THE RURAL WORLD.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7355, 6 February 1911, Page 2

THE RURAL WORLD.

AGRICULTURAL SHOWS. February Btli. —Dauuovirko A. and P. Association. . Entries closed February 30th. —Pahiatua-Akitio A. and P. Association. Entries closed Jan. 25th. February 34tli and 15th.—Maslerton A. and P. Association. Entries closed Jan. 2Sth. Thursday. February 16th. —Waimarino Agricultural. Pastoral. Horticultural and Industrial Show, at Raetihi. WOOL SALE Wellington Town Hall, Tuesday, February 7th. 0 a.m.

of neatness on many farms, but in the great essentials your men here can bold their own. As a matter of fact, agricultural labour is not too plentiful at Home, but I don't think that that scarcity is the cause of a similar dearth out here. At Home every farm has its cottage for married men, who, with their families, live on the place, thus keeping a reserve supply, so to of labour to draw upon, but out here there is seldom accommodation for a married man, and a large proportion of permanent bands on a place are single men. Tour farm labourers out here are imported, not bred, but it is possible Mitt these conditions will change as time goes on. T have been in Canada, Australia and New Zealand,' and I cnii safely say that the conditions in' this country are decidedly more like those in Great Britain than in the two former places mentioned. Ido not think the colonial farm hand works any better or any harder than a farm hand in England or Scotland, though there is a rather general impression that he does, but certainly his wages are a good deal higher."

THE APPLE TRADE

GOOD INTENTIONS OF NELSON ■ ; GROWERS. EXPORT BUSINESS BEING FACED ON SOUND PRINCTX^LES. The apple growers of Nelson are determined to continue their efforts to establish a trade with Britain. They deservo to succeed. Not only are they realising that it will , only pay to ship the very best article, but they are doing their best to perfect such details as grading and packing, which are essential to success oa a critical market, especially where the competition, is tlio keenest in the world and the be.st fruit of all exporting countries is sent fox sale* True, the Nelson growers have only to , meet the competition of Tasmanian and Commonwealth fruit at the time their- fruit will reach, its market, but even this competition at the present time is keen enough, though it is declared that the Tasmanians are laying a common penalty of success^—growing careless in thoir methods, Tho Nelson people are being materially assisted in the development ,of their export trade by'a local firm,Messrs Buxton and Company, in bringing over an expert packer from Tasmania. This man is busily engaged instructing growers in the proper method of wrapping and packing,- and affording a valuable demonstration to the jVmug people by the dexterity with which he works. In the off season the Nelson firm will employ the expert in their business, eo that his services may b 6 retained for each i exporting season. Growers In the Nelson district are confident of the success of the export trade, and success must be theirs if their performance comes up to their promise. A good sign for the success of the shipments to bo made this season is the diversion of a large x>roportion of the Australian output to Oermuny. It is reported that every steamer booked foy Bremen has its fruit space engaged, and that very much more fruit is offering than the German liners can take. Then the Victorian apple harvest, although satisfactory as far as quality is concerned, is affected by disease to a considerable extent, and the Oermans are very particular on this score, having recently passed a*prohibitive,regulation in regard to black spot. However, there should bo a good field for New Zealand, apples this year. The , experimental shipment of last year reached London when the city was in mourning for the lc*to King, and fearing a siump the fruit was dumped on the market before Mho Royal funeral. Tins year the apples will reach the metropolis when •the, country will be rejoicing at the coronation of a new King.

