AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2399, 22 February 1900, Page 14

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

The Oamaru Mail understands thpt there is plenty of harvesting labour in the district. Al on. t>re waiting at Duntroon and Georgetown for the work, whilst at Ngapara fully 100 men arc in camp awaiting the harvest. The sending of men irom outside districts is, therefoie, quite unnecessary. i The North Otago Times understands that steps are being taken to start a creamery at Msiheno. j Farmers have had extremely bad weather for harvest this year, so far, and unless a spell of fine weather is soon experienced a serious loss through sprouted and discoloured grain will be the result. — Timaru Post. According to the Pelorus Guardian, the Ap.sets Realisation Board contemplates cutting up at an early date all their large freehold properties in the Upper Awatere. There is no doubt, adds the Guardian, that the Lands department will follow suite by simultaneously dividing the Crown lands adjoining the freeholds. There was a peculiar element in connection with the milking contest at the Wooa ville show, says the Eketahuna Express. The winning cow's milk gave the impossible test of 7.200 of butter for the clay. Inquiries are likely to be made as to how the oracle was worke-J. Thy committee of the Timaru A. and P. Association met on Saturday, the 10th inst. The secretary reported thai he had sent to each kindred associa'ion in the colony two copies of the petition to Parliament for the parsing of an net to abolish " trotting " at auction-, of live stock and land, with a letter requesting thct they endeavour io obtain signature-, and return the list? by May 1 next. It was decided to donate £10 ]0s to the South Canterbury Pat vies* ie Fund, the money to be handed over to the mayor of Timaru. The provident (Mr E. K. Rhcdet). at the close of the business, .■aid this was the last meeting of the committee before the annual meeting at which lie rr-u^t relinquish the pr o <udeney. He congratulated the committee on having had a prcspnous year, commencing with liabilities £164-. and closing with iC credit of £80 or <-o. He understood that few, if any, associations were in the s>:unc position ph the Timaru one, of having its ground free from encumbrance. The incoming president would havo a pleasant year, if thej had good crops and good price?-. WUh ihc exception of a f<3\v hoi. days t'.-a weather ha* been on the cold sud°, 'md oati- ' are still quite green. There i* no talc of the approach cf hancsl from U c iv'fuidjjKli-ic <•:. — -\Vestpm Sia". * . A suinev, hat pculiar t i-v ir/>i-4{infv ha* licep > r-'Viortod In copnccHon with tho Qiiccn<-]niid tide pest. It liiis been nolii od thai when j ticks drop off fu-m cattle th«y are at once attac'-cd and killed by :in(s. ' T]\per^nf nl<, liavc been conflrcled. ticks li.ivi'ig bpen thioui 1 down, is ><ju .uter the .tats .itlucked them blood «;h noticed to ooze lioin tic bod'c-. fn the North C'ji'itcrburv disliict the weather on Saturday >vns c|uite wintry. The wind toie along in hp;uy euisls. and at tinipfcarried hail and rain. The mountains on Friday night vpr<i-\ed a new capping of snow. Although a fair quantity of lain fell, the wind assisted to dry the stocks, but in somp in-tancc the fmpn of the pale v, as enough to break \nwn sanding crops. Owing to the faoL that ' the sliaiv is not heaijr.

the damage will not be so serious. iOn Sunday the weather was very fine and drying, and it is to be hoped this week's weather will be more propitious than * last week's for harvest ingathering. Isolated , 'attempts were made to thresh last week from ' the stook, but the machines were only able to accomplish one or two days' work. — Press, February 12. I Inquiries which are being made from the Queensland Stock department indicate that the slockowners in the coastal districts have, in most ca-^es, adopted the tise of dips for cattle as a preventive of the tick plague. Mr 33. Aston, analytical chemist to the Agricultural department, has bean kept busy lately testing bottles and pipettes for Babj cock milk-testers submitted to him for that purpose by factories and suppliers of these articles. The total number of bottles tested was 321, of which 23 were condemned, while of 32 pipettes tested, three were condemned. I The errors in some of the bottles were very j large. The neck of the Babcock bottles is • graduated into divisions which total two ! cubic centimetres. In some of those tested j the space measured 2.7 cubic centimetres, an j error of 35 per cent, plus, which, if used for ascertaining the percentage of cream in milk, would give a result far below the actual facts,

