AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL

Otago Witness, Issue 2426, 12 September 1900, Page 5

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL

The Manawatu Agricultural Association are considering a scheme by which they shall rent a small farm, and in conjunction with the se'iool committee start a garden and farm, where an effort could be made to interest the children attending the primary schools in gardening, flowers, fruit-growing, etc., and also •a beginning made for a small experimental farm. The association have not sufficient money to do this, however, and have addressed a letter to the Agricultural department on the subject.

Spring threshing (writes a Tuapeka West correspondent of the Tuapeka Times) is in full swing, but there is a lot of grain . to thresh yet. The tone of the oat market is "better, but wheat is very low in price. The amount of wheat sown this year will be less than last season. There are more turnips than can be eaten off, some farmers ploughing them down, as sheep are too dear to buy to- put on them.

The General Committee of the Dunedin City .Council reports to last week's meeting that dur.ing the past fortnight 55S cattle, 3173 sheep, 72 lambs, 130 pigs, and 27 calves were slaughtered at the abattoir, of which 6 cattle, 2 sheep, 1 pig, and 2 calves were condemned as unfit for foo-1.

From reliable data, the Bruce Herald says it has ascertained that over £2000 has been distributed amongst rabbiters in that district during the present season. A line of ewes was sold by a Milton dealer last week at the record price of 22s 3d eacb. This, the local parer (understands, is the highest price paid for sheep in that district for some time.

A movement is afoot to convene a largti meeting of German residents in Brisbane to sign a, petition for transmission to the German Imperial authorities in connection with the restrictions on the- importation' of meat from Queensland, which, it is slated, will operate harshly against 'the meat export industry. The Agricultural „ department in Sydney has made arrangements to store egqjs in the Government cool chamber during the cheap eeason on producers' account.

Another instance of the rise in the price of land in Taranaki was given at the auction by the Crown Lands department on Friday, when a section, consisting of 18 acres, was knocked down for £112, the upset beino; only £36.

According to the Toi Tois correspondent, of the Mataura Ensign, a large number of farmers are firm believers in the dehorning process for cattle. Some of them got a few of their cows operated on last year with such beneficial results that they are getting the remainder of their herds dehorned this year.

In reply to a question in the New South Wales Parliament, the Minister of Agrictilture said it was estimated that about 60 per cent, of ex-students of the Agricultural colleges have settled on the land. Two heifers, imported from "Victoria for

Archdeacon Williams's station at Te Aute, arrived at Wellington recently, and were deported on Somes Island. The animals were the pick of the studs of Sir Rupert Clarke and the Hon. J. H. Angus, and cost 300gs and 250gs respectively.

The Bruce Herald cays that traction engines are now utilised for the conveyance of grain to the Milton railway station.

The annual meeting of members of the Upper Clutha. Valley A. and P. Association was held at Cromwell on August 29 ; Mr Heaney (president) in the chair. The balance sheet for the year showed a credit balance of £28 0s sd, against £20 0s 5d last year. Mr" James 'Mackenzie tendered his resignation as secretary and treasurer, stating that he could not afford the time to attend to the duties of the joint offices. General regret was cxpres&ed at, Mr Mackenzie's resignation, and on being requested by the meeting to act as secretary for the evening he consented to do so. It was decided that applications be invited through the Cromwell Argus for the position of secretary at a remuneration of £10 per annum. Mr H-eaney was unanimously re-elected president, and Messrs H. Partridge, P. M'lntosh, and R. Olds were appointed vice-presidents. 'A motion was carried that another show -be h<dld, the date to be left in the hands

of the president ; and that the same amount as last year — namely, £6C — be given as prize money.

