THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22294, 21 June 1934, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

By Rusticus

OTAGO PROVINCIAL SHEEP DOG ASSOCIATION THIS YEAR’S TRIALS. The association has fixed the following locations and dates for the collie doc trials for 1934:South Island Sheep Dog Association Championship (to be held at Strath Taieri) June 19; 20. 21. and 22. Commonwealth Wool Turnover Returns issued by the National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia show that , from July 1 to May 31 sales of wool in the principal selling centres of the Commonwealth totalled 2,502,603 bales, which realised £50,798,851. Compared with the corresponding period of- the preceding season the quantity sold shows a decrease of 304,729 bales and the amount realised an increase of £19,027,406. The grehsy and’ scoured average secured was £2O 6s per bale or 16.28 d per lb, compared with .£ll 6s 4d dr B.Bd a year before. The following figures show the quantity sold and ■ the amount realised during the six seasons in Australian currency for the 11 months: —

At the close of May 177,318 bales of the current clip were in store unsold., Sydney Merkel Turnover From July 1 to May 31 the sales of ■wool on the Sydney market were 1,075,435 bales, which realised £21,875,934, the quantity showing a decrease of 145,875 but the amount realised an increase of £8,176,952 compared with the similar period of the preceding season. The greasy and scoured wool- sold averaged £2O 6s 9d per bale or 16.3 d per lb, the average a year previously being £ll 4a 3d per bale or B.Bd. per lb. The average price secured in May was only 9.6 d per lb, but that ’ average is not a. guide to the general level of values, as the sales largely comprised lambs, crutchings, and other oddments. The following figures show the quantity of wool sold during the 11 months of six seasons; —

■ ■■■; - - 1 . . 'i' i. R»c Substitutes and Wool During-‘the period of low prices for wool the use of woollen rags for reworking into fabrics fell off enormously. WUh the revival experienced in wool prices from mid-1933 onwards the substitute materials quoted commanded more attention from manufacturers in an/effort to keep prices within the purchasing limits of the general public. Evidence of that change is shown by the foreign business in woollen rags transacted during..the first quarter of this year. The total imports of rags into Great Britain from January to March this year were 109,407 cwt, compared with 64,239 cwt in 1932. The ex-ports-were 92,897 cwt in 1934 and only 38,056 cwt in 1932. The utilisation of rags and artificial substitute fibres is a factor which is apt to be overlooked in viewing the (supplies of wool available in the •world. With the cost of the sheeps staple within., certain limits, wool will be used in all customary products. .Once, that,limit of cos’t is exceeded competitive manufacturing • materials gain .increased consumption.' That development is not due to any preference for the textiles in which substitutes are used, bfit is caused by necessity. Wool supplies were not available to any degree for the population of. Germany, Austria, and the enemyoccupied portions of France and Belgium during the war years. In Germany the inventive genius of the nation devised substitute fabrics, and the public had to be satisfied with them. To a less extent the increased use of substitutes has developed .with higher wool prices of the past year.. More people found employment during the 12 months, but wages were everywhere on reduced levels, and the expenditure of the people had to be kept within them.' The larger trade in rags in Great Britain offers an illustration of the fact that wool has competing materials which will always exercise a restraining influence on the figures which can be paid for it.

Decline >in Russian Clip The. Wool Intelligence Notes of the Imperial Economic Committee contain some interesting information in regard 10 Russia. An enormous decline has occurred in the number of. sheep pastured. The estimated number of stock in 1929 was 133.700.000, in 1930 99,000,000, 1931 70.700.000, 1932 47,400,000, and in 1933 46.000. Russia's wool clip in 1929, estimated in bales of Australian weight, was 1,271,000 bales, but in 1933 the quantity was 445,000 bales, the average yield being 31b. per sheep. Coarse wool comprises the greater part of' the production, but ‘in Southern Russia some tine merinos are grown, but they are. lean in fibre and lack the elasticity of the Australian staple. , Very heavy slaughterings of sheep took place during 1929 and 1930 ag ti protest by the peasants against the intensification of the Soviet collectivisation plan. Since the year mentioned breeding ha* not kept pace with slaughtering and. losses from natural causes. A great part of the wool produced is used in home weaving on the farms. For some years nb direct buying on Russian account has been noticeable in Sydney, but recent cable new* has referred to a decided increase . in. purchases of goods in Great Britain, in which Yorkshire products have probably shared. Great hopes were held of extensive wool buying in the Commonwealth for Russia, but they have not eventuated. If the mills in that country ever develop enough to cater for export trade, low labour costs will make them a serious competitive menace to the European and English establishments. It is worthy of note- that during the first three months .of this year ’ the exports of treated. and skin wool: from the United Kingdom included '89,0001b tc Russia. Great Britain did not ship any wool to that’quarter during the similar period of 1933. ,

