ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6494, 14 April 1908, Page 3

ON THE LAND.

ANSWERS TO COEBBBPOKDEN'TS.

THE AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM

THE MARKETS

THE FREEZING CONFERENCE

BEES VERSUS RHEUMATISM

THE DAIRY REGULATIONS

GLEANINGS.

IMPURE GRASS SEED

Wo ahull lie glad to answer, an far ao pomlM*. all oowtimu ro atinp to the pastoral, aerieii 11nrul, ami ilairvmc la - SoHirl™. be..:-, .tire. • I,orticulli.ro poul I rv-rninintf, fit;. InunircrH rnnot senn their full" Viaoio ami iuldrrsn. an » Knarpnt.ee ~f good faith hut may also forward a nom-dy-pi unio for the purposes of reply. Readers are also invited to for ward romnient or personal experience on any points raised in these answers or on this page.— Kd. hand Tape. ’’N.Z. Times."! STOCK SACKS. Tuesday.—-Associated Auctioneers. Waijmkurau; Abralnun and Williams. Johnaelinllc. jjoußß BALE. Wednesday.—Abraham and Williams. I.cv(n.

THE NEED OF IT EMPHASISED. The failure of tho Neison Hortieultural Society to secure the loan of tho model alront tho Atfiicul_.urj ; h Hum bocuus© ifji{K)rtant institution has *nt |>rPrtWit no home —its exhibits Kr-intf puckfxl away in a cellar —is a -Ktnkjnrr infstanco of I lie n c-k *<l of a thoroughly up-to-date Agricultural Museum. A display of model apples, true to type and oorrocllv named, would be of immemo value to uuck a.u important fruit-growing district as Nokon, for one of the weakimssca in tho business irt tho conluoion of varieties and tho errors oi nomenclature which aro current. Bat apart from -such a demonstration not being available owing to Now Zealand not being able to spare hotting accommodation for it, there ie the larger <put>tiou Dial the meed important educational museum in the country has no building tho while costly cxliik-eo aro provide! for works of curiosity, tho rcininiiiß of animals and other scientific objects which have little practical bearing on tho welfare of the country. It would bo thought that an institution of such direct value to Uio main industries of tho Dominion would bo displayed m tho best building the country could afford.

It is to bo hoped when at last the Agricultural Department—tho most important of all our State services—lb provided with a special building in Wellington, ample provision will bo made for the Agricultural Museum, where the pornuiment exhibits may not only be effectively displayed, but special exhibits, illustrative of tho educative work of the Department, may bo shown at appropriate seasons of the year.

It has been said there is nothing in nature but what has its uses, and while tho majority of people prefer to regard this adage as ono having many exceptions tho truth of it is being emphasised as our knowledge of nature is extended. Tho eking of a bee is a case in point. Of course, tho sting has u use in the animal kingdom in being the weapon of the bce. It is now contended, however, that a bee sting is probably just as valuable to mankind as tho food delicacy the bco manufactures from the nectar of flowers. In the course of a most interesting loctrane on the bee, delivered before the Hawke's Bay Beekeepers’ Association at Hastings last week, Dr Kennedy, of the Catholic Mission, Meanee, declared hie faith in the sting of the boo ns a cure for rheumatism. 110 explained that the formic acid in the «fng was an antidote for uric acid. Before taking to beekeeping ho suffered from rheumatism, but after he had handled bees for some time the trouble disappeared. Mr I. Hopkins, tho Chief Apiarist, corrotarated the statement of Dr Kennedy. His experience had boon the same—rheumatism vanished when ho came to handle bees.

"Tn fact,” said Mr Hopkins, "I once sug{vried to my chief, Air Kirk, the desirability of establishing a sanitarium where rheumatic ills could be cured by becol”

Speaking further of boo stints, Dr Kennedy observed that when tho sting was left behind by tho bee—by a microphotoprrAph he showed how fin© teeth on tho bee's stinging apparatus, running backward, mad© it difficult for this to ho withdrawn—it should not bo pulled out but drawn out by passing tho finger nail over it.