From the Timaru Herald : — The New Zealond Loan and Mercantile Agency Company have on view a sample of black barley. So far this sort has only been grown by one farmer in the colony. *■ The grower, a farmer in Taranaki, imported the seed from Kussia some three years ago. From what we can learn about this new variety, it gives promise to take the place of both Chevalier and Cape sorts, over which its advantages are many. The grower reports on it as follows:- — " Sowing.— 501b to 601b to the acre is an ample sowing ; this is a distinct saving as compared with other ports ; 551b sown to the acre in poor I'ind, without manure, la.it year produced over 40 bushes to the acre. Growth. — Ifc is very hardy, stands all sorts of weather, and comes in early ; if gown in the middle of September here it can be reaped in the middle of January. Birds won't touch it because of its stiff beard. Threshing. — It is particularly easy to thresh. (The ears sent you were picked before rijDe.) Pig and Calf Food. — The neighbours of our client fed the ground article to their calves and pigs last\season, and assure us the resu'ts were far better than from any other rneai they have ever tried ; when fed to horses and poultry the results were equally satisfactory. Malting. — Our client has an excellent leport from a maltster whe tried it for amlting purposes."

As showing the rise in sheep prices, we (Press) learn that a line of merino ewes sold two years ago at Cheviot at eighteenpence a head, after breeding were recently sold at seven shillings and sixpence.

The monthly meeting o£ the committee of the Gore A? and P. Association wpb held on the Ist inst. There were 15 members* present, and Mr H. Smith (president) occupied the chair. Mr W. Waddell wrote complaining that the second prize money in one of the cattle classes had been paid to another person ; and, as he was the winner of the prize, asked that the money be handed over to him. It was resolved that the request be complied with. The Clutha A. and P. Society wrote asking that the date of the Gore show be altered. After a brief discussion, it was resolved to inform the Olutha Society that, owing to the Invercargill Show taking place the week following Gore Show, the Gore Society regretted it could not alter its dates. The seceretary of the Colac (Victoria) Society wrote asking for information regarding the brood mares Queen, owned by Mr Blakie, and The Flower of Balmoral, owned by Mr James Patrick, as to. what prizes they had taken at the Gore Show. The secretary was instructed to look up the records and reply to the letter. It was decided to hold the annual horse parade on October 13. The president, two vice-presidents, and Messrs P. Aitken and G. P. Johnston were appointed a sub-committee to draft a fjrcgramine for the Summer show, and submit the same to next meeting. The question of the erection of a grand stand was then considered. It Avas ultimately resolved that the who'e matter of grand stand, stabling, luncheon booths, etc., should be referred to the Programme Committee, with power to obtain estimate of cost in brick or wood, and submit the same to next meeting.

The Hedgehope correspondent of the Southern Standard writes: — Water is very scarce, and the ground i.s getting rather hard for ploughing. Sowing will commence here about the end of next week. A movement is on foot to have a dairy factory erected near the terminus of the railway. A large quantity of milk is already guaranteed.

. In conversation with a representative of the Lyttelton Times on the question of the shortage of sheep, a gentleman from the back country gives his reasons as follows : — In the first place, in my opinion, the chief reason for the increased values was the high price ruling in England, one result of which was that no New Zealand holders of sheep could keep back anything which was fit to freeze. With regard to the turnip theory, that is obviously nonsense, for the simple reason that at the present time store sheep are dearer than they have ever been. Since 18S8 the average annual export has been 2,800,000 sheep. Now there have been 8,000,000 breeding ewes in the South Island. For the year ending June 30 last 3,700,000 sheep had been exported, while for local purposes 2,330,000 had been used, and it is a fair thing to allow 1,000,000 for mortality. This makes a total of 7,000,000, > l eaving us one million in the country. Now, if we have 8,000,000 ewes put to the ram every year in the South Island, 2,000,000 of these have to be replaced by young sheep, ad a breedingewe "docs not last more than four years, and if we ship away 3,700,000 sheep, after replacing the 2,000,000 ewes, we shall only have 300,000 left for 'local consumption and mortality. In Canterbury from the Waitaki River to Flaxbourne (back country) included only I,Boo,ooo, crossbred ewes are put to the ram, and 650,000 merino ewes to merino and lor.g-woolled rams. If we allow that 100,000 of these ewes are put to long-woolled rams we have 1,900,000 ewes from which we can breed our sheep for freezing. If to these ewes we allow 75 per cent, of lambs, the result will be a million and a-half oi lambs. We are now shipping annually one million lambs, and of these we have only 500,000 left for home consumption and to replace the 25 per cent, of ewes for breeding purposes, and this leaves nothing for local consumption. But in addition to the lambs we are annually shipping 400,000 sheep, which will further account for the shortage. We are certainly importing sheep from Marlborough and the south* but

