AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2010, 1 September 1892, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Mr W. Devenish Meares, retiring president of the Christchurch Chamber of Commerce," in his address at the meeting on Saturday afternoon said that the excess of exports over imports for the last five years was L 12.092.823, whereas in the previous five years the excess of imports over exports was L 4,147,726. Referring to the frozen meat industry, he said : — <l It is difficult to grasp the large figures, but when you deal with small ones and see that in 1882 we exported one out of every 400 sheep in the colony, in 1887 one out of every 22 sheep, and in 1892 one out of every 12£ sheep, you are able more easily to realise what an important factor the frozen meat trade has been in the affairs of the colony. Much has been written about the folly of sending away too large a number of lambs. I find that in 1887 out of 721,000 carcases of mutton exported, there was one lamb to every five carcases, while in 1892 the proportion was slightly less than this. These figures hardly bear out the idea on the subject that there bag been a great increase in the proportion of lambs exported. It is admitted that every effort should be made to maintain tbe standard of mutton exported, more especially in view of Australian competition. There has been retrogression as far as standard is concerned, but there has also been a weeding out in the colony, and in the future improvement should be looked for, as probably the class of sheep in New Zealand is at present higher as a whole than it has been at any previous period." The banking returns indicated by a decline in the excess of advances over deposits that there was a disjqnlination on the part of depositors to invest Jn industrial or commercial .enterprises. The falling off in the number of agricultural liens indicated a decided improvement in the financial position of farmers. He suggested that the chambpr should appoint a special committee to deal with the question of immigration and arrange with landowners wjlling to sell land or to rent land with a purchasing clause, and to send specially accredited delegates, with full information and correct valuation vouched for by the chamber, to England to secure for the colony suitable settlers to take up the land. He ijGngratulated jbhe chamber on the progress of the cojony dus'ing the last 1,0 years, and on the especial progress during the last five. The Pahiatua paper says that two valuable horses running in a paddock near Mr Buling's homestead at AlfrecUon were fatally injured Di^e niglijL by a pig that was running at large, and which had ajwayp been considered a very quiet animal. The Mount Ida Chronicle understands that Mr James Howell, of Hamilton Bridge farm, has perfepted an attachment to a double-furrow slongh which drops the seed upon the ground peijig turned up by the share. The contrivance, although "apparenfty a vpry simpje one, has engaged Mr Howell's attention for about two years. As the seed is sown it is harrowed in by a harrow wfcicfr is also 'attached to the plough. No incceaso of power is required, an ordinary team of four horses, working in the usual way, being all that is required. The Tuapeka Times reports that Mr James Allen, H.H.8., has been successful in inducing ihe Railway jGomn>is^oners to make an alteration in the rates of .carrjage fqr ohafli over the railway lines. Under the system in operation hitherjbo }f a settler happened to overload a truck by a hundredweight or so over the maximum of five ions, he was ]&b|fi jso be charged a ?ate and a-half. Th# commissioners have now decided to alter the truck-load limit from five to six tons, and in future no additional charge will be made upless the load exceeds six tons. The Wellington X. and P. Association at a meeting on the 26th resolved to , eßdorsg the reflo}utjonß passe.d by the Ojbago

Agricultural and Pastoral Society protesting against the application of the Faotories Act to the agricultural and pastoral industry, and also that the president should act in co-opera-tion; with that society in endeavouring to have the act amended. . A copy of €be resolution is to be forwarded to the Minister Joy Agriculture. ' '■

At a meeting of the executive of the Auckland Agricultural Association, re the Dairy Industry Bill, it was resolved that, while they agreed that a certain amount of Protection is necessary, the provisions of clause 7 are unnecessary and the penalties altogether extravagant. An instance of the prejudicial effect of high protective duties in the neighbouring colonies so far as New Zealand trade is concerned has just . been afforded' in ' Auckland. Hitherto a large proportion', of Auckland's- exports , to Queensland hasCcohsistedof flour,' but the new - duty will effectually , prohibit this trade.' A few days ago the locally-oWned schooner Ivanhoe, a vessel of 160 "tons' register, ha : d ' been chartered to take a full cargo of flour across to Brisbane from Auckland, but owing to the action of the Queensland Government, and a fear that the new duties may come into force before .the arrival of the cargo, the charter has fallen through. ' " V Our Auckland correspondent writes on the 18th : — " Our city fathers are at present greatly exercised over the. condition of the meat supply of the city, owing to ' statements made as to alleged slaughtering of animals unfit for human food. One councillor of the medical profession stated that there were an excessive