AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2497, 22 January 1902, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Mr T. A. Frn*"r. of the Department of Agriculture. \>ho was through the Otago Central district last week, informs us that it i-j many year-< srice he has seen the rountiy betwern Muldlemarch and Wanaka present a finr» appearance. Tins js owinj; to copious rainß and the absence for some timo of north- v. osier*. The 'ame if-ma'k applies to the Oan aru and South Canterbury districts, where the crops liav<j made a wonderful recovery fJivin in f he oar is suffering everywhere from the smallbird pest. Tn many in=tances the damage in this way i- vciy considerable, and legislation may yet haw to lie pa^sfnl in oulcr to compel the simultaneous poisoning of the small birds tUuiiio; wmter.

At a meeting of the e\ecuti\e of the No'-th Canloi huty hrancli of t!io Fartnprs' Union the l-Jti\ornniFnt\ rction in retting ;.=ide £60.J00 for the m, nation of a nnrk^t for the colony's produce .n South Africa -was heartily endorsed.

The Akaroa Mail =ays . — ''Cutting is general on the lower and chier lands, but it is cutting of an ixhimkil nature. The dry spring cau-ed some of the gia--> to sr-nd up early heads, and these aic now ripe or ripening fast When the fii-t uiins rame Hie plant? sent up moie head I—in1 — in fact, many that had not seeded at all before

sprouted strongly Tin-, second lot is not neaily fit for the sickle yet, atid a third lot, due to later rams. i« still more backward. The men who are cutting now, therefore, aie only taking the rine patc'ie- of earlier growth and leaMng the ic=t, so this season will see the remarkable sight m many of the low"r lands of tlnee .separate cuttings in one paddock Of course, this system of cutting in patchefi i* expensive cud unsatisfactory, and will only be undertaken by the smaller owners who utilise their own labour. These remaiks do not apply in any way to t he =eed a few hundred feet above the sea level There, the ciops aie late, but fairly e\rn. and will fall together, giving, it is expected, excellent returns. The soft gias^e- — tares cud other weeds — are too late to do r.'iy material damage- to the main crop-. With to the lite in the price of flour made by the millers, a representative of Christchurch Truth interviewed several milling firms on Friday. The reason given for the increase was the achance in the price of wheat. "To-clav," said one of the gentlemen interviewed, "wheat is at 3s, and gome parcels at 3= 3d. Now when wheat was 2s 2ci w r were gptting £6 per ton foi flour, sti that voit will !-ec that the advance made i- only in consonance with the rife in the price of wheat. We are a=ked why wo cannot sell flour at as low a prico a= in Sydney. Well, in the fir»t place, tlu-y get a \ery i: iuh larger price foi the offal than we oan get hero, winch inake> a big difference ir\ the piofi* per ton. Then, a'^aiu, you muet remember that the population is -very mueli larger, and lhat the output is gi eater. There is. when the advaiued price of wheat i- (Oii-i(lerp(l. every reason why the pike of flour should be advanced On Thursday evening. 9tii mst . at Chiton Station, Waiwera South, the shearers met to make i presentation to Mr Douglas Stiachan. who has been expert in charge of the WoUcley sheep shearing inaihinet, for ttie pa^t ten year?. Mr W. Turner, in making the piesentation (which was a silver albeit chain and pendant, with inscription), -aid lie wa- very p!ea=erl to make the !■ -citation to oi.p vim w.i- ro .iinvcr-ally ti ( nicl .i j Mi Suailuii, and to one who n.icl v"veii cvpiv • at -'faction 1o eve'-vone who ii, id shoin tiieie and had proved hiin=p]f a man among m:>n\ As an evidence of how ,iell t'.e machine- were woiking he would )>oiiu out that in one day nine men had -! 'irn 1745 'her \>, or an average of 194 -!>e< p pei man fn rejilying. Mr Strachan s; t .(l le Ind to thank tliem veiy iiiueli for I t In? 1 1- kind pi. -cut. wiiic'i lie would be | pioii'l to wear. He was very muili taken l>v iiipii-e. :i- he never exjji't if(' a' v thing ->l the kn (1. He w;is. however, pirn-cd to lam they wvro all sati=fifd with the way lie lad carried out hia part of the duties, and \.o hoped yet to fcharpen many a comb and < utter for them. | The Dairy Commis-ioner has designed a i new brand for the boxes of butter ant! j ear.es of ch^sge Rent away from the colony,

L.i- obj \'t being to bring more readily under

j the notice of purchasers at Home t lie fact 1 jl"^i tiit} iiiifiiWJJ jfhu^ll tIICJ i-yamme )i^^

been graded by the Government experts in. Now Zealand, and is of a particular make and quality.

