AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2425, 5 September 1900, Page 4

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

It is stated that an arrangement has been made between Ihe Government' and the principal freezing works that the charge on butter shall be reduced from 10gd to 7d per box. The point yet to be decided is how much' of this charge is to be borne by the manufacturers or shippers. The Government propose that one-half, or 3^d per box, shall be charged, but negotiations now in progress may lead to a reduction of this amount. The mortality amongst sheep in the Bruce district at present is (says rhe Herald) something phenomenal; indeed, a well-known farmer in Tokomairiro, who 1 as resided here for over 30 years, states that he never remembers such a high death rate. Some farmers have lost from 10 to 20 sheep in a week. The majority of the flocks affected have been principally fed on turnips, 3mt the mortality has not been wholly confined to these. The cheep affected at first appear to get paralysed in the le&% then drop down and die. Mr Wayne, the local stock inspector, states that the cause is probably over-feeding on. turnips, or "leaving the sheep too long" on the ground afl-er the turnips have eaten off. The Government have no intention of amending the law in the direction of allowing residents in non-infected rabbit districts to destroy stoats and weasels, believing that the result would be that thousands of acres would be rendered useless if permission .Was given to destrdy these animals. - i - *A plague of small black caterpillars -has occurred in the vicinity of Broken Hill. . Three thousand sheep out of a mob. oi 10,000 died near Olermont (Q.) through eating poison bush. ', Regarding the Victorian, crop prospects there is no urgent need for rain, but-it would have been more satisfactory had the weathe^ been damp. The crops, however, look sturdy,-

If you wish to grow vegetables successfully land with comfort, buy a "Planet Jr" wheel lioe. Full particulars froaa, Nnato anx?

and well. , In many -centres complaints are I made that they" are too iank and overgrown. Oir the -wholevthere is every prospect of good j yields.. w " ' j

There »is a r 'terrible mortality amongst hog--gets on turnips in many parts of Otago this season (says the Tapanui Courier). Removal to grass pasi^es appears to be a sovereign remedy forthe trouble.

The Ashburtun Railway department has received an order for 360 trucks. These are required for loading wheat for despatch to the Lady Isabella, at Lyttelton, to the order of Messrs Friedlander Bros. The stationmaster is naturally proud of such an order, which deals with 21,600 sacks, or over 86,000 bushels. The value of the line would be about £10,000.

Messrs Nimmo and Blair, Dunedin, have (says the Oamaru Mail) effected the sale of about 2000 bags of wheat on account of MiEdward Crowe, of Morven. The price is not disclosed, but to.c sale is considered very satisfactory for the season. A contract for 900 tons of oats was entered into at Melbourne on August 17 for South Africa. The contract equals 13,000 full and 26,000 half-bags.' The steamer Bloemfontein loads a full cargo of produce, and the Venetia cleared to-day for Wei-hai-wei with a full cargo of New Zealand oats and Victorian hay. Farmers in the Gore district evidently intend paying particular attention to the dairying industry this season. Milk cows liave .{says the Standard) recently -been fetching ptl unequalled in that part of the country for many years. At the clearing sale of cows at Croydon Siding on Wednesday, cows were keenly competed for, and brought the record price of £8 17s 6cl. ' The Pukeuri Factory Dairy Company, at' their meeting on tho 25th ult., received a requisition eigaed by the grocers of Oamaru> asking them that in view of a central factory being established in-the town they -should join the movement, and« suggesting that instead of an ".entirely new company being formed, tho Pukeuri Company should increase their capital and altei\the title of their company. The directors resolved to place the matter before their shareholders at a special convened meeting, which will be held in Oamaru, September 4. Many preliminaries for the proposed company have already been arranged, and a considerable number have promised assistance in the way of taking up shares. The exports of grain and produce from the port of Lyttelton for the week ending August 24 included the following lines : — 562 sacks wheat, 1342 sacks and 4410 bags flour, 1339 sacks oats,* 55 sacks meal, 90 sacks barley, 90 sacks malt, 448 sacks bran, 370 sacks sharps, 275 sacks pollard, 879 sacks chaff, 265 sacks peas, 9 sacks beans. 7925 sacks potatoes, 124 sacks, 198 bags, and 231 gunnies onions, 256 sacks seed, and 201 bales hay.

