AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL

Otago Witness, Issue 2529, 3 September 1902, Page 16

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL

A correspondent writes to the Timaru Herald complaining of the scarcity of labour in South Canterbury. On many farms, ]ha says, ploughing is at a standstill, 'for the simple reason that no labour can be- obtained. There v a considerable amount j>£ grain still fn stack, waiting to be threshed, but some of the mill owners who lately essayed to get through some of fhie threshing have been compelled to return home for want of hands.

Farmers in many parts of the Ashburtort County complain of the scarcity of feed. Mr William Evans, the chairman of the. Timaru Harbour Board, has been corresponding with the Hon. W. Hall-Jones, as member for the district, with reference to getting the Federal steamers trading to South ' Africa to make Timaru one of .their regular ports of call. Teaterday (says lasfi Saturday's Herald) Mr Evans received , the 'following telegram on the subject from , the Hon. Hall- Jones: — "In re South African; steamers. I have seen agent for these boats. If you can arrange for a reasonable quantity of produce to be shipped from Timaru by Norfolk, kindly communicate with Kinsey, Barns, and CV, the agents, and satisfactory arrangemonts will be made. Jn addition to the Norfolk, the Kent will call at Timaru next month, about four weeks from date." Here then will bo an opportunity for South Canterbury farmers to participate directly m the South African trade. We are not irt a position to state what freight is charged by these Federal steamers, but in all probability we shall lu.ve information on tho subject in a day or two. The annual meeting of shareholders of the Tar Tapu (Canterbury) Co-operative Dairy Company (Limited) was held on Friday last, Mr T. Qnayle presiding. The directors, in their annual report, stated that the year hacl been a prosperous one. The total quantity of milk received had been 9,082,8951b, oi? 865,038 ppl'ons at lOjlb per gallon. Suppliers had received about 4£d per .gallon for their output -of milk for the year. The percentage of butter produced for the milk waa satisfactory, but the directors thought thab a further rncreaso in butter-fat was possible. The butter made had been of excellent quality. A new creamery had been orectccl at Ladbrooks, and ought to prove* an acquisition to the company. The directors recommended that tho usual dividend of" 5 pep cent, be declaicd on subscribed capital at 31«t July, 1902. The report and balance sheet showed receipts £19,179 15s, disbursements £19,244 19s 2d, debit balance at bank £45 4s 2d ; and the approximate statement of liabilities and assets sttowed a balance of thd latter over the former of £1196 8s 6d. The report and balance sheet were adopted. The* chairman stated that an unprecedentedly high price had been received for exports, and the prospects generally for the incoming jcax were better tliau had dvci- been

fcefore. Messrs XT. E. Peryman and H. Rainey, who retired from the list of directors fcjr rotation, were re-elected, and Mr W. jFin© was elected as an additional director to represent Ladbrooks. At the annual meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, held on Friday last, the president "(M^ W. Wood) in the course of his address said that the rise that took place in the wool sales of May, was, no doubt, greatly influenced by South African affairs. The improvement looked for in general trade, however, as a result of peace in South Africa, has not yet come about. The demand for certain classes of aur produce must continue far some time, provided tr« con place it c.i.f. at a*, low a price as others. We must recognise we have to compete with the Argentine, which' is very much closer, meaning. cheaper freights and greater facilities for executing orders. The Argentine; meat "is just as suitable, if not more so, than ;ours is in Africa, and we cannot expect to get ';a better price for oui meat than what they get for theirs. At the same time, the trade -/which th* Australian merchants hay». built up tfi«y will hardly be able to hold this- season, and there should be a demand for a good deal of our produce. I take it we have a chnnce to have not had before* ' juid ;ought now to be able to build up a 'trade and establish our market* so as to be. able "to compete 'with opposition when Australia is better able to operate. AS fanner writes as follows to the Timaru Herald, complaining of the scarcity of farm hands: — "Are we to stay hero?" is a question that may well be- asked by farmers at the present time in South Canterbury, as the difficulty of obtaining labour has now become so accentuated that much of the work farms has to be left undone. There * is a considerable amount of grain in stack .. still waiting to be threshed, though the | weather has been very fine for some two months, and some mill-owners who bad lately essayed to get through some of this $ threshing have again been compelled to rectum home for want of hands. On many "*farms ploughing and other work is at a k «taiidstiTl from the same cause. What are tfie reasons for this scarcity of labour? ' ' The annual horse parade under the auspices of the Canterbury A. and P. Association will be held on the Addington Show Grounds on September 2*. Entries will close on September 20. The association -offers a prize of £20 for the best draught ''stallion of any age on the ground. - • The report of experiments conducted at >*the Agricultural College, Wye, England, to determine the influence of feed on the content of fat in milk, has lately been issued. It tends to support the view previously held - that the amount of butter-fat which a cow gives is not materially dependent upon the nature of her food, but is governed by other causes, such is the period of lactation and the inherent aptitude of each cow to give rich or poor milk. "Particulars in connection with a number of special prizes to be offered for competition at the annual hor3e parade at Tahuna Park on October 2 appear in an advertisement in this issue. The prizes j ranee from £5 to £1, including a penalty , prize of £3 3s offered by Mr W. F. M. Buckley, Dunsandel, for the best thoroughbred stallion at the parade. Entries close op the 27th inst.