AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2203, 21 May 1896, Page 5

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Mr P. H. Morice, district ageub of the Public Tru&tee, ha» been iust ueted by the Superintendent for the Government Advances to Settlers to vis ; t the more important centres o? population in the provincial districts of Oiago and Southland, and explain thoroughly and practically the wotkii'g and provisions of the Government AdvaicH t) Bottlers Act. Applirauta for loans from the Advana s to Si ttlers Office who m&y de»ire to obt-ia loans, and- believe that their proptrty affords the necessary security, BbouH tike the oppoitunifcy, which is afforded them by the -visits of Mr Morice, of conferring with him resvecting their applications, and he ■will repoit for the board's information whatever representations the sett'era may make. Auy settler wbo may not find it convenient to ccc Mr Morice m->-y address the supei-ktendtnt direct. It will be anncuoctd through the oolumas of the loral papers when and where i the agent can be iate.- viewed. Me Mor'ce will be fcappy to give every assistance and information o-i the subject to tho settlers, aud will always be heard of at the local post offices. ■bo case of 'JYengiou3e and Cj. v. the official assignee of Steed's estat3, an appeal from tha deeisioa of Mr Justice DemtistOD, was argued in the Court of Appeal on the 12th. The Central Dairy Company, carrying on business near Chriftchurch, appointed one i Steeds their agent to Bell their butter in London, the arrangement being that the company shjuld draw on him at 30 dajs' sight up to Q-\ alb agftin<ifc fche oliipmsuts. Stteds was to receive a commission of 5 per cent, on the proc-eds for bis services. Steeds finding himself v x>ible to dispose of certain shipments in tirn<} to erable him to t?ke up the drafts, made arrangements with Trengrouse and Cj. that they should take up the drafts, and take over aud dispose of the shipment", they to receive 3 p?r cant, out of the 5 per cant, payable to bim. Certain fihipments dealt with by Trengrouse and Co. in this way realised le«s thin the amount of fche drafts against them taken up by Trengrouse and Co. Before the deficiency w*s made good by the Dairy Compauy Sseeds became bankrupt. Trengronae and Co. gave the Dairy Company notics that they claimed payment of the deficiency to themselves direct. Ultimately the amount was by arr.mgt'ment paid by the Dairy Company fco the ©ffH*l assignee as stakeholder, he to hold tho same from Trengrouse and Co. till they established their claim. This action was the a commenced to determine their right. Mr Justice Dtnniston held that Trengrouse and Co. could not recover, on the ground that there was no privity between them and the Dairy Company, and Trengrouse and Co. are now appealing from this decision. Messrs Beswick aud Tripp are for the appellants, aad Mr Stringer for the respondent. Argument had not concluded whan the court rose. The entries for the Christchurch midwinter Show of the A. and P. Association have closed with large numbers, and the fixture is an Assured success. It is alleg'd that seUlsrs in the Rungitata district; have this year thrown away thousands of pounds through not thatching their stacks. The Dunback Canning Factory has commenced canning mutton during t&« rabbit poisoning season.

