AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2454, 27 March 1901, Page 14

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Some idea of the dimensions of the Teviofc fruit industry may be gained (says the Tuapeka Times) from the fact that during the present season upwards of 100 horses have been employed in carrying fruit to Lawrence, where it is trained to Dunedin and elsewhere. Apricots grown in the Teviot district have realised as much as 28s per case in Wellington this season. According to a Queensland planter the sugar industiy could be worked profitably with white labour if assisted by a duty. A number of Nathes owning land surrounding the township of Kawhia ha^e suggested to the Hon. Mr Duncan that the Government should lake over this land, which is at -present practically lying idle, and lease it on b&half of the owners. The matter is to .be considered. An' exhibit of potatoes by Captain Smart, Tikorangi, shown at the Normanby show, were said to yield at the rate of 140 tons tothe acre. . Correspondents of the Mount - Ida. Chronicle: — Waipiata: Harvesting is now nearly all over in this district and by all accounts the crops are very satisfactory, oats ranging from 60 to 90 bushels to the acre.— Rough Ridge : There is not much cf the grain stacked yet. although with the exception of one or two late crops it is all cut down. Tho frosts ha\e damaged the potato crops to a. considerable extent, as it caught them while in full bloom. This need not, however, alarm potato buyers, as potatoes are very litllo grown here, pettleis preferring to leave potato crops to those who possess a more congenial climate. The merino sheep, which is responsible for the production of the great bulk both of the wool aud of the mutton produced in Australia, has on several occasions been tried in tho British Isles, but never with success. The gonerpl opinion of experts is, says a writer in a Home paper, tl.at the climate of the United Kingdom is 100 dnmp and cold for the breed. The' merino is nathe to countries where the olimate is dry and warm, and when tried in England it was found that its wool not only deteiiorated but that the breed became very liable to suffer from foot rot and other troubles — troubles which militated materially against it from n profit-making point; of -wow. . A umms; paity was organised at Cheviot; on* Friday las-t, for tho benefit of the Hon. C. H Mills- and other \i.-<itoiv-. The day wabeautifully fine. A drive was taken through" tho settlement to the Waiau, and tho river being sufficiently low and the ford good tha party crossed over to Mount Parnassus station, where they wore hospitably entertained by Mr and Mrs ('iles. In every direction tho country looked splendid, feed of all kinds being never so abundant for the time of the year, and the turnip crops were, on the whole, excellent. Though stock arc rot fattening a& well as could be wished, i..ai i«j the skeep

