NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2240, 4 February 1897, Page 5

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

] Land being the primary source of wealth, a proper subdivision of the land amongst the people is essontial to the well-being of the State. I The advantages of subdivision ! are better exemplified in France than in any j other country. The tendency is towards a, | greater amount of subdivision, and of course i that cannot go on indefinitely. If the lands of ' a populous country were divided up equally amongst the people the individual holdings. ; would be too small for the separate families to I live on. Yet when we go right down to first i principles we find that every individual must i have the produce of a certain proportion of ' land in order to live. If one individual occupies ' more than his fair share of land, then other* must work for that individual and exchange | manufactured articles for food products. Those I are the principles that lie at the base of the i whole commence of the world, Hence it follows I that a proper subdivision of the land leads to 1 the greatest; prosperity amongst the greatest number. In France the land is held in are»s I ranging from a few perches to several huadredo I of acres. The small owners, from one acre to a I few perches, of courae do nobliva off their hold- ' ings, excepting those who live as marked I gardenera or florists. For the most part the t small land owner* work fo? employers of i labour, utilising ttwic land to augment the I family larder. When a father diea, no matter whether he owns 2000 acres or 20 perches, all mast be sold and the proceeds divided equally amongst his children. He cannot dispose of his wealth as he wiihei, and no matter how had a ion may be his father cannot out him off with a shilling. To avoid morselling the soil the members of the family generally agree to allow one member to buy it in, arrange for the dues, and settle with each his or her share. But the fari-i muet be pub up to public auction if any outsider insists. One hectare of land is equal to about 2£ English acres. There are of persons holding 1 to 5 hectares, 1,865,878; holding 5 to 10 hectares, 769,152; boldit-g 10 to 20 hectares, 4-31,353 ; holding 30 io 40 hectares, 97,828; holding 40 and over, 148,088. Of very small holdings there are aft immense number, no fewer thaa 1,987,000 persons cultivating les3 than one hectare of land. It will therefoie be seen that small holdings are pretty general throughout France. It was predicted when Francs began the system yf eubdiviaicn of the land that it would lead to a great increase in the population and to tho most dire distiess. Both predictions have bieu falsified ; the population is dying out, and the small holders are comparatively rich. _ They have local industries to supplement the incsme derived from the soi), and big families are not popular. The morselling of the land has bseu eminently sucuosfful in France. !

The Price of Sheep at Home and Abroad.

i An Irish paper gives some interesting figures comparing the price of dsati meat at Home s.nd abroad. The Board of Agriculture's annual report shows that there has be«>w a fall generally in prices as j compuKsd with those of the preI ceding year. English irutton, which sold at 5s ! 9d per stone the previous year, now sell* at 3s 1 lid to 4s sa. Scotch mutton has fallen about 4d to 5d per stone. Gorman mutton sells at 3s 8d to 4i 3d, and Australian from la 5d to Is 8d per stone. The tremendous drop emphasises the English projudioe against Australian frozen mutton, not the inferiority of . quality. In Berlin at the same time *heep ware ', Belling at about 43s to 45s per owt live weight, aud in Pam at from 41e per cwt. Taking the first six months of the past year, America sent ' 40,000 less flbeep to Britain than during the I corresponding period of fcho preceding year ; but Argentine sent more than made up the deficiency, having sent 72,000cwt more than during the previous year. Australia (including [ New Zealand) sent 1,067,290ewt. The British farmer views with alarm the growing imports of frozen meat from abroad, which meaus a steady drop in values for him for Home-grdwn stock. And we hear in New Zealand view with equal alarm the strength of the prejudice which appraises our primest meat at about the value of good cats' meat as compared with the Home-grown article. We know that we can grow as good mutton as auy in the world, and retail it amongst the British consumers in prime condition. Yet to our disgust the average British working man will rather pay Is per lb for inferior Home-grown mutton than half the price for the best New Zealand. Time will donbtlees wear down prejudice and • dishonesty, but in the meantime wo are terribly j handicapped in what ought to be one of our ! best markets.

The tire Stock Journal Almanac, 1597.

I have frequently had occasion to refer to the excellent publications of Messrs Vinton and Co., London, and especially to the annual publication of the Live Stock Journal Almanac, which is a real good shilling's worth to any farmer, Home or colonial. Bach yeMr's volume appears to be *o improvement upon the last, both iv quantity and quality. The volume for the current year contains about 250 pages of really interesting matter, and also a large number of good illustrations. Just now, when there is much talk about motor-cars, auto-cars, &0., it is refreshing to be taken back to the good old times of 150 years ago and see what lumbering and jolting ; carriages our forefathers had to be content i with. I refer to a well-illuttrated and interesting article by Sic Walter Gilbey oq

Small Land Holdings.

th« first use of carriages in England. Another article gives useful information about " height and measurement of horses ab shows." Dr ) Fleming, an eminent British vet., writes a good article undor the heading " A Serious Form of Lameness in Horse?." This deals with " side bone," which Dr 'Fleming says is a special disease of the fore feet of heavy horses. He considers it to bft hereditary, and that much good can be done by way of prevention and but little in the way of a cure. He shows the formation of a sound foot and also of a side bone by tneans of a series of diagrams. There is a useful artiolo on " Clipping Horses," and the usual striug of artioles dealing with the breeding of different kinds of horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. A short review of British thoroughbreds in 1896 contains a good portrait of Persimmon, who was bred and raced by H.R.H. Prince of Wales, and won the Derby and St. Leger last year. Altogether the almanac is good reading for stock-breeders on both sides of the world, and does credit to the publishers.

