AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2479, 18 September 1901, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTO RAL NEWS.

Mr Walter Hi.-lop, of the Perr-tnal Tn'stces-, Estate, and Agency Compnu/, has favoured us with the following exriact from a letter received from Lady Gore-Biowne, widow of the lac Sir T. Gore Browre, afc our time Governor of Xca" Zealand, whic!>, besides extolling Xpw Zealand mutton, sliows that she continues to t-ike a great interest in the colony: — "We enjoy the -New Zealand mutton with a keen relish. I bad a hindquarter at a dinner party the ether day, and it was better than any English imitton. and only mailed by Welsn o1o 1 - Scotch black-faced five-year-old."

The Minister of Agriculture has, in accordance with the wish of a large number of millers and merchants, decided to introduce a bill to make the grading of flax by the Government expert compulsory.

An extraordinary pi'Osecution was before the Magistrate's Court at Oamaru on Wednesday, when a farmer named Atkinson was* charged with removing two tarpaulins from Tesehemaker's siding at Taupo to cover potatoes that were awaiting trucks. It was I'roved that the guard of the train gave Atkinson the tarpaulins to cover his produce, and that it was a common practice for the department to give tarpaulins when a shortage of trucks necessitated stacking r-rodtico at siding*. Major Keddell, in dimist.ing the case, anivnad\ erled on the prosecution, and ?pid it would ne\ or have been biought had t'.e Railway Department -uliich was responsible for the slate of things obtaining at country sidings — known t':e full circumstances.

A Wairarapa paper is inforuiod that tho grub is committing great uuagos amongst tlie wheat crops m tliat district, and tho present outlook is rather a .scuou-. o'ie. Ie is the later crops to wlnc'i special dnmagc^ lias been done by the giub, and it is stated' tliat, fiom piesent indication*, unless there is a heavy downpoui of ram the farmers will sustain vcr^- seveie looses.

A man nnmed John Robinson was charged at the Timaiu S.M. (Joint with making a false decldiation under the Land ioi Settlements Act. When applying for a lease-in-perpetuity section on the Ramcliff settlement he signed a declaiation that. he held only 201 acies, and w.is admitted to ballot, and drew a section. It was then diseovfcied that he held two othei le.isehokls. comprising altogcihei 350 acies, or -i intal of 1050 «ere«, thus disqualih mg Im.i from being an applicant. He 'was cumin 1 1 ted for tiial. bail being allowed, him-elf in £50 and one surety of £50. Hi^ defence w .is reserved, but it is hinted ihat the ,>ccused had pailly arianged to quit his two holdiugb of 850 acits.

Tho Bruce Herald understands that the VMoid puce paid lor oats m tap disinc t this

Two Stirling- residents ha\e paid £9 odil! to -etile damages done by their dog, .sheep-. \. orrynig. L'wo Hereford bull* — one from the hen! of {\<f Kail of Coven'ny and the other hied by Mr Tudge, of D-.mmooi — ai lived by the