and lambs required for the factory, all classes looked thriving and healthy and in good order to face the wimter. The visitors were not only pleased with what they saw on the settlement, but were much impressed with the splendid pastoral country across the Waiau. An important case "to farmers and milk,consumers, says the Rural World of January 19, was tried by his Honor Judge Whithorne and a jury at Birmingham County Court. An action was brought by Clement Haynes, Leaend, near Alveehurch, farmer, against George Keya, of the Home Farm, King's Heath, farmer, to recover £33 damages for breach of warranty. In September last the plaintiff agreed to purchase three cows from the defendant for £33. The defendant, he said, warranted the cows to be perfectly right and healthy. He left the cows for three or four i days at the defendant's place till he co^ld ( send for them. On. the fifth day he received a letter from the defendant Eaying thai one of the cows was- ill, and soon after another letter that it had died from eating acorns. A post mortem examination showed that the lungs of the dead animal were "rot- • ten ■with tuberculosis." £>f tho other two ; cows one was healthy and the other was affected with tubercle. On the advice of his solicitor, the plaintiff removed the two cowb and paid the £33 to the defendant without prejudice. The action _wae brought- to recover the money back from the defendant. It was explained "that the afflicted cow removed bvs the plaintiff would not be used by the plaintiff as a milch cow, but would be killed after calving. The defence was a- denial of the warranty. One of the veterinary witnesses (Mr Gould, of Redditch) said that 40 per cent, of the dairy oows .in the county suffered from tuberculosis. He explained by this "he meant housed cows. His Honor : That is a matter of fearful public interest. "Witness said it did not affect the" milk unless iha tuberculosis extended to the udder, then it was most dangerous. The' jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff for £22 10s. Note 3 from Waitalmna West, by a correspondent of the Tuapeka Times :— The settlers 1 ara still busy here harvesting, though pretty 1 -veil the whole of the crop is now in stook. , The quality of the grain generally speaking, through the district is considered to be good, j but it is wanting in quantity. As a rule the grain crbpß are not heavy, while here and there they are decidedly light, a fact largely due to the unfavourable weather conditions of the present and previous season. There is, however, strong reason to hope that prices: will run high for the season's crops, notwithetanding the fact that there are big supplies in hand in some of the other great growing countries. If our Government can be defended 'on to go to work energetically and carry out its intention without loss of time of securing a fast line of steamers between New Zealand ports and South Africa the benefit should be considerable to the farmers of this colony. There is one thing I should like to see— that is, a periodical re-valuation of the lands held by Crown tenants and, in fact, ako by the tenants of private owners of land lam aware ofmany instances of land , •being taken up on the deferred payment sys- \ tern at three, four, and five times its actual market value, simply because rt was run up by rival bidders. It is not difficult to understand the position of the holders of such land after a series of bad seasons or low prices. It should be the duty of the Government to afford relief to such men in some form. Under the most favourable conditions the Irfe of a back blocks settler must in the natural order of things be a rough one, but when he is overweighted with a rackrented farm or land ■which has been rushed up to too high a figure •his position is unquestionably a hard- one. There is now an abundance of feed throughout the district and stock are in prime condition. , . . The Palmerston Times says:— At the last meeting of the Waihemo County Council the ranger complained that the owner of some cattle he had seized for trespassing on the county roads and was driving to the pound had rescued them. He aflked the council to protect him in the execution of his duty. The council recognised the necessity of *"££»£ their officers, and suggested that the offender should be summoned. The ranger asked who was to nay him his driving fees. The only •way thele could be recovered was by a civil action, and it was ultimately resolved that legal proceedings should be taken and the ranger P empowered, if necessary, to employ the county solicitor. It may be as well to slate that the penalty for illegally rescuing cattle being driven to -the pound is toi>. - The following are the shipments of grain and -produce from Lyttelton for the week ended last Friday :— For the United Kingdom —5*05 sacks oats; for Australia— so sacks wheat, 5193 sacks oats, 1165 sacks bran, 200 packs barley, 154- sacks and 48 bags potatoes, 50 sacks sharps ; coastwise— 32o3 sacks wheat, 4883 sacks oats, 100 bags bran, 1162 sacks barley. 1658 sacks and 3818 bags flour, 774- sacks and 22 gunnies of potatoes, 172 sacks sharps. Total shipments — 3253 sacks wheat, 15,481 sacks oats, 1265 sacks bran, 1362 sacks barley, 1658 sacks and 3818 bags flour, 928 sacks, 48 bags, and 22 gunnies potatoes, 222 sacks . iharps. 1 The extent to srfrich English stockowuers

are still suffering from the prevalence of contagious diseases among stock is' well shown by the returns just issued by. the Board of Agriculture, and giving details of the outbreaks of different diseases during the year. From these returns it appears that the number of outbreaks of anthrax during the 12 months amounted to 577, of glanders 1126, and of swine fever to 1940. There were in addition. 21 outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and 11 cases of rabies. In the case of both anthrax and glanders the returns show increases as compared with the previous year, but there is a substantial falling off in the case of swine fever, the total for 1899 being 2322. The number of animals attacked by the various diseases included 952 in the case of<-anthrax, 1865 in the cas? of glanders, and 17,933 in the case of swino fever. A local paper states that the butchers of i Ashburton- have reduced the price of mutton by one halfpenny per lb. In the North Canterbury district on last Thursday night the frost was sufficiently keen to blacken the tops of potato crops. The Highland and Agricultural Society is 1 a grand old-standing institution, and one that ; has done inestimable good in its own sphere ' to Scotland. Last year its show was.at Stirlinff, when a profit of nearly £1500 was made, and over the year there was a sum of £2500 to the good ! This year the exhibition of the society is to be held at Inverness, where energetic attempts are being made, to. make it a success. Already £900 more is to the fore for , prises than was the ease in 1592, when the last show was held there. Cups and medals are pouring in — some of thfpn Very valuable — worthy 'of the capital of the Highlands and of the ' Highlands themselves. Lord Tweedmouth gives a special prize of £25, for instance.