town and tho railway station. Eventually, it was resolved to interview Mr. Yule and obtain from him some definite'offer in connection .with his property. . , . A very promising yoiirisr pedigree Jersey, bull, Clytie's Campanile, grandson of Campanile, and owned by Mr. E. IV Cornwall,' was shipped to Onehungaj en route to the Thames Valley, to the order of Mr. W. J. Hall, of Matatoke, (says a Taranaki exchange). . . Myriads of small flies'have.been annoying stock in the Halcombe district, lhe "Advocate's", correspondent writes:— I saw a , horse .which.w"as being ridden herb vigorously.' blbwimr the little pests from his apstiils. Some people here think they are identical with the turnip fly which, having performed.their disastrous work on ' those" crops, are now seeking fresh fields and pastures green." , \ good yield of potatoes is reported from Millthorne, in New South Wales. The piece of ground on which the yield was produced, has been used for several vears a's a sheen camp, this being the first year that 'the'land *h'hs~ s bee'ii'brought into 'use for cropping purposes. From one acre and'a quarter Mr. Dor.lan (tno , farmfir). took 300 bags of pothtoes, or equal to 16 tons per afire, and from a plot of half an acre of the same ground he took 13 tons, or equal.to 2fi tons vo uitacre. The potatoes weighed horn holt a pound to 41b. each, arid up to fourteen tubers were found attached to each root. The diggers on the crop are totalling as many as forty-three bags per day. The notatoes were of the "Bliss,' '.'Triumph,"" and "ilanhattan" varieties, and were (according to the "Sydney Herald") splendid samples. TIW Minister for. Agriculture (the, Hon. Thori-as Mackenzie), who has been in Taranaki for some days, was welcomed by the Mayor of Eltham when he visited that town. A.luncheon followed, and a<: me .luncheon the Minister said that he ha.-l been much impressed by what he .had seen abcut Eltjiam (says an exchange). It was an object-lesson of the benefits of close settlement. If nil New Zealand were settled in the same .manner there would not be much to fear from an' Asiatic invasion.' He made reference to pasteurising, and. pointed out h'ow important and wide-spread wers fhe advantages to be derived from it.

The Opimnkc (Taranaki) branch of tho Fanners Union has, forwarded the following remits to tbe conference:—(l) That this branch heartily supports Mr. Sedswick's immigration scheme; (2) that anyone who may have a .Government .mortgage over his property, should have the option of insuring in any. reputable private office; (3) that the'present system of taxation ori the so-called unimproved value of farms be abolished, and that farmers should pay .taxes on their...income, at the same rate as .money invested in other industries is taxed, their inconies. to .be. calculated at 5 per cent, on the capital, value of their holdings after all encumbrances in the shape ot mortgages have been deducted- Hr. Jackson was appointed the branch's delegate to the conference. • . . . ■

On' Bonie Halcomfco {arms '■ »ystematic search is being niade for springs, which when opened out will supply doinestic requirements—while many of the farmers' aie driving their Mocks arid "herds miles to. writer (says a correspondent .of the "Eangitikei Advocate' , . , !.' .This condition of things, he adds, has brought out a local water diviner, a young lady.

At a. meeting of the. Younij Fruitgrowers' .Union, in .New South Wales, it..was decided to urge, the .Agricultural Department that three . sprayings for , codlin moth be made compulsory, and also that it be compulsory to .snrfly for San Joss scale just before the buds burst "in spring.