The Southland Farmer^' Co-operative Association has decided to increase its capital to £50.000.

Il is estimated that the Ma'teiton and Wanarapa d'^tricts will benefit to the tune of neaily £isQQO by the pui chase of horses, etc., for the eighth contingent. At the Gakaia Road Board office last week the sum of £21 16s Id was paid out for a total of 21,703 eggs and heads of small birds.

The Mataura Ensign state* that on Thursday eight trucks of prime, v\ ell-grown, and sp-'endidly-finished lambs, bred and fattened by Mr J. Waddell, of Mataura, passed ti.rough Gore en route to Canterbury. The freezing works in that district have started^ operations earlier than those in Southland,' and had the works at Mataura been open the splendid line of lambs referred to would have been killed and frozen there.

The milking record for the Taranaki Coast — or, in fact, for New Zealand — has (says the Dairyman) been put up by a Plains «ettler and his wife, who, without any help except what could he given by a. 20-month old infant, milked 79 cows twice daily. It is a fact, and can be vouched for, that he delivered on an average 20001b of milk a day at the factory, and not a penny wa- spent in wages last year.

Shearers are at a piemium in the Fairlie district.

Mr Alex. M'Kay lost a lot of sheep through being worried by dogs near Pomaliaka siding lecontly.

A jN'ew South Wales selector has had 50 pigs poisoued through eating dead rabbita killed by phosp'uonsed pollard. The Taieri Agricultural Society has appointed committees to " work up " the Taieri court in connection with the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society's winter show. Shea-.ing went on briskly in the Tapanui district last week during the fine warm/ weather. There are still, however, a lot oE sheep to be put through. Ardmore shed cut out on Monday evening — three weeks later than usual.- — Courier

Tiie warm weather experienced la.st week has been of incalculable benefit to both crops and pastures throughout Central Otago. Crops generally are developing splendidly, and everything points to splendid returns.

As instancing the n-p in the value of land in the neighbourhood of Gore, the Kiiu-ign hear-, that Mr J. Cleland has sold his farm in Otama at the satisfactory piico of £'12 per acre, while a small section near the -chonl brought £10.

One of the most aggravating troubles of -lieep-owners residing in the vicinity of the Borough of Palrnerston North is the damage done to their flocks by dogs from the town, and during the past few months this destruction has assumed alarming proportions.

The sheep farmers who a>-e combining to re-open the Oisboine freezing works find, that it will be necessary to subscribe £15, G00 cash in order to carry out tho proiect. It was orierinally thought that £10 000 would be sufficient for the pur-;jo-e. The number of grass-srerl dressing mills in the co'ony in 1900 was- 25. and they employed 60 hand*. The wages paid amounted to £5310. The quantity of seed dressed was 1.092,221 bushels, valued at £341,239. The approximate value of the land was £9700, of the buildings £24.930, and of the plant and madiinery £13,565. A motion at the meeting of tho General Committee of the Canterbiuy A. and P. A«-ociation that a Winter show be held led to v great deal of cli^eu^ion, but was negatned, some members exoressing the opinion; that the association could not face the financial loss, though a Winter show was very desirable. The Oamaru Mail is informed that thp North Otago Dairy Factory Company paid away no less than £2200 last month to supplir-rs of milk. This month tho amount i« expected t« reach £3000. Practically all this money (the paper add-) g"oes to the. small farmer, and the flgute.s quoted for a bad sea -on show pretty plainly what tho dairying industry is doing for the district. It is no exaggeration to say that, before long, dairying will o upp\int all other industries as the maui'tay of tho small farmer in this district

A smile was caused at tho Timaru Magistrate's Court when, in the course of a civil ca«e. reference «a« made to a burnt haystack. The plaintiff in the case, who was giving evidence, said that he and the defendant had both been smoking alongside the stack, and had gone some Jistance away, when they discovered it was on fire. After rußhing back and making futile endeavours to put the fire out, they both threw their pipes into the fire and vowed never to smoke again.