I>r Kennedy's lecture was the most interesting treatment of a rural subject we have met with. Tho limelight pictures of micro-photographs wore very beautiful, and they were well explained by tho lecturer, who concluded his clear treatment of tho '.scientific aspect of his subject with some practical advice to beekeepers. Ho praised, the Foul "Brood Act, pointed out the necessity of stamping out the groat menace to "beekeeping, and showed what a saving was effected in using comb foundations.

MURE CONFUSION AND FOOLISH OPPOSITION.

A meeting was held at Kaiapol the ■other day of re prosen tativos of creameries operating in that district to discuss the now dairy regulations. Canterbury dairymen are evidently still labouring Under the delusion that a bail is required for each cow under the regulations, as the mooting passed a resolution protesting against it. There is no such requirement, and such a stupid provision was never contemplated. it was also decided to protest against dairymen bsing called upon to concrete tho driveway leading from the yard to the shed. This is a very important clause in the regulations, for it Is useless having sanitary conditions in the shed if a quagmire ie to bo permitted immediately adjacent to the filled. Having tho yard at some distance away and a means provided whereby the suromidings may bo kept in a clean state arc imperative. The meeting also agreed that tenants ifi. possession of short looses of dairy farms should not bo required to erect new cowsheds. The Minister for Agriculture intend© to meet this position, but not by allowing any dairy farmer, especially when producing milk for human consumption, to continue milking in some of the ramshackle structures at present «erving the purpose of milking sheds. At the meeting in. question a resoiu-, tion was carried to the effect that all creameries should hare a tost made of each supplier's milk periodically, such test to be taken by the dairy inspector. This, of course, is to check the work of the creamery or factory, a very necessary thing in many case. Tho meeting is hardly likely to have it© request granted, however, a© the dairy inspectors will have more work than they wall bo able to cope with without being calk'd upon to undertake such an exacting duty.

A MERCHANT’S OPINION. Dealing with the question of impurity in grass soexl, and cocksfoot seed in particular, raised recently by the Auckland A. and P. Association. Mr A. Moritzson, tho well-known seed merchant of Dune-

din. has made tho following statement to tho “Otago Daily Times: 'The root of the trouble existing Auckland and in oilier part* of New Zealand is lir-tlv, that often cheap arc wanted by Ihe farmer*#; c*eomlly, in H>mo cases, the* lea-en ot (some tarinoi s have ofily a. short time to run, find accordingly a farmer in such a posuion is not very particular fit-out whot he sows so long tw» he does sow' accoidill!,' to the terms of his lean'. Thirdly, seed buyers in tho Dominion nave at time.-; in'iuired from other houses for (ho offals, such as Halit seed I,lowing with no germinating power whatever. The seed” I am sure, is not used for roii'di "iiilies or rough country. but is oonietin’es used to mix again with clean 5,.«l in order to mince tlie cost of the seed which is to he supplied to farmers ... • oilier purchasers. This opens the way io unfair coin petit ion, and it is probable that (herein lies tho cause of the complaints which have just emanated from Auckland. “I am unite sure that all the seed which left (he Hanks Peninsula this year for Iho North Island, Blenheim end Nelson -in all some 4.1,000 sacks or morelias been sold and sewn by the North islanders without being dressed by machinery.

“The Banks Peninsula seed was this year bright, fairly dean, and only contained a little fog, and in some instances a little goose grass. The natural weight of tho seed was equal to from 131 b to 151 b per bushel, and there was very little 12lh seed available. The seed, as a whole, was the finest that has been harvested for many years pant, and the complaints raised at Auckland would certainly not refer to the seed shipped from the Banks Peninsula. A few thousand sacks were produced in North Otago and in Canterbury, and although the samples X have seen from these districts were certainly not so good as those from the Banks Peninsula, they do not deserve to he classed with such as is complained of in Auckland, as they were of good average finality. ”

SOME INTERESTING DETAILS,

Tho January number of '‘La Glace” (Paris) devotes considerable space to tho forthcoming Freezing Conference. Dealing first of all with the refrigeration of food stuffs, "La Glace” refers to tho opposition "artificial cold” has always encountered in France. The principle, it is declared, has had to contend against racial prejudice and too often encounters vague personal interests. "It is necessary/* says "La Glace, 5 ’ "to conquer the first, destroy the second, and show to all parties what is their true interest.” Tho Government of the Republic has given, the Grand Palace of the Champ Klysoes—the great and beautiful building erected for the last Paris Exhibition as an exposition hall for the exhibition to be hold in connection with the Freezing Conference. This has led' to the postponement of the Conference, which it has been decided definitely is to be opened on July 13th. The congress will last from the 13th to the 18th of thatmonth. The French Mini store of Marine has delegated tho Director of Navigation and Maritime Fisheries, also the Chief Engineer of the Marine Department and the Inspector-General of Son Fisheries as his representatives at the conference.

