AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

The following from the Veterinary Department will be interesting to graziers: — A farmer on the west coast of the North Island who has been losing a nurriber of lambs and hoggets through a trouble caused by the presence of worms in the lungs and stomach recently sent two badly affected animals to the agricultural laboratory in Sydney street for examination. The lambs were not destroyed, but were kept in the laboratory yard, and given a fattening supply of dry, nourishing food, but no. medicine whatever. They have now completely recovered, and ate getting fat. This is another proof, although it is not needed in the light of past experience, of the truth of the contentions of the departmental officers that parasitic diseases of this kind do not require medical treatment, but only provision of a proper diet. Another sheep was recently sent down to the veterinary division suffering from fatty infiltration of the liveT as the result of too much fatproducing food and too little exeroise — in other words, the sheep had been living in paddocks producing a heavy growth of nutritious grasses and clover, admirably adapted for cattle fattening, and even for sheep if they were cleared off as soon as they became fat. Unfortunately' for the owner this course had not been pursued. The sheep on its arrival at Wellington had already begun to show some improvement as the result of 24 hours' travelling without food. It has since been kept on a diet of a few ounces of hay daily," with twenty of water and exorcise, and it has now entirely recovered. It is gradual!;' being given a reasonably full diet, and iv a few days, as j it is a valuable Btud sheep, it will be sent back to its owner completely cured. This animal also received no medicine whatever, being simply dieted on rational principles. Those cases afford a valuable object lesson to sheep-owners. : The seven packing ompanies bought last summer by the Armour, Swift, and Morris interests as a preliminary step to the general consolidation then contemplated bave now be«n }onsolidatecl into the National Packing Company; The company has been incorporated under the laws ' of New Jersey with 15,000, 000d0l capital stock. The company contemplates doing a gross business of about T.40.000,0n0d«l a year. The National Packing Company will rank in size next after the big Armour am! Swift concerns, which do a business of 200 r OOO,OOO dollars a year each. The Armours and Swifts have equal representation c.i the board of directors of the National, with three directors each, and the Morris interests have, two directors. Seven excellent plants in various parts of the country will do the business of the company It is very apparent now that these were bought when a gigantic combination of big parking interests was in view, and when this combination was prevented by public attack the National Packing Company was formed to absorb the purchases. When Mr J. Graham Gow was in this iountry. write our Home correspondent on March 27, he visited Cardiff among other places, and I believe reported favourably on the prospects of trade there. Some figures of Cardiff's importations of frozen meat are now available, and the quarterly report of tho ne-dica! officer of health for the port states that the frozen moat trade is in Cardiff a largo and important industry, and the due inspection of such meat forms an important part of the duty of the port sanitary inspector?. In each case tho shin carrying the. meat is inspects! and notice of the destination of the cargo forwarded to tho inspector of nuisance of the urban sanitary authority, who visits the refrigerators and provision shops. Tn this way the meat is kept, as faT as possible, under supervision until the time of sale. Altosether 12 cargoes of frozen meat arrived in Cardiff during the ouarter ending December 31st last. The following table shows the quantity of frozen moat that has been landed at the port tlurincr the ouarter, the ships coming from the River Plate and other South American porta : — Beef: 12,056 fore-avar-

