AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 94, 20 April 1912, Page 12

AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

NEW ZEALAND CHEESE. Mr. S. Turner, representative for Lonsdaloß, London, is at present in Htiwevu. In speaking to a rcportny of tho local paper, he said he desired to warm tho Taranaki factories against selling theii' winter choese locally, evon though they might be offered 7d or .7£d. He quoted the following extract from a letter he had received from Jas. Aloxundor, Ltd., of Montreal, dated 14th Marah, 1912: "We have been practically the only Holders (of cheose) in Canada for some time, and bavo just oleared the last of our white' at 755. Landon. We sold the bulk of our coloured to Home trade, shipment west._ Stocks of butter are exhausted, and it will take some time to fill up tho gap. Prices to-day are 34 to 35 cents (Is 5d to Is s£d) per lb- The London market to-day for choose, remarked Mr. Turner, is 74e, and it generally gooe to 2s, and even 4s ( higher when the Canadian cheese is finished, and the New Zealand autumn-mnde cheese roaches London. The autumn is the best quality New Zealand makes, and much better than anything obtainable in England from Canada j ho added that it compared favourably with tho English made, which brought about 15s per" cwt. more. Under these circumstances, Mr. Tumor contehds that the factories in Taranaki would be ill-advised to sell locally. v The Riverdale Co-operative Dairy Co., at Inaha, betwoeu Ilawora and Manaia, paid out £3723 to suppliers for butter-fat last month. This was at the rate of Is per lb. A further payment was made recently of £3050 by way of bonus at the rate ot 2d per lb up to 31st December, thus making an average of Is 2d per lb for 1911 i The supply is keeping up well, and still averages about 12,0001b of milk, or 33 per cent, per day in excess of the average at the same time lu6t year. Oil the year's Bupply the figures bhow 17,500,0001b of milk as against 16,500.000 last year. The crops throughout the Maeterton district have turned out remarkably well this season, and the yields have been very food both in regard to wheat and oats, n the latter crop several new kinds of seed have been used, and high return* per aero obtained, over 100 bushels having been recorded in a number of cases. Individual cases of big yileds are Reported to be more numerous this season than for some years past. The Greytown Dairy Company despatched last week 170 cases of cheese for the Home market. The 290 cases shipped Home by the Arawa realised 74s 6d per cwt., and the 300 oat>es by the Ruapehu 75s per cwt. — an advance of 15s per pwt. on the previous yeaj, 1 . The last consignment 66nt away by tho Turakina reached a grade of 93 pet cent. The Otaraia and Tawaha Dairy Coinpaniee, Masterton, have received advice that their shipments of cheese per e.s. Ruapehu have realised. 75a per cwt., and that of Mr. J. A. Chesham an average 1 of 74s 6d. The Otaraia Company haa advanced Is Id per lb. to suppliers on their butter-fat, and the Tawaha Company la per lb. . The Ballance Dairy Company paid out on Monday £6000 to its suppliers for March butter-fat, payment being made at the rate of Is per lb. This brings the total payments of the company for the present season to upwards of £40,000. Shee-p farmers ia and around Carterton are complaining of considerable mortality amongst their flooks,' especially young sheep. The cause has been ascertained to be a rod worm. One farmer at Clareville, who ej>ld most of his etud rams at the recent Masterton Fair, has had the misfortune to have most of hie young rams attacked with this worm, and nearly all have succumbed. Asked by a reporter if he could explain the presence of the worm, he said, that the only reason he could put forth was the wet weather, in consequence of which there were considerably more grubs and flies in the grass, and the sheep picked them up. Farmers are busily drenching to save a bearier mortality. Kimbolton farmers state they have good grass and plenty of it to carry them through the winter. The present condition of the country is much better than it was twelve months ago. Stock are in good fettle, and, in fact (says the Feilding Star), the only thing that worries the farmers is the shortage of labour. At the Hawera Autumn Horse Fail, on Saturday, when there was a good attendance, and satisfactory prices wfere obtained, the sale being considered exceptionally good. Draughts <spld from £27 to £38; lighter sorts realised from £24 to £30; and milk-carters commanded from £17 to £22; while hacks and harness horses were disposed of at from £10 to £15. The Wairarapa Egg Circle paid out to its members last week the sum of £173 9s 2d for 2377 dozen eggs supplied from the 2nd to 23rd March, making a total sum paid out for three montha' supply of £522 17s for 8466 dozen eggs. ' A discussion ok dagging sheep took place at the meeting of th« Farmevß* Union in Timaru. A North Canterbury farmer stated that, looking at it from the most belfish point of view, it does not pay to send sheep to tho freezing worked in a dirty condition. The last lot he sent numbered between 200 and 300. Before sending them away he dagged them, washed the wool and got it in marketable condition, and with the result that he netted £s— a bum which would have been loht had he sent nis sheep to the works in a dirty condition. 1 The ravages of the blight will considerably reduce the Southland potato yield, and appearances indicate that prices will b« on a high level this year. A farmer come eight miles from Invercargill had a crop that gave every promise of escaping tho disease, and indications pointed to a good return, but a few days sufficed to effect a serious change, the blight having traversed an acre with deadly effect. On Good Friday tho shaws gave no sign, ot its presenoo, but on the following Sunday they were as black as if fire had pabsed through them. Farmers are very busy ploughing in the Ashburton district, and the-ro are indications that a very largo area will be put under coreals in that county. This season has been remarkable fqr prolific yields, and tho cheques which have been received by grain-growers hhould compensate largely- for the lean harvest of 1911. The grass grub was a factor in leducing the incomo last year of tho men on the land, and as it is already working in various part* of the country, it is feared that it will once more mean the loss of much money to this district. It is hoped (remarks the Guardian) that the commission appointed to investigate the post will discover some means of successfully coping with it. Tho final estimate of the Victorian wheat crop by tho GovGmmonb Statist gives tho average of 9.65 bushels per aero, and total yield at 20,891,877 bushels. This is a very notublo falling off, as compared with tho departmental pre-ostimate published before the harvest, which was 11| averago, and total yiold 26,500,000 bushels. A feature of tho season (remarks the Leader) is the small quantity of wheat now held in siding stores at Newmarket and olsewhoro as compared with twelve months ago. The explanation is +o_ bo found in. the reduced production during the season just terminated, the total for the States being variously estimated at from 30 to 50 par cent, below Miat of 1910-11. [n tho sca&on last-men-tioned tho wheat yield of Victoria reached the record figuru of 34,813,000 bushels, and the proportion housed in siding stores was relatively large. At the banquet tendered to tho Premier at Manaia las>t week, Mr. T. JM 'Phillips speaking of tho need for the greater proauction of butter-fat by breeding "and testing, idid that the average yield per cow for tho Dominion wa^ ?*>olb. Of theso 5 pec cent, produced 4001b per year, und another 20 per cont. SOOib of batter fat, , ftfii xet the vWtttfs .wu*-.cnjy. gQ&b*