FARM AND STATION. NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1994, 12 May 1892, Page 6

FARM AND STATION. NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Now that the crops are safely stacked or in bags, as the case may be, and The fast the growing season may be said Season. to be over, we should take a glancte backward and review the results of the year, with the object of drawing a few lessons from the experience of the past BBaßoll. It may be taken for granted that every farmer of intelligence can see for himself what errors he has made in regard to the conduct and management of his farm during the period under review, but there are also matters of general interest which may be worth looking into for the purpose of calling attention to them for the benefit of all whom it may concern. First and foremost, attention may be drawn to the futility of trying to jump with the" markets as has been shown by the result of this year's wheat crop. Wheat was high in price at the time of the last autumn sowing, and though it fell somewhat for a time in the winter it again recovered in the spring, and in fact exceeded the previous good pricei Farmers were thereby tempted to put in as much wheat as they possibly could both in the autumn and winter, and also far into the spring. The last statistical returns show that the area under wheat was greater than for many years past. Now that the crop is ready for market there is practically no market, and though there is a probability of an improvement some months hence the fact remains that the price is now nothing like what was expected at the time of sowing, and, therefore, if any farmer went out of his way to crowd in an increased acreage of wheat he made a great mistake. The unfavourable harvest weather, of course, tended to make matters worse, but if the markets were more lively the damage done would not have affected the price to anything like the extent that is now the case. Ryegrass seed, too, has been a very disappointing product in much the same way as wheat. During the spring and summer the market waß bare, and, consequently the price rose» and conoeq'liently also, every acre that could be spared was laid up for seed. A good season produced good yields, and now the market is swamped with the usual result to the price. Oats and sheep have alone been consistent — the former in maintaining a low price, though a rise has several times seemed imminent, and the latter is maintaining a good price notwithstanding the good lambing which was expected to bring down values. Wool, after having apparently touched bottom, is now on the road to better prices, thereby brightening the hopes of those " social pests " who have not yet sold their clips. The dairying industry has not made any leaps or bounds during the year, neither has it lost ground, but is steadily gaining the confidence of farmers, and will without doubt ultimately become one of the chief props of the prosperity of the country. Descending to mutters of less import, sugar beet and linseed have made little advance towards gaining the favour of farmers. Babbits are still • with us, but thanks to the canning industry, are now, in some measure, made to pay for their tucker ; while as for pigs and potatoes perhaps the less said about them the better, for a boom in this direction is much required, A well-bred pig well treated, can generally be relied on to do justice to his feed, but a nondescript pig with lanky form and a big appetite is not a thing of beauty nor a joy to the farmer. The autumn has been too wet for the potato crop on flat land, and the quality is not at all good in many localities. Barring the export to Sydney, which is not satisfactory to the shippers. As a rule, the demand for potatoes is confined to our own consumption, and therefore the market cannot be very good. About a year ago there was some talk about exporting potatoes to Britain. Experiments have been made in that direction with promising results. As nothing more has been heard of the matter, it is to be supposed that there is not much to be expected from that method of improving the price to growers.