ters, 10,556 hind-auarters, lOB.OCO earcasee. Mutton: 25.037 half carcases, 17,600 hindquarters, 130,000 haunches, 11,170 lambs. Now Zealand mutton and lamb arc not brought direct by ship to Cardiff, the medical officer remarks. At the annual meeting of Messrs Eastmans, held in March at Cannon Street Hotel, London, Lord G revile, who predicted, said there was a heavy deficiency in the supply of meat available for consumption in lingland. The shortage of the maize crop in the United States in 1901 made it impossible for the farmers to fatten the usual number of cattle, and shipments to the English markets fell off to the extent of 45,000 tons of beef as compared with the shipments in 1901. Australia shipped very little meat to this country owing to the bad effects of the long drought, and had to obtain meat from New Zealand to eke out its own requirements for Home consumption. South Africa, owing to the devastating effects of the war. had to draw largely from New Zealand and the Argentine Republic meat which would, in normal times, have been shipped to England. The net result of all this was that the company's purchases for their own trade cost them upwards of I £200.000 more than the samo weight of meat would have cost in 1901. The drought had broken up in Australia now, and shipments from there, and also from New Zealand, Argentina, and the United States promised to ba considerably heavier in 1903 than iv 1902. He added that Great Britain had to draw about one-third of its supply of fresh meat from abroad. Discussing the small-birds nuisance in | Timaru on Wednesday, a member of the Levels County Council said that the birds were becoming more destructive than ever. In fche Point district, he said, the winter ' wheat which had been sown this season I had been already, very materially damaged j through the birds pulling up the grain just j A3 it commenced to sprout. .A . suggestion \ was made that the Levels Council should . combine with other councils, and offer a j substantial bonus to the person who can devise the best method of coping with the pest. j The rabbiting industry at Middleman?!) is ; brisk, and eatchee of from 40 to 60 pairs are quite common. Rabbiters are, therefore, making good cheques at prcsrat. Some farmers in the Wairio district, owing to the bad weather, have had to pull down their stacks or rebuild. The came has occurred at Heddon Bush hrough heating. The resolution of the Southland County Council declaring ragwort a noxious weed, passed last April, was confirmed last Thursday by 5 to 3. The Oruba, the Inst fruit steamer of the season, sailed from Hobart recently, making the nineteenth vessel despatched for England with fruit from Tasmania. Tie aggregate quantity of fruit sent Home this year was 293,504 cascG, against 300,000 sent in 1902. Mr W. Thompson, of the Gap Road Freez'ag Works, near Winton, has just received an order from the Navy Department for 360.0001b of preserved moats. It will be remembered (say 3 the Winton Record) that the Gap Road Works supplied 100.0001b of preserved meats to the War Office lant year •'irouifii the Department of Industries and Commerce. Commenting upon an iffort being made in Chicago to organise a branch of the National Union of Farmers among a body of agriculturists representing property worth i<bout £4,000,000, the Chicago Farmers' Review gives expressions to views wliirb will be read with interest by the members of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. The writer *ay»: — '"Unity of sentiment s.-ad action among farmers is much to be desired. Unless they stand shoulder .o shoulder in defence of tl eir privilege-* and in dom?mding the privileges -o which .-hey are entitled, they cannot expect to receive their deserts at the hands of legislators, the corporation!-, with which they hav3 to deal, or the public, in general : but they should bo cautious about identifying themselves #ith bier organisations worked up by promoters out.=rde their ranks. Not until thsy have a goodly number of successful organisations which work together harmoniously should they attempt a national asfociation. Co-operation has proved of groat ocnefit to many producers. Fruitgrowers, for example, in many parts of the country through local organisations have beer* able to market their Tops to murh hotter advantage than if ear-h had sold independently. Co-operation has brought about a uniformity of product which has promoted faieabilifcy ; it lias made possible the erection of -old storage plants and the employment of agents to look after the market in <r of crop?. Before co-operation ran be made advantageous on a larce scale, however, it must be thoroughly worked out on a email ?oale, because .here are many points at whirh it is liable to br<?ak down uulf-ss the machinery is well tested amd in good working order. " The Lyttelton Times of the 4th inst. makes the following explanation regarding a ic-c-^nt meat contract: — A paragraph in Saturday's issue, qnoted from a North Island paper, stated that 15.000 careasps of mutton from Auckland had been condemned im London. The paragraph appears to have been Vased on one which appeared in an Australian joxirnal, with the addition of exaggerations £uch as arc frequently gained