The city of Paris has given a large contribution to the congress.

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs has asked tho Ministers and Ambassadors and representatives of thirty-Bix foreign countries to make known the organisation of the congress to the Governments to whom they are accredited with a request for official delegates. The Minister of Commerce has also officially informed the French Chambers of Commerce in foreign .countries of the aims of the congress. Tho congress has now taken the position of an international congress of the first order. Almost throughout every country ia Europe committees have been created to assist it. The British committee comprises eighty member?. There are fifteen European countries which will participate in the congress, the majority of which have appointed Ministers and ex-Mmisters to the chairmanship of the local committees, such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Copenhagen. the Minister of Agriculture of Austria, the Minister of Ways of Communication of Russia. Committees havo been created in tho Argentine, Brazil, Chili, Peru, and Mexico.

The congress is Ivin? heartily supported hy the press of France. Tho president of the section of the congress dealing with the refrigeration of food products is Dr Gautier, President of tho French Academy of Medicine. Dr Gautier is a distinguished scientist, and has already made special studies of refrigerated meat©, these studies being classical. It should bo known to those interested in the industry in this country that membership of the congress, entitling the holder to a full official report of the proceedings in any language, is being solieitoi at a foe of 16s. All interested in the great undertaking at Paris, it scorns to us, should take steps to show their appreciation of the work of the promoters of the first freezing conference in tho world by becoming members. The general, secretary is M. do Loverdo, 10, Ruo Poisson, Paris. There is every reason to believe that the majority of the freezing companies in tho Dominion .will become members.

Winter has set in in Taranaki, and the milk supply has quite collapsed. Tho Ballanco Co-operative Dairy Company paid out 413500 for its Starch milk. The month’s test was 4.15.

At the Ashley Downs dispersal sale the other day, a three-shear Romney ram sold at 10}gs, forty one-shear flock Romney ewes at 4gs, and sixtv ditto at Sips.

At a clearing sale of dairy stock in Taranaki last week competition was very keen, cows in milk making up to i!10. the herd of sixty-eight cows averaging J 26. Local papers record that Ashburton poultry breeders are complaining of an outbreak of a disease among their fowls. Tho owner of one yard lost thirty fowls in a week, and other fanciers have suffered to a great extent. Tho name of the disease is not known.

"Hides are apparently a flourishing market," remarked a Manriceville farmer. ironically, to a Wairarapa "Age" reporter. "I sent one down to a Wellington broker last week, and instead of a cash return on the transaction, I received a debit note for Is fld."

In several districts in Saxony (Germany), says a late wool trade report, they have decided to run only five days a week for tho next three" months, which speaks tor itself as to trade with that country. France does not seem no fare much better, and the slight improvement noticed in terminal tops recently has fallen away again.

In February a trial consignment of lamb from the up-country districts of tho “Garden Colony” of South Africa., Natal, reached Smithficld market. It was a curious circumstance that as this lamb was leaving the,wharf at Durban n very much larger consignment of New Zealand lamb was being discharged at

the port. Efforts are being made to improve the* breed of sheep in Natal, and if the trial shipments meet with favour it may lead to a considerable export trade.

Over half the American manufacturers are closed down (says a London correspondent), and selling wool instead of buying, and cloth trade is only done in small lines compared to the usual weight shifted. The amount of New Zealand crossbreds Ixmght direct for tho States is practically nil. Ono largo firm, usually inlying many thousands, secured under 5()0 bale?. This will fully explain tho depression hanging over Bradford for all grades hclow 50’s. Two well-known Kapnni settlers who aro contemplating leasing or selling liieir nr holdings (Cays a writer in the "Hawera Star* 7 ) took a trip out to beyond Whangamomona, and returned perfectly salisf.ed to allow others to do the pioneering in that direction. They described the country as being wild and inhospitable in tho extreme, ana in my opinion they are quite correct. I onco “swagged it’’ from Toko to beyond Strathmore in mid-winter, and can trill iiliuiy state that nu man has any business to take his wife and children to such an out-of-the-way portion of “God's Own Forsaken Country.”

