FARM AND STATION. (Continued from page 9.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2660, 8 March 1905, Page 27

FARM AND STATION. (Continued from page 9.)

LOCAL 1. AKD P. SETTSOne firm in the North Otago district has put through 30,000 sheep this year for Canterbury, 18 000 being sold to one Ashburton purchaser. The rain which fell on the last three days (says the Siruoe Herald of the 28th ult.) must prove very beneficial to the turnip crop. Complaints were made last week that some of the early-sown swedes were showing signs of blight, but the start wheh the rain /has now given them should be of. assistance' in help : .ag them to ward off the threatened attack. Some dau.age, however, lias been done to the grain crop y s. Heavy crops, which suffered from the thunder shower three -weeks ago, received a fresh knocking about by the recent rams, and the labour of cutting these will be •jnuch increased in consequence. It is only where the crops .-are especially strong *nd heavy that the damage is noticeable; the Injury done to the ordinary crops is trifling. Reaping was commenced in v a few paddocks of early oat& last week, and the preSent- week should see a. ttart made on eeveral other farms throughout the district. Exports, have reached. ue--,of the prevalence of some insect pestr amorcr the- svheat crops In several parts of the districts TKb damage is supposed to be due to the presence of eelworm,' which attacks the grain below the surface of ground, and in the paddocks where the pest has obtained a firm hold the" damage done is reported to be somewhat serious. Two Oamaru land owners, in a discussion •on the relative values of grain-growing and Bheep-raising, gave instances in proof of their contentions. One instanced the case of a grazier who bought last season 700 ewes a* 14-s, the lambs from which he had disposed of at 13s bd, and the wool from the ewes at a sum equal to ,5s per head. Later on he disposed of the ewes at 19s. This represents a profit of 23s 6d on each ewe, regarding the crop of lambs as 100 per cent. This, however, is not all, for the •profit was equivalent to 15s an afcre over his whole farm, while in addition' to the ewes he had 300" acres of crop, other sheep, and -horses and cattle, all of which are pro-fit-beaTing. As a simple arithmetical calculation; these 700 ewes represented a profit on the acreage re-quired to sustain them of about -^B2 per acre. The incident that the other had ,to testify to worked out similarly. Who can say that the man who istbatched copiously with wool at the present time is not- enjoying jrosy times? — rosier, perhaps, than he ever experienced in his life' before, for an actual profit on '700 ewes, of "" '•£B3l .in a sessoiv is something beyond fr the anticipations of - the sheep breeder: — Norjbh Otago Times. - " TEe "Ida - Valley, correspondent of the DuneitanrV Times writes: — The crops, although late^of -being sown,' ar-e looking very . "well.*. "The- auizumn-^own, i& all cut, and although^ not heavy;: the grain, is very good. The^'oat" 1 cr-ops are very" good,- and some, paddocks should run between 70 and 80 bushels per acre. The turnip crop should l 4ie- better ■ than last year, but it was also a little ' late" of being sown, and if the dry weather continues much longer it may check the" OTOwthi to a great extent. Stock of all kinds have fattened well, and most, of the lambs have been taken by buyers for the meat-freezing companies at 15& on the farms, and in some eases a little more, according to the percentage the buyer? toot. Some lambs were trucked from tne valley two weeks ago, and brought up to 17s 9d at Burnside yards. To show the fattening qualities of Ida Valley pastures, I know for" a fact that a small runliolder here mustered his ewes and lambs off the tussock, and the buyer took about 50 per cent, of the lambs as freezers at 15s. In other cases the buyers picked between 80 and 90 per cent, of prime freezers out of lines of 600 to 700 at 15s per head. The monthly me-eting of the committee j of the Gore A. and P. Association was held ; on the. 25th ult., Mr M. Dickie (president) in the chair. Th& Eawke's Bay Association , wrote in reference to the Government's ; action in not Erecting sterilising works in 1 order to prevent the spread of anthrax, the association strongly protesting against such a, de2i=ion. Mr Green said that the Government bad adopted a plan by appointing an expert at Calcutta to inspect the bones. The efforts- of - the Hawke's Bay | Association had evidently been futile, and • it was, no --use. the Goro- Association doing -j anything/, .The plan proposed by the j Government woulc? prevent bones being j landed in -New Zealand that had notf got ! the certificate' of the inspector.