by such news an travelling. The parcel consisted of 1500 carcases. The mutton was sold by a. Sydney brokci, and the Auckland vendor look it foi granted, from the price, the weights specified and the absence of stipulation as to quality beyond that onethird barren ewes were to be accepted, that it wp.9 for Sydney. On the contract-note being received by mail, disclosing the -name of the purchaser, and the fact that the meat was for South Africa, the vendor cabled the broker to cancel the contract or allow it to bo supplied from another source. Neither request was acceded to. It subsequently transpired that the Australian buyer was acting for a London firm, and renewed efforts were made to obtain the cancellation of the contract, it being pointed out that the buyers would have to take whatever was shipped, without demur, and the quality that could be s-ent in terms of the contract would discredit the parties concerned. The fulfilme-nt of the contract was insisted on by the buyer, and the meat shipped to South Africa. Part of it having been sent to> London for sale has oaused the vendors extreme annoyance. It was such as would not be sold knowingly for export, even to South Africa, their only guarantee being that it was fit for food when killed, and they state that it was quite equal to meat . they had seen going to Sydney. | The Aohburton Guardian deals at ome length with the complaints , of farmers and merchants about the untrustworthiness of "railway weights" of produce. Mr Fried- '■■ lander stated that sometimes weights given by their proporly-teated weighbridge and by the railway differ from Jkwt to haif a ton, and Mr Thomas quotes a recent case of 11 trucks being ll^owt out. A. farmer on the Papakaio Plain states that he lost £7 hard cash ov> a shipment of wheat ent to | Auckland, the difference between his weighing and the railway weighing. He llso | sent some trucks of wheat to one of the Timaru mills, for which they paid full on his weights as against the railway's. There Tg something that wants adjusting in this respect, and probably it is the railway weighbridges. Mr D. Hyde, Government poultry expert (says the fimaru Post), has a oheme in course of arrangement, which, if ganetioned by the Government, should give an enormous impetus to fowl raising in the- colony, and put the industry on a bettei and more profitable footing in every respect. Accompanying the chenue for £100 sent T>v Mr Hugh Campbell, of Powkawa, Hawke's Bay, to the Australian Drought , Fund was the following lettef, written by the managei of the New Zealand Loan and Mercanti'e Agency Company (Limited) : — "Lord Mayor's Drought Relief Fund. — On behalf of our respected client and friend, Mr Hugh Campbell, of Poukawa, New Zealand, we have much pleasure in crediting your branch account £100. beiinar Mr Campj bell's donation. to the fund. We may say that Mr Campbell is one of the largest shp.op farmers in this province, and it different times was owner of stations in New Si uth Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, but during 1 fhe last 30 v-eara has settled in TTawke's Bay. Mr Campbell is a particularly kkid and sympathetic old gentleman, r.nd h" feels that New Zealand farmers fhould in this case extend a helping hand to theii iess fortunate brothers in New South Wales, moro especially as he considers the New Zealand farmer has benefited largely in the enhanced prices of crossbred wool and fat sheep, owing, in a measure, to the diminished flocks cm your side. If at any future time you think that it is desirable to gf>nd 6ub=crintion lists tc New Zealand in co'lpct money for the Drought Relief Fund, we shall He hanpv to take charge of gome of your lists and distribute Hiem among our offices throughout N«w Zealand." I>st year the Ashburton County Council paid about £1000 tor small birds' eggs and heads. The council decided '.o pay the cum of |d per head for small hircW hends, and to renueet the Selwyn and Geraldine Councils to eo-operito in poisoning the birds in their respective districts. The Pleasant Point !orre<=r-ondent of the Timaru Herald writes: — The weather for fome weeks pa«t has been favourable for threshing, jnd mills have been working full time almost without a break since they be«un operations. The crops as a rule are turning out lvtter results ;han wnn anticipated. On Mr John Norton's well-ordered farm, for instance, the yield yeas estimated in February at 30 bushels for %vheat and 50 for oats, whereas th<s actual results show wheat a/s high as 45 bushels and oats averaging 66 bushel? to the acre. Mill owners smd .nill hands are 'hopeful of a very profit- ; able seacon. There has been a heavy and substantial traffic at the railway station, ; more thnn 25 000 sacks having already been • sent away. This year farmers have been i more liberal! v treated than usual in the j matter of railway trucks, no leas than 14special trains having been put on to meet ; the extra dem.