SOUTH OTAGO.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21264, 19 February 1931, Page 7

SOUTH OTAGO.

BALCLUTHA DISTRICT NEWS. (From Ode Own Correspondent.) BALCLUTHA, February 18. PERSONAL. Mr C. J. Wood will leave on Saturday to* attend the annual conference of the United Fire Brigades’ Association delegates, to be held at Nelson next week. On the same day Mr E Hughes, another member of the Balclutha hire Brigade, will depart to attend the conference ot southern brigade delegates at Alexandra, WEATHER AND FARMING. Warm weather has-prevailed during the past few days, and’ farmers have been pushing on the gathering and stacking of the hay crop. This season may have adopted the system of stacking the hay while in a comparatively green state, and dosing it liberally with coarse salt. Treated thus, the hay is said to bo much more nutritious and to give a better milk return than hay which haa been well dried and cured. The damp season has had the effect of promoting an extraordinary growth in root crops, and the alluvial flats of the district can show some really fine crops of swede turnips. In a feiv instances a truly abnormal growth has been observed, and the turnips, even at this early stage, are of large size, and still growing vigorously. FIRMING MARKETS. District dairv farmers are feeling very cheerful over the improved tone of the Home market for butter and cheese. The fact that cheese haa advanced by fully 5s per cwt and that butter has firmed perceptibly should cause factories to increase next month’s payment for butter-fat. The ruling rate for February has been Sd a lb, which is too low to admit of much profit to the producer. The fact, too. that lamb for export has firmed to 42d a lb (an advance of a farthing a lb) is regarded as giving ground for hope that the price will gradually improve as the tiling season advances.