At this time last year this pest had scarcely been heard of in this island —

The Bot, at any rate not in a manner to Or Gad Fly. caude much notice to be taken of its presence. Recently, however, the papers have frequently reported cases in which horses are said to have been attacked by the bot fly with fatal results. It may be that the damp, humid weather of the autumn has been the cause of the sudden appearance of this rather alarming pest. Itfmay be, also, that the bot fly has nothing to do with the death of the horses in North Canterbury as has been supposed. As showing the diversity of opinion on this question, there is the letter of "Farmer" in the W'tness of the 21st ult., in which the writer expresses very grave doubts anent the supposed fatal effects of the fly in northern districts. In the same issue appears a letter from Mr Marquis, a veterinary surgeon of Timaru, in which the latter apparently takes it for granted that the bot fly has been the cause of the reported mortality among horses, and cites a case in which he was satisfied by examination that the larvae of the fly had caused the death of the subject. Other authorities in British works on the horse say that it is a disputed point whether or not bots are. injurious to horses. However that may be, preventive measures can do no harm when the fly is suspected of being in the locality. The female fly is said to hover about the horses during the autumn, depositing her eggs on the coat, where they remain attached to the hair by a glutinous substance until they, or the larva} just emerging from them, are licked off by the tongue of the horse, their destined place being the horse's stomach. As the fly seems to deposit its eggs only upon places accessible to the horse's tongue, preventive measures must obviously consist in smearing such places with some preparation that will have the effect of warding off the fly, or will prevent the horse from licking the .place. If it is true, as has been asserted, that any solution or decoction that is strong enough to kill the larvse will also kill the horse, then curative measures are out of the question. I have seen farm horses wearing a protection from the bot fly in the shape of pieces of sacking hung around the horses' jaws and knees. This must, however, be a more troublesome measure to adopt than} that of smearing those parts with a wash sufficiently strong to keep the pest from depositing its eggs as nature directs.

When the land is of a nature to admit of mole

drains being made this form of Mole Drainage, drainage is found to be an

excellent substitute for tile drainage. It has undoubtedly proved of great benefit in various parts of Otago and Southland, and it also finds much favour with the eastern and midland counties of England and the lowlands of Scotland. Its chief recommendations are, of course, its cheapness and the expeditious way in which it can be done. It thus commends itself to the leasehold farmer who cannot go to the expense of a more elaborate system and yet finds it neces-

sary to provide a means of relieving his land of surplus water in order to work the Same to the best advantage. Although mole drains are at best a temporary expedient, they answer the purpose for a good many years — some say from 12 to 20, according to the nature of the ground and the depth to which they are placed. It is on stiff clayey land in its native state, or land under permanent pasture, that mole drains may be adopted with the greatest chance of permanency, and with the minimum amount of damage to the surface by the treading of the horses or bullocks drawing the plough. The slit made by the coulter remains open longer where there is a good sole of grass, and the longer this is the case the more readily the pools are drawn off the surface into the drains.

In the case of land under cultivation the coulter slit is soon stopped by loose earth, and the tube or drain is not so likely to be durable. The surface of the field need Hot of necessity be perfectly flat or even, for the mole plough hmay be raised or lowered to some extent to [ suit irregularities of surface, but it must admit of a moderate and tolerably uniform fall being given throughout each length of drain.

The idea is gaining ground that fruit-growing is destined to take a prominent Fruit as place in the agricultural future a of this colony, notwithstanding Farm Crop, the birds, the codlin moth, woolly aphis, peach blight, plum leech, and other pests too numerous to mention. It cannot be denied that the climate of the colony from north to south is remarkably well adapted for all kinds of fruit, according to the locality and latitude. The northern portion of the Auckland provincial district is capable of growing various tropical and sub-tropical fruits in addition to the ordinary fruits which nourish in the southern districts. Lord Onßlow was strongly impressed with the suitability of the colony for fruitgrowing in small allotments, and never lost an opportunity of saying so, but he did not suggest any means of creating a good market. Hitherto we have not produced all the fruit we require, as apples and jams of various kinds have been brought over from Tasmania. There is, of course, and always will be, a large quantity of fruit imported from the islands of the Pacific ; but all fruits of a temperate climate we should be able to grow for our own use and a great deal more for export. The export of apples is, however, still in a very unsatisfactory position, and the result of various shipments has more often than not been most discouraging. Given, however, a payable market, arid there is no reason why fruit should not contribute Its quota to the fight side of the farmers' books. Farmers as a rule neglect their orchards and gardens, and there is a -strong disposition to overlook such minor departments of their business as fruitgrowing, poultry-raising, and pig-breeding. A great drawback to fruit is its perishable nature, which the retailer brings strongly before the grower when doing business with him. The Auckland correspondent of the Witness writes very forcibly anent the extortionate dealings of the retailers of that city who dictate their own terms to the producer, and the supply apparently being in excess of the demand the middleman have it all their own way.

