FARM NOTES.

Nelson Evening Mail, 14 March 1906, Page 4

FARM NOTES.

■'■" A 'dcstrtictive f unjris >ias^stack'ed tjbe .'■ rnative fernlpn th'e'JWpsi' Coast of Tai-a- 1 :haki. The^Opunakfr Times; 1 , suggests { that ; it -is laentiiM; jlwith C the -potatp-dis- 1 - Rape arid iurnipi crops in tiie Pa] filers-, ton North distneffsa^s. the VStandfard"). have suffered. telTibly^o^jng. to dopre-. dations by ; the, fly and bug.; •ln Some cases these fodders have had to be plant-' ed three time's, ,;. i; -^ , As ail example! of the extent of the rabbit •invasion ■ in: Australia.' a recent item from 1 ■ihe,Mdlon;6y^districS may be instanced By fdnciri| : ofi^a^tank and .putting/troughs <>f s«?°» e^^L f*' side one grazier -lulled 5600, itf two nights. '-■ ■■.""'■ '' '■ ... .. Eider Haggard's - .prescription- for staying the- decay of 'British agriculture is '-■ thfe§fdl^^^peratipni-'; v eaualisatiqn of;;rates, ; and spnie" systeffl' of -atva^cing money to' deserving" ■aghcuiiusSto^-" j ; '•;*, :' 1 Seagulls have caused the aeath' '^ bf.+a number of sheep 'at Tapanui. "J Whin the. woolly sheop get cast the* birds attack, them, picking their eyes out. : Just beibiS shearing it was foiini necessary to go through tße paddocks frequently to protect the flocks. . , / . The time which the native flax" takes to grow to its ordinary height again after being cut for milling purposes has often been discussed. One miller, to settle any doubte; on the point, took card ;ful observation, :and finds;J,h~at flax off which, he cut the top ;.- growth'. twelve months ago is npw six-ifeetihigh, .'with healthy afld large stems. Farmers Are called uppn almost 'every day to riieasufe off .distances, by stepping arid a' good, deal niay depsnd on the accuracy Of the! Stepping. At the Feilding Show a prize of a gtiin'efi- was offered for the most accurate pacing of a chain. Mr C." Aike^/'of Feilding, trfio # stepped to within 1 an- inch of the chaifl, y/aa i awarded the prize. j • Potato-blight (writes a correspondent of the "Farmers 'Advocate") is general in- the Eketahnna district and I have not noticed a clean, patch yet. I have just seen a plot of Northern Stars' very badly affected. A. great deal of hay is still out, and. will ndt.'be of v much use. What oats there are are very backward. _Gra.BS is plentiful. Very good crops of wheat are to be seen about the 1 lower side of Southbridge {Canterbury) arid oat crops are very fair. Scarcely any were cut orevious'fo the Jong spell of. wet weather, so that there is not much damage done, Grass seed out in the 'paddocks is'utterly rallied.- The weather has been very unsettle'dV ■ ■ • - ; The manufacture of "renovated" but ter in the tfmtfld States* last- year amounted to „60,000,0001 11. . , The; character of the product of renovated butter factories, according to the latest report of the Secretary for' Agriculture, has been improved,;, and: the factories aro under State supervision.. -.•■•<. . . The Eltham Bacon Company, Ltd., (Says the Stratford "Post") has had a bad year'. li.Ka.s nlfids'a'loss of '£876 due to terecWti.oS of^sieo^ainfToss by a fire. The' chairman*. i§< however, hbpo ful as to the future'. Bfi saj'e that, given theHT'oper class of pigs, arid wUinary Jjldp" the corripariy , should be able to show a profit on the current year's working. Speaking at a meeting 6/ the. Greenfiald branch of the Farmers' tfaio'fijtjie chairman said that through the diSCi-iei -farmers co-operating' to get their threshing and chaff-cutting done, a collective saving of frotfl £150 to £200 would ;be effected ;. further, by a reduction in the cost of binder twine brought about b'y the Otago Executive, the speaker had made a saving of £2 0s 6d on the quantity he required for his owfl use. The wet and stormy weather in Taranaki, from Friday to Monday, 12th February, has had a very bad effect on the cocksfoot harvest which was in full swing on the bush lands to the south of Mount Egmont. Bound xvaponga a large guantity was cut, and what was standing -will prob»bly-b& over-ripe before the sickle can get to work In one instance (writes a correspondent of the "Farmers' Advocate 1 ') where the farmer was relying on his cocksfoot the loss will be over The oat crops are very disappointing throughout the Gore district this year (says the "Southern Standard';), and the yields will be considerably ' below the usuaj standard. In some localities oats have just managed, to get above the ground^ and, Iho first loss being the best, growers aro putting their, sheep on them. This, of course, is exceptional, but the oat crop is, generally, a very poor one. The; wheat market (says the Oamaru Mail ) is very dull as millers are fully provided with requisite supplies, and | are holding off. Should fine weather be delayed for a week or so there will probably be a demand-for old wheat, as the harvest will be prejudiced to no small extent. We learn that some of the fine crops in the Kakanui and Maheno districts have been badly laid by the continued wet weather. Beferring to the fact that the Auckland Fruitgrowers' Union is likely to cease to exist unless the revenue from subscriptions is increased, the "Weekly News" urges those interested to rally to its support. It. says :^lt will certainly be a discredit to the fruitgrowers . 2'L Anckland Provin ce if there aro not fifty people among, them who recognise the benefits of unionism sufficiently to support it with a pound a year each Ihere are now in the Auckland province nearly 12,000 acres in orchardsand vineyards. At the present time the ™X£ ? f , thls ™'™°le area of land contubute less than a ponny an acre a year. . Regarding the "blizzard" of the closing days of January, the "Southland rimes says that reports from thedoun try describe the damage to standing J°F* R i widespread «and irreparable. Aided by the incessant and tempestuous gale, the bitter hail squalls beat the crops to the ground, and tangled and twisted them in such a fashion as to render them .impenetrable to the reaper and binder. It is certain that many farmers will lose the greater pa.rt of their

