GENERAL FARM ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2974, 11 January 1917, Page 8

GENERAL FARM ITEMS

!-■ ' Tho' "Wakatipu Mail" states that ] d. th'o , exceptionally hot weather that has , i- been experienced during tho last week ' ;- or so is having a.disastrous effect 'on j e tho country. The grass is drying up . •- as well as lato crops, and especially s lato sowings of -barley, which are ali- most ruined. The early _ crops are o coming into ear already, instead of a e mouth or six weeks hence,., and the yield, it is- said, will be vory poor. The 1 turnips arc at a standstill, some seed ', not being through ■ tho ground yet.. » Feed is also getting scarce .for the. 1 sheep which are in the paddocks await- j , ing shearing. If rain does not come j " within a few days, the outlook will bo j a serious one for the farmer. < j; A large number of lambs were put < through the Taihnpe Freezing "Works. < which were opened on Wednesday of last week. Four butchers occupied ; the hoard, and it is esneeted that this i numher will bo doubled this wpek. i ' With the duplication of* freezing j g works there is an increasing demand i 0 - for fattening lands in the Wanganui J 0 and Main Trunk districts. A number ' of properties have recently changed ; . hands, including "Ann Bank." at Turn- t B lcina, the property of Mr. B. P. Lrtii- , r bridge, chairman of the Rangitikei J 0 County Council. Tho property, with i B the exception of tho homestead and BO acres, which Mr. Lethbridge retains, ' j has been purchased by Messrs. O'NVill , j Bros., tho price being in the vicinity t I; of £60,000. The new owners of "Ann ] Bank" propose going in extensively -J j for the fat lamb trade. c t It is stated that the "A's" among 1 a the farmers liable to taxation upon ex- j ,oess profits have received their notices. s s One Morven farmer has had his year's f . war profits assessed at £800. j In a letter to a friend in Ashburton j regarding tho manufacture of margas rine, Mr. John Grigg, of Longbeach, f 1 states that New Zealand best beef fat * 3 is largey used in. the manufacture of 5 - the first-grade article, with a. percent- a » age of butter added. The mixture 3 c will keep well, and is made up in Hollr and. Every precaution is taken to 3 see that nono of it reaches Germany, s The Dutch can obtain tho fat from 3 3 London only, • and if they attempt to c send their output to other countries ' 1 the supplies are immediately stopped. 0 fc The Army is supplied from these fac-. 0 tories, and the quality is superior to J margarono made from'nuts. As much t r as 2s. per gallon is .being paid for milk r 3. in England,- and no farmer can afford i - to make butter if he can rail his milk J ' tfl a town. Tlie same applies to cheese. ; Tlio whole,of the Army and Navy and i ' tens of thousands of others are quite \ [ satisfied with the best animal fat mnr- ;' . garine, which is retailed at Is. per lb., q against butter-at Is. -.lOd. wholesale I :, and 2s. 3d. to 2s. 6d. retail. £ The Stoke correspondent of.the Nel- 3 son "Mail" says:—Fruit crops are fast % maturing. Several varieties of plums I and! peaches havo been* disposed of, 1 and others are. coming in. Halo's J Early, JiVigan, and Triumphs are the ,* peache/ now procurable,' while cherry I plums, Evans, and Burbanks are the r plums now ready. There- are .heavy stone crops in/the district, and- some d fine fruit is being cased up and shipped ? to Wellington and southern ports. The n first of tho early dessert apples are being picked in Stoke this week. The apple crop is heavy throughout Stoke and the AVaiineas, but many of the orchards are sadly infested with black spot, particularly tho Stunner crop. s One orchardist will hardly pick one bushel case of absolutely first grade Stunners. The wet weather in the + spring is partly responsible for this, as t growers probably missed the one day v on which they should have sprayed. ' I