FARM AND DAIRY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 4 September 1915, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY.

i- -, ■. ■, '. ■ : ( Tlie rain of the past few days has been heartily welcomed, especially by , farmers on the open land. August was; a particularly dry month until the.last . day. The paddocks everywhere look well, and with this rain, .grass will come <)n rapidly .if frosts hold off, Generally speaking the .season is early. Cows have come in early, and the milk supply probably is substantially in ad-' vance of that'at this time last year. '

A report has been received by the Feilding A., and P. Association from Home as to the prices realised by sheep and iambs sent to ascertain values. The mutton sold at from 6£d to 7£d per lb, and the lamb from 7sd to BJd per lb. The secretary states that all the competitors will donate their payments to one or the other of the patriotic funds to the amount of £393. Romney Marsh sheep are in great demand for the Argentine, according to Live Stock Journal. Mr J. Egerton Quested, of Folkeston, England, has lately consigned three very valuable stud sires, prize-winners at all the leading shows, and these will be followed shortly by twenty yearling rams from the same flock. The first prize yearling tarn and reserve cKanipiqn at the Hoyal Show has been sold to go to Scuth America, and twenty-five yearriing rams from other flocks are leaving at once for the Argentine. In an article published in the monthly bulletin of tne international Institute of Agriculture, the ettect of the war on farming in Eranfce during the first.six mon-tJtis is pointed out. By the systematic employment of 'iecaj, \ resources, the-acuy ity of women, children, and old nien, the co-operai/ion of those turned out of fortined places, ana of all tne unemployed in industrial cities, tne crops were iiarvesfced with not much.loss. The losses are estimated at '<v(JO,000 quintal of wheat/,o"0u,0OO quintals of oats; 85U.Q00 quintals of rye • 6G0 3 0U0 oumtals of t>ar- %; and 7,200,000 quintalis of potatoes. The import duties on cereals, rice and flour were suspended. It was forbidden to slaughter' cows in calf or oows in milk, stud animals of all kinds heifers, or working oxen. The introduction of frozen meat was favored by various decrees, which led to the consumption of 150,000 tons during the first six month®. Regulations for the employmeit of prisoners of war specify that the rates of pay shall be the same as for soldiers doing the same workthe. wages shall contribute to the improvement of their condition, and the surplus be paid over at the time of their liberation after deducting the cost of their maintenance.

Short-test classes for dairy cows are still persevered with in England; and at the recent Nottingham Royal Show, the highest quantity of milk in 24 hours was produced by Mr Kennetn M. Uarke's Sudbourne Belinda who gave 681b. Soz.i in 24 hours. Her fat percentage, however, was only 3.1, so that she was beaten on points, even among Red Tolls, by the same owner's Molly 3rd with 671b 14oz. milk, testing 3.4; and in the whole competition by Lord Lucas s Shorthorn cow Charity 28rd with 681b milk, testing. 3.95 per cent." The Ayrshires here occupy a comparatively unimportant position. Mr W. Gibson's Auchenclough Kate 2nd was first in her class with 571b 12oz milk, and a 3 42 test.

In-the butter, tests, at the-same show, for cows exceeding 9001b. live, Mr J. Evens was first, .with his Lincolnshire red Shorthorn, Burton Lovely, weighing 13cwt 3qr 71b, who gave a milk yield of 631b 6o?j producing 31b soz of fair colored, good butter in 24 hours. Second to her was the Hon. Mrs Tennant's Jersey, Lady Typist, who gave 431b Boz milk, producing 21b 13Joz of butter of excellent color, and good quality. In the class for cows under • 9001b live-weight, the Jerseys were practically unchallenged, only one cow of other breed, a Guernsey, competing. Mr J. H. Smith-Barry's Nerine won, with 431b 4oz milk, producing 21b lloz butter.

Purs sheep ar 0 bringing good.prices m the Old Country, according to the latest agricultural journals, mainly owing to the opening of South American ports. A flock of Dorset Horns, numbeing 1000 head, sold very well. Sixtooth ewes sold up to £5; four-tooth ewes, to £4 10s; while lambs realised from £2 6s to £3 12s. At the Royal sales, the first-prize yearling Shropshire ram made 110 guineas—the top price.

South Africans, in purchasing Ayrshires, now demand milking pedigrees; and seven head'lately consigned to several breeders in the Union wars all out of dams with good percentages of but-ter-fat. Three two-year-old heifers, sired by Lessnessock Golden Pippin and Columba, sires of known milking pedigrees, are out of dams testing over 4 per cent, butter-fat. Two of these heifers are in calf to the milk-record bull, Milky Way, whose dam has a record of 1430 gallons of 3.82 per een>t. birt-,ter-fat in 49 weeks. Included in the consignment is a splendidly bred tbree-year-old bull, Aucnenbram Annuity, of -a well-known milking family.

