LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1474, 14 February 1880, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In another column will be found a report of the trial of the Walter A. Wood'B string binder, held at the farm of Mr James Shand on Tuesday.

A strange disease (sayß the Banffshire Journal) has made great ravages among sheep in the neighbourhood of Lostwithiel, and during the past few weeks hundreds of animals, principally young sheep, have died from it, half a dozen or more dying in a single day on some small farms. The disease is sudden in its attack, and proves rapidly fatal. Farmers have had their sheep examined, and been informed that they were perfectly healthy j and yet in an hour or so afterwards two or three of the animals were found dead. An examination of the carcases has done little to determine the nature of the disease, the only peculiarity observable being the unusually red colour of the flesh. Several flocks have been slaughtered, and something very much like a panic prevails among breeders in Lostwithiel, the most productive part of Cornwall in an agricultural sense, aud a large feeder of the London meat market. ,

Elsewhere will be found our BP«aal agnoaltural correspondent's remarks upon the appearance and prospects of the Timaru district tnis season.

A correspondent in the North Otago Times refers as follows to farming matters m the ayeburn and Mount Ida districts :-Creighton Brothers hold about 1000 acres in the Kye* burn district, on several hundred acres of whicfc they have a splendid crop ; and the farms ot Messrs Marshall, Pew, Starkie, White and Davis, M'Namara, and George Currie and Sons, in this district are also worth mentioning -the latter including 1000 acres, over 200 acres of which are under crop. They had a splendid crop of wheat last year. StarJne informed me that he considered the land was well adapted for wheat and oats, being ot a stiff, heavy nature, the want of moiature was the only thinghecomplained of. Thereis much want ofamarket. Oataaregrown principally this year, some farmers having had to sell good wheat tor fowls' feed last year. Between Kyeburn and Naseby there is some very good land on tne flats, and on some of the ridges it seems to be even better though it had a very hard, dry appearance when I passed. As you near JN aseby there are paddocks cultivated, which afford ample evidence of the fertility of the soil. 1 here is no land in the Upper Kyeburn fit for cultivation on a large scale. It is essentially a mineral district, and figuratively speaking has only been scratched over. A good road leads along the terraces of the Kyeburn Creek. One cultivation is Mr M'Cready'a paddock, of about 100 acres in extent. This land was turned up ten years ago. There have been nine crops taken oil it ; the last yielded about 50 bushels to the aero of oats. It has often been asked whether the other lands in the district will hold out so long, but in fact they have not had the trial as yet. bo tar everyone that has tried the cultivation speaks well of the fertility of the soil.

At a meeting of the Aparima Rabbit Trustees last week, attention was called to the extraordinary fecundity of rabbits this season, as many as fourteea young ones being found in one nest. It was resolved that a general effort be made # to get them cleared out, and the clerk was instructed to give notice, requiring the occupiers of land to destroy the rabbits on their holdings, and if they fail to do so, that the rabbits will be destroyed at their cost. Attention wag called to gorse fences as a great harbour for rahbits. The Inspector stated that the Road Board had let the cutting and clearing gorse off roadOines where the owners failed to get it done and the owners would have to pay.

Mr Batbgate, in his lectures on New Zealand, unlcßs he is much misrepresented, has been making some remarkable statements. The other day we were brought up all standing by the assertion attributed to that worthy gentleman, that an income of LI2OO a year could be got out of a farm of 500 acres. We have since come across tbe following in a second notice by William Chambers of Judge Batbgate's lectures, in •• Chambers' Journal of November 22 :-" First-class agricultural land, as that of New Zealand is proved to be, fenced and improved, and conveniently situated, must be regarded as low in price estimated at L2O an acra. M per acre per annum of clear profit from the proper cultivation of such land, is under the average. We are informed of an instance of a settler purchasing 200 acres improved land at Lls an acre, and clearing Ms whole purchase price from his first m crop. .bug taking the low average mentioned, it w highly improbable that good land will remain at its present value. As society progresses ia population and wealth, and ,aa new branches of industry develop and prosper, so will the value of land Bteadily increase. | We have ibalicised the passages here which Btrike us with a sense of novelty. We really wish we could believe all this as readily as does Mr Chambers. Iv a P.S. to his article he refers to the visit of the delegates from the Lincolnshire farmers to obtain information, and remarks that it was quite unnecessary, as they could have obtained all the information they required from Judge Bathgate. We imagine the Lincolnshire men will prefer getting an independent report from men who do not habitually wear highly-coloured spectacles. It seems that Mr Bathgate is about to publish a book on New Zealand. Oannot some of his friends telegraph to him the laconic advice, "Don't"? At least it is to be hoped for bis credit's sake that someone will induce him judiciously to tone it down.