nothing like enough to make up the shortage. Both in Marlborough and the south the country has been donuded of four-tooth sheep, and where six and eight-tooth sheep couid have been readily x got a few years ago, nothing but twe-tooths are now obtainable. I do not know whether I have succeeded in making my meaning clear, but if you like to go carefully over the figures I have quoted, I think you must come to the conclusion that neither turnips nor rape is a factor in the present high price 3ot sheep. I have told ,you all I know, and it is for you to draw your own deductions:. The export of cheese from Canada this season already totals over 650,000 packages, and the Montreal Trade Bulletin estimates that about 4,750,000d0l has been distributed among the farmers from this source alone. The average price paid has been about 94 cents per Ib, which yields an excellent margin to the factories. The exports have been considerably larger than for the like period of lest year, and the price has been higher. In Ontario competition has actually forced prices too high, and the Trade Bulletin says there will be a loss on some cheese shipped recently, for it costs 10 to 10£ cents, which is above an export basis. In connection with the discussion on the question of the weight of wheat bags, pays the Timaru Herald, it would be useful if a return were kept of the tallies made in loading oats and wheat respectively. We observed that the men taking oats from the slings in the hold of the s.s. Kilburn recently handled the 1601b sacks a great deal more smartly than they could sack's of wheat. It would be instructive to know exactly how much more smartly, that is, how many more sacks of oats can be stowed in a day. That information might go a long way towards ending debate en the subject : of weight of sacks. We should not be surprised if -it turned out that a greater weight of oats than of wheat can be handled in a day. "Winnower," in the Hawera Star, suggests that the Agricultural department should offer a prize for the best plan and particulars of a model cowshed, with conveniences for, pay, 50 to 100 cows. He says that the number of different kinds of cowsheds— good, bad, read indifferent — to be seen all over the colony is sufficient for the production of something in the way suggested. Then, again, stall-feed-ing during the winter is a question that might also receive attention, and if the Department undertook a course of experiments at the agricultural station at Levin, and published the results in a leaflet, giving the ration per cow, cost, and quantity and test of milk yielded, the question of housing during winter, which is receiving some attention, would be settled either for or against. Extract from \he annual report of the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce: — To the dairying industry the credit must be given for the enhanced value of land, which otherwise never would have realised the very high prices now obtained. At the Christchurch Magistrate's Court, last week, before Mr R. Beetham, S.M., Frank Dixon and Gilbert Dixon claimed £200 from William M'Kenzie for alleged breach of warranty on the sale of a line of 1200 ewes in lamb. The defendant is a sheep farmer near Masterton, and on the 7th July sold the sheep to the agent of the plaintiff, assuring him over and over again that they were in lamb. The ewes were sent down to Lyttelton, and it was discovered subsequently that they were not in lamb. Mr Wilding appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Stringer for the defendant^ A quantity of evidence was heard on the plaintiff's side, by which it appeared that only 25 per cent, of the ewes were found to be in lamb, instead of 100 per cent., as expected. Mr Stringer said, that the defence was that no warranty had been given by Mr M'Kenzie that the ewes were in lamb,..ind, in fact, Mr M'Kenzie had refu&ed to give such warranty when requested. Evidence to this effect wa? given. Judgment was given for the defendant. The costs amounted to £15 19s. | The following are the shipments of grain and produce from Lyttelton for the week ended Friday, August 31:— For Australian ports— 6B99 sack* oats, 10,253 aacks potatoes, 310 sacks barley. For the United Kingdom — 6487 sacks wheat. Coastwise — 60 sacks barley, 1174 sacks and 2049 bags flour, 317 sacks sharps, 591 sacks bran, 378 sacks oats, 3754 sacks and 103 bags potatoes, 300 sacks wheat. . The sewage of the city of Paris is now being used to irrigate an immense farm of nearly four square miles area. It has proved such a benefit to the land that farmers in the vicinity who opposed it are now anxious to arrange to receive sewage on their farms. i A meeting was held at Waikaka Valley m August 31, for the purpose of forming a farmers' club in the district. There were 15 farmers present, and Mr D. Gilchrist was voted to the chair. The Chairman ' Said he was glad to see so many present. He thought farmers shoiild take more interest in life, and it would be a great advantage to them if hundreds of clubs were formed throughout the colony. Farmers could then communicate with one another, and be able to make their influence felt. But it was surely worth while forming a farmers' club if for nothing else than recreation and exchange of ideas. A motion was carried, without dissent, that a, farmers' club be formed. All present agreed to become members (the subscription to be 5s per annum), and it was resolved to hold monthly meetings. Mr P. T. Aitken was elected president, Mr T. Pryde vice-president, and Mr D. Gilchrist secretary and treasurer. It was decided that the first meeting be held on Friday evening, October 5. # Whin it became known, to the residents of