- Tie matter ! was held over till next meeting. — Mr W. j J. Johnston introduced the matter of the president's prine. He said that at last committee meeting it had been ruled that ] the prize be awarded to the exhibitor j securing most prizes. That decision over- ] Tuled rule 12, which provided for the taker of most points getting it. If they overruled the rule referred to, and counted by prizes, --he (Mr Johnston) got three more thin he was given credit for — most points for crossbreds, Eomneys, and Leicesters. The motion said "all" prizes, and these had a right to be included, for if they ignored rule 12 in one respect they had to dp so in all. Then he was entitled, without champion oriyf*. io three extra, ones. The Chairman said it was a great pity Mr Johnston had uot been present at last meeting when the matter was discusseel. Special notices had 1 been sent to all members iof committee, and if Mr Johnston had toeen present, and had proved that he got most prizes, he would have got the cup■Mr Johnston said he sent verbal notice to the secretary that he secured a prize Je-s than Mr Cooper, but he never thought the committee would ignore rule 12. However, they did so, and he was quite satisfied io , let Mr Coop&r get the prize,; but, on look- j ing over the matter, he saw that he was j entitled to the extra three prizes men- j ticned. He certainly did not object to Mr Cooper by getting the prize, but they must i stand by their rules, and the r-esolution •passed in regard to the most prizes should 3be interpreted under the society's rules. Several members agreed that the resolution I referred to "all" pri&cs, irresitecfrre of how obtained. It was decided to postpone further discussion till next meeting of committee—lt was resolved that Mr Maeara be~askcd to conduct the forthcoming ram fair. Jt seems, probable (says the Oamaru Mail) tnat the farmers of North Otago w-11 take »*.niteel action in protecting against the new

regulations in regard to the size of cornsaoks. It was anticipated that the- change •would not be a convenient one, and the accuracy of that judgment is being mat more and more evident as the threshing seaeon proceeds. Farmers are becoming keenly alive to the fact that the weighing of 2001b of grain into sacks made to contain 2401b "Is goin'gl to cause serious inconvenience, while there will be no compensating adi vantage to the lumpers at whose instigation ■ the lighter sack was adopted. The ' latter wil' discover that the 2001b of grain in a 46in sack rill make a very awkward load, probably a great deal more awkward than the original sack was. Perhaps the greatest disadvantage -to be encountered "will be the stacking in store, and when high stacks are put up there will •bo a great risk o-f a collapse, as where ■ formerly the width of two sacks fitted over . the length of one, the shortening process and the consequent "dumpiness" will result | in spaces being left which will jeopardise the structure. This difficulty could b» overj come by adopting a sack of different shape, j but as this would be utterly useless to mil1 lers for flour* bran, or pollard, the farmer i would sustain great loss in his purchases of sacks for a large crop. Again, there is little I doubt that the men engaged in threshing j will find the sacks very inconvenient fee , ; handle in paddocks while loading dray 3. ' The new regulations do not affect Southland, andofchex districts which are not wheat producing, but the farmers of Otago and Canterbury are, we understand, almost Tm-aninaous in condemning the change. It cannot be denied that they have some claim to consideration in the matter, and then interests may the more reasonably be oon sidered in view of tho fact that tho lightor sack will not he the success anticipated from a humane standpoint. Though much may be done by combination on vhe part of the farmers, and proper representation to the authorities, ifc is no use' flying in the face of departmental regulations, as some have suggested, for merchants would not under take the risk of dealing with sacks containing more than the stipulated quantity. The new regulations were possibly merely tentative/and with the evidences of faiiure and inconvenience the farmer can submit, it may reasonably bs hoped that the unpopular restrictions will "be removed. In. consequence of the improvement ii> the tone oif the Home market for the price of butter, and the appearance of the mar ket generally, Mr W. M. Bolt, manager of the Taieri and Peninsula Dairy Company, informs the" Oamaru Mail that he will be able to raise the price for butter f«t to 9d per lb. He also hope 3to be able to renew the trade with South Africa. If the trade still keeps up its buoyancy, the company hopes to make a "further advance in the price of butter fat for the months of March and April. The -Agxicultirral . Department (says the Tapanui Courier) .is playing the old trick on land owners in trying to compel them to lay poison^ for xabbiia* jest -before the-trap-■p-ing' season for export starts. 'Bunny is-none too plentiful nowadays, and yet^ the Stock • Departmerrfccontinue^to <afivocat^ poisoning, knowing, .that in 'a dry- 'season like the present the doctored rabbits fly to the water 1 oourse^-and'"eoht»mina£e them. ■ Poison maj- ■ be a 'very .