AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2572, 1 July 1903, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

TJberc appears to be groat difficulty in persuading farmers Id part with lii?ir old henfl for import, and this notwiriistanding tho Kiet that higher pi ices now nile than at coy jji-evious period. Every year from abcufi this time exporters receive large- orders foB ■shipment to Soutli Afries— sudh is the easel this year,— "but they cannot complete same ;' and, right through ilie sea=on, firms having staiidjng orders for monthly shipments havo found it i-mpcs-ible to dbtain full supplies. Apparently either farmers Jiave Bet yet awakened to fcho fact that there is such a thing as an export trade, or will not trouble to cater lor it. It cannot be« a question; ol lack of stock or of insufficient inducement in fhe siiape of iiigh prices, for, as ai matter of fact, the class of bird chiefly sought for — i.e., old lien£ — are running about; by Mie tec 3of thousands in the country, and sfesuid be -pai\tod wii4 oi, any figure, fofi they are. simply "eating their heads off."

Mr "John Koppe'.'s flaxmill plant left tha Lawrence district on Monday for Brighton, n->iir Dunedin '^says 4ho Tuapeka Times), wbtro a block of ground has been taken that irill supply flax fibre for something like tbree years. TTip jnilliug p3an>li wa« takens ■dow^n by load by Mr W. Buchancin's traetioa engine and tiro waggons.

According to th-e Eketaliuna Exprese, AXe Martin Johnston, well known in. that dis•tiict, ]ias bc<-n eugaged by a firm of auc-i-i-oiie>E-rs in ithe 'North Islasid to proceed to Denmark und other daiiying parts of the C&nrinent to purc-iij^e- stud dasryii^g stock fcr this colony.

The Agricultural Department is making inquiries a? to whctiier a large supply of disease rt-=if-ting \incs can be obtained in New South Wales, li not procurable in Australia, tho department will obtain a i?upply from franco.. It is proposed to establi-th a nursery for the vines at Wailangi, in the AYaikato, and anot3ier in Hawke's .Bay, cither at Taradale or .Hastings.

A gelding sold for £14 in Tapsnui 10 years ngo brtrugbt £33 at He-riot last week. The animal in is well up in years, and his destination is Cantr-rburj-.

The Tuajj-edca Times is informed that the offer of the Government Chief Veterinary Surgeon (Mr tSilruthj to give a series of loot tires on veterinary £t«enoe to n»omber3 of the Tuapeka Agricultural Society, Dn condition that 15 members at 10s 6d each were guaiantecd, has not beon a'.iailcd of, only three, ko far, having cxpr&sred tho wi&h to extend thci'r kHowled-ge in the treatment of disDa.,ei3 in stock on the paymemt of tho small fe-o raqutred. A large aiid irepreeentatave mec'ting of cocksfoot growers w«s h«ld «n the 20fch ult^ at Duvßuehellcs. Mr Hall, Fort Lery, was c'.iairmrm. it -was deeJd&d >to form a com* pany for tlie di&poial of tihe cocksfoot crop* A draft prospectus, suggesting a capital of £30,000, divided into 6000 shares^ at £5 «ach, was agreed *a TJie following were appointed pr-ovibioiuil tLLreofcoK: — Meeers 13.. HaE, J. C?oop, W. Paton, A. Hewitt, J. DV Bruc;., G. Cheekky, W. Warner, and R. M. Sp-nir. It was d««ded to allot the eharea as soon as 4-OlA) !had l>ec.n «s>plied! for. Upwards of 40,090 sacts of next season's crop ■have been guaranteed, out of an estimated! yi&ld of i6S:GOD. At *h>& meeting of the Waimato County CounoJ aa Wedaiesday last, a long discuseion arose on the ohairm-an'^ report on the work of the late Small Birds Conference ab Timaru, and a variety of .suggestions were made a.* to tho time, manner, and places of d-stributmg pokoned grain, the differeufc qualities of poisoned grain, and the people v, ho .should be employed to distribute ifc. Most oonmcSloxß agTC-ed thnt coctirpatk>n o£ sparrows could not be -aocomplishetl. The ElJcanjere cornespDiKient of tie I»yt« tolton Times writes th-at the work of drilt!7ig wheat is being pushed j>head all over tho di'tiict, and Use area to he devoted to this cere id is as large as hist yeai. Tho weflthcr of the p-art week lias put the ground in oapitDl condition lor *eed cowing, *ndl tlie drill* and harrows are ibnsy at worlc. The yj£ilds of poi«to?9 are, wiih a few ex* ce.ptiors, oc-niioerably Ik2ow expectatioEfl. So far the -winter ha* berm of a fine, open diameter, feed is fairly plentiful And .slock of all kinds is in good condition (writeß -fib© M&tliTen tjorrespondent of the Lyttelton Time«). Tarm operations are very backward on account of the late harvest and the hard frosts esperkjieed -lor the past week or two, and in -couseqaicinoe onty a small area o£ wheat is yet sown in the djctiiot. The Afchburton A. and V. Association •mad© a prCfit of £233 on tho last ycar'a work.

