AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2523, 23 July 1902, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Arrangements are well under way for a traction engine service for the carriage of goods between Christchurch and Ashburton, and it is expected to commence on the Ist September. Great dissatisfaction has existed in Ashburton district for years at the heavy railage charges, and repeated representations to Government for reduction in freights having been of no avail, merchants and farmers have decided on a traction engine service, and universal support has been promised.

Mr William Thorpe, Mayor of Capetown, writing to the Auckland Herald, after referring to the visit of Mr Seddon cays : — "You will recollect that when self and son, Advocate T. L. Thorne, visited you in November, 1899, I advocated, through your paper, the advisability of your meat companies combining to arrange for a stor age steamer to be stationed here for the disposal of your meat and other produce, such as butter, etc., for cold storage, explaining that on account of the SQuth Afri can Cold Storage Company having the monopoly, no store in Capetown could be hired for this purpose. Had this been done, it would long ere this have led to a very large trad© with your colony. It is not too 3ate to do so even now, for I gather from late information that the new company, called the Imperial Cold Storage Company, .■with which the De Beers are connected,

aro doing this very thing. They arc \ising the Maori King, on hire m Table Bay, for this purpose of cold storage for di=tnbu»tion. Your meat being =o «npcnor to tint obtained from othc-r countries, would -oon command customer*, and although the war is practically over, foodstuffs will ha\c to 'be imported for a \ery long time yet. Tlumi there is a big opening here for all sorts of live stock, and your colony ought to have a share of it. Excuse my mentioning the^e things, but, having had a little trip through your colony, I know how well you can spare some of your surplus stock."

At a well-attended meeting of the Waikakahi Settlers' Association, held at Mor"^n on Tuesday evening, the following reso-

lutions (copies of which are to be for | warded to the Hon. W. J. Steward with a | request that he support them) were passed . " That Crown tenants, having for three years complied with the conditions of lease in regard to improvement?, be allowed to pay rent -when due instead of paying in advance." "That all lands purchased under the Land for Settlements Act be entitled to a rebate." "That Crown tenants have a representative on land boards " "That this T?so6iation oppose to the utmost the Revaluation and Fair Rent Bilk." " That renewed and persistent efforts he made to ».oeure the stopping of the express at Mor yen."

In his speech at the Picton Freezing Works last week Mr Gilbert Andeison, managing director of the Christchurch Meat Company, said that his company had received an order from South Africa for the supply of 5000 sides of bacon monthly.

At the Gore Magistrate's Court last weo!c Gavin White-field was fined £2 10s, and co=U £1 13s), for failing to dip 200 sheep \7ithin the prescribed time.

The friends of Dr R. N. Adorns, one of our local University graduates and !\ nati\« of the city, will be pleased to learn that he has commenced practice in the tovrn of Takaka, Nelson.

Mr John Smith, of Greenfield, returned home on Tuesday after a five wceke' tour in the North Island. He speaks in glowing terms of the country he passed through, and also of the scenic attractions to be found in the Ho* Springs district.

Surgeon-captain William Sutherland, of the New Zealand Volunteer Medical Staff, is attached for du*y to tho Tuapeka Mounted Rifle Corps as from May 15, 1902. The Adelaide Advertiser of the Bth inst. says: — Mr Rameay. ex-Mayor of the City of Dunedin, New Zealand, occupied a seat beside the Mayor of Adelaide (Mr L. Cohen) at the meeting of the City Council on Monday afternoon. Mr .Cohen introduced the guest to the aldermen and councillors, and said he was pleased to welcome him to this city. Mr Ramsay left for Melbourne by the exprere later in the day. The directors of the Mataura Dairy Factory have decided to instal a butter plant in their factory. The Southern Standard understands that the management of the Gore factory will follow suit.

As showing the benefit of the dairying indu.-try to the Mataura district, a correspondent writes that one small farmer, with 160 acres of land, has received £320 from the local dairy factory for the pact season ; and, comparatively speaking, nothing was paid out for wages. Other farmers are said to bo doing equally as well. There is a pre\alanco of influenza among horses 111 the Masterton district, and in some cases the infection has assumed a somewhat virulent form.

