LATE AGRICULTURAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1813, 20 August 1886, Page 17

LATE AGRICULTURAL.

Our Southland agricultural contributor writes as follows on tree planting for shelter: — The present time being one of tho special tree planting seasons, it is of interest to state that the Corsican Pine (pinus laricio) recommended by Mr Cleave, of Invercargill, as being proof against the attacks of rabbits and of insects, has — so far as a trial during the past winter goes — come through successfully. A few dozen of these pines were planted by your contributor within a clearing in the Ryal Bush, and have been quite exposed to the rabbits for fully three months — being a hungry time of the year for these pests — and so far, there is not the mark of a rabbit's tooth on a siugle plant. All the other pines, spruces, larches, and deciduous trees, similarly exposed, where not defended by a smearing of dirty grease, have suffered more or less ; and a few rows of double flowering gorse alongside tho Corsican Pines have been cropped, and barked severely. Evidently these pines are not according to bunny's taste, for they do not even seem to relish scraping amongst them. Those perfions inclined to plant trees, but who have been deterred from doing so by the expense

of wire netting, may therefore safely proceed with the work. The price oi pinus laricio as may be noted in the advertising columns of the Witness is moderate. It is a valuable forest tree, and the timber is somewhat similar to larch. Referring to o,ur remarks on the increase in the export of frozen meat from the North Island, the Wellington Post says :— " In the vast stretch of country lying between Wellington and New Plymouth, and which will be brought into direct communication with this port by the Mauawatu railway, fat stock to an almost unlimited extent can be raised all the year round without artificial feeding. It is the difficulty of reaching a market which has prevented the ! settlers hitherto from devoting themselves exI tensively to this purpose. Once the railway affords cheap access to a shipping port, Wellington will probably astonish the South by its export of frozen meat all the year round." The Christchurch Press learns that several shipments of wheat from India are now on the way from that country to Sydney, Melbourne, aud Adelaide ; aud one cargo of 500 tons is on the way to Hobart. The Styx Apple Company have received news of their shipment of apples to England per s.s. Coptic. The fruit (says the Lyttelton Times) was shipped as ordinary cargo, with the view of testing tho possibility of sending apples Home without incurring the expense of a cool chamber. The result, on the whole, was satisfactory. Some of the harder kinds of apples reached London in good condition, aud realised very remunerative prices. The softer kinds succumbed to the heat and moisture. The experiment has proved to the satisfaction of the shippers that the harder apples, properly packed, will travel with safety, as ordinary cargo, provided the part I of the hold is well ventilated, and that the prices to be expected in Covent Garden during the months of May, June, and July will be high enough to remunerate shippers from New- Zealand. Out of the 14,545,801 sheep in the colony, the Hon. W. Robinson, Cheviot Hills, heads thb list with 93,000, Mr G. H. Moore, Glenmark, 82,000, Messrs Mallock and Lance 74,061. One cannot help remarking (says the Christchurch Press) the wonderful preciseness of this last return. The Canterbury cheep district includes 8,364,570 acres. This not only it must be borne in mind covers the area of the runs, but all the agricultural farms upon which sheep are kept The total number of sheep on the same id 4,610,594. Upon these farms there are 1281 owners of flocks of a less number than 500 sheep, 356 who own under 1000 sheep, 217 persons owning under 2000 sheep in single flocks, 169 persons claiming to have 5000 sheep each, 72 owning below 10,000 sheep, and 44 who own 20,000 and upwards. This return is exclusive of the Wcstlaud subdivision, which embraces 2,702,000 acres, 17 owners, and 2778 sheep. In the baeep district of Poverty Bay, on 3,913,000 acres there are 2,480,734 sheep. At a meeting of the Kynetou " (Victoria) Agricultural Association the Jquestion of Butter v. Wool cropped up. A comparison was made between growing the latter and making theformer at 6il per lb. One member calculated that the butter would be twice as profitable as the wool. The following dreadful report of losses through the drought is given in the Sydney Town and Country Journal of the 31st ult. : — The Mullingowarrina station was considered by the Bourke Appraisement Court on Monday. The manager deposed that the station during the last drought lost over 7000 head of cattle and 22,000 sheep. A correspondent in, the Oteramika district writes to the Southland Times to the effect that he " thinks the time has come to stop rabbit poisoning in thickly-settled districts. Not only is it said that the rabbits suffer great pain, but even with the greatest care stock may bo injured. I have been shooting and hunting with four dogs during last winter, and on an average did not get more than threo rabbits a day." The needing of natural pasture, which has from time to time been satisfactorily tried in various parts of Otago, is receiving some attention in the sister province at the present timo. A correspondent in the last number of the Canterbury Press makes the following remarks on the subject: — On observing the extreme bareness of nearly all the hill pastures after the drought of last summer and the present dry frosty winter, the question arises as to the wisdom of tho course generally followed of ruthlessly exterminating the native tussock. There is, no doubt, that amongst our introduced grasses and clovers; some varieties would be found to thrive if sown uuder favourable circumstances in the unbroken tussock land. The admirable natural shelter provided by this indigenous plant would foster the growth of the less hardy introduced vegettatiou, whilst at the same time affording valuable food for horses and cattle, especially at the time of the production of seed. It is rather late for this suggestion, as the great bulk of the agricultural land has been broken up and the native vegetation, when once extirpated, does not again appear on its old ground. Still there are many stretches of unbroken land where the idea might be practically tried and compared with the break-up-all system, by leaving a certain portion of each paddock unbroken and sowing such portion with artificial grasses. Tho Farmer takes the following extract from the Buenos Ayres Standard, which shows a somewhat unsatisfactory condition of affairs : — " We reported a sale of honied cattle afc four and a half dollars, which, at the present rate of exchange is about equ-'l to eleven shillings of English money. It may be questioned whether there is any other pai-t of the globe in which cattle and sheep can be bought at the prices now current in this province. In facb, the depression is almost unexampled, and shows a prodigious loss of wealth since 1881. It was, moreover, unexpected, for the opening of the vast frontier areas in the labt four years, at the same time as the influx of immigrants naturally led people to anticipate a great development of pastoral industry." A spirited controversy (writes the Hedgehope correspondent of the Southland Times) has for a week or two been going on in. the columns of the Witness re the advantages or otherwise of importing ferrets, stoats, &c, in the hope of thereby getting rid of the rabbit nuibance That they have no objection bo fowls is apparent enough, as at least one of our residents knows to his. cost, his poultry yard having boeii fairly cleared out. But it almost seems that rabbit is preferred, and that while he lasts our barn-yard inmates may dwell in peace. One settler assures me that he has not lost a fowl, although ferrets have been about his homestead and land for months. Of the reality of their |ir«sonco in his case there can bo no doubt., ;«i ho has thrice caught ferrets in traps sot for the benefit of bunny, aud frequently conies acros:; dead rabbits bearing undoubted evidence of having been under the teeth of their natural enemy. la. all thia

