OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2171, 3 October 1895, Page 7

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

(Fhom Our Special Correspondent.) Bhadford, August 9. WHAT THE AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER SAYS OF YORKSHIRE FARMING. In one reepect it was satisfactory that Mr Hunter Pringle, whose practic\l, if not sensational, work in Essex created so much surprise, was selected to report upon the condition of agriculture throughout the county of broad RCreg — Yorkshire. Fortunately, however, there is nothing in the various districts of which so original a mind could t&ko hold and develop into a new and startling chapter in the report to the Agricultural Commission. Everything ii plain sailing, and it is a noteworthy fact that Mr Priogte was only able to fill 28 pages, where, under such conditions as exist in some other Eoglish counties, he might have filled a portly volume. The alpha and the omega of the report is that farmers in the north are more enn'g< tic aud successful thnu their brethren in the south, and that in the district* visited the depression is by no means s > B?rious as in many Other parts of England. But while Mr Pringle spe>ks highly of certain districts, from pereonal knowledge one could have taken him to other farms where, from various local and other pause?, the same high condition of the sMI and the suue high- class farming do not by auy meKus exist. In one sense the farming of these districts might be 'divided into two branches — those within reasonable distance of Urge centres of population, and those in purely rural districts, where difficulties aie enormous, and where, as is stated in the ropoit, a light railway would simply bo the makiug of a neighbourhood. Yoikshira farmere, however, are fortunate in the landlords who have, been of such assistance in the past in the construction of covered yardi, and of which the Bouth-country farmer has but an indistinct idea, to his great misfortune. Nor is it a matter of toil or climate ; the roots, the corn, the etock, and the buildings— in fact, the whole of a good Yorkshire farm is incomparably superior to an average farm in the southern CDuntriis, where thera is so much that is slipshod, where straw is commonly u&tbatched, and feeaps of eavings and chaff lie for mouths where ihe threshing machine stoodj and whtrein open yards tons of valuable material are exposed to the rain in the mistaken bat ineffaceable belief that it will be thereby converted into dung. I for one have always believed tint in the folure English farms will be smaller and cultivated upon a more intenss sj stem than exists to-day, and I have always cherished the thought fchfrf; good farms are easily let, and that, in fact, there are usually plenty of applicants before they are vacant, if they are small or medium size. What does the commissioner say to these points? "Ageats, to a man, testified to the great demand for good farms under 250 acre*, and difficulty in finding tenants for large holdings." Again, "From all quarters I learned that for one offerer for a farm of 600 feres there were ten or more for a place ot 200." Bat while Yorkshire farmers have not felt as keenly the depression as some of their neighbouring county brethren, yet in many districts farmers are not killed by prosperity. Mr Pringle recommends two steps to be taken if agriculture is to be t&ved from immediate disaster under present prices : "Rents must be reduced, and the expense of farming cut down." The firat part of the sentence appears to me to be very fbtuible and necessary, but I doubt the latter.