The Kaikoura Star says that farmers in that district should be pleased to learn that a southern sheep dealer contemplates buying next season all the lambs obtainable. The Star's informant states that the buyer purposes making arrangements to convey the stocE by steamer to Lyttelton.

Mr N. Quinn, of Makikihi, says the Timaru Post, has had a number of sheep worried by dogs on his farm lately, and has decided to lay poison on all his paddocks. The same paper is also informed that a few days ago Mr William Simmonds had 22 sheep worried to death, and the wool pulled off others. At -a special meeting of the Ashburton A. and P. Association on Saturday, it was deckled that the show this year shall be held on October 23, instead of November 2, the date originally fixed.

Mr R. Broqkland, of Pareora, says the Timaru Herald, has been unfortunate in having his sheep worried a good deal lately by dogs,, and much annoyed by trespasser's on his land on the homestead block, Pareora estate.

Notes from the Bruce Herald: — Over 50 applications have been received from farmers in the district for small lots of the various varieties of seed potatoes which are beingoffered by the Government free of charge.— Phosphorised oats and wheat are now beinglaid on Government reserves, for the destruction of rabbits. Later in the season poisoned pollard will be the means utilised on these areas. To say the least regarding this matter — it is almost criminal that rabbits should be trapped for export while poison is being simultaneously carried on.

A movement is on foot to form a farmers' club in Waikaka Valley.

The direct liner Kumara is bringing out to the colony from England a party of young men who intend to take up land in the colony. Mr W. Ranstead, one of the proprietors of the Clarion, has been so favourably impressed by a visit to the colony that he decided to settle here, and accordingly bought some land near Christchurch, and went Home to bring out his family. Mr Ranstead also wrote so enthusiastically of the colony as a place for men with small capital and plenty of energy, that he received many inquiries from desirable men in all parts of Great Britain. The result was that he organised several parties of men anxious to come out to the colony, and uecured facilities from the New Zealand Shipping Company. The Post reports that Mr {Ranstead has written to the Labour department, stating that he will come with the first party, and two or three other parties will leave in succeeding boats. The xoarties will consist chiefly of young unmarried men, of ifeetween 20 and 30 years of age, mostly mechanics and tradesmen, and each has paid his own fare and is in possession of some means. f~*ohristchureh Press.

Mr Leicester Matson, of the well-known firm of Matson oncl Co., stock and' station agents, writes to tho Lyttelton Times in refergnoe to the methods adopted in the con-

Suet" of, large" fat stock sales in -Australia, which were described by Mr Waymouth in a r.ecent interview with the stock .reporter of that journal. Mr M'atson points 'out that the adoption 1 of the Australian system has been advocated by the Canterbury salesmen for some time past, and at a special meeting, convened "in January last, the following re^ solution (a copy of which was forwarded to the Saleyards Company) was passed: — "That the company be requested to allot each agent the full length of one side of an alley way, giving him the right to retain all pens whether full or empty unwl 11 a.m., after which time, any one agent who had no room could pen up wherever an empty pen appeared ; but, of course /it must be distinctly understood that thv'pens ars only to be occupied with fat sheep. This would be«the dasher's duty to protect. That" the pens be on the follow-on principle; that, is to say, mark each side of the race as follows : — A, B, C, etc. This .week an agent has race A, next week B,» and &o on, until he comes to A again. Tho drawing for positions would be the same as at present, and we would also refrain from the adoption of a time limit other than that in use at present." Our reply from the Saleyards Company was that they legretted that they were up able to make the alteialions. You' will see from this that the salesmen are as anxious as Mr Waymouth for an improvement.

