THE RURAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23593, 1 September 1938, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD

FARM AND STATION NEWS

By RUSTICUS.

Items of interest to those engaged in agricultural and pastoral puriuitt, with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. They should be addressee! to Rusticus, Otago Daily Timet, Dunedin-

1938-39 WOOL SEASON ROSTER OF SALE DATES The following roster of sale uates for tha-1938-39 season has been drawn up by the New Zealand Wop) Committee:— '/■ Novembei 2(J (9 a,mj.—Auckland December; 2 (9 a.m..>.--Napier; December- 7 (9 a.m.).~Wellington December ,12 (9 a.mJ.-'-Christchurch December 16 (8 a.mJ.--Timaru. December 20 (9 a.m.).— Dunediu January 9 (9 a.m.).—Wellington •.. Js:nuary 14 (9 a.m.).—Napier Jsmuary 19 (9 a.m.).—Wanganui January 24 (9 a.m.).—Auckland , ; ; Jamuary 30 (9 a.m.).—Christchurch February 3 (2 p.m.).—lnvercargill February 8 (9 a.m.).--Dunedin. February 15 (9 a.m.).—Wellington February 20 (9 a.m.).—Napier February 24 (2.30 p.m.).—Wanganui March 3 (9 ajn.)—Christchurch March 7 (8 a.m.).—Timaru. March 11 (2 p.m.).—lnvercargill March 16 (9 a.m.).—Dunedin. March 23 (9 a.m.).-Wellington March 27 (9 a.m.).—Auckland. March 30 (2.30 p.m.).—Wanganui April 3 <9 a.m.).—Napier. April I'4 (9 a.m.):—Christchurch April 19, (9 a.m.).—Dunedin. Aprjj: 24 (9 a.m.).-Wellington 1938-39 SHOW SEASON ROSTER Of DATES Summer shows have been ' arranged for the 1938-39 season ?s follows. (The list is still incomplete, and secretaries oi! show societies are invited to forward particulars of their dates as soon a:: they are fixed):— September 22.—Otago A. and P. Society's Clydesdale Stallion Parade, Tahuna Park. Novembei 10 and 11.—Canterbury Metropolitan, at Addington. November 16.—Waimate November 16.—Kelso. November 18 and 19.—North Otago. ai Oamaru. November 19.—Taieri. November 22 arid 23.—Otago Metropolitan, at Tahuna Park. November 25.—Clutha and Matau. at , Balclutha. November 26.—Winton. December 6 and 7.—Gore. December 10.—Wyndham. December 13 and 14.—Southland, at •.Invercargill; December 16.—Maniototo, at Rarifurly. *.>. ! •;■"•■'.; 1939 '''.'■-.'>:.,» ■■ I. January 14.—Waitati. ' •■'' ; ■•;'. January- 21.—Waikbuaiti. January '27.—Palmerston-Waihemo, at Palmerston. •'..'" April 10.—Strath-Taieri. at' Middlemarch. April 10.—Mackenzie Highland, at Fairlie.

TOPICS OF INTEREST

OFFICIAL NOTES

The two golfers were strangers .to each other but they happened to come together one morning for a friendly round. As one of them had on a collar that buttoned at the back it was obvious that he was a member of the doth; He, led off from the first tee in a deplorable fashion artd'tookdouble bogey to'get to the first green. When they arrived there., his deponent asked, " what is your handicap?" " The Church" was the gloomy response.

The country girls-educational week'i which concludes tomorrow, has again proved very successful and the .comprehensive and varied programme has been carried out without a hitch. Tomorrow morning Mi D. Tannock will give an address on " Gardening." and the final function wiL.be a dance in the Masonic Hall the same evening. The arrangements are in the capable hands., of Mrs W. Elliott (provincial president) and Miss A F. Borrie. secretary'of the Women';- Division of the Farmers' Union.

.The early efforts 01 the pioneers of the co-operative movement were rfirected to "trading without profit" by selling at cost price, but this method involved price cutting and losses. Later, this scheme was abandoned and the principle of trading without profits by selling at the market price and returning the surplus to the purchasing members proportionately was introduced. From this point the co-operative movement made real progress, and the new system was immediately successful. When it can be anplied. it is economically the fairest system of trading the human mind has vet devised

In order to co-ordinate the work m the large area under its control, the Otago and Southland District Pig Council has recently appointed a committee in Southland to look after the interests of that district.