The Pleasant Point correspondent of the Timaru Herald writes:— The weather in thia district for -som* time has been favourable for farmiiig operations. Little rain has fa.U^n, rjpd though there have l>een sharp frosts at ni«jht tlio days have been bright and .sunny. On Sunday and Monday Wat a nor"-woVter psrovailed. but flic storm that seamed tD Ibe nagin.gr i« *5» lp&* dvi «"t rcaoh us. The grain eeaoon is now over, although up to last week a fairly steady traffic to t'-e sfnHon was maintained. This rrnr so far 56,000 racks have been sent away from Ploa'.ant Point, which is probably ft leicord foT thus

"Mr O. Witty, M.H.T{.. h«g re-oeived tlio following oominuniciition from the Hon. T. IT. Duncan, Miiii^'ir of Agiiculture :— * '•With reforcnee- to your letter of June 9, dircoting attention to the oos.ious weeds, cepecialij' Californiiain .thistle, on section 226 of tire, land «--ettejitly enquired from Sir Wesbby Perceval by the Government, and! suggesting itrrat experiments be conducted^ with th&Je thistles, I have the honour to inform you thnt the mattei will bo looked! into -at cues."

JTlie corre-spcncVnt whom tlie Melbourne Ag;p. ond S3'dn.py Da;h - Telegraph have sent to the Argentina poinV- out that Argentina dairying prcspsots are gn&atJy enhanced by tbe presence in that country of 80,000 Beerrue families from libe Pyj-enees, a sturdy aai'' F-plf-relieaist ola.-«s -pre-eminantly fitted foe dairyiaig, Jind mostly accustosned to handling r^cttk. An aecotmt -h also givc-n of tho T&ndibra buttery factory Ffarted by Mr Harry PvCynoldo, who intioduced buttermaking 1 into New ZeaJand. All the cni•ploTeeß •are ©anes, .exnept the -foreman. Wno is a Basque, while the manager, Mr Wesley, is an Argentine df BngTreh parentage. M-r Catk'arwaid, tlie expert, is a Swede wlio waß for eevera-l vpsts cjounMvlecl with the Tratter Iciduotry of New South Wales. On iracftiw

estate co-.vs are being broken in- for milking. Plans for tho new buildings on. the Ashtrarton A. and P. Show Grounds have been approved by the cornmifctoe. The funds rcqni-red for the impifoveinxents, about £IGGO', TrilE be raised by scrip isai«d to members, tie scrip to be retJeexrable. by baliot. as the association's fund* permLr.. The slana.-watu A. and; P. Associatioa do- ] cfcliedi at its meeting- on- 2ffth ult. not to »\"«rd any poinfes prizes this year, on acctjuni of the large increase made> in prize ironey last year. the earn >f £1360 was allotted 1 , an increase of £*2S oa the previous year. I Ths> question of the- rigfete of sett-Lera to rrcover damages? canfisd hy stock trcspas?*- ] ing. on. tlverr landi* wa> raised in, a case -vrhicfc came before Dr M'Afilni-r, 4kM-, -at the Upper Hutt a few cfoya ago. Win. Ga*d. of , SuTerstream, sued Andrew Luff, a neigii- • lra\irin-g; settler, for £5 damages for injury | BUBteimed thiroajii: fche- latter's labile trespassiag on his land. It was. proved that the bounderd fenea waa in bad. order and insufficient to keep out cattle, and Mr Bonny, for the defendant, coat-:si*i«d that tinder seofciatt 5 of "The Impounding- Act, ISS4," pla-infiff hcdl no right to recover damages. Section sof the act. sets out \ Chat "every oeeapter of hmd: trespassed on ] by catfte nsay imr.ouad the aae , . [ feat do occupier of any Urnieooed ktnd sh-all • fee entitled to demand 01 recover any Saamges whatever by reason oi tbe trespass thfrcccn of any cattle^ except fee for driving or Jot giving- notice o£ the dtefce-niicai of sndt esttle." Bis W«r<?Jup uphcM the coatonfion^ and gsuve- Judgment for the defendant with co=te. — Post. A delegate at the Taranaki Provinciai CbnfeTeajce of the Farmers" Union said that j he considered that the local fcediee rfiould , possess mars pawcT. He- did not believe , in. going to the Government for everything. | But the whole comnenniiy ehould certainly pay a proportion of the cost of up-keep of main road's. The Government pai<s_ a subeidy on a portion- of th« locsJ bodies' income, bat it cug&fc to subsidise all rates. If that were done- tfeere would opt be constant applications for grant* in aid of roade. . ' Another freezing wer&s is to be accctea • in Argentina, this time wit& Italian capital, the- amount being fised at £2*o,Qoa. Tlie estanciercii will cot ccmplatn. It all in£cns increased comp-etition. Tlwr works ( •wifl most likely 6u>ply Naples, Genoa, and other Italian ports with meat. Referring to a. re«nt purchase by ilr P. Ryan, of Skbanfr, St. Andrews, of a lot of 54- English Leicester stud ewee, in lamb to tarns bred by Messrs H. F. Gray and Jarne* little, of AHandale, both registered fiocks;, Mr John Yenning, writing in the Timaru Herald, gives the- foilo^vT^s interesting particulars, regarding the introduction of thi3 celebrated breed of sheep t© Canterbury: — "As I thint I was the one who brought the first shipment to Canterbury, some of your read&rs may be interested in having some more particulars conc<?rnin<r fciiem. In the first place, the fen iras Robert aud Every ; M'Lean, and although by the name anyone | ■would take them to be Scotchmen-, they ! emo from the 'West of England, North | Devon or Cornwall, and they came to New Zoaland about ISS0 1 with the fall intention I o£ setting in Canterbury ; but an accident . happened to their ship and she put into : Auckland for repafrs, so the passengers , lauded tlieie, and they became successful Jarraors there, as they had bad experience in Devonshire in. farming on their own account before coining out. They soon became- rivals of the late Mr John Grigg, who lived in Auckland up to 1566, who had a groat, sale before leavrnar for Canterbury, the M'Lsans eiving the highest pTice at the sale for a stud ram (£65). I was at tn© sale myself. The il'Leacs often imported sheep from England at a co«t of £100 or more, a* well as purebrpd Herefords, for whfefi they gave up to £500 for one. As regards the sheep, Robert M'Lean was 6peeiaUy interested in Leiee-tcns and Every M'tean in Soufhdovms and 1 Hereford 1 cattle. At the time I am speaking cf aKout 1866. w often shore 183 to £1 wortb of tvco4 off j thp sliearl'ngs (rams) with 15 months' fleece, j About 101b and 12Vb or ISlb of wool wa| ■the averasri* cf the best of the flock, aftpr '• being co'd-watsT wasVd before shearing, J when wool was Is 6 r L p^.r IV-. Althonwh Hioy j sent fihe-sp in Otago in 1566 and 1867 co ; .shows and sold tl-em aftn-ward ! ? for altotit ' £25 each, it was Dot till 1870 that the firj-h direct, eliipment cara-s to Catiterbnrr. and 1 tliev had been ron?ismod to Messrs Driver, iMiif-an. and Co . Dunedin. wlie-n leaving Auckland, their I'aviriir rescld 1 tb°m M a , firoi of rtoek and station acrenl? cal!<><-l ~Mit~ ' chell and Co., ChristcJiurcb. The M'Leace jjot the rood-crate sum of £10 each for the 50, and they were all landed! in splendid j condition, Mr Mitchell being so well pleased 1 that he offered me a situation and gave me a, bonus bssidas. At that trm© the steamers often steamed out of s^jf ukau Harbour, calling a 1 »w Plvmoutb, Nelson Picton, Wellington. T.yttpHon, and Dunedin, taking ■ vreek for the cue way, which was not an