Wakanui on the 10th for Mr Stuckey, of Rangitaniati. Two Shropshire rams for the Loan and Mercantile Company were also imported. In the Waimate district sheep and kmb3 are faring badly owing to the dry weather. year was 2s 6d per bushel, Mr Jos. Koulston, of Circle Hill, obtaining this figure for borne really good seed lines. It was unanimously decided at a meeting of farmers at Clinton on Thursday to form a. branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. Upwards of 60 members were enrolled on the .=pot. Farmers who have grain to thresh are now taking ad\antage of the dry weather, and the mills are kept busy threshing throughout the Milton district (says the Bruce Herald). Oats are the principal cereal being threshed. When the roll was called at Buckingbong and Lake Midgeou stations, in the Narandera district (N.S.W.), on September 2, oil the shearers and rouseabouts objected to sign the pastoralists' agreement, and refused to go to work. Two hundred men camped two miles from Buckingbong. A petitiou is in course of circulation in the Timaru district (says the Post), the object of which is to ask the Government to reduce the railway freights on eggs, and asking them to supply special crates similar to those used in Australia. It is pointed out that in the summer months there is a large surplus of eggs in thus district, and, although they are bringing far higher prices in the larger centres, poulty-owners cannot avail themselves of the market owing to the higii freights and breakages. The Riversdale correspondent of the Gore Standard states that Mr James Nicolson, of itiversdale, had the misfortune to have his threshing mill totally destroyed by fire on Wednesday last. There was an insurance of £160 on the machine, but this will not nearly cover the loss. - The Minister for Lands (the Hon. Thos. Duncan) states that the outbreak of anthrax >rhich is alarming settlers in the Poverty Bay, Opotiki, and Tauranga districts i 3 the second occurrence of the disease in New Zealand, and both are distinctly traceable to pastures in which bone manure has been used. Infected bones and flesh gathered from everywhere were converted into manure, which was used on turnip lands, and cattle fed on these were very liable tc catch anthrax. The disease being contracted froir the pasture, and not caught by one beast from another, there is, the Minister considers, no danger of an epidemic. The position will be met by ieolating diseased cattle. This will prevent their being converted into manure, and the department can lo little else until it can arrange for a digesier that will put manure to a temperature sufficiently high to destroy disease. Ii is not deemed necessary to prohibit all movement Df stock from the Bay of Plenty to Poverty -Bay, says the Post, but the grazing of stock on infected paddocks is prohibited, and such beasts cannot be removed without the inspector's permission. The sum of £51 16s\8d has been expended by the Ciutha County Council during theyear ending March 31. Some time ago, says the Waimate. Advertiser, the Waimate A. and P. Association decided to write and ask the Government to station one of the lately-imported stallions in the Waimate district. As ? protest against this a number of horse-owners of the district, several of whom aie very riominent members of the association, resigned from that body. The A. and P. ■Association have reconsidered their decision, and rather -than lose valuable members have dropped the matter altogether. They wrote regretting .the misunderstanding that had occurred, stating that the association had no wish to interfere with the business of horse-owners. At lhe same time they gave it as their opinion that the district was well supplied with suitable horses, which were not to be excelled m any part of the province. Those of the horse-owners who have met have agreed to return to the association, and there see.-ns no doubt the others will agree, and the little difficulty be overcome. Mr W. S. Matiin, non. secretary to the South Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, has received a letter from the Premier acknowledging receipt of a letter containing a copy of a resolution passed by the South Canterbury branch on August 19, opposing certain clauses in the proDOsed Factories Bill affecting fieezing companies and kindred industries, and in reply th© Premier states that when the bill again comes up to be dealt with, Mr Mas- , lin's lettei will receive the careful consideration of the Government.

The monthly meeting of the Gore A. and P. Association was held on the 7th inst. ; MiGeorge Milnea (vice-president) in tho chair. Captain Bowler (Mataura Mounted Rifles) and Captain Boyne (Gore- Rifles) wrote a joint letter intimating that they had written the Defence Office re a subside of £ for £ up to £500 towards a hall. The department had now replied, and wished to lcuow if the building would be on Crown land, and hovr it wa3 proposed to raise the £500 to meet the subsidy asked for. As this opened x\p the whole question, the writers thought joii'i .iclion should b~ tnk<*r>, and would be &!ad if "ie a-soeiat'on \ i 1 give the matter i' ii- 'Illation v. n > • \ ew to pushing en vrl . t c.civo.u 'dun . <' was an urgent Sisee— it} !'-»!' tiio- to mi. 'i o writers under-