A committee meeting of the Waimate A. and P. Association was held on the 25th ult. ;, |Mr Becket (president) m the chair. The associated implement "-importers of New Zealand having omitted the Waimate show from -their .list of shows at which they would exhibit implements, the secretary to directed to correspond with the associations with the view of having Waimate included in their list. — A general .meeting of members was heldat the close of the committee meeting, ,at which 30 gentlemen weie present. Tenders for the erection of a 12-stalled slied on the show ground and also for the erection of a shed for the exhibition of dairy and other • produce were accepted. Mr E. C. Studholme offered a special prize in the class of heavyI weight carrying horses, and. Mr HendeiEcn also offered a special prize of £3 3s in another class. The appointment of judges for the annual show was.then sffade. Mr Studholme said the classification of ponies required amendment : there should be sub-classes as to size. The suggestion was agreed to," and other improvements in the programme were mentioned as being required, and a sub-com-mittee was appointed to revise the programme as to classification and submit the revision to a meeting in time for operation at next : show. The annual meeting of the Waitahuna Far- ; mers' Club was held on the 27th ult. There was a good attendance, and the president (Mr John Bateman) occupied the chair. The report and balance sheet were read and adopted. The total receipts for the year ending August 27, 1900 (including balance from the previous year of £92 18s 6d), were £207 0s 6d, the disbursements during the same period being (including fixed deposit in Bank of New .Zealand) £249 14s 9d. The president, in his address, said that the club had done excellent work during the year, and had concerned itself exclusively with those matter's which were identified with and likely to benefit the interests of the faraiing community. The club had been ably represented at the Dunedin Farmers' Conference by Mr James Allen, M.H.R., and ajso at, the Wellington Conference. He (the president) trusted, even though the appearances were not as promising as he could wish^ that the result of such conferences would result in ultimately benefiting materially the interests of the farming industry. At the same time he could not help saying that it was a matter for regret that such movements, clearly devised as they were to benefit the farmers, had not received the support they were entitled to. The Dunedin Conference had certainly not been supported as it should have been. He could only conclude that farmers were blind to their own interests, and they were themselves to blamt 1 for most of the grievances of which they had to complain. In all such matters it becomes in the main a question of pounds, shillings, and pence. Delegates cannot go here and there and give their time and labour unless they receive some encouragement. TJnle&s an organisation representing the farmers of Otago is provided, in the first place, with a working fund, it can do nothing of any consequence. And it cannot have a strong finance unless it has a large membership. Farmers say that they would like to form an organisation for Otago such as they have in Canterbury, but yet they refuse to help it in the only way that can make it a success. If every farmer in Otago contributed a very trifling sum yearly they could have an organisation capable of doing valuable service to the interests of the agricultural community. Until they recognise that it is. their duty to do that, an organisation of the bind will never be a s7iccess, with the result that they will have to take whatever they are offered for their produce. The election of officers for the ensuing yea 1 * then took place. Mr Bate'man was unanimously re-elected president, Mr W. J. Livingston was appointed vice-presi-dent, and Mr Garden re-elected treasurer. It was resolved that the annual show be held on November 27.. The treasurer (Mr Garden) and tho late secretary (Mr Moggath) were elected life members in recognition of their long and faithful services. — The ordinary meeting of the club was then held, Mr Bateinan, presiding,, A vole 0$ sympathy seas

