AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1973, 12 September 1889, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

At the Victorian National Agricultural Society's Show Messrs A. and J. M'Farlane appear to have been about the only New Zealand exhibitors, though New Zealand Btock recently imported were shown. In the milking tests there were only four competitors for the dairy cow prizes, to be awarded upon a milking or butter producing test. The results of two days' milking were taken into account, and the quantity of cream and butter carefully ascertained, the centrifugal cream separator being

used in the trial. Mr W. Woodm&son's Cow* slip secured the prisze for the greatest quantity of butter, and Messrs A. and J. M'Farlane's (New Zealand) Dandy that for the greatest quantity of milk. Cowslip's yield was 62|lb milk, 111b cream, and 31b 15|oz butter. Dandy's yield was 74£lb milk, 171b cream, and 31b l|oz butter. Although Nanny, which came third, gave only 391b of milk this gave 101b cream and 31b 2Joz butter. Messrs M'Farlane took second prize in hams.

The Fortrose correspondent of the Mataura Ensign writes :— " The farmere have dropped on the Bmall birds pretty rough this season. I visited a small paddock belonging to Mr A. Christie. He had sown it with wheat and harrowed it- The birds came in myriads and picked up all uncovered grain. Mr Chriatie then Bowed 51b of poisoned grain. That was on Saturday, 31st ult., and yesterday the dead birds could be picked up in scores, not only on the ground where the grain waß sown, but in stubble and grass paddocks all round. Several other farmers hare laid poisoned grain with good results." The directors of the Bruce Dairy and Bacon Curing Company' (Limited) have just issued their fourth annual report and balance sheet. The company are now in a fair way of prosperity, this being the first year they have had a profit. The profits for the year amount to £62 10a 7d. During the year the quantity of milk supplied waß only 92,943ga1, which yielded 94,8761b of cheese, as against 110,074 gal milk and 111,5741b of cheeße in the previous year. The price paid at the beginning of la&t year for milk was 3d, which was afterwards raißed to 3|d per gallon. Fifty magnificent two-tooth ram hogget 3, from the Lincoln flock of Mr J. B. Sutton, Tiprnbury, were (says the Southland Times) shipped by the Wairarapa for the North. They were purchased through Messrs Mitchell, White, and Co., by Mr Macrae, of the Rangilikei district, a gentleman of considerable experience. After a personal inspection of Mr Sutton's flock he waa satisfied of their excellence of quality, and Bpeedily concluded a bargain for the purchase of the number named.

A public trial of a new implement for cutting weeds took place the other day (aays the Melbourne Loader) at Keilambete, Terang, the work done by it being very successful. It is made by Mr R, Hoggart, of Noorat. The implement not only cuts weeds, thistles, &o>, above or below the surface, but it also turns them over on the top of the soil to enable the sun to kill them, By a small further outlay they could at the same time sow grass seed over the place. It will thoroughly clean land for a potato crop, and when it gets into full work and is understood, it is expected to be of more general utility. The test it was put to as an eradicator and ground cleaner was thorough and effeotive, and exceeded the expectations of the many farmers present, It will cut any kind of weeds.