At the monthly meeting of the Tokomairiro Farmers' Club a discussion took place as to the bonai fides of certain exhibits in the grain classes at the recent winter show. Briefly put, the complaints wer» that the grain was not grown this season. From the discussion which followed, it appeared that Mr Tough — one of the exhibitors charged with violating the Jules — who won the first prize for long Tartarian oats, was under a misapprehension as to the specific meaning of the regulations go\erni'ig the grain section, and when tho en or -\va-t pointed out, he promptly expressed his will-ingne-s to forfeit the piize Mr T. H. Kupell, the other competitor whee exhibit w.is questioned, ngned a declaration befoie a justice of tho peace who happened to he pieient that he had grown ton bags equal to the c ample

The Lauder correspondent of the Dunstan Times writes : —The splendid winter weather that we are enjoying at present forms quite the sole topic of conversation amongst the farmers, and we are all wondering when wo aro really going to got winter proper. It has been »o far about tho be^t and mildest winter on record. Threshing thi* year has been very late, and in some few instances is not even yet finished The yields for the most part in the Lauder have been well up to the average, though the grain, in many eases v slightly discoloured owing to the wet harvest. However, in this matter we aro no worse off thau other districts, and from what I have seen I should say the Lauder grain is better than any other district's in the interior.

The peculiar fact that in thp record.) of temperatures of the butter chamber.- on the Home going steamers thero is a great diTe rence between tho^e of the starboard and port sides of the vessel is rnentioiiPcl in a report which the Agricultural Department has icoened from the inspector of New Zealand produce at Homo He says ho considers it most desirable that battens siiould ho plac od between tho layers of butter boxes so as to permit the < 11c illation of cold air throughout the chamber, as it is impossible in sue h a large solid body as boxes of bnttoi niaKo to get the centre satisfac tonly cooled, if it h«i«t been at all heated prior to Fuipmc-ut, without the close application of tho cold air.

Tho annual meeting of the Southland Champion Ploughing Match Association, held on the 12th m?t.. was attended by about 20 member. The president (Mr W Ronald) occupied the chair. The report stated that 22 ploughs competed in the vanous elates at the last mateh — 10 in class A, champion double- furrow 1 thraa i* CLlss B, double-fur -

row : two in junior double-furrow ; and seve"n in Cla~s D, single-furrow. The small number of entries in the class for youths under 18 was disappointing, but it was thought interest would increase, so it had been decided to continue the class. The ploughing throughout was good. The horsejumping competitions drew large fields, and were interesting, and the hunt formed an attractive part of the day's programme. The balance sheet showed receipts — balance from 1901, £31: donations, £78; entry money, £13 15s;— total, £123; expenditure, £85; balance, £37. The report and balance sheet were adopted, the president stating that the position was satisfactory. — It was decided that Mr Blakie's farm be used for the competitions this year, the match to be held on August 8. — Officebearers were elected for the ensuing year.

At a recent meeting of the Canterbury Land Board it was resolved that all lessees in the Kohika Settlement who had failed to build suitable houses and go into residences should be called on to show cause why their leases should not be forfeited. The report on holdings in the Takitu Settlement showed that several settlers had not brought their improvements up to the required standard, and it was decided that they should be informed of the necessity of their complying with the regulations.

The report and balance sheet to be presented at the twenty-first annual meeting of the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association of Canterbury, to be held on July 26, at Canterbury Hall, states that the low price of crossbred wool and the wet harvest reduced the purchasing power of the farmer this year, and this, coupled with a fall in the values of the stocks held over from last year, "will .account for tho contraction of the profits on merchandise. Of the 3000 shares, the issue of which was authorised at last annual meeting, 3522 were applied for, but only 3109 were allotted. The directors recommend a small issue of 1000 shares. £1 called up on each, at a premium of 5s per share, at an early date, just to admit new shareholders and to enable those holding a very small number of shares to enlarge their holdings. The balance sheet shows that the net profits for the year amount to £8090 14s lid, to which has to be added the sum of ££894 Is 6d brought forward from last year, making a total of £12,984 16s 5d to be dealt with. The director* propose to allocate this amount as follows:— To pay a dividend of 6 per cent, and a bonus of 3 per cent, on the paid-up capital] to payment of a bonus of 3 per cent, to shareholders on their purchases of merchandise during the year, and a bonus at the same rate on salaries and wages earned in those departments whero the profits warrant ; and to refund 20 per cent, to shareholders on net commission paid on produce sales; to write 10 per cent, off machinery and office furniture and warehouse fittings account ; and the balance to be carried forward to next year'? account. Wages earned by workers under the Factory Acts or union awards do not cany bonus, and all bonuses not claimed before May 31, 1903, will be considered forfeited.