>good remedy for a superabundance of rabbits in hill country, or away from the trapping area j bui .it is nothing more or less than a.. crime to lay poison a,t a season on toe year when tne jabournmg classes have a ciiance ot profitable employment in catching raDbits tor the factories. In no other country in the world cut iSew > Zealand would a valuable article of expor'. j be allowed to be wantonly destroyed by ; poison . under the direction oi a i/oveisn men* department, and the wagensaming classes deprived of a legitimate source of income. If poisoning is resorted to in a dry summer season like the present, tht streams become oonta.minated by the rotting carcases, and human life is? endangered ; thereby. Oamaru. : will b& lound not to be dissimilar from other agricultural districts in respect to the potato disease. It is amongsi us, and from all accounts it has obtained I a footing in nearly every district from Auok i land ta the Blutt". As far as we (North Otago Times) can gather, it has not affected ! the crops in -this district to any appreciable • extent, but there is no doubt about its pre ! seaw. The rains experienced here last night and this morning (says the Oamoru Mail of the 2nd inst.) have been general throughout the districts, north and south. The heavy cold j showers have, according to reports, pretty i .well soaked the gram in stook, and should 1 the prescPw miiggy weather continue, there | is a probability that sprouting will take i place very quickly. Indeed, it is stated that slight sprouting is already noticeable in { crops -which were cut early, but we • trusi that this is an exaggeration of the aetua! state of affairs. The greatest clanger •is that "when the weather clears farmers ■will make the mistake of starting thresj^jng operations too soon. It is a well-substantiated Ifact that grain put into the sacks cold will never recover, but will almost inevitably go mouldy. As a result of the rains the colour of oats and barley will oertainiy be spoiled, but if farmers will only get jondition into their grain, this will in a great measure compensate them for any discoloration. The agriculturist is now hoping that "the weather has cleared — we are glad to say with some reason — and that da*y winds will reduce the excessive moisture with a minimum of danecr to the grain, that the promises of a liberal harvest may. be realised. The following notes appear in last week's Winton Record: — Farmers complain of a very freat scarcity of labour in the Winton district just now. Many inquiries have been made for hands during the week, but in almost every case without success.. Work could be fouT d in the district for a considerable number of men at the present time. — A grand linp of 600 ewes pas?ed through j Winton on Monday on their way to the ! faim of Mr John Dpegan, DniTnmontl. Tho • sheep had been drawn from Hedgphone and Springhills, and sold by Messrs J. Tobi,n and Murchison at a good price. — Under ordinary favourable conditions harvesting in and around Winton will bo general in a- fortnight. A few good patches here and there ( are already being cut. The yield all round is liot expected to be up to the average. The crop 3. generally speaking, are short and not well hoaded. A good deal is heard FOinetimes about what is knpwn as the '"dumping" process. A pliase of what is opnerally known as dumping was referred to by Mr .T. A. Mitchell, of Invorcargill. at a function at the Bluff on Wednesday last in < onncctior^jivith. the Freezing Work^. In Lcrdon. he said, the forequ^rr.n-i of b~ef were sold to Ibo British citizen at 2d a lb, and what he

wanted to know was why in Invercargill they had to pay from 4d to 9d for the samenecessity — (Laughter). He did not object to the farmers and the company feeding the poor of London, but why not begin on the poor of Invercargili ? — (Continued laughter). It was an old saying, but a trr-o one, that charity began at home. If they met there in the following year he hoped to receive an answeh to that question. — (Lauughter and applause.) During Febrtiary (writes the contributor of "Stock Notes" to the Winton Record) sheep have continued to rise to such unprecedented prices for this time of the year thai many are asking the question, When will the inevitable change come? But, considering thav the farming community as a whole can only be said to have begun to nibble, owing to the crops bekig still uncut and the vast amount of stubble^ feed yet to be provided for, ifc is more that likely that before the winter comes on competition will have the effect of forcing values higher still. It must not be lost sight of, however, that tip to the present most of the sales that have taken place have been effected by dealers, and in many eases to each other ; and these gentlemen, not having, as a rule, feed to fall back upon, may be compelled by stress of weather to sell at a loss in ordqr to avoid disaster. This, however, we think is unlikely, unless the late splendid weather is succeeded by week 3 of wet and cold, when doubtless prices would ease, but not to tho extent of a slump, as there is no question that the local demand is very strong, so much so that we may say that tho prices now going preclude any foreign competition, being more than equivalent to those ruling up north, plus railage. For our owji part, we hold the opinion that the prices obtained ior sheep now are unwarranted by experience or London quotations for frozen meat, by which the market here is undoubtedly governed, and our' advice is that it will pay to stand off from buying at present, 6pell one's feed, watch for an opportunity, and buy in the early spring, thus saving interest and death rate. Strange to say, fat sheep, although there is only a