CATTLE SHIPMENTS. Tho s.s. Gulf of Siarn has laud-'d at Dej-ford 71 bullocks and 20 shcap from Sydney,. Nine bullocks were lost on the voyage. These cattle, as sacn in the lairs a day or two ago, were of excellent quality, aud they have come in io. fiivt-rate condition. There is no longer any doubt, siys one of Cur egriculluml papers, as to the po*tibility of this trade, and the only que-tion is that of eott. Amongst this cons' j'umvnt are Dome heavy-flashed H< lf/orde and Hereford crosses and also Ddvons aud Devon cronies which are good enough for any trade. Of course the bloom has betn Ukcn off them by the long voyage, but the flash is there, and they must havo been grand beatti when they started. Also amongst them aro some good shorthorn crosses, wbioh are heavier beasts, bit all vary useful e\c?ptmg one or two old bullocks. A few have boon slaughtered, and tho dressed carcases appeared to bo of a very telling nature — thick in the chino and without wasteful fat. It is also announced that shortly there will be a Urge cargo of 500 cattle from Australian ports, together with a number of sbeep, and this is looked forward to with much interest. PRIZE SHROPSHIRE SHEEP. Mr R. P. Cooper, of Shenstone Court (Cooper's dip), with seven exhibits of Shropshire sheep, took five first prizei, two second prizes, and a champion cup at the Gloucester and lioyal Lancashire shows. Another first prize fell to ram lambi sired by Sbenstone Coraroa'jder, of tho same flock Mr Coopf ris this autumn exporting abonb 100 Sh'opsbiree, the first lot sailing iv a fortnight (August 20) for Now* Zealand. HARVEST FBOSPECTS. Owing to the continuance of rainy weather, Tcry little progress Has been made with the harvest. The crops have como on slowly since sunshine became scarce ; but there is now an extensive acreage of corn fit to be cut, and if the work is much louger delayed wheat, bailey, aud oats will all be ripe before any of the. fields are cleared, which will iuvolve much lojs of grain from shedding. AU the best pieces of corn have been laid by the repeated rainfall, and even comparatively light crops have fallen because of the wetness and softness of the soil. With respect to all kinds of forage crops the outlook has become cheering, all tho fear of shortness of feed for stock for the rest of the season having been set ab rest. Thore will be plenty of grass in the pastures for the next month or two, and good second crops of clover and mixed seeds are assured, while the root crops as a whole may become as abundant as they were deficient a few weeks ago. Continuous sunshine is now greatly needed. HOME TRADE GOOD. Though a day's holiday has' to some extent interfered with business, yet there is no practical change in the position of affairs. Our mark«t is in a moat healthy state, and there is little to drag or cause friction. If anything, wool matters have been characterised by increased firmness, which can be accounted for by a further manifestation of increasing consumption and the prospect of no very great stock of raw wool coming in sight. It was Tory freely discussed on 'Change a week ago that the next saries of London sales would see a further rise of 10 per cent., and tli9se who profess to t>3 in the know appear veryeaoguinena to it« t^k'ngplice. They stoutly affirm (hat things distinctly poiut to is. It is a well-knowu fact that liitle wool is he'd over. Moreover, the Australinu and N<*w Zealand clips come to baud co much sooner than they used to do that tha September aud November series are of. relatively uraaller importance. Topmakcrs and deUen aro well sold, and by the time we reach the scries, etccka will be in comparatively small compass. Hence there is a growing conviction thai prices cannot possibly go lowi-r, aud inasmuch as they are still relatively below the average of the closing London prices they may very likely move upward. One jtera of very keen interest to all wcolmen here is the publication of the United States consul's list of declared exports to America. It is of more interest to the colonial reader, and a glanca at them will be very stimulating. In tho past months of this year the returns have "staggered" many a one, but the returns for last month are as remarkable in their expansion as ever — nay, considering the season of the year, aud the fact that the new cenditiou of things h&s prevailed so loug as to have exhausted anything in ths shaje of an " early rush," they are more remarkable thau thoso of the earlier mouths. The returns prove that the July exports reached the highest figure for tha year— nay, the highest ever recorded. The total value is £534,301 8s 4-d, an increase over the month of June of £124,407 19i 9d. There is an increase over the corresponding month of last year by £424,552 13s lid. Looking at one or two of the month's figures, the mesfc noteworthy feature of all, and one which largely makes up tho increase, is the big jump in raw wool exported, £113,299. Although the Americans bought heavily at last sales in London, yet their speculative powers wera not exhausted, and their strong confidence in the future of the wool trade is such that they have bought heavily in raw materials in Bradford. From personal knowledge I am able to state that there is now one invoice in transit for £20,000 worth of raw wool bought in Bradford by one p-uty a'one. Mohair shows exports to the extent of £1161; worsted and mohair yarns, £12,018 ; worsted coatings, £127,110; wool htuff goods, £183,712; woollen goods, £49,287. All this is considered highly satisfactory, and judging by the number of American buyers over and in the market, everything points to this order of things being well maintained.

In keeping the accounts of the Bank of England over 50 ledgers are filled daily.