Items of interest to those engaged In agricultural and pastoral pursuits, with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. They should be addressed to “Rusticus,” Otago Daily Times, Dunedin.

annual report of the Otago Farmers Union Mutual Fire Insurance Association have been posted to every member of the Farmers’ Union throughout the province. The former will act as a definite reply to the question which is so often asked, “ What is the 1 avmers Union doing ? ” No one can peruse the report without realising the need for a strong organisation which should take a broad viewpoint of what is in the best interests of the farming community as well as in the best interests of the country as a whole. *■

Many of the one-minute speeches delivered by the young men attending the educational course not only proved that the speakers could express themselves clearly, but showed that they were capable of original thought. Some of the views expressed were well worth hearing, and went to show that more than one lad had a sound grasp of the economics of farming. As each lad answered The roll call he gave his Christian or nickname. It caused much amusement to find amongst the large number of Bills, Jacks, and Jims such homely nicknames as Rhino, Whitebait, and Corker.

The short course for farmers which is held annually at Lincoln College commences on Tuesday, June 26, and concludes on Friday, July 6. The course is open to farmers, farmers sons, teamsters, shepherds, dairymen, and anyone interested in farming. Subjects of direct interest to sheep farmers, dairy farmers, and to the mixed farmer are dealt with from the point of view of present-day conditions. An enrolment form can be secured on application at the olhee of the provincial secretary. The fee for the entire course is £3 Ss for lectures alone. Where accommodation and board are provided the charge will be £5 ss. ~ * % -VRemarks of speakers at the j oung farmers’ course: — " To be well is to be whole.” “Why is milk the finest food of alll ? Because it has been specially devised by Nature for growth —not of calves, but or human beings.” “No matter bow old you are every tissue in the body is being replaced day by day and hour by hour.’ —Mr J. Renfrew White. . . , “ Despite the fact that it is a monarchy, there is more Socialism in England today than anywhere else in the world. •• There cannot be liberty of contract unless there is equality, of bargaining power.” . ...... “You farmers exert an invisible influence on Parliament, and so do the manufacturers’ associations and trade unions.” , “ You will never understand the institutions of your country so long as you imagine that their history commenced with last Saturday’s football match. “Don’t stake all your happiness on wool, meat, butter, and cheese. It is possible to be very unhappy though wealthy.”—-Professor B-. Lawson.

A prominent wheatgrower makes the following comment upon certain criticism which has been levelled recently against the method of grading -wheat as adopted by the Purchase Board: — - . “Aa a result of the activities of the Wheat Research Institute a, portion of those farmers who have had samples ot their .wheat tested have been asking that the present method of grading wheat as adopted by the Purchase Board should be dropped, and the wheat sold on a baking test.. It was never intended that baking tests were to interfere with or displace approved grading methods such as are now adopted, but it wag instituted tor the purposes of listing quality of wheat as'.an aid .to. plant, breeding,-.assisting millers to attain uniformity l in their flour, and materially to raise the standard of flour quality so that the local product could successfully compete with the higher quality imported article. Under present conditions the baking te?t ic a distinct help, for many lines of wheat are being taken for milling which would otherwise be registered. Therefore the present system is of great benefit to the farmer, because if the score is good the miller naturally would be inclined to sacrifice yield for the sake of an assured and known quality. ■ , ' “Supposing the baking test only were used for grading purposes, it could be so arranged that all the wheat would be graded into two classes, just as the present system, and no scores would be given, but it would be too slow in the rush, of the season, and would work to the direct disadvantage of the farmer, because many F.A.Q. -lines which are accepted today would be classed as unsuitable. Therefore those who advocate a changeover would be doing so at the expense of the farmer. Moreover, supposing the baking test only were used, it would have to include bushel weight, fitness, and appearance of grains. So all that would happen if the system of grading were altered is that the present system of grading would remain plus a baking classification, and the farmer with indifferent looking wheat would only have one chance instead of two of having his wheat passed,”