butcher demand, are still selling well and at late rates, while fat lamb is in strong request, and apparently selling above the London equivalent. Cattle are unfortunately still at a discount, stores being almost unsaleable, and this market, we notice, is at length effecting beef, which is selling somewhat lower at the metropolitan yards. Unhappily there is no sign yet on the, horizon by which we may hope for a change for the better, the tone of the frozen meat market at Home being far from reassuring. Mr Johnson, a member of the Land Commission, who was in Southland about 30 years ago, being at the' time connected with a bank, expressed surprise when touring through tha oountry the other day to find that noxious weeds had' obtained such a footing in that time. He did not feel 'disposed v to ascribe the fact to careless farming, but expressed himself strongly as to the necess'ty for steps, to prevent further inioads. Several North Islanders considered the dernwwl for Southland seeds and chaff from the north would be seriously <affieeted if more effective measures were xipfc takrn to clear the land. Ragwort has a hold in Hie north, but it was a revelation to ihe' representatives of the, north' to see it growing so thick in parts of sSouthland, some paddocks having little else but the weed in them. The Hedgehope correspondent of the Winton Record writes: — The grass, turnip, and grain crops are looking well after tho rain. So far as I can see, there seems to be about the average crop of turnips throughout the district. The grass harvest is finished?' but there was not much seed grown. The grain harvest will not be general for about a fortnight. There -is a gcod paddock of oats, however, belonging to Mr Young, his reaping being the first of the -reason. Like many other parts of Southland just now, there are not_^a great many sheep to be seen. Among the best I have noticed is a grand' lot of ewes and lambs on the property of Mr Geo. Lawrence. The dairy factory is still doing well, having a good supply of milk, The following district items are supplied by correspondents of 'the Mount Ida Chronicle : — Ranf urly : Harvesting has commenced, but owing to the change in the weather is not yet in full swing. Rain, however, is badly required to assist the turnip crops, and farmers are quite pleased at the change. The numbe. of sheep leaving here every week should make one think that buyers would soon have all there a,ve on the Dlain, but still "there's more to follow."— Rough Ridge, 27th ult. : 'Harvesting operations are in full swing, and thp end of the present week "will s-ee most of the crop in stook and a commencement made with stacking. The grain, crops are just a fair average ior quantity, but are of better quality than- usual, being' large and wellfilled and wheat specially hard, and_ if the weather permits of its being stacked in good order, should command top prices. Turnips are suffering severely from the last three weeks' dry weather, and unless rain comes soon the turnip crop will be a poor one. We have had a few drizzling showers the last couple of days ? which will help to keep them going till some-thing better comes. The first stock sale of the season took place on the 23-rd. Sheep were keenly competed for and brought record prices for ihis district. Most «,of the cheep were bought by outside buyers. Local buyers preferred to hold off until next sale on the chance of the present dry spell coming to an. end. Cattle and horses met with an exceptionally dull sale, and a large number were passed in at auction, a few being sold^ privately afterwards. The usual monthly meeting of the Waitahuna Farmers' Club was held on the 27th ult. There were 17 members present, and Mr J. Cowen (president) occupied the chair. A letter was read from Mr A. Garden resigning his position as treasurer of the club. Mr Garden has been treasurer since 1883. Messrs Scott and M'C'aw were appointed to intervie.wai Mr Garden, and endeavour to induce him to withdraw his resignation. — The President brought under the notice of the club the advisability of settling what kind of sheep clip ifc was intendted to use this season. Mr Crozier said that he was quite, satisfied with the dip used' by the club last 'year, and was willing to use the same again this season. It was agreed that the secretary procure the required quantity of Murton's clip, get the club's dip cleanod_ out. and everything in readiness for dipping sheep as -oon as possible. — A deputation from the Tuapeka Farmers' Club attended the meeting for the puipose of discussins tho /•■xp^'liency or amalgamating the shows, and hVding them altprnatply at Waitahuna and Lawrence. Mr .7. C Brow no (one of the deputation) thought it was a mi » I tike to hold two shows, one in Law i'&noe and tho other

