THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19906, 28 September 1926, Page 4

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

FORTHCOMING SHOWS. October 20. 21.—-Hawke’s Bay. October 21. —Ellesmere. October 27. 28.—Timaru. November 4. —Ashburton. November 10, 11. —Wanganui. November 11, 12—Canterbury. November 16, 17, and 18. —Royal Show, at Auckland. November 18, 19. —Oamaru, November 20. —Xaieri. November 24.—■-Winton, November 24. 25, Otago. November 24, 25.—Hawera. ' November 30. —Milton. December I.—Wallace. i December 2, 3. —Clulha. • December 7,8, Gore. December B.—Omakau. December 10,—Wyudham. December 14, 15—Southland. December 16. —Owaka. Friday’s radio programme for the farmina community will include the following* 7 15-7 30. Timely hints to farmers by the Fields Division of the . Department of Agriculture; 7.30-7.45, Ensilage Making, Mr A. S. Duff; 7.45-8.0. Talk to Farmers Wives, bv Professor (Mrs) A. Strop-(Home Science School Otago University). • * * * Some 55.000 rabbits have been disposed of in the Howard district, near the Upper Buffer Valley portion of the Nelson Pro vince, durin— the- past two years, btrychaine poisoning has proved most effective. The rabbits are fed on raw carrots fqr two days. For instance, tho rabbiter will go along a ridge throwing out carrots. The journey is repeated On tuo third dav pieces of carrot with a little of tho paste attached are thrown out. These the rabbits rush and are soon paralysed. The death from this method is stated to be a quick and painless one. » * • - On leaving Auckland for London on Thursday morning, the White Star liner Corinthio had- on board a cargo chiefly consisting of meat and dairy produce, valued at a million and a-quarter pounds. This shipment. which is unusually large for the early season, included 68,000 cases of butter, 55.000 of which were loaded in Auckland. 4000 crates of cheese, and 2000 cases qf dried ® ilk * .... The feeding of maize alone to pigs gives a soft, oilv bacon, and millet alone has a similar effect. Peas do not produce a firstclass bacon when fed solely. The best results are achieved by feeding mixed Knains. .... We have in Otago and Southland 9500 dairy farmers supplying dairy factories and creameries, whereas in Taranaki there are only 6500. However, in Taranaki there are more cows, the figures being 204.026 against Ota"o (including Southland) 141.704. These cows are dairy cows, dry and in mijk. It will thus be seen that the average dairy heed in Taranaki is 31, compared with an average of 15 for Otago and Southland, but whilst southern herds ore smaller a Terr great many more farmers are giving attention to dairying and to that extent dairy farming is a matter of very great importance to provinces in tho south. • • « • There are now approximately 14,000 mjlkling machines in New Zealand, milking 620.000 cows, and the milking machine has dispensed with much of the drudgery and child labour which attended the _ dairying industry when hand-milking was in vogue, •*• . • At the last meeting of the Southland League, a communication was received from thp Minister of Lands, acknowledging the League's letter asking that an engineering survey of the Awarua Plains be made, and statin" that tho matter would bo discussed with the Under Secretary for Lands and the Chief Drainage Engineer shortly. * * * * The marketing of early potatoes from Pukekohe has commenced. A consignment of 13 sugar-bags of new potatoes which left , Pukekohe railway station last week attracted a good dal of attention, this being the first that many local residents had seen this season. The tubers were in splendid line, heir" uniformly of a good size and looking healthy and sound. The early potato crops are looking healthy and are fairly well advanced. Digging operations should become fairly general next month if the weather continues warm and sunny. • » ... Although September is considered late for sowing wheat, there is still some being sown in South Canterbury, and it is considered that the Farmers’ Union estimate of an increased area of 15 per cent, will ba under the mark. It is reported that a farmer at the southern end of the district will have 3000 acres in wheat this season The boisterous northerly and southerly winds hare dried oat the ground considerably and a good rain is now badly wanted. • • • . Australia’s exports of butter this seaso’n so far have been in smaller compass than those of last year. Thus in July the butter exported from the Commonwealth totalled 728,6561 b, valued at £51,036, the whole of this going to the United Kingdom. In July of last year the quantity shipped to Britain was 2,188,9271 b, valued at £159,691, so that there has been a great falling off this year. Climatic conditions have since become favourable, especially in Queensland, and the output will probably show expansion. An indication of the drought which is being experienced in Hawke’s Bay is con tained in the fact that during the 12 months preceding August 31, the rainfall registered in Napier totalled 15.66 in, whereas the average over a number of years is over 35in. Back from the coast there has been more rain in Napier, but everywhere the fall registered has been proportionately less than the average. * * * • Speaking on the proposed merger of freezing works the president (Mr L. V. Talbot), of tho Temuka branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union said there were far too many freezing works, which were over capitalised, in New Zealand, particularly in the North Island. If all the works were put under one management charges would he made which would render the whole of the works payable. This would result in higher rates for freezing. Possibly local mergers would be satisfactory, but there v'as always the same experience. In boom times the North Island overdid things to a greater degree than the South Island, and if the south were in a stronger position, owing to :ts being steadier, then he thought they should slick to their position. The opinion was expressed that some of the works would bo closing in any case. It was a case of the survival of the fittest —a hard way, but the only one. « • • • Special preparations are being made by the Society for the Jubilee Show* of the Clutha A. and P. Society, which is to be held at Balclutha on December 2 and u. The Show Grounds are being enlarged bv the taking in of a recently-acquired ad joining property, while other improvements to the grounds and ring are being effected. Amongst a number of special donations, the Waitaki Dairy Company presents a silver cup valued at £ls 15s for most points in the Friesian cattle classes. This cup is to be won twice in succession, or three times at intervals. • • • « Yloung trees, after thefr first) year’s growth, should be pruned during tho winter or dormant period, and this is the most important pruning the tree will have to undergo as it, involves tho choice of the branches which will go to make up the future framework of the tree. • • Tho returns for the two groups of the Taranaki Herd Testing Association for the period ending September ]4 show that in Gioup I the best herd of 18 cows averaged 38.951 b fat and the worst herd of 13 cows 15.781 b fat. The average for tho 26 herds was 26.861 b. In Group II the best herd ol 2 1 cows averaged 44.601'h fat, and the worst herd of 13 cows 23.481 b fat. the average for the 27 herds being ?0.421b fat. , • • • • In the selection of maize seed more attention should be paid to uniformity in the appearance of the ears, and also in the size and shape of the grain, than is usually done. Ears tin t are uniform in size, shape appearance and character of dent indicate greater purity of variety.

