THE RURAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22776, 11 January 1936, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD

By RUSTICUS.

Items »f Interest to those engaged ii with a view to their publication in They should be addressed to Rust!

1935-36 SHOW SEASON FORTHCOMING EVENTS Shows have been arranged for the Allowing dates during the 1935-36 season: 1936 January ] I.—Blueskin, at Waitati. January 18.—Waikouaiti. January 24.—Palmerston and Waihemo March 7. —Upper Clutha, at Pembroke. March 11.—Lake County, at Lake Eayes, Arrowtown. _ March 21. —Temuka and Geraldine, at Winchester. . April 13.—Mackenzie County, at Fairlie. , , WOOL-SELLING SEASON - ROSTER OF SALES The following wool sales have yet to be held in the Dominion this season:— 1936 Jan. 11—Napier. Mar. 3—Christchurch. Jan. 16 —Wanganui. Mar. 6—lnvercargill. Jan. 21—Auckland. Mar. 11—Dunedin. Jan. 2T —Christchurch. Mar. ,16 —Wellington. Jan. 31—Invercargill. Mar. 20—Napier. Feb. s—Dunedin. Mar. 24—Auckland Feb. 10—Timaru. Mar. 27—Wanganui. Feb, 15— Wellington. Mar. 31—Christchurch. Feb. 20—Napier. Apr. 4—Dunedin. Feb. 24— Wanganui. Apr. s—Wellington. FARMING IN NORTH OTAGO more rain wanted harvest begun (Contributed.) The holidays are over, and we have set to work in earnest once more. What we most want just now is a good rain; the grass fields and all crops are simply crying out for moisture, and unless they get it very soon, there will be much less winter feed this year than there was last It is true that we had a little over half an inch of rain recently, but that was not nearly enough, and it was absorbed almost as soon as it fell by drying winds, of which we have had far too many this season. One of the greenest places m the district is Tokarahi. Usually .this is a very parched place in a dry period, but owing to several very beneficial showers it mis not suffered to the same extent this eeascn as most parts of North Otago. On one occasion there was something in the nature of a cloudburst, whe,» the rainfall is reported to have been about four inches in less than half an hour. The ground was very dry, and the rain fell where it did no damage. ~.. , „ The-fogs and drizzly conditions of November gave /Way to bright sunshine and scorching winds in December, and throughout the greater part. of North Otago a really good soaking rain is l now needed. Crops are suffering from want of moisture, and the yields will be much lighter than they promised to be a month ago. . On tbe heavy, land near the coast some fair crops are to be seen, but they are ripening prematurely, and will not yield well in very many eases. Further inland the crops are very light, and in many cases are a total failure. Many oat crops are to be seen in. Stock; they are very short in the -straw, many being 15 inches to 18 inches long, and the rapid way. in which they “came in” does not promise heavyyields. Wheat is also “turning,” and already a few crops in the Waitaki Valley are cut. The binder will be at work at an early date. The harvest this year will be short, if not sweet. THE HAY CROPS. We; have had a very light hay crop this year, and many farmers have not been able to save a single wisp. Paddocks which were closed up in November did not come. away as they usually do owing to lack of moisture in the subsoil. The pioneers used to say: “If the lagoons do not get filled in winter or spring the grass will not be heavy.” This season has proved the truth of the saying. It is safe to say that not one-tenth of the hay that is usually saved will go into stack this year. The lucerne crops have not suffered to the same extent, and these are just ready for the second cut. In a dry climate like

FARM AND STATION NEWS

a agricultural and pastoral pursuits, these columns, will be welcomed, ieus, Otago Daily Times, Dunediu.

that of North Otago every farmer should have a few acres of lucerne. If every farmer took a trip through Central Otago there would be very few farms in New Zealand without a patch of lucerne. The Agricultural Department have shown that it can be grown on a wide variety of soils. There is no doubt that a few acres of this deep-rooting legume is of great value, especially in a dry season like the present. ' MANGELS. -

On early-fallowed and well-worked ground mangels are making strong growth, despite the dry season. But on ground that was not ploughed until the winter the growth is not nearly so strong, and, to get a big crop of mangels, the ground should be ploughed in January and kept clear of weeds by discing throughout the summer, and should bo ploughed deeply in May. The summer fallow kills most of the weeds and makes the work of thinning a much easier matter. It also adds nitrogen to the soil and conserves moisture. I saw a mangel patch, part of which had been ploughed in January and the other part in May. The seed was sown over the whole paddock the same day, but the difference in. the growth of the mangels was most striking. The mangels on the January-ploughed ground were very much better than those on the ground which bad not been ploughed until May. RAPE AND TURNIPS.