At the annual meeting of the shareholders of the Methven Yards Company (Limited) the balance shoot and report for the year ending March 31. 1902, were adopted, and a dividend cf 7g per cent, on the capital declared Tho letniug duetto; s i"Mi' w. s .T. Ratlv anil .T. Baker) were re elected, and Mr Drills M'Kendry elected i»i tho pl.i' % • nf Mr H. C Baker "Tho r . port shows that 17 sales had been IkM din me tho. year, at which o<J 302 sheep, 298 rams. 380 pi te «.. 74 rattle, and 67 horses were offoird. A -vote of thanks to the diifctor-i and secre*ary was earned unanimously.

The monthly lneetmsr of the Tckomaiiiro Farmers' Club wa-* he'd mi 'In- 10*h 11 -f , Mr .7. Tough in the cha'i" The chanman, referring to the late show, said \i" h; d to congratulate men-bo r« on the. c ue 00 - .•Ma-ned by the BOciety : if it was not the "op t vinter show yet hold in Milton, it was one of the best. He had also to congratulate the club on the stand made in the hay c- .11) f tition at tho Dunedin winter show, and m doing go would like to commend the l.uhos especially for the willing way in which the-a-«isted with the decorations. — Tt .v« : jro-d that those members who had a=M-tod in tl« arangempnts for the Bruce bay s-bould be voted £2 2« each in consideration of t ho-lm-go amount of time and oxppnw thrv had t*ono to — A hearty vote of thank", w;is ncoorded those who had worked - c o industriously for the sueeo-s of the Bnieo bay.

Tl.p. monthly meeting of tho cnmiintl"^ of the Timaru A and P A <•<.<)< mtion took' plar c on the 12th nist. Mr J. Mundell (president) occupied the <hair. The .-ecirtary iepo>ted that in rpply to lettois sent to donors of private prizes last year. ho had rc-plic-, from a number of them agreeing to jme the amount' as last year — Reference, was made to a former lot tor from tho- Farmers' As-o-ciation. stipulating how thpir donation should he applied — viz . fni tho best^ collection of farm j>rodu( p. including o\or\ tiling produced on a farm, apart from live 't<xk Tho president f-aul he wv.uld take stop^ to have tins stipulation earned out. — In order to suit train 11 iaii(fcmfiit«. it was decided that thp hour for nock to be on the ground should ho altered to 11 a.m — The president and Mr M'Laron. deVgates to the recent conference at Dunedin. made ■\orbal reports to the committee on tho work of the conference. The Aubiacts 111 which the association were spect-

ally interested in — small birds nuisance, rail- I age of live stock, trotting at auctions, taxa- | tion of stallions, and the rabbit question — were well discussed. A vote of thanks was accorded to the delegates for their services. — Mr M'Laren then moved, pursuant to notice, that the resolution of 31st August 1901, re delegates' expenses to Wellington, to give evidence on the Land and Live Stock Auctions Bill, be rescinded. — (This resolution was an adverse vote by seven to six on a motion that the expenses of the delegates be paid). Mr Toechemaker opposed the motion on the grounds that the delegates went on the distinct understanding that they were to pay their own expenses, and that the bill they went to support was not deserving of the support of the association, and had been rejected by Parliament, by the great majority of agricultural associations, and by the recent Agricultural Conference. Mr Orbell also opposed the motion. The President said this association had again and again approved of the bill, and it was through them that it was now before the House and certain to be passed. He had not, and never had, any intention of asking for his own expenses. He and Mr Mitchell went to Wellington on the understanding thaf they were to pay their own expenses,, and nothing more would have been heard of it but for the resolution of the annual meeting recommending that the expenses be paid. The motion wa*. put and lost on the voices, only two "Ayes " being heard. — A discussion took place on the date of the show, some difficulty being created through the Christchurch show falling late in the month this year — 12th, 13th, and 14th November — the difficulty being to fall in with the southern shows. The secretary was instructed to write to Oamaru and Dunedin on the subject.