This was made possible by. the cooperation of the Southland Executive of the Farmers' Union after the position had been explained fully by the president of the council, Mr J. L. Johnston, and Mr N. Macdonald, supervisor who waited on them as a deputation at their last monthly meeting. When the committee is functioning It will be able to arrange meetings for the supervisor, and by creating interest in the industry generally will be of immense value to the council, while in addition it will save much time for the supervisor, which can be more profitably employed in giving service and advice on all matters pertaining to the advancement of pigraising.

An exhibit of rugged sheep at this year's Sydney Sheep Show proved of outstanding interest to all . who attended, and is claimed by its champions to have provided a conclusive answer to sheepmen's queries as to the general utility and practical value of rugging flock sheep. . The exhibition brought to a conclusion an experiment commenced last year, and carried through to 1938. Last year a number of sheep, of various types, from Copeland Estates, Manilla, were tattooed by the association, and since that time have been grazed under identical conditions with unrugged sheep of the same types. Results so far indicate that the rugged sheep are , superior to the unrugged sheep in regard to quality and weight of fleece and general development of the animals, while the comparative figures of carcass and skin values were greatly in favour of the rugged sheen. * * * The Dominion Office recently obtained an opinion from their solicitors concerning the liability of farmers in respect to accidents that may be caused

by the erection of cream stands, rural mail boxes, calf pens, etc., on public roads. The opinion mentioned is given as under:— 1. Section 168 of the Public Works Act. 1928, provides (inter alia): "Every person who without lawful authority or written permission of the local authority having control of a road or bridge (a) encroaches on the road by making or erecting any building fence, ditch or other obstacle

shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £lO for every day upon which such offence is committed or suffered to continue." This section, however, contains a proviso that no fine shall be imposed unless the information or complaint is laid by authority of the local authority or chairman thereof.

Section 176 of the.same Act provides (inter alia) that: "Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding £5 who unlawfully obstructs in any. manner the free passage of persons passing along the road."

It will be seen, therefore, that the erection of such structures as cream stands, etc., may constitute an offence under the Public Works Act and render the farmers liable to prosecution. 2. Although the erection may of itseh constitute an offence, this does not dispose of the matter. Whether an accident caused by these structures imposes liability on the farmers is dependent largely upon circumstances For this opinion, we assume that the stands are erected on the highway and not inside the farmers' boundary. The law is stated in Halsbury. volume 16. paragraph 483, as follows:—" Whether an obstruction, encroachment amounts to a nuisance is a question of fact for the jury and in deciding it they . . . may find that an obstruction or . . . encroachment is so inappreciable or temporary as. not to amount to a nuisance, or perhaps that though in itself appreciable, passengers seldom, if ever, require to pass over its site."

It is common knowledge that cream stands are in general erected at the gateway of farms, and are commonly erected on the grass verges of a road and not on the metalled or formed portion, and in such cases it would probably be held that the encroachment on the highway is not such as to restrict the right of the general public to pass along the highway. If however, a stand were erected on, or so as to overhang, the formed portion of the road, it would in all probability be such an obstruction as would amount to a restriction on the right of. the public to use the highway. 3. In considering the question of liability for accident, regard must be had to the question of trespass upon the highway. "A public highway is a piece of land vested either in some local authority or in the adjoining la.nd-owners, and subject to a public right of way. Any person, therefore, who uses a highway for any purpose other than that of passage becomes thereby a trespasser, and, like any other trespasser, may be either sued in trespass or forcibly ejected."— (Salmon on Torts, ninth edition, page 208.) 4. We find it difficult to visualise circumstances giving rise to a claim for damages. As above stated, it is a matter of common knowledge that these stands are; erected away from the formed portion of the highway, .penerally, they are in full view of all users of the highway, and any such person who might be injured by collision with an obstruction might be held to be guilty of contributory negligence and to have had the last opportunity of avoiding the accident. 5. It might happen that a structure erected by a farmer is. through lack of repair or faulty construction, allowed to fall or be blown on to the roadway. In such a case a person injured by the obstruction would. have a right of action against the farmer who erected the stand or his successor in title It would, however, be necessary for the plaintiff to' show that the accident happened while he was exercising a public right in his use of the highway.

