Farm and Station

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11539, 16 January 1932, Page 12

Farm and Station

LOWER DAIRY PRICE

. CAUSES OF THE! DECLINE. . intensethmpetition.V •'•The butter inai'Kefcj after showing signs of a revival when England went oft’ tho gold standard, has again sagged badly,” stutcs a report just issued by Joseph Nathan and‘ Company, Limited. ’ ‘^ Tho report states the dullness ol the markets is shown by.the decreased consumption. Since the beginning .of October tho weekly deliveries . had been considerably lower than* those of the corresponding period in 1930.. Heavier shipments from New' Zealand Australia, and other countries e had affected the demand and it would appear that buyers were reverting to purchasing only “from . hand-to-mouth.” Another factor'which lvas probably influencing the position , was that France had prohibited imports in the meantime, thus diverting additional' quantities of foreign produce to the British markets. It was expected that this restriction would. be lifted at the beginning of next month. Imports of butter into the United Kingdom from all sources had continued to increase. , . ; .

Mr. F. J. Nathan, managing director of Joseph Nathan and Co., LtcL, who recently (returned from a visit to England, said the position in -Britain, as regards New Zealand butter and cheese, was not as bright as lie would wish (reports the New Zealand Herald). “Just so far a's butter is concerned.” said Mr. Nathan,, “we Simply must realise that competition is keen, and is likely to be iniiei keener in the future. Competition ■ is rife from other countries, and the quality of their product is improving all the time. I am convinced, however, from the study I, made of the market, that there is ample room: for us, provided that we send to the market the quality that the market demands.”

Mr. Nathan said there was a decided and growing feeling in. favor of patted butter, and when the marking order came into force it. would have a beneficial effect. The_ position would need watching, because of .the popularity of patted butter. He thought it would pay New Zealand companies to get together for ■ a combined advertising scheme to .further their interests. ■ • .' : •>-.

Referring to cheese,, , Mr. -Nathan said the quality of the Dominion-pro-duce placed on the English' market was not up to the standard -. of (that exported a few years ago. Some of the cheese was certainiy ; of good quality, hut much of it showed., serious failures on arrival at London.. The greatest care would;- have to (betaken and much patience exercised, before New Zealand regained its (position on the market.. ' ■ „•

“The only bright spot I can visual*/, ise is the fact that Great .Britain lias taken steps toward a tariff, protection. which, in my opinion, will combat to some extent the unemployment, • so rife at the, moment,” said Mr. Nathan. “Given more employment there will be a better demand forour produce.. It is extremely doubtful whether-Great Britain, will eyer. place a tariff against -foodstuffs,, but with a revival of trade, in - Great Britain we, must have a reaction-in this country/’ ■, • ’ • r CROPS DEVASATEU. . '• KENYA COLONY EXPERIENCE. FIFTY MILES OF' LOCUSTS. The devastation caused by hugo swarms of locusts in Kenya, . East Africa, is described by an Auckland resident there in a letter to her mother. One colossal swarm was estimated as a mile wide and 50 miles in length. On September T 3 the wheat fields were nice and' green—a glorious sight. On the following day they were mostly brown', patches of earth. I wish, says the writer, I'could describe this morning’s Hades f adequately. When I looked from the bedroom window I could see myriads of silver flashing wings rising’ from the ground like silver Snow rising, not falling. Then the background *0 the silver flashes became a, dark brown cloud blotting out tlic countryside. The smoke and' ridise’increas>d. It is really one’s' idea of hell to see natives rushing out in' the murk, screaming, yelling;aild dancing about beating cans.' Horrible Well,

(By “RUSTICUS.”