Objection is taken by the Hawke's Bay Herald to the dissolution of the Hawke's Bay Rabbit Board. Referring to the increase in. the number of sheep in the Waiapu, Cook, Wairoa, Waipawa, and East Taupo districts, the Herald is of the opinion that no laxity should be allowed in rabbit destitution — " If the work of the board ceased, we fear that rabbits would spread in the splendid grazing lands from Tongio along the Wairoa and Poverty Bay, where the state of the country affords good cover for the pest We know, as a matter of fact, that the Otago and Southland members of Parliament are strongly opposed to the amending act of last session being repealed, owing to rabbit canning having largely taken the place of sheep-rearing in some parts of the South Island ; but surely it is possible to legislate separately for the North Island, where it is desirous to keep the pest properly under. The reinstatement of the old act, applied to the North Island only, should be possible. We fear, however, that political influence, in the interests of a certain peetion of farmers in other provinces, is going to have a disastrous effect on Hawke's Bay, and the future outlook for the suppression of the rabbit nuisance here is certainly not hopeful."

At ft well-attended meeting of the Waikakabi Settlors' Association, held at Morion on the 15th in«t., Mr Beer (pro.-ident) in the chair, the following resolutions were unanimously carried: — '"That Crown tenants, having for three years complied with conditions of lease 111 regard to improvements, be allowed to pay rent when due, instead of paying in adi ance."— '"That all lands purchased under the Land for Settlements Act be entitled to roba'c " -"That this association oppose to the utmost the Revaluation and Fair Rent Hills "--" That Crown tonant-i have a repio-sentrith p on land hoard-" "That copies of the foregoing resolution* be forwarded to the Hon. W. .). Steward, with a request that rfie support them with all his interest." The annual subscription was fixed at 2s 6d.

Arrangements were completed \ai-t week between the Government and Tamahau Mahupuku for the purchase of 8500 acres of the Longbush estate eastward of Grpytown and Cartcrton. Thp purchn?e of the remaining 22.000 aeree of tho estate will probably be referred to the Assessment Court. T'ae property will be thrown open for settlement 111 January next.

Cheviot notes, in the Chii s tehureh Pross: With the exception of one or two instances no crop of any kind has yet been sown, and all woik of this kind is 111 arrears when a roinpanson is made with la«t season Xot■vvithitaiuling the high pricc-a ruling Jocally for all kinds of pi am and hor-o food Tluring this winter. 110 effort i.-< being niatle to increasci loc il -upi-lies by giain growing, and if 15 cerLaiu that lev*, rioppins will bo done than duiuig la-t w;ason. All the attention of the i- (untied in the fat bheep and I.unh ti-ido, and until local conditions are matcually altered, this indu>tiy will continue to ho the ruling one in the settlement The pa--t spat-on has been a particularly tivmg cipp Horn a fattening point of view, and until lately a largo quantity of forwaid lambs were '•till on the hands of the settlers:. Howf'vci , during the late autumn and early wintei, a decided change for the better took place, and largo mobs, mostly on owner-)' accounts, wore constantly leaving the settlement for the freezing works. Owing to the wet, cold winter, the grass paddocks are failing to keep in good condition the stock that they usually do, and in consequence fanners have largely resorted to the practice of wintering the ewes on turnips, which has in the past proved highly successful. Stock of all V-intl* nn the settlement

are looking fairly well, but not quite up to the standard of last season. In the dairy industry the want of winter feed is' being severely felt, and the dairy herds generally are in a condition somewhat below the usual standard. However, up till now the local butter factory has been kept open, but only a limited supply of milk ia available. The late high prices ruling for all kinds of young cattle has been taken advantage of by the settlers to such an extent that there are very few steers of any age on the settlement, and beef of any kind is a somewhat scarce commodity.

The Department of^Agriculture has issued a leaflet showing the quantity and value of butter, cheese, frozen beef, mutton and lamb passed through the Customs for export during 1 June last, together with comparisons with previous corresponding periods. The return shows that, while there was a considerable falling off in the export of butter and cheese, as compared with June, 1901, there was a very much greater export of all descrip» tions of frozen meat. The figures given for June, 1902, are:— Butter, 9431cwt, valued at £49,902 ; cheese, 3048cwt, value • £7110 ; frozen beef, 42,696cwt, value £50,905 : mutton, carcases, 258,312, weighing 128,505cwt, value £141,166; legs and pieces, 12,365cwt, value £15,055 ; lamb, 230,794 carcases, weighing 73,258cwt, value £115,702.