grain cropß, and, of .coturse.tho .vhenvi^ the crop the^more -complete w .the vdes^ truction. CoUplea#Hh.this loss in grain; is the prosprct^rajTCr^p^or supply of tiirnips/ ; ■ , ; ■'■■■■" :: ■• '.'■ .*-•:■;•!-.'. -V' '■' Present infctibM very late harvest in tUe Shag^Vallcy, district ftiis ■ seasori says: vthetV/Palrnerston "Times") The cold weather has retard \ed the ripening of the crops, a«d. -in aotan parts; of. the district, ;; the . ; >ylieat crops wiUnotTig ready":: foivthe ; reaper for at least three or fottf weefcg -There is likely to be a shortage" of ; turnips. The fly has attacked a number of crops, and even in the most .t fertile tgroand large Bait) patches ' are to :be. ;: s"een^ Grass is, however, plentiful, and 'stock' should 7 commence the winter in fair condition. Wretched: Weather (says the Oamaru ! "Mail" has prevailed for. the cocksfoot;---i harvest .on, the Peninsula.' '. : ;Aff«ro &: .week, of dnll' weather :heavy .raiii set vijv aiad continued with slight intferyalsO te |:flrodays, when there were signs" of 'the, Jweatjier breaking. Very little: of '.the seed [already cut has been threshed, and it is safe, to say that 'the majority^ will be. discoloured. The' rain, on the other hand, ;has: been very .welcome to . the -daiiyifarmer,. whose land was presenting; i it decidedly bare,, and burnt-up appearance, which:, led . toj- a marked falling, pffin the (jUaritity.-pf milk delivered at the factories. Lafeiadyices; state that the cocksfoot crop, eiceptthe yery^atest; has sustained great damagejj and. most of thq. harvesters havel.V ; returno'd4tpi i: t ; 9 wn i n despair of the. weatherTclearing r ;the.cut grass being left on thb"griound.i3 ; - :: , ; . • 'fWherever we have ;irriga^ed:-,in : our | : State it has been a magnificent success;" tho Victorian Minister for Agriculture, recently remarked. Mr Swinburne:. ex-^j plained what his Government has been doing in the direction of watering the arid countrv between the Waranga. dam, which holds 9,000,000,000 cubic feet of

\Vater',' : and the . Loddon Bivef.- - - Tlifl . scheme; will take six years to complete, and will 'cost £1,600,000, : and it is calculated that 1^250,000 acrcs.will be reri; -L dered- suitable for closer settlement" Irj ;._-.- --rigation is to be" made preparatory to im»-- •":. migration. •Mr Swinburne, says-^that : £300, 000 aiyear is earned. , at:. Mudnra . off 8000 acres" , and that; , the^ettlement • has prospered: By- a; recent. Act, in- Vic-;. .;■:.■. toria every .< rivor; streamj creel^Viin^, "■_ "/,. Jake. has been, vested .&- the'.Grow^.: :. 'and-it is expected : that" in-tHerrfnturpr:. . - 'tbjs'possession will form. a great asset^j.'." 1 '