THE STRATFORD SHOW

Wisdom did mot prevail at the last meeting of committee of the Stratford A. and P, Society. A motion to hold the show in I'ohruary instead of December Vras thrown out by a large,majority.' ‘lt is not necessary to again repeat tlie mamy advantages of a lace summer show in tho centre of a great community of dairy '.farmers, but it is 'safe to predict that. tho leading shows of this island will yet he held at the end rather than, at the beginning of summer. 'Stratford .possesses ;ali the fundamental elements of a great summer dairy show, but if it is to attain this distinction it will have Jo be conducted on original and progressive, lines. . ,

THE SCOTTISH ■ COMMISSIONERS

HE, KEITH'S OPINIONS. The'two of the Scottish Agricultural Commission who have .found time to extend their inquiry into Australian rural conditions, in their private capacity, to this country" have practically concluded their South Island investigations. Hr James Keith, who is a director of the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture, was interviewed the other day by a, representative of the Christchurch "Press" on the impressions he has eo far formed of agriculture of- the-' Dominion. '

. Mr Keith said they had had a brief look around the country, about Invercargill, and were quite favourdhly impressed, though their stay was too short tor him. to give any authoritative opinion about the country. . From there they went to the lakes, and had a splendid time at Wnkat'ipu, both being immensely pleased with the scenery. Which compared more than favourably with any of that particular style to be-seen in other countries.. The next move was to Dunedin, where the Hon. T. Mackenzie, Minister of Agriculture, organised a tour through the Taieri district, which enabled the visitors to have a good look at many of the farms. Mr Keith Commended the grand lot of horses that cams .under their notice, and was also struck [with the quality of the sheep, but they did not have much opportunity of examining a/.y cattle closely. Palmerston was visited, and a trip made to Mount Koval station, a property that' belonged to the late Mr J. F. Douglas, who also owned the Waihao Downs, near Waimate.' From Timaru Mi- Dunlop went to Waihao Downs, and was loud in his praise of this splendid stretch of country, which he characterised as about the nicest land he had so far seen. Mr Keith branched off to the Pleasant Point district, which he thought, was very much the most favoured locality he had yet visited. Owing to the dry spell the crops were not quite up to what he was assured was the average, hut ho thought the pastures were looking well and the turnip and rane crops were coming away well. From Timaru Mr Dunlop etopped oft at Ashburton, and had a most enjoyable tour through the district, Wing greatly pleased with all he saw, both as regards crops and stock. "For obvious reasons." said MrTveith to a ‘‘Press’’ representative, "T cannot well answer any nuestions ns to whether I think Hew Zealand is a better country to live and settle in than Australia, so ycur query as to which place 1 wou’d prefer to farm in must remain, unreplied to. I think, ■i’ccm what I have seen so far. that the farmers of the Dominion are quite up-to-date in' their methods, and what particularly struck us was the efficient, yet cheap manner in which they carry cut their work. I realise that the scarcity and expense of getting labour is the rea-:ou for a ccitaiu Jack

TEE WOOL SALE

TO-MORROW'S AUCTIONS. For the next Wellington wool sale, which commences at 9 a.m. at the Town Hall to-morrow, there is an . entry of about four thousand bales. The offerings will mostly comprise the late shorn back country wool, much of it seedy and log-stained. There are very few decent lines in the catalogues, lines suitable for the American and Continental sections of the trade. There will be a fair offering of lambs* wool, but the quality is not up to that marketed at the corresponding sals of last year, not having the same lustre. In view of these circumstances price© are expected to he irregular. The market will probably rule on a level with that of last sale, making allowance for the inferior wool to b© submitted.

' MILK TESTING- ASSOCIATIONS

SOUTHERN INTEREST. An. effort will l>e made (tli& "Otagc Daily Times” states) to establish one or two Milk-testing Associations among the dairy farmers of the South Island at the beginning of next season, on the eatoo lines as those in. existence in the North Island. As a means'of demonstrating the actual value of dairy herds Irom a production point of view, these associations, which are in existence in most parts of the world where the dairying industry is conducted on thoroughly scientific and progressive lines, are admitted to have highly beneficial results, and to be invaluable to the dairy farmer, and if their contemplated establishment in the South Island is successful, the dairying industry there should benefit considerably. At present there are four of these Milk-testing Associations among the dairy farmers of the ■ North Island* one being in the Wellington province,' two in the Taranaki province, and one in the Waikato district. The total membership of the four associations is 93, and the number of cows in the herds owned by "these .95 members is 3641.