number of cases of cancer, in Auckland, and that this probably was due to the' consumption of unsuitable meat. Several years ago the City Council put an end to the scandalous state of things at the " glory hole,'.' as the Newmarket slaughterhouse was yclept, and built fine abattoirs at a cost of L6OOO with every convenience and necessary, water, drainage, paddocks, &c. Vested interests, however, were sufficiently powerful to get the law altered so that private slaughterhouses could be dotted over the district, the result being, of course, inefficient inspection, and consequent loss of revenue to the city. To make matters worse for the citizens the " meat ring" succeeded- in raising the price of meat, and in defeating the attempt to form a cooperative butchery company which was intended to break the monopoly. Any butcher who may venture to start business in Auckland has, it is stated, to pay a premium of L 25 as entrance fee into the combination, or stand the risk of a species of boycott, So that devices for " restraint of trado"aro, it would seem, not confined to the "'orny-'anded" and trades unions." An American paper says; — "The soil Jn winter time is often frozen so hard 1 that excavations are impossible, and all such work has to be postponed. Mr Kelly, superintendent of the gasworks at Waltham, U.S.A., in a paper recently read before the New England Association of Gas Engineers, has described a method whereby this difficulty can be obviated. His system is to spread a quantity of lime some inches deep over .the place where the digging has to be done; A piece of tarpaulin is spread over the lime and left there for .several hours. Experience shows that by the warmth thus induced frost nearly 2ft deep can be quickly melted. The lime presents an objection in many oases on account of its expense, bat gas companies can afterwards, onjploy the spent material for purifying purposes. - Farmers in South Africaare evidently undergoing the same trials as those of Australia in connection with the weevil pest. /From a Natal paper we learn that the weevil iaVery destructive there, and has put growers to some trouble to devise means to destroy the rapacious insect. The latest remedy is carbolic, powder, which has been use 4 with sucpess tyus yeajr. A boy was kept shaking the powder into tbe sacks while the grain was being poured in. This preserved the maize, but the next difficulty, was to get rid of the carbolic powder, and this was done by means of a rough sort of winnowing. All the grain not thus treated thjs season was a mass of weevil, but the "dootored" corn was quite sound.

A Calif ornian farmer has one of the largest and most complete hog -ranches 'in the world, where the business of raising pigs for the great markets is systematically carried on. It comprises upwards of 10Q0 acres of land under a "hog-tight" fence. The land is almost entirely lucerne, and the company is engaged in raising what is known as " butchers' stock," or hogs weighing from 1501b to 2001b for current slaughter and use. These are entirely lucerne-fed, and make the finest, kind of fresh pork, and the returns are more -profitable than to raise " packing-stock ?) or hogs for the use of packing-houses. Aside from the quick and fair returns realised' from raising '• butchers' stock," the lucerne keeps them ready for market the whole year around, bo that there is scarcely a day intfye'jear .that a. cartload of fine "butchers' stock" cannot be selected from the herd. .The 1000-acre hog ranch, covered as it is with what might be roughly estimated at 6000 hogs, big and little, is, one of the sights oE the valley. It is reported; says a Rangitikei (N.1.) paper, jbbat Beaconsfield has been invaded by a wild boar, very big, but lean and ferocious. Tije first gettler j;hat' observed him gave h.im a, charge of gunshot, but found it necessary to find the most elevated tree stump in the pad* dock as quickly as possible, where he clambered, and remained' a considerable period with the boar keeping guard over him. A few days ,afte*rwards the boar made for another settler on . sighting" him at the far end of a large paddock, and again a big root was sought for refuge. ,It is believed the boar is devouring young lambs, and it is therefore propqsed tq organise a general hunt for his destruction. \' l < •* " A local paper states, that an Otama farmer, the other day, refused an offer of LSO to provide the grass for a Leicester ewe and her pro'jony for' live" years from date. At the present moment the ewe has two ewe lambs running with her ; and the farmer to whom the offer was made,- after calculations, decline^ iji. gome farmers \wonld have jumped at fho offer, notwithstanding the probability of the Fncvease ' reaching- tbjree ' figures within the stipulated time; * " Mr L. Hanlon, -Government fruit expert, delivered nri address before the members of the Canterbury. Fruit-growers' Association afc Christahuroh- l*gt week.' Mr ' Hanlon, who opened his remarks by saying that the growth of the fruit industry demanded special instruction and .endeavours should be made to afford it. This' country was well adapted for growing fruit, an(J ere long would fetan4 in the front sank 'of successful fruit-growing countries. The industry was one which when properly attended to would, yield a greater return than . auy other. Never • before was there such a demand for fruit, and in England in which m 1873 there were 15,000 acres under cultivation tfiere are no\y 350,000. He also instanced the enormous development of tha industry in California eg a reason. for New Zealand stepping into the market;' He held that eyery man should possess-"' An orchard, as there was an enopmous outle'f for New Zealand fru>t in England and on the Continent. We had dqnp very little so far, having only sent in tljelasfc seasons 5346J cases and 6.5Q0, while Tasmania sent away 197,000 cases, and estimated ft