and would be very prejudicial to tl\e seller. In many of the bottles tested the error was I minus, which, of course, would be very | prejudicial to the buyer. Fortunately, most of the errors discovered ha\ c been in bottles sent in for testing by suppliers, and not those which have been used in factories The glasses found to be in error are retained by , the department, and ihose wbieb aie accurate are marked with an indelible certificate 1 by the chemist, who urges the nece--ity of the glasses fent in for testing; being submitted in a perfectly clean condition. It is worihy of mention that most of the inaccuracies w ere found in glaoses "made in German}". '" — Xew Zealand Times. A noteworthy milking record has been c?t t \- , Wished by the red poll cow Crocus, which belonged to the famous Norfolk dairy herd at Whitlinghani. She oravc birth to her third calf on May 11, lE9O. since which dale f-he j continued uninterruptedly in milk till September 28, 1899. a period of over nine years, her milk yield in the last week of her life being at the rate of -13|lb. or nearly four and a-half . gallons. During" trie nine years and four months that she was continuously in milk she yielded altogether 50.42'1b. or nearly 23 tons of milk. Over the lasi five years the average quantity of butter fat in her mi'k v*as as high as 4.3 per cent. Her li\e weight when sent to market, after being on grass feed for the last six months of her life, v.'as lOcwt lqr 111b. In the nine years since her first calving, she gave something like 45 times her own weight in milk, and lim' aveia^e production during that period vna 54031b of milk, or considerably over 500gaI per annum. — London Letter. A number of Cro-nn Hnd sections at the Be-mmont are to be sold by auction in Dunedin on March. 9. The "YVeot Oxford cm-respondent of the Chrislchurch Press w rites: — I estimate the state of the crop? in this district — mostly oats — at dne-lhird in slack, one-third in stook, and the remainder standing, ar.d those standing will a*l be down in a week or &o if the present fa* ourable weather continues. Notwithstanding the late rains, there i» no grain growing in the sfcooka, and there if now a good chance of the whole lot being harvested in fair condition. Some of the oat crops are ■very heavy, and I think the wheat yield will be above the average. I notice several very good crops of peas, some of which are being harvested and should turn out very profitable. Most of the root crops are doing well aad so is the pasturage. The National Provisioner says: — A trainload of dressed beef, en route from Chiop^o to New York, consigned to Sir Red\ers Buller in South Africa, passed through Cumberland, Mil., recently. All the beef wu< put up in such cans as arc used in artificial i"c plants, and -will not be changed on the steamer. The cargo was valued at 200,000d01. The Engluii (K)vernm«nl. since the Boer war be.an, has pr rcha-spd of American packer? 300,000 cases of cumed meat*, or 70,000.000 can.-. Of this amount onc-tbiH ha* been shipped, one-third i-> being shipped, and the remaining ono-third is 10 be forwarded ib soon as it can be delivered and inspected. The mca 1 i« all rei'lsncclcd before going on board «hip at Nev. Yolk. Profe=-or Wrightioii is not hiirhlj' imbi.pd | v. itli fit profit -yielding capabilities of thn ]<!uc;lif!i \wrac cop ;U cui'ivm price 1 ;. Mul tin- the Hipci-ior quality ol the straw, lie calculates that barley would bo a more rcinuucr.itivo crop than wheat, particularly \\liorc (.tie farmer is tolerobly well Miiled in the niaiter-> of soil and climate, although, as he reminds iis, I lie peculiar liability of barley to dopicciation in colour and body is a point against it in the estimation of the cautious farmer. With wheat at 25s and oats at ]6< per quarter Profcsso* Wrighlson is disposed to regard the latter us the moro profitable for I the farmer. Hs> reckons that on wheat loud

the yield of good black Tartar oats might reasonably be double that of wheat, and if this were the case the advantage ho claims for oats is obvious. Whether his calculations will be generally indorsed or no, there will be little disposition to question t'>e accuracy of hig declai'ation thai mis me preferable to spring v. heal. —Field. The number of sheep and lamb* cxpoitccl from the Timaru Works during 1E99 was 486,954-, an increase of 135,000 over the number of the previous year, and more than double that of 1897. The advances tbat have been made to the British Minister of Agriculture from various quarters concerning the establishment by the Slate of properl" equipped stations whore farm seeds could be te^ed as to their quality and vitality promise to meet with succcos. At all events, it is reported that Mr Long is arranging for the appointment of a departmental committee to consider the question. During the year 1899, according io the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company's report, 555,129 quarters and pieces (frozen beef) were imported intc London from. New Zealand, Australia, and the River Plate, being an increase of 103,329 on the previous year. Australia is responsible foi 374-.23>-1- of this quantity, with an increase of 16,305 on the previous }'ear ; New Zealand sent 90,131, being an increase of 33,263 ; River Plate, 90,761, increase 23,756. There are 14-1 steamers engaged in fie frozen produce trade with Australia, New Zealand, and the River Plate. These sleamer-s have a, total capacity of 7,001.400 tons. There are 17 refrigerating stores in London, with a capacity for 1,590,000 carcases. The weather at Clinton lately, says the Olutha Free Press, has been very bad for farmers having grass seed out. Unless there is a change for the better very soon the los, will be serious. The oat and wheat crops are beginning to feel the effects of too much wet weather, and it is to be hoped that the next week or two will be good for ripening. We take the following harvest items from the Lytlelt on .Times of the 16th inst. : — North '"Hago : As the harvest progresses the fear that soim of the wheat received damage from the late frosts is confirmed. Wheat which was in blcom when the fro^t caught it is partly or altogether barren. The damage, though seriotu when it occurred, is not important upon the whole, being coiifiiiGcl to a small portion of the crop. As a rule, the crop yield will be heavy and the giain of prime quality. — Kaikoura : The crops are rather late this soason. and, in addition, harvest work has be°n delayed by wet, stormy weather, which has done a great deal of damage by laying the heavy crops. However, if a few day-)' fine weather come soon, the harvest will be fjirly satisfactory; otherwise there will be considerable loss. — Northern Marlborough : Most of the cops in the Wairau district have been secured in good order. On the lower land the yield is very heavy, in some cases over five tone of chaff to the acre beine; obtain d. The dry season ha^ been fa-\ouiable for the crops in the higher country, and there the yields are light. At Slarborough. also, most of the crops are unsatisfactory, from the same cau=e.

