ON THE LAND

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 4592, 18 May 1922, Page 4

ON THE LAND

NEWS, VIEWS, COMMENTS. It is believed that next week’s wool sale at Wellington will quite clean up the clips from this district. Three turnips shown by Mr T. P. Stewart at the Ware pa Show on Wednesday weighed 821bs. They were of the variety known, ns Purple Top Yellow, and the heaviest weighed 3211b5. | Mammoth turnips have been grown in Winton this year. A local resident avers that lie missed liis cow the other morning, but later in the day found that she had eaten herself into the turnip, only the tail giving a clue to her whereabouts. What is said to bo record threshing for the district occurred at the farm of Mr James Houston. Tto Houka, the other day—viz., 100 bushels of oats per acre. The oats (Gartons) were grown on what is known as a “ridge paddock.” The Levin Dairy Company is forwarding its butter to Wellington by motor-lorry, with the results that the butter is in cool store at 2 p.m. on tlic day of shipment, instead of being in the railway trucks all night.

A South Wairarapa settler has frozen on his own account bullocks which cost him £l4 10s a head two years ago, and have been grazed since on. land valued at £6O per acre. He is courageously waiting the result. Mr H. Blair, of Lawrence (says the Tuapeka Times), brought some German potatoes when he returned from the war and, carefully cultivated them till he worked up his stock sufficiently to plant a third of an acre last season. The crop, recently lifted, worked out at 21 tons an acre. A very fine yield of potatoes is reported from the gardens at Mayfield School, near Ashburton. Four cuti sets turned the scale at 521 b. Of these there were 491 b of tablo, 21b of seed, and lib of pig potatoes. This extraordinary yield speaks volumes for the new method of treating potatoes, strongly recommended by '.lie board’s 1 instruotor. A sale of property at Edendale (Otago) has just been effected at a price currently reported at £46, being a rise of 33 1-3 per cent of its price when bought three years ago.. The farm is handy to Edeudale, fine- and level, with no waste in its area. This gives Edendale land a value of approximately £SO. A large milk supplier to the Greytqwn cheese factory states that the difference between the price rejected by the company at the beginning of the season and that which they will receive for their cheese will mean a sum of £2OOO less to him on the season’s operations. One local shipper of mutton (says the Tapanui Courier,, Otago) got £6 not return for a truck of sheep sent to London. A shipper of 192 carcases obtained £2S6 gross, and only £B6 net return. The freight alone was £126 and total charges £2OO. The meat sold from 4d to 4jd iii London. The income tax (4s a head) would bo included in the freezing charges. Government is “killing” graziers’ business by over-taxing. Steamer freight is lfd per lb.

At the poultry demonstration at Solway Mr F. C. Brown, chief Government instructiV, was able (says the Masterton Age) to solve a. problem for a local owner of ducks, the eggs of which Had proved worthless because the whites turned to jelly-like substance, and tlio yolks became greenishblack. Mr Brown said this was caused by the ducks eating acorns of flax roots, and the owner admitted that the birds were particularly partial to acorns. At a recent show in England of seeds and roots, a remarkable feature : the exceptionally high quality of fcho perennial rye grass seed exhibits. 'Hie honours were won by a sample weighing 361bs to tlio bushel. In the opinion of ail expert the exhibit surpassed any sample from Denmark or New Zealand. Potatoes in some parts of Scotland sold at £2 Is to £3 per ton in November—loss than 4d per stone. Freight on agricultural products from Denmark to English ports has been reduced 15 per cent’. Census figures show that the sheep flocks in U.S.A. decreased from 52,000,000 head in 1910 to 35,000,000 head in 1920. Tlio food of the cow has some effect on the clmrnability of cream. The more churnable cream is the more butter is obtainable from it.

It is understood that an ex-soldier from the Wairoa district, who had an excellent war record, both in Gallipoli and in France, recently astonished the Minister of Lands when he unrolled his “old kit-bag” beforo him and presented ono of his troubles in the shape of a succession failures at no fewer that 47 ballots for sections open to soldier settlers. Recently 654 fat lambs from the farm of Messrs Yardley and Sons, Keppock, Moa Flat, Otago, were purchased on behalf of Kayo and Carter, their averago dressed weight turning the scale at 401 b. Only seven out of the total wero classed as second quality. Some interesting Japanese dwarf trees have been imported by an Auckland firm for decorative purposes. The trees, which are only about 2ft high, are of great age. being estimated to be from 80 to 100 years old. The specimens, which arrived about six weeks ag, arc now in full leaf A remarkable incident is reported to have occurred in ono of the country districts adjacent to Oamaru a few days ago. It appears that a farmer was somewhat surprised at the sudden death of a rooster, so he performed a posb-mortem examination with the object of discovering the cause. To Ins astonishment lie found a mouse in the cron of the bird, and it is assumed that this was the causo of death.

The statement made by Mr T. 0. Haycock regarding the export of Corriedale sheep to California emphasises the need, which has frequently been referred to, jfior morei Reasonable freights for this class of exports (says the Wairarapa Age). A freight of £22 per head on sheep is obviously enough either to kill the business or to leave so little in it for either buyer or seller that not much will be done. There are dozens of dairy farmers to-day who can assert from their own experience of the last two. years that it pays over and over again to select cows according to thei” yields. Speaking of the beef market at the Farmers’ Union Conference in Wanganui, Mr Morrison said it would be the greatest mistake :f the farmers of the North Island failed to breed cattle, as their pastures would go hack and revert to weeds, etc. They all knew the value of cattle for keeping their pastures right. As an illustration of the value of inter-cultivation (a farmer writes) I have this season on my farm 18 acres of swedes on ridges and 22 acres of soft turnips on the flat. I ridged the swedes with an implement of my own design, using four horses, and got over 12 acres a day. I inter-culti-vated with two horses, doing two acres an hour. I gave the swedes three inter-cultivations. The value to-day of the swedes is £8 per acre. I offered the other part! 22 acres, of the same field at £2 10s per acre with no buyers. Tho cost of labour between the two methods does not exceed £1 per acre.