stood that a committee had been appointed, but far they had not approached the writer?. The secretary stated that a committee was appointed, and had been waiting a reply from Captains Bowler and Boyne. It was resolved that the letter bo lefcrred to tho committee. — Tho annual horse parade was iixed for the second Satuiday in October. A committee was appointed to draw up a programme for the show. Three members were selected to canvass for special prizes. Judges were nominated for the coming show. The Fairlie correspondent of the Tim am Herald writes :— Fine weather is the regular thing now with c'ay> getting warmer and longer. Farm work is being rushed on, the giound being in good trim for ploughing, in the back country the haz© of smoke shows that tussock is being burnt off to improve the spring feed. Sheep geneially are doing well, but there is- rather a shortage of grass, as the young grass is not springing yet. There ha-> beeu considerable mortality in many ca='es amongst the ewes. The Goveinment veterinary «urgeon paid a vi«it to the. district, and after examining several flocks came to the conclusion that in ir.Oot eases the feed had during the past month or two been unsuitable. Lambs are numerous everywhere, though the general flock lambing has hardly begun. i Donald M'Kenzie and J. Noiton were charged at the Timaru Magistrate's Court with having exposed lice-mfested sheep for sale in the Pleasant Point saleyards. Defendants pleaded ignorance of the law. Mr Wray, S.M., imposed a fine of 20s in each case. At tli" monthly meeting of the Tokomairiro Farmers' Club, held ?t Milton, Mr j •T. Tough (president) occupied the chair. Mr j A. Campbell was re-elected secretary for the ensuing year. It was agreed that the walkins; show should be held early in October. Arrangement? for the annual stock show ' were then proceeded with. La?t year's j Ground Committee, with the inclusion of 1 Mr James Allison, was re-electee l . Can- [ va=.->ers were appointed for Duriedin and Milton. Stewards were a'so appointed for (he \aricus sections of the show. The pre- ' sident, tieasurer, and secretary were re- ' quested to draft a letter to the Stock department, in order to ascertain if .«ome of the stcck lately imported by the Government from England could not be stationed in the Tokomairiro district. It was sjig- , gested that the .society bhouid adopt a plan in force among tho oflieials of the Otago A. j and P. Society. The secretary should be j instructed to send out members' tickets at j the beginning of the year to all members of the previous year. The suggestion met with unanimous approval. The Napier corro-r/ondent of the- New 1 Zealand Times writes: — At a meeting of the j Hawke's Bay A. and P. Society n. motion was moved for the elimination of Lincoln pens of 10 and 20 exhibits from the show catalogue, on the ground that the day of th© Lincoln sheep was done. Farmers, it was stated, could now only get £1 apiece for Lincoln rams. <>nd it was aot worth the bother io exhibit them. This pessimistic statement was strongly combated, members asserting that the wool in future wouM be as valuable as ever. Thirty-five new members haTe been added this month, bringing the tota' to close on 100, the largest membership within th-e history of the society.- — Mr J. A. Kinsella, Dairy Commissioner, who l.ad consented to act as judge of the butter c-]a«e3 at the coming show, "wrote to the society that as there are no butter exhibits for export he coukl not act, the departmental officers being only allowed to act as, judges where there were samples suitable for the export trade. This deficiency, it is hoped, will be remedied ere long. The dairy industry is making very good progress in Hawke's Bay, and the district may toon be added to the piovinces that export such produce.

Here is a short and true Canadian story worth more than many a three-volume novel. "Up in the Gatineau Valley theie lhed a man named Meldrum. He had several (laughters, and they went into lhe fir-Ids and picked out th big early heads of wheat from lavgp. vigorous plant*. The seed from these. Meldrum cleaned thoroughly and sowed again. He thus got exceptionally good plants with large heads and fine wheat. With this wheat lie took the gold medal at the- Paris Exhibition, and for years afterwardw Meldrum wheat sold at iinc prices for seed." Bettering the moral, Sir W. C. Macdonald. of Montreal, At the instance of Professor Robertson, has given 10,000dol (£2000) as prizes for young people- on Canadian farms who produce from seed-plots of a quarter of an acre the finest ears of wheat and oats yearly, and the best produce in three years. In this way 700 young men and women in the Provinces of the Dominion are studying feienlifie farming bj^ "selection of «he fittest." The worthy Yorkshireman, a good fanner, too, who said oracularly 50 years ago that '"steam was in its infancy, but agriculture had reached perfection," was a little premature, perhaps. ! We may learn something yet even fiom our own colonies. — London Telegraph.

