WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2541, 26 November 1902, Page 16

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

(Fb«u Our Own Cobrespondent.) All the dairy factories and creameries ire now in full swing, and Dairying. everyone is busy, and get-

ting good money for what they produce. Pigs are very scarce as yet, and 5d per lb is freely being offered. I heard the other day of one of the oldest pig-breeders oi the coast sending 23 pigs down tc Wellington, and getting a cheque for £69 for them. That is better than sheep : but store pigs are not to be got at present. However, the pig is as good as the rabbit for quickly getting up numbers, so I suppose there will soon be a supply, though the present outlook is very bright for the pork-producer.

Grain of any kind there is none, except in merchants' or dealers' hands. The The farmers' trouble it preMarket. sent is : What is going to be the price this coming season? The last month's rough weather has put back) the harvest a week or two, and I doubt whetliei there will be much crop cut before the middle of January, although with warm sunshine there may be a little new chaff come into the local market. I have heard of some smart dealers poing round and offering 2s for oats in February, but I have not heard of any being sold, and I don't think there will be at tliat price.

The stock market lias been very slow, until the last week, when store Stock. sheep took a jump of afc leas' Is 6d to 2s per head. Thore ire now a few shorn sheep coming in, and they are selling well. In fact, I thought last 'Saturday, -when a line of four-tooth wethers wore sold, that they brought more than they would have done the week before, with the wool on ; they sold at 11s, but they were in low condition, and will take some ime to make them fit for the factory. Bwes and lambs are selling fairly well considering the quality, from 10s to 12s 6d, lambs being given in. Cattle are holding their own veil, especially grown bullocks. Th« Sydney men are still picking up some along the coast ; but I hear it ",s their intention to freeze instead of sending them alive. I should think chilling would be sufficient, as they sould be landed in Sydney within a week of being killed. The question still is how long the Sydney marks* is going to last. It is to be hoped not long, foi the poor, unfortunate Sydneyitea' sake ; but I fear the end of the drought is not yet, only the next thre-. months is the time to expect the best rains n the northern parts of Australia.

Branches of the union appear to be going very slow, to cay the lea«t Farmers' o f it. When a meeting is Union. called, the attendance is I very disheartening to thost wh- are trying to carry the thing along ; sometimes out of a membership of from 80 to 100 only six or seven will turn up, and very little is done. In face of the elections, it might have been expected that •members would take a little interest in matters. So far as the election is concerned, 'however, very few of tho farmers take any interest in it. Even in the towns Chere is , iittl* mM.m t*m fubieotj and so fa* as

I can see, there will be little change om this coast at all events.

The shows are the chief topio of conyersa^ tion in farming circles. Shows. That of Palmerston North!

was held last week, and was a great success in every way. The only objection to this fixture is that it haa now grown to be sucb a huge ooncern that tho ordinary working farmer has noA time to digest everything. He can only spare one day — and after the trains get in- this only means five hours — while from an educational point about five days would not be too much ■time to do justice to everything placed before the visitor; but the working farmer can only be there one day, as he has to divide the three days with hi 9 family and •workmen. Of course, we must admit that in th" case of the majority of the 20 odd thousand who visited the show, education was far from their thoughts, and the great: attraction to many was the horse-jumping contests, etc. ; but still we should never lose sight of the fact that the primary oh* ject of an agricultural show is to educate the farmers ; and looking round on the crowd, the thought came to me if them •would not be more good done to the rising, generation of farmers if we could have a show of live stock pure and simple, witfr no side shows to distract, when" everyone who attended would take an interest in 'the different animals on exhibit — something on the same line? as the sheep shows in SycU ney and Melbourne. However, I fear there ■is no chance of starting anything of the kind in New Zealand, even if it would be wise to do so, as I doubt whether breeders of purebreds would support an. extra show foi the purpose of education, and that is what it would mean, as the people would' "have to have their big show all the fame, 1 "Wanganui is having its show this week,' and having had fine weather, and the biggest entries on record, it is also a success. Wanganui has come to the front at a great rate ■this last two or three years, having such a ■number of breeders of both cattle, sheep, and horses. Horses are their strong point, in comparison with others, and it being the nicest town on. the coast, with beautiful grounds, they always command a fair attendance.

Hawera follow*, next week, then New Plymouth, so that it is not easy to get anyone to talk anything but shows.

Flower shows are now attracting the attention of the public. This is Horticultural, perhaps hardly an agrioul- , turat note, but still, a farmsteading looks very bare without a few . -flowers and shrubs in the front, and I think farmers might take a little more in* terest in horticulture than they do, and try and make the farmhouse look like a home, instead of a shed that has been put up to live in for a year or so. I notice it is the biggest farmer that is the biggest sinner in this respect. The small man generally goes in for a garden at once. I should like to see farmers support flower shows as well as agricultural shows. ANTIQUA OYIS.