the hens enjoyed catching .the beasties as somekftow dangerously low in' the riiiis'(the natives .also cat 1 them). Thff n big crane birds - tlia t accompany a swarm (they feed on them)' were really beautiful sweeping ’ about, their black and white, wings and cbloaed beaks : and logs were'quite dazzling in the sunshine. ,• The roar of their billions aiid billions of wings reminded, me of the roar of tho Huka Fiills, and just us I feel that’ if I watclied those falls too long I would go mad and throw myself in, so I thought this morning if one had to live ill a locust swarm lor a ' while one would get crazed. Not only are there those billions of wings hut each one casts its. shadow on the ground as well, making even the earth seem tremulous. The swarm seemed never ending, brown clouds and clouds of them rolling up all the .time between 7 and 11.30 a.m. On© wonders where they dll come from. The whir of those (otic cannot find a word big enough co describe the millions and hundreds of millions of them) myriads of wings still ring in our ears like the roar of rushing water, a hurricane of wind, or sea on a rough day. Now it is all so peaceful and beautiful again so long as ony does not look at the devastated shamba. The garden was ulinost untouched this time. They ate the grass lawns, which so saves cutting it. Th© writer finishes her description on September lo a? iollows:—!\ e had another fiendish day of locusts in every direction, those of yesterday joining with another swarm from anotheir direction, and they have finished the odd leaf left from yesterday’s efforts. The maize is just stalks with cobs hanging to them, and in some cases they have eaten the cob too, and eaten off the tips to two to three inches at the end, so we will reap very little of this. All our neighbours have suffered minor injuries to-da.y, but they seem to make this their Clapham Junction. FAMOUS CATTLE HERD. LIKELY TO BE DESTROYED. PEER'S MONEY TROUBLES. The famous herd of wild white cattle, Britain’s last surviving wild .beasts which have roamed the great pairk of Chillingham Castle, near Wooler. Northumberland. for niore than 100 years, is likely to disappear. The young Earl of Tankerville, who succeeded his father last year, has decided to close the castle, a beautiful fourteenth century border structure, on account of heavy taxation. He stated that the lie>rd might have to he desroyod. , “This is about the last thing 1 Want to do,” said Lord Tankerville. “Chillingham cattle arc, as you know, of national interest, 1 should be very sorry indeed to be obliged lo destroy them, hut it might have to be the case. Their upkeep costs £8 to £lO per head a year, and there are 4-1 of theni, so that, the cost is very heavy.” The earl was asked if there was any.-possibility of the herd being-sold to Argentina or the . United States. “I doubt very much if they would maintain them away from here,” lie replied. . When Chillingham Castle is closed the 'earl will continue to live with liis "Scandinavian wife in the estate cottage, and with, a small staff look after the deserted estate.

Lord Tankerville, who is a skilled air pilot and engineer, is. still keenly, .ntercstcd in films and each Saturcay jiglit runs a programme of silent pic.vires at Wooler. MIXED FARMING. ITS ADVANTAGES. During a period of depression in the agricultural and pastoral industries, dairying has proved to he the mainstay of thousands of landowners, comments the Australasian. Wheatgrowers, graziers, and sheep farmers, whose resources have been depicted by a series of unfavorable years and low prices for produce, have turned to dairy farming as a. means of tiding them over a lean period. So great has been the increase in dairy farming that some uneasiness lias been caused regarding the possibility of over-production. However, before there can be any great increase in production it is.necessary first to breed up suitable dairy stock, hence file increase in production must be gradual. • ' , • ; -irk 1 .•. On the other hand, cereal production liiay be enormously iherdased-in one' year under favorable, cjijiiatic conditions'- simply -' -by . cropping .a greater acreage. Sheep and • pig population inay also lie raised " at 1 a, iporo rate ; than that of ‘ dairy ■stock. It is improbable, therefore,' that' the fresh impetus given ito dairy farming will r lcad to economic bjv marketing '.difficulties Farmers are driven to -fa realisation-that mixed f farming;-; • of:fdirs a' greater prospect • .of successthan more specialisq<l branches, such a‘s wheat-g'covyihgi liay.-prod.Uctjbh, fat/ lahih rajlipg S or wool-growing.. DbiryiugVfits '’•-ill 'admirably well“'w T ith' r'ahy~T9fGtpe.6e;('npfcivities; ' TJie * fontpigtytl-y -.mi.lk/y or cream - cheque ; has k Wany ■a* struggling •- settler ~ From frnahciaT’embarrassment. Upon many of the 1 ' sheep arid wheat farms a fear y cows,. tended by the farmer,ls family, have provided the whole of the living 'ex-: {lenses,, leaving the returns .from other .branches to be applied to the: reduction of mortgage,- the .payment of.

interest, or fresh developmental work. Tho food value of tho dairy pro-ducer-together , wjili „tlio' profitable, utilisation of surplus slcim milk for pig; or poultry raising, and augmenting tho moat supply, by growing one or two yealers duriug the,year would reduce considerably ;tlie cost' of living, .thereby, husbanding tlio -slender monetary resources ol the settler. don’t Twist her tail. The usual, method for inducing a' calf or cow" lo respond fo the dairy--man’s wishes- is’, to /‘twist her jtail.i Thii procedure is established through long usage; a' dairymah involuntarily uses •it to make ail animal rise oi move into the stanchion or out the door. All dairymen - recognise its propensity for- securing desired, results. But it also has some undesirable results. In a great many dairy herd s’th'erd arc' animals with 'deform-, cd, dislocated and broken tails.' ■ i A method better than twisting the tail can be used. A calf or cow has a “crazy bone” in .the end ol the tail like the one every man has detected in liis elbow * when lie has. bunipod it. This coccygeal nerve iu the tail is not well concealed but readily exposed. If one presses the end of liis r thumb nail directly against the end of'the tail-lie can touch tho “button” and get- instantaneous response in the animals; results aio readily forthcoming.'