With the object of lightening the labours of its dairy produce graders at the principal ports of the colony, the Agricultural Department ha=, on the recommendation of the Dairy Commissioner, imported seven. machines for weighing cheese intended for export The machines, winch are of Americau make, are ingenious in design, and are similar to those now in use in all the large* packing houses in Chicago and Canada. Each of them is mounted on a tripod, and can be readily carried about by a man to different sheds in which there is cheese tn bo weighed The Mail «ays that harvest operations wil! hardly be gct.eral throughout the Oamaru district for at least another month.

Mans' farmers in South Wairarapa who harvested their hay early in December will be able to rut set < tid crops about tho end of the present month, as the rainy weather has cau-cd a very iapid growth.

The e\port^ of dressed and frozen poultry from Victoria for 1901 exceeded 100,000 head 1 .

As showing the wisdom a*, we!! as profib A breeding from the bept strains of draught stotk, Mr D. Millet, Shag Valley, old the other day a colt foal a few weeks old to the owner of lt-s mo, (Ilenroe, for £20. The colt is tc be delivered in April. — Waikrwti Time=.

A ■\\Yther*ton< : ': resident had all the heart"* cut out of all the cauliflowers in his garden one night last week — pre-umab'.y by a biicak thief

A mob of sheep driven into the Carterton railway -talion from Gladstone one day last week dotted the road with carcases. 4. ,itirnber also died after being penned in ho .-ailway yards. Api arently the heat; i ui-n'l apoplexy The Ashburton Mail hi- 'con shown a -:wnple of plants of Canadian oats, grown on an 11-arre paddock on the fprm of Mr Charles Good, at the Forks. The stalks are

Kiitmo and Blate's stocks of Artificial Manures for root crops, grass lands, grain, potato,", etc., are veiy extensive, »nd having erected expensive machinery for treating them, ,lntuuia results iu*j be •jta.eotei

fe little over eight feet long, and heavy grain shows for upwards of two feet. The growth of this crop is certainly phenomenal, and many old farmers say they have never seen anything like it.

An interesting discussion took place at the last meeting of the Southland County Council in connection with a demand, signed by 816 ratepayers, for a poll to be taken on the question of rating on the unimproved lvalue of property in the county. The number of signatures exceeds that required by the act — 15 per cent, of those on the roll — and though the chairman (Mr C. Robertfeon) and Ora Raymond, M 'Queen and Stuart assumed an attitude against the new system, the only course that could be token was to submit the proposal to the elector^, and jVlarch 1 was fixed for the poll.

So far the farmers of the Lake County district (writes the corre-pondent of the Southland Times) have made no sign of joining the Farmers' Union. A general feeling of well-being and prosperity, together with the isolation of the district no doubt accounts in a measure for the .'"ndifference shown on a subject that touches them so closely. The sphere for good that lies open before the union Is so large and important that, well-to-do as our fanners may be, they cannot afford tr ignore it for any length of time. It appears *hat the movement is misunderstood by many, who Hook upon it as only one more of the abortive political and labour union*, of which the colony has already too many ; while it is the very reverse so far as its political aspect is concerned, one of its chief aims being to counteract the evil effects of these unions. Besides the political leaning there 13 its commercial aspect, bringing, home to the farmers the latest and correct state of the markets of the world. It is not thinkable that the Wakatipu farmers will for ever stand aloof from the movement, but that sooner or later they will see fit to join the union, and the sooner the better for that very reason. The Gore branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union met on the 11th inst., Mr R. Dodds presided. A communication was received from Mr M'Nab, M.H.R . thanking the branch for the kindly sp ; rit which (prompted its members, in asking him to become a member. — Mr D. Clarke, who acted as delegate to the recent piovincial conference at Inveicargill, briefly referred to the conference. It had transacted a great deal of work, and the discussion had been most friendly, and almost unanimous throughout — Mr J. Elliott said that a deputation have been appointed some time previously to wait on the Gore Farmers.' Club to endeavour to get that body to join the union. He wished to know if anything had been done in the matter. The chairman did not know of any meeting. There was not much to be gained, as most of the farmers were members of the union. However, he believed the Farmers' Cub was very much dead. Mr J. Falconer eaid it was very much alive. It had above 70 members. The chairman, in the course of further remarks, asked what was the Gore Farmers' Club? Mr Falconer said that the ci airman ihad a most peculiar way of speaking of the club. Did he mean to say that he did not know what was the Farmers' Club? The chairman : I cannot compliment Mr Falc ";ner on his good manners. Mr Falconer : You are very rude yourself, because the Farmers' Club snubbed you and your single tax. After further discussion a committee was appointed to wait on the Farmers' Club to endeavour to get that body to joift the union. — The question of the price of binder twine was then brought up. Mr Clarke said a year or two ago binding twine was sold in Melbourne at |d per lb less than what they could obtain it for here, and if the union railed by tender for a supply of twine they would in all probability get it cheaper. A commit l co tvae authorised to Inquire into and report on the matter.