One hundred years ago (1815) the imports of wool into Great Britain, states the "Wool Record,"-consisted of 46,156 bales. Spam was the principal source of supply, with 24,619 bales; Germansnext, with 8964 bales; then Portugaf, with 6361;. Russia, 876; Italy, Turkey, Per.v, Denmark, with less, than 300 bales each; Sydney, 151 bales; Van Diemen's Land, 92 bales; Cape, 11 bales; sundries, 3950 bales. The prices obtained then will seem extraordinary to modern flock-masters. Spanish wool varied considerably in price according to locality, that from Leonesa realist ing from 6s 3d to 7s 6d per. lb; while from Seville it reached from 3s 9d to us. Saxony Ist was quoted at from 8s to 10s; 2nd, from 4s 6d to 5s- 9d; Bohemia, Ist, 3s 6d to os; 2nd, 2s 2d to 3s.

Notwithstanding the fact that Argentine ports were still closed to British cattle, the sale of Shorthorns, after the Royal Show at Nottingham, was a little better than the previous year. Sixty head averaged just over £67. The top price was 450 guineas, paid for Swinton Sardonyx, which won first prize in the junior two-year-old class, a massive and shapely .bull. Mr E. W. Bishop's Chance, a two-year-old bull, by Hampton Broa'lhooks out of a Maisey Hampton .Fanny, brought 220 guineas. Two other bulls reached 160 guineas and 350 guineas; and several made 100 guineas All the high-priced stock went to South American buyers. The opening of the ports the day after the sale was in favor of buyers.

A letter has been received from Mi J E. Glif^n, New Zealand Commissioner at the Panama Exposition stating that New Zealand sheep arriving for competition in, November wiU *not require to be 'dipped if they are clean, and i'ihey will be quarantined for fifteen | days only. There is, he says, a definite movement on foot to improve American flocks, and owners are looking to j New Zealand to supply a large numj ber of stud animals for this purpose. All sheep sent will certainly meet with j a good, demand, more particularly | Romneys and Corriedales.

J Mr William Dunlop, the well-known Clydesdale breeder in Scotland, has lost J his tine throe-year-old colt, Dunure Flashlight, a succesfsul show horse. The cause of death was pink eye, a disease common in America, and it has 1 been suggested that it was brought to j Scotland by the extensive importation of American horses for army purposes. The dressing percentage of liv c stock is always an interesting topic to graziers ; and some figures recently given in the■'"Breeders'- Gazette" may therefore bear repetition. The best dressing on a full ioad x)f bullocks sent to a pack-ing-house was 67 per cent., malde by yearlings from Ohio. A common steeii killed at the Armor works, made 72' per cent. Taking the year round, packers' purchases dress 55 per cent, to 60 per cent.,; and 57 per cent, to 58 per cent, cattle are fairly numerous. Pigs, on winter feed, such as maize, are expected to average SO per cent., and a full load has made as high as 55.5 per cent. In summer, when taken off glass, percentages run 77 to 78. This includes head, feet, and hide. Packers'reckon *on 50 per cent, for the general run of lambs, or 52 per cent, if caul-dressed. An average of 50 per" cent, is the rule with sheep. „ ■ ... v

i Hog cholera (reaily swine fever) is estimated to have caused a loss of over 6,000,000 in the United States in 1913, these being valued at over £12,000,00(>. According to the Secretary for Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture is now spending £100,000 a year in operations for the eradication of this disease, while many of the States were also spending considerable sums. In asking for the continuation of the annual grant of £100,000, Mr Houston states that it is a A rery cheap way of getting rid of such a troublesome disease, m view of the great annual loss caused. The Secretary for Agriculture also shows that the annual losses1 from cattle tick have ranged in recent years from £8,000,000 to £20,000,000.

The death is announced in The North British Agriculturist of the famous old Clydesdale stallion Silver Cup. The horse was so badly kicked that he had to be destroyed. Silver Cup was a son of the famous Baron's Pride, h's dam being Balmedie Vesta, by MacGregor, tracing back further through Lord Lyon and Clyde to Rob Roy At the closing out sale of the Seaham Harbor Stud he was bought by the late Mr Robert Brydon for IOOOgs, and has ever since remained his property. Silver Cup was first at the Royal three times, and first at the Highland and Agricultural Society's Show twice. He was one of the best Clydesdale stallions of his time, and perhaps bore a stronger general resemblance to his grand-sire Sir Everard than any other one of the produce of Baron's" Pride. He proved a prolific and successful sire. His female progeny excelled his male progeny in general merit, and were indeed remarkably true to breed type and character.