What dairying on sound lines may do for a district (says l Napier paper) is well exemplified by a balance-sheet which lies before us. It is that of the Pai Tapu Cooperative- Dairy Company. The figures speak eloquently of the value of the principle upon which the company is run. It commenced

i | business 13 yo<us ago. It« nominal capital j then was £4000 ii £2 share--. The capital is now all pud up less £23. The company for the year or. did July !a=t had a turnover of £18,582: they obtained an average price ( f lOJd ppr lb for their butter, and Mipplieis received 4-Jd \>rv gallon for their output of milk. On the year's transac tions tl.ere wa-> a piofit of £964, and shareholders were paid a dividend of 5 per cent. The annual report of the -tcck branch of the New South Wales Depaitment of Agr.oultuie for 1900 .shows a decrease in hordes during the year of 655. lh« number in the State on 31m December was -H5,812. The decrease was owing t<> drought and the largo export to .South Africa ami India. The mit proved season and additional settlement aie j the cxplanatoiy causes set down for an inI create i»i cattle of 18.468, the total in the ] State being 1,821,165. Tick is reported t o I be «till on the advance in Queensland, but no efforts are being i-pared to keep it out of Xrw South Wale*, show an mj c-rep-e of 3,806,992. The total munber of ! merino? was 36.639,156 and of long-woolled «heep 1.076.224. with 2.245.066 crcsbreds. The , spring lambing was returned at 75A per j cent., and the autumn and winter lambing lat 65! and b£>2 per cent, respectively. Of 33.281,376 sheep "and 5,118,865 lambs .shorn in the grease, the wool of 1,249.448 thecp and 95.972 lambs wa« scoured. The total clip was estimated at 234,257.8111b, being an increase of 46,553,5101b on the previous year. It is estimated that 192,594,4901b was r=cnt to Sydney and Newcastle for shipment, 34.629.9671b to Melbourne, 6,062,5241b to Adelaide, aad 55,2941b to Brisbane. Speaking before the Royal Agricultural Soi'ieiy at Adelaide. Mr A. Murray, a wellknpwn sl.eep farmer, ?aid it was questionable whether the spread of starling? over .South Australia had been an unmixed evil. In all parts of the State where he had been ' lo had found stomach worms in sheep and j lambs dm ing the winter months, and he and I others had noticed starlings in flocks of j 500 or 1000 following the mobs of «-heep and eaung- the worms. It was however, decided to continue paying- for starling eggs with the . ! object of extermination. 1 In Ayrshire and the soutn-west of Scotland generally large quantities of early potatoes are .'•■ old every year as they grow in the fields, tl.o buyeis being for the most part potato merchants in neighbouring dis- , tricls, who have the potatoes dug up and sent for «ale to Glasgow and the leading j towns. The prices for such potatoes usually J range from £25 to £35 pei jcre. but tt j several of the sales recently held figures ranging up to £4-0 per acre were obtained. In all case;, the potatoes- are grown from sprouted c ets, and are on the point of being fit for raiding at the time of sale. Unfavourable reports having been received from Home as to the efficacy of the Chapman dry thawing process for preserving meat — a patent for which was taken out by Mr Chapman, a North Otago settler — the following paragraph from the London Meat Trades Journal of August 1 will be read with much gratification by the friends of the patentee : — '"We had a further opportu- I mty last week ol inspecting ment which ' had been treated by the Chapman dry-thaw - iug process, and are bound tc t-ay that fio two frozen hindquaiters submitted to us I were in splendid condition — dry, bright, and ! firm. The fact that these hindquarters I readily made from 4d to 6d per stone more J points ?imclusively to the :ommercial value ; of the .system."' i A committee meeting of the Taieri Agri- ' cultural Society wa« held at Allanton on j the 6th inst. Mr Robert Webster (pre»i | dent) occupied the chair. There were 14 ap- , plicant* foi- the position of B ecretary. It was unanimously agreed to re-elect the retiring secretary. Mr J. H. Allan. A sublommittee, consisting of the president, vicepresident, and five members of the society, was appointed tr re\ise the >hnw bill. The selection of judge*- foi the show concluded the btwinos.