tendered to the widow and family of the late Mi? 'Martin Ryan, who was one ot the. Original members of the club. In reference to -the pioposed alterations in the tariff, the following motion was carried: — "Tliat^in vievy/ of " the oppositijn with which the tariff proposals brought down in the Financial Statement have beer, leceived, the W^itahuna Farmers' Clul>, representing a large number of the farming community, urge on the Premier the desirability of ad'iaring to his proposals, and thereby giving much nesded relief to the slruggling farmers of the .colony, especially in the taxation on the necessaiies ot life and on agricultural implements and machinery." — It was decided by a show of 1 ands that the usual concert and dance on the evening of show day be interdicted. At the Kangiora public saleyards last week hcggets went up to 14s 6d, and freezing sheep brought 19s. -W . S Maslin was charged at the Geraldine Police Court on August 23, a bench of justices, with exposing sheep infected with lice for sale on the 15th ult. at the Geraldine Farmers' saleyards. Duncan Moore, stock inspector, deposad that on the clay in question he found a mixed lot of defendant's sheep, about 435, very badly infected with lice. The bench fined defendant at the rate of Jld per head on 435 sheep. Charles Thew pleaded guilty to a similar offence in respect of 38 sheep, and was all's fined gd per head. Lambing is very general in the Kyle and Doric districts, reaching as high as 140 per cont. in some cases. The farmers complain of the grass grub, and will in many- cases have to clear off some of their stock, although the pest is not nearly so bad there as in the TJppei Asliburton district.— JLyttelton Times, .Speaking of frozen meat, an ' English journal states that Graat Britain imports from New Zealand an average of 18,000 sheep daily, which amounts to about 6,500,000- psi- annum. This is, of course, an over-estimate;, half that quantity, mcludiig lambs, would be near the mark. . j "A Settler on the Land" -writes to the Tapanui Courier on "The Pomahaka Failure" : — The debate .'n th^ House on the Pomahaka estate was weak, flabby, and futile in its result. Mr Seddon says, "No doub£ a mistake , has been made in the survey, as the sections j wcc3 too small." Now, this is all moonshine. Several settlers now hold 308 acres, and out limit is 648 acres. If the land is what the Government say it is — first-class agricultural land — 648 acres would be sufficient for one -man to hold. He codld live and pay his way. Again, Mr Seddon blames the Opposition for the failure. This is ignorance. If the land were worth 3s 6d an acre, no matter how it was cried down, the sections would gradually be taken up. If I could pay my rent as it fell due, and other debts, and still have a fat surplus, the wails of the Opposition would have no effect. The plain fact of the matter is, Mr Seddon won't admit the blunder. He objected to bringing it on the floor of the House in this manner ! I wonder where he expects us to go with our grievances. It was Parliament that authorised the purchase of Pomahaka; it was Parliament that fixed the rent for us to pay. "When a man has lost all his money, and got in arrears so great, nothing can be done £or him," says Mr Duncan. It is to be regretted that such an titterance should come from a Minister of the Crown. This gentleman is supposed to be a practical farmer, and I venture -to assert that if he spent a week on a Pornahaka section he would have to be carried "home on a stretcher. Some of the other members who spoke knew nothing about the land. % This . whole Pomahaka business is> not- a hard problem to solve. It has 'been a failure from^ the commencement. Hnlf of- . the es-" tate is now on ,the shoulders of" the taxpayers, and will remain there. Land has been lying idle here since the original ballot seven years ago. It is now overrun with Canadian thistles and sorrel, and would be dear for nothing, to clear it. As you are aware, our land has been forfeited, and we hav.e been threatened with eviction . I am very sorry to say that in the majority of cases the money had to be borrowed to pay arrears of rent. Only the first settlers remain, who came when the jalaee was a wilderness. Some had a capital of £950, but the general run was from £400 to £450. Some poor men started, but they have all sunk like a stone. It has been necessary for- our moneylenders to make special arrangements with the board — viz., that nc further claim be made for rent ; imtil June 30, 1901. One settler who has impiovements to the value of £350 applied to tin Advances to Settlers Office' for a loan I (£100), but was told plainly that he had .signed too many petitions for reduction of rent ; and* also, as the rents were so excessively i high, his interest in the land was valueless. IHe received no assistance. So you see wo [ are in a tight corner, all because of a large mistake in the survey ! Pomahaka will never be a success until it is reduced to Is 3d per acre. The land is now 3s 4d and 3s 6d, while some', is as high as 4s. Mr Seddon will not reduce it, so the land will have to lie untenanted and grow weeds. The annual meeting of the Tokomairao Farmers' Club was held on August 28, when 67 j members attended. The President (Mr H. M. Driver) occupied the chair. The report and balance sheet were taken as read, and ! adopted. Addressing the meeting, the President said he must congratulate members on j the very sound position of the club this year, ! and very little comment was needed. They would see thai there was a credit balance of. £80 4s, but as thore were outstanding accoiuits to £20", the real credit Avas about I&Q or £65 to start v the year, with, Alto,-

