RURAL TALKS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17264, 4 September 1916, Page 10

RURAL TALKS.

(By RUST7.CTJS,) . j ' August, 25. At the time of writing the weather! has taken a decidedly harder turn, j and tho ground is drying;up fast. .The i beginning of the week was exceedingly rough and cold,.and since then , cold winds and sharp frosts have prevailed. All growth is practically at a standstill' in consequence, but we have the satisfaction of knowing that tho ground is drying up nicely, and that work can now lw resulted m most m- j stancec, it i? high time that .the; change came, because ike season is pro- ! grossing, and no work worth speaking j of has been done on the land since winter set in. The rain came early in' j the winter and Prevented the .usual j area of crop going in. Of course, : farmers wero'a Jitt.fe diffident about the ; matter in view of .the .Australian men-1 sice, and the probability of a.-.shortage l of labour nest summer because of r.f'-1 cniiting, but still a greater, area than. was actually put in would hftVfc been : sown, if tho weather had continued fin., for a few weeks longer. As the cud oi j winter approached, the Australian men-j ace became greater, and farmers were ! further discouraged in the wheat grow- j ing part of their funning operations, j Still, some sowing would have beeu/lonc in the beginning of the month, and certainly when the wheat clause* in the last Appropriation Act passed through tho House drilling would have gone ahead, if the weather and the land had been suitable. It is only during tho last few days that tho ground has begun to get "dry enough for ; cultivating operations, except on" the lighter land, j wiiero work could be "done at intervals j throughout the winter. There is still a j good deal of apprehension iu the country concerning the dumping proclivities of" Australia, and farmers do not hesitate to say that they are not wholly | satisfied with the position. The "wheat clause" above mentioned, is all right as far as it goes, but will the Prime Minister put it into operation early enough? Meat wheat growers would like to see the extra duty put on at once. They would then feel safer. They feel themselves in such a hopeless minority in the country that they will not bo oasv in their minds till they actually see the extra duty imposed. In addition to the measure of support promised in the Appropriation Act there is tho possibility of shortages, or a creased yield in the United States, Canada and other centres, and this is putting up the price both at homo and in Australia. A few weeks ago it was thought that tho export price of wheat in the Commonwealth would have to be dropped to four shillings a bushel. Now it. is, I believe, up to, five shillings a bushel, so that our minds may he easy for the time being. Discussing the prospects of wheat.with somo brother farmers the other day, they-expressed tho opinion that wheat will be a payable price after harvest, and I am inclined to agree. It is to ha hoped so, because there are somo farmers who will have to put wheat or something elso into their land during the spring. The grass grub has played up with the paddocks seriously, and if sheep feed is grown it will be most difficult to proi euro sheep at anything like a decent i price. Ewes are mounting up in value ! each day, and those who usually do some stocking up during tho spring are in a quandary. The commandeering of the Homegrown wool by the Imperial authorities has given rise to a good deal of discussion here as to what action, if any, will bo taken in regard to our our wool. I notice that the War Office in London has appointed a Central Advisory Committee to deal with matters arising out o* tho purchase and distribution of tho w'col. Tho committee includes representatives of growers, buyers, manufacturers, and there will be branch committees in Scotland and Ireland'. It appears that a good deal of wool has already been purchased. The Government is evidently going to use most of the wool for its own requirements. The wool will be bought and issued to manufacturers at fixed prices, and tho price I of the cloth will be based on tho price given for the wool. Presumably Australasian wool is to remain untouched. Had anvthing in the shapo of commandeer ing* been intended, it seems only rational to suppose that an intimation to that effect would have been made be r fnro this. Tho Australian clip, or a portion of it, must soon come on the market. Aro we going to benefit by the withdrawal of the Home grown wool frym the open market, just as Av' tir.o meat is benefiting by the fact that our meat is commandeered by our iiovernment for the Imperial Board of Trade. As to the future of wool, a \ great difference of opinion exists. It j must, almost certainly, bo a good price ! tiiis season, as good as it was last.year. After tho war is over .will boom conditions last, if only for a time? It has i been pointed out good prices for wool havo always ruled after a big war. Of course, tho present conflict is unique iu ! its scope and intensity. It amounts almost to a world-wide upheaval. That, however, may be no reason why a. departure ' from the former experiences ir.av be expected in the present instance. Money will be the big difficulty, no doubt. " But it is only reasonable- to assumo that Germany and Austria will need bii: supplies, and manufacturing must be recommenced i,i France and Belgium as soon as ever the machinery can be replaced. If America retains her freetrade poiicy in regard to wool, there is almost sure tobe a big business from that quarter. Of course tho huge orders for khaki'stuffs will cease, but stocks of other woollen ' goods must now be very low, and this should' counterbalance to some . extent j the falling off in manufactures for milij tary purposes.

I hear that some sheep are dying for no apparent reason. That is, although they have been on.turnips they aro not. too fat. and they should not suffer on that account, as is so often the case with ewes at this time of the yea:-. No doubt sheep have had a very bud time on turnips during tile past month or six weeks. Mud has predominated everything. This has been, par lieularlv the case where the grass gitfb has gone through the ground, rendering it free and open to a degree. Literally stock has been wading through' mud to their " undernetvths," and it. is only fair to suppose that they havo cater; somo soil along with" the turnips, great deal of waste has taken plnce n< the endeavour to avoid.this, but that is inevitable at a time when an uuu-v.t amount of wet weather is experienced. Caution should bo exercised in feeds'Vv. roots to pregnant animals. The tu:nips are so watery .and cold that without dry feed of some sort they arc not tho* best ov foods for in.larch ewes. If the stomach becomes overladen with turnips this weight ;uidod to the lamb or lambs that are being earned may cpuso: abortion Then there is the nnte-partum paralysis trouble, that ca'hses •so much loss at this season. Ono would have thought, however, that there would not be much of ib.t trouble about this .season. The;'want of exercise is a real danger in comieetion with pregnant ewes on turnip)}.. Even when they are driven off and or; tho break each'day they may s ; a about on tho grass paddock between whiles, waiting to be allowed on the root;; for another feed. They should, if. possible, be driven a distance, find caie should be taken to feed the roots in moderation only. A Hills dry feed, with the necessary oxerei.se, will probablv keep them quite right: