SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2244, 4 March 1897, Page 24

SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

The Weather and the Harvest.

The weather has been very fine during the past month. Reaping commenced about the middle of the month, and at the end of this week the most of the crop will ; be cut in all but a few districts. The straw js well headed, but short and irregular, and the yield ia our best distriots will probably be at least six bushels per acre uuder the I average of previous seasons, and in other ; districts a decrease of more than this amount may be recorded afjjer threshing. On the whole, however, the crop i 3 good for the season, and were there not ao many favourable seasons we should be found expressing satisfaction with the appearauca ot the crops. i Crops were cut this season greener thau usual, the object of which was to avoid the risk o£ incurriug such a loss from wind as was experienced lait year. Stook threshing will be commenced in about a week, and sack threshing probably about the middle of. the month. It has been tho custom for some years to thresh , during severAl hours of the night as well as in tho day time. The praotice benefits none but the mill-owner, and is allowed by farmers who desire to 'get the work through as quickly as possible. If mill-owners would agree not to work during the night it would be better for all concerned. The work is not done so well duriug the Bight time ; and, in addition to this, farmers should consider whether they would not have a greater responsibility thrown upon them in the event of acoidents happening to any of the hands when engaged in night work. Comparatively few men have been seen this season travelling in quest of work. The time has come when it is useless for men to look for harvest work, as bstter prices for farm products duriug recent yeara have led to the employment of more men during the other seasons of the year, so tha<- r.> • exbm hands are needed for harvest work. There has been so little rain during the month that the pasture is short and dry, and noc a fow farmers find their paddocks overstocked ia connequeuce. Oats sown for sheep feed relieved the pasture in a number of cases, and paddocks of rape in others. This forage crop has done well where the seed was sown on soil worked in a dry state and manured. In other cases the crop did not grow sufficiently rank to be of much value. Better crops were grown with farmyard manure than with rape manures, but the latter are valuable where farmyard manure is not available. With the use of farmyard manure crops knee-deep and yielding about 12 tons an acre can be produced, and it is better to manure a few acres well than a large area with too little manure, as a crop of small plants is of little value. Turnips were looking well a month ago, but daring the pist fortnight there has been little growth, and the crop has much need of rain. The drilled portion of the crop is much better than that sown broadcast, as the growth in the latter rn«o i<? much hindered by weeds. Fat lambs are in good demand here, but the price is about Is leas than that which ruled at this timo last year. The price given lately for prime lambs has been about Bs. It is asserted that lambi will not be bought for freezing after the end of the month, and if so there will not be nearly so many of the young stock disposed of as there were last season, when lambs were bought for freezing about a couple of months later. It would appear, therefore, that the experiment of exporting lambs which could hardly be correctly described as such has not turned out profitably. A few years ago it was very important that lambs should not exceed a certain weight, but last year it appeared that no regard was paid to weight. AH that the buyers appeared to consider was a high degree of fatness. " A Station Shepherd" makes some pertinent remarks in last week's Witness regarding fat lambs, and I also think more attention shquld be given to the raising of prime fat lambs and disposing o£ them while they are running with the awes. With careful management lambs can be sold ia prime condition at about four months of age. In some cases here lambs are weaned when they are three months old and fattened upon rape, but when this forage crop is not available they are the better of being left with the ewes. As npti a few farmers are disappointed when they find buyers taking a smaller percentage of lambs than they consider fit for freezing, I may remark that when the backbone of a lamb is readily felt with the tips of the fingers it will not pass muster — it will be "too hard." Some farmers when stackiug oaten sheaves for chaff are in the habit of sprinkling salt on every second or third row . in order to make the chaff more palatable. Last year I used South Australian stock salt at the rate of 141b to the ton, but was disappointed to find when the stick was being cut into chaff, four months after wards t that a good deal of the salt was not dissolved. I think the ordinary coarge •alt ehould be used iv preference, as the grains am a great deal smaller. A report in a local paper a few weeks ago to the effect that the application of undiluted sheep dip to the jaws of certain horses caused blood poitoning has been the means of keepipg some people from using it. As the directions recommend as much as 20 parts of watar to one of dip, it is foolish to use it undiluted with water. I used sheep dip according to the directions on the tin twice a week last year on all my horses, and ones a week this season, and have witnessed no ill effects. I have noticed that the bot fly, in desperation, is laying her egga this season on the necks and chests of horses whose jaws were smeared with sheep dip. The dairy factories have had a good season, and the cheese has met with a ready sale.

Lambs.

The A. and P. Society's winter show will be held on the 23rd June and following days. The diamond is nob among t'ue earliest gems known to man. lb ha* not been found in thd ruins of Nineveh, in the Etruscan sepulchres. Dor in the tombs of the Pncenicians. Mr J. J. Brennan, G.S. Druids, has offered the Invercargill Garrison Band £50 towarda their expenses in attending the contest iv Mel* bourne this year in connection with the Druida,' carnival,

Pasture and Turnips.

Miscellaneous.