The reporter of the Manawatu Timea accepted an invitation from Mr James Linton, of Terrace End, to witness the operations of a piece of maohinory whioh he has invented for stumping bush land. The apparatus is worthy of the highest praise on account of its three principal features— first, the thorough effectiveness with which it performs the work assigned it ; second, the simplicity of the contrivance and the absence of all danger ; and third, the insignificance of cost compared with the benefit derived. When our reporter arrived on the ground the " stumper " was in the hands of two men who have taken a contract for clearing some land, and in order to test its power it was hooked on to the very largest trees to be found, varying from two to three feet in diameter, and in the space of 40 minutes, timed by a watoh, 14 of the branchless veterans were torn from mother earth. So great was the power employed that not only were the massive trunks dislodged, but the roots running for yards around were torn from their sockets. The lever with whioh this was executed was a double union screw, made to the order of Mr Linton, with other gear attached, also made to the owner s order, but so simple in its mode of operation that the work could be done by one man. Our reporter questioned the men who had taken the contract, and was assured by the two that they had done more work since that morning with the " stumper " than otherwise 30 men could have done. The invention is one which we have no doubt in asserting will work a thorough revolution in the work of olearing land, and its aid in a bush country will be simply invaluable, as by the outlay of about a dozen of pounds hundreds could be saved in a year. As a proof of the immense advantage given by the use of tho "stumper," we may state that the contract alluded to had been taken for £25 on condition of receiving a loan of the apparatus, whereas without it it would have been considerably over £100. Already Mr Linton has hud numerous offers for the hire of the " stumper" by struggling settlers who have been witnesses of its wonderful labour-saving efficiency. We understand that it is the intention of the inventor to have the instrument patented, and certainly patents have been issued for inventions which could not claim one tenth of the merit of Mr Linton's simple but most effective contrivanoe. We feel convinced that when settlers become aware of the very valuable aid for olearing their lands— the work being performed efficiently and at a mere nominal cost when_ compared with the present expensive and tedious operation — whioh will be at their command at a minimum Co3t, the " stumper " will create a revolution in the clearing of land, and its clever inventor will receive the praise and profit which he has so fairly wonj

The result of the operation of the new land law in this district (says the Mount Ida Chronicle) during the month it has been in vogue has been that six sections on Chapman's tolock, out of the 11 available, hwe been applied for and taken np— by residents of the dish-iei, too, who know ite value, and who, with the means and Colonial exp3rienoe they have, will make capital settlers. We understand that two of the sections of the remaining five are undesirable for settlement. Another block will need to be opened at once, for if applications for the land come in during the present month a3 they have done in the past thera will sot be a section available at the end of the present month. If our lands were settled upon At this rate — 1600 acres per month — we should Boon be one of the most prosperous districts in the Colony, and, according to the degree of our prosperity, so is the Colony advanced proportionally.

The Clulha Leader of the 6thßays :— " Several of the farmers of South Tokomairiro have commenced harvesting.but the harvest in that district will not be general for a week or 10 days. O wing to the cold wet spring, several fields were late in being sown, and, consequently, look green yet ; but the cr<?pß in general look well, and promise to yield a good average."