In his report for the paßt year the Chief Inspector of Sheep for Tasmania strongly adviseß the use of wire netting, with a mesh of l^in, instead of l§in, as is chiefly employed in the other colonies. He also urges that the netting should be 3ft 6in wide, which will allow 6in in the ground to prevent burrowing under. The demand for high-class Clydesdales in America shows no signs of abatement. The other week we (North British Agriculturist) noticed that the Messrs Galbraith bad sold for lOOOgs their well-known imported stallion Lord Lyndoch. Quite recently another Clydesdale stallion has changed hands at the same figure. The animal sold for this handsome price is Brown Spot, 6551, and the sellers were Messrs Bennett and Son, Topeka, Kansas. Brown Spot was bred in Avondale, and when in Scotland was owned by Mr David Eiddell, of Blackhall, who sold him to the firm noted. He was got by Blue Ribbon, 1961, winner of second prize at the Perth show of the Highland Sooiety in 1879, bis dam being one of the few surviving daughters of Sir Walter Scott. 797, Brown Spot is a very typical Bpeoimen of the breed, and was champion at the Kansas State Fair in 1887. The Mark Lane Express gives an account, by an agriculturist in Finland, M. Adolf Torngren, of a curious way of making hay whioh is very generally adopted by the Finns. JPoor men who own no meadows have long been accustomed to cut what grass they can find in the forest' glades and other waste lands Owing to the lack of roads and farmsteads the hay was stuffed among the branches of neighbouring trees to await the winter frosts and snow, when it could easily be carried off by sledges. After a wet season some farmers noticed that this hay was actually better in quality than that which they themselves had made from much better grass. The wild crop, bo to call it, had dried much better in the tree branches exposed to a free circulation of air than the rich herbage which had lain long on the Bodden ground. Hence it occurred to them to make temporary trees upon which thtir own crops might be dried. This experiment waß attended by such success that the plan has been widely imitated, and bids fair entirely to supplant the old-fashioned methods. After the mowing is done a number of poles about 10ft in length, and provided with long transverse pegs, are set up at intervals, and the grass is loosely heaped upon them. The result ia said to be excellent. Even in wet weather only a small portion forming the outside of the pile is discoloured, while the inner portions, exposed to the air beneath and protected from the rain above, are dried in perfect condition. Mowing can be carried on in spite of wind and rain, and when once the grass is placed upon the dryincr poles it may be left without fear of serious damage until the weather changes. In a climate like ours, where a season such as we have just experienced is rare indeed, it might be well worth while to inqu're further into this method of saving the hay.

It has always been a debatable point (says the Leader) whether it is possible to breed a flock of black sheep. AH Bheep-breeders are aware that, by a freak of Nature, a few black lamb 3 are found in their flocks every year, although the sires and dams of these have been pure white as far back as their pedigrees can be traced. The lambs come black, and no satisfactory explanation can be offered as to why they are so. Following up the breeding, however, it is found that the theory of like producing like does not hold good where black sheep are concerned. The progeny from a black sire and dam will, in about seven cases out of ten, throw black to the previous generation. Mr P, M'Farlane, of Barooga, ona of the most experienced and observant sheepbreeders in Australia, is of opinion that the type and colour of black sheep can bo fixed, and he is now devoting attention to the carry* ing out of his theory. All the black lambs at Barooga are collected and sent to Malonga, a statiQn in the Lachlan district. He finds that by careful selection and the rejection of all lambs having a trace of white about them, the colour can, with a considerable degree of certainty, be depended on in the third generation. He intends persevering with the experiment.

There seems to be at present auoh an extraordinary depression in the horse markets of Victoria as to excite the comment of the local press. The report of a leading firmin the trade reroarkß that •♦ the horse market has sever been