There was a large -attendance of farmers at Waitahuna on the 7th inst., when a branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union \\a» formed and an executive elected. Forty members were enrolled.

Tapanui notes from the Courier, lltli inst. :■ — Tho oat market- was very brisk last week, and 2s 3d was paid tor milling samples at biding--, and 2s to 2s 2d for bright feed. — The work of planting out the young trees at the Tapanui State Nursery hap made great headway within the past fortnight, ;nd during that time the large number of hands employed have hardly loot a day. Rain is now badly needed, and the planting work cannot be gone on with until a fall come«. The number of trees to be dealt with this '■ijasoii far exceeds that of any previous year, so that favouiable weathei i.-> 3ssentia! for the successful carrying out of the work. — We were p'.iown yesterday a splendid 601b cheese made at Mr John Mackie's Riverside factory as far back as the season }f 1898-9. The cheese had been kept in ~,tore

without my special care as regards temperature', and withstood both heat and cold, and cut fresh and moist without sign of decay or waste. Cheese such as the Riverside, of MissMackie's manufacture, would cross the equator without injury packed as ordinary cargo, and apparently keep for many years in a temperate zone. The dieese was pronounced by experts to be fine flavoured, choice in quality, and of good value. — Wo have been requested by anotliei small bush

(settler to rail attention to excessive valuation in his case. From £153 original valuation, iie was recently raised at one jump to £204. Lfe objected, and the department climbed down and compromised at £180: the latter -urn the pip re could not be sold at. In another instance a dwelling nearly 30 years old was rawed from £100 to £200. although the pilt =i were rotten and the building generally dilapidated. If the people here had a. representative in Parliament who lookie'l after their interests, such overvaluing for taxation puipos.es would not bo tolerated for a moment. If there vvero revaluation nil over the Ciutha electorate, thoie vvou'cl be =ome excuse fer increasing taxation, but it is the Tapanui portion of tho electorate that is singled out for excessive valuing, and the member for tho district never offers to help the people to lesist oppressive taxation. Pevliapt the Farmcra' Union will try to alter thing*. A meeting of the committee of the Gore branch ot the New Zealand Farmers' Union was held on the 7th inst., and was attended by the whole of the members. Mr Dodds piesided. It was decided to wiite to Me»3is M'Nab and Thomson, M's.H.R., l equating them to ask the Government to make it eieai by legislation whether farmers come under the Employers' Liability Act. With the view that Professor Lovvrie. lhe new director of the Canterbury Agricultuial Co'lege, and farmers may become acquainted with one another. Mr M. Murphy suggested at the meeting of the board last week that a gathering of farmers be held at the college after Professor Lowrie's arrival. The suggestion was approved, and it was decided that the arrangements and tho date be considered at a future meeting. Professor Lowrie n o:y>eeted to arrive in about a month's time. At a meeting of the directors of tho Tai Tapu Co-operative Dairy Company, Mr T. Quayle was re-elected chairman. It was reported lhat Mr W. Dixon, the manager, was leaving to take np the position of manager of the South Canterbury dairy factory at Timaru. ■ The owners of sevc-ral estates in the Wel- ' Hngton district are finding it profitable lo cultivate flax on their wet lands. Mr Field, M.H.R., in the course of the interview which the fiaxinillcr? and flax merchants had with the I\lini;-ter of Agriculture, stated that a laiido\vn°r in tht WairarajMf was trotting a beitei r.r-nual return frojp 100 ucie-, of flax land than from any similar «trci which he laid down in ordinary crop-. The settler* on Aorangi estate, near Yeilding, are objecting to pay their rents in advance, and consider they should be pavableat the end of each half year. The rentals wu-y from 12^, 3c 1 to 20s per acre, and ?vciago 16s. At the Royal Isle of Wight" Agricultural Society's thow at Newport, on July 24-. ilie King was an exhibitor in the horse, cattle. and hheep classes, and proved very -iuie=° ful. With a total of ]7 entries his Majesty took fivf fiist°, five seconds, and four ihamplon prizes. Hitherto pig .-iceders ynd dealer- l.i>\e j had the ills of swine fever lo put up 1 with : now thry ha\ c to look out for tuberculosi*. At Liverpool, on July 25, foi exposing two pig> affected with tuberculo-i-. William Gosrncre, Tarvin Bridge. Chetliiie, was fined £10 and costs by the stipendiary. Mr Glass organising secretary of the NewZealand Farmers' Union, addressed a largely attended meeting" of farmers at Templeton on the 10th in=t. A committee was appointed to work up branches in the following districts: — Templeton, Yaldhurst. Broadfiekl«, West Melton, Weedons. Prebbleton. and Harewood road. A large number of members were enrolled. A meeting of the Canterbury A. and P. Association was held on Wednesday la«t. There wa^ a large attendance of members and Di Levinge t&ok the cliaa. A letter was. received from the lljilway department, stating that +he Minister could not «oe hi* way clear to reduce the charge ior carriage of stud sheep.— The Agricultural department wrote stating that the question of offering a prize fci troop horses must be deferred till the Stock BiU before the House wa« dealt with. It was resolved to a^k the Government to present the association with a copy of the bill, and aUo to vequrtt the Pailiamentary Association to tiy lo arrange to get copies of all bills affecting the pastoral ant 1 agricultural industries sent to the association. — The Parade Committee reported that hey had fixed the annual horse parade for September 21. Several new classes Had been added ..o the list. The icpoit was adopted.

