AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2409, 3 May 1900, Page 15

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Mr E. 31'WilBaia; of the firm of Mathie" and IWPWillisuH, dairy prodvice merchants, Glasgow, uniting: to Mr T. \V. Sirk, GoTernnient Tfiolegist; Wellington, states that t eiuce his "arrival Home he and his partner have been xery hxtsy -with large shipments x of butter, both- fromN^w-Zealand" and-Aus-tralid, and this season-in Scotland* they have arrivedi at a- particularly noteworthy point' ofv tha. New-Zealand: nutter trade. Buyers alk concede the, fact tliat New Zealand dairy "butter is- the finest from the Inyears r past, there' were large numbers- of men avhV never" bought New Zealand butter,, pre-^ f erring- Australian, and they , have ■ changed' right about', - andl now~"are. giving the- New Zealand-* butter . greater prominence. The> rabbit-trappers have been, very busy of late , (says, the "Dunstan Times) ,\ and the traffic- has- increased to- a, v.cry great\ extent by"' the export', of bunny. On Sunday morningVllaat five Jull of rabbits, ; ' pagsed')|brough B^aeks-jenrrouteiof, Ranfurly.^ -" , Mr.Cj3uchman,' wno lately* resigned the'offfce ■ % of -secretary, to-. the^New Zealand 'Times- Com-* " panyV/ has-, left "Wellington' fo£/Dunedin /to, - ;.tak»i; ujp . a positipn-in>the- Otago. ; Op/op^atiyeof/ompany:^ •■vil)p l lZ!ouchinan;ih"as i had v a'~ r iohg'exp'Brience.*of:ijfii3'WOrk:- •-■> .■'.„.* -T'KBi:erops'-;in ■tKe.Jß'illend --district seenri to" ', ' liß^veryi >late this' - season-" (says "fhe Bruce' HeTald)";ifor,'^^-learn-that some of the-far— . mers.'are "still leading-" in)' and' one farmer has 1000^ acres of crop not sufficiently ripened to cut. ~~ - . The Bruce Herald reports that upwards of 3000' bags 'of wheat, bought by local agents, „ have been' sent by ra^l to Dunedin during the ' course *of "the present week. The railway .authorities find.,it very "difficult to /provide a "sufficient -number of- trucks to cope with the . output., •' An .instance of. the natural antipathy rats ..bear -to weasels i^as' discovered at Ihchclutha this week, (says'the Free .Press) . When thr esh-ing-a'statek of- wheat tKere^foiw weasels were found, in rathei poor condition, and not a single /rat, while- the wheat was apparently quite .free from the ravages of." the rodents. A day or so after. the mill moved to an adjoining farm, and- the first stack of wheat cut into was found, to-be fairly-infested with, rats, and the -market value' of , the grain greatly depreciated in- consequence. M* T! Buxton} of Temuka, says the. Timaru Pbstj is shipping to South Africa on , trial, andlat\considerable ris"k, 100 cases of potatoes, ' also 100 sacks of oats. Owing to freight not, being- obtainable in Timaru,/ he iis sending' through'^to liyttelton. r The fact thai;- the'potafcoes havejto sent in cases, instead of in , sacks; "necessitates extra labour, for there is an =■ objection to potatoes on account of; damage : 'likely tpi. en3ue^ to' ""other cargo"-through,'their-■,-perishable-.'nature.; J AltUougK Mr '^Bux'toD's; is-'fraught, .with cpnsiderable^rLskj.rthe", \ i pcSatoes| !l elc.^,'-are i 'being-'tried-as. a-.testit'o \r'jf' ]they '■' can^-be* sent r f f oa , ihef e , anS-^liere- is V* f ->ad<doiib£,^he*'r'eßultj«7ill be. looked forwarct^tb:' A ,"jwitly;a3terest: •'" ' - - '. *.-,^ ■. ■•. •The Cliff- correspondent of>the.North , a i Otago , Times — Where I have* been " harvesting"^ saw-' nothing^but good.crops-, and since harvesting operation - commenced' there have been •exceptionally-good yields. ' On. and about Tokarajhi, oats have turned out 95 • bushels per acre, and' lots, of places froni7o i'ush els' upwards per acreW'- But', as -threshing, is 'now drawing, to a finish -'without? getting any .serious wet, farmers nMst- consider this eeaEon one out of- seyen^King^Pharabh's way o&putting'it.; Now is.the time .farmers should consider it opportune to' meet and discuss the - ' idea of eredting a creamery, for they may not always- have the same kick they have'hadthis ■t'^armfers'-are "pretty busy all , over the Wai- " kaka district, at present The^ crops are a £ood''monthUate this season,, but I, hear few 'complaining, as, mtfsft