If farmers are careless about recording their business transactions it is not Farmers' from any lack of good advioe Account upon the matter. lam aware Books. that I have touched Upon this

subject in previous notes, but while for one farmer who keeps " books " there are 10 who keep none, a little repetition can do no harm, The bank book, which is considered sufficient by so many farmers, is only a guide to show whether we are solvent or not ; as a means of showing the true position at any given time it is of no value whatever. The keeping of the few book^ required is a very simple thing, and instead of being a trouble it becomes a work of interest and satisfaction for one's leisure hours. If a farmer is alarmed at the idea of book-keeping, he should give the system a trial in a very simple way to begin with — keeping a., small cashbook, for example, and jotting down every penny that he spends in cash, when he spends it, and what he spends it for. Such a book will be found both interesting and surprising at the end of a year, and the > total of disbursements of petty cash will show how the pence dwindle away if not strictly watched. ■ From a care of the pence thus begun, we soon get into the way of keeping a watch upon the. pounds, and thus one gets familiar with the habit of making entries, and a gradual progress is made towards keeping a regular set of books, yin v in which will be recorded every item of outlay 1 and income, so that it may be known at any time how one stands financially, which alone is, or ought to be, good recompense for the trouble, Agricola. AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS. Another attempt is to be made to induce the Otago Education Board to name an " arbor " day in connection with the schools. A movement of this kind only wants a little impetus at the commencement, and it is to be hoped the Board will not check it. It will be remembered that some little time since there appeared in our columns a series of striking articles by Mr A. Bathgate, who has taken such a warm and practical interest in the preservation and creation of natural amenities in Otago, and chiefly Dunedin. It was there shown to what extent the "arbor" day custom had grown in America. We forget how many millions of trees had been planted by this agency, but it was something immense, and the effect upon the climate will be very considerable. The nakedness of the country in Otago where there are no forests is very marked, and it would unquestionably add to its beauty, and probably in such districts as Central Otago the periodical droughts which prevail would be mitigated, if the landscape were dotted with trees. But altogether apart from its utilitarian aspect, even overlooking the imperative necessity for setting about the replacement of the natural timber, which has been very largely wasted, it is a good thing that children should be imbued with the feelings which suggest the planting of a tree. It is the most unselfish of acts, the very antithesis of sordidness, and cannot but have an elevating effect. We trust, therefore, that the Otago Board will accede to the request of the Waikoikoi people, and proclaim an " arbor" day for all its country schools. He who plants a tree raises an enduring monument.

The bacon curers of Christchurch last year cured 26,000 pigs, of an average value of 355. This does not include the slaughterhouse and saleyard dealings. Experts deolare that some of the New Zealand cheese ex Morayshire was robbed of the cream, and fat substituted. Great complaints are made at a practice which is calculated to exclude the article from the market.

For several years past Hawke's Bay has been supplying the Waikato district from their surplus stock of sheep. This season matters in this line are being reversed. At Mr M'NicolPs last fair a Hawke's Bay buyer secured a line of 2000 ewes to take back to that district. The Nhill Free Press states that a simple yet ingenious machine for pickliDg wheat has been

recently irivented by Messrs Wiesner and Hil* big, South Australia. A cask to hold the bluestone water is fixed over a spiral. The wheat is fixed in a hopper, which has regulating slides on each side, by means of which the proper quantity is let out on a bed which works backward and forward. This scatters the grain and allows it to fall evenly on the spiral screw, the latter carrying tho seed into the bag. The pickling liquid falls upon the grain as it is being carried down by the spiral screw to the bag. The whole machine is set in a substantial frame.

We (Aohburton Guardian) are informed of what we believe to be the champion record for potato production. Mr Fred Bonnington, the well-known cattle dealer, when on one of his visits to Christchurch last year, saw in a saleroom a very large potato, kidney-shaped, 17in long. He obtained it, took it home to Tinwald, and cut it into 14 sets which he planted in his garden. One root was dug and cooked as new potatoes, proving excellent in every respect. The o*her 13 sets were dug last week, and the produce was found to weigh no less than 1391b (liewt less lib). Taking the root previously dug to have weighed the average of the others if it had been left to mature, the total production would have been 1501b. The ripe potatoes are also of excellent quality, and there are some very large ones among them.

