AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2045, 4 May 1893, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

In an interesting article in the "North American Review," Mr Rusk, the Secretary of Agriculture, points out that if the population increases in the coming hundred years as it has done in the past 50, at the end of that period it will reach the large total of 400,000,000. Yet, referring to immigration, he would control rather than forbid it. That is, he would carefully exclude, the Chinese and pauper classes but not the honest hard-working man seeking to better his condition and to carve out a home for himself and his descendants. From semitropical Florida to the State of Washington from the lakes and forests of Maine to the orange groves and vineyards of South California every acre will be occupied and taxed to meet the requirements of this large population. The richest inheritance a man can leave to his grandchildren and their immediate descendants will be a farm in the United States. Glass houses will obliterate the seasons, and strawberries and lettuce in mid-winter will no longer occasion surprise He does not anticipate much improvement in farm implements, but thinks there will be in methods of farming. Touching on the important subject of corn exports, he is of opinion that long before a hundred years have passed America will have- ceased to export food products to foreign countries with the exception of a few products in concentrated form. The average size of farms will be considerably less than at the present time. More small farms will exist and irrigation will be general. The telephone will be found in every farmhouse. Residents in the country will vie in culture and education with the corresponding classes in the cities. He considers the Agricultural department has rendered 'great service to agriculture, but as the importance of the industry becomes more apparent, it will, he hopes, be more appreciated, and before' liberally endowed than it is at the present time.

In reference to the cable* message stating thai; the Fifeshire's cheese was damaged through overheating, Messrs Turnbull, Martin, and Co. have received a cable from their Home firm stating that only one consignee complains that the cheese is heated. It is therefore probable that very' few cases are out of order. The Assets Company has decided to cut up the Carnarvon estate of 7000 acres, in the North Palmerston district, into small farms and form a special settlement upon it. Messrs Richard--son and Reardon have been entrusted with tho work.

M. Pasteur, the French scientist, has keei* asked by Mr Perceval, the Agent-geheraL ifi he. can recommtnd any remedy for the disease, which annually attacks ferrets in New Zealand, and which occasions such heavy losses amongst, them. He has' not yet received any reply. Nor has he,' as yet, done anything in regard tc. the engaging of two veterinary surgeons focthe Government service.

The Crown Lands Guide is now issued m the* form of a Blue. Book, the description of lands, open for selection being republished from the> Gazette. .In the Auckland district 438,000) acres are open for selection, in Hawke's Bay 39,700, in Taranaki 9000, in Wellington 86,000, in Mariborough 6400, in Nelson 254,000, in Canterbury 26,000, in-Otago 68,000, in Southland 100,000 and 152,000 acres in 34 runs (for grazing runs and smaller settlement), and in

1 A writer in the ♦'Scientific Monthly " calls* attention to the enormous losses incurred by American fruit-growers owing to the depredations of insects and blight. A semi-ofiteia* return estimates the normal extent of the toss, at 300 million dollars annually. Both of these plagues are now being effectively dealt with by means of spraying machines, which are found* to act as a preventive as well as a cure. Kerosene emulsion is used as a spray for insects ;: and. a mixture of copper sulphate, ammonia/ and water fpr fungous growths. The latterbalm is known in the trade as eau celeste,, though what it has in common with heaven.! beyond the fact of " dropping as a gentle rain ""11" 1 is not stated. Itr is, of course, a rank poison but careful and accurate tests have proved that fruit grown on trees to which it has beem applied showno traces whatever of infection.. In spite of this, the use of eau celeste has beeni prohibited in Ontario, for fear of causing harm* to the bees and poisoning their honey. The Wellington Land Board have ordered? summonses to be taken out against perpetual? lease and small runholders in arrears, and to» give notice for the future that deferred payment.-, selectors who do not pay up by the next meeting will have their leases forfeited. The following paragraph, which appeared in> a Berlin newspaper of March 7, will be read with interest : — " A line of Australian frozen meat was sold by auction last week at the Berlin Central Markets, and realised an average of 40 pfennings per lb (about 6d), showing that the meat must have beea in first-class condition and of first-class quality. It is reported that a company is at the present time being formed in Hamburg with the object of introducing direct from Australia regular supplies of frozen meat into the Hamburg market." Messrs HudsoD, the well-known English provision dealers, have the following to say in reference to colonial butter : — " The Australian and New Zealand butfcer, coming as it does, during our autumn and winter months, is of" considerable value to us, and materially helper to keep down prices through the winter. It., will never rank with the fresh-made butter of" Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Butter that, has been made for three or four months, develops a strong flavour after it has been in, the kitchen for a short time, no matter how'fine it was when made, and no matter how well* it may have been kept., We consider that it^ would be much improved if a small quantity of* boracic acid was mixed with it, and would advise that this should be tried next year. It makes an excellent second and third class butter, and is sure to meet with a good demand, and the prices made this year may be calculated upon for the future." The Adelaide Observer says : — " Some very clever and well-informed men say that wheat will not rise in price, because the farmers will be compelled to farm better, and double, or even quadruple, the production per acre. Other equally well-informed and clever men say that the natural increase of the population of the world requires a yearly increase, of 30,000,000 bushels of wheat; that wheat flour is being more and more used as a staple article of food ; that the major part of the State lands in various countries has already been p\it under cultivation ; that, in consequence, the price of wheat must rise to 10s or 12s per bushel, and then the good farmers will have their innings again." A good story is being told of an encounter between the Minister for Lands and a canny Scot in Canterbury, one of his intimate friends. Mr M'Kenzie was anxious to " draw" his countryman on the subject of the Cheviot purchase, and asked him what he would do with the big estate if it was in his possession. " Weel, John," was the reply, "lam not the owner, and am never likely to be." " Yes, but if you, were the Minister for Lands, what would yoo>

