ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13393, 23 January 1907, Page 3

ON THE LAND.

AUCKLAND DAIRYING

A South run paper. speaking of dairying, sis represented at the, Christchurch International Exhibition, says:—" Aucklaml, though it contends with Wellington for second place as a butter/province, has '.(•lit no provincial dairying exhibit. Wu nave to seek elsewhere for the information that the district contains 130 factories and creameries (otherwise called skimming stations), and that during la-t season 54,134icwt. of butter, rclued at £292,326, and 3032cwb of ehoe.-e, valued at £9400. were shipped from the port of Auckland '<> the United! Kingdom. The Waikata is the loading tiiiry «ii>rrict of Auckland, mid in its section <.i I hi" provincial court it doe-- itself jit -tire in tin-, re-pert. liy way of showing six year*' progress in butter-production, the V/aika'o r<;minuti-'- ha-> sent the best example ot graphic statistic* m 'ho Kxllibition. They -tale tin- output of butter ill Waikato t< r -i -eric- of Years, a-) follows: — 1901. £170.000; 1002. £211.000: 1903, £232,000: 11,'04. £270.000: 1905, £307,000. In comparing rinse figures with those of the Auckland export.- a- given above, it .mils! hi- borne in mind that, the AVaikato figures include butter produced for ; local consumption. W'aikato is proud of the quality dI it- butter, a- well a- tin l r.i pidly-grow-ing quantity, much of it having gained top prices on tin- Hughs!) market.

nucidNiNc A'!iiicuiuk.:* Within the la-t thirty year* over ~ two ' million neves have Ivetm withdrawn from ' lereal cultivation in (i rear liritaiu. Thirty years ago (ireat Britain devoted 5.630,300 acres to wheat; the present harvest has been grown on 1.795,985 acres only. • The area of wheat- land which has passed out of cultivation within the lifetime of all of us who have attained even early middle ,age •is 1.854,000 acres, or more than the area now remaining under cultivation! Tin- barley crop is less affected, but a decline from 2,335.913 acres in 1873 to l.i 15,664 acres in 1905 exceeds 622,000 acres in thirty-two years, mill means that barley culture will be extinct before the close of ihe century. Of oats the culture was well maintained till quite recently, but 1905 ivtur-is are 200,000 acres leas than those of 1904. and the enormous Russian supplier inako if impossible to have any confidence in recovery. The Russian grain gets to iLoudoa in a. week, and the sea freights from file shores of Finland to the quays ol 1-ondoi. are much less than the railway charge- from the Midlands to the metropolis. Beans in 1875 occupied 586,561 acres; in 1905 'he area was 254,765 acres only. Beans, like wheal, will be an extinct crop before W35. Peas have fallen from 318,213 to 175.608 acres; less than beans, but half a century will sttlfiee to see t Ih> last of them.

Til WORLD'S SIIHKP. The fiuveinnK-nl. statist of Victoria recently prepared an interesting table showing the number of sheep in the principal countries in ihe World where they are broil for the years 1887 and 1903. If shows that whilst in 1887 the total was 435,500,000, at- the end of 1903 it was 408,000,000, a decrease oi 26,500.000. The deereaso is actually a, greatdeal more, for if wo take tho annual a vera go ,increase—good and bad seaisons—at five per cent., the figures at tho end of 1903 should have stood at 938,000,000. However, tho fuel remains that there has boon an alarming decrease in the world's sheep ntock, audi the most- feasible solution is that whilst: sheep-farming ha« decreased, the other branches of agriculture have increased. Whether in inverse ratio or not it is difficult to say. Since 1903 we know that tho numbers of sheep both in the United Kingdom and the United; States have decreased, whilst there has been a heavy decrease also in ot her European countries outside of Great Britain.

