FEILDING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1263, 14 May 1896, Page 17

FEILDING.

Some time ago the country was parched for the want of rain ; lately we have had too much of that commodity. Farmers were beginning to wonder how they would bo able to got through the winter with their stock, so that in numbers of instances they wore obliged to reduce tho number of head, with the usual consequence of ti considerable fail in the prices, as there were more sellers than buyers. The rain came at last, and as the weather has been mild tho grass has grown very considerably. There is now abundance of feed throughout the district. The price, of stock has risen again and the auction sales have been quite lively lately, especially the last stock sale conducted by Mr Carr in Feilditig. Every line wrs sold under the hammer at and above the reserves placed upon them. Mr Carr in' formed mo that it reminded him of old times.

in some cases tho abundance of feed has not been good for the lambs, as I notice large numbers suffering from scour, from information gathered from settlers I find that some, dose their lambs and others do not. Thoso who do not dose their lambs inform mo that they don't loso any more now than they did previously when they dosed them. They say that the lambs want change of feed, and if they are taken from one paddock to another periodically that is better than dosing. Other settlers inform mo that they believe in the dosing, and find it is to their advantage to continue to do so. Others again say thai if all stockbreeders were to pay more attention to the rearing of stock, disease would not beso prevalent. It is the progeny of old ewes, the constitutions of which are diseased and consequently transmitted to the lambs, that is the cause of so much disease.

Begin, say, then, a!, the fountain head and breed from good sound constitution sheep, see that jour feed is not "fouled" —the slock kept on it too long at a time — and disease will soon bo banished. " Them's be my sentiments." I notice that thoso settlors who pay attention to the breeding of their stock, who weed out tho culls, sell thom or boil them down, do not require to dose their sheep or lambs. I have often soon sheep (?) offered f >r sale in the sloe!; yards which

are a disgrace to thoso wdio own them. Vet 1 have seen settlers buy such and breed from them ; old ewes with scarcely a tooth in their mouths. How can from such '.' I aiu p!cas< d to note- that. sn-lj ~!k i p are now at a discount, and that it they are offered at all for sale it is generally at so much per dozen, and they are taken aw.ty to boil down for the swine to cat.

Tho potato crops throughout the district are not good this season. Tho dry weather set in too soon, before tho tubers were fully developed. In the low-lying grounds, where the soil is heavy, tho crops are good, but in the higher levels- -Kiwitca for instance—tho crops an; light. The prices range from fifty shillings to sixty shillings per ton, with a tendency to harden in price. I notice that some of the settlers are not particular about the breed of pigs they ro.r. Some of them are a libel on "Captain Coo';." 1. declare that f have shot better bred pigs in their wild state in the bush. It is a waste of food to breed such stock. 1 am mire that Messrs Dymock and Co., of Wellington pork fame, would not care to euro such an apology for pork. Mr Ralph He-aid, of Feilding, has secured the contract for the erection of the new club-room opposite the Bines, Feilding. Tho contract price is übout one thousand pounds.

Mr Walter L. Bailey, the present j Mayor of Feilding, although not a resi- , dent in the borough, takes a great interest in municipal matters. He spends most of his time in Feilding in connection j wttb his own business, and of course he j finds time to attend to the duties per- j taining to his office. i Tho new municipal buildings in Fcild- I ing are very spacious. The Council \ Chamber is a fine room in which to hold | meetings. The public reading-room is , fitted up with every convenience for visitors, and plentifully supplied wtt'n j papers, periodicals, &c. It is a marked ; contrast to the old public reading-room, j The members of the library have a very cosy room for themselves. Mr Blackmore, the late librarian, has left on a visit to tho home of his youth.

Mr ]•'. Watson, commission agent of j this town, has been appointed secretary to > the Pohangina County Council. Mr | Watson will leave to attend the office at j Pohangina two days each week. j The wedding bells are still ringing, and j are likely to continue, thus showing the j prosperity of the district. I Mr F. M. Ross has taken unto himself the daughter of Mr J. Signal, of Porewa, j Rangitikei. and Mr J. C. Browne, of the Harbour Board Block, has "taken for better or for worse " a Miss Roberts, of the Rangitikei line, Palmerston North. The settlers ■in the Pemberton and Rangawahia districts complain, and not without a reason, of tho trouble and expense they arejput to by tho Kiwitca County Council in having to ride over twenty miles to release stock impounded in the public'pound at Cheltenham. The driving fees charged by the ranger and impounding fees amount to a considerable sum. From information gathered on my rounds, I find that most of the settlers do not object to stray stock on tho roads. However, if the Council deem it neces- | sary that all stray stock be impounded, it should provide a public pound somewhere I within reasonable distance of the district.

Tho cheese factory at Rangawahia has been closed for the winter. The Cheltenham butter factory is expected to bo kept open during tho winter months. The settlers in this district have provided ample provision in winter fodder for their cows. The Rongotea Butter Factory is still turning out a quantity of butter. Tho whole of tho output of butter from this factory, as well as the Cheltenham, is consumed in the Colony. Roth factories have established a name for turning out a first-class article. We have grass in abundance in tho country just now, and the price of stock

is hardening. Stock sales are now conducted every week in Feilding ; Messrs Gorton and Son one week, and Mr Charles Carr the other. Mr Charles Carr is now in full harness again as an auctioneer. Ho is to hold regular stock sales at Rangawahia, as well as at Pemberton, Birmingham and Cheltenham. The Vinegar Hill Bridge will soon bo completed and opened for traffic. This will bo a great boon for tho settlers in tho Sandoii Small Farm district, as they will bo brought within a few miles of the central line at Htmterville.