Prlre Farm* in Ireland.

List year the Royal Dublin Agricultural Society offered prizes for the best farms iv the south-west of Ireland — or, more correctly, in the province of Minister, which comprises the counties of Clsre, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Watorford, containing in all about six million acres. There were four classes, as follows :— (1) Arable and grasa farm of 100 acres and upwards ; (2) arable and grass farm of 30 to 100 acres ; (3) dairy farm of nob less than 50 acres; and (4) dairy farm under 50 , aoros. All the holdings ia Ireland are small, and hara been in cultivation for generations of farmers, and we colonials, seeing what progress we make in our style of farming, are apt to think that all the land in these old countries is farmed in the best possible manner and according to the most modern ideas. This is not the case, however, and Ireland is behind the rest of the United Kingdom in what is understood to bo good farming. This is obiofly owing, I believe, to *i ingrained con»ervati«m and lack of energy and enterprise and the prevalenceof the vrhat-is-good-enough-f or- roy - f athera-is -good- enough - for- me sort of feeling. At any rate the judge reported that some of the prizes could not be awarded ou account of the entries not being up to the «tandard of prize farms. He said there was a great waut of cleanliness and attention to fences, fixtures, &c. Thistles, docks, and other noxious weeds wore too rauoh in evidence, and though the buildings, &0., were old in the oompeting farms *;bey wero much better than those on neighbouring holdings. The hedges appear to have Been wide and straggling, and showed a lick oi careful farming. Moreoter, not one of the competing farmers could ihow i that he kept reguUr accounts. I rbferred to i this matter in my recent note om Otago prize ' farm*, aad I would hore say thfcfc if I had anything to do with the awards no farm would get , a prize unless the owner or tt-naut could show by his books thao it was well and profitably managed.

The Prize Farms.

There were only two ontrie« in class 1, three in class 2, three in class 3, and two ih cla«s 4. There must be iiundreds of holding! of the size ; specified iv the province of , Muntter, and yec there were only ten farms considered fit for * chance of a prize, and tome *of these were not up to the standard of prize farms. In class 1 only the first prize was awtrded, in class 2 only the third prize, in olass 3 only <ihe second prize, and in class 4- only the first prize. A description is given of Mr Lamb's first priza farm in class 1, which in som<s respectß appears to be much superior to the general rnn of Monster farms. AmODg other point* it it stated that during the winter months a daily allowance of fnrze (gorse) is cut and cnrted to the stock as fodder (here is » wrinkle for our dairy-farmers who are likely to be short of fodder next winter). The cattle eat as much as they like of the furze, which is said to add to the value and quality of the dung. All the straw is fed to the stock and sea sand used as litter. The milk is sent to a creamery and the separated milk returned and fed to the calves. Mr Bowling's second prize farm in class 3 is well spoken of, and evidence is afforded of the exercise of considerable care in breading and rearing the dairy stock, the system of management being described ts selfsustaining—whatever that may mean. Mr Webster's first prize farm in class 4 has been in the present tenant's hands for 30 years, and is described as a "beautifully-managed small dairy holding." The buildings are »aid to be clean and suitable with no signs of waste in or about the holding.

Shelter and Shade.

The trees and hedges that afford shelter for 1 stock from the storms of winter are equally beneficial in providing shade from the burning rays of the son in such a season as this. Sheep particularly feel heat very much upon their polls, as witness their endeavours to get their heads under etch others' bodies as they stand about in clumps when no shade but that given by a wire fence is available. How they cluster under the grateful shade of a clump of trees or a hedge. Willows planted in moisb places give good shade in midsummer when the water has dried up and the stock can lie down, in the cool during the heat of the day. Sheep are off camp and feeding at the peep of day, and are then glad to get into a shady place to

lie aud chew their cud till the cool of the evening sends them out to feed again.

The Modern Aylesbury.

Not very many farm wives make a study of duck-reariDg for market. For the rnosb part only a few mongrels are kept to help the volume of eggs for market. The breeding of young ducks for the table is seldom if ever systematically undertaken. No breed can excel the Aylesbury for thiß purpose. So great a change has taken place of late years in the development of this breed that the term " Modem Aylesbury " applies. In addition to size, purity of colour, and all the other points dear to the heart of the breed fancier, the modern Ayleabury must have a deep bre*st extending from the crop to behind tha legs. This gives a grand square appearance, and is besides a great help to the size and weight. It was at ode time thought that this breed of ducks could only be bred to perfection in the valley oE Ayleibury — their original horne — but experience has proved that they can be brought to as great; perfection elsewhere. A Berwickshire breeder has raised a strain o£ Aylesbury docks that excels the original Aylesbury, and has more than demonstrated that the Aylesbury is cosmopolitan. No duck can equ*l the Aylesbury in size and rapidity of growth, and as it is without doubt the besb table fowl, the wonder is that the breed ia cot more in vogue. Agricola.