Hillend and its neighbourhood that Mr Marshall had sold his farm, on which he has resided for the last 40 years, to take up his residence in Balclutha, they decided to make him a presentation. Accordingly, on Friday evening, August 31, they iormed a surprise party, to the number of over. loo, and made a call on Mr and Mrs Marshall at EllCrslie, , where, although their incursion was totally unexpected, they received a hearty welcome. The house and barn were placed at the dis- •' posal ot the visitors, and in a very short tinie the ladies of the party, who came well supplied with delicacies of all kinds, were busy serving them round. After ample justice had been clone to these good things, an adjournment was made to the barn. Mr J. C. Bishop was voted to the ehaii, and in a neat speech, in the name of the settlers of Kill end and a few outside friends, presented Mr and Mrs Marshall with a handhome easy chair each, in which they were at once installed, then to Mr Marshall a silver-mounted walking stick, suitably engraved, and to Mi^s Marshall a handsome gold brooch. In reply, Mr Marshall thanked the donors for tl?eir beautiful presents, and said he would always think of his Hillend friends and their past kindness. An impromptu dance followed, and the gathering dispersed at 5 o'clock on Saturday morning, after singing '"Auld lang syne" and "God save the Queen." The monthly meeting of the Tuapeka Farmers' Union was held at Tuapeka West on the Ist inst. There was a fair attendance of members, and Mr P. M'lnerncy (president) , occupied the chair. Tenders for the supply , of manures were then considered. It was de- j eided, as the following were about equal in price, to "accept them and leave the members to decide when making up their orders which they would prefer — viz., Islington .Fer- , tiliser, Messrs Browne Bros., agents; J. B. Lawes's Superphosphate, Messrs Herbert and Co., agents; Challenge Manures, Mr J. B. ' Thompson, agent. The tender for Fison's Fertiliser was allowed to stand over owing to the tenderers having fixed a minimum quaiw iily which he would supply, and as none of i the other tenders asked to limit the orders, it f was not considered advisable to give . any ' guarantee in one case. It was" decided that the members be requested to send in to the . secretary the quantities and brands of man- i they will require. A motion was carried unanimously that the secretary wire to the , Premier at once, giving the union's support to the proposed tariff. Mr M. Murphy, secretary of the Canterbury j A. and P. Association, has received intimation , of the following special prizes for competition j at the November show: — Messrs Morrow,' Bassett and Co. give sgs in the draught horse classes ; Mr G. Andrews gives 2gs for the best litter of halfbred pigs by a Tamworth boar. | The lambing around Kaikoura this season is very prolific so far, and there is every appearance of a large percentage. Feed- is abundant, and the weather, though broken, is not likely to cause much loss. — Press. j The Fortrose corespondent of the Mataura Ensign writes: — When our local merchant, Mr Elliott, was in his native land, Canada, he procured some oats, a bag of which he gave to Mr K. G. M'Kenzie, of Green Bushes, and this year Mr M'Kenzie was able to strpplv Mr Elliott with 50 bags, .besides keeping 50 for himself. The oat is a Tartarian, and it has taken very kindly to the New Zealand climate. | Some few bags have been procured by/amier* . up Winton way, . so that the class of oat is likely to be properly acclimatised. . The local Times ptrongly urge's upon the Government the necessity of providing land ; for settlement in the Tupeka" district : —We . orice more, on behalf of the jjeople of the district, bring under the notice of the Minister for Lands the urgency of this question of land , settlement in Tuapeka. a"nd trust that no un- j reasonable delay will ,be made in doing that ' which cannot under r'any circumstances be j much longer deferred' without a continuance j of the manifest and serious wrong that is now being done the district. There is not, as we , have repeatedly pointed out, an acre of ground available for settlement throughout | the Tuapeka district at the present moment, j while an entire generation of the sons of old . settlers in the district Kayo grown up to man- \ hood. All these are crowded in the old homesteads instead of being, as should be the , case, under a better state of things, the owners j and cultivators of their own farms. Such a state of things is an injustice and a wrong to , those young men who are trained and cap- , able settlers, as well as an injury to the dis- j tiict generally, and to the country. The circumstances, we again repeat, are such as should have long before this received con- , sideration, and they imperatively cnll for at- , tention at the hands of the Minister for Lands. ' It is not often that objection is taken to a prize in the shape of money, but a case in ' point Avas mentioned at the meeting of the Christchurch Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The society offered j prizes for the best-kept and best-treated coach , horses, and the surprise of the secretary, Mr j M. Murphy, may be imagined when the win- I n cr of the second prize returned 2gs, out of the three awarded him, as a donation to the society's funds — the other gtiinea having been given to the driver of the coach. The prizetaker explained that he did not approve of money prizes, as they only made those who did I not win them envious ; nor did they encourage ! drivers to treat their animals kindly — nothing but constant inspection would do that. A member of the society mentioned that in Australia medals were presented in such cases, and were more prized and better than money prizes. In reply to a question put to him by a New Zealand Times reporter at Wellington a few