There are some very good crops of rape to be seen, the later sown crops being superior to those which were sown earlier. If we got rain soon, the late-sown crops should develop well. Turnips also have struck well, and, thanks to the very useful half-inch of rain which we had m Christmas week, are now beginning to show a pale green tinge in the fields. Swedes are not much grown in North Otago; it is much too dry to risk a very large area, but the few. small crops about seem to be holding their own. Conditions are so dry in some localities that some farmers do not intend to sow their turnips until' rain comes, and if a go°d soaking rain is not experienced soon they will put the land in green feed. The experience of last year showed us that we could do' with fewer turnips: but we should not forget that. we had a. lot of hay last winter, in addition to which the weather was very mild. . It may not be so mild in the coming winter. THE LAMBS.

Lambs were doing very well in ' the early part of the season, but lately they seem to have lost their “bloom.” This is owing probably to the drying winds and lack of rain. The freezing works opened shortly before Christmas, and while some farmers got good drafts away, others did not fare so well, though the lambs killed up. to expectations. The hot, dry weather rapidly took the sap out of the grass, and there is sure to be a rush for space in the freezing works for a few weeks. The district competition in fat lambs brought out some excellent lines,, and the. judges had a very hard job in selecting the winning pens. Prices for fat lambs are on a per lb schedule. A rumour went round that there would be a slight rise after the New Year, but this did not eventuate. The price in the North Island dropped to 7£d, and this caused some nervousness lest the South Island should follow suit. Conditions in England are improving, and with less unemployment it is only, reasonable to assume that prices will improve rather than go back. The forward lamb buyers who came out with fancy prices in November and December are keeping very quiet just now, and by the look of things some of them will get more experience than profit. At the present time there is very little doing in any stock lines. THE GOLDEN FLEECE.

Sheep shore well, and wo were glad to get improved prices. When the weather cleared at the end of November there was a great rush to get the shearing done, and the shortage of shearers, especially blade shearers, was very keenly felt. Some sheds had to start with only half their complement of shearers, and there were very few who were lucky enough to have a full board. The dry weather enabled the work to be got through with few stops, although there are still some “woollies” to be seen on quite a number of farms. Some men make big cheques during the shearing season—£B to £l2 a week —and it seems deplorable that \ with so much unemployment about there should be a deficiency of men for such necessary work as shearing.

THE CLOVERS. Last year large areas were saved for white clover seed, but this year there is very little white clover about, and such is the shortage that several of the bee farmers hav.e been reduced to the necessity of removing their 'hives to other districts, or to resort to hand feeding, as the bees are unable to get enough from the clover to feed themselves. The same applies to red clover, though there is still time for this, but any fields that may be shut up now will come in late, and that is risky in a wet autumn.

Ryegrass is also very scanty, and very few paddocks have been saved. A few farmers have resorted to stripping, but the total quantity saved is very small)

SMUHFIELD SHOW SUPREME HONOURS FOR ABERDEEN ANGUS MR J. J. CRIDLAN BREAKS RECORDS (From Ode Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) * LONDON, December 14.

A novelty at the Smithfield Fat Stock Show this year is an exhibit arranged by the Ministry of Agriculture, which demonstrates the Ministry’s sales by deadweight system. Live specimens are shown of the four grades into which animals sold by this method are classified—super grade and grades I, 11, and 111. Farmer after farmer has come along, looked at the grade II beast, and said: “ How can that compete with chilled imported beef? ” Yet statistics show that 59 per cent, of the animals consigned for sale by deadweight fall into this category, and many of the senders consider these beasts are under-graded. The championship of the show has provided another triumph for the AberdeenAngus breed—and for Mr J. J. Cridlan, who, for the ninth time, has varried off the supreme honours. No one else approaches such a record. He has done it with his wonderful heifer Pride of Maisemore 55th, champion of Norwich, this year, and junior champion of this show* last year. “ I have never produced a better,” Mr Cridlan said. I He was asked how he did it. “By running my herd under as natural conditions as possible,” he replied; “by 40 years of breeding, and by 40 years of learning something fresh almost every month.”

Pride of Maisemore is a fortnight under three years. She weighs 15cwt and 81b, a solid block of perfect beef upon four short, powerful legs. Her back, as she lies, is flat as a table-top and measures a yard across. She realised £250 at the auction, one of the best prices paid tor a Smithfield champion. The reserve champion, G. G. Reid’s champion steer, fetched the next highest price of £BB. These prices represented 331 s 6d and 112 s per cwt respectively. KING’S SUCCESS.

