FARMING AND COMMERCIAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 4866, 11 May 1918, Page 7

FARMING AND COMMERCIAL.

FARiM AND PRODUCE.

Times Office, Friday evening. In the markets for grain and proce > nes there is not a great deal Of change to report. Prices on the whole have been well maintained for Most lines and while it is to be hoped and may be expected that there will not- be any very marked increases m most lines it is not thought that prices will be much lower during the winter months.

Chaff remains firm and stocks held i are light and it is exceedingly difficult to obtain space from the South Island for this fodder. Oats show a slightly easier tendency. There is not much business passing in this connection and the market generally in quou Wheat is very firm and supplies are hard to obtain. ‘lt is thought that this grain will be in very short supply before the season lias finished.,-'

Maize is short and the supply falls well short of- the demand. The local crop should be available in about six weeks time and while it. is yet too early to forecast the yield with any - degree of certainty it is now generally admitted that the recent floods did not do as much damage to the crops as was at first believed and the total yield of Poverty Bay for the coming season will probably be up to the average a-s there is a much larger area under maize this year than has been the case for some time.

Barley is in short supply and while the average quality is by no means good and most of the grain is more or less discolored, good prices are being obtained for all lines offering. Potatoes continue .firm and the local market is continually bare of stocks, owing to the extreme shortage of shipping space. Onions have a rising tendency and are hard to obtain and it is thought that high prices will rule from now on right through the winter. The present shortage of shipping space is ver v keenly felt by Gisborne merchants and it would appear from advices received from the South Island that the port is not receiving anything like its fair share of the space available. This applies particularly to Lyttelton. For some time past large quantities of produce have been accumulating at Lyttelton for Gisborne and week after week would'be shippers are being told when endeavouring to arrange for the shipment of orders booked’ that no space is available. Tire position now is "that Christchurch merchants are refusing to book orders for Gisborne, 1 not because they cannot supply the orders nor because they cannot obtain the prices they ask, but simply because, after doing the business they cannot obtain shipping space for delivery. The Gisborne people realise, of . course, that they must share the general inconvenience resulting from a shortage of shipping and also that Gisborne is not a port favorable to shipping companies, but they have a right to expect an equitable share of whatever space is available and this at- present they are not receiving. It has been stated that the high prices ruling in the North Island for chaff and potatoes are mainly due to the shortaeg of-shipping space. This it, appears is not correct. The northern markets are, it is true, very poorl v supplied at the present time and stocks held by the various merchants meet with a ready sale at high prices, but these high prices are by no means peculiar to the North Island markets, as quotations for chaff are to-day as high as £9 2s 6d per ton and for potatoes £8 10s per ton f.o.b. southern ports. When the present, high: rates for freight and other landing charges are added to these quotations it will readily be seen that the local shortage is by no means solely responsible-for the high prices obtaining and that there is no exploitation of the public by those handling these commodities, as certain people suggest. . Anions the dairy, farmers m I overty Bay who are making a genuine effort to improve the standard of their herds is Mr Robert Preston of Manutuke. Mr Preston is using two Holstein Fresian stud bulls

dynoil engine

No Carburetter, No Sparking Plug, No Magneto. No Wires. Runs on Compression. . Mr J. Sherrard, Otana, AVaiulru, has driven a 3-cow milking plant, 130-gallon separator, skim milk, and water pump. - - . , ,• The consumption of fuel—one t.n of kerosene in 50 hours’ run.

The Gisborne Farmers’ Co-op. Company.

BY “THE GLEANER."

EXPORT OF HONEY

Press Association Telegram

MEAT TRUST MENACE

with his herd and as a result has a prime lot df yearling grade heifers which should develop into good milkers and materially increase his total butter fat production. Pure-bred bulls may be costly, but the owner reaps a profit in two ways. His butter fat yield is increased and the progeny of go-od cows mated with a pure-bred bull can command specially high prices. As,time goes on and as farmers realise more fully the advantages of dairy farming more attention will be given to the breeding of good milking strains. Many people who know the Poverty l Bay flats well and have a practical ■ knowledge, of all branches of farming firmly believe that practically every acre of flat land, in order to i yield the best results, should be de- ! voted to dairying. On this particular class of land there is probably no branch of the farming industry | that pays so well, as dairying, f _ There was a good deal of prejudice against milking machines when they were first introduced' and occasionallv stories have been told of farmers who, after giving them a trial, reverted to the old system of hand milking. Objectors have now almost wholly disappeared and the use of the machine is becoming more geiieral each year. If there are any objections from the dairy farmer’s point of view, the cows ■ themselves when kindly and properly handled appear to en]oy being milked by machinery and when Mr It. Preston was giving a demonstration with his new . invention at his sheds on Thursday the impatience with which the cows awaited their turn to he milked and the eagerness with which they entered the bails was very noticeable. . Another good thing about the rnach•ines is that the milk escapes the possibility of contamination provided the pipes, tubes, etc, are kept dean. It was a pleasure to watch the whole process and the surprising thing is that, any farmer should 1 milk by hand when the installation of a milking plant is practicable and within his financial limits. The machines have certainly done awa v with a good deal of drudgery and have helped to give attractiveness to an industry which had previously nothing beyond fat monthly cheques to recommend it. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company held a special horse sale at the Matawhero yards yesterday when over 100 unbroken light, draught, hack and harness horses were offered. The sale Went -well and practically all were sold at satisfactory prices.