haw? very/ fair yields, and farmers- willi putr up. witli a- good 'deal ji ■they are likely to gaiir anything thereby. It may be safely said that this portion of Qtago lias not had such fine grass and crops for many-years. Over the whole of cheChatton, /Waikaka, ' W.endon, Greenyale,, and;.Koi districts th» yield' of' oats will'- be much" abOjVg,. the- average. Most of the .stuffros now ir^>^ stack, and the mills are, busy y< highT and' day 1 -and * I. am 'afraid that- - men, ■ millowners) -farmers would, kick .up a pretty rtoise ' df £hey,wereJorccd to knock off.w.orlc.at sun'.jidwn. The wheat crop, .although- fair, is ■, aic{ tabove-tlie ; average. The seaßon has-,be'en. .top wet; for -wheat". t lately. kw;-'ome very _"'&air paddocks under thje-.Blue' Mountains- tfcat '-- --Bhpuld' EuVn , out well..- Turnips are,- a fjfir v-*erx)p.v -*erx)p.> 'takpn all: over, though- jn.'aome parts Jwnen theyhavje been:-put~in witfe Ihe drill' > imicnine,, .they,- are yeix bad v/ith. sorrel; >iv A.i a<Jt,-^s seerri^-' a- mistake to. sow. drill: turnips 'fan-*our.-land;unless-tKe;sqillis«'»ery' well worked;, $iost, off our farmers --ire going in for ridge t grilling!. tHeir- turnips now, as they. find it /'Spays- beat." 31 notice; that the Mataura En- 11 I eigu^ on ilie^ job- with- a "hojie" and" a "de-

I sire" that farmers will kill "rabbits, small' J birds, and noxious weeds." Most farmers 'think it high time that editors left mat- j ters- alone that they know nothing about, or" set out themselves to become "destroyers." No doubt the question is one that s>>h.ould ; j be taken up, but as-all hands have had a hand I' in the spreading of. the evils complained of, j I see no fairness in, putting the expense on ; the local taxpayer and allowing the very- par- j lies to go free-who-are, may be, the guilty ones, j Weeds are growing everywhere almost, and j there is no question that if stegs-are not' soon taken to check their spread' enormous expense will have to be incurred in the future to cope with them.. Onia large number, of the pub- j lie-reserves and road lines the gorse and broom-^ 1 curse will loom. pretty large in the- very near', 1 future, if the question of keeping' them clear >.' is. not seen to shortly. Around our town- j ship" the Government re&er.ves are gradually J being overrun, and." the small birds in conse- j quence find convenient * shelter to build' in. ». It is the same down, the course of-th'e Waikaka. The Mataura also is sowing- the seed at every flood alongp its course, which in time will be- l come a- serious- nuisance. What is peculiar ! lo these rivers may be said to belong, to most of the small- streams i throughout the province, iTlhe early settlers,, miners; and other, residents, when they built up trim.- little- sod abodes, r also, sowed the- seeds, thai, have now, : got,, spread , far and: wide. • Our cemetery is .pretty' well" overrun Avjfch, gbrse and-- other such' ; '.like sarubs, and frightens the. trustees to suoh-jj *'an" extent that 'tbey-"are afraid to face its- wild' >• "luxuriance. — Cp'rrespoiident Southland Times.- '' -It -.isi' stated" that"' as high' 'as 9d"per bag ;ha"s ], (beewt given- for ' digging potatoes 'this-, year "in: t .' th &■. Orari: district," and even -at this* price, So,-] 1 .light are the, crops/ the, diggers arc -hardly able |- .to 'earn wages. . The frost in \ Jamiary^pro- j<. Sably accounts for the, failure. — Timaru Post; " The Canterbury Agricultural College sent . another draft of experimental lambs to the Adding'ton market' last week, and the following are the results of the sales :— 23 Border .Leicester cross, live weight 881b, 13e 7d; 7 Romney Marsh cioss, live w"eight 84-^lb, 13s sd ; 20 English Leicester cross, live weight ] .80|lb, 13s sd ; 5 Southdown cross, live weight 77 3-51b, 12s 3d; 2 Shropshire Downs, live , weight 72ilb, 12s 6d ; 3 Shropshire Dowivctoes, {- live weight 851b, 13s 4d ; 15 Lincoln cross, -live j, weight 861b, 15s 3d ;- and 3 do, live weight i 781b, 11s 3d. . ' . J The total production of the past harvest in New South Wales, as compared witli that j of 1898-99, is- officially given as follows:—!' Wheat, 13,586,277 bushels., increase 4,350,630 bushels; maize, 6,24B,oßo 'bushels, increase: 183,238 bushels; barley,- 133,421 bushels, increase 69/661 bushels: oats, 628,904 bushels, increase 345,655" bushels; hay (wheaten), r 306,511 tons, increase 190,200 tons; oate^, 130,332 tons, increase 47,604 tons;- tobacco,, ' 6641cwt, decrease 6065cwt> sugai cane, 160,- , 949 tons, decrease 119,257 Ions; grape wine,I 740,645ga1J 'decrease 109,924 gaV; total area ji ''under crops, 2,438,961 acres, increase 243,292 acres. '""* """ ,- The- standard sample'of wheat of .WesternAustralia,' 'as fixed by the Agricultural de- - i paTtme"nt r .