AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20481, 5 February 1930, Page 19

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

Agricultural Iractor trials, open to machines manufactured 111 any part of the world, will be held in England this year, under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society, in conjunction with the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, University of Oxford.

" No fruit at Home has got a better name than New Zealand Apples," remarked Mr. Frank Milner, rector of Waitaki High School, on liis return from an extended trip abroad. He had been told by both Canadian and Australian competitors that they could not compete against the New Zealand pack. MrMilner added that he found all New Zealand products selling very freely on the Home markets and had an equally good name.

An idc-a of the volume of business done in stud stock at the great Palermo Show, South America, will be gauged when it is mentioned that though the aggregate of sales this year was some £50,000 less than in 1928, the value of the cattle sold exceeded £150,000, and of slieep £30,000. In addition, horses valued at £13,000 and pigs, asses, and poultry at nearly £7,000 were auctioned. Of the £150,000 for stud cattle, £102,370 was for Shorthorns.— "Pastoral Review."

Figures recently issued by the National Horse Association show that in 1788 the only horses in Australia were one stallion, three mares and a colt. In 1800 they had increased is> 203, in 1850 to 159.951, and the latest statistics show horse population of 2,250,361. Thirty years ago France had 2,917,000 horses and 1672 motors. With three-quarters of a million motor vehicles in that country to-day. thero arc, nevertheless, 3,300,000 he rses. Germany claims 3,805,000 horses excluding army horses. There are some 20,000,000 horses and mules in U.S.A. A local newspaper, four banks, three creameries and an individual have made it possible for nine Yakima County, Washington, boys to become owners of as many registered Friesian calves, arid plans are under way for securing an equal number of the Jersoy and Guernsey breeds in a movement started by the Yakima Valley Dairy League to establish perpetual calf clubs. The calves for members of the perpetual Holstein club were distributed at the ,1929 Washington State Fair. Who c*n forsto tho harvest from the sowing which will be exhibited at the Stato Fair ten, fifteen or fifty years from now?

Better attention to breeding has raised the average annual milk yield of all recorded from 599 gallons in 1917-18 to 673 gallons in 1927-28, according to a recent statement of Mr. j. F. Blackshaw, of llio British Ministry of Agriculture. Dairy farming had in a comparatively few years grown from a localised industry to one which now represented more than 30 per cent, of the whole farming industry. There was some reason to think that unless the public could be induced to drink more milk, or unless more satisfactory provision were made for ,the manufacture of milk into products, the milk industry might, in the near future, suffer from over production.