"The Rabbit Pest arvl its Cure," by Processor Emerson, is a little brochure which reaches us from Oamaru. Its object is apparently to air a grievance .he writer imagines he has against not only the New Zealand Government, but also the authoTitieß in the neighbouring colonies. It seems that Mr Emerson has given the rabbit question very serious consideration, arid that, as a result, he has devised a scheme which, he asserts, .could clear the colonies of the pest an a marvellously short time, and at a minimum of cost. This scheme he has placed under offer to the several Governments, but without result. He lias further submitted it to several disinterested persons capable of forming an unbiassed opinion, «nd they are convinced that it is "a perfect scheme," and that it would be the salvation of the Australasian colonies if it ■were put into practice. And there the matter ends, except that tho discoverer of ■the scheme is becoming di-heartened at the lack of encouragement he is receiving, and snay possible have to seek fresh fields for his energy. Mr Emerson's address is Oamaru, and those interested will no doubt "be supDlied with a copy of the little woik on application. The formal opening of the Rolloston Saleyards Company took place on the 13th lnM., when the first eale was held, which resulted in a clearance oi the »tock entered Previous to the sale a number j! guests, invited by the directors of the company, 6at (}own to luncheon Among those present was Mr A. 3. Hardy, M.H.R , for Solwyn, ■whe, in proposing the toast if success to the undertaking, said he understood that this A'as the third attempt at starting 6aleyards at Rolleston, and this time tho venture was likely to prove a success. The company has leased the 20 acres of land on •which the yards stand for a period of five years. It has a capital of £1000, in £2 chares, of which £1 has been called up. Mr iW. Bain is chairman of directors, and Mr J. De P. Manson seeretaiy. It is intended to hold monthly sales at the yards.

livo months ago the Waikato Farmers' Club set up a committee to try to establish the eale of fat cattle by live weight. Since then 14 trucks oi good quality fat steers have been sold by dead weight. To ascertain the amount of offal in proportion to the dead weight, these cattle were weighed in the trucks, the emptj trucki- being weighed first to find out tht exact tare, and then sent to the loading station addressed to the party who required them. So far they are well pleased with results, The highest amount of offal in proportion *o .he 1001b of live weight -was 43jlb, and the lowest 421b, average about 431b. They now consider that they haic passed beycid the experimental stage, and a circular will 6hortly be issued; it will have a readyreckoner attached ; &o that butchers and farmers may ascertain at a glance (he value of beef by dead or live weight. Th p circular, of course, -cmi only be a guide to tho-e who do business in thi- mmnrr

The monthly meeting- of the FnnnMi A. md P. Association vvu-s held on the 11th met., Mi- C. N. Orb ell President) in the

chair. It was decided that the sub-commit-tee appointed to report on tho proposal to hold an autumn show be asked to report at next meeting of the committee. — The Secretary reported, ip. accordance with instructions, that/the travell «g expenses of judges in connection with the late show amounted to £9 18s. The Chairman said that in Otago the judges were always sent their expenses without having to ask for them. No decision was come to as to whether this society should adopt the method of sending judges' expenses to them after a calculation of their expanses. — The Chairman reported on what the Ground Committee had done in connection with the erection of more sheep pens at the show grounds. The committee found that it would cost £280 to increase the yarding accommodation. They had not gone on with the work, however, because they considered that they might require another £20, and they had no sanction to expend more than the £280. It was re-oh ed that the committee be voted an additional £20, to be used if they find it necessary.

