FARMING NEWS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 100, 27 March 1936, Page 5

FARMING NEWS.

RURAL RAKINGS. Because of tlie poorer flowering of lhe rata, the honey season on the Wesf Coast of tlie South island has not beer a good one, Tlie export supply is expected to be very limited, most of the season’s product being sold on the local market. Mention was made to a meeting ol Wanganui farmers by Dr David Miller chief entomologist at the Cawthrcm Institute, of efforts being made to import a ragwort seed-fly from England t< cope with the growth of that weed ii. New Zealand. He said that there was a splendid organisation in England, r. research station for .the Empire, t( which this Dominion contributed £751 a year. New Zealand, he added, toolmore than half the parasites tha station collected.

A case of sheep worrying occurred recently at Mr J. C. Bid will’s Pihautea property, when two hoggets were killed and about thirty mutilated. An employee whe was passing along the road happened to notice two dogs at work at 9 o’clock in the morning- and he was able to capture both of them while they were holding on to a sheep. The dogs were destroyed. “That the Government be requested tn make cheap money available tc farmers in order that they can erecl cottages to enable them to employ more married men on their farms” was the text of a remit brought before a meeting of the Wanganui provincial exe cutive of the Farmers’ Union by Mi A. P. Melville. The remit is to be forwarded to the annual interprovincia conference to he held at Feilding. A cattle fair held a Taumaninui this week was largely attended by buyers from Taranaki, Patea, the Waikato. Dannovirke and many other districts. About 1200 cattle were yarded, and there was a very keen demand for all lines offered, practically everything being sold under the hammer. A large percentage of the yarding was brought by freezing works and out side buyers. Fat bullocks made from £7 to £8 14s; fat cows, £4 5s to £5 6s; Polled Angus steers, £6 5s to £8 Is; Shorthorn steers, £4 Is to £6 17s; Hereford bullocks' £6 7s to £7 10s; Red Poll steers, £5 10: to £5 12s: store steers, to £6 17s; store, cows, £2 4s to £4 15s; empty heifers, £2 2s 6d to £3 18s; bulls, £2 to £7; vealersi' 335. ■ j Organisation to liberate colonies ol the Chilian saw-fly in the Wanganu district reached practically its final stage on Wednesday,t when Dr David Miller, chief entomologist at the Cawthion Institute, told the committee ol farmers who sponsored his trip to Chile how he had fared in his efforts to obtain colonies of the insect. It was agreed that Dr Miller .again come to Wanganui and undertake liberation- in the various localities in which the properties of the subscribers to the fund lie. He. said that it was useless to attempt to liberate insects in proportion to the amount subscribed by each (owner. The proper course was to find j localities where the colonies would thrive.