RURAL TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVI, Issue 14416, 5 July 1907, Page 3

RURAL TOPICS.

'AGRICULTURAL AND PASTOItAJ. 'Of farming conditions in Australi.-i tße Melbourne "Australasian" ol June 29 says:—Sever© frosts hove been terirperienced during the past week, iind the weather generally hai; been colli enough to retard the growth of vegetation. Of course those conditions arc to be expected at this timo of year, but it seldom happens that eo much frost is experienced in June. The sowing of the cereal crops is now practically finished, only a fow belated farmers having still work to do. Whew, tthe- crops are over ground they a.vo looking splendid, and do not &oem to have Been injuriously affected by th*' frosts. In the north-western portion of the State, in particular, prospects were •eldom better at the corresponding time of year, and, given a favourable spring, there will be another good harvest. Grass is short in most districts', but' it is good enough for sheep, though cattle would prefer it longer.

! In view of the anticipated shortage In the wheat crop of the Northern Hemisphere, it is interesting to quote. the following summing up of the petition from the American point of yiew, as given in the " New \ork Commercial of May 18:—Making all allowance for the tactics of grain gamblers trying to swindle the public, a dis(passionate observer of the situation Will be driven to the conclusion that. »! material contraction in the foreign wheat yield must be taken for granted. |la. numerous European grain-growing areas the weather has blasted the crops. In many others it has worked _a 50 per cent injury. In very few. if indeed in »ny, has it failed to do more damage than for several years previous. No) 1 ks the improvement said to have taken place in Southern Russia and the Baltic •territory during the last few days capable of offsetting the mischief that has been done. The Old World prop nay not prove in the aggregate so •mall as existing conditions forecast, but it will fall far short of the average, .unless a miracle v of Nature is wrought; «hd, even were it to reach the average level by grace of miracle, it would bo much too small for the needs of a population rapidly increasing, despite the immense immigration of which the Americans get the benefit. It is the strong probability of an unprecedented foreign demand for wheat that warMnts stiff prices for our grain, and not ft certainty that our crops wjll be far, beneath the average of the last five years.

The Wairarapa has just passed through on© of the most miserable eight weeks ever recorded in its history at this time of the year, writes the corof the '" New Zealand !Rmeß." May began with a treanendoria flood., which directly did much damage to the farmers' property in all parts of the country. The torremtial rains were also responsible in a large measure for the turnip rot •which ruined the crops to the extent of over £IOOO. For the next seven weeks the district was swept time ♦vffcer time with' fierce, sleety southerlie*, ! which/ made farm life positively wretched. Cropping was almost impossible ; but a few farmers attempted It- when there appeared a possibility of some cessation of the elements' activity. In almost every case the reaiulte were disastrous, and the' work will have to be don« over again. With • bright, fine, sunshiny day on Saturday, Wairarapa farmors are hoping devoutly that the weather has broken, •ad that they may now be able to do something.

The new 00-operativo dairy company it Bunnythorpe has decided to make Gutter.

,-•' Tim member for Waikato. 1 Mr H. J. Greenalade, has erected a largo milking ahed on his farm, in which he has installed. six milking machines. Oyer 180 cows will bo milked.

- "Spero," writing., in. tho "Live Btock Journal," says:—" We do .undoubtedly want a national pig to meet tb» requirements of our bacon factors. One breed is too fat. another too l«sn. At present the ideal of the factor loan only be attained by a first ttroßtf.

• A English agricultural correspondent %-rit«Ji—• "Sir JohnM'Fadyean, in his annual report as principal of the Epy.il Veterinary College, calls attention •<> m. newly observed cattle disease, which 1© oalla Johne's disease, after it« discoverer, a German veterinarian. During*'the past year it was identified on. six farms in England. Its most striking symptom is loss of condition, with, diarrhoea. Aai attacked' animal steadily wastes until natural death or slaughter put* an end to its sufferings, the disease being invariably fatal, no remedy for it having been discovered. It is caused by baoilli in tho intestines. Borne persons have confused it with tuberculosis, and it has been styled Ijaeudo-tuberculosis; but tliis is a misBomer, as Lt is quite distinct from this malady. Probably the disease is much more com&non than it is yet known to be, wasting and diarrhoea among cattle, and particularly young animals, being very common, especially in Jre-

At a meeting of .tho Ashburton Agricultural and Pastoral Association held last month it was decided that Mr J. C. N. Grigg should be asked to obtain a-recipe used by his father which proved very effective in destroying birds. Mr Grigg, in accordance with the Atsociation's request, forwarded a copy of a, Government leaflet on the matter, dmwn up by the Chief Chemist of die Department of Agriculture, and in which that gentleman speaks of and quotes Mr Griggs recipe as follows: ** This method was brought unler my

notice by Mr J. Grigg, of Longb'eaeh (to whom my best thanks are due), on whose station it had been used with great success,, sis' /many as two thousand birds being killed in a morning. The principle of this method is that the grain is superficially coated with particles'of strychnine, which are made to adhere by damping the grain with a little fresh milk. The Government property surrounding the Burnham Industrial School presents, unequalled facilities for carrying en experiments of this nature, and the grounds surrounding that institution have accordingly been tho site of the latest experiments. The result of thees experiments was to demonstrate indisputably that' strychnine preparations, mixed dry, were so much more efficient than others, that I have no hesitation in advising the abandonment of ' other methods of mixing at present practised in the poisoning of birds, in favour of the - following:—Ten pounds of good sound wheat is thoroughly damped with fresh milk eo that the whole- grain is wet, but not dripping with moisture. Five-sixths of an ounce (avoirdupois) of powdered strychnine, not too fine, :'s then gradually shaken on to the grain, the whole being kept constantly stirrer]. When all the strychnine is mixed in, the grain may be immediately laid. This is best done by laying a good train of chaff, without any oats, to attract attention. The poisoned grain is then very lightly sprinkled on the chaff."

Farmers (says the " Oamaru Mail'') complain very much about the want of rain, the amount that has fallen in many localities having been considerably less than even that which has becu experienced in town. Up to the piesent the area of wheat sown is a long way below that under crop at this time last year, farmers being unable to break up lea land owing to its dry, hard condition. In some cases grain that was eown fully two months ago has not yet made its appearance above ground owing to the absence of moisture to cause germination, while some that has come through is thin and not promising very well. This is not, however, tho general experience, as many crops' are to be met with that look well, though growth is not vigorous.

Mr T. Millar, of Eweburn, Otago, lias invented a new reaper and binder. Its leading features consist in a total absence of canvas, all the parte being constructed of metal; the crop is cut "on the vertical," and conveyed "on the vertical," into the binder, and is tied and discharged in that position; no reels, canvases, level wheels, spurs, sprockets or chains are needed; and lastly it is to be placed on the market very much cheaper than other implements of the kind. A company is being promoted to build the machines.

"Dairy cows may be divided into live classes or sub-claeses, to suit different circumstances: (1) The buttermaking cow, whoso business, it \& to grow into money, make good butter and plenty of it, snd to breed a decent calf to follow her in tho milking herd. (2) The cheese-making cow, whose output needs to consist of milk rich in .the cs-seiu principle that goes to produce plenty of cheese, and tufficent milk-t'nt to ensure the cheese being of high enough quality. (3) The milk-seller's cow, that must at all hazards give <\ free flow of milk, and that up to such kind as will pass the standard of richness—that is all. (4) The cow capable of breeding really first-class grazers--that is. a good beef-making stock, whilffl she makes as much butter as she may—but the former, and not tho latter, ability is to be held as tho essential. (5) The gentleman's or wealthy man's cow. that must produce milk of high quality, tho quantity not being a siuo qua non. The cow must, indeed, produce cream and butter of passing excellence, but as for her. wearing away in the process—well, ifc mattereth not, for tho owner has plenty of money to rectify that. As for the animal payi-ig tho rent, why, that is by no means important, and" it would not come off if it wore." "Farm, Field and Fireside."

New Zealand mutton and lamb evidentlv continue to be in great demand at Home, notably in Scotland. A Duuedin resident has (according U> tr.o "Otago Daily Times") received a circular ksued by a prominent iirm of Glasgow butchers expatiating on tho quality of New Zealand produce, and quoting tho prices of Canterbury lamb as follow:— uigots, 61b each, 9d per 11); hindquarters, 121 b, 7*d per lb: loins, 51b, 6id per lb; and forequarters, bib, od per 11).

The emallness of the winter rainfall in North Canterbury is causing an auxioub feeling amongst tho burners regarding the coming epring and summer. The subsoil m utmost devoid of moisture, and the springs and hayo seldom, it ever been lower at this time of tho year than at present. It was hoped that the north-wester -at the beginning of the week would bo followed by Kiin, but the clouds passed away, and the weather, if anything, became* winner The heavy rain, snow and antarctic storms persistently predicted by the weather-prophets during the past week or ten days would bo a welcome change.