THE BORDER LEICESTER

RISING POPULARITY IN VICTORIATHE VICTORIAN TYPE. The Border Leicester, is deservedly Increasing in popularity in Victoria, as inv deed in New South Wales. The good qualities of the breed have been brought before the lamb raisers of the latter State in a striking manner by practical carcase demonstrations made at a number of the leading district shows by the local Department of Agriculture. Speaking of these object-lessons the “Australasian” says: ‘“The inherent faculty of early maturity, aud the substantial carease weights procurable at varying stages .of. development, and of age, in the Border Leicester pure, and in the cross with the merino, stood out at these demonstrations so conspicuously ae to justify -belief that for the-, future export lambraisers would assuredly make for this alliance in, preference to any other. Dp to a point they are doing so, and probably they would extend their operations further were supplies of the breed available in sufficient quantity, or were they more certain in their own minds as to what really represented. thp best up-to-date* standard of Border Leicester.” Writing further of the experience of a breeder,, who, -under Hr Tom Little, scored throughout at the last Melbourne show, the “Australasian” writer remarks: "When crossed with the merino ewe, the results, • both for carcase and wool, have been of a most gratifying nature. Pat lambs for export, at four and five months of age, recently averaged Tls 9d per head Tor seven - hundred; of these seven hundred, six lambs only were, rejected.. In one year, when the lambs were not prime, and prices were down, the lot were held over till the following season, and then sold; in the wool they averaged 22s 3d, and put of the wool Iss and 14s Id, topping the market on each occasion in Geelong. This early maturity is a great feature of the. cross, and gets over that difficulty whicli so constantly crops up, with other crosses, as to what iis to be done with animals that are unsaleable as lambs. In some instances they are no credit to anybody from cither carcase or wool aspect until three years of age., Mr Sutherland gives it as his experience, on his country -at Lara, that results which he cau get with the Border Lei-cester-merino cross at from eighteen months to two years of ago were not obtainable with the Lincoln-merino under the same conditions in. less time than three years.” Speamng of the question cf type in Australia our Melbourne contemporary observes: "A number of .circumstances indicate that Border Leicester sheep hare not hitherto been as well understood in this 'State as they deserve to be, and that much the same remarks can be more generally applied to the whole of Australia. In support of the former contention one has only to call to mind the official verdicts of the Sheepbreeders’ and the Royal shows in Melbourne to realise that so strange a diversity of opinion as that hold by the official judges at' these different gatherings in 1009 and 1910 presupposes a lack of thoroughly up-io-date Knowledge somewhere.”

The judge at the 1910 shotr; as stated above, was Mr Tom Little, of Ngapara, whom no better authority stands in Jfew Zealand to-day. The judge at the previous Melbourne show was a local man, and the “Australasian” critic is right in saying that the diversity of opinion between Mr Little and the local authority did “presuppose a lack of thoroughly up-to-date knovdedgo somewhere,” but it is an open secret that the want of knowledge was not on the part ot the Xew Zealand authority. As a matter of fact, Australian breeders, with one or two isolated exceptions, such as the breeder above referred to (Mr Sutherland), are not breeding Border Leicesters at all, but a type which they themselves have created. Th? Australian farmer has so long directed his whole attention to the production of wool that

when he took to the use of a mutton breed lie could not resist the temptation of '‘improving” it from a wool viewpoint, Other breeds were employed, notably the Lincoln, bring about what the* Australian conceived to be a better general-purpose animal. So common has been this short-sighted policy that there are few Borders exhibited in Australia which arc true types of the brood. Doubtless tho Melbourne judge of 1009 was a breeder of tho mongrel type. It would pay the Royal Agricultural Societies of Melbourne and Sydney to appoint a New Zealand judge every year till a true conception of the breed was established in the minds of the Australian farmer. It has been rumoured that one noted southern breeder intends taking over some New Zealand Borders to the next Melbourne Royal in order to show the Victorians what the Border Leicester is really like. It is to be hoped it is true, for the sooner the Australian is made to realise that tho general run of tho Border Leicesters bred in bis country is a nondescript the better chance there will be of the many good breeders In this country working up an export trade in pedigree sl| cp with tho Commonwealth,

