AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2207, 18 June 1896, Page 14

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

In connection with the weight-Judging competition at the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society's winter show, the sheep was killed and weighed on Monday morning in the preienoe of two .members of the committee, when the treighi was found to be 1741b. Mr? T. Patrick (Dunedin), Messrs William Bivall (Limehills), D. Dunn (Oamaru), and W. Eioe\wharf) all guessed the actual weight. The other competitors close up wf re Mr R. Gawne (Mosgiel, 17*ilb), and Miss Webster (Howe street) and Mr G, Robert* (173|ib each). The lowest estimate was 761b and the highest 3691b. The society did very well out of the competition, as there were nearly 300 gaessers. A new method ' has been hit upon of " distributing " New Zealand prodaoe at Home.' 1b occurred to the intelligent mind of some thoughtful costermonger that , a good thing might be' done by buying frozen mutton cheap land then retailing it from house to house to housewives of an economical turn of mind. Two

ooiters feave been trying this experiment with remits Tery satisfactory to themselves. They bought' two frozen sheep at 103 each, thawed and cut them up, and then went round with the mutton in their respective donkey outs. They were, of coarse, able to sell the meat at a price very much below that "asked in the ordinary butcher's shop, and they found a brisk demand. One ouetonser writes that the meat was all that could be desired, except that the flesh wan lather pale in colour, and had a good deal of exuding moistore, whioh told, the tale of its origin.— Timaru Herald. Borne of the orops of turnips grown in the Taieri Plain have (according to the Advocate) been exceptionally good, and some very large yields hays been given. It ib said that a magnificent orop of turnips on Mr David Sutherland'trfarm, at Eaat Taieri, will yield about 60 tons to the acre.

The heaviest bullock of which we (Australasian) have authentic records was slaughtered at Bendigd in September 1894 by the late Mr HeiDg. This be&st, which was bred by. the MesMs Gibson, of Top Creek, Rochester, weighed 28001b- (live weight), ,and (he dressed carcase weighed 17521b. Another bullock weighing 27881b (live weight) was slaughtered last year by Mr P. Smith, butcher, Warrnambool. shorthorn balls are coming greatly into fashion in England and Scotland. They are being bred for two purposes— first, for producing the handsome roans now in such great demand in South Amerioa, and next, for producing the favourite blue-grey fat cattle, 10 " popular with the butcher*, by crossing L the - "white bulls on the blacktkins. In the celebrated Irish shorthorn' herd of Ardferb Abbey there are a large number of white bulls, all excellent doers. ' The Rust in Wheat Conference has reoomuaended the Governments of the Australian colonies to maintain and perfect the production and distribution of rust-resisting wheats suit* able, to different districts. It is suggested that stations in wheat-growing districts in eaoh colony should be established for testing new jrbeats introduced into the Colony, for the production of new varieties by oroos-fertilieation abd by selection, and for the distribution of suitable wheats thus obtained to representative districts- of the colony. The conference ex* pressed its unqualified approval of the course adopted by the Government of New South Wales in establishing a central- wheat station and encouraging a number of farmers to grow pure eeed wheat ttue to name on a commercial scale, the results already secured in tbat colony being such as to justify the other colonies doing likewise. — Außtr&lasian. ?The New South Wales agricultural and pastoral- returns for the pxsfc season are, says the Obristohurob Press, . sorry reading for the farmers" of tbat colony. In iome respect* the potitioa is worse than was anticipated, and we oan form an idea of what a prolonged drought means to New South Wales under the pretenb system, where the rainfall alone is , depended upon, and tbat is capricious. According to the completed estimates the yield of wheat was 5,195,312 bushels, so that the shrinkage was 1.846,066 bushels on the previous year. Tbe make yield, too, has even bettered the previous year's crop by 51,707 bushels. - Otherwise, however, almost every entry in the returns is adverse. The hay crop was a failure over a wide area, potatoes yielded considerably less, sugar-cane fell short by 58,483 tons (happily in 1896 there will be a very high yield), traits of all kinds suffered (especially oranges, wherein there was a shortage of 23Q.00Q cases), and barley, oats, beans, and peas all turned out adversely. < There was a somewhat larger orop of tobacco, but although in all 22,666 additional acre's were cultivated, this was powerless ' " to alter the very adverse nature of the com-

pariion. The pastoral aud dairying returns, however, are even more of a dia appointment. Chops may be recovered in 18 months (says the Sydney Telegraph), but not *neh wholesale reductions iv stock as ate shown in the following summary : —

The loss of lambs was no less than 42 per cent., while the reduction in sheep (including Umbs) was nearly 10£ millions, or 18£ per cent. Thin is a remarkable redaction, and expeeds by fully 1,000,000 the first estimate to the end of December. Probably, however, the losses during the exceeding heat of January are brought into the preseat account. It should be borne in mind (hat these reductions were not nearly all *' losses," except, peihapi, in lambs and

calves. A great number of tho flocks and herds were purposely thinned during the drought, and a greatly increased export of tallow and skins was the result. A batter class of live stock remains on the rung, but even then the losses of lambs and calves must tell on some future seasons. The heavy reduction in dairy oattla is also another serious consideration. The reduction of 8,980,0001b in the make of butter (equal to 41£ per cent.) was considerably more than double the, reduction in the dairy stock, and was evidently duo to the diminution in feed ; and it is to be anticipated that even with present numbers the yield of butter will substantially increase.