With the object of lightening the labours of its dairy pro-hue graders at the principal ports of the coiony. the Agncultuial dcpaitment has, on the recommendation of the Dairy Commissioner (says the Wellington Pot) imported seven machines foi weighing cheese intended for export. The machines, which are of American make, are ingenious in design, and arc similar to those row in use in all the large packing houses in Chicago and Canada. Kac'i of them is mounted on a tripod, and can be readily carried about by a man to different sheds in which there is cheese to be weighed.

The Victorian department ot Agriculture has lately extended the scope of its inspection of produce to South Africa, by undertaking the inspection of goods intended for private com-ignees, when desired by the shippers, as well as goods intended for the military authorities. The system is found to offer certain advantages, the ceitificate issued answering the same purpose as the ceitificates issued by the nispcclore appointed by business associations in America and elsewhere.

The Christchurch Press on the 16th inst. says : — The General Committee of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association yesterday rejected a motion in fa-vour of holding a winter show this ye«r So far there has appeared to be what we cannot but consider a deplorable amount of apathy among members on the subject When a circular was addressed to them, asking their views, only one-seventh of them took the trouble to reply. As to the desirability of holding a winter show, if it can only be done with anything approaching success there cannot be two opinions. In the discussion yesterday everybody wa» agreed as to the value of such a show from an educative point of view. The only obiection raised was tha£ a winter show had been tried and had on each occasion proved a financial loss, and it was doubtful whether the association would be able to bear the strain of continued deficits from thiscource. The singular thing is that in Dunedin a winter show always pays, and pays well. We do not like to think either that our A. and P. Association is incapable of successfully managing such a gathering, or that Canterbury farmers are more apathetic than their brethern in Otago. Unless those who are interested in the holding of a winter show at once bestir themselves, and in a very active way, it will evidently be allowed to drop so far as the Canterbury A. and P. Association are concerned. We do not like to sit down under a self-confessed failure, and we hope that there will still be found some means of averting the reproach with which Canterbury farmers are threatened

A meeting of directors of the South Canterbury Dairy Company was held in Timaru on Wednesday last, Mr A. C. Thomson presiding. A great deal of business was done, and, among other things, it was decided that, as a sufficient number of shares have been taken up, a creamery should be erected at Albury, to be completed by March 8 A leter was read from the Railway Department stating that they could not see their way toalter the running of the Fairhe train to fit in with the company's arrangements, which was very much regretted. A letter was read from the National Mortgage and Agency Company, asking to be allotted fiftj' shares in the company, and agreeing to take up a larger number when the company is in thorough working order. Mr A C. Thomson wos appointed managing director.

The ordinary meeting of the general committee of tlie Canterbury A. and P. Association was held on the 15th iiift. , when Mr F A. Archer pre-ided. Mr Thurcton, the Government gra'ler, wrote respecting the remarks attributed to him with lespect to the dairy exhibit*, stating that a? fai as he recollected he had not made them. What he remembered saying wa- that the dairy butter was fairly good : factory — quality poor Dairy cheese in one class, very poor throughout Ab far as the factory cheese was concerned, ho could not recollect what was said, but he knew that the quality was not up to the standard of factory exhibits. He did not think the ouality warranted the remarks given by the Press. — Die Secretary for Agriculture wrote enc'o-ung the evidence taken on the Land and Live Stcck Auctioneers Bill, and forwarding a copy of the Bill. Referred to the Parliamentary Com mittee of the association — A letter walead from the chairman of the Merino Cup Competition, intimating that the re-ults .show that the winnei of the competition is the New Zealand and Au-tralian Land Com pany, Hakataramei Estate, who will hod the cup for the current year. and will then be entitled to a medal. The following statement of the receipts and expenditure in connection with the competition was also submitted :— Receipts— To donations £68 13<. entries 19ftO £31 10s, entries 1901 £34 13s; total, £134 16s. Expenditure— By Challenge Cup £52 10s. medal 1901 £5. expenses (graying, etc) £25 4- 6d. balance £52 1- 6d ; total, £134 16°. The report was adopted, and a hearty vote of thapko was accorded to the Merino Cup Committee for the trouble taken by them. — Mps-is V. Aldndge, E. Honey, and Professor W. Lovvrie were elected as member-

A devastating pest ha- made its appearance in potato crops at Hamilton (Vie.) It i<. ;\ small, whitish fly, which settles on potato .-terns in countle.,s number. The leaves of the plant afterward- present a whitish appealanre. as though badly fioht bitten. The pest ha 5 al«o alighted on turnip tops and cabbaa^s, but has caused very little damage to them -o far.

