FARMING & COMMERCIAL

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 178, 22 April 1924, Page 10

FARMING & COMMERCIAL

NEWS AND NOTES

AUCTION SALES FORTHCOMING FIXTURES. TO-MORROW. Sales will be held at:— Dominion Avenue, Wellington. 2 p.m.— Sale of furniture and. pianos (Vine and Wilson). 78 Lambton Quay. Wellington, 1.30 p.m.—Sale of furniture (C. W. Price). TO-MORROW. Levin Yards, 1 p.m. —Sale of Mr. R. Greig’s dairy herd (N-Z Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.. Ltd.). Dominion Avenue, Wellington. 10.30 a.m/. —Sale of electrical goods (Vine and Wilson). Johnsonville Yards. 2 p.m.—Stock sale. THURSDAY. Old Bushy Park Homestead, near Kai Iwi. Wanganui. 10.30 a.m. —Sale of Stud Hereford Cattle account Mr. Frank Moore (Freeman R. Jackson and Co.). „ , County Council Office, Trafalgar St., Nelson. 2 p.m.—Sale of Daxmilling and Sawmilliing Plant, also cutting rights (Dalgety and Cod. Featherston Street, Al ellmgtoji, 2.30 p.m.—Salo of sections at -Kareliana Bay. Plimmerton Extension (J. 11. Bethune). .. , 105 Customhouse Quay, Wellington. 2.30 p.nn—Sale of sections and Groomed residence situate Lona Bay (S. G. Nathan).

FARMING INTERESTS

REDWATER FEVER FURTHER OUTBREAK IN NEW SOUTH WALES. ("Rec. April 21, 10.20 p.m.) Sydney, April 21. A further outbreak of Redwater has l>een discovered on the Tweed River. — Press Assn. FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE SERIOUS LOSSES IN CALIFORNIA LIKELY. Washington, April 20. The Government is setting aside £500.000 to help California to tight foot-and-mouth disease. The Californian fruitgrowers are threatened with enormous losses owing to tho stoppage of rail and steamer transport as. the result of the catflo disease regulations. -—Sydney “Sun” Cable. THE FRUIT CROP CONDITIONS REVIEWED. The. Director of the Horticultural Division of the Department of Agriculture has received the following reports from his officers regarding orchard and marketing conditions at the end of March:— Auckland.—Apples: Average crop later varieties now being harvested. Lemons: On the light side. Oranges: Doorman—below average. Peaches: Finished up last week. Pears: Light. Tomatoes: lair supplies to hand. The amount of apples offered by the packing sheds for export is disappointing. A large amount of exportable fruit is being .placed in cool store for local market, which, it is feared, will be over-supplied. Hawke’s Bay.—Fair to good crops have been harvested. Proportion of Stunners still being gathered; line crop of Boughertv to come forward. Majority of pears now marketed. Cool store holding goo stocks Winter Cole, Winter Nelis, and P Barry. Crops have picket! out -very satisfactorily. Tomatoes: . Now about finished; last of the crop being marketed green for pickling purposes. Walnuts: Fair crops are being realised. Manawatu and Wairarapa.—Apples: Practically all var.eties being Poor sample reaching local markets, cldefly windfalls. Pears: On market Very few good samples pit lornd marl chietly rubbish and windfalls Strawberries: Good second being harvested. Prices remain good. Tomatoes :Bewmin" scarce; price hardening- Contrary to expectations tho fruit crop (particularly anoles and pears) has p ™ Tt / above average, especially in^ the Waiia rapa- In this distinct Stunners. Cox s, Delicious, and in some cases Jonathans, „o yielding very heavy crops, with a /■> fruit crops have matured earlier than they have done in previous years owing (o dry summer. Practically all the Dunns, Jonathan, Delicious, London 1 ippin, Cleopatra, Adam’s Pearmain Spitzenberg, Boston Russet, -and Statesman are picked. Stunners, Dougherty, and Rokowoods nearly ready. Up to Mai ch 31 23,131 cases of apples were exported to England and South America from this district. The crop generally is very free from black spot and russet. Pears: The pears, like the apples, have been picked and placed in cool storage. The quality general** is good. Nelson Central. —Apples: The end of ] March has seen the last of the Jonathans off the trees, 20,0fK> cases of which have been exported. Delicious are now being picked, the production of which will be in excess of last season. The

Stunner crop is a good one, and the export of this variety promises to be heavy. Up to the ond ot the month 42,000 cases have been exported from the district, and the total should reach 65,000 cases for the season. Leaf hopper has become very prevalent during. the hot, dry weather, some of the fru'it becoming noticeably discoloured owing to the prevalence of this insect. Pears: Most of the pears are now off the trees with the exception of the P. Barry and L’lnconnue, which aro not largely grown.