The Australasian says it is a remarkable fact that every dairyman who has, a good silo and who has fed its contents intelligently, this winter applauds to the echo the silo system. All maintain tbat it will revolutionise farming in general and dairying iv particular, wherever tbe system is properly adopted. We, writes our contemporary, cannot too strongly advise farmers who have not had experience with silage to plant next spring a quantity of maize for ensilage. Bat where silage is nob right or has been fed too freely, results are not so satisfactory. There is lots yet to learn about this system.

Accordipg to the Melbourne Leader a new sheep track design hus bsea adopted by the Victorian railways, and certainly not before it waß required. The new truck, built all of iron, is more airy than the old truck, has patent notched footholds, and a ceiling that prevents the refuse from the upper tier of sheep falling npon the one beneath. The new truck also presents facilities for thorough cleansing. An order bas been given for the consfcructiou of 50 to begin with.

On lucerne growing at Walbundrie " Thistledown " writes in the Australasian :—": — " Mr Kiddie gives his tenants a one year's lease only of the land for wheat-growing. If they fail to nttee a decent crop by negligence or any other fault of their own they are informed thnt there is no more work for them on the place, and they go elsewhere". But, as a rule, the tenants are permitted to grow three successive crops of wheat, and after that the landlord resumes the land and sows it down in lucerne. The tenants that have made good uae of their land ate not sent away empty. They are 1 given a frefh block on which to start operations, and the area that tis here suitable for wheat-growing ■is almost unlimited. The tenant makes a good thing out of the business of wheat-growing, bub the landlord anticipates making his share of profit mainly from the lncerne and fat sheep that are to be raised afterwards. Mr Kiddle has already 1400 acres down to lucerne at Walbandrie, and on that area during the last season there were '6ooo sheep fattened. This return was satisfactory, ao he intends to go on growing wheat and sowing lucerne until the whole of the estate has been reclaimed or put undcrthe plough. When he gets to the far end of the property it will then be time again, perhaps, to stSrfc on the second round of wheatgrowing.' This is briefly an outline of the system that is now so popular in Riverina, and there is muoh to be said in its favour. The alternative orops of wheat and lucerne are a thoroughly sound rotation in agricultural practice. It means thab the land is getting rioher initead of poorer by this process of cropping, and not only that double the number of sheep can be maintained, but that they will be of better quality, while the number of Lauds employed will be increased tenfold. This development in wheat and lucerne growing which is now gqing on all through Riverina is destined in a few years to make the province of great commercial value to the oity that can secure the produce of the district. It is all going to Sydney at the present time, bat every one on the border admits that it really ought to come to Melbourne."

The Melbourne Leader gives the following description of the Queensland cattle tick :— " It is very hardy, particularly during its earlier stages. The ova remain fresh and capable of incubation during long periods of cold or adverse weather. The larvaa, capable of "communicating the fever—called in America the Texas fever — can exist for weeks, and even months, in a state of lively activity without any food whatever, and in an unfavourable temperature. Ova and larvre can be carried by flood waters to clean pasture*, and survive to attack freih cattle there. At- this stage they are so minute that it is impossible to recognise them with the naked eye, and the fatal fever follows their attack in this early stage of their existeuoe. One of cheir peculiarities is that they never mature or produce the fever in any other animals but cattle, and that the fatality of their attack is less in younger cattle than in those more fally matured. There are two distinct forms of the fever, the mild and more prolonged, from which recovery secures a certain amount of immunity from future attacks, and the scute form, whion is sudden and generally fatal. The mature female lays on an average over 2000 eggs. These are oval, transparent, and of a, chocolate colour, coated with a kind of mucilage which serves to keep the mass togethe* daring the period required for incubation. This period vane* according to the temperature, sometimes lasting three or four weeks or more, but in favourable weather (warm and steamy) it is reduced to about 14- days. During incubation the changes of the embryo are quite visible with an ordinary magnifyirg glass through the very transparent shell. ' The lnrrao hatched from these ova are little rounded, epidery-looking creatures, wibh six legs, and they are very active as well as hardy. Some of them have been kept in stoppered bottles for months without food or air, and have retained their vivacity all the time. When they at-ack cattle they eeok out the softer part of the hide by preference, and crowd in gruxt p-ttches undtr the forelegs aud thighs, where they attach themselves by a wonderful proboscis with books and barbs. They grow rapidly, and find in the cattle 'vhafc is necessary for tbe full maturity of their functions. At the »ame time they inject a venom which has an affinity for the red corpuscles of cattle blood, and so produces the fever. During this period, aud up to the first moult-, the y|jfig tick chirges in colour as well as in size, arSrassumes a brownish hue. Emerging from tbe first moult, which still clings to the hide, the tick is possessed of an additional

pair of legs, having now eight instead of six, and attaching itself to its host, prepares to have a farther or second moult, from which it emerges matured sexually. The female tick now btgius to enlarge until »be reaches abuut 50 times the size of the matured male. H&ving attained the s ; ze of about £:n in length by about 5-16 in in width, and being fully engorged and ready to lay her eggs, she drops off to the ground and opposition begins. For many years the fatal Texa? fever, also known as ' red water,' has been treated as a disease of mysterious origin, and we owe to the American Department of Agriculture the discovery that it is produced by this oattie tick."

No- in 1895. Decrease. Horses Dairy 'cattle Ordinary cattle ... Calves branded ... S^ee»- ... " ..'. limbs branded ... Ehrtn© '~. 487,943 3&8,«r 1,791,646 311,513 46,508,363 7,151,207 221,697 18,235 79,800 235,554 72 6,59 10,468,907 5,179,710 51.762 3-6 18 2 11-8 189 18-4 «-l 190