Mr Thomas Mitchell writes in tho Timaru Herald of t he 15th inst.. complaining that the evidence given by him la<.t session before fie joint Agricultural, Pastoral, and Stock Committee, o-; the Land and Live Stock Auctions Bill. ]„-.- be^n avd misrepresented ii ih n puntod official le port. The Herald quotes a couple of exampia ■-£ tin inaccuracies in tL«

official report, and then goes on to say- — Mr Mitchell's view- about auction sales are well known ; he has laid them before the public in our columns, and we have more than once commented on them. It is impossible to believe that he went up to Wellington and gave e\ ldence directly in conflict with the views which he had previously expressed. Our explanation of the mattei i* that, although in the official report the questions which the witnesses before the committee were asked are given in full, the answers are condensed, and that in not a few instances the supposed condensation erroneously represents what the witnesses said. There is no other way of accounting for the grave defects of the official report of the evidence, defects which render it totally \aluele-« as a record of what actually took place bc-foie the committee. . . . We notice that the tone of Mr Mitchell's letter is not hopeful a< to the future of the bill. He, in fact, appears to despair of success. He says: — "1 am row fully aware that it is hopcle-» to expect tins reform to be accomplished when the newspapers have shown such an objection to ventilate and encourage the open discussion of the question."

Tho Bald Hill Flat correspondent of the Ale\andia Hmld icports that the croj s thf-ra are looking veiy wel l this -ea-on. better than they have done for many year-. The local runholders are bn-'y shearing at present, and he beieves are haviiig a fail clip.

Twelve months have elapsed since "The Fertiliser- Act of 1900," vvhic'i repealed the acts of 1894 and 18S8, came into operation in South Australia, and. en the whole, the inspector states it has worked satisfactorily. Standards have been fixed for bonedust and for "-uperpho-phatcs, and, in consequence, •ertain low-grade and inferior fertilisers have been withdrawn from sale. Of 112 samples analysed, only four were seriously deficient ; 57 different brands were registered during the year. The revenue therefrom was £83, while the total cost of administering the measure was only £171. For the six months ended 31at May, about 26.400 toKg of imported fertilisers were u«ed for cereal crops During cue Fame peiiod the local production amounted to about 6000 tons, of which 5000 at least wore applied to wheat cjops, thus making a total used of 31.4-00 tons, valued at £130,000. In 1899 the quantity jsed was 1600 tons, and in 1900 24,600 tonu It is estimated that nearly 700,000 acres were treated by fertilisers in the 1901 sea=on.

The Health department i« now taking a hand in dairy inspection in the country districts, and those dairymen who have hitherto dwelt in undeserved peace should remember the old adage, that new brooms sweep clean A cheese manufacturing dairy in the Waikato is reported as having been closed by the department, pending a drastic clean-up, etc. The free and ea«y drainage system of some creameries has also been dropped upon by the health inspectors. The Staveley (Alford Forest) correspondent of the Lyttelton Times writes: — Shearers are in great demand, on some stations even rouseabouts have been pressed into the service. The crops in the district have seldom looked better: of a good length and splendidly headed. The sparrows, however, have already commenced operations on the earliest-sown crops. Feed is very plentiful all through the district, and the cheep and cattle are in very good condition. Within the past few weeks (says the Christchurch Press) Mr Marshall, clerk to the Mandeville Road Board, has purchased 4200 dozen small birds' heads and eggs. The total purchased by the board since the middle of December has been 11,340 dozen, costing £94 10b. One boy took to the office 128 dozen, and a Maori boy collected £3 in one sum for a week's work. The weather in Mackenzie County continues good, and the shearing, c o long stopped by the weather, is being fast pushed on. Achantage l, being taken of the heat to get hay cut and gathered, a good deal which was cut before the wet having rotted or at any rate spoiled in the fields. A sub-branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union hao been formed at Urceupark (Canterbury) The shipments of chilled beef from tho Plate continue on account of the River Plate Fresh Meat Company. London salesmen state that the quality of the beef is " mixed," and that, gpeaking both of ordinary frozen and chilled beef, the quality of Plate beef recently received showed signs of ,ome falling-off in quality. The last lot of chilled that came to hand arrived at a bad time, and realised only about 3fd and 2jkl per lb, hinds and fores. No doubt it i- ton soon to judge of the outcome of the plucky experiment made by the company. The chilli d Pl.ite be"f, about 2000 quarter- at a time, hat- no effect upon the hard beef trade, aud, if ultimately -ui-ce— ful and slapped in quantity, it will mfnnae upo:> Yankee rather than Autrala.sian.