-is*-saidi-ta.ha,Tie .an attractive* ajp-< \ \ pear an)ce,. -and/ weighs ,651b* to,, the bushel; I'The'^ average" yields of . the . western colony i .season Has? -been declared; to . be * 15;'p /ijiusliels to the .acre",' which is "the highest for 'Jlmany years.- The* grain 1 is not- -as , bard "as ,' that, raised, oil .th,e' northern, areas of South ■ Australia,, and there is some doubt whether . tlie gluten content is as higbv There is no 'tf question, however, that Western Australia is making rapid strides in the direction of ' 'feeding her own population, and though that desideratum v of westerners. maybe yet a good j !sway off accomplishment, the other colonies , I , cannot ' now. look foi an. extending market' in this direction. , ' j ,Farm and' dairy notes, from the- Wyndham ! Farmer : — Mr Alex. Bell, of Menzies Ferry, ; * has threshed a fraction over 101 bushels -to the acre out ,of. a. 11-acre- paddock. This is.; - the best-Southland yield we have-neard of' this .year;i indeed, Mr 'James Milne — no mtean j ' authority — vmo^ saw the crop when it was ( ; standing,- .says that although he has' heard" of j bigger yields, Mr Bell's is the finest crop he 11 has ever seen. — On Mataura-Island, Mr James ' Suratt ithreshed 75' bushels to the acre from 25 acres.; Mrs ' Gorman,', a." 65 bushel" yield' | from 25" acres ; Mr Samuel' Heath, over 90 . bushels tc the acre ; Mr John M^'Kay, 87 j bushels to' the aere v from a 15-acre crop. Mr , M-K-ay's was; a seconcL crop, and the land i '-received, no 'manure whatever. His turnip '' crop, which- did not receive any nanure [either-, also', _ promises a splendid yield. — Mr Peter. 'M'Sfaughton, of Mataura, Island, is. to l)0> congratulated bill the- jhigh, "prices realised, at' the Gore am fair -for -a -draft of Border Lei- ; '."cegter" stud' rams, 'bred-- by him. The 18 offered' by* him, "pei Messi's M. Carr and' GJo., v rsolH" as- follows": "fliree 'a'^'6Jgs,. r one, at 4igs,"* v ; trfive s kt-4 ! gs: four'a-t 3^gs/ The |air,; taken fill^! i jjthrough, .waß'.the..b*est,-that nas-b'e'en heljl.ailS " ( i 'Gore f6r,Cpme,,yoa-rs^'tlxeTe'was"a total". entry}/r -of 250 rams. topped ijjfi"- j roarket.—Ab iHe, lieiglit of. tHe" present/sea- ', son,, the monthly circulation af hard! cash* from j"; j three local' co-operative 1 dairy- faclorieß,.('^ynd- ji j ham, Island, and^ Seaward, Downs)' amounted', i to, £2500. If we include the 'whole ofy tbir 1 Lower- Matnura factories: Edenrlale,. Glen- : ham, Wyodhain Islandi Seaward : lDown6, Tois- (

Tois, Tokonui", Otara, Waikawa Valley, Heathfield, Thistle Bank (Allan's), and Titiroa (l^thill's), we 'are within the mark in saying tliat the monthly payments foi the supply oi milk for December and January would this year be £5000 cash.^ — The Wyndham Dairy Factory will this season have its record output — viz., upwards of 200 tons cheese and 10 ton's butter. Island and Seaward Downs will both be 200 gal per day higher than last year, Island making 165 tons for the whole season ; Seaward Downs, which " separated " !s>st year, will record' upwards of 50 \tons cheese for between November 1 and May 31. These figures', of course, , are approximate. From- the Ranfurly correspondent of the Mount -Ida Chronicle: — We' are beginning to feel the approach of winter,, the frost being very keen* now every morning, making the day very short for^ those who' have not yet igot their hardest nit in stack, and I see a good many -paddocks with the crop *still t"o cart in. 