LOCAL A. AND P. NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2652, 11 January 1905, Page 20

LOCAL A. AND P. NEWS.

A travelling! correspondent writes as iol- ! lows in 'the Oamaru Mail of the '4th' inst. : —Journeying south of Oamaru" tßere is a vast difference ;in the appearance 1 and forward contlition of the- various' crops and , cereals compared with those north of Oamaru and up the Waitaki. In that district the tops of the- wheat crops in full ear are already looking over the hedges-, »nd in a -month or less the' binder will be busy at »vork~-Hiowing down the ripened cornj Coming down through the various agricultural centres- on- the n?air> line as far as" 1 PahneTston, the further • south one travels the more backward .are the crops. Cold, bleak,- showery weather^" had retarded the growth hi the grain "crops toan" extent that in some parts they are only a few inches above'' theV ground, ; and it "is only an occasional paddock th'at'-has started ■to shoot- into ear. While the weather has fceen highly beneficial to • the - grass and been highlyl beneficial to the grass and root cpops. Everywhere there is an abundance of feed for stock, and haymakers are tiusy laying in their store for winter. The «onditions are very unfavourable for this .wdrk, as the frequent showers retard the clrying process necessary - for its saving. The- turnip,, crops- which, have". already, been^ iowq 'are lookiilg_ -.very welli and* the'- workof -sowing" is -' stilT being proceeded'^ with:' Everywhere, there" is a general air' of prosperity, -invariably attributed to' the* establishment of the dairying' industry, together •with the good prices' \foji:<-.wooL 'and, lambs. The wisdom of resuming the land 'from, large areas and .converting it A into. smaller holdings is evidenced by the many pleasant *nd v thriving little homesteads., there.a re, -where every • man" with _ his few .acres of Hand and half-dozen oows is . iking of 'his castle. Anyone who * entertains any. notions about the overtaxed condition of the people of New Zealand and the overwhelming ■burden which they are carrying on their stibuldiers has only to look at the thousands of well-dressed, well-conditioned, -and prosperous^ people who are. daily travelling fluring the holiday season v bent on recreation and pleasure to have their erroneous Ideas, removed.

The v Wedderburn correspondent of the 'Mount Ida Chronicle writes : — The earlycrops do not promise* to ' be heavy; tiufc the later, ones appear to be much Wealthier .looking,"no doubt the-, reason being ! that the ground was in much, better condition* to receive the -seed. ,. Shearing is now in. full-swing, and the clips I have seen look In splendid condition, although a little heavy in grease. '^ The Hillend^ correspondent of the Clutha {leader writes: — The past, year"* has been a very good' one for the- farmers, and the Jarospeete" are 'still good. _ Th© advanced price for wool means a good few pounds fin every farmer's, pooket, and they are #1T- smiling. A well-known farmer in this Uistrict informs m& -that this^seaion's clip Ss,. the .best, he canr. remember for a^ period <>f '35 years. The quality, and quantity . aro excellent. ~ The crops are Booking pretty well, but they will b£ a bit late. . Turnips are. coming away ro, and, thinning will commence next weel?. Mr Bishop has" 50 acres an dtflls and 50 acres broadcast, botK looking fine. Mr Charles Shand has also 70 aofes jn drills, which are coming through very nicely. There is a good area, in turnips this year, and the ■warm showery weather we have had lately has given them every chance. \

The following, ,extracfe are taken, from "Stock Notes" in last . week's , Winton Record : —On reviewing " the stock transactions of the late year, the. most noticeable feature, is how persistently luck has stuck to those, .who have . placed ttieir ' faith in sheep rather .'than 'cattle, for . they, have indeed received! their rewarS 'in the shape ,-of ,a uninterrupted rise in prices as month succeeded month, whereas there has scarcely been a ■flicker throughout tne yeai to -flatter the hopes of cattle men, which, at time of_ writing) must have, sunk to ( a very low p6in'£. ... A matter of importance to the stockowner ' is, What hopes does the - future hold forth? " /Will sheep maintain their present values, now^thitt the wool is ' off? Well," if one may judge by , sales | that have already taken place, it is reasonable to think they will. Five thousand i Merivale two-tooths have only, latelychanged hands at 15s 6d, and numerous sales . of lambs for forward delivery (at weaning) \have-been reported at 12s 6d, and even more in isolated cases. In addition, we hear frozen lamb has opened in. Canterbury at the, „ nice price of s£d, , the demand! for breeding .ewes of all descriptions is very strong and, universal, and the only things we can iorsee that might effect prices prejudicially are (1) Peace .being declared between Russia .and Japan ; (2) a bad turnip prop, of whioh ./e fear there is a'stopng probability owing to the late unseasonable weather. . . . As regards the cattle market, we wish we could see a break in' the clouds that have been hanging over it so -Jong,,. but r _ as- yet- we • regret to , say we -can .hold out" .no hope. During the" 1 late month the market® have been glutted, prices., have fallen 1 steadily, and a large proportion .^hasJ been turned out unsold., Without doubt,, supply exceeds demand, and .'the usual result follows: . . As to horses, ,we _ar&-glad-_to report" that the demand for good young or even old draughts is still -maintained; from January^to Decem-, ber- quality commanding high prices, ranging from- £40 to, £60. The same may be said of -good well-bred flight horses, which would readily bring from £25 to £35, good sorbs bejng just now hard to find in Southland. The grass seed., harvest in Southland, it is feared (says the Southland Times), will not be so good and profitable to the farmer as . was anticipated a few weeks ago. Though, the price' still remains high the past month's weather has been all against the , seed maturing and filling well, and merchants- will not be anxious to a'ceumulate large stocks of light seed. However, if the weather would take up now, it is possible that the* quality would be greatly improved before harvesting operations are commenced. . The Ringway correspondent of the Western Star writes :— For years past farmers have not experienced such a backward season. Crops of all kinds are short, ' andi weedte are making good progress. Feed is very abundant, and stock of all sort® are looking well. On account of the snowery weather turnip-sowing is greatly retarded, and as many farmers are sowing on raised drills, the ground must be better prepared for the ridger. Of course the v farmer gets the benefit of raised drills through having to ; use the ecuffler and thin the turnips, thereby killing both weeds and Canadian thistles,' -and better preparing the land for the ensuing crop. There are a great m»ny .wool buyers aoootwjg- the .country buyiny all- they can. Farmers -are making a- great mistake in selling outside the public sake, as if the wool is sold privately there is no inducement for Home buyers to, come and compete at the different wool sales, and in nearly every - instance the farmer loses by selling privately, and farmers so seldom /f* % chance such as this year's price's that

they should sell their wool at the public sale and get all that is in it, instead of a dealer getting from Id to 2d per lb out of the farmer's industry. But, really, farmers get the credit of being a "bit dour," and m many oases they deserve it. They should take their produce of all sorts to .the highest competition.