What is probably the firs!; application of R tntgen's rays to the elucidation of an agricultural problem has been effected at Munich by D^ Graetz, who has obtained by the agency of the "X" rays the "phofo^rhph" of a pig one day old. The oufctiue of fche t>k«le'on systdm is clearly ehown, nnd an illustration of ib is given in the Journal d'Agriculture Pratique. M. Grandeau, in an article on the subject, directs attention to tho value of the process in adding to information on fche development of osseous structures up to the time of birth— knowledge such as could only previously be acquired by laborious and protracted dissection. The " loj.'g" boues in particular show how ossification begms at several points simultaneously, and gradually exlends by the accumulation or mineral salts, notably phesphata of lime, in the gelatinous framework.' An examination of the image of the skeleton of thi3 young pig m^kfa much more intelligible than would a long dissertation the necessity of a diet rich in phosphatic matter, and its < ff-;cfcs upon the perff cb development of the os^eus system. As M. Grandoau poiufcs out, the young animal, of which fche bony tissues are so imperfectly constituted at the time of bii\h, fiuds in the maternal milk the nitrogenous and phosphatic ingreJients essential to the formation of bone. After it is weaned such food as is afforded in cereal grains furui>>h*a it with the phosphoric acid, the lime, and the magnesia required for thd completion of its oaseus structures. In the solution" of many problems which still rema : n to be attacked in the domain of animal nutrition, the application of the new method promises to be fruitful in results, j whilst its value in &ff urding a meuns of verifj ing conclusions which are already regarded as established must be apparoufc to all who have engaged in the study of this branch of animal phjsiology. "The Pto Auction of Vinegar from Honey" is the title of a brochure (price 2£d) by fche Rev. Gerard W. Baucks, M A , fche Green, Darfcford, Kent, which deserves the notice of any who are interested in the development of minor rural induftr'es. It is claimed that for table use, for sauces and salads, where delicacy of flivour is appreciated, and for medicinal purposes, where purene«s and wholesomeuess are essential, no vinegar c*n be compared with that produced from honey. It p )?se=sjs delicious fUvour and aroma, and it can be made at home at a cost of 4d per quart. One great advantage possessed by honey vinegar is that, being essentially free from sulphuric and nitric acid, it does not stain silver or. table linen. The process of making vinegar from honey is exceedingly simple and is 'fully described. Mr Baucks is an expert and successful beekeeper, aud if his suggestions should be generally adopted the result would be to greatly iuereasa the demand for snd stimulate the production of British honey. The Western Graziers and Past-iralists' Company of Nerr S uth Wales advert's9 in this issue for 60 good hsnd shearers to stirfc on tho llfch proz. under the Pa^toralisfcs' Union agreement. They also require 40 mftcli'n'i sbearern for fche Queensland border to start oa Juiy 23 Particulars will be found in our advertising columns. The Ljttelton Tim-28 sajs : — "T>vo very interesting cases are under treatment by Mr J. R Charlton, at his veterinary bosfji Sal, Armagh street, just now. One is a foal, by General Tracy frjm Fanny B^ll. This animal hid a bad attack of strangles while his dam was on a stud visit, ani was taken home to Aohburton while still iv a bad state. Mr Charlbon was called irr, and ascertained that an abscess had formed in the throat, almost; choking the animal. It wa3 brought to Christcburch, and tracheotomy performed by Mr Charlton. The opera' ic»'i was performed without throwing the foal co:aine being hypodormtc&lly injected, and the patient U dow fiee from its previous distress, and promises to be> all right iv a few days. Tho other ease ia a thoroug'.bred fi ly foil which could not feed. Ex-miinatiju led disease of the jaw to bs dia^co-ed, and the | animal was placed under cbljrjform aud a disjarei tooth rtunved anl a p'ese of diseased bone trephined* from the jaw. This patient is now feeding well, and will sooa be fib to send home. It may be mentioned ttiat Mr Charltoa uses anaesthetic* in all major oppra'ions on anima's " A "trophy," afterwards found by the recipient to be of mythical value, is (saya fche Melbourne Leader) becoming the fashionable way of donating prizes at agricultural show*, especially by metropolitan busiue-s firuas, and the practice is leading to a good deal of unpleasantness. Toe latest trouble is at Numarkah, wh?re a Na'halia exhibitor has refused to take delivery of his trophy