FARMING IN NORTH OTAGO THE DEAD PERIOD A COLD WINTER (Contributed.) Even though the present is the quiet period on the farm, a run through the district at the present time brings to mind the hackneyed quotation that “ God made the country and man made the town." It might not be generally thought that at this season of the year there would be much of interest to see in the country, but the lover of the countryside never fails to see some beauty in it. In many places on sunny slopes the grass is still growing, root crops are seen to be abundant, and stock is looking really well. Most farmers now realise the value of a good straw stack in the winter to provide shelter as well as a good filler" for stock. ; Though there-is not a great deal of nourishment in straw, stock like a good straw stack to pull at after they have had a good feed of euch .stun as chou mollier, mangels, or turnips. It helps to balance the ration and to keep them warm, It is very important that stock should be kept as warm as possible in the cold weather. In addition to the straw which they eat, that which they pull out and trample upon makes a good bed very often for them to lie upon. It is very satisfactory to note that much less straw is burnt now than formerly.

A WET MAY. There was a lot of rain in May—much more than usual. The rain was not appreciated in the towns, but it was quite all right in the ; country. Though it held back work for a time, it did not impart too much water to the soil. The ground, generally speaking, is free,and open in North Otago, so that water quickly gets away from it. At the present time it is in good order, and the abundant rains have done no barm. Plenty of rain and frost in the winter seem to sweeten the soil, and after a hard winter we can generally look forward to a good spring and summer.

CLOVER AND PERENNIAL RYE. A much larger area than usual was shut up, last summer for, clover seed, and the wet weather made the harvesting of this crop somewhat difficult. At ohc time we used to be able to sell almost any kind of ryegrass seed, but that is not so now. Since the Department of Agriculture performed a very, useful service in providing-certified' pure perennial ryegrass seed for us, pure • Hawke s Raj mother seed, quite a lot of it has been sown in North Otago. It has been demonstrated beyond question that the pure perennial ryegrass lias a much longer life than the old kind we have become accustomed to, and, it will enable us to put down permanent pastures instead of having to break up our fields every , three or four years and resow them. Sowing clover seed this year has-been very difficult owing to the lateness of the season and the changeable weather, and there i s still clover not stacked yet. Every turning of the clover means additional heads knocked olf. In Canterbury they use the header-harvester fbr threshing clover, and it seems to make a good fob. The clover is cut with a mower and left to lie until it is quite dry. then the header-harvester comes along, and. with pick-up attachment, threshes and bags in one operation. This is a saving of seed as well as of time. In the old wav of picking up carefully with forks, or ‘the later method of using hay sweeps, there was always a certain amount ot loss. In a season like the present, when good days were at a minimum, a headerharvester should have a good run. One of these machines came to North Otago from Canterbury for the wheat harvest and operated , at Papakaio and Pukeun. Nearly all the wheat it handled was sold as prime milling. If the Rorth Otago mill owners do not adopt up-to-date machinery it will not be long before more of these machines are sent down from Canterbury to deal with .both wheat and clover. ■ THE WHEAT CROPS. A lot of wheat has been sown in the district, though not, nearly so much as was put in last year. At this time last year the prospects for sheep were dark, and farmers turned to wheat for relict. Now, with meat and wool at payable prices, many fanners are sowing no wheat, as there is a lot of , work and much anxiety attached to growing at. the bonus of 6d a bushel on . the 1933 wheat has come to hand, and was very welcome. LAMB FATTENING.

Lambs have not fattened this season as they usually do, and the drafts going to the works are growing noticeably smaller. It is quite safe to say that neither Pukeuri ■ nor Pareora/ will have anything like last year’s tallies. Ihe recent rise in the price of lamb was very welcome, and the way the London market is shaping gives ground for hope that the price will go still higher. If fchi s eventuates a good many ewe lambs, which farmers have been saving to build up their breeding flocks, will find their way to the freezing works. More ,ewe- lambs have been saved this year than for many years past; if these lambs have been well done by a good proportion of them are fat. and if a buyer comes along and offers 25s or 26s for them.the temptation to sell and buy a full-mouth ewe at 7s or 8s less will he great. THE EWE FLOCK.