SI I EBP FODDER. The following plants should bo found useful for sheep pasture 011 the poorer^class of Northern lands. , . Yellow lupin, an annual legume, supplies a good moans of improving sandy soils. Indeed, it lias been found to grow satisfactorily on sandy dunes by the sea, which is a very severe test. The produce can bo used either green or dried, and tho seeds are frequently fed will) hay, being quite as fattening as oil cake. The foliage is rather more bulky than that of red clover, and quite as nutritive. Some 9011> of seed per acre should be sown as wxm as tho ground is warm in spring, and the crop will then attain to a very early maturity. ■ There arc, of course, quite a number of lupins, but the yellow sort is certainly the best yet tested for agricultural purposes. None of ihem do well oil chalky or dan)]) soils, but they possess very considerable value for Miudv lands. > ■ <

Chicory is widely grown on the Continent for forage purposes, and it, is a good plant for sheep feed. It will last for several years if prevented from flowering. The roots are, in addition, used as a substitute for coffee.

Yarrow is a perennial plant, common 111 old fields and meadows, it is too often regarded as a weed; but the fact that .stock keep it closely bitten down in a pasture is proof ]>o.»itivo that they like it, so that it- is regarded as a useful forage plant when •■Town in conjunction with other species. It is specially valuable as ail addition to sheep pastures.

Till; CIiISESK INDUSTRY. Tin' hep.' ft factories of the Wairarapa have (says the New Zealand Times) a mutual agreement in regard to the disposal of their, outputs, which is an object lesson to cooperative dairy companies in other districts. They first of all decided, in conference, that they would not sell outright any cheese for export, but would ship it on consignment, and do this for a term of years. Buyers were. thereupon invited to meet delegates from the ilill'i rent factories, and the linns through which the outputs should be shipped were selected. The factories recognised that if they were to get full market value for their produce they must select reputable Home agents, and allow these to handle 1 lie produce over an extended period, so that thereby a connection could be built tip for it. 'hi" of the Wairarapa cheese factories, l),i,lefii'ld, lias consigned its cheese to - a (Glasgow lit 111 for a long term of years, and with the most satisfactory results, Probably this example induced the other factories to adopt tie- same sound principle. Consigning through one channel from year to year is the one means by which the disposal of New Zealand dairy produce may I»> • placed on a permanently satisfactory footing, for ii is only when the Home agents is assured of a continuous supply of a particular brand that he can afford to make afeature of it, and build up for it sucli a connection that market fluctuations will have a minimum of effect on it« .'selling value.

CHARACTER IX DAIRY BULLS. The selection of tlio bull is very important and should be given most careful consideration. The* fact that Ike is a purebred animal should not, constitute all of his qualifications (says (leorge C. Humphrey, of tho Wisconsin lvxperiment .Station), Ho should come a, t,-irmly noted for its strong in ilk-producing | qualities. Ho should be a strong, vigorous i individual, having as many points of a dairy r animal as possible. j If selected for immediate .service ho will !>o all the better if he is three years old or I over. If he i* a calf he should be grown until he is two years old before ho is given any service I" speak about. If on the quiet ins broods six or eight heifers between tho age of 15 months and two years his chances of becoming a great sire are somewhat lessened. Between the age of two and three he should not he bred to more than twenty or thirty cows. The common practice is to use bulls too young and discard them at the first indication of their having too much vigour by resenting the ill-treatment- which they aw. often given. Hulls properly grown, not put to service too young and Heated kindly, yet in a safe manner, are most valuable between the ago of three years and the time tiiey betome in serviceable, which may not bo before ihev a.re 15 or 18 years of ago. . After the bull teaches an age to nave daughters which prove their worth as getors of high moducers, they become |»"? tr . 1- ■ OUS sires and are invaluable. Nor should their daughters be forced into service too young. V heifer needs time to grow and build a i iiodv and a constitution which will bo equal to heavy work and endurance until she is L> or 15 years of age. Too many of our tows are small, delicate, and short lived, owing to motherhood being forced upon them too young. Two years of ago is young enough for any heifer to produce her first calf. Tho ago of 30 mouths may be considered better. v