so depressed as at present. We are advising all our country clients to hold on until the spring, but even then we do not anticipate great prices. The simple fact is that there are an enormous number of useless animals called horses that should be destroyed as vermin. Every farmer and settler in the colony appears to be a breeder of horses, mostly of a nondescript character, and this class of horees do not pay for the grass they eat, and are now selling at boiling down prices. Good horses, whether draught, saddle, or light harness, still find buyers, but the prices are 30 per cent, less than thia time last year." Writing about this the Leader remarks :-—" There is but one remedy for this state of things— namely, a tax on stallions that will serve to restrict indiscriminate breeding. And there can be no doubt that the matter should be brought under the notice of the Government — for it could only be as a Government measure that such an act would have any chance of. becoming law— so as to bring about the desired change." The Live Stock Journal publishes the following :— " A Dexter-Kerry on the Earl of Rosebery's home farm at Mentmore, standing 39in high, gave last Thursday 16 quarts of milk, with 15 per cent, of cream, and has been giving for the last month 15 quarts a day." The rabbit pest came in for some discussion at the meeting of the Waitahuna Farmers' Club, held last week. From the Tuapeka Times we learn that Mr Livingston mentioned that if the members of the club approved of ferrets being liberated in the district, the present was an opportune time to make application, as Mr Miles was about to forward an order to the Government for a further supply. Personally he believed the ferrets were a valuable factor in the suppression of the rabbits. He had liberated 70 of them on his property down the Waitahuna river, and where the rabbits once swarmed in hundreds scarcely one was now to be seen. He attributed their destruction to the ferrets. — Mr Craig was afraid the ferretß would yet become 'a greater curse than the rabbits. — Mr Stevenson did not hold to such an opinion. The ferrets were liable to a kind of foot rot, which would carry them off in great numbers ; a severe winter would also cause great havoc amongst them. He believed the ferrets did good work in keeping down the rabbits. — Mr Ryan also believed that the ferrets did good work. He had turned several of them loose on his property, and had suffered no loss among his poultry. He did not think the ferrets attacked young lambs ; at least, none of his had been destroyed. — The President had a strong prejudice against the ferrets, which he looked upon as a class of vermin that would be hard to stamp out once they were firmly established in the country, — Mr Livingston said there was nothing to fear from the ferrets; and even though they did become numerous the carcass of a poisoned * sheep would destroy them in hundreds, He moved to the effect that the Government be recommended to continue tha breeding of ferrets, and that Inspector Miles be requested to distribute a number of them in the Waitahuna district. — Mr Ryan seconded the motion, which on being put to the vote was declared carried, only two hands being held up against it. The Balfour correspondent of the Southland Times writes : — " Some of the more venturesome among us started sowing after the 20th ult., but others were content to wait till September. Ploughing is well forward, so that if the weather keeps good now the most of the grain Crop will be sown during this month. The sparrowbill will be the general oat sown ; it seems to suit our soil and climate bast. One or two farmers tried the Triumph variety, but they did not suit, as they were slow in ripening and did not fill well. In one case where the two varieties were sown alongside eaoh other in the same paddock the sparrowbills yielded 35 bushels per acre, and the Triumph 25 bushels ; so I think they are only grown now for oaten chaff, as they are finer in the straw and conse quently make nicer chaff. The grass is far back this spring. The severe frosts in winter cut it up badly, and as yet there is little or no growth. The effects of the winter frosts are seen on the gorse fences and macrocarpa, as they appear in some oases as though a fire had gone through them," At an extraordinary meeting of the shareholders of the Flemingfcon Dairy Factory Company, Mr O. N. Grigg, chairman of directors, presiding^ the action of the directorate in leasing the factory from October 1 next for two years to Mr John Sawers, lessee of the Waiareka Dairy Factory, was confirmed. The Chairman, in speaking of the conditions of the lease, said : — " Mr Sawers was prepared to lease tha factory and plant for two years at a rental of £113 per annum, to pay 3d per gallon of 111b for milk up to December 31 in each year, and 3Jd per gallon from January 1 to the close of the season ; the directors to guarantee that the lessee be sup plied with sufficient milk for an output of not less than 40 tons of cheese for each season. Mr Sawers would contract to pay the milk suppliers at the rate of 3d and 3|d quarterly, and would further agree to make this up at the close of the season to the highest average price that had been paid for milk by any other two dairy factories in the South Island." After speaking of the position of the company, the Chairman said: — "The plant was not suitable for making Cheddar cheese on the American principle. Mr Sawers proposed to put in the necessary new plant at his own cost, and besides this he waß noted an being a remarkably good cheese maker. During two years they would have the benefit of his experience, and gain from him much valuable information, and he (the chairman) felt pretty sure that if Mr Sawers once got into the factory he would find the quality of the milk so superior that he would be prepared to give 4d per gallon, and renew the lease at the end of two years Mr Sawera would take care to turn out a superior make of cheese. They themselves had only turned out 37 tons this season, but now they had leased the factory he hoped to see 1200 gallons of milk going in daily." To show how the factory bad paid, it is only necessary to mention that one of tha shareholders said the cheque be drew represented £5 per cow for tha season, and the chairman said the balance of profit over and above the £200 would be sufficient to pay a ' dividend of 10 per cent.' on the paid-up capital of those shareholders who had not been supply ing milk,