gether, the club had a fairly successful year. The member's "of the' committee had, 'forked, hard, and more members' -tickets had been sold than formerly ; while some improvements "had been made to the show grounds* election of, officers for the ensuing ..year was then proceeded "with. Mr John Tough was , unanimously elected president. For the position of vice-president, Mr J. Grey and Mr R. Ferguson were nominated, and on a ballot being taken the former was elected. Mr W. W. P. Hall wa's re-elected treasurer. A motion was carried that the price of tli6 members' tickets be reduced tc 10s. The newlyelected committee met immediately on the close of the annual meeting; Mr Tough (president) in the chaii. The secretary's salary was fixed at £20. It was decided to elect a secretary that evening instead of inviting applications, and Mr A. Campbell and Mr J. J. .Paul were nominated. On a show of hands, the formei was elected by a large majority. The handsome 10-guinea clock which had been presented to the club for competition by the executors of the late Peter M'Gill for the best 4-bushel sack of wheat was then handed to Mr John Tough by Mr Driver, who in a brief speech congratulated the recipient. My Tough briefly replied acknowledging the prize. For the year, ended March 31 the Southland County Council expended £455 17s 6d on the destruction of small birds. -> A committee meeting of the Maniototo A. and P. Association \vas held at Nasetiy on August 25 ; Mr D. M. Calder (vice-president) in the chair. The business before the meeting was to pass for payment accounts in conn.ection with the- Winter Show. - The secretary placed before the* meeting a balancesheet, which showed" a loss to the society on the show of £11 2s. The secretary was authorised to draw a cheque to cover the deficiency, and pay all prize moneys in connection with the Winter"Show. * s On Tuesday, August 28, a good-bye social was tendered Mr Peter M'Naughton," of Ma- 1 taura Island, fey the settlers of "" -that - community. Mi M'Naughton has disposed of his farm with a view, we understand, to pro- , ceeding to the Home Country. The gatherj ing, which was a particularly large one, was held in the local Public Hall, and presided .over by Rev. James Johnston. During the evening the chairman, on behalf of the Mataura Island and district settlers, presented Mr M'Naughton with a splendid gold watch, albert, and pendant ; the watch bearing the following inscription: — "Presented to Mr P. M'Naughton by his Mataura Island friends ; August, 3900." Mi's M'Naughton was presented with a handsome gold brooch. Several speakers testified to the many good qualities of their guest, particular stress being 1 laid on his neighbourliness, and his marked success as a breeder of live stock, his sheep, cattle, and horses being such as would adorn the btuds of any breeders in the colony. Mr M'Naughton feelingly and appropriately acknowledged the beautiful and substantial gifts his friends had made to his wife and himself. During the evening a capital concert programme was submitted, after which a dance followed. Mr M'Naughton will take his leave of this colony accompanied by the best wishes of all who know him. The London correspondent of the Sydney Mail, writing on July 6, said: — "During the past fortnight mutton has .fallen id per Ib, and lamb £d. The meat has dribbled on to ..-the market in such small amounts that prices have been -faSrly^well -sustained. There is a factor which has assisted in the lowering of , values, and that is^the deliberate act of the shippers of River "Plate mutton. These persons found - that the recent high prices of mutton were acting disastrously upon 'their retail shops and retailing butchers who support them, and instead of squeezing the uttermost farthing out of them, they deliberately lowered the pi-ice of mutton },d per lb. This is an undoubtedly wise policy, for if the retail trade had been driven out of the business by high prices, the shippers must have come to grief. This is an object-lesson to Aiistralia in the matter of combination for the common good." Seaward Downs notes, in Wyndham Herald: — The weather of late has been delightful, and the farmers are doing theii leve] best to make the most of it. Ploughing is well in advance, and a good many have a quantity of their oats sown. The season is an exceptiozially early one for Southland. The trees are budding fast now, and the flowers, too, are peeping- out. Here and there a few lambs are to be seen frisking about in the fields, giving us hopes that the winterly weather is pa&t. Farmers in these districts have a good quantity of turnips on 'hand for spring feed- — in most cases considerably more than usual ; and, should the frost keep mild and this glorious weather continue, the grass should come away very quickly, enabling dairy farmers to take full advantage of the good prices for milk which no doubt will rule through the coming season. Stock are 'in a forward condition, and the general opinion is that there will be a considerable rise •in the price of cattle for dairying- purposes. At the annual meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce", the president (Mr Fro&tick), in dealing with ihe frozen meat question, said that too much importance could not bf attached to the value of our freezing workra. These establishments, he continued, have enabled ihe sheepfarmer, without'"incurring one shilling of personal liability, to recure a good, and, up to the present, unlimited demand for the meat as w.ell as'for the