Mr Cecil T. Parker, agent to the Duke of Westminster, has sent to the Agricultural Gazette the register of milk yielded by cows on the home farms at Eccleston, Cheshire, in 1891. On the Grange farm the average yield of 46 cows was 650ga1, whereas it was 684 gal for the previous five years. On the Woodhouse farm the [average was 629 gal in 1891, against 600 gal for the previous five years. If such yields as these were general, dairy farming would be much more remunerative than it is. A cow which gives less than 500 gal of milk in the year does not pay for her keep and should be fattened. Nine of the 92 cows kept on the duke's farms gavelOOOgal each last year, the record for one being 1462ga1, while four of the others yielded over 1200 gal. A great deal remains yet to be done in developing the milking capacities of cows.

An Ashburton correspondent, writing in the Canterbury Press, says:—" A distant neighbour of mine, Mr A. {Jackson, of Ealing, who is no mean authority on sheep, maintains that he has proved that lambs got by aged rams are much smaller than those ,got by young rams— that is to say, they are smaller when born ; but Mr Jackson avers that soon after being dropped they overtake in growth the progeny of younger rams. Now, if this theory of Mr Jackson's is correct, it would be a decided advantage to farmers who are in the habit of putting large English rams with merino ewes, to select for that purpose aged rams only, as it would ensure greater safety to the ewes during parturition." There is a keen demand for cattle in the Taranaki district (says the and the mobs that are imported from the north of Auckland, although poor in are readily bought by those who are desirous of stocking their land. In the course of observations on the Hamburg cheese trade, an English paper draws attention to the new margarine cheeses, which are indistinguishable in taste from tho sorts they are made to imitate. Their cheaper price renders them very saleable, and they are probably destined to exercise no favourable effect on the genuine cheese trade. They are mostlyproduced from margarine and skim milk, emulsified by machines ad hoc. Buenos Ayres sheepbrokers state that for years sheep have not been so cheap at the Corrales as at the present time. Fine fat Lincoln wethers are selling at sdol for slaughter. Meantime, wethers for export are quoted at 9dol to lOdol for fat animals weighing 65kilos (1431b). A lot of picked wethers, 65 kilos each, were sold in Canuelas at 9dol. Another lot of 250 wethers from Bonnement fetched lOdol. The French buyers in the market refuse to pay over lOdol per head for animals of a minimum weight of 60 kilos (1321b) owing to the fresh duties levied in France on the importation of animate. These duties amount to 16fr per 100 kilos (2201b) an enormous impost. All the estancieros of the province are up in arms against the fresh taxation in the province. Some sheep from the Hakatere station, Ashburton Gorge, sold at Ashburton last week, were (says the Press) curiously disfigured with large scars on their backs. These, it appears, were evidences of the evil work of the kea, which is still a great nuisance on the ranges. These sheep had evidently survived its attack, but numbers are killed by it every year, and the bird increases rapidly in spite of efforts on some stations to keep it down. On Hakatere 70 keas have ben killed during the past season, and the loss of sheep has been annoying. It would be well if runholders in infested districts were to unite and offer a fixed price for dead keas, high enough to attract good shots to every likely place. Combined effort might practically end the nuisance.