The assent of the Miuistoi has been received by the Ashburton Borough Council tt the adoption A the Fairfield Freezing Works as the central abattoirs for the Ashburton district.

Speaking at the annual show of the Heit fordshire Agricultural Society, held at Hatfield on July 25, Mr R. W. Hanbury, president of the Board of Agriculture, iespondina to the toasc of success to the society, paid thai although, as the president had observed, M. Rider Haggard in his expedition through Hertfordshire had found farmers who took a sanguine view of their lot, he was afiaid that thi* season, at any rate, wa not me upon whicn he could very heartily congratulate them. With regard to their flocks and herds he was glac' to see that at any rate some form-* of disease had absolutely disappeared. Foot-and-mouth

I dheasr" had gone, and although the old j enemy, swine fever, was still troubling them, t! cy ik 'gut depend upon it that the Board of Agriculture would do everything to remove that scourge to agriculturists generally. They might depend upon it that local &liow3 like tins filled a place which could not bo filled bj r larger shows. What were wanted were shows which would be of service, notonly to the large farmers, but to small farmers also. Ho impressed two lessons to be gained fioni theeo- shows upon them. One was that it was only good things which pay at the present moment. If the farmer waa going to succeed, he would have to do the best work, and produce the best animals »ncl the best stock. The second lesson was that they wanted farming conducted more on the pounds, shillings, and pence principle. It v/a-p no good liming shows where they had animals produced which were so enormoudy fat that they were no good for the butcher.

