AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2363, 8 June 1899, Page 4

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

A recent visitor to Central Otago informs ik that the farmers in that district have had a good year, and one Moonlight settler is alleged to have threshed a crop giving an average of 100 bushels of oats to the acre. Ha sold the oats at Samper bag, bags extra, and even at that small price made a good profit. Stock of every kind look well, and things on the whole are very prosperous.

The Mataura Ensign understands that Mr S. Fletcher intends to ship Home considerable quantities of frozen veal by way of experiment, and should that article command a price fairly proportionate to the values ruling for Home-grown veal further shipments will follow as a matter of course. We commend Mr Fletcher's enterprise, and wish him a due amount of good fortune in his venture. The Southland Frozen Meat Company are just now feeling, as it were, the pulse of the British breakfast table with shipments of frozen lambs' fry. -These delicacies are got up in a manner that should tempt the most fastidious, being packed in small crate 3 fitted with removable/trays, on which are placed carefully washed and dried lambs' fry, wrapped in waterproof butter paper. Considerable quantities of these delicacies have been shipped, but as the account sales are not yet to hand the company are not in a position to know whether or not the industry will prove a lucrative one.

It ia expected that the output of the Woodville -Cheese Factory thiß season will amount to something like 50 tons. At the present time the company is treating from 700 to 800 gallons of milk per day.

The rise in wool has not come in time to benefit some of the residents of th» Mqnawatu district. One farmer at Hiwi^ nui received 2£d lb for his clip lesa than, last year, while another was lid to tho Had.

As evidence of the profitable nature of raising and . fattening pigs for the baooncuring factories, a Nelson resident is at the present time fattening no less than a hundred pigs for the market. The 'cheapness of grain this season is directing more than ordinary attention to this means of profit.

Tho question -of transmitting electric power from the Mataura Falls to the freezing works at the Bluff is under consideration by the Southland Frozen Meat and Produce Company, and there is a great possibility that before very long the wheels of the machinery at the Bluff will be turned by power generated at Mataura, nearly 50 miles away. If the engines at Mataura are all converted to the ammonia process, a vast amount of power will be set free, and, with additional force to be obtained from the falls, be available for use in the manner described above.

Mr Foloy, of Waimato Junction, has just threshed the produce from 160 acres of wheat, which has averaged 60 bushels per acre. The Press says that a fellmonger, carrying ou business a few miles from Christchurch, recently brought up by rail 11 trucks of sheepskins from the Burnside Freeezing Works at Dunedin. He had to pay £107 for freight, or at the rate of almost £10 per truck. What makes the rate seem all tho more exorbitant is that, owing to the wot weather before the sheep were killed, the skins were extra heavy, so that the consignee had to pay for bringing up a considerable quantity of water from Dunedin.

Mr J. T. Lang, dairy expert, returned from Australia by the Waikare last week, and went on to Wellington by the Ta raw era on the 31st ult. Mr Lang's trip to Australia was (says the Lyttelton Times) on a holiday, but his time was almost wholly occupied in Visiting the principal dairy factories in New South' Wales and Victoria. Hjs attention was also directed to the condition in which New Zealand dairy produce is delivered in Sydney and Melbourne. Air Lank was a guest at the dinner in connection with tho annual conference of the Australian Dairymen's Association in Melbourne a fortnight ago and met the leading exports of most of tho Australian colonies.

Mr Kirk, in his lecture at Oamaru last week, stated that the rag weed was in no way reauonsible foi the death of stock, though it

inflicted great loss by occupying large areas of good -land to the exclusion of useful pasturg plants. A full report and analysis of thid plant- were published by Mr Kirk in tlitf fourth report of the Agricultural Department* It seems almost idle to mention records (says the Press of the Ist inst.) in connection with the Addington sheep market, as almost every week prices keep going one better. A fortnight ago 20s was established as a record price for freezing lambs, but yesterday this was left behind by Mr W. B. Clarkson giving 25s for a line of 45 magnificent lambs from the Acton Estate, Rakaia. They were mos.tly Shropshire cross, were beautifully finished, ' and should turn the scale at over 601b, while they carry splendid jaokets. This is undoubtedly the finest line of freezing lambs that has ever been seen in the Addington saleyards. The_ river steamer Matau is at present fully occupied carrying grain from settlers both up and down the river to the Balclutha railway station. Indeed, running from daylight till dark, Captain Butler is unable to keep ' tho sheds and river banks cl£ar. With a few days' patience, however, the orders of all will be attended to. — Olutha Leader.

Field rats aro referred to as sparrow exterminators by the Warrnambool Standard, which reports the rats as becoming very numerous in the district, their principal abode being box'thorn hedges. A short time ago boxthortu hedges were regarded as a great harbour for sparrows, but now a nest is not to be found in any' of the hedges in the district. Tho rat ia stated to have done more in keeping down the sparrow pest than alLthe other means put -together.