Mr D Cud-lie. Government Dairy Expert, ha-, paid a bnff visit to Canterbury the Central Dairy Factory at Addmgton boing hib chief objective. In response to a requisition. Mr Cuddie. aKo \ii-itetl Tnnani. to con-ult with the director- of the South Canterbury Dairy Company- The fartorv and ( reameries of th - (oiicni are now erected, but the plant* are not vet m-tal'ed. and it w il" probably be next -ea-on before butter making opeiatioiii ai.' fanlv under wav A-- in the case of tho North Ota^o Dairy Company at Oainaiu, the Timaru < ompany will. howe\er. make a specialty of -uppljmg the t«iwn with pasteurised and cooled milk. The prices of leading qualities of trots-bred Auhtralaaian wool (topo) at Bradford at the cud of November «f the last three yeai.-, are puoted a-, follow. . — -Supei 60's, 1899. 33W : 1900. 18d : 1901. 19icl : common, 60-, 32id, 17d ISUI : 56'- u-up>r halfbred), 25id, 15id, 16d ; 50'- ihalfl.r^M.22d. 131 d. lid; 46* tlirej quartn-bred*. 17d, Hid, 9d , 40\ (T.ei cesterk 12id lOd 7|d : 36' t- iLincoln. ll^d, 9jd, 7d Tlie coai-rr desc nptioiio are even lower now than in November.

A report in the Daily Despatch, Ea-t London, South Africa. piving the particulars of a sale of <i herd of thirty se\ en cows, showb that the prices real feed ranged from £24 10, to £36 per h»ad, the a\ erase b^'iij £31 3s Fifteen of the cnw« were in nnlk. twehc of them had not calved, and the remainder were dry.

In an p\hau-tive article, from winch tho Mibjoinecl extract is taken, the Timaru Herald review •> the pro-pects of the coming harvest in South Canterbury: — From appear ances it i~ forced on one \ery plainly that both in th-- area of land under rrnt) and al-o in the yield, the harve=t will fall far short of what wp have se?n for the two preceding year* Several cause 5 have contributed to reduce the area, notably the low prieft ruling for grain and the unsuitable weather experienced at sowing time last year, the pround beiii-? =o dry that only land that had been worked previously could be ploughed. Then tho very dry spring had the effect of com-

pletely checking all growth of early-sown crops, and in this respect wheat seems to have suffered the worst. Had it not been for the welcome rain seme weeks back a large number of farmers would have been compelled to turn stock into the crops, as they would never have paid to harvest. Even as it is, many paddocks of early crops will have to be fed off with stock.

A meeting of the general committee of the Palmer-ton and Waihemo County A. and P. Association was htld on the 11th mot.. Mr J. Ross (president) in the chair. A letter was received from Mr A. S. Orbell, 'W aikouaui, who complained that at the rece«nt show two of his hor-es were not allowed to compete in the high jump, although entered in the competition. The chairman said he had never heard of the disqualification of Mr Orbell's hordes until he received his letter. He had replied to the letter pointing out that the stewards' o"bject was to mark their sense of Black's conduct in the ring. A general discustion took place, in the course of which strong peisonahties were freely indulged in by some of the members. Ultimately the committee passed a resolution to the effect " that Mr Orbell be informed that th< y deny that his horses were disqualified: that it was the rider Black who was disqualified for using insulting language to the class stewards ; and that the rules of the association do not debar a rider from riding more than one horse in the jumping contests." — The Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, forwarded a copy of the -v iclence taken by the joint Agricultural, Paftoral, and Stock Committee last session on the Land and Live Stock Auctions Bill, and a copy of the bill, and inviting an opinion from the .'ommittee thereon Tho circular and enclosures were received, the general opinion of the committee being that " trotti.ig " at public auctions could not be stopped, although it was admitted that certain abuses existed that it is desirable should be prevented