In Edinburgh Police Court on May 30, before Sheriff Henderson, a Slateford dairyman was charged with an^offence against the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, in respect that on Saturday, April 12, while he was delivering a quantity of sweet milk in town, he refused to allow two inspectors under the act to take 6uch quantity of milk as was required for the purpose of analysis. The accused pleaded not" guilty. The inspectors stated! that on the morning in question they were in Argyle Terrace in consequence of" a complaint by one of the inhabitants there as' to the quality of the milk the accused was in the habit of bringing. They waited at the> top of the stair of the house of the person who had sent them the complaint until the accused appeared with a can of milk. They said they were inspectors under the Food and Drugs Act, and wanted for analysis twopence worth of milk out of tho can which the accused was carrying. Accused did not give them a sample, but offered to give them milk from his van in the street. The accused, in his evidence, stated that the* inspector asked for twopence worth of milk, but he did not know that they wanted ib specially from the can he was carrying- The Sheriff found the charge proved. He said it was a serious offence, because if sellers of milk were to be allowed to substitute something eJse for what they were selling, they would never bo detected at all. Tho full penalty was £10, but ho would only impose a fine of £5, with the alternative of 30 days' imprisonment

The Fortrose annual ploughing match took place on Friday last in a paddock kindlyplaced at the disposal of the association by Messrs Carswell, of Pino Bush. The day v."as not quite so fine a-s could have been defired, but tho public turned out well. There were onV nine ploughs ou the ground, but th<* work done* was of a high standard. Tho judging was in the capable hands of Messrs .T. A. Mitchell. Invercargill : A. M'Leaiu Waianiwa ; J. Scott, Seaward Downs; anil tho president. Mr J. It. Kidd, and secretary. Mr R. Smith, saw that everything was carried out without a hitch. In Cla^s A. C. Christie was first and Malcolm Gray sconnc 1 . There wore only two competitors in flap; B, and ('*. W. Clark secured first honour". C. A. Clarke took first prizo m Cla-« C, and nl.*o special A foi break and for be->b finish. All tho ploughs on the giound were Tna,nufactured by Reid and Gray.

At the Balclutha Magistrate* Court lasb week, before Mr Cruickshank, S.M., Walter Koaeh (Manuka Island) pleaded guilty to being the owner of 60 sheep, found to bo infected with hop, exposed for salo at thn Corporation Yards, Balclutha, on 13th June. Inspector Bruce f-a.-d tho offence wa.s a serious one, but the number of sheep was small, and tho defendant might have, taken them to the yards unwittinuly. Therefore, and as he had pleaded guilfy, the prosecution would not press for a heavy penalty. Defendant said the hheep had been, dipped on April 20, and he had no idea when he took them to Balclutha that they were lousy. He had since had them dipped, and they hadl boon parsed by the. Bruce inspector (Gillespie) and sold. — Fined 10=. The Hyde correspondent of the Faln-.erfto-i Times writes: Our fanners are taking ad\anage of the splendid weather to turn over ovorv aero they can. A larger aron than, usual will be put in crop this year, the present remunerative prices no doubt being th<i cause. Turnips aro holding out very well, being in most caso3 n°o<l for feeding off and) rot for fattening. Stock in general, both' on tho hill and in the paddocks, are looking fplenctid, and. taken altogether, "the lot of. our pastoralists and farmers is brighter, looking than has been the case for years. The most disappointing thing of the season for the farmers and graziers has been the fatJ

lamb trade. Practically none have fattened ; although put upon good feed, they seemed to male no progress. Probably the main reason for this was the severe check they experienced during the very dry spring, the time when it was most important that the lambs should not be stinted or checked in any way. Another factor was the overabundance of moisture in the feed owing to the exceedingly wet summer and early autumn. After the rain the grass grew very rapidly, but did not appear to have much nutriment in it, as the lambs when weaned and put on splendid feed scoured badly, and throve very little. Another thing to be taken into consideration in the fattening of lambs is the breed. For a number of years Romneys were in favour, and the strongly-marked characteristics of that strain are to be seen in almost every flock. Now, however hardy and suitable for hill country the Romney may be, he is not suited for fat lambs, being slow in maturing and lacking in shapeliness, the flat rib and prominent rump being much against him. Although the Down breeds are admitted to be the beat for fat lambs, our farmers are chary of keeping them, because of their inferiority in wool, and the risk of, in a dry season, being forced to keep them over and shear them. All things considered, the Border Leicester seems to be the best all-round sheep, combining both wool and carcase.