-'ind during the last .seven . i weeks. Still ,he goods shed is packed, and , preat stack? >f grain have to be made i ouffiide ; at leant double the rolling ..-tort ; could have been utilised if it had been avail- . able. Although grass is still plentiful the | supply of milk at the local creamery has diminished eonsiderablv, and simce May 1 < H hat. been running only very second day. ; The Hororata correspondent of the ( Chrietchurch Preea reports that threshing |

and oarting away the grain have been pushed on rapidly. The threshing is nearly finished, and good yields are reported— up to 51 bushels of wheat and 72 of oats; from SO to 60 of oats are common yields. Feed is plentiful everywhere, and stock is looking well. The turnip crop is not co good' aa in past years, the turnips be:mg small. The potato crops are very poor in most cases, and the heavy frosts a few weeks ago killed the tops. The farmers are busy preparing the wheat, of which a fair amount will bs 60WU. Says the Indiana Farmer: — The Department of Agriculture is engaged in filling 40,000,000 packages of seeds, which are to be placed at the disposal jf senators and representatives for gratuitous distribution. In former years this was done by hand, and an expert was able to fill 3000 packages in a day of ten hours. A machine now in use will do the same work in an hour, and much more accurately. The seed is fed into the machine through a hopper. The machine neasures the seed, opens' the empty envelope, dumps the seed into it, glues the open emd and closes it, and discharges the bag /«ady to be mailed. The chairman of the Imperial Food Supplies Association has written to the Premier stating that the organisation baa been created for distributing New Zealand products throughout Great Britain, for which purpose depots are to be erected at Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow, Nottingham, and other centres. The writer having pointed out the advantages thafr would accrue to New Zealand oy having her produce handled systematically, says: — "As we have not sought, for manifest reasons, the assistance af the financial houses or support of the London agents issociated! with the distribution of colonial products, ib will be some time before ire may be in a position to perfect that representation whiohi we consider necessary throughout the populous centres of Great Britain, but if your Government could see its way to guarantee, say, £100,000 in 4 per cent debentures, or assist us in some such manner, we would be prepared to give immediate effect to the whole of our scheme, which, being based on commercial lines, would warrant our lesumption that by so doing you would gain exactly what you require at* no aditional cost to your Government." The letter suggested that a reply might be sent by cable, in order 'ft at" a representative might be sent from London to New Zealand to Jiseuas the details of the scheme. During the month of April (says the Christohurch Press) several shipments of stud merino 3heep have been sent away from Tasmania. They included 11 exres amd 20 ram 3 from Mr W. H. Gibson's Fairfield estate ; 35 ewer from the Foxton flock of Mr K. Gibson ; and five ewee from Mr Frank Gibson, the squire of Wanstead. Mr Russell Gibson, of Bicton, despatched 85 ewes in a later jhipment. All the sheep were sent away in response to private irdera fnra Victoria. The Leicester Sheep Breeders' Association (England), in their annual report, state that during the year rams were exported to Russia fan entirely new field). New Zealand", and France. There wa/) undoubtedly a re« action in favour :>f the Leicester, and many farmers were realising that sheep of tlu present Leicester type were the most profit able, wmimg early to maturity. This statement was confirmed by the fact that at the public sales of Leicester yearling rams they were nearly al 1 purchased by farmers in the, Ea»t RJdin-tf. King Edward^ VII is T>> no mean: the first Tlnertiah Sovereign to display an interest in. Shire horses, for the breed has been fostered by kings since the time of Henry 11. Tm those days this horse was the war horse, bred for the purpose of carrying warriors in full panonlv, for the work of the farm and .