AGRICULTURAL A.ND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL A.ND PASTORAL NEWS.

At Ormoncl, n^ar Gisborne. an industry started by Mr W. D. Petcbell is of importance to ail fruitgrowers in the colony. Mr Petchell ha? obtained from America a complete plant for fruit-drying\ and has commenced drying prunes on an extensne scale. The plant erected is known as the Allan evaporator, and is capable of treating .=ix ton=; 15owt of fruit at a time. Mr Petchell has about 12 acres planted in prune trees, but owing to the lateness of the wason only two-thirds of the crop will bo available for tr-catment this year. When the trees are in full bearing lie expects to obtain about 5500 251b boxes of fruit. The effect of cuhnation as a means of killing the Canadian thistle is well illustrated in a paddock at Wilson's Crossing uh.ch has been woiked vory thoroughly for tho past two j-cji-s and is now &o\\ n in gra-s. The thistle tvo years ago was only in patches (<ays the Southland Times.), but now is pratticallv in possession of the whole paddock, and has choked the young grass.

In connactfon with a. discussion on the subject of anthrax at Friday's meeting of tho Hay. kc's Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society, Mr D. A. Baxter handed in a Sootti-h journal, in which cases of anthrax were reported to have been traced to the use of foreign jil cake as cattle food. He could not say whether this was imported into the colony to any extent. Mr J. E. Hewitt, Mangatamoka, Wellington, who is starting- a Roixinoy Maish stud stock, has purchased from Mr James Holm% Y.'aiuiriljdka, 1 one-shear stud ram eot by -ttisrden's No. 33 (imported) and 30 two-shear stud ewes. Mr Hewiii, before making his selection, had a gtcxl look round, and says that the Wannahrka flock are tho best-con-stitutio.ied sheep of the breed he has seen.

At a meeting x>f the Ashburton County Council on Friday, tbe Chairman said that h^ had counted out 10,000 heads and of ?mall birds, gathered by one lad. "People prefer the freehold," stated Mr A W. Rutherford at Amberley on Saturday night, " because they can cultivate their own land according to their own intelligence, and not according to the intelligence of Government officials."

Captain Tucker, of Gisborne, who is lessee of the Campbell Islands from the Southland County Council, has gone south to male© "vis annual visit to the group in the steamer Rimu. He hopes to return this week, bringing over 100 balea of wool and 150 fat wethers.

The Standard states that on the Kakare Estate in Wairarapa, which was until lecently overgrown with manuka and infe=ted with rabbits, irrigation has effected

a wonderful change There is now a considerable area uncJor peas, beans, turnips, and potatoes, and a crop of 2000 cabbages u j now far ahead of anything seen there for years.

Entries for the Canterbury A. and P. Association's ram fair, next Thursday and Friday, total 3521, compared with 4-121 la^t year. For the ram show the entries total 83, compared with 96 last year.

The Waiirea correspondent of the Nelson Colonist states that the hop crop has improved wonderfully during- the last 'month, and in irany gardens it Mill be well up to the average, though on the whole there will be a •shortage. The Californian variety is showing up well everywhere, and other varieties are in tip-top condition for picking. Owing to tho entire absence of winds during •ihe season are liko'y :o equal anything yet shown in this district. Picking in the country sard-ens was expected to become general this week.

The maize- crop is late (writes the Te Puke correspondent of the New Zealand Herald), and unless the district is favoured with a long and mild autumn much of it will not mature. Turnips are doing 1 well, and if it were not for the drop in cattle local farmers would hive- vptv little to complain of.

Mr W. C. 'Trimnell. of the No.w Zealand Government verctinarv staff, who recently received an offer to ioint the Now South Wales State service, has agreed to remain in his present position at an increased salary.

A thunderbolt is reported to have struck a mob of sheep at Blueeliffs on February 24while they were sheltering under a fence, killing nine ewes and a number of lambs. The ground near was badly torn up.

The Ashburton County Council has agreed that 1.5 per dozen should be /iven • this yeai for the heads of small birds, instead of 6d. This, it is thought, would offer more inducement to farmers and others to destroy the feathered pests. While supporting the uggestion, the Chairman said that in the- event of is per dozen being given, the neighbouring local bodies should b-o induced to give a similar sum. otherwise ratepayers in other counties •would Fell the heads they gathered to the Ashburton County Council.