At present there is practically stagnation in the grain market (says the “Lyttelton Times"), tho quantity of business done since last report having been exceptionally small. Tho amount ot wheat placed on offer has been insignificant, and in nearly every case growers have refused to consider offers made by merchants. Among holders there is still a strong feeling of confidence. Among the few sales recorded since last report were one of 14D0 bushels of Hunters at 4s W at a country station, and another lino of between KWu and 2000 bushels of Hunters at to Id delivered in Christchurch. The offerings of oats linve been very small, and merchants show little inclination to purchase at the prices asked by growers, preferring in most cases to obtain their supplies iToiu Southland. Among tho Bales was, a line of 2000 bushels of Gartons at 2s 3id at a country station.

STOCK SALES. Dalgefcy and Co., Ltd., report:—At Wanganui, on the Bth inet., we yarded 4000 sheep and 200 head of cattle. With tho exception of a few pens the quality of the sheep was not good. Competition was dull, and a large proportion of the entries was passed under tho hammer. We, however, succeeded in making a good clearance after the sale. The demand for cattle was quiet. At Waverley, on the 10th inst., w© had a good yarding of 3500 sheep and a small yarding of cattle. There was a large o.ttendanco and keen bidding, prices all round being above Wanganui sale, A lino of forward wethers sold on account of Mr W. Stoddart made 16s, a record so far for sales on this coast. Quotations:—Wanganui—Medium 2 and 4tooth wethers 11b 5d to 12b. cull wethers 6s. 2-tooth ewes 8s 6d to 10s, old ewes 3s Gd to 4s Id, mixed culls (2-tooths) 4s to 6s lOd, cull lambs 2s *B4, aged rams 7s 6d; fat cows .£3 15s to .£5 4s, forward young steers .£3 ss, ’store cows 355. empty 2-year heifers X2, mixed weanens 15s to 16s 6d, veal calves 15s. Waverley— Fat and forward 4-tooth wethers 16s, medium wethers 12s 5d to 13s, small wethers 9s 6d to 10s 3d, 6-tooth to f.f.m. ewes Sis to 8s 9d, cull ewesi 4s to 5s 6d, lambe 5s Id to 6s, 2-tooth Romney rams 2gns; cows and calves .£3, store cows (poor) 225, dairy cows .£4; store pigs 14s 6d, porkers 25s 6d to 27s 6d.

Laery and Co., Ltd,, Wellington, report wholesale prices ruling on the market:—Wheat, fowls’ 5s 3d to 5s 6d; oats, 3s to 3s Qd; seed oats, 3s 3d to 3« 6d; maize, 5s 3d to 5s 6d; crushed malt, 8s Gd; Prussian blue pens, 6s 3d to 6sf>d, fowl peas 4s 6d to 4s 9d, all at per bushel; Hour, New Zealand ,£l2 10s, Australian <£ll to c£ll 10s; br«n, ,£C to .£6 ss; pearl barley, .£l9; split peas, JMS-lOs; bonedust, .£6; superphosphates, £ 4lss to«£s ss; chaff (oatensheaf), .£6 to £6 ss; oatmeal, .£l3 10s; potatoes, whites 5s 6d to 6s 6d; bacon, factory sides B|d, hams 9d, rolls 9id; butter, bulk lid to Is Id; poultry, hens 3s 6d to 3s; ducks 5s 6d; turkeys, gobblers 15s to 225, hens 8s to 9s, all at per pair; cauliflowers, 5s to 10s; cabbages, 4s to 10s. all at per sack; peae (green), 9d to Is per peck; fresh eggs Is lid co 2s 2d, preserved egge Is 6d per doz; cheese, 6d to 6*d per lb; onions, .£7 to £7 10s per ton; Akaroa cocksfoot, lOd to lid; ryegrass, 4s to 5s 3d per bushel.