ITEMS OF INTEREST

Horowhenua Chronicle, 22 May 1928, Page 3

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Notes Ffom Here and There

Name the Parm. To name a farm effectively is one of the first steps in business farming; it makes a good farm better, says an American agricultural paper. After selecting a name for his farm, the owner fepls that he has set a mark or standard which he must attain and maintain; he produces better fanning. The owner of a well-named farm builds a reputation for good farming, square dealing, and quality products; the farm name is an unwritten guarantee of honesty in business transactions. The farm -name distinguishes one farm from another to the passing public; it may be used on letterheads, envelopes, business cards, farm products, display advertising, and it helps to build confidence, t!ie first requisite of transactions between men. Noxious Weeds. Comment is frequently made on the extent to' which gorse, blackberry, sweet briar, and other noxious weeds are being allowed to sproid in different parts of South Canterbury, states the Timaru Herald. There are those who express the opinion, in emphatic terms, that it is time the Government and the representatives of local bodies in the district dealt with this serious source of waste. Evidently the King Country docs not contain all the agitators who are trying to impress upon the Government its responsibility in regard to noxious growths. Ruakura Farm Herds. Some splendid records have been established by a number of cows under semi official test at the Ruakura State Farm. A senior two-year-old Jersey, Dominion Golden Floss, has secured second place in the Dominion, having yielded (i(53,141b of butter-fat for a lactation period just ended. The cow was beaten for first place by 111 b. A silved medal, awarded by the Jersey Breeders’ Association, has been received by the farm manager in recognition of the cow’s performance. # Golden Floss’ first calf, Dominion Trcsure Lass, ifi one of the leaders in the junior two-year-old class, having given 3921 b of butter-fat in 213 days. A four-year-old, Dominion Banksia, gave 479.811 b of butter-fat in 231 days, while Dominion Cosmos, a thrco-yoar-old, yielded 448.341 b fat in 214 days. The Shorthorn herd at Ruakura has also been responsible for a number of creditable butter-fat records. Dominion Concert of Ruakura, a mature cow, gave 564.31 b of butter-fat in 24.1 days. The Ayrshire herd was well represented in the seim ofiicial record by Dominion Lass o’ Cowrie, a cow which yielded 515.121 b of butter-fat in 294 days, while a Guernsey cow, Dominion du Preol, gave 363.471 b butter-fat in 243 davs.

Dogs Worry Sheep. iShocpowners in the neighbourhood of Castleeliff golf links have had very severe losses recently owing to wandering ■ dogs. Some 40 dead sheep have been found, the majority badly mutilated, and some with cars torn off. A round-up of stray dogs was made last week by owners, and three dogs wore shot one afternoon. The balance of the ■ dogs wore driven over the cliffs on to the beach, where a further seven were accounted for. Most of the dogs had collars, and the owners are now being looked up. Others, ranging from pet Pomeranians to fox terriers and greyhounds, were found to bo without official collars, but the shcepowners hope in the near future to be able to trace a few of the owners of tlfo latter class. Pig Breeders’ Association. The dissatisfaction expressed at the meeting of the Manawatu-Oroua branch of the New Zealand Pig Breeders’ Association was not in regard to the meal itself, as was reported, but with the failure of the branch hitherto to have the food analysed. The agreement with the firm contracted with states: “With reference to our contract to supply you with foodstuffs for pigs, you are at liberty at any time to take any samples from what we have already supplied to any farmer and submit same to any Government analyst to ascertain the food value,” Dairy Production. It is impossible to forecast even approximately the dairy production for the remaining months of tho season, but it is quite evident that the substantial increase over all previous records which was indicated at the begin-; ning of the season will not bo realised. The heavy output of the early months was rapidly diminished as the effects of the dry spell became evident, and although the position to March HI still showed an increase over the previous season to that date, the margin was a a small one. From the marketing point of view it is interesting to turn to the particulars of shipments already made, and those which it is estimated will go forth in the future. Those indicate that from now on there will be a very substantial decrease in stocks of New Zealand butter and cheese on the London market, and consequently prices should rule fairly high. To tho end of March shipments of butter from the Dominion to the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia showed an increase of 450,000 boxes, and cheese an increase of 92,000 crates. Assuming that - the exportable surplus for this season is about equal to that of the previous 12 months, there wdll be available for shipment from April 1 to August 31, 520,000 boxes of butter and 27,000 crates of cheese. These iigures compare with 970,000 boxes of butter and 460,000 crates of cheese shipped for the same period in 1927.