INCREASED SHIPMENTS LAMB TOTAL HIGHER CHILLED BEEF EXPANSION Exports of meat for the season to August 15. are now showing an increase over last year's corresponding figures in all classes except, frozen beef. Shipments of lamb for the period August 1 to August 15 were 406,778 freight carcasses, • against 264,619 carcasses for the first fortnight in July. The New Zealand Meat BoardV returns give the following exports for the season from October 1. 1937. to August 15. 1938: 1937-38 IM:jG-37

As a result of larger shipments, lamb .?lock.: at August 15 were lower at 528.530 carcasses, against 844,935 at that date last season. There were also 454.697 carcasses loaded into vessels not departed at August 15. against 203,409 carcasses la t year. Other stocks showed minor movements although shipments loaded in vessels at the date of the return were rather heavier in chilled beef, mutton and pork than at the corresponding date last season. SEASONAL NOTES PASTURE TOP-DRESSING CARE OF HAY PADDOCKS A matter of seasonal importance at the moment is the question of pasture top-dressing, which should be undertaken immediately- if satisfactory results ar: desired. The object of top-dressing pastures is in the main to ensure enhanced pasture growth and herbage quality in order to provide wet stock with the necessary feed so that maximum returns can be obtained from them. It is now common knowledge that larger drafts of lambs fat off the mothers and greater butter-

fat returns from dairy cows are generally obtained when stock are depastured on top-dressed grasslands. Superphosphate should be used, as this phosphatic fertiliser has been found in the big majority of cases to give superior results; at least 2cwt per acre to sheep pastures and 3cwt per acre to dairy pastures should be applied. If a top-dresser is not available, there are now in every district where conditions are suitable contractors who are prepared to cart the fertiliser from the rail and apply same to pastures at a very reasonable charge. Plans for the production of hay should be considered and allowance made for a liberal application of fertiliser in order to ensure an increased growth. It always pays to be liberal when top-dressing hay paddocks, and an application of at least 3cwt of superphosphate or 3cwt of ammoniated super per acre is advised. There is evidence in many districts in Otago that if hay is fed out in conjunction with turnips during the winter instead of turnips only, stock do far better and for this reason alone the keeping of a paddock for hay should be well worth while. In the event of a good grrss season any surplus should be turned into hay. Remember that a hay stack is always worth the ground it stands upon, even if it occupies that ground for several seasons. Those who kept this in mind have this year been amply rewarded.

WOOL-SELLING SEASON OPENING IN SYDNEY LEAD TO NEW ZEALAND Interest of New Zealand wool growers now centres on the opening of the new Australian selling season at Sydney. Although the season in New Zealand does not commence until the first sale at Auckland on November 26, the offering of the new clip in the Commonwealth is looked upon as a valuable barometer of the trend -of the market, and after the results are known it is possible to gauge the reception which will meet the Dominion wool later in the year. The Australian clip for the new season has been estimated at 2,970,000 bales, or 200,000 bales less than last season. However, it is expected that the larger carry-over of 235,701 bales, rgalnst only 47,069 bales, will counteract this deficiency. It is estimated that 2.700,000 bales will be offered at auction, of which 1,450,000 bales will come under the hammer before Christmas. Last season 2,760.759 bales were sold, but with improved conditions the new clip may almost approach these figures. With such a gap since the l?st sale, prospects naturally are difficult to assess. The opinion that there is not much likelihood of any drastic major improvement in values is expressed by •H. Dawson, Sons, and Co., Ltd., a leading firm of London wool brokers. On the other hand, wool firms in Sydney are cautiously optimistic end expect a ready demand with a slight increase in price. H. Dawson, Sons and Co., Ltd., state: "The Australian-Japanese trade agreement provides for a substantial baleage, but should be regarded as the maximum likely to be taken by Japan. In view of current conditions, the actual final figures may be considerably smaller. The reported prohibition of exports of woollen goods from Japan and Manchuria is an indication of the serious position, and can hardly improve the foreign exchange position; in fact, credits are still awaited for purchases already made, end considerable delay is being experienced."

Lamb (carcasses) 8,298,594 8.252,724 Mutton (carcasses) 1,699.653 1,426,365 Chilled beef (quarters) 212.008 182.156 Frozen beef (quarters) 131.488 134,833 fork (carcasses) 567,863 556,013 Uoneless beef (bags).. 301,108 222,555 Killings of stock for the season to August 15 compare as follows: — 1937-38 '• 193H-37 ('hilled beef (quarters) 222,-w7 175,892 Frozen beef (quarters) 160,3(19 196,197 Wethers (carcasses) 1,013,817 971,866 Ewes (carcasses) 1,173:445 807,991 Lamb (carcasses). .. 9,157,653 1U80.858 Porkers (carcasses)' ■121.850 428,561 liaconers (carcasses) .. 227.108 239,229 ISoneless beef (ft. c/cs.) 616,882 501.024 Hdncless, hnbb.v veal (ft. carcasses) .. .. 141,122 145,427 Sundries (ft. carcasses) 331,909 297.095