The ewe flocks are looking well and with plenty of feed they should come through the winter in good heart and yield a good crop of lambs and afterwards clip a good fleece of wool. A mistake made by some farmers is, in allowing the ewes to get too fat in the autumn and making them ' live •on this fat for a few weeks, before starting to feed turnips. Then they feed heavily on turnips for between two and three months and in consequence have a big mortality at lambing time. Breeding ewes should be gradually gaining in weight from -May opwards and should at no time be allowed to live on their fat. A start should be made at feeding the turnips as soon as the grass is finished. They can be put into clean ,up after lambs, and as soon as the roughage in the paddocks is done they can profitably ■be given a small quantity of bay, oaten sheaf chaff, or oats. If we all remembered that turnips by themselves do not provide a balanced ration, and always gave some dry feed with the roots, the old saying among shepherds that “ a good turnip year is a bad lambing year;” would lose its significance. It is thought by some that the too liberal use of turnips is the cause of pulpy kidney in lambs. A veterinary surgeon once told me that we give far too many turnips to our breeding ewes, and lie predicted that the time would come when very few turnips would be grown in New Zealand.-

HEDGE TRIMMING. A good deal of gorse hedge cutting is now in progress.' This gives less shelter for small birds which do so much harm to ihe grain crops, and a farm looks much tidier than when the fences are allowed to spread. A tidy farm often means the difference between a sale and no sale when a buyer happens around. • THE HOMESTEAD GARDEN.

It . should be remembered that now isthe time to make any intended alterations in the homestead garden. If old lawns are to be .dug up the work should be* done now and the soil left in a rough state to be pulverised by the frost, so that it will be sweetened and ready for breaking jxp fine and resowing in the spring. It is also a good time now to shift any shrubs that it may be desired'to shift to plant new ones, and to lay off new walks and flower beds. So far as the vegetable garden is concerned it is too early to sow seeds yet. It is better to waif until there is some warmth in the ground. When seeds are sown in cold, wet ground, they are liable to rot, and vegetables are never so palatable- when they have had a cheek in growth. ■ THE MARKETS.

The sheep market was very quiet last month, chiefly because most farmers have their winter requirements,' and those farmers who do not stock up in the autumn do not, as a rule, buy before July or August. Sheep, as a rule, are comparatively cheaper in May than in any other month. Early in the month- a few pens of good store lambs were on offer and sold at 17s to 18s 6d—a drop of, Is 6d to 2s compared with the previous month. Very few lines of ewe lambs have been on offer, bat those sold changed bands at 19s to 21s. At these figures they were good buying, as unless something unforeseen turns up there is bound to be a good demand for them in two or three months’ time. Store wethers have been selling wonderfully - well, and anything decent at all brings from I9s to 21s. There is a feeling abroad that fat wethers are going to be very dear in the spring, and at the present price of stores one would be much better off if he had fats, to sell them in a line as stores, as they would realise at least 2s a head more as stores than if he took freezing price.. Fat cattle are in much the same position as that in which they were last month. Some weeks when there is a short yarding at the local sale yards fats sellfairly well, good stores commanding £G to £B. with very few at the latter figure. When there is a full yarding prices drop from 30s to £2, consequently many farmers who are not handy -to the yards sell privately on the farms rather than rim the risk of a full yarding. Very few farmers fatten cattle in the winter months. Most of them buy stock in October or November and sell them fat in March md April. It is these grass-fed cattle that have been coming on the market in recent weeks. There has also been a large number of cows which, owing to the low price of butter-fat, have been sent to the butcher instead of to the milking shed, and it is these that have depressed the beef market for a long time. There will probably be an improvement in beef prices when the unwanted cows and grassfed steers are out of the way.

Bales. Amount. £ 1928-29 . . 2,533,447 55,239,311 1929-30 . v 2.204,097 29,445,814 1930-31 . . 2,394,729 26,781,527 1931-32 . . 3,582,584 28.544,767 1932-33 . , 2,807,332 31,771.445 1933-34 . . 2,502,603 50,708.851

Bales.,' Amount. *1928*29 . , 1,127,238 24,781,149 .1929-30 . 991,952 13,640,251 1930-31 . . 1,014,148 11,545,091 1931-32 . . 1,147,249 12,501,108 1932-33 . . 1,221,310 13,698,982 1933-34 . . 1,075,433 21,875.934