It is currently reported that the Executive of the Xcw Zealand Farmers' Union has favourably considered a proposition to form a co-operative fire in-nnance society, owing to the heavy tariff in (orce m respect of risks on farm property. It is considered that if the j-rojeet i> supported by farmers generally there should be no difficulty m obtaining thr requisite capital.

At the Magistrate's Court, Owaka, on Thursday last, before Mr Cruickshank, S.M., and Messrs Saunders and Craig, justices, Inspecior Bruce, of the Stock department, laid informations under the amended Rabbit Act of last session against James Braid, Robert Ivimey, Benjamin Morris, James Thomson, George Johnston, and Jane Ford. Mr Bruce conducted the ease for the depart ment, and the following fines were imposed: — Braid, fined £1 and costs 7s; B Morris, £1 and costs 7e : J. Thomson 30s and costs 14s; Ivimey, £1 and costs 14s 6d.

The Birmingham fat stock show opened on November 30, when the judges entered on their task of adjudicating upon the 4562 entries. His Majesty sent a larger selection of beasts than any other exhibitor, drafts coining from both the Windsor and the Balmoral herds. The royal exhibits comprised the shorthorn, Hereford, Devcsi and Aberdeen Angus breeds. His Majesty's cow Belinda took the breed championship in the shorthorn section. In the competition for the Herefords championship the King's steer, by Lancelot, wae narrowly beaten by an older animal sent by Mr Cooke, of Worcester. The King's Devon made a fine fight for premier honours against Lord Strathmore's exhibit. The judges were divided, and the umpire had to be called in. He 'eventually conferred the championship upen Lord Strathmore's bea^t, a massive and symmetrical Aberdeen Angus. The verdict was approved by the public The winning beast is two years am 1 nine months old, and scales 16ewt.

The Dairy Commiiaioner has detailed Mr D. J. M'Govvan, one of the instructors stationed at >Jevv Plymouth, to visit all the factories :o the Auckland provincial district on a mission of instruction and organisation. In the northern province the work of organisation is making big ptrides. It is expected that a number of new factories will be put up for next season. The quality of the butter turned out of the factories established in the Auckland provincial district this season is described as good and fairly uniform, as the factories in nearly every case have efficient refrigerating plants.

Writing on the 16th inst., the Mokoreta correspondent of the Wyndham Herald reports : The weather during the past fortnight has been very warm, and crops and grass are looking veiy well This season has been a a cry backward one for gra<-f — in fact, it was very scarce until about a month ago. There is not a large area undei oat crop thi-. year; but the crops are looking fairly well in most places, and are just beginning to shoot The harvest will be late up here, thie year. The turnip crop promises to be good. Shearing is now nearly completed. In the early part of the gea-on this work was greatly hindered by the very wet wiather experienced The local daily factory ii now receiving about 650 gallons of milk daily. This is a fair intake, considering the season we have had.

The Rakaia correspondent of the Lyttr lton Tune- report-, splendid harvest weather jint now. The wind is eeitainly from the north-vvert A but not heavy, and the good weather will bring ru the ctoj quickly Tin re is not imu h .vheat m the di-tnct, but what theie i- look- wrl'. Th* oats are now being cut. and the yield- will be a good averse Tuiinp- and rape are doing well Some of thii year'- oat- (Algerian) arc being thie-.hcrl out of -took at Kyle Mr G .1. Leech, owner of the Brooklan-ls estate, Rangiora, died on the morning of the 16th inst , at the age of 80 years. Mr Lrech arrived at Port Chalmers on Febru ary 26, 1853 ; i« Lj telton on Marc h 15, and at once set out for the spot which has been his home ever since He purchased some of what they na: the least promifeing land, but ha.- since pioved the most prolific soil in the di-tnct Brooklands is known all the district ovei as the richest block of land in North Canterbury. Dec-eased leaves a family of five sons and two daughters, all grown up.