Waikawa "Valley letter in the Wyndham Farmer: Stock are getting the turnip crop out of sight perhaps just a little quicker than their owners care about : but rough native feed is pretty plentiful, owing to the small amount of frost, and in most cases the rough feed bos not been heavily stocked. Stock are looking as well at> usual — much better than in many other districts where there is little or no shelter from the cold winds and wet, stormy days. — I understand the Lands Department, which has control of the jotty and g-oods shed, is having a cheese chamber erected in which to store the cheese manufactured at the district factories. No doubt this will give the cheese a much better chanoe of being shipped in good condition than if it were stacked along with all sorts of stuff in the shed.

Waikaia notes, in the Mount Bonger Mail : With the exception of a few nights' hard frost and a slight fall of snow on the first of the month, we aro passing through a most delightful winter so far — more like early spring than what we usually expect at this season of the year. Farmers are taking advantage of this fine spell, and the fields are being rapidly turned over by the plough. Owing to the high price ruling at present, I understand that oats will be very extensively sown this season. Threshing is still in progress in some parts of the district, but the largo bulk of the grain is in the sacks and sold long ago. Several clearing sales among faimois have taken place here lately, and tt^ prices in all cases have been most satisfactory, good draughts running up to £50. A great boon will be conferred upon tlus district early next year, when that splendid block of land at prrscnt held by the National Mortgage and Agency Company, and known as Hydo Holm station, will be cut up into farms of suitable size and offered for lease by public competition. The land, which belongs to tho Otago School Commissioners, is situated above Waikaia township, and is of the finest possible quality, being all river flats of rich, heavy loam. It is expected that there will be a big rush for this land, as it is in such good heart, and also so splendidly adapted for farming.

A farmer in Pambula district, New South Wales, last season burned a quantity of oyster shells and distributed the ashes over a small area of land which ho was cultivating, and in which he sowed a crop of maize. In order to test the efficacy of the ashes as manure, he cropped an adjoining piece of land in the ordinary way. The crop ha 3 just been gathered in, with the result that the land on which the shell ashes had been placed yielded about twice as much as the other area. The experimenter has determined to repeat the experiment next season on a much larger scale.

Among the small measures introduced this session (says the Palme-ruton Times) is one for the suppression of email birds, and one of its provisions is -worthy of attention. It runs as follows: — "If any injurious bird hatches its young within a radius of 10 ohams of a residence or any other building-, the occupier of such building is liable to a penalty not exceeding £10, unless he satisfies the court that he has taken all reasonable steps to pre\ent any such bird from hatching its young on th<* land occupied by him within the said radin« " Should this bill become law. Forr.e of our settlers will have a really brul tim«\ a« most of the steadings in Shag Valley are surrounded by immense bluPf,urns, and in some cases the plantations aro three or four acres in extent, consequently it .-would tako a miniature army to prevent the small birds from lictching near the homesteads if they felt so inclined. The bill, however, will probably have to submit to modification before it becomes law.

From the Australian Meat Trades Journal, Bth inst. : At the Homebush fat stock markets last week cattle were dearer than for «nmi> considerable time part, if not dearer than ever. The quality of the cattle was low, good beef being scarce, and consequently hiath figures were not numerous : but the price per pound was extremely high. Beef must have sold at an average of o\er 36s per 1001b, and in numerous (a^fs it ■went as high as £2. Record prices lately established for cheep were well maintained, many pales being effected ftt pri<>es betwp-en 30s and 40s, odd sheep going as high as 51s\ Included in the supply v.as a consignment from Tasmania, and another from Now Zealand. The Tasmanian crossbred wethers made to 38s, orossbred ewes to 355. and merino wethers to 355. The New Zealand crossbred wetheis made 37s and crossbred ewes to 295.

The Times of Argentina says: Trade with South Africa continues to increase, the steamers onoe engaged for that trade being kept on, provided the out-turn of live stock is fair, while new boats are being weekly taken up, thus increasing the fleet engaged in that trade. Deck spaces for South Africa are eagoily sought after, and were it not for the absurdity of this Government in practically preventing snipments of mules and horses in sailing vessels, a much larger trade would be done. Tho same paner reports: — The condition of our camp? is reported to be splendid, cattle being plentiful and in very good condition. Lhe-re being a very large supply of animals fit for export and freezing, at prices ranging from £6 17s 6d to £7 2s 6d a head.

Toothache is a severe tost of a man's philosophy. A simple remedy is to saturate a piece of cotton with Chamberlain's Pain Balm and place it in the cavity of the affeoted tooth. One application gnes relief. Try it. All dealers Bell it.