days ago as to New Zealand's competitors in "the butter trade, Mr Kowin gave some very interesting information. The Argentine, he said, promises to become a very strong competitor in the .supply of butter to the London marlost. Peasant immigrants from the Basque provinces have settled in that country in large numbers, and are making a great success of dairying. ISIr Henry Reynolds, well known in the Auckland district, and formerly one ol the leading New Zealand dairymen, is controlling a' large Argentine dairy concern. One of the factories connected with it turns out fully six tons of butter in the height of the season. Another New Zcalander, and a former dairy factory manager in Auckland, who is introducing the -Nov." Zealand methods in other countries is Mr. Farley, who has instituted the factory system of butter manufacture in some of the northern districts of Italy. Mr Farley's greatest difficulty, so Mr Kowin has been informed, is in regard to that essential in dairying — cleanliness. On account of the filthy methods of milking and carrying of the raw product by the Italian dairymen, great trouble is baing experienced. The institution of factory butter-making in Italy, ab in the Argentine, is being carried out by London firms, so that competition against our butter is daily on the increase. Mr T. Buxton, merchant, Tenruka, having determined to test the' Cape market for New Zealand produce, shipped 250 sacks of oats and 89 eases potatoes by the s.s. Tekoa for Capetown. The Temuka Leader states that Mr Buxlon has just received advices from hist agents at Capetown, Messrs W. J. A. M'Arthur, Limited, which show that the venture is likely to prove anything but profitable. Messrs M'Arthur, writing under date July 17, state that' owing, to the conges-ted state of shipping" a^ the Cape the discharging of the ship was delayed. They-contiime : — "The potatoes, wo are afraid, will be in very bad order, as. they .have been about ths>ae months, if not more, in' the cases, and -as' this "market 'is 'very well supplied with this aiticla at present, anything of an inferior jjuality is --practically unsaleable. Oats — This " line is " also dull, and there is really no c ,business passing except at extremely low prices, and 'we "regret to advise that we do not see any prospect of selling at paying prices for some considerable time. We hope you have not sent any additional lines by later steamers, as only heavy loss to you will be the result. The trade is of a very: limited nature, and a parcel of 10,000 sacks potatoes and 100,000 sacks oats sent on consignment in one ship as suggested by you, is not to be thought of. The value of B grado New Zealand oats here at present is from 3s to 3s 2d per bushel duty paid ; the duty is 2s per "1001b. There arc, so far as we can gather, including American oats, close on 100,000 bags stored here now, and it is only now and again that a sale can be made of a small parcel. American oats are offering at from 11s to 12s per 1501b, duty paid. "If we could only prevent animals being cruel to animals," remarked Mr M. Murphy at a meeting of the Christchurch Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, "we would do much good." He went on to describe the "great brutes" at Addingtbn horning the smaller, ones, and said that after witnessing such scenes, everyone would be in favour of dehorning. *1- would have every horn off every animal in the colony," he concluded. It is quite evident that the Tapanui Courier does not intend to "bury the hatchet " (or rather tomahawk) in criticising the actions' of the Government. In a recent issue it expresses the opinion that those districts are treated'unfciirly which return members opposed to the policy of the Ministry. Our contemporary says: — No other construction can be put on the actions of the present Governmentthan the fact that they are not willing to da anything for people who return an Opposition member to Parliament. Take the land forsettlement business. They were offered Greenvale, Brooksdale, and Conical Hills estates (the last-named in exchange for Puketoi run in Central Otago). The commissioner? did not even inspect Greenvale — fortunately for the good class of. settlers who now occupy the land. Brooksdale at £4- 10s was too dear ; but at the very next sale £10 Is was averaged ; and the same Government's taxation officers ■pounced on the new settlers like hawks, wanting £9 an acre taxation before the purchasers had any time to get their "houses in order." Now Government has declined Moa Flat at £2 10s, as not being suitable for close settlement. Paradise would not suit for settlement in the eyes of Government if the people in the district returned an Oppositionist. The Government that would reject Greenvale and Brooksdale for close settlement, and style Moa Flat as "no class" for farmers, are wilfully trying" to mislead the people. Moa Flat possesses most of the advantages for close settlement, and a railway through the centre of the property would make it one of the most desirable in the whole colony^ The land is of fine quality, the climate one of the best in the world for stock, whilst for grain and fruit growing it could not be surpassed. "We do not think the owners are at all disappointed because the Government did not take the property, but rather the reverse, as rumour hath it that the estate is returning good interest on the capital invested. We must not omit to mention that Government certainly purchased one property in this electorate — the "Tomahaka" — and that in all conscience was enough for a generation. A meeting was held at Oamaru on the 4th inst. to consider the proposal to extend the

