TUAPEKA WEST.

Otago Witness, Volume 01, Issue 2123, 1 November 1894, Page 25

TUAPEKA WEST.

OcionEß 30.— The dry weathpr is telling very severely on the grass ami cereal crops. This has been a bail <,ea.sou for fanners getting on with. t l ieir work, the wiuter having been very wet, and the drought setting in so suddenly that the Kround was baked hard, the consequence being that it has been double labour to get the crops in. I have seen some piddocks that had to have two strokes with the disc harrows before they could be ploughed, and after this the furrows turned over were like bricks for hardness, and to pulverise it down for seed caused a considerable amount of labour. Lambing has been very good this season. I hear of 120 per cent., aud even more in some cases, but the dry weather is telling very much on the feed for the ewes.

AoßiciiLTUiur, Chemistry.— A lecture was delivered in the local schoolhouse on Friday last by Mr F. M. AlleD, of Kempthorne-Prosiser's Drug Factory, on "Agricultural Chemistry." It was under the auspice 3 of the Farmers' Union, and though the attendance was not large, those present expressed themselves highly pleased at the manner in which Mr Allen handled his subject. Mr <T. Smith, in moving a vote of thanks to the lecturer, said he wan highly delighted with the lecture. It wa3 both interesting and instructive to everyone engaged in agricultural pursuits, and those who were absent had missed a treat. Mr J. Drysdaie, in seconding the motion, said he came six miles to hear the leoture, and lie would have been well paid if it had been twice the distance. Mr Allen spoke for about two hours, and even then he did not finish his lecture, but promised to come and give the other part on some future occasion.