ON THE LAND.

Feilding Star, Volume 3, Issue 554, 31 December 1925, Page 7

ON THE LAND.

NEWS, VIEWS AND COMMENTS

A daii’vi fanner, Thomas 1 otty, of Agfieultial Department at the AuekAgriculural Deparment at the Auckland Polico Court for failing to keep his milking-machine in a, sanitary condition./.The inspector of the Department stated that a very serious view was taken of dirty, milking machinery, especially in hot- weather. The Magistrate, Mr J. W. Poynton, S.M., in; inflicting a fme of £5 and costs, said that some farmers looked upon the regulations as mere fads.

A travelling correspondent writes: The drought is becoming serious in Hawke’s Bay and the local clip will ho reduced about one-third. The reduction in prices for wool and mutton will reduce the farmer's returns by 50, per cent, ori last season. Cattle are being sent out of the district in thousands to' relieve the position. ,• One farm alone is sending over SUOp; head away. The country is all brown, and parched, not a vestige of "rein to be seen, and no signs of rain. Cattle will be scarce in the district when rain comes and ipnst bring high .figures

.In the Wairarapa it is very dry. Grass lives are occurring daily, often doing considerable damage to fences, etc

Air H. J. Petch, a former, manager of the Tailpipe Co-operative Dairy Co.’s factory at Utiku, who accepted a position in the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture, is stationed in Hamilton.

It is almost certainly bad economy and often, indeed, risky to give a pig as much food as lie will cat. The bettor practice is to have definite meal times, at each of which lie receives all he will eat, and at just long enough intervals to ensure ’ a keen appetite for each, meal, ~ ■

Prevention is latter than cure, and successful' calf feeders have learned that it is far better to depend upon the principles of .sanitation and proper feeding than upon the various reihedies for disease.

In the course’ of- its report on agricultural education. the Hoard of Agriculture observes, that it \ was shown in evidence that wherever boys’ or girls’ clubs were properly organised. they greatly helped to awaken the interest of both parents ami children in agricultural education.

The annual losses in Canada's field crops alone reach a staggering total. For example, grain smuts cause an annual loss of upwards pf 12,000,000 dollars, and grain rusts cause an annual loss of some 5,000,000 dollars to 50,000,009 dollars. Losses from potato diseases annually total from 2,000,000 dollars to 5,900,000 dollars.

Dairy farmers will fail to enjoy the maximum returns from their industry until such time as every dairyman conserves on Ins farm an ample supply of fodder to meet the requirements ol his herd during every period of shortage in the supply) of field pastures, .

That there is almost unlimited scope for the exportation of New Zealand apples to the London market is the opinion of Mi; T. W. Attwood, ex-president of the New , Zealand Fruit Growers’ Association, who has just returned to •Wellington from England.

Tiie fourth Guernsey cow in Australia. to yield 10091 b commercial but. ter in 12 months, under official test, is Parsons’ lied Rose XX., of Wollongbar. All four cows to achieve tin's honour have been located at the same Government farm. The actual figures for the year were: 11,8701 b milk, representing 807.0051 b fat, and equal to 1015.711 b commercial butter. In the '273 days’ test she yvoided 11,71'1-jlb milk and 009.015 butterfat. Parsons’ Red .Rose XX is ;i junior lour-ycar. old, and is by Gcorgo XU (bred at Berry Experiment^- Farm) out of Parse is’ Red Rose I. (imp.). She was bred at Wnllongbar, and is of the same robust type as her dam. J lio average of the last two monthly tests was 311 b and 2.101 b butterfat per day.