Often wo hear growl of the bad weather of the Teviot, but this must come from those who hove never been fnr away from the district. Comparath ely, we have it quite "Italian" ir these parts. Notice of the forward eoiidilion of the harvest around Roxburgh shows that the district is not a little,* but highly favoured. Go south and you vrill find the people it> yearly misery as to how they are going to get their crop in, before the autumn winds do the threshing- for them. The. lateness of the wheat crop in many such quarters is a continual source of anxiety in a further fea" that it may bo caught by Uie fro=t in a srieen s-fste. Our neighbours in Crook«lon ara very late this year, having' c\pi?vienc Q d such weather as, in the Teviot, ye have known nothing of. The magnificent stretch of crop on Crook-slon Flat has -.lot yet made f> shape at changing colour. The crops, however, are all that could be w ishecl. though it will be a long time vefc ere farmer? reap what they have sown. The weather for the last few days has been wefc here, ami the crown of the Old Man and Benfrer was snow-capped. Most of the neighbouriiiEr crop is luckily in stook. — Mount Banger Mail.

Th?re is deep growling, says the -Vlount Ida Chronicle. amonQ' the rabbiters in the Maniototo district. Rabbit -tT-apoing for exnort i1?i 1 ? to commenca in March, but the rabbit inspectors (doubtless moved by the powers that be) have given notice to poison now, w't 1 ! the inevitable threat of the blue paper behind. The scarifying of bunny last -eason ought suro'v to hive been an earnps f of what vould come this: but, oh. no! certain classes of the gtpus homo are so prejrdiced in favour of their own line of action that they ein't sec the dfucl failure they mannse to make, and for their erpssnps" will not allow any o'h<=v metliod to succeed.

The Ell^omcrp corre^nondent of the Press wrif-os: — T'i° fi'^p weal her e.YP'''';n]icc;cl last wpp'k- enabled harvest onerptiono to be well cirried forward, and a If-ire nuaniitv of srra 1 '" 'ns pppu th'-Pshpd. Tiirl i" in snlendid nonditinn. Prncticallv all Hip o-.m'n i? now rra-ipd find anothf" fortnight' -i finp wcnthei* will s°p thp cfreTtc- portion p->f.'lv ir stcck o' 1 threshcT out of Ihe stonk. Thr> ci"ll weather has filled out the grain wrrd^ifuHv nnd Hip f p>v thrPshi'io- retnvn« io hnnr 1 rr n highly «af ; sfac^orv. At Trwril A'lv Rinh. Wii^ht has M .irpshed a crop of barley which vi elded 78 iMisiliole- ir- th° "or?, nnd ■» orrm of dun oats 50 hu-hcls to th.p n"r-e, Tlip lnt+pi- crop v.t.s "own for shp°n *e->d pncl fpd off hard uiitil thp first wppV in "^nypiril-jcr. Mr Walter Wiieht's crops '"ivo p]^o turned nvi vorv satisfactory, or,t« vlplclino- over 60 per poi c. .Vfr Willh"i Young, on .7>ckson"« old farm, line tlirp=!>rci o'ip crop nf -u-hcrf ■vrh'ch vipVprl 70 bushels per acre. At Sotithbridge Mr W B. Anrlrpw. jun.. has- an nvpragp of nbout SO bushels nl] round. Barley threshed S5 afd wheat 50 bushel' per ncre. Mr E. bus thrp-hpd one paddock of barley yielding 63 bushplc nnd smother of partridsre nen= that wept 55 busiiP 1 *. ATr Somerville's bai'l^v was grnwn on hi= liehte-it land, and

"•p attributes h'° licivv return to siimiver f'Uovriner the leii'l. The rc'iirn dr-r:rn=tratcs cl^orly that resting and w.oi-kinc; the land for fix months pays hnnd-iivelv.

A shp^n wa° cvhihi'pi by Mr Hamilton at the Clinlov sal" l<i"t Tlmr-'^v for a gucssine; competition, proceed 0 to r;o i o con!;intfenb fu"d. \bout £2 10, wv.= ip:.litod Mr .7. Ritchie bcino- t'-e winner, wolght 771b. his mef-s bo'iicf ihe correct weight.