unreasonable fame when 7011 consider -o many ports of call. The etcainor Phoebe was the name cf the steame*, &a<l a good ' sea boat too. She reached Ltyttelton on a Sunday, and did not gr, alongsids a wharf, but a lighter came off for the sheep, mails, 1 and passengers, and tee left again in an hour for Otago. As rcgaids the M'Leans tlicTneolve?, they wer© at the height of their prosperity about 1&70, and of course always took great interest in their stock, and as late as 1887 I saw a splendid herd of Here- ' fords on their farm, not to be beaten m New Zealand. Mr Robert M'Lean lias been dead »botrt 12 years, and Mi Evß-ry M'Lean has only been dead for pbout two years, both having lived to a gootl age."

i unreasonably, time wlicn 70U consider so many ports of call. The etcainor Phoebe was the name cf the steame*, aad a good ' sea boat free. She reached Lyttelton on a, Sunday, and did not gr, alongsids a wharf, but a lighter came oS for tli© sheep-, mails, j and passengers, and we left again in an hour for Otago. As rcgaids the M' Leans tlicTtufolve?, they wer© at the height of their prosperity about 1&70, and of course always took great interest in their stock, and as ' late as 1897 I saw. a splendid herd of Here- ' fords on their farm, not to be beaten m New Zealand. Mr Robert M'Lean has been dead *botrt 12 years, and Mi Ev«Ty M'Lean ! has only been dead for pbout two years, both having lived! to a gootl age." The Australian Meat Trades Journal points cut the following objections to Mr Soddon's meat advertising- scheme: — "First of all, Argentine meet, which is c'.ose trp to New Zealand in quality, and, ac some experts say, equal to it r is going to be trebled in supply to Great Britain during the nex.fe two. or three years ; secondly, wherever lie starts, the Government stores opposition Argentine shops will be started, aad cufc prices. What has to be impressed on Mr Seddoii is this : too supply of meat must be more regular to Jie existing works; \ steamers must not be kept hanging around I the coast for month* -waiting for cargo, 1 l*lxrar must give a- fairer day's work than < ifc i^ doing far feh& high wages ifc is getting. end cost of production has to be reduced all round* otherwise all the sidrcEtising in this way v?tll bo of no avail. Argentine exporters have a rei'y big marjni* bet\r6sn profit and lore; New Zealand has very little. This is a fight between tho cost of prcduotion ia each eouirtry, and our Goyen^!n.«nts must look to it, and s&fc this end in onlei- before they attempt to fight our ri-ra!* in England."