The "Superlative" raspberry is the finest raspberry m cultivation. Obtainable ovly from Nimiio and Blaib. Only a few left, so order early*

scope of the Pufceuri Dairy Factory, by erect- * ing a central factory in Oamaru, at which to ; receive and treat cream from creameries to be I established in various centres in the district. I There was a good attendance. Mr J. H. Barr, j chairman of the Pukeuri Factory, briefly out- j lined what was proposed to be done. As it I avas almost certain that a central factory would ) ■be established in Oamaru it was suggested j that the Pukeuri Company should secure pre- f mises in the town and put in the necessary * plant, peVhaps also providing a chilling cham- i foer and the necessary appliances for prepar- ■ ing butter for export. It would be necessary for the company's shareholders, if this were ■to be done, to extend their capital, change their name, and make the business a central, rather than a local one. Mr Burbury did not j favour the idea. He moved that the company j remain as it is. This was lost by a large ma- } jority. Mr Barr pointed out that the company were already committed to an extension, having negotiated for the control of the creameries at Awamoko and Enficlcl. The-directors could not go back upon this arrangement. If a central factory were established in Oamaru outside the Pukeuri Factory, tho latter would not pay 12g per cent. Such a company would materially affect the Pukeuri one, and as it ■ was certain to be established, he thought the "wisest course was to be first in the field. Mr Hamilton impressed upon the shareholders the necessity of weighing well the directors' proposal. If a central factory were started, people would be able to use their own local ■butter and still have sufficient for an export trade, without having to depend on the Taieii and Peninsula Company for supplies. This ! ,-would ako mean keeping the money in the district. Mr W. Bee proposed that the name of the factory be altered to the North Otapo Dairy Factory Company. Carried with only four dissentients. The capital of the company was extended to £10,000, and it was decided rlhat hereafter dividends should be paid on the amount of the shares paid up. Under the heading " Races v. Agricultural Shows," a correspondent in the Titnaru Post inquires upon what principle of discrimination and sound judgment the Minister for Railways acts in the matter of granting excursion trains to and from various . public events, and remarks that one would naturally assume agricultural shows should take precedence of races ; but such is not the case. The Post, referring to this letter. &ays : — There appears to be no difficulty in obtaining excursion trains for a race meeting in any part of the colony; but if the same privilege is wanted by an agricultural society to enable their patrons to attend, a great deal of difficulty is thrown in" the way. In some cases the conditions imposed -are quite prohibitive, for tho committees are asked to give a guarantee that r. high minimum charge for eaoh train will be readied for the aggregate of passengers who avail themselves of the trip, and if Hint • Aggregate minimum is not reached, the com-

