AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 77, 30 March 1912, Page 12

AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

IMPROVEMENTS IN DAIRY STOCK. While tho Hon. T. Mackonisio was in the Hawera district (says tho Star), Mr. 1. M'Phillips, well-known qb an ardent advocate of hord-testing und improvement, iiitorviewed him as to the practicability of the Government initiating a schema for securing to the dairy farmers the services, at a moderate fee, of bulls proved aud authentic records by parentage for butter-fat,, producing. rto maintained that, although thoro are some good bulls in New ZoaUmd, few have tho record which he considers necessary for bo improving the yield as to keep pace with the continued rise in tho price of dairying land. The class of bull requisite for the purpose needs to have such a record m parentage that tho minimum yield of butter-fat should be 4001bs for the season. By tho use of such animals the average of herds throughout the Dominion could be matoriauy raised. The Minster expressed himself in full sympathy with Mr. M'Phillips's idea, which contains, he considered, the germ of an excellent scheme. At present, he f,aid, the Government had no such bulls. Until they hod they could not take it up. When, by breeding at tho State farms, the bulls were available, he was willing to consider placing some at the disposal, say,, of tho agricultural societies, who would be held -responsiblo for their safeguarding. They could then place the bulls at suitablo locations' in their several di»tricts, and arrange for tho services of the bulls being availably to tho fagmors. A new cross in sheep is to bo experimented with at the State Farm, Romney with Ryelands, and forty Homnoy ewos have been received from Mr E. Short, of Feildinjfi for tho purpose (fcays the Wavorley correspondent of tho Patea Press). It is considered that a splendid mutton shcop will be obtained. The reisillt of the experiment will be watched 'with interest by tho farming community. Tho Eltham Dairy' Company manttfaohired last month 229,265 1b of butter, and paid out to suppliers £9423, at the rate lUd per lb. In the corresponding fconfch last year tho amount manufactured +a», 212,048 lb, and the pay-out £7617. (The last of the orop of Btone fruit at m Teviot is picking very satisfactorily, H spite of tho unsettled weather, .and tolrl and apples promise to turn out well. Iht Dunedin Star's correspondent states tfcot most of the Teviot fruit this season li foing to Inveroargill, and largo paroik to Christchurch and Wellington, tho growers being dissatisfied with tho Dunoliii market. (Mr. Norman Banks has obtained tho osodlont yield of 46* bushels of wheat to tte aoro from a field of 27 acres (says a %ikato paper). Mr. W. Allwill, who Washed tho crop, says that if is tho beßt wleat that he has put through his mohine. Tho yield is said to be tho best foi wheat in the history of the Waikato opfntry--oertalhly for quality and quantitj combined. 1 is" often olaimed that Seddon is not a i>od place for growing fruit; but this arfiment loses much of its forco when it is mowd tfrat tipples weighing over a P.oad eaoh can bo produced here (sayß thoMarlborough Express). Mr. I. PiearBonlforwarded to this office to-day two "coWs" weighing in the aggregate s picked from a tree containing many othjg, like them. « T r ,¥*ottdon, correspondent of the Partralista 1 Review, writing under date 9th February, says:-^ There is nothing doin at Snnthfield, so to speak, for tho nrstjen days of the New Year. But aboil the third week things begin to brigkn up a bit. In the course of my oallsl noticed tendenoies and new* as » iSt Owing to the extreme scarcity of Nkr Zealand goods, people who handle this ieat, and buyers of it, have porforoejo take up other descriptions, and the tflection that trade must fall into rival^hands is obvious. The danger is prayo indeed. Cannot the New Zealand Jeoasing ,works operate in unison to 6q'nttl:>*>tho'> output so as to make some decen approach to even monthly shipments When quantities aro very hoavy, local brage- would bo no disadvantage in fa moat would store better there than ire, for when meat is in English oold sre in any bulk tho market gets deproqdt and carcases aro less liable to stale in New Zealand. The c.i.f. were would be muoh encouraged if somfung of the kind could be done. The bvenue from whey-buttor is, says the Hafera Star, going to be a big factor in tho airy industry in the very near , future. 1 , Already this year one or two factoric will very nearly pay working expons^ from this by-product alone — hitliertibsolutely wasted — and if, in andition t this, they succeed in manufaO' turing i£ar of milk also, the value of the milk po<3ow should very considerably increase. fTho natural soquenoe of this will bo stillturther increases in the land value, s&ller holdings, and more intense farming. The industry must then become n+e scientific and greater attention, paiito cropping. These were the general bservafcions of the party which acoompaled tho Uruguayan embassy around k Waimate Plains and through the dair} factories. It is riisfactory to note, states the WairaraJ Age, that the Mestorton A. and P. Aociation is moving in tho direction of iilituting ploughing matches. Old residents f the district have pleasant recollectionjof the days when teams met together h Te Ore Oro farms and of dinners \tch followed the trials of skill \vith theloughi The ploughing match, m tho eny days, was' an event of tho year. N| only did it inspire emulation in an imjrtant branch of agriculture, but it settd to, improve the breetl ana care of llsos. To attain this objeot should be tie of the special funotions of A. and P.lseociafcions, and it is therefore pleasing tibserve that these associations ara intereng themselves in the matter. The Matira Ensign states that a good deal of holosting has boon done in tho Charlton drict, and some heavy crops are to be s4 in the stook. With a Bpell of tho preit weathor the grain should be thrcshedn good ordor. Tho turnips are excopthally good, so that winter feed shoulobe plentiful. The Norta-n Wairoa correspondent of the Auoklai Herald reports that wasps, whioh, it beliovod, were in tho first instance imrted to Hokinnga from Australia, havatultiplied rapidly, and are playing moior less havpo with certain fruits. If ay go on increasing they must soon c a very grave pest to orchardists. ,t their present rato of pro grossion the asps" will soon invade the Whangarei < hards. Some hinbn feeding cows ar© given in the bullci issued by tho Wisconsin Experiment fition. Put briefly, it is % to the effect th eaoh cow should receive as much roliage as she will eat up olean, and awrtion of this should preferably be <a succulent nature, liko grass, silago,biling orops, or roots. As regards conoiratod foode. it has been found a' goo-working rule to feed as many poundsf grain foeds per day to eaoh cow asho produces pounds of butter-fat a bk, or ono-fourth to on©* third as muctrain as she gives pounds of milk daily ho amount dopending^n tho peroentagrf butt&r-fat in the milk. In the case oowb produoing milk with a low peroont i of fat. oue-fourth would be required, ro should always bo takon to avoid an inaso in btidyweigbb above tha normal fo^ach cow, since tho milk secretion, as ironernl rule, it likely to sutFer when cojeommenoe to utilise their teed for tho mation of body fat.

Lady — Could you possibly have savrd your friend wl was captured by cannibals ? Af ricnjTra veller— Unfortunately not. Whon irivod ho wfts already •oralchod off < menu. Tho Daily Ctmiole recalls a story of C. E. Jonee, aimarkably eloquent and witty tailor, v> became not, only nn M.L.A., but a inistor of tho Crown in Victoria. To 1 a ucw Governor iuado this maladroit mark: — "1 hoar, Mr. Jones, you woioiioo a tailor." "Yes, my lord, I wu "And how are you engaged now V' "Taking jour Excellency c measura /