■Om&st all heaw cartage was done by oxen. The history of the breed goes back through the war horse and the M English black horse to thp early "centuries of the <*ra, and it was probabiy this very horse that attracted the notice of Julius Caesar by its strength and nrlantability to war service. It wan H<Mirv Yin who established a Royal stud of Shire horse*, and enaoted laws foi the breeding of these animals m the counties lying between the Humber and the Ham and westwards to he Severn. Stallions were imported to improve the strain, but exportation was striotlv Jorbidden. and it was felony to sell one of the breed to a Scotsman, fhe Eno-lish Cart fforse Society was established in 1878. but shortly afterwards the old name of the Shire horse was revived. During the pisf, year fiit> GeraWine Road Board 'expended £121 4* lid in the destruction of email birtN. -THi* is similar to the amoimt spent in 190 L Still there has been very much le=s srjenfc in eggs and beads. The general results in dealing, with this nuisance ar" .very unsatisfactory. The Glenavy correspondent of the Timanv FTeraTd writes : — Threshing is going on itondily. The ;ro.ps are turning out splenciifllv. and the results in most -ases are much above exneof-ations. e=.r;eci:»llv In oats. Mr M'Culloch threshed 76 bushels per acre The Imperial Bbass Spraj Puwp: "With Stream and Fine St>ray Nozzle. — Made bj • A-merican noted manufacturers. Are obtainible from Nimmo ajtd Blair, Dunedic. Fruifr jrowers and Orchardists should use item,

from 40 acreß; Mr Hensbridge, 86 bushels per acre from 60 acres ; and Mr Andrews, JO2 bushels per acre from 46 acres. In the HedclifF distriot several farmers gained over 60 bushels per acre of wheat. The grass continues abundant, and stock are in good condition. Mr Porter is having a very busy time, as his sheep-dipping yards are being well patronised. The United States Department of Agnculture, in a statement recently issued of the numbers of live stock in the Statea, makes the startling announcement that on Ist January, 1903, there wore nearly 6,000,000 fewer cattle than there were three years previously. In 1900 there were 67,600,000 head; this year the numbers are 61,774,433. Milch cows have increased slightly, but beef cattle each year have shown lessened numbers. This shortage has not been compeneated by increased numbers of other stook. Sheep, it is true, are 2,229,862 more than in 1900, but hogs are some 16,000,000 less, the census of 1900 returning them at 63,000.000, and this last year as 46,922,625. With these figures as a basis it has been >alcu•latcd that there will be about 4,500,000,0001b less meat available for consumption this year than there was three years ago, with a largely -increased home population, amd the deduction may well be drawn that there will b:> but little reductions in present values of Ibcef,. mutton, and pork. Since these census returns were oolleoted in December, 1902, the weather in the Western States ha 3 been rigorous in the extreme, and it is reported that blizzard after blizzard for several weeks has swent away many thousands ot cattle and sheep; in some districts 25 per cent, /re- said to have succumbed, and there is a pretty general impression amongst cattlemen that once the mobs of unfinished beast 9 have been marketed, and lessened numbers seem now being received, a time of higher prices will obtain for the better, morefinished meat that will come to hand later cm.— Australian Meat Trades Journal. M. N. Krukoff, Russian agricultural expert, who left Adelaide on April 23 for England, was candid in his criticism to the last. He certaimly had a good word to say for South Australian sheep, for ho regarded the light merinos as a better type than those in any of the States. He regretted •to see New" South Wales pastoralists were introduoing Vermonte. He also said that South Australian wine was much bettor than that of the other .States. He stated that ■the methods here were excellent. Very bad wine was made in Victoria. There ■were scientific men .and <no scient:fio methods, and people paid no attention to experts. In jonolusion, he said he had not received the courtesy from th- fficiais of the Victorian Agricultural Department which wa3 due to a visitor of his rank and Btatus. He ascribed this treatment to his criticism of Victorian methods >f dairying.