'As I write it" is 'raining very steadily, so that the prospect of gathering the "late crop in- in anything, like condition is very doubtful. Stock of all classes are in- the^ pink of condition, and ought to hold their own well into the winter. • Sheep, especially young breeding ewes, still' command a iugh price, and, looking at the yardings at" the recent local sales, one wonders how Central Otago can spare them -all. If the. New .Zealand Sheep-breeders' Association wishes "to remove" from its' Mock Book- the stigma which it bears in the eyes "of such-" an experienced sheep-breeder as_Mr James Little, 'of being "a' delusion and a^ snare," the council for the two_ islands should ' at' once be instructed" to take 1 up the -reforms which we, after the meeting last montn, and' Mr v " Little 'now^.have pointed" oub as being necessary. The .registration of flocks' and individual sheep as at present conducted is ad-V mittedly valueless to breeders of standing, and it is certainly a waste of time and money for them to go on filling up -the -various returns and for the association to continue to print them. On the other hand, to allow theFlock Book to lapse would, be a deplorable step, and one which would reflect upon New Zealand sheep for all time: There is much in the idea or a flock "book for each breed, but, ' though this will no doubt , be realised one day, the difficulties at present make •it im- ' practicable. What can fee done, and should be done at once, in the opinion of the Canter- j bury Times, is bo appoint or in- j spection committees for each breed, to exa- . mine the flocks which are already registered' or ar« applying for registration, and. report upon their ' eligibility. Now is the season, while the rams aye, with the ewes, to carry out this work, and' only this, without fear or favour, and. by capable men, can make the Flock Book what it assumes to be. j The Alexandra Herald says : During His i visit to the district,* our member (Mr James Bennet) Tyill take the opportunity of inspect- , ing thel'and £n the Matakanui district, which ' a large number of residents there desire to have thrown open.- for settlement, and will report to the Minister on tEe desirability or , Otherwise iof having, the land resumed. | Nelson 8r05.,. L'idted, last "-year uaid',6,. per--.cent. -dividend,.,placed '£lo,oJ3Q to the reserve L fund,. and carried r forward' £s2B6l . . ■ ' It is quite refreshing; when, looking" thrqitgli our exclmnge&,\ to come"'acr.ois,-vlike an '6agij^"in» a desert; high-flown -language; .especiallvi-' wlieri used .in connection wi£h . such- prosaic mailers as the scarcity- of- railway trucks dur--ing the grain season. -"It is* rather- a come--down, however, when the writer,, after, revelling in poetical allusions, such as " worm i' | the bud," "bloom, off' our damask cheek," j etc., relieves his., mind by saying that unless , something is clone to remedy' th.e- evil" it will j go the way of all flesh and "bust"! In a, homily on Sabbath desecration the correspondent calls the ttention if the editor to., the fact that if he (the editor) is' under the impression that the residents- in" the- Otautau district keep the Saobath Day holy x he^is " compelled to cause that illusive fancy to melt into ambient air." '.' Ambient air " is^ distinctly good. With, these appreciative remarks we reprint the Otautau notes from Thursday's Western Star: — Once again I am on the warpath. This time it is a railway matter. I "have no doubt you will remember my ieremiad regarding- the scarcity of trucks. Well, that grievance stilL remains like " a worm i' the bud,' not exactly eating, the bloom- off our damask cheeks '(as our own faces up- here are so hard you could strike matches on them)} but still poisoning our cup of- happiness. Perhaps the Railway depart- ' ment will hear our humble c»y and prayer, j and grant us the inestimable boou of about 200 (more or less) trucks' a day in order to re- \. lieve the great congestion of traffic. We must | do something, to relieve it, otherwise it will go the way of aJL flesh and "bust." By tHe . bye;. Mr Editor/ I'was under'the impression— I and I 'have no d6ubt you- were- labouring un- • dciV .the same- illusive faney — that the Qtau- " tau. people!.' remembered' the Sabbath' day to - keep 1 it, , it- not holy,, at. least to aJbstaih: from ; manual 'labour on. that day: 'I> 'can 1 - ."assure-^ youtit is with.. deep> regret that I am eompelledj , bo. cause > that* aforementioned illusive fancy.' f to; melt into, amb'ienf air. On Sunday, Llasti " trucks, of grain were 'loaded, in the railway I' yard and goods sheds. Now, while, making Bvery allo wggtyw _f,6r tUe."neoepity !> - ofcsuoH'