1* wool. The system under which* these freezing "establishments are worked is -complete ,t,o tKe minutest detail, ;and:<the continued in'trqduction of' modern-machinery; and the, ferec- - tioh'of suitable buildings to meet the/ficreased demands has enabled Ihe 'farmer £to place, the" product upon the market" in the 'best po/sible condition, and to-day Canterbury mutton command's the highest price, and" is an accepted, guarantee of quality by tens of thousands of buyers in the greatest marketsof England. We ought not to envy the prosperity of the meat freezing companies. Theirs was the risk in the first instance, and theirenterprise, energy, and ultimate success en-title-them to the position they now occupy. Close on £500 for special prices at the next November show has already been collected by the Manawatu Agricultural and Pastoral As- • sociation. The programme has been issued, and is still noticeable for -the liberality of the - prizes offered. TheVdate js November 14and 15— the week following the Canterbury Metropolitan show. ' ' The One Tree- Point correspondent of the Southern Standard reports: — The, season's dairying period •is fa=t approaching, and is being heralded still faster by the early sping.- The past sea-^ son's output at Roslyn has almosfc been disposed of, while the demand continues brisk. The Woodlands Dairy Factory Company always ships to M 'Nairn and Co., of ' Glasgow, and generally obtains satisfactory results. The transaction this year enables , the company to pay a dividend of 8 per cent.,, j and still have a substantial balance. The • cheese sold realsed £3418, and tho milk cost 1 £2637; but out of the surplus the expenses i of manufacture took £338. - The^capital of | the company consists of about • 1245 shares, ' of which £857 has been paid; leaving iinc'alled £387, which can be realised -in. case of,,emergency." Thus the position, is "very satisfac- , tory.. Mr 'Souness (formerly of i-'is eheesemakei, and has 'given "so much satis.- . faction that his services have been secured for I the coming season* I A cass in which trapping lias been found j to be jjfore effective than poisoning has-been ' brought under our notice. • On a* certain large ' estate which must be unnamed 98,000 rabbifc- ' skins were collected. All the rabbits had I been trapped, the work extending overweight 'or nine months. Immediately preceding this I the land, had been systematically poisoned, the practice having, been to poison four times lin the year. Trapping has of -late years been I favoured. And the result is that this year the total of - rabbits trapped did not reach 6000. Let us place the figures in juxtaposition—6ooo c- against 88,000.— Wyndham. Herald. j From the Hokonui correspondent of the ' Southland -Times : — Owing to the exceptionj ally fine weathei we are now enjoying, spring \ ,work is well advanced. A considerable area is already sown in wheat and oats.' For tha time being the rabbit-freezing industry is now j over. A good deal of printers' ink has been ' tised for and against the industry, but the benefits of it have been so clearly demoni strated that it can stand all the criticism that • is hurled agiinst it. i Some rime ago we (Western Star) reprinted j from the Southland Times an account of some prize stock sold by Mesprs R. and A. Officer. j of Fairfax, to Mr J. Denniston Wood, of Tasmania. — [This account -was also reprinted in the Witness.] We learn that they arrived i at Hobart in excellent condition, and so well 1 pleased is Mr Wood with Monarch II that heJ is now negotiating with Messrs Officer Bros. 1 for the purchase of two polled Angus heifers. It speaks well for their capabilities as breeder^ 1 of this cla&a of cattle when purchasers come | -from so fai 1 afield, and it would be a good ' »thing for the district if this should lead to ' a 'steady trade with 'the island across the* Tasj man Sea. Messrs Officer Bros, recently disI posed of 107 bullocks at a satisfactory figure to Mr Walter Blakic, of the model farm, Taieri. Forty-two were recently trucked, and | the balance, 65, are to be driven to their ; destination. Southland cattle evidently have i a high reputation. | The steamer Kilburn will take 17,000 sacks i of oats from Oamaru for South Africa. By a fire at Beaumont Mr M. Devaney lost two stacks of straw and a quantity of wheat. The origin of the fire is unknown. I , As illustrating what sheep men and produce merchants generally had to put up with in their fight for a place in the London marI kets, Mr T. Mackenzie, M.H.R., quotes the case of a shipment of 2600 lambs. These were; shipped by the lonic, a boat that is deservedly, I reputed to^be a good cargo boat. A fortI night after their arrival it was claimed that j 2000 were damaged. Enquiry elicited tho I fact that they had left the ship all right. The inference then was that they had suffered damage to that extent in the shops of the distributing firm in whose hands the nL?a^ had been placed. Examination and investigation of a thorough nature resulted in li being proved clearly that the shipment was in good order with the exception of a few carcases with broken shanks! This was so slight thafc experts had agreed that it was not worth claiming on. - I Mr James Kowin, the representative in New Zealand of the firm of Messrs Lovell and Christmas, has returned from a visit to Europe, and, according to the Hawera" Star, states that money is plentiful at Home, and the outlook for the coming season is promis-j The "Superlative" raspberry, is the finestf raspberry in cultivation. Obtainable oonlyy y ft-oin Nmiio and Blaib. Only a few. left, so 'order early* • ""*