The Leeds Mercury says that a good deal of astonishment was created at a late meeting of the Central and Associated Chambers of Agriculture, held for the purpose of considering the Small Agricultural Holdings Bill, by a statement made by a well-known Yorkshire land agent, Mr Lipscombe, of Heath, WakeHeld, to the effect that he had charge of 10,000 acres of small holdings, the average size of each being under 25 acres. These small farms are the property of several landowners, and are mostly situated in hill districts, which are not suited for farming on a large scale. Some are pastural and some are arable. These little farmers appear to have passed through the depression without being ruined, but, Mr Lipscombe said, " with a great deal of nursing." From one statement which he made in conversation, it appears that the farmers in question do not generally save money, but the mere fact that there are so many small holdings in a single district will be a surprise to the public. An interesting 30 years' retrospect of the famous Aberdeen-Angus herd belonging to Sir George Macpherson Grant, of Ballindalloch, has been written by the baronet's brother, Mr Macpherson Grant, of Drumduan, and published at the office of the Banffshire Journal. The foundation of the herd was laid in 1861 by the purchase from Lord Southesk of Erica, 843. The pamphlet, which runs to 50 pages, is embellished with a portrait of the bull Young Viscount, 736, that took the first prize and Champion Cup at Kilburn in 1879 as the "best animal of the polled Aberdeen or Angus breed on exhibition." Another of these very interesting "block tests" took place on Tuesday, March 23, at Huntly, Aberdeenshire. The Strathbogie Farmers' Club and Mr M'Jannet, of Stirling, offered valuable prizes to the farmers, who should hand in the nearest estimate of the carcass weight of a fat Canadian bullock which was about to be slaughtered. The bullock was exhibited on the market green, and was examined by an immense assembly of farmers, 50 of whom bought cards and lodged estimates during the fore part of the day. At 1 o'clock the bullock was weighed on a weigh-bridge provided by Mr M'Jannet for the test. He scaled llcwt, and in a couple of hours it was

announced that his dead weight was 6cwt Oqr 181b. The estimates ranged from scwt lqr to 6cwt lqr 71b, and the prizes fell to Mr James S. Sharp, Berryhillock, Premnay, whose estimate was 6cwt Oqr 201b. The bullock belonged to Mr George Ferguson, of Lessendrum, who, through an intelligent use of his weighbridge at his farm, was able to declare that the bullock should dress 56£ per cent, of its live weight. It actually dressed 56 per cent., the deficiency arising from want of kidney fat. M. Elingen, a Russian of German extraction, estate manager in Russia for the Princess Eugenic of Holdenburgh, is a meterologist of repute, and has published some valuable obsexvations upon the snowfalls of the country. His researches confirm the views of Professor Stebut, and prove the importance to Russia of planting lines of forest on her eastern frontier to protect her from the devastating east winds to which she is subject, and which drive away her snow. Snow is wealth to Russia. When the thaw sets in this snow is converted into manure and makes her fields fruitful. M. Elingen maintains that Russia should protect her fields by means of natural barriers of trees of different sizes, planted in the shape of a pyramid.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph of April 14 states with reference to the pigs exhibited by Mr James Rowe, of Christchurch, at the New South Wales Metropolitan show :—" The entries in the white breeds, including Yorkshire, are more numerous this year than last, and there is also a noticeable improvement in the character of the pigs put forward in this class. Berkshires are not so numerous as on previous occasions, but those on view are quite equal to anything seen at the last show. The most successful exhibitor in this section was Mr J. Rowe, of Christchurch, New Zealand, who carried off four champions, six firsts, and five seconds. Silver King, a large white boar, was first in hiß class, and also carried off the special prize as the heaviest pig on the ground. He was in every respect a remarkably fine pig, his silvery hair showing the appropriateness of his name. Mr Rowe, with Windsor Lass, a fine white sow under 12 months, carried off the championship in that class. He was also the winner of the championship offered for the best Berkshire boar and best Berkshire sow. Mr A. Whitling took first and champion for boar over 12 months in the medium whites. This pig was bred by Mr Rowe, and was in every respect worthy of the prize it obtained." Some little time back (says the Wellington Press) a resident here sent Home by direct steamer some fresh fruit, vegetables, and eggs, as an experiment in a new preserving process. He has just received the result of his attempt which reads as follows : — " I received the box on the March 3, which contained four cans— ■viz., eggs, gooseberries, plums, and pears. The box had been opened and, io. consequence, the pears were all shrivelled up, and not fit to put on the market; the gooseberries were white, and not fit for sale, and the eggs were all broken except two, which I have placed under a hen to be incubated, therefore cannot inform you of the result ; the parcel had had very bad usage. Under the above circumstances, I did not call in the analyst, and in my opinion the experiment was a failure. No doubt the excise officer opened the tin, thinking it was some explosive, which every care has to be taken about at present."