WELLINGTON, May 10. The export of honey is ljkely to be heavy this year, as it is ever one of the favoured commodities ‘ and will he taken b v steamers whenever possible. The price for export is now about £l5O per ton. _ Much of the 1917 yield has been shipped and there is about 270 tons in store now.

STATE CONTROL OF SHIPPING ALLOCATED.

CLUTHA FARMERS’ ATTITUDE

The important question of combating the trusts <>f capitalists which, it is alleged, are seeking to get a footing in New Zealand industries, was taken up by the Clutha Branch of the New Zealand "Farmers’ Union at its meeting last week. Discussion arose through a motion by Mr J. Crawford Anderson (Stirling) as follows: —“That the Government of the dominion take into serious consideration the question of acquiring when prices of shipping again become normal, a fleet of State-owned boats as a means whereby the producer and consumer of New Zealand products may be brought into direct contact, and as a set-off against any trust that- may try to get control of the New Zealand meat or other produce markets.” • Mr Anderson said the Government had been asked to combat the trusts, and all it _ bad done was “to prepare legislation.” What was the use of ‘ ‘preparing legislation?” Some of the sharpest men in the world 1 , keen business men, who could run rings round Messrs Massey and AVard, were at the back of the trust, and the Governmentmight as well try to get control of the moon by legislation as secure the trusts. The commonwealth of Australia had given a lead in the direction of acquiring State shipping the Strath line —a very wise investment, which had proved of immense value to the commonwealth. AVhen all the traffic incidental to the carrying on of the present bloody and dreadful war was terminated, there would be plenty of cheap shipping available. There was a possibility of the various freezing works throughout the

dominion being acquired by the shipping companies—a case in point was the purchase of the Ocean Beach, freezing works by the Federal Line. What would happen if the great amalgamated shipping lines, in combine with the meat trusts, collared the meat and other trades - of the dominion? The producer would be absolutely at the mercy of those great combines, and prices of freights and produce would be according to their dictation. As a check on such a happening the . State must find some means of control. The only method in sight in order to achieve that end was by carrying, our own produce direct from fbe producer at this end to the consumer at the final destination. There were many minor points to be considered relative to the scheme, but the details could easily be dealt with later on. Tlie motion was seconded by Mr Johnston, and after discussion was carried 1 .

NOTES

A well known Southland farmer gives a glowing account of the success of farming operations in this province over the past/ season. He states that the 1916-17 season was considered by Southland farmers to j have been the best experienced 1 for ■ many years, but that the 1917-18 season has been an even better one. l There was plenty of sunshine, and | the rain fell at intervals just when 'it was most wanted. 'Farmers from j the. North Island who have visited ; Southland this season agree that, the j country there is looking better than j in any province of the dominion, and ■ a visitor from Queensland also remarked on the splendid farming conI ditiqns prevailing there. ’ Usually ' stock owners look to the grass only becoming sufficient to meet requirements for feeding about the middle of November, 'but the Southland farmer referred to. stated that he had .the siaiusual experience of finding that in October the grass was Setting ahead of the stock. The oat crops in many instances have been on the light side. A large number of farmers, however, retain their oat crops for chaffing. The turnip crops have been particularly free of blight. Taking the. farming position all round, there is no doubt farmers in Southland have had a most prosperous year. They assert, however, that land is cheaper than in any other place in the dominion. At the ninth Provincial Conference of the Farmers’ Union for the South Canterbury district held at Timaru the president (Mr John Talbot) gave a lengthy review of the wheat question, and urged farmers to sow as much wheat as their depleted ranks would allow. Mr Talbot also referred to the proposal to conscript labor, and said that so far as farm labor was concerned conscripted labor would he very little use. (Hear, hear.) There was a question which he felt some reluctance in dealing with, and that was the calling up for military service of so many farmers and farm workers. This was the most serious matter they were faced with as far as agricultural production was concerned. It was not too much to sav that the depletions that had already taken place had paralysed the grain-growing industry to a most serious extent, _ and other farm work was falling into arrears for want of labor. He was speaking to a gathering of farmers who knew and fully appreciated the seriousness of the war question and would put up with any inconvenience in order to help the military authorities all that "they possibly could, but they were now faced with a problem of the most serious kind in -regard to production of the farm.

AUCKLAND EXCHANGE

STOCKS AND SHARES

By Telegraph— Speoial Correspondent. AUCKLAND. May 10 The following transactions have been received through Air AV. Lissant Clayton, sharebroker; — Sales: N.Z. Bank £ls 3s 6d, Ris-

ing Sun 3s. Following are the closin cr prices Sellers. Buyers. N.Z. Insurance 182 6 180 0 British 121 0 , 116 6 National 61 0 59 6 Taupiri 19 9 19 3 Gas 25 6 24 9 Ferry 26 0 25 0 Huddart Parker ... 39 6 39 4 Northern Steam ... 17 0 16 0 Levland 27 6 27 0 6 Tram 21 3 20 Wilson’s Cement ... 29 3 28 n Waihi 35 6 35 0 Junction 14 4 14 o 0 Talisman 8 9 8