discussion there is one strong plea in their favour, viz, no other plan yet hit upon offers even the smallest prospect of coping with the enemy in the reserved and unsold Government bush lands. While these remain intact all efforts outside are but as endeavours to eradicate the external symptoms of a deadly disease, while the source remains unhealed. For it is admitted on all hands that those unoccupied lands are the sanctuary of those ever replenished corps de resei-ve, whose continuous advance laughs to scorn the best laid plans of otherwise exterminating crusaders* . c Canterbury seems to be reaping the frait of the suicidal policy of overstocking to a serious extent. The P/ess states that a gentleman who has recently ridden through a good deal of the Leeston and Selwyn districts says that ihe has never before seen such a number of sheep ana cattle lying dead merely through cold and scarcity of feed. In one paddock alone some fifty long-wool hoggets and three or four head of cattle had sucenmbed. Similar accounts com© from more than one locality. In a district not very far from Christchurch, I heard that one unfortunate farmer, thirty of whose cattle were dying, was interviewed by the police, and had to confess that he simply had not the means of supplying food to the poor animals. There is room for pity here, but the question is bound to be asked, why not have sold some of the stock in time ? Scarcity of feed, however, is nofcalone to blame in these losses. I know of a well-cared for and tended flock of Leicester hoggets, four of which died this week in spite of having been well fed all through the winter. It is to be feared also that no locks will escape untouched when the spring grass comes up. Those that have been getting plenty of hay and straw through the winter will be°as liable to scour as the unfortunate hill flocks, whose constitutions have been weakened by prolonged going on short commonß. I have heard the probable loss estimated at 15 to 20 per cent. Still on the subject of sheep, I may mention that one prominent Christchurch breeder of Leicesters is reported to have suffered a loss of 300 of his flock through using a poisonous dip, and a lawsuit is likely to be the result. In a letter to the Daily Times, Dr Coughtrey makes the following remarks on his recent experiment with ensilage : — I may state that in my small way of amateur husbandry my loss by adopting the silage system this year has been much less than it was last year, when I adopted the old-fashioned way of preserving the crop, andyetmy silo experiments were faulty. To our dairy farmers I wish to say this : If you desire to increase the carrying capacity of your lands, to lay in themosteconomicalstockof winter food for your cattle, then add ensilage to your systems for working your crops. That agriculturists in Great Britain, in Belgium, and in France can obtain 45 to 75 tons of green fodder per acre, incredible as it may appear — I mean from the ensilage system — snows there is something in it. It also shows that the many acres of fertile land which this country possesses might be made to yield much more than they at present do, and so add to our wealth and population.