be disposed to do with the property?" "I am not the Minister for Lands, and am sure I never shall be a member of any Government. •• 3ut you can at least tell me what I am likely to gbt-out of the purchase." "Weel, John, yell get a deal o' experience out of it ! " The folSJWng very important information regarding the"Bathurst burr" is supplied in a letter to the Feilding Star by Mr Cyril P. Stanton :-J' I shall esteem it a favour if you will, in your popular paper, call the attention of settlers, and in fact everyone whom it may concern, to the alarming fact that this « demon burr* of Australia has made its appearance in this part, and unless totally eradicated ere it seeds the amount it will cost to even combat it at all will be enormous. Having been a resident in Australia for more than 20 years, I am well acquainted with its peculiarities from the time it first makes its appearance above ground until it is finally crushed out in the tweed and woollen factories. During the course of a stroll through Parawanui (lower Rangifcikei) recently I came across the old enemy in blossom, and shortly, of course, to seed, covering several acres of ground near the Maori pa. Although not personally or directly interested myself, I deem it a duty I owe to the country settler to caution him in the most emphatic way against this the most barefaced wool robber in existence. Ifcs destruction is simple, if taken in ti me — viz , first prior to seeding cut at least one inch below the surface of the ground with an ordinary sharp garden hoe. I have destroyed acres of it, and know only too well the fearful trouble it has been to settlers, squatters, and landholders in Australia. One station in Queensland annually expends over £1000 to even keep it down, in a similar way that the landowners in New Zealand do in the case of the rabbit pest (say for instance in the Wairarapa). Wool worth lOd per Ib has been reduced to 2£d per Ib when Bathurst burr was discovered to be thickly embedded iv it. The seed is oval in shape, about half an inch in leDgth, and contains sometimes as many as 100 to 150 little hooks, each of which when released from the sheep's back or fleece (when shorn) takes with it several fibres of wool, which runs up to a large total when sheep are, as I have seen them, literally covered with them. I cannot enlarge on the terrible curse this noxious weed will eventually become if nob immediately checked — in fact it would take a Yankee to do that. I consider it would be a boon to the settlers generally if you could make this as public as possible. Any information I can give at any time and to anyone I shall be most happy to do— addressing me at the P 0., Wanganui, as my business "necessitates almost constant travelling." Of last week's Addington market for fat sheep Friday's Lyttelton Times says i-*" The fat sheep section opened with some second-class crossbreds, and the sale was very inanimate for a while, as buyers held off this class. It was not long before some prime sheep were offered, when quite a different condition of affairs set in. Freezers and butchers were alike eager to secure the sheep, and before many pens had been passed 19s 3d was given for some prime wethers from Mr Antonio Vucetich's flock. This was followed by other lines being sold at 18s 6d, 18s, 17s Bd, and so on through the sale, no decently finished lines of wethers or wethers and] maiden ewes being allowed to go under 16s. The heavier sheep were the cheapest, as 2|d to 2£d per Ib was paid for all the best lines for export, factory weights, skins and fat in, while those over 751b went for an average of 2£d per Ib. There was much more irregularity in the sale of crossbred ewes, only the best finished sheep being sold at anything like the run of values that has prevailed lately, gome capital ewes brought from 15s to 16s 3d, realising 2^d per Ib, all in, but the bulk of the ewe section sold at from 11s to 13s 6d, or only a trifle over 2d per Ib. Among the merino wethers there was an exceptionally good line of sheep from Mount Grey station, for which 11s 4d, 12s 3d, and 13* 6d were obtained, but the remainder of this class sold at from 7s 6d to 9s 2d. A number of Chatham Island half bred Romney Marsh wethers were sold at fair prices, ■when their rough condition and hollow appearance are taken into consideration. Mr £2. R. Chudleigh's consignment brought from 11s 5d to 12s Bd, which was the top price given for sheep from the Islands. Messrs Blakiston's sheep brought 11s 9d to 12s 6d, Mr Fougere's lls 5d and 11s 9d, and the Waitangi sheep sold at from 9s 6d to 12s 6d." According to the London correspondent of the Scottish Farmer, Australian consignors of meat are not the only oneß victimised by the London rings. Even the astute North of Scotland farmers have to submit to being fleeced by the übiquitous middlemen. The profits of these middlemen commence at the beef-raising or killing end. When dressed meat is sent off from Scotland the farmer has parted with all interest in it, the interest having become vested in the speculating killers. If there is no collusion it is the latter who have the right to complain of the so-called prices made by the Scottish agents at Farringdon street. These, it is confidently asserted, meet in the afternoon of each market day, and fix the price which is to be returned to their northern clients. This, it appears, is no uncommon practice in all the London produce markets, and is specially notorious at Covent Garden. In no case can the reported prices be found to tally with those sent back to the unfortunate consignor. There have been instances in which astute men, whose faces were unknown to the salesmen, have gone up to London and have bought and taken away their own produce, selling to some friends or relations possibly, doing a good business in the retail trade On reaching home they have found the return sheets, deducting full commissions on just one-half the prices they got for their own. In one case in the meat market immediate exposure was threatened unless fcho full amount was sent with compensatory damages. So long as all this is allowed the consignee is king of the situation. " Heavy supplies on hand" and "glut" are pleaded in the returns. The following items are by " Drover" in the Canterbury Times :— Now that the stock year of 1893 has practically closed, it is interesting to look back upon the past season and note any of its peculiarities. The year opened with sheep at a higher price than they had been for a very long time, and when merino ewes sold at 6s, 7s, and even Bs, and crossbreds up to 15s and 16s for breeding purposes, many people thought that, instead making money out of them, farmers at the "end of the season would be losers by their purchases. The winter was the finest ever seen in Canterbury, and with an unusually good supply of turnips and an early spring the lambing was very good, 90 per cent, of lambs from merino ewes being no unusual occurrence, and crossbreds producing as often as not 100 per cent. The wool clip was a hfctle disappointing, the price, especially for merino, baing very low, and the wool itself deficient in weight. Notwithstanding this, lambs sold so well that the wool and the lamb from a fair crossbred ewe in many cases produced 20s, and in almost all cases the wool and the lamb more than paid for the ewe. The year's transactions in sheep have been so much more satisfactory than cropping, that many farmers have almost abandoned the latter and given the whole of their attention to £heir flocks. This has had (he effect of raising the price of all breeding