get] away this season 3OO,OOO2cases. • He submitted a calculation that 125 trees to the acre, planted hexagon shape, would yield L4O, allowing for, say, 25 wasters, and that out'of that sum say L 5 per acre should be allowed for cultivation, leaving a clear profit of L 35. More than this had been Realised per acre in both Tasmania and California. He referred to the successful and unsuccessful shipment of apples from here, and gave it as his opinion that the failures were due to bad selection of fruit, rough handling, poor packing, want of circulating air in.the.cool chamber, and sometimes too long a voyage. Uniformity was wanted in the cases, which he recommended Bhould be llin x 12in x 20in timber measurement, which would give the same weight as the flat cases, and cost 4s as against 4s 5d freight. He quoted the success of Dr Lemon's shipment as W of the fact that while it was not necessary to have greatly ventilated cases it was necessary to have free circulation of air This he held could not be afforded by the freezing machinery, as the temperature was so low that enough sent into the chamber to circulate meant the freezing of the apples. It had been suggested, to obviate this, that the machinery should be alternately used for-meat and fruit, the current for the latter being increased in temperature. Mr Hanlon reiterated the opinions already expressed by representatives] from Covent Garden firms, as to methods of packing, grading and so on, and despaired of the shipping' companies reducing freights unless the Tasmanians first got reductions. He urged growers to organise to arrange for shipments, and wondered why they could not ship through the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company here as was done by the Auckland growers. Returning to the culture of fruit, he reckoned 10 acres of an orchard was enough for one man's full time, and this area was equal to a 160 acre farm in California. - On the proceeds of 10 acres a man could keep a family; on those of 20 acres he could save money. He gave a list of the apples, pears, and stone fruits which were the best for cultivation as useful for the market in their natural state, or canned, preserved, or evaporated, and then explained how the introduction of the canning process- had made a name for California, and read an extract from the Sydney Town and Country Journal describing the work of a canning factory and the lines to be followed. He gave the total cost of fitting up one at about L 585 4s, exclusive of the building, which required to be at least of two storeys, Evaporating was a process which could be done on a smaller scale either by means of the upright, inclined plane, fire, or steam type of dryers, care to be taken that the air was heated up to 240 and 300deg, and moved quickly, and he explained the different processes through which the fruit had to pas» before it reached that stage. .At the conclusion of his address -he answered several questions, and.was afterwards aworded a hearty vote of thanks. Mr F. Lilt writes as folhws in a late number of the Lyttelton Times :-- " Allow me space in your valuable paper for a few words with reference to the farmr >* pcst — namely, the hot fly. Recently Mr 4 Geo! Burgess, in Dunsandel, lost a young horse about four years old, and no doubt many who are of a less inquisitie nature would have given the bot fly credit for the damage done. But no such thing was the cause. In most cases people are satisfied when they find out that there is a quantity of grubs in the horse's stomach, and • without further examination blame this so-called pest for the death of the horse. I think if farmers and other horse owners who have horses die would examine the intestines of the animal they would find that in nine cases out of 10 the cause of death would be from inflammation, gripes, and other diseases which horses are liable to take, especially in a changeable winter season, and "not from the bot fly. And I think if every horse in Canterbury could be examined there would be found a quantity of bot fly -grubs in the stomach. How is it that in California, where this fly originally came from, horses seldom succumb from its attacks ? A leading American paper tells us that the bot fly rather improves the health of the horse." A great source of annoyance and expense to railway companies is the encroachment of the grass which grows around the rails of their lines. An effective mode of getting rid of this nuisance has. just been devised in the shape of an electrical vegetation destroyer. This consists of a wire brush, very much in appearance like an ordinary scrubbing brush. This is connected by a wire, with a dynamo in the nearest available electric light, or. power station. A powerful current is turned on, and an operator drags the fully charged brush, which is supplied with a wooden handle, over the grass, killing it instantly. There are many ways in which this ability to instantly destroy vegetation can be utilised. Gardeners especially are likely to be grateful for such a ready method of getting rid of noxious weeds on garden walksas well as in flower beds.