A general meeting of the Maniototo A. and P. Association was held at Naseby on the 7th inst. Mr R. F. Inder, president, occupied the chair. Tho secretary was instructed to place himself in communication, with Mr Kinsella, dairy commissioner, and on behalf of the society request him to come down some time during the month and deliver a lecture- on the dairy industry. The cliairmoii, in referring to the- desirability of. forming a local branch of the Xew Zealand Farmers' Union, paid it was time tho farmers combined and laid their views on some of the recent legislation before the country. A banker had informed him that he had roceived instructions from headquarters that before any advance could be given to a farmer he rr.uf-t injure his employees in order to piotect *he mortgagee from all liability, as au award under the Workers Compensation, )o Accidents Act took precedence over a mortgage. It was resolved that a meeting of farmer? be 'ailed tinder the auspices of the society, and that Mr Glass be invited to attend. The programme of the summer t.l o\v was pas.-od. The gentlemen who acted ai attending i nerr?bers ai the last show were re-elected. After reference had been made to the- death of their late patron, the Hon. Sir J. M'Kenzie, the president moved thafc a letter of condolence and sympathy with them in their los-? ho forwarded to Lady M'Kenzie and favr.ilv. Seconded by Mr Ryan and carried. — On tho motion of the president and Mr (lo=,sn.ge, the member for the diitricl. Mi Thomas Mackenzie, was elected patron. Correspondents of the Southland rimes, 13th inst.: — Orepuki : The approachingdairying season is casting its shadow before it, if one may jxulge by t!<e very successful si'le — 70 miMi rows. — held here on Wednesday by Mew? J. R. Mills and Snn. The cattle belonged to J. M<Hipes, of Waimeamca, and realised horn £4- 15s to £9 13s. — Win l cm : The Winton branch of the New Zea'aml Farmers' Union was duly formed on the 11th niE.t., wlmn G6 joined the membership, whiih number will doubtless be greatly increased witlirn a month. The following v^ere elected the Cor-~nn ; ttee of Management :- -Messrs Tbo=. Patci'on (chairman). John Hamilton. W. G. Copter. James Wood-;, W Keith, M. lli'shon, A. Cowie. A. Fraser, M. .M'Conachie. J. Murdoch, and P. Thomson \ir W. Russell was elected s>ecletary and treasurer. The ninth annual report of th© Canterbury Central Pairv Company indicates a buoyant condition in finance and an increase in operation.-- and products of tins company. As a result ol the ytar\ work the balance sheet, ■ incliuhi)^ a balance of £104-3 from lj?t year, , s-hows p profit of £4920. The directors recommend that a portion of the surplus be dealt with by Baying a dividend of G per cent, on the paid-up capital, a bonus o£ 5-lGt'n^ of a Id p°r lb on butter fat to suppliers a bonus of o per cent, on wages and *>alaiie=. £800 to be wnttcn oft" plant and machinciy and building*. £800 placed to re-erve. and the balance to be carried forwaid to next year, lhe year had been themost marked in the history of the company a<» regards; icquoits for new creameries, three having been erected at Southbridge, Irwell, .i.ul Selwyn, >uid arrangements completed for ai'othei in Oxford district. The numbe.- of cows and shares for the new cieamcries urre oromntiy forthcoming-. The amount of 31,862,9641b of milk, 8,410 3981b m exrers of last year, had been dealt with. The bvtter made was 1,312,7041b. of which 271- tons were fold for export, being an increase ot 101 tons on the previous year's export. The y remises at Addington had -been enlarged, and an important proposition is to be made tc purchase, hind adjoining, to acquire tho freehold of the railway siding, and a proposal would be made to increase the capital by 2000 shares. The capital paid up was £9764 ; loans and creditors. £6618 ; Inlance from profit and loss, £4920 :— total. £21,243. The value of factory plant, 15 ereair^rie.=. and railway siding were shown at £15,603; fiumtme. co\v=, hor«e-*, etc., £5634-. The profi* and lops account shows expenses, discounts, etc, £207; insurance, £110; salaries, £432; executive fees t>ncl e\pcn-es, £314; directors' fees, £68; work ing expen>-e-, -reameries and Addmgton,

Kiii"> r o and Blair's Agricultmal Seeds should be used to get good results They nio of the best quality pnd reasonable in price. jNhmmo and Blair will lie pleased to sencl samples and s;ive quotations at any time by nohlymg name and adcuess.