The baby beef championship produced a notable royal victory, for the King wao both champion and reserve with his Angus-Windsor Belle 2nd, the latter being reserved crossbred champion also. The King obtained 96s and 92s per cwt for his crossbreds, and the Prince of Wales obtained 81s for a Devon steer.

The Bcwt to lOcwt beasts fetched the best prices on tbe whole, with baby beef realising no more than the heavy-weights. Altogether 233 cattle were sold for £7451, averaging 56s 4d per cwt. This is 3s 4d per cwt better than last year. The merits of Scotch beef were again the subject of conversation, and interest was focussed on the competition for championship honours between the Aber-deen-Angus and Galloway breeds. Each had 10 Smithfield carcass championships to its credit, the Galloways haying got level with the Aberdeen-Angus breed at last year’s show. As the result of this year’s judging an Aberdeen-Angus exhibit placed the breed a point ahead ot the Galloways. The champion carcass was exhibiteu. by Mr W. R. Board, Cardiff, and was that of his 21-month-old Aberdeen-Angus heifer Estelle, which from a live weight of Bcwt Iqr 191 b gave a carcass weight of 78st (of 81b) 41b. The reserve was Dr Alfred Palmer’s Galloway steer Quentin, which had a live weight of llcwt Iqr 241 b, and produced a carcass of llOst.

BRITISH AGRICULTURAL POLICY HOME PRODUCERS FIRST LORD CRANWORTH’S VIEWS (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, December 21. In view of the return of the National Government to power, Lord Cranworth deems the time opportune for a definite statement of policy designed to give a fair balance of treatment to the various branches of agriculture. In a letter to The Times Lord Cranworth, writing as president of the Central Land Owners’ Association, says; Adequate production and employment would automatically follow a stable policy to make farming pay over a reasonable period of years, but such a result can only be fully achieved if complete effect is given to the principle accepted at the Ottawa Conference in 1932, that the home producer is given first claim on the markets in this country, reserving second place for Empire produce. It is recognised that the Government are faced with great difficulties in this connection, and we are by no means ungrateful for the assistance already given.

No other country, however, is in a similar position to Great Britain, with an immense Empire overseas. If, for reasons of State, trade agreements must be entered into with the dominions to take so high a proportion of their agricultural produce that our own farmers are deprived of a share of our markets to which they are justly entitled, then the balance should be adjusted at the expense of the nation as a whole, and not borne by our home agriculturists, who constitute not more than 7 per cent, of the total population. This argument applies with greater force to similar agreements with foreign countries. CAPITAL IN AGRICULTURE. The primary object in the rules of the association over which I have now the honour to preside reminds its members that in pressing their case regard must be had to the interests of the nation, which are above those of any industry or of any individual. No undue burdens should, therefore, be placed on the general taxpayer, and I may be allowed to suggest in conclusion that if owners ,of agricultural estates are prepared for traditional, personal, or family reasons to accept a fraction of a commercial rate of interest on their investment in agricultural land and its permanent equipment, it would be to the advantage of the Exchequer to encourage them to carry on. No comparable substitute has yet been found for the agricultural landlord as a source of cheap capital, and land with buildings and other equipment represents at least two-thirds of the total capital invested in agriculture. No greater encouragement could be given, than by substantial relief from death duties, whicn withdraw capital most urgently required for the maintenance and improvement of agricultural holdings. Agricultural property differs from most other forms of investment, as continuous expenditure has to be incurred by year to maintain its capacity for the production of food. In connection with work of such outstanding importance as the development of agricultural production at home, I would take the opportunity of adding my support to the plea which has been made for raising the status of the Ministry of Agriculture commensurate with the responsibility of the department. / WAIRARAPA STUD SHEEP SALE The eighteenth annual stud sale will be held on the Show Grounds at Masterton on Wednesday next. All the well-known breeders will be offering the pick of their one-shear rams. The rams have done particularly well this year and are in wonderful condition, and all those in search of high-class rams should make a point of attending this sale. All stock is sold under cover, and entries have been received from the following well-known breeders: —Sir William Perry, Messrs G. E. Allen, A. E. Anderson, R. Buick, W. M. Bishell (Blenheim). W. H. Buick and Son. N. Blatchford, H. Bowen (Bulls), Q. Donald, A. and .T. Gray, R. M. Perry, J. V. Reed, H. J. Rayner, A. P. Southey and Sons, W. A. Tod (Otane). A. L. Wheeler (Marton), T. Wyeth, E. C. White, Wairarapa Training Farm, and Miss B. Donald. This is a very representative list of breeders and shows the popularity of the sale, as the entries are 30 more'than for last year. Those in search of new blood can attend this sale with confidence. The offering includes Southdowns and Romneys.