Motueka.—Apples: Growers are Hill busy harvesting the crop. Owing to earlv maturity late varieties picked towards the end of month. .Crop of Sturiners heavier than anticipated, also much larger in size. Very little black spot. Over 17,000 cases exported during month, 10,000 going io Europe, balance to 'South America. Marlborough.—The droughty conditions throughout tho season have had a vorj T detrimental effect on the mid-sea-son and late varieties in the matter of colour. On tho average the colour is far below the usual Marlborough standard. A few weeks ago, maturity promised to lie unusually early in all varieties, but a good rainfall has had the effect, particularly where foliage was still functioning well of causing the fruit to continue growing in size, and has to some extent retarded the premature ripening which was in evidence. Canterbury.—Apples: All mid-season varieties being gathered; yields much below the average. A good deal of codlin in evidence. Prices much above last season’s average. The weather conditions during the month have been ideal for harvesting the crops. Peaches: Local supplies very limited, but good quality. Pears: Good dessert pears give every indication of being very much below the average, and prices remain fairly good. Quality above the average, very little spot, but a fair amount of codlin. Plums: Late varieties being gathered; supplies limited with good prices. A little brown rot showing. Tomatoes: Crops have finished much earlier than usual. Walnuts: Now being gathered. Fair yields expected.

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

B.A.W.R.A. AND PRICE FIXING BRADFORD’S HOSTILE CRITICISMS 6 , ■ It is difficult io understand what the Yorkshire newspapers find to criticise in respect to B’.A.W.R.A. Some time ago, when it was seen that B.A.W.R.A. stocks were running down, and that tho association must soon he wound up, a suggestion was made to Sir John Higgins that perhaps the continuity of B.A.W.R.A. in some modified form would be beneficial to the wool-growers of tho Commonwealth. Sir John Higgins, the Australian chairman cf 8.A.W.R.A., framed a scheme for the continuity of the association, and this was submitted to a meeting of those interested in the wool trade of Australia at Melbourne some time ago, and the proposal was turned down. It was contended that no such organisation as was outlined was necessary to regulate tho wool trade, and that the ordinary laws of supply and demand were sufficient to regulate the market. As far as is known, B.A.W.R.A. will dispose of the last bale of controlled wool at Liverpool on At ay 2, and must thereafter consider the problem of winding up. British business men become very restive when there is any suggestion of price-fixing or control. The wool-trade of the world is far too complex, with numerous ramifications, that control would Ixa difficult. In any case, what good can control do now with prices soaring as they are. It would seem to be good policy to lot well alone, and let the ordinary law of supply and demand operate.

INCOME-TAX RETURNS THE METHODS OF AUSTRALIA Federal income tax assessment under the averaging system aro now engaging the attention of taxpayers and accountants who have to handle such documents. Assessments are based on the returns for tho year ended June 30. 1922. For the purposes of assessment, taxpayers are divided, for the present, into two classes: (1) Persons not carrying on any business, but whose income is derived entirely from sources which are not business; and (2) persons carrying on business as individual owners, or as members of partnerships, or as beneficiaries in trust estates, managed by the beneficiaries ! or by trustees on their own behalf, but not including shareholders or directors of companies. _ Tho first average year cannot be earlier than the income year commenced on July 1, 1920. Where, however, a business return of income has been based, with tho approval of the department, upon an accounting period of twelve months ending on a date other than June 30, the business accounting period, which has been substituted by the department for the financial year commencing July 1, 1920, for purposes of assessment for the year 1921-22, will represent the first average year for purposes of asssessment. In the case of class 1, or of persons not carrying on business, where the taxable income was less in 1920-21 than in 1921-22, or where there is an ascending income, the two incomes arc averaged. and the rate of tax applicable to the average ascertained and applied to the actual taxable income of 1921-22. Whore there is not taxable income in 1920-21. but a taxable income in 1921-22. that income is taxed at its own appropriate rate, the 1920-21 non-taxable income not coming into account. In tho ease of descending incomes, where the income in 1920-21 was greater than in 1921-22, there is no tax assessable on tho result of 1921-22. So far as class 2 (business section) goes, whatever was the result of a business in 1920-21, that year is the first average year, and its results are averaged up with those of 1921-22 to ascertain the average income. With descending incomes where i’m taxable income of 1921-22 was less than for 1.920-21. the tax is assessed ■n the 1921-22 income. Where there ■■■is a loss in 1921-22. and a taxable income in 1920-21. there is no tax on ■ ho result of 1921-22, but it will he the 'irst average year for future assessments.