"Bruni," in the Australasian, writes: — "I lately had a conversation with Mr Thomas Millear, jun., who has just returned from a ramble round the world, Mr Millear, having been familiar from his earliest infancy with the most profitable type of merino sheep in Australia, naturally took great interest in the merino sheep he met with in his travels. While in France he took the opportunity of visiting the famous Rambouillet stud farm, and inspecting the sheep. He was greatly disappointed with them, and he describes the wool as being uneven, and of a very inferior type; that on the thighs being in many instances extremely coarse. They were of large frame, and almost as wrinkly as some Vermont sheep. If the German invaders in the Franco-Prussian war did not eat the old stud flock, as has been alleged, then the type must have been greatly altered. While in America Mr Millear spent some time among the Vermont merino studs. His first impression was that the Vermont sheep are very small. On several occasions he mistook grown ewes for lambs. The Vermont sheep is a Bhort-legged animal, and Mr Millear probably judged them by the standard of the grandly developed merinos of Riverina. In all the flocks he visited there were only young sheep, the rams having been picked two or three times. He found that there is a fine brightwoolled sheep bred in Vermont that we have not Been here. The wool is attractive,^>ut the fleeces are extremely light as compared with what are produced in Australia. These sheep are often very faulty as 6tud sires, but they are evidently much prized by the breeders. The flocks are very small, and the proprietors attend to the sheep themselves. He saw a lot of 40 sheep being shorn before shipment for Australia. They were being shaved — the wool was taken off with very short bladed shears, not much longer than scissors, and the men employed at the work would not shear more than a score a day. What pleased him most while in Vermout was the bond of brotherhood that seemed to exist among the sheep-farmers. Often he heard of a stud-owner, on being asked for a certain 6tyle of sheep, state that he had none to suit, but that a neighbour had sheep of the required description." In spite of the abundant redwood forests of California the lumberers are busily destroying all they can of the famous " big trees " (Sequoia gigantea) of Fresno Grove, Tulare County. They are evidently afraid that the Government will step in to preserve them if they do not make haste and turn them into money. A few of the giants have already been preserved by the Government in the General Grant National Park, but it is only a square mile in extent and large groves surround it. South African farmers have apparently their full share of difficulties. The Bedford correspondent of the Wyneberg Times and South African Agriculturist, writing on March 26, saVB :—": — " Our farmers are in a very depressed state just now by the great losses in stock, especially horses, of which some 2500 have died in the district within the last three months from horse sickness, and it is not over yet. Our district has never been in a worse state than it is now from diseases in all kinds of stock. We have horse sickness, geel sickness, red water, lung sickness, and wire worm, all rampant at once ; and to make things just nice, locusts are eating up everything they come across. They have taken to eat the mealie stalks this year, a thing not known before. Numbers of mealie fields are completely bared by them, so our farmers have something real at last to grumble at, and will be able to forget now to grumble at their imaginary grievances. Our agricultural show comes off on the 28th of this month, when some L 650 will be distributed in prizes. What with the diseases in stock, &c, I do not anticipate a very successful show."

The outbreak of foot-aud-mouth disease in England has assumed alarming proportions.

In addition to the centres of infection already noticed in London, Essex, and Edinburgh, the disease has been discovered in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Kirby, Lonsdale, and in sheep in the Isle of Sheppey ; and in Scotland it has spread to Glasgow, Paisley, Leith, and Roslin in Mid-Lothian. If not checked it will cost the country millions sterling. The losses caused by it in cattle are severe enough, but in sheep they are simply ruinous. When a flock is attacked by it at breeding time it kills off the lambs wholesale, as their mouths become so imflamed that they cannot suck and the dams' milk is completely dried up. It is evident, therefore, that the introduction of the disease into Australia is more to be dreaded even by the flock-owner than by the cattleman. Fortunately its period of incubation is very short, so that the voyage from England is some protection ; but, on the other hand, it is one of the most infectious diseases known, and infection is readily conveyed by fodder and by the clothes of attendants. Complaints have neen heard as to the stringency of the quarantine regulations at the Australian ports ; but the present outbreak in England has shown that the restrictions in these colonies are none too severe.

