PROVINCIAL AND COLONIAL ITEMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1501, 21 August 1880, Page 7

PROVINCIAL AND COLONIAL ITEMS.

It seems that there are places in which the rabbit nuisance is felt more severely than in Southland after all. Mr Patrick Anderson, who acted as returning officer at Albacutya, a run iv the heart of the mallee country, tells the Horsham (Victoria) Times that that country is iv a deplorable condition. He had to carry both horse-feed and water with him from Dimboola, and saw scarcely a blade of grass for the 80 miles. This is owing to the ravages or the rabbita. Not a single vote was reoorded in this desert. , _ On the motion of Mr Tole, in the House of Eepresentatives, the report of Mr Mitchie, veterinary surgeon, on the pleuropneumonia was laid on the table. The report of the inspection relates entirely to Auckland, and shows conclusively that pleuro existed there in a very severe form, and had evidently been introduced from New South Wales, and that it would take some time and much trouble to eradicate it. Mr Mitchie says there could not be a better man than Mr Naden to stamp out the disease. The Cattle Boards are said to be working energetically in that direction. The magnitude of the "rabbit industry "in this district (says the Cromwell Argus) is fairly shown by the fact that on the 30th ult. Mr Stewart, of Hawksburn Station, shipped for the Home market 45,000 skins, and has now in store 10,000 more. Mr Stewart estimates that within the past two years the carrying capacity of his run has been reduced to the extent of 10,000 sheep by the rabbit pest. The evil at Hawksburn is aggravated by Government land adjoining, over which there is no supervision to keep down rabbit-breeding. At the meeting of the Christchuroh Board of Health on Monday last, the Health-officer reported that he had good reasons to believe that typhoid fever had been communicated to families by means of milk supplied from filthy dairies. The Board resolved to inspect the premises of all who supply milk, and will be prepared to report upon the condition of such premises to those interested. An account of agricultural matters in the Mataura district from a correspondent at Wyndham, will be found in another column.

We draw particular attention to Mr J. Drew Atkins article on "The Farmer of the Future," published in the present issue.

A writer in the Canterbury Press makes the remarks on Mr Grigg's address on •'Can farming be made to pay at present prices, which we published some weeks back :— lt is not intended by the following remarks to set up the writer's judgment as superior to that of a gentleman of suoh extensive experience, both in farming stock and agriculture, as Mr Grige. The object of the writer is rather to draw forth the explanations which it is hoped oan and will be given upon several matters that appearat first view to be questionable. My first objection is that no such blook of land as Mr Grigg assumes to be available— namely, 200 acres of good agricultural land wholly free from waote or deterioration'of any kind— oan be found; or at least, if obtainable, can be procured save at an exceptionally high price, 7 or 8 per cent, on whioh (the rate of interest to be expected on the investment, according to Mr Grigg) would amount to a very high figure. It seems to me, therefore, that Mr Grigg's allowance of two aores for homestead and three acres for outbuildings is not sufficient to allow for all waste from fences, ditohes, watercourses, floods, &o. If the farmer be a leaseholder, there will probably be not only the cost of the lease in the first instance, but also covenants on the .part of the tenant to keep fences, drains, and buildings in repair, and to insure. For all these! expenses I don't find any allowance made, nor yet for land tax, or taxes of any kind, save road rates. The .sums allowed for plant— namely, ploughs, dray, drill, and dairy utensils, including delivery at farm— all seem under present prices. Again, one bushel per acre seems too small an allowance for seed, and 5s per acre for use of reaper aDd binder and wire, appears to be under the mark, to say nothing of the impru. dence of depending on a borrowed reaper for 75 aores of landj exposed to the risk of nor'westers, sparrows, &o. Nor do I find any sum allowed for stooking and stacking. The carting of grain when threshed a distance of 12 miles on country roadß, with ordinary weather, will occupy from five to seven weeks, during whioh the plough must lie idle, at a time of year when it should be preparing the ground for the next year's crop. Forty bushels of barley per aore Beems a large yield considering risk from caterpillars, &c. I don't see any allowance for preparing and carting to market, potatoes 1 , carrots, vetches, seed, for whioh £75 is credited to the farm. Again, the timeof farmer and wife would be nearly occupied with milking ten cows, making and selling butter, rearing and selling calves and pigs— for which latter, and poultry, the prices credited to the farm appear high, and credit is taken for 60 sheepskins from 25 Bheep. No allowance is made for wife's incapacity for work, or for loseos of Btock fromjdeath, sickness, or accidert Lastly, Mr Grigg seems surprised at the results arrived at by himself, and concludes that a farm will not pay until we have a thorough reformation of prices. This conclusion lam unable to reconcile with the confident statement at the commencement of his paper, that farming can be made to pay. The following gives the total grain traffio on the undermentioned sections of railway during the past eeason :— Christchurch Section .. -• 159,878 12 3 Timaru and Oamaru Section .. 00, 298 8 o Duncilin Section .. ■• 18,367 1 0 Invercargill Section .. - °» 489 15 2 Tota 238,033 17 I