I proceeding's, I think the work could- be done without, and I have a strong suspicion that the next time it is tried on a certain "Boy in Blue"— not "one little girl in blue," bear in niind— will have to take a hand in the game, and I believe if he does the lads who are loading the trucks on Sunday will be badly euphred. I say that if the townspeople do not put such practices down with an iron hand, it will not be to their- credit. What an example. for our rising and, let me whisper, our precocious generation- We are told that the natural mind of man is more or less inclined to evil, which proves the need of # good; and "the stern repression. of a bad, example. The West Oxford correspondent of the Christchurcli. Press writes : — Feed i& abundant — in fact, this is an exceptionally- good autumn for stock, which will be in' gopclj-condi-tion for the winter. There are good' stocks of hay and oaten straw. . ***- - The Inspector of Stock' for the Bourke district, New South' Wales, estimates that, in consequence' of the prolonged drought, tlie . horses last year 'decreased per cent., as compared with the previous year, the cattle 30 , per cent, in number and 4-0 per cent, nvquaj lity, the sheep 4-0 per cent, in number, while i the deterioration in condition, frame, and flece ,was very great. v j The- Southla'nd Times, under date April 26, •'<■ reports as follows on the oat market : — There I' is—no rchaiige-'-to-report -in connection 'withi.the oat , market -during "the past "week: Supj lies have been very-plentiful 1 from, the 'coun- ! try, lauge* quantities offering, liut buyer s- here - : - seem., all 'to 'hay_e-decided' to stand off the mar1 ket in the meantime, aud'very^few sales-have been made. -iThere 1 is- practically ho" outlet > for. oats anywhere at? present. The quaran- '• tine\L'egulaiibns have stopped commtinications ; with" Sydney, small quantity is' finding its way to Melbourne, prices being given there offer no inducement to dealers, j >as the prices' which have been, given to the* 1 farmers so far cannot be got in any of ths „ New Zealand or Victorian- markets, There is still no demand for' shipment to South Africa, and altogether the outlook, at present Ms not at all promising. Considerable quan- ■ tities of oats are arriving at the Bluff, mainly for storage, and. while the quality is generally i first-class, there_ are numbers of instances where it is quite evident the farmers have i not even taken the trouble' to protect their [ crofffi after harvesting, but have allowed the | stacks to get wet, and the consequence is that many linefe when taken into store are found 1 to be quite soft and in. a damaged condition. ! We cannot too strongly condemn the custom [ which obtains in some Hstricts of not only 1 threshing .from the stook, but not allowing I the oats when stacked to remain long/ enough to get perfectly hard and dry before threshring. Buyers are now exercising a good deal more care in purchasing, and have had to Reject considerable quantities as they arrive in : store at Bluff. These rejected oats only deteriorate in value by keeping, and in a dull market such as there is at present it is almost impossible to'dispose of them. ""-, | I" Hindon, notes, from, the Taieri. Advocate.: — ' We haye been favoured with ..exceptionally fine, weatheij and. the; farmers hay'e matle good ' use of- "It, getting" crops gat&ered^in* good' condition." . A few more- days $'ill4see it all ' irfstack'.. ' RaTsbit-tr'a-pping is being* vigorously - carried/on" amd/gbod catches made. 1 , ./There are two agents represent^ "here"; Messrs"Black and Tonkin, and' judglnf-fronvthe loads' of, rabbits, which daily, find /their ;way»- to- the, railway- station, Business is-J "brisk- -' j "The Erifield correspondent "of the Oamaru Mail writes :.