JBy Eusxicus. (Items of Interest to those engagea to agricultural and pastoral pursuits, with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. They should be addicssed to “ Ruaticus,” Otago Pally Times, Dunedin.]

A Wanganui settler says: “I have just heard of a district up-river, in which the settlers along a stretch of eight miles of road have in the past five months shot 3000 pigs, and a pig eats as much grass as a sheep, and he or she also eats iambs. For a long time, 1 was sceptical on this question, but experiences of this lambing have quite convinced me of the fact that pigs of both sexes kill and eat lambs, not only while they are helpless just after they are born, out up to a week old. In the district of which I speak about, a settler whose farm adjoins an abandoned section, counted 20 Jambs in one paddock. Next morning at daybreak\ there was not one—mangled lambs in plenty and bleating mothers all over , the place. And the dimcult part of getting at the cause of the trouble is that the pigs are all nocturnal workers.” • • • * Tho area to be devoted to cropping in South Otago this year is to be greatly in excess of last season. The work has been going ahead apace lately. A glance from a railway carriage window is sufficient to show the extent of the ploughed areas. It is stated that more crops are in now than for many year past. «•■ • • The London manager of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board has recently received a letter from a bacon curing company in Somerset stating that as a result of tho Meat Board’s distribution of free sample carcases of bacon pigs the company had used several hundreds of New Zealand bacon pigs, and was anxious to obtain further supplies, but at the present time was unable to obtain a quotation. * • - At the meeting of the Temuka branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union on Tuesday last those present listened to an unusual plea when a farmer spoke in support of the Daylight Saving Bill. The president (Mr L. V: Talbot) said the Bill just about became law last session, and next session it would be presented again. Personally, he thought it would have been a wise thing to have given it a trial, in order to test its effect. He did not think it would have caused any harm, and it might have resulted in some benefits. Most farmers got up early and worked till Hark. Perhaps they would have to get up an hour earlier, but, apart from that, it would make no difference to them. Needless to say, members of the branch did not see eye to eye with their president, Mr Paterson saying that the greatest objection to the Bill was that there were no exemptions, and he thought people ought to be allowed to please themselves when they started and when they stopped work, just as it suited different trades. Another member, Mr Dobson, caused some merriment by saying that the farmers were persistent in telling people they wore out at daylight and worked till dark. A lot of people did not believe that, and it was just as well they did not. • • e • Renal congestion and the recent snowstorm have accounted for a good many lambs in Otago this year. North Otago and the Taieri Plains have been affected to some degree by renal congestion, and some heavy losses are reported. A Palmerston shepherd states that the deaths on his. farm were the worst he ever experienced. The unseasonable fall of snow killed off even more young lambs, though the losses were not as heavy as were at first feared. A. good all-round percentage of paddock-lambing his been to some extent spoiled by these unexpected visitations.