PAHIATUA SHOW ,

Splendid entries have been received for th© second annual show of the PahiatuaAkitio A. and P. Association, which takes place on Friday, the 10th in-st. The gathering promises to be a groat success. A feature of the show will bo the jumping competitions, the entries for which easily eclipse those of last year. For tho big event, the Open Hunters' Competition, no less than twenty-seven entries have been received, some of the best jumpers in tho North Island being engaged therein. There will also be keen competition in the sheep and cattle classes, the entries for the former being well ahead of those of last year. A fine day is all that is required to witness the biggest gathering ever -assembled together in the Forty-Mile Bush. The following judges have been appointed:— Horses —A. G. Pilmer, Jas. Macara, W. D. Watson. Cattle and Sheep—S. R. Lancaster. Home Industries and Fancy Work —Mess Talbot. School Exhibits — Mr A. Stevenson. Butter and Ohoese Classes—lnstructor Graham- Farm Produce—Sf Hutchings.

GLEANINGS

It is stated that bitter-pit is fairly general in th© apple orchards of Victoria.

Mr A. Cliff lias been appointed secretary of the Taranaki Agricultural Society {New Plymouth) in succession to Mr-E. P. Webster, resigned. Mr L. Nairn, the Elthaui buyer of the Woodrille Bacon Company, is to also take over buying operations in the Hawpra district, Sir W. G.' demoes having severed his connection with the company.

Two valuable cups bare been presented to the Taranaki Agricultural Society for the .butter and cheese competitions at its winter show, one by the Shaw, Savili and Albion Company and the other by the New Zealand Shipping Company. The Otago A. and lb Society expects to have its new winter show buildings (to replace those recently destroyed by fire) completed in time for the nest winter show, in June. The new building is to be constructed of brick and concrete. The lave Stock and Meat Division of the Department of Agriculture will provide a veterinary exinoit at the Pahiatna show, which the show management .intends making a feature of the exhibition. The Director of the Division is to be asked to allow the officer in charge of ■ the "exhibit to "deliver'an address. .. Just 210,000 immigrants entered Canada during the six months ended September' 30th last.; This is d larger number than the entire immigration for the preceding year. There were 11,568 homestead entries granted in Western Canada during tho fiscal year to March 3Xst, 1910, covering a . total area of 6,650,880 acres. In addition, the various railway companies, etc. (having Government land grants), sold 16,058,032 acres of land for .£16,250,000. The last bulletin of agricultural' statistics issued by the I u tor national Institute of Agriculture throws some interesting light ou the .prevalence of the high prices of in Canada and the United States. In both countries during the last three years tho number of hvo stock have, either remained stationary or have absolutely declined. Thus inj Canada cattle, during the period in question, have only increased 100 000 head, sheep have fallen off by some 80,000, and swine by no less than 500,000. In tho United States cattle have decreased by 3,500.000 head., sheep have increased by 1,000,000, but swine arc less by nearly 7,000,000 head. .Major W. S. Pennycook. of Balclutha. was in Timaru on Monday after an extensive motoring (our through the dist*bout the border between Otago and Canterbury, including, tho Otekaiko settlement, lately acquired by the Government; and Otiake, Kurow, and Hakataramea. In ,an interview he told a Herald” reporter that the bulk, of the crops in those parts had been eaten oft this year, farmers considering that they would not pay tho. expense of cutting Places that had yielded from 50 to 70 bushels of wheat, had only been able to grow crops averaging a little over a quarter of the amount expected. Tho recent rams had improved things wonderfully «o fan as Sheep feed was conoemed. Summing things up. he said that the Otekaike settlers were having a really bad time on th© whole, as every year since they ■ commenced operations had been one of drought. -The country was everywhere looking fairly W c!J an tar as grass was concerned, and stock wero coming- on well. Comparisons, however, were . not favourable. The Utekaike estate settlement was in markcd_ contrast to the excellent prospects evident on the big Greenffold settlement in fcouth Otago, .wnor© m, any Canterbury men have taken up holdings. Things in -the. south were good all round.