One of the most successful farmers of my acquaintance (writes " Thistledown " in the Australasian) makes it a rule in marketing his produce to grade or classify everything he has to sell, so as to give the articles exposed a uniform appearance. In selling stock of any kind he finds it far more profitable to separate the good from the bad, and to sell them in lots, all even in value, rather than to market the whole of the animals in one mob. There is a great deal of sound economy in this policy, and it should bB practised wherever possible with regard to every kind of produce the farmer places on the market. The wool-growers classify their wool into several grades of quality and value, but sheepbreeders and feeders are not nearly so particular with regard to the grading of the sheep they send to market. They lose money, however, by attempting to dispose of a number of inferior animals mixed with a number of better sheep. Cattle breeders frequently make the same mistake, forgetting that the purchaser invariably estimates the value of a mob by the character of the worst specimens, and not from the appearance of the best animals. The same rule applies to grain. More money will be realised from, say, two bags of wheat, the one thoroughly cleaned and the other dirty, than from the same quantity all mixed together. Dairy produce, poultry, and fruit all come under the same category. The farmer is always well .repaid for any trouble he may take in grading and classifying his produce. It is generally believed, throughout the length and breadth of Australia (says the

Queenslander), that horses bred on the coast watershed lack the stamina of those bred- in the interior — that is, horses that are not stabled or artificially fed. In a discussion following the reading of a paper in Glasgow recently, it was stated that there was no factor that contributed so much to keeping down the size of horses as a moist climate. This theory was first mentioned by Darwin, who said that cold had little to do with the reduction of size ; whereas, the moist climates of the mountains and islands of the northern and southern latitudes had a great effect in keeping down the size of animals. In proof of this it was stated that when the Shetlander was taken to a drier climate it invariably bred to a larger size. It would be interesting to know whether horses bred for generations in the humid climate of the coast districts of Australia have shown any gradual decrease in size compared with those on the more arid pastures west of the coast range.

There has been an unfortunate outbreak of pleuro-pneumonia in the neighbourhood of Adelaide, with the result, says the Observer, that Messrs C. Rake and Sons have sustained a serious loss in their very valuable herd of dairy cattle. On April 14 the chief inspector of stock (Mr C, J. Valentine) held a. post mortem examination of one of Messrs Rake's Jersey bulls and found that it was a confirmed case of contagious pleuro-pneumonia. This bull competed successfully in the prize ring against some of our best cattle. In addition, Messrs Rake and Sons have been obliged to destroy four of their cows. As no cattle have been purchased by the firm for about a couple of years it is considered that the disease referred to must have been contracted from other stock in the neighbourhood. We have made inquiries of Mr Valentine, who informs us that the remainder of the cattle have been inoculated, and that every precaution has been taken against the spread of the disease.

The Liverpool Journal of Commerce says : — "The steamship Duke of Buckingham, from New Zealand, which left Wellington on January ' 20, has just reached the Mersey, bringing a large general cargo. Amongst other goods she has 860 packages, or about 25 tons of choice New Zealand fresh butter, to the consignment or Pelling, Stanley, and Co., which is the first shipment made from that country to Liverpool. The great improvement made in maintaining a cool temperature while in transit assured the butter arriving almost as fresh as when put on board. This colonial butter has already met with much favour on the London market, and promises to form an important feature in the dairy produce arriving in Liverpool." The yield of fruit in Nelson' this year was phenomenal. Nothing like it had ever been known before. The huge store rooms of the

local jam factory could not half accommodate the influx of all kinds of luscious fruits, and they had to be stacked in huge pyramids in the yards, under tarpaulins.