j£6776, and proSt £^926 were the main items. On the other sido the sales account* were shown at £11,826, and other irems totalling %13,053. Writing on the 9th in>t the Woodland's coi-respondent ot the Wyndham Herald rejjorts-: — The formation ot farineir.' umons is now the all-absorbing topic, and a brant h is an establishetl fait here. At a meeting lield last Friday, the branch was constituted. The membership is something Over 50, with b strong probability >f its being much larger. EWr M'Kert'hcr was appointed rhanman, Air 11.I 1 . C. Smith secretary, Mr .1. D. Tioltrr (treasurer, and Mr W. \j. Taylor auditor. Mr tTame? M"lvercher was appointed delegate to the Milton conference.— The local work^ are 'very bu«y preserving bunny. Few cattle or 'sheep have been pur through this eeason : their high price, no Joubt, being ie=poneible for thi= lad. --Two dairy factories are to grace thia district, Mr Haxelby having reaiioved his factory from RosJyn to here. Uniortuuately they are lathor o'o«e together, only about a irile separating them, but as Mr Saxelby confines himself largely to the making of Stilton cheese and a large piogjortion oi the niilk supply comes o ff hi-> own pioperty, the injury to the company's factory by his proximity will not be great. A meeting of farmers was held at Clinton after the stock *ale on Thursday la°t, when it wa« decided to farm a bianch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union." From. Messrs W. Weddel and Co.'s ieport dated London, July 26: — The j>°^i tlorl of frozen meats, taken all round, js unsatufac lory. The demand foi mutton ha-> been .slo->t, liut values, except in the case of higher priced Canterbury sheep, have remained fairly steady. Lambc continue to come for<w3rd in large quantities, and as most are SOW of liea\y-weight < «, while ihe consumption show? a tendency to Tali off, t- is usual at <»his time o? the year, ;i «-lwirp diop lv.is taken place in ialue=. Beef veinains wiihout mudi change, the market iseing (.'all and price-* low. .1'!)^ qu^tion of holding a winter f-bovv next yc.ir in connection with the Cdiiterbuiy 'A. and ]'. Association 1m- been lefeircd to a plebi^iite of the members by means of a, circular which has been i-sued. The mem iliers aro a«kcd to s«iy whether tliey aie in favour of a winter" .-how. and, if so, to Y>!edge themselves to a--=i.-,t in cairying it out by sending in exhibit*. Notes Jrom la a t Fiifay"* Wj'ndh.nn F.itaner. — AYe hear that tlie ni~t animal eon--fcience of delegates from the Soiuli'aiul branche 5 of the Farmers' Union lias been arranged tc take place at Imcirargill in the first week of October. Ihe Otago conference will be held towards the end ot this month, and that of Cintcibary in tho *-ecoiid ■week >)c.) c . October. —At the clearing "-ale of Mr W. P. L;idbrookV daily lioid, Chnrlton, ■3act Friday. 19 cows a 1 ersged the -plendid figuie of £7 15s 9J,d per hepd. This is i&iily the top price secured in Houlhland — or, indeed, in the colony— for s>nne yearf, and tootifies unmiotakably to 2>fr Tjadbrook's skill and rare ar> a breeder. The Ahurivi Flat correspondent of the Clutha Leader writes: — Fium vvo'k is pretty well forward: the ploughing is almoft finished, and ] notice that sowing nas coni■n'encod on several f.ums The majority of the farmei'3 in this locality arf going in fo, dairying, as tho l'aie-ri and l'enin&ula MiHc Supply Company is going to erect a. creamery on Mr P. (i. Wright's fram. It i 3 expected tc be in full suing by Novcm•ber 1, if not soc ncr It will l)e a great Loon to the fanners, a^ private dairvuig is tmremunerative. George Henry Raxc^ aued Allan Hopl<ins for £5 ir the Magistrate's Court, Christrhurch, la-t weel». John Campbell, Mr Saxon's hcplierd, found Hopkius's dog worrying o flock of ewes. It had killed four, and left another limping on three legs. lie promptly led tho dog cX with a string, borrowed a gun, and fhot it, and the tlaim was for the value oi the sheep. The iwnership of the dog v.a.L admitted, p. 5 well as the damages, bu* when evidence bad Lccn p,ivcn Mr Hopkins asked for an adjournment so that he might, put in a, counter claim for the value jf the Jog. On the ground that a sheep-worrying dog i. not recognised in law as propei ty. Mr Bishop, S.M.. .stated that there ooukl bt no claim. Mr Hopkins could bring a future action, but the magistrate did "net thiak tltgfc he vyoul'J have much

chance of suoce-s. Meanwhile, as ownership of the dog and damages to the sheep had I been both admitted, judgment would be I given for the plaintiff for £5 and costs.