mittees are called upon to pay the difference. If, however, the fixed minimum happens to be exceeded, there is no balance available for the guarantors, and the Department takes the lot. In the case of race meetings this guarantee is rarely, if ever, mentioned, for it is morally certain that the required number of passengers can be relied upon. We cannot help thinking that agricultural societies are most shabbily treated by the Government, not only in this matter, but also in the fact that they receive no' encouragement whatever, whereas certain private speculations working under the label of locat" industries are subsidised out of the- public funds, and fostered by the tariff. Agricultural societies do an incalculable amount of good in creating a healthy rivalry" in each district as" to who can produce the best animal or article, in the production of which a great deal of money is expended and labour employed without the hope of adequate return. If a tithe .of the money were expended by the Government in subsidising agricultural show prizes, so that the winner in a contest could reckon on def laying the cost of exhibiting at these shows, they would do a great deal more good in the encouragement of local industries than has ever been experienced, or is likely to be reali&ed, from the subsidies given to private enterprises. At the Oamaru Magistrate's Court on Thursday last, before Major Keddell, S.M., William Jackson, Moeraki, was charged, on the information of Inspector Miller, with failing to keep down rabbits on his land. The inspector stated that the holding was a small one of 90 acres, and he did not press for a heavy penalty. Defendant was fined jsOs and 7s costs. — Mrs Robert Johnston, Hfilgrove, charged with a similar offence, was also fined 20s, with 7s costs. " Hawks are reported to be destroying many lambs in the neighbourhood of Ekelahuna. Writing on the 4th inst., the Kurow correspondent of the Oamaru Mail reports : — There has been a singular mortality amongst horses in this district of late. The trotting stallion Jay Gould fell over a precipice and was killed. Mr T. Munro has lo&t three valuable horses in a very short time, one filly succumbing to the ravages of bots, while Mr Cully lost two some time ago. The weather, which until lately has been mild, has broken, this week being bitterly cold, and to-day snow is lying very far down on the mountains. However, as lambing is not so early there as in the lower regions, it is not expected that much damage will be done. A few lambs are making their appearance, but lambing has not yet become general. Th annual meeting of shareholders in the Tokonui Dairy Factory Company was held on the 3rd insfc. There -was a fair attendance, and Mr G. Earwakei presided. The report and balance sheet were read. The directors*-, in presenting their first annual report stated that on the whole the past season, had been