Less than 50 years ago grain elevators were unknown, and the . comparatively little wheat stores were filled by hand labour. It was then a pretty large store that would hold 50,000 bushels of grain. The grain receipts at Buffalo, U.S.A., for eight months ending December 12 last were 129,127,000 bushels. One warehouse at Buffalo called the "Connecting Terminal Railroad Elevator A "has 158 ft frontage, 143 ft deep, and 115 ft to the highest point. It has 110 bins storing from 6500 to 8500 "bushel* each— total storage capacity, .9oo, ooo. bushels. By means of 6pouts and endless bands wheat can be loaded loose from the holds of vessels at the rate of 16,000 bushels per hour, and can be weighed in at the same time. Whilst this is going on other wheat or grain can be delivered into vessels, trucks, &c, and weighed at the same rate of 16,000 bushels por hour. Altogether the elevator "can _ u handle" 46,000 bushels of grain per hour. The Calcutta Englishman of June 30 says :—: — " Australia has some cause to regret the conduct of certain exporting firms. In the canned goods trade a few firms have adopted the pernicious habit of sending rubbish, and the consequence is that the country has acquired a bad name, for which the honest exporters who send articles of the best quality, whbh are what they profess to be, naturally suffer. Australian honey seems at one time to have had a good foreign sale, but an adulterated article was exported, and all the honey from that colony is regarded with suspicion. So it was lately with Australian wine. Stuff that was not saleable there was shipped abroad, and did immense damage to the trade ; and so it has been with olive oil. the fine produce of South Australian olives having been mixed with a cheap Chinese oil. The folly of the Australian merchants is obvious. They may make a little present profit but it is dearly bought in the long run. The English trade organ which makes the complaint does not, however, appear to see with sufficient clearness that the fault is with the English tradesmen for not taking pains to ascertain with whom they are dealing. If English consumers will not buy Australian honey the reason doubtless is that they have bought a bad article at a shop' the proprietor of which has been careless in his manner of doing business. The retail tradesman will not suffer if he exercises a judicious phoice of the wholesale mer-

chants with whom he deals, for they in turn will be scrupulous in ascertaining that what they buy in Australia or elsewhere is what it professes to' be. If there is a weak link in the chain of mutual dependence all concerned are likely to be injured." The following note appears in the American Agriculturist for June 1892 :— " G. H. Glasscock, Pandwick, Australia. — We cannot advise you in regard to the advisability of leaving Australia for the purpose of coming to the United States and settling on Government land and becoming a farmer. We are inclined to believe that the opportunities of the farmers of Australia are fully as good for making a living as those of this country, but if you think differently, come and try it. You will, however, find that tho best lands have already been taken up, and are under cultivation, but there are always plenty of farms for sale, and they oan often be purchased for less than the improvements have oost ; in fact, as a rule, it is cheaper to buy improvements than make them. Wild or Government land can be obtained by purchase for Idol 25e per acre, or under the homestead law by a five years' residence upon it and a payment of 18,000dol for 160 acres. There are some tracts of land that cost just double the above, the difference depending upon the location, but all are wild, and some not worth accepting as a gift." (Continued on page 10.)