ing. Since his arrival in New Zealand he has been empowered "by his firm to make "higher advances against the coming season s > butter than he has previously been in a posi- [ tion to offer. The question of regularity of ; supply is one that has not yet been satisfactorily settled. Sn the Argentine we will, Mr Xowin' opines, have a formidable rival. Trade in England when lie left was good, and the prosperity in general business he expects to } E62 reflected in the dairy -trade, so that prices should rule at a high level. The farming seaeon up to the time he left had been very satisfactory to Home farmers, hay crop being most promising, but since he had learned of a pastoral drought, which, of course, would be In favour of colonial producers.

In the second week of July New= Zealand frozen beef, handquarters, sold at 5d and forequarters at 4d. Australian at id less, and Hiver Plato hindquarters made 4|d. Very hot weather, heavy supplies, and lower "values of chilled beef then upset the .narket, and, with the 'absence of demand, prices were lowered by id to id per lb. - The- Inch-Clutha correspondent of the Bruce Herald writes on the 29th tilt. :— Since my last we have been enjoying perfect weather, and spring sowing will soon be finished by the farmers. Young lambs are to be heard bleating in many paddocks, and already Nature is showing signs of an early spring, and there is every prospect of a bountiful har,vest. (During the last fortnight fat cattle have advanced in value by about £2 per head, consequently large sales have been effected at a price which pays the farmer handsomely. The general' committee of the Ellesmere A. and P. Association met in Leeston on August 30. There was a good attendance of members, and Mr W. F. M. Buckley- (president) occupied the chaL. Judges were appointed for the draught horses, and it was decided to endeavour tc get Mr C. J. Realcep, Government veterinarian, tc delivei a lecture on *' Swine Fever, and Common Diseases of Cattle "on a sale day at Leeston. It was decided to vote £3 3s towards defraying the expenses of Mr T. B. Howson, the delegate pent by the association to the Agricultural Conference at Wellington. . At the Addington .yards, last week, one of the largest pigs ever sold there was auctioned. It was a two-year-old sow, bred by Mi J. IT. Rudd, of Greendale. It was purchased by Mr G. Andrews for £5, and is estimated to .weigh dead from 5201b to 5301b. The high prices ruling for "fat cattle in Canterbury has induced some of the local bulohers to turn to the North Island. for supplies, and several of them have made arrangements for regular consignments of beef, which is shipped to ChristchurcL. after being killed. i — Lytlelton Times. Mr G. G. Thom&on, the South Australian