ewes so much that the coming season's profits will show a decline. But so long as our frozen lamb maintains its reputation in the English markets sheep-breeding will be a safer investment than grain-growing. The Dipton correspondent of the Southland Times says that the saleyards last week were an indication that feed is to be short this winter. Prices still go down and stockowners are obliged to sell. Oats are, however, turning. Turnips are neither good nor plentiful. — The Gore correspondent of the same paper says : — "The amount of land which is being offered in this direction for sale is the subject of considerable talk. Not to mention that numerous small allotments in town have ceased to prove attractive, the Otaraia estate of the late Mr Trumble was offered on Saturday, when the highest bid elicited was 12s 6d per acre. Messrs Fraser and M'Lean, long and well known in Gore, and who ought to know the land,) bade 103. Needless to say the estate was passed in, though it is said Islay station, which bnt recently changed hands, fetched only 103 per acre. It is aIBO difficult to find good investments on mortgage, the banks being free with their advances on land with safe margin."

Between Hergott and Farina railway stations (S A.) and the Queensland border there are 1000 camels employed, and all are owned and worked by Afghans, of whom 300 are camped on the Hergotb park lands. They pay no rates, taxas, or rent, and they are driving the white teamsters out of the district.

The following items .are from the Dunstan Times :— lt |is curious that nearly the whole interior of Otago, from Strath-Taieri to the Lakes, has experienced an exceptionally dry autumn, no rain to speak of having fallen for the past few months. As a consequence pastures look brown and bare, and the outlook for winter feed for stock is not at all bright at the present time. Rain now before the frost might start the grass so as to be ready for the spring season. — Ib is said that Mr Cowan obtained 300,000 rabbitskins during the summer season. The rabbits all over the district seem to have increased rapidly in numbers during the past few months, and they may be seen in thousands in many parts, especially on reserves and unoccupied lands, and indeed wherever there is a patch of green feed on the low grounds. Large numbers of sheep have been taken from Hawke's, Bay to the Wesb Coast of the North Island of late. The Wanganui Chronicle says :—": — " Last evening Mr H. King and four drovers reached here in charge of 7000 sheep, which they have brought through from Napier. This very large flock have already been some 20 days on the road, and as they are consigned to Mr William Brewer, of Hawera, it will be fullyjsix more days before they reach their destination. They, were put up for the night at

Mr F. R. Jackson's paddock on the other side of the river, and will proceed on their way this morning. The last flock Mr King brought through comprised some 4000 sheep, and the one he has now in his is one of the

charge largest we have had through for some time."

IContinued on page 1%.)