LOCAL AND GENERAL

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4806, 5 July 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

No less than 96 types of vegetables were exhibited in the winning entry in the small farms scheme garden competition at the Winter Show, won by Mr. L. Nicholson, of Lee’s block. The actual varieties in the stand were much greater than this, because eight varieties of kurni kumi, five varieties of carrots, four varieties of corn, etc., were listed each as the one type, and there were altogether 125 varieties on display. The ordinary space allotted to the garden display competition had to be considerably extended to make room for the entry, and the judge, Mr. H. A. Lurman, said that the exhibition was of outstanding merit.

“Profits are just as soundly earned as anything else and the profit system is designed better than any other I know,” said Professor A. H. Tocker, professor of . economics at Canterbury University College, in an address on Thursday. “The whole price and profit and loss system is designed to turn commodities where they' are most wanted, and everyone with sixpence to spend has a vote on the way production is directed. I can’t think of anything fairer. The thing has all sorts of leaks and lags and inequalities. But where it has been replaced by something else you usually have a lower standard of living.” In some ways, in Italy and Germany, the system was better, but on the whole, living standards were lower, and people had lost the liberty that made the old system worth while.

The novel experience of seeing rabbits dying of . starvation because of their great numbers and the lack, of feed was described by a well-known Canterbury runholder. In 25 years’ experience of Central Otago he said that he had never seen the country looking so bad. The shortage of feed after the dry season, together with the large number of rabbits swarm-' ing over the country, had reduced areas almost to the state of a desert. Those runholders who could do their own rabbiting were keeping" the plague in check on their own places, but those who were forced to employ labour had completely lost control, the price of rabbit skins being so low that men could not .earn a decent living and were thus not available for the work.

The position of dairy farmers in relation to recruiting was explained by Mr. C. J. Parlane, general manager of the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., in a letter addressed to the Hamilton defence committee. After apologising for his absence owing to a prior engagement in Wellington, Mr. Parlane wrote:“There is no doubt that it is the duty of every citizen to use his best endeavours to build up an efficient defence force, but notwithstanding this I feel convinced that the present Government plan is doomed to failure. In fact, I would say it is quite impossible for a dairy farmer to fill in the New Zealand national military card unless, in addition to offering his services in the defence of the his country, he is prepared to face personal financial loss, and it is too much to expect this under a voluntary system.”

Herd testing figures for the month of May in this district were as follows: Mokauiti group; 189 cows tested averaged 2401bs of milk, tested 6.24, and averaged 151bs of fat'. The best herd, consisting of 16 cows, averaged 181bs of fat and the yielded 291bs of fat. Pio Pio group: 120 cows tested averaged 2701bs of milk, tested 5.96 and averaged 161bs of fat. The best herd, consisting of 6 cows, averaged 241bs of fat and the best cow yielded 351bs of fat. Te Kuiti group: 224 cows tested averaged 2191bs of milk, tested 6.14 and averaged 131bs of fat, the best herd consisting of 39 cows averaged 181bs of fat and the best cow yielded 281bs. The 29,225 cows tested by the Association in May averaged 14.91bs of fat, compared with 51,336 cows tested averaging 181bs in May, 1938, and 69,145-cows tested yielding 19.31bs in May, 1937.

Owing to the general increase in the number of territorials throughout the Dominion the clothing of the men has become a problem, according to Colonel P. H. Bell, Officer Commanding the Southern Military District. It had been accentuated, he said, because of blue garments as well as khaki having to be made. It had become necessary to withdraw riding trousers and puttees in certain units in order to provide the mounted rifles with them. In due course, puttees for infantry units, said Colonel Bell, would be replaced with web anklets, similar to those in use in the British Army. Until these arrived from England, units from which riding trousers and puttees had been withdrawn would wear khaki slacks.