FARM AND STATION

Gisborne Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 9670, 17 April 1923, Page 3

FARM AND STATION

NEWS AND NOTES

i It is- generally believe-J now that • ilie locajkfremjing works will, by the J time itr'is finished, bare had a j better freezing season than was anticipated at its commencement.' The j very wet weather which prevailed then so ..affected the quality of the 'pas- : tures that the stock, especially lambs, | were extremely difficult to * fatten, with the result that there was a heavy failing-off in the numbers coming forward, and an even greater falling-off in. the quality. There has, however, been a marked improvement in the conditions, as far as fattening is concerned. during the latter part of the season, and it is now expected that the total amount of fat stock put ( through the works will exceed that of last year, while the value, in view of the higher prices ruling, will be very much higher. Very heavy quantities of beef are now coming forward, and in one works alone it i.-i expected that 8000 head of cattle will be put, through between now and the end of the soason. '. A marked shortage of feed is being experienced by farmers on the flats, tlie result of the present prolonged spell of dry weather. Farmers with Jong experience of the district state that they have hardly ever seen a time when feed at this time of year was.so scarce, and in consequence many of the farmers are at their wits’ end to provide for their stock. The position with the winter coming on is stated to be getting almost alarmingj as it is extremely doubtful whether, in view of the lateness of the season, rain ;at this time would produce any great benefit. The plight in which many of the farmers find themselves at the present time is largely the result of the very heavy rains at the beginning of tlie season, with its attendant profusion of feed, people being induced on that account to stock up more heavily than usual. Feed is as scarce now. as it was plentiful then, s and the farmers have the surplusstock on their hands, with the prospect of a very difficult time in wintering them or having to quit them at a sacrifice. Fortunately tlie conditions described apply only to the

Hats, the back' country being fairly good owing to the heavier rain experienced there. There was found a few days ago at 'the. Thames abattoir, in the stomach of A cow, practically a whole rubber bicycle tyre, (states the Rotorua Chronicle). The cow was fat and in every way healthy. “What would you call a largo herd?” asked an Eltham Argus reporter of a gentleman closely connected with dairying in the district. The reply was that a herd of 60 or 70 cows was generally considered large. There were many of that number round lilt,ham, and several larger still, one farmer milking as many as 140. On the other hand, there, were very many small holdings, and the average number in the herds milked in this locality would probably not exceed 30 or 40. A novel and inexpensive method of eradicating the blackberry pest has been adopted with success by a leading native of Rotorua. The proced- ; uro is to fence off a small area where ' clumps of blackberry exist and con- I vert the enclosure into a piggery, i The eradication is carried out by the 1 pigs, who display a relish for the ; blackberry roots. The constant root- : ing provides an effective remedy, and out informant states he was shown a paddock formerly a mass of black- ; berry that now does not contain a trace of the pest, so effectively have i the pigs done their work. When ; cleaned up, a further area is fenced off and the pigs turned in there. The exporting of Otago potatoes \ to Auckland, Rapier, and other pans i of the North Island usually begins ' in March, and is in full swing dur- : ing April. This season the shipment : has not yet commenced, and ihouirios from the North are very slack. The suggestion is that the northerners are buying from Canterbury at a lower price than they expected to pay- i for Otago potatoes. The main crop : in Otago is just coming forward, but none of it worth speaking of is yet in the -merchants’ hands. The farmers are holding. The price is quoted at £6 or £6 10s per ton wholesale, about, the usual figure at this time ! of the year.

HOW FARMERS LOSE

NEGLECT OF SKINS

BEST PRICES FOR GOOD PELTS

The majority of the best substance ox-hides, says the annual report of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, has been purchased by local tanners at prices somewhat above exporters’ limits, with the. result that exporters have had to be content to get .what was left. Sheepskins fetched increasingly better prices as the year progressed, and the tone of tins market is much more healthy ana buoyant than was the case last year. Prices all round in December last were quite double what they were tlic previous December. The report also strikes a warning note somewhat on the lines of that which lias been published in the “N.Z. -Times” concerning the skirting and packing of wool, for it says:—“Thero is a keen demand for dry, sound skins, and it is a pity that so many farmers leave their skins in the sheds tor a lengthy period without proper attention, enabling vermin to work havoc with the pelt. Owners do not appear to realise the importance of caring for their skins. The export trade requires only the best. Many skins have to be left to the local fellmemgors that would, with a ' little more care, have been suitable for export at 2d to 3d per lb increase in price.” The prices in December, 1921, ranged from 3d to 4Jd; in December* 1922, they had increased from 6Jd to 11-Jcl.

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK FOR ' FARMERS.

A lot of criticism was levelled at the financial institutions of the Dominion over the attitude they took up during the- slump, said Mr J. Mac Gibbon, manager of the Bank of New Zealand’s Christchurch branch, to the members of- the Lyttelton Harbor Board recently. Mr Mac Gibbon stated that many of the institutions bad strained their resources to almost a dangerous point in meeting the situation, and the trading concerns had also done their share. The latter were In the difficult situation of having bought gopds at peak prices, and therefore having to write them down to present-day prices, in which task they were met by the financial institutions. Mr Mac Gibbon said, be believed that there was no reason to feel pessimistic as to the future of the Dominion. From information ho bad received, he understood that the price of meet and wool would be good 1 for some years to come. There was only one danger to be feared. It war. that land should again be enhanced beyond its true valuo by speculators. In the North Island particularly land had been bought not for farming purposes at all, but for many of the transactions being only on paper. If, therefore, farmers and traders found that the financial institutions were restricting their operations, they should remember that the institutions were only acting m their interests. ./. ■

MAIZE MARKET*

The demand at Auckland is steady for maize, 'of. which good supplies are coming forward. The season is. however, Approaching the end, though it is anticipated that thero will be sufficient to carry through until the new crop is available. "Wholesale prices on wharf at Auckland &*•