— The- weather has been very cold during the last few days, and Nature has put on her winter dress. The threshing Js . nearly brought to a close ; indeed, it would [ now be almost complete had" it not been fr | the showery weather experienced during the I last few clays. Ploughing is" getting well, on, but the rain now obtaining will be of great J assistance to- tlie farmer.' Want of railway trucks has been a great inconvenience to>manyhere. I have seen men- here first thing in the morning waiting for trucks they had ordered the previous day, but, only to* be disappinted. Sme have almost cqme to blows over the matter. There is so "much traffic, here now at our siding that a- railway shed is' necessary, and would be considered a' b00n... to many. # v ' i The annuaL foal and." produce" sho\V. ai the Malyern.district was Held in one of Mr -James Craighead's. paddocks, close to tlie school,.-. Russell's Plat, on -Thursday last. The site chosen was admirably suited to the purpose. The house and' dairy produce was' shown iiu a large Jent: The attendance ;6f the gublic , was very goad, considering _the foretaste of" ' winter in the morning, snow and' sleet falF- J ing heavily up to about 10 ojclock, after , . which the weather cleared' up for, most of ■' the p day. Tire exhibits in all' tHe classes- were ex-- p ceUent,>and competition "Xvas keen. Tlie-hor^es> I ' sh'own;would-*do^cre'dit. tcr^any^ffow.- ririg-'in- , ' the* province,^ whilst ,the roatv^altnoug'j' the- - es£ries ; were- sma/Iler'''tKist^seai ! on.^tKan? last, '. were; very ~g o °a^ lco nsidefang "tb/e- season^ J "The- ; dispjay''"* of , roots .by 'the "ChristcKuTch -Meat"' Company, grown- pnftl^e,exp.e"rihiejSaJ,farm'-6f ;r the company, 'was muqh"'aSjnir*e'd^-. and* tlie ■• jtfdf?es.^awarded' 'it' , a special; ticket.. Initne., produce tent again,"; the exHj.b.its- were -very- < goodj; vvg^; orpwded r K mGsl of'tke'timtf

By the- lady exhibitors and their friends. lJ this lent were some splendid samples of grain and grass seeds, etc. — Press. I The \Dunstan Times says that ploughing operations at Lauder are in full swing-. The , majority of the farmers are working from j morning till night. j Highly satisfactory yields are , reported, by i nearly all the .Morton Mains settlers this seai eon. Mr .Ajlex. Cloughly, who, had a larger I area of, oats, has threshed 55 bushels^to the , acre all over, the best paddock yielding- as , high as 70' bushels. Some excellent crops of ' . wheat have also been harvested in. first^class ! condition, and are expected' to yield - 50' I bushels, the fr.ost not Having affected them as elsewhere.— Southland Time's. j The New Zealand Times on.the development- ' tof the, flax industry:— ll would seemHhat at last the^rJroblem of how' to make an economio I success of the manufacture of New Zealand ■ flax (Phorinium. tena-x) is on the jeve of solutjon. Mr W. Toogood, of- Featherston, who i has been experimenting for years', at "a. large • I' expenditure.>of his .private means,, claims to have perfected a, proces3> whereby the- dressing J of the -flax can be done 'much more rapidly j' and cheaply, while the quality of the product ■is at the same time greatly improved. It is probable that tlie inventor will shortly, have ■ an exhibition' of- his new machinery and pro* j cess: In- the, mean time, it is pleasing/to hear ' - from the .various parls'-flf .the * country"" Hhat".' the'flax-traderis-in'a flourishing condition; It"' would^ appear,, to",,-thktlthose ingenious people,-' the' Japanese.."h ave, "Been/ turning their "atten- - tion fo' bhe ,New, Zealand fibre^Svith". remark- ) able .results. Tlie Napier ebrrespon'dent. of, ' iheiNew Zealand! Farmer lately, wrote to' that, ' ' journal ': "I have .been .showjCa pieced of 'KFe'w \ Zealand flax .which -was -dressed** in,' Japan, and , ; experts, had jn< long argument as"' to whether 1 it was ' silk ' and ' spun glass.' It certainly w£s nothing like the flax we know. It is . paid that the Japs have, machinery for splitting the fibre, and after being- dressed as this sample under notice was, it is worth £120 * a^ton. Some "time ago there was a great dis- N pute with the- customs over, a- certain* class of goods which looked^ like silk, 'but' was not silk, and' quite possibly the material was only New Zealand flax, after all." , . While the yield' of grain as revealed by tlie threshing machine cannot be regarded as other