TASMANIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2647, 7 December 1904, Page 9

TASMANIA.

Launoeston, November 9. The spring "season-thus far has been t>atohy. In the Midlands, East Coast, end partly in the south of the State, the ther has been.too^ dry, Jbufc within -the pasfc ' fortnight* change i ore the better has- 1 been reported.- 'In the north", north-west, - and vrest ihere has- been ample moisture/ HighT winds have beea frequent, _ and these haye had the' effect of blowing' the dampness ~ out of th© : earth. The country for the : most part, however, is looking .well, and, sicek.are in fair condition.. , "" , At Hobart show sale a quantity of really good stock " was offered. ._A _nice-Jooking.. Durham "trull* was HcncSKed: " down for < 20gs, an Angu3 ' "fmlloek" for £16 ;- grass-fed bul- ' locks brought to £185s ;' colt' to ,£34 ; pony stallion, 45gs; Southdown wethers, 25s 6d; Shropshire cross wethers, 255;" spring lambs, 20s; "baconers, 40s; Taraworth boar, . Js3s. This "week, in^ tKe Newitead. yards,- near laiinoestori, crossbred _ sheep in ' wcol brought from. 28s 6d to 17s" 3d; 'shorn, 20s to 16s Ud; -imported shorn-^ihe^p, 23s 3d", to^ 22s 3drj." merinos, shorn',". 17s- 8d to 16s 9if; Tasmanian lambs, lYs to 10s 6d; imported, - 15s -. to T4s -3d ; merino ewes and lambs, 20s; crossbred hoggets, 163 8d; bullocks, £13 Ws; -steers, £12 2s 6d to. £9 15s r ; cows -and "heifers, £10 12s 6d to £5 10s;" fat calves, ."30s to 265. In, my' previous tetter I furnished some details" of the Lauxiceston show, which paimed out a financial success, and was a creditable ■ exhibition, taken all.round. I*ongford: followed-, and, favoured' by a- "glorious day, ,thia -old-established fixture attracted a su'bstantialj'gate." .The live "sfceek eAtriesT were more numerouSsfchaß'ibadHaeeh tliecase, ior-=sßVe^ar*y"eais, "but machinery and implements " not Tjeen in evidence at our " shows to the extent one witnessed in days gone- by;' - This' is -the"'outcome of an "lin- ; derstandinjf between those concerned! in the sale 'of " these - appliances, the contention being that -the demands /made "upon them for exhibition purposes were becoming far too extensive. . -No doubif' there is . c certain amount of, reason in this_complaint ; ■ still,- "I venture to think the firms, were, not losers, in the^long run. -Agricultural and" pastoral : pedple' visit^'shows .expecting to see the^latest improvemepts'in machinery and implements which- affect their- respective industries, "and are disappointed Twhen. the displays are curtailed.' The Hobart' show took .place on' the new ground atElwiek, "and\ an "success was 'scored by the .management. -- :The , ground .is atractiyely. situated, and. will become in time, one of the best in -Australia. . -"-j^s in the; two „preceding- nor^hsrn exhibitions,- the.; entries of live large in numbeiy and, generally speaking, satisfactory in re-1 gard to quality." In. the cattle sections iShe 1 ; Ayrsbires Jerseys, were particularly, notable. In the sheep sections the "SKropshires were «n especially strong lojfcf^V.in facb, for any show, yard -in the world. The meritios were no* numerous, nor could they be - considered as representative.Miscellaneous items : — Recently 7000 crates of rabbits left Hobart for London. — Many- leading Tasmanian pastoraliets denounce trapping for export as a -means o getting rid of the rabbit pest. — Flax culture is being taken .up as an experiment in parts of Tasmania. — South Australian wheat- is coining into this .State in fairly large quantities — Tasmania^ apple-growers have been advised to go in for_eider-making. — Tasmanian Shropshire, breeders have expressed themselves as "satisfied with the prices obtained by jthem at the recent Melbourne sales. — 'Mr G-. E. Piesse, the well-known breeder of Shrppshires, declares that Tasmania should be- exporting 20,000 fat lambs annually. — 'Shearing is proceeding at ■ some of our stations, at others it has been finished. The results so far as is known are- very variable. Owing to tho unfa> vourable season, the quality has suffered in the less favoured districts.