and threatens the society with law proceeJings for offeriug as a prize an article not equal in value to that >.re .resented by the prizs schedule. " The Ausbralasian cays:— "Sme time ago Messrs Ryan, Himm>nd, and Mates shipped to the order of a constibuent in Ceylon 200 crossbred ewes and three Hampshire Down rams. The firm hava just received news of the safe arrival of the sheep in excellent health, and without the loss of one. The climate and vegetation of the greater part of Ceylon is decidedly unfavourable to sheep-farming, bub ib is just possible tlut there may bs a c >mrar>t;vely dry spot acnong-the hills where the vegetation is not as luxuriant as elsewhere, and on su3h a spot sheep may do fairly well." The Scottish Farmer of March reports that Mr A. B. Matthews, Carsegown, Newton Stewart, recently sold hi 3 finely-bred, goodmoving, fottr-year-old hackney stallion Who Goes There (5063), which he bought at a Lochburnie ea!e as a fosl, to Mr J. L. Brown, of New South Wales, who, it will be remembered (says the Sjduey Mail), purchased from the came gentlemaa the horses Victory, Mosquito,

and Cock Robin. Who Goes There was bred by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and is a blick brown, got by the noted horsy Recruit, I a son o! the £3000 horse Cadsfc, and his data, Alert, was got by the nocsd b.eeding horse, I D'OyK-y's C»^fi \puce. It will bs seen thV> thsro ere f«.v bolt l-bred hackney stalliojs than this in ths country, lie ha 3 won several p r iz s. including firsb at Newtou Sbew&rb show in 1893 91 and 1895, when he also won fche Cualleugo Cup for the best light animal at fche show. He is described a« a well-made one, with good head, neck, and back. The Aud'ra'a'iaa says :—": — " Two important departures i>ro likely to be made by fche Agricultural department in the system of grading butt«r iufcended for export and iv the shiprnenb ot consijjnmsnfcs from the Geelong, Ballnrafc, j and Western dis'ricts. During fche interview j which the Minister for Agriculture h*d on ■ Saturday with Mr M'Bvan, the dairy expert of ' the New Zealand Government, Mr M'E^an explained that in that e./Lmy fcho Agrioultural ; departmeat undertakes the griding of all butter , for export. Bach box of butt'r forwarded for export has the name of the factory and the date of churning marked on it. A sample of each churning is examined by tho graders, who mark it 'I,' '2,' or '3,', accot ding to its qualify, and ■ the report of graders, setting forth any faults in the butter, is st^t to the maker, with a request that he shall remedy the defects in fufcura. The butter mitda at factories is termed ' factory,' that made by dairymen ' dairy butter,' and that mixed or milled is branded 'milled,' the words 'mixed' or 'pastry' used here being regarded as objectionable, as having a tendency to prejudice buyers. The Min'sfcer for Agriculture intends makiug an effort to adopt tbi6 sjsieni of grading in Vicboria." A strong ctrfcificate iv favour of ensilage was to be seen at the late Stnithfield show in Mr Coleman's- H'ghland ox, the heaviest but one in the show. This ox was reared amid the romantic surroundings of the Highlands. Too frequently has ccenic beauty to supply the deficiency of herbage in the glens of fche West Highlands, and this ox was reared on good succulent ensilage, cheaply gathered and stored. Mr J. W. Porter, of South Australia, imported lately in tho s.s Flen^burg a shipment of pure Frifsian cattle, connoting of a bull and four cows. The bull is four years old, and has heen a distinguished p-ize-fcaker. The ages of the cjws ran^e from two to four years. Before being put; on baanl fchip they ware served by j pedigree bulls. These cattle, after passing j through quarantine, will .be taken to Mr Portsr's estate, of Glonbrook, where there ia already a small herd of Friesiaus. The Melbourne Leader says:— "A Bairnsdale consignor of oil seed's to Melbsurne warns growers that their oil will onty ba saleab'e when it ia put up in sg*l drum?. The Department at its oil mill in Melbourne put i the oil up iv tins something the sizi of keroseue Uns ab a cost to the grower of Is per tin, and Is per packing case, or altogether 6i per g<llon. Now ib is stated the oil will have to ba repacked in sgal drums at an extra cost of a lifcfcle over 2d per gallon. The f jllowing particulars are furnished as to the co^t of treatment of 12 bags of rape seed at the Gjv<jrum»2at oil mill -.—lB fcius atTl«, 18s ; 2L boxos o.fc Is, £1 Is ; fuel, 3 tons afe 9i 7d, £1 8s Id ,— toUl, £3 7a j 7d. To this musb now be added the Cist of 13 drums a"; Is, which briug^ the total up to £4 .0s 9d. The jiield was 76g*l of colza oil and 12owfc of cake, which should bs worth £12 or £12 10i in all.' 1 j