fairly successful. The output for the season _was 61,69ttb ot cheese, against 53,0791b for "season 1898-99, showing an increase of 85971b, together with J,d per lb extra payment all round for^the season just closed, with the exception of the first shipment, which only realised a little over 4d per lb, or, in other words, £3 0s 4d was deducted in this instance. With this exception, the whole of the season's cheese realised 4-kl per lb f^o.b., Bluff. Mr Ross, the manager, had sen£ cheese from the factory to the Dunedin show, and the result was very successful, as they obtained the gold medal for factory cheese under 40 tons, also two second prizes, and 0r.% third. The medal was presented to Mr Ross, who has been reengaged as manager for the ensuing season. In reply to a question, it was stated -that the price paid' for milk was 3 3-16 d" per 101b gallon, and that it took 10 5-161b milk to make lib cheese. A motion that the report and balance sheet be adopted was carried unanimously. Cheese to the amount of £1112 4s Id had been sold during the year. An honorarium of 2gs was voted to the chairman. It was decided to open the factory for the season on Monday, October 1. A count-up showed that upwards of 100 cows should be milking by then. In the course of a letter to a Victorian resident, a London firm states: — '"Mr Cecil Rhodes has let a contract for refrigerating engines for cool storage depots in three Rhodesian towns. Beira is to have refrigerating warehouses, and special trucks are to be provided for the railway. This is the- course you urged him to adopt, and we are glad to see your proposals bearing good fruit." The Wyndham Farmei of the 7th inst. says: — -In our last issue we mentioned that Mr W. Hodgson, of Otava, was "consigning from G-lenham siding to Burnside an exceptionally fine draft of fat cattle. We have now to congratulate Mr Hodgson on the success of his venture, as he topped the market with 15 head bullocks from £11 17s 6d to £7 17s 6d, and three heifers at £7 2s 6d. A meeting of the general committee of the Palmerston and Waihemo A. and P. Association took place on the 3rd inst. ; Mr T. Muir (president) in the chair. Mr D. Ross intimated that he would give a fat sheep for a guessing competition on the day of the. show. The committee revised the show programme and priza list and the allocation of prizes. There were several alterations, the principal ones being the substitution of a prize for the best two-horse team in class 4-7, section F ; and in the jumping competition the height of the hurdle was reduced from 4f tto 3ft 6in. It was also decided 'as encouragement to the Mounted Rifle Corps in the district to offer a prize for the best trooper's horse, to be ridden by trooper in uniform. Attending members were appointed for the forthcoming show. At a general meeting of the Northern ~Ag ricultural Society, held at Rangiora, Mr John Stevenson, president, announced that the meeting was held to arrange the data for the show. It had been agreed that it should be held on November 1, but since then it had been decided to open the Canterbury Jubilee Exhibition on that day. Mr T. Wyllie moved, and Mr M. Macfarlane seconded — "That the date for this year be Friday, October 26." This was agreed to. A meeting of the General Committee was then held, when judges were elected for the respective classes, and class stewards were appointed. A farewell gathering was held at Wyndham on August 31, to do honour to Mr and MrsCushnie and Mr George Cushnie prior to their departure from the district. During the evening Mi Cushine was presented with a gold watch as a memento of his long residence in the district, and Mrs Cushnie with a cake dish, while the many young friends of Mr Geo. Cushnie presented him with a gold albert and Maltese crose. The 'case of Buchanan v. Russell and Middlemiss, a claim for alleged wrongful distrainment of cattle belonging to plaintiff, and damages, was heard at the sitting of the Gore Magistrate's Court on August 9, before Mr H. A. Stratford, S.M. His Worship delivered judgment on Thursday last in favour of plaintiff as follows : • — Damages for loss of four cattle, his property, £17 ; for detention in the first place, £I—total,1 — total, £13 of which sum defendants have paid into court £15 10s ; court costs 19s, professional fee £1 63. Sowing is now the order of the day, says the writer of Clinton notes 'in the Mataura Ensign. September 3is usually rather early for most about here, but I suppose farmers are afraid that when the weather does break seed time will be over before it takes up again. The Wangaloa correspondent of the Clutha Free Press writes : — The weather during the whole month of August has been exceptionally fine. This has enabled the farmers to push on with their work ; a very large amount of ground has been turned over, and a good bit of sowing has been done on some farms. No one can complain of the ground being too wet this year. So far as the season has gone it has been everything that could bo desired for farm work, and those behind in getting in their crops this year will only hove themselves to blame. The sheep on the turnips are looking well, and in a few weeks a very superior lot of turnit) fed Wangaloa sheep will be nut on the market, but will our farmers get the credit for it? Not they; the sheep will be run right through to Canterbury, and frozen there md sent Home as Canterbury mutton. Ido not think this is altogether fail. I hope that Mr Thomas Mackenzie will see that -h e get fair play, and have our sheep branded as Wangaloa fed mutton. Mr Samson informs^jne that he is giving up dairying:, and is iust about to dispose of his splendid herd of milk cows. As everyone here knows, Mr Samson lias. one of the best herds of cows south of Dunedin. They were all carefully bred by himgglf. and he went to no end of trouble and expense to set them as pure as possible. Mr Samson has carried off a great raanv prizes for his stock at the local shows, and hia dairy cows are well worthy the attention of dairymen, -breeders, and others.