'in Waitanuna, during the same week. If something tangible could be done, not to amalgamate the societies, but to arrange that shows could be held alternately in the two centres, he thought it would be for their mutual benefit. Several members 1 having spoken on the subject, it was agreed. 1 en the suggestion of the president, that any • further discussion of the matter be left 1 until next monthly meeting of the club, when the cub's decision will be communicated lo the Tuapeka society through t secretary. i The writer of "Rural Notes" in SaturI day's Southland Times reports that the bot I fly is very se\ere on horses just now. Many farmtis are taking precautions to prevent their horses from being molested, othei - s are, as usual, taking ordinary pot-luck and allowing their horses to be affected with the eggs of tho fly. If such people happen" to lose a horse within the next year, then the bo' 3 will be blamed, whereas even if ii did happen to bo a true case of death from bots, it would bo the farrier himself that would be to blame, as lv\ took no precaution to shield his horses from the rpvages of the fly. The Balfour correspondent of the Southland Times writca: — The line, warm days lately "nave worked wondtrs in ripening the ciops, and several farmers have now started cutting. Crops are gcod, much better than was at one tin-e expected, and abundancs seems to cf»wn the year. The prospects for good prices are also pleasant. There is nothing like the acreage in crop in thie district that we have had in former years. Trrtj prices of sheap were never better, and tbere hardly stems any limit to the pricegii en for yo-a lg ewes. Grass-seed has gone up nearly Is per bushel. The Ringway correspondent of the Western Star writes: — After a month of very v»tim weather we are nosy enjoying beautiful mild showers with sunshine between. On account of fbe strong wind blowing, the grass stooks take no injury, and a few fine days will see it all safely stt eked. Farmers are also getting their binders ready, as the crops are assuming a very golden hue. aijd the sound of tha binder will scort be heard. Although th^ crops are not long,%they have a good head, and a. heavy, bright sample • may be expected. Turnips are looking well and promise abundant feed. Thistle-cutting is about finished, except in the Government hush, wher3 they are never visited by an inspector. I notice "a Southland farmer giving his experience on eradicating the thiscle. and quotes salt as a cure. I can say that my experience of salt on thistles is that it stimulates them to a better growth. I used a ton of common salt, first by cutting | the thistles and immediately spreading the salt, and I also made a strong brine, put the cask on a sledge, and gave them a proper drinking. Of course for the time being it killed the thistles and all other vegetation, but, the following spring I had a stronger crop of thistles than before, and my present experience is that persistent cutting is the only solution to eradicate, them. Sma.ll patches maf be cleared by continual discing, but where there are paddocks of them th-< 2 ground must be put . in gi*ass and keep cutting to prevent seeding. The beginning of this month is the proper time to cut them, as all vegetation is on the wane. I see at the meeting of delegates to the 'Farmers' Union ,the resignation of Vet. Faterson is greatly bemoaned 1 by a few of the farmers. To read some of their remarks one would think that tho organiser was keeping the farmers instead of the farmers keeping the organiser, and those who begrudge 20s a year as a sub. to have their grievances looked, after and repreI sented in the proper qxxarter are not worthy of the name of farmers. Surely the resignation of an organiser is not going to burst up the unity that should exist between farmers. Twenty shillings a year from each farmer in Southland would put the union in a proper financial position, and it would he- readily «een that their success would be assured and that they could organise their own affairs. Writing from Glenorchy on February 27 the Head' of the L»ake correspondent of the Wakatipu Mail reports: — For the last few wee'lw we have been enjoying splendid weather, and the crops are coming on well. O'ire will be ready to cut in a few days. A couple of heavy showers at the end of last week were just what was needed, as the ground was getting rather dry. Mr Dunei'y finished his shearing of stragglers last week, and &ent away his wool the same day "by the steamer which took two lots of sheep for him to Mount Nicholas, en route to Mavora. Another load is to go tomorrow. At an informal meeting of the Maniototo branch of the N/ow Zealand Farmers' Union at Waipiata on February 24 it was resolved to convene a meeting of the branch to nominate farmers to give evidence before the Land Commission. A meeting of the executive of the Otago Provincial Council of the Xew Zealand Farmers' Union took place- in the secretary's (Mr J. T. Pram) office on Monday, 28th ult., when there was a gcod attendance and much enthusiasm displayed. The principal matters £ealt with were the questions of commission on sale of horses and the spread of anthrax by tUe importation of infected With reference to the former question a hig-hly favourable scheme was decided upon, and after a great deal of discussion the folio-wing motion was carried unanimously : — "That this meeting approves of the scheme outlined, and that a sub-cemmittee be appointed to discuss terms witli the firm named, with power to act," and the following recommendation was added: — " That steps be taken to hold a large sale of horses immediately after harvest, to be advertised as the Farmers' Union annual sale of horses."