than eminently satisfactory, the dull state of the markets is a , matter which is by no means so J pleasant to contemplate. The oat market, which- was in a -fairly- good state when the season opened, quickly, dropped as supplies began to come in, as if in a,> hurry to reach - once mone it's previous low position, while, wheat and' barley seem at present to be almost a drug on the market-, and can-only be quitted at unprecedently low prices. In the present state of the market there- is 5 naturally not the same- anxiety on the part of. the farmers to thresh as there usually is: On the other hand, there is 'a disposition to thresh no more than is necessary for' immediate requirements, the balance of i the year's 1 crop being kept in the stack for operating- on at'a future time. " Whether this is t the, best course to' adopt I" " must' leave those- to decide who are better , acquainted than I am- witfr the vagarie3 of the ■ ; grain market. .From all reports, , however., j iit \ seems ,more x than; likely that "the -course, they- are,, adopting- will*iturn out to 'be., the J wisest an >, the; end: ."The war sfcill drags on,, \ ■ and. there. is. certain to jDe a demand" in "South- i 1 Africa". for 'oats for several months to come. 1 .It is some time ago now since it was .reported ■that all old, stocks were cleared out inSouth- ; land. -Two large steamers^ are expected at Lyttelton soon to load- for' South Africa. It is estimated' that- they will -take away about 100,000 sacks of oats. This should ease the , market somewhat, and,' as it is likely_that-they 'will be, followed hy others;": tiler e is every "probability of • a better demand for oats setting in in y the course of aya v month 1 or two. The stafe of the wheat market is more of a puzzleIn former years there was always a kind of" ratio to be observed between the prices iff." London-and' local prices. This y§ar, however^, the local wheat market' has gotCbeyond any such arithmetical 'calculation. Prices in Londrih-> have:; Been as low, and indeed,' considerably* Tower, on several occasions during the. past few years;,' but I do not remember, the, 'local wheat markets being in such, an uneatisfactory^ state before., . What the explanation ," may belit .is^hard^tb-sayf One is almosttemptad. to suggest an unholy combination;of colontil : buyejrsjto.keep down pricesi Whatevpr the causeway, be, it is to be hoped that. ■it -.will soon fcease^to 1 operate, and' that prices ■ wilL shpw, $.- nmclr- needed, improvement, for,evenjwftkithe good* yields of. the present yeaiv, - the returns* -from-i th'e v x wneat crop do- little' rrfore than 1 pay bare' expenses; — "Rusticus, " 'in; , ' the" Bruce Herald: ■"•'•, The Wairekiki. correspondent of the Wyndhanv./Earner writes:. — The last two weeks of" 'fine- weather enabled' our' farmers' t6 secure- ,' an abundant- oafc>crop~in fine, cendition.. With\ ' care-~ih l stacking and!, thatching^ there,, sliauldl • , not, be. a: single bag of,- damaged* grain in *oui> ; district..", Even afe, present p"fice'sj fl with, tlie in- • ciejresed.yieldj -there should" be-a profit? on. the- ,'• oat crop.;" "The 'actuaf results, -will. n,ot .be" V> known/for some .time.-y&t, as. the. mills leave o.ur. district as«a reserve till -their slack season. From the/appearance of the stooks and* stacks, the crops 1 are.- considerably 'above the average •', —^iiiis is' partly due* to. the. fine, segeooj- 8*14.» "

good deal to improved modes of tillage; The season was also favourable to, grass, which is everywhere abundant, and stock are all in good' cbndit'ion. The sairie cannot be said - of the turnip crop, which is much below the average. The > heavy rains in December" hurt the young plant?, a lot of which had to be resown.' Those who ..sowed late' appear to have the best crops, quke the reverse of the Aisual rule. A mild autumn may "improve the;prop7 if-hea"vy-frpsL',does. not qorne early. Potatoes are hot much grown except for borne -" use ; they are a fair crop, and good quality. Mr James Aitcheson, of Hiverbank farm, has disposed of his property of 106 acres to Mr James Forty th at ihe* satisfactory price of - £17 per acre, 'possessi° n - to - t® taken 1 n the Ist -of June:—^Bruc'e "H-'ef aid. • ' j