A correspondent writes as follows to the Christchurch Press: — "Whatever may bo true of oats in Southland, the storm king is not at least a fortnight earlier than other oats in Canterbury. I sowed storm kings on May 3, and three other varieties be-twec-n then and the end of September. Practically they were all ready at once. Anyhow. I started with Excelsiors, cut 20 acrps, and then went to storm kings, which were none too ripe. As a matter of fact, oats that would ripen very much earlier than others would be no great catch in view of the- birds. Nor is it accurate to describe storm kings as 'the largest of any variety ever grown in the colony.' If Messrs Garton knew anything about it, 'colossate' are larger, and have athinner «kin, 'and eolos^als were grown this season in Cantevbuiy. That storm kings are rightly &o named makes them very valuable oats for growing in land where other varieties will go down. But Excelsiors, a. foot longer in the straw, stood up quite as well, and the straw is not so coarse, while the skin is very much finer. It is gratifying to findl some attempt is> being made to define oats by names which will identify them. The practice of applying the term Gaiton's t:> about 20 different kinds is misleading."

Farmers in the Winchester and Hilton districts (South Canterbury) are experiencing' some difficulty in g-eiting men for harvesting. Tho bad weather has delayed the ingetting of the crops so much that ncn are likely to he scarce for some time. The current rate of wages is Is 3d an hour.

The crops along the lino between Timaru and Fairlie are now nearly all cut, and between Timaru and Cave a good many stacks are to be seen, while in some fields threshing from tho stcok is proceeding The yields, generally «peaking, are expected to be vtry goo.d. oa© paddock of oats re-

cently thrrsh^d in the Fairl'e district re= tuiiind 87 la'sliph to tho any — T.maru Post.

Dul no Fclnunry 631 cattle were sV.ughtcied at tho Sockhurn Ai-attoirs, of which 10 -acre coiu>ma;d; 5506 <•! *'p. of which 2 h f-rc> concu mnod : and 1282 lambs, 67 T pig.-=, aiH Ifc4 cah es, of which none wore condemned. Maerosponuai, or IrL-h Blight, ha=s made a rapid and cX \u=tating a;ipcarai>cc on f10"f 10 " tato crops in the district immech«»telj siu--roundinp- Palmorvton North, and also in all crops yet visited by Mr A. G. Sims, tho Government expert, in the town it-self. A Manawatu Standard ienre=entativo was shown several samples of potatoes taken from different crops, and they woie all badly infected, together with the haulms, which in some cases were absolutely d^ad and rotten and in others turning a dead yellow, the secondary appearance after a plant has been attacked by the scourge. Tons of potatoes have already been destroyed! by giowtrs, while the rest has had to be «old in small quantities. The theory is advanced that the colony is now paying the price for the recent somewhat extensive* importations of Engl'sh potatoes. Without thorn it is h«ld there was no ehajice of Irish bbght making its appearance in the colony.

It is interesting to read of wool sellingat 2s O^d per lb. This price \us realised for a bale of wool from Inland Palea, sold in London in November. 1571. The frets are. <^et ovt in a letter to the Stratford Evening Post, from Mi W. Hudson Davis*, Nikau Grs-nge, Ashhurst. He states that tho W3ol was shipped by Mr R. T. Batley, of Moawhango. Inland Patca, whose certificate is as follows: — "Memo re one bale ■ro~>l sold in London, November 27. 1871 — • Potter, Wilson, and Co.. one- bale halfbred scoured lambs' wool from merino ewes by L?icester rams, weighing 4171b,. at 2s Ogd, brought £42 11s 4d. The abov bale v,as the property of Batley and Keepa, and .vas the first crossbred wool sent out from. Inland Patea. and the first also of partly native-owned wool."

Mr W. A. Boucher, Government Poraologist. was asked by a representative* of th© New Zealand Herald whether anything was being done ia regard to a shipment of New Zealand apples to tl.e Old Country during the present stason, as a consequence of tho Government's consent to guarantee growers Id per Ib, as requested by the fruitgrowers' associations in Auckland and Canterbury. .In re-ply, he said: — "T7nfortunately. the promise of the guarantee arrived rather late to make arrangements for this season. We are eollectinor information, as to what each district could contribute for a shipment, and this, of course, takes considerable time. Unfortunately, so far as the shipxarcnts from the north were conorrned, the chambers available are too large for the qtnntity of fruit that the north can furnish. Consequently the co-operation of the southern growers is essential, and this involves the gathering of information as to what the southern growers are c'oing, as well as what the north can supply. We are still awaiting: information from the south, an dare still hopeful that we may* be able to make arrangements for a small shipment this season. In my opinion there is no reason at all why, if the present energetic mea-ures to ehpek the oodlin moth are continued, we should not be ab! to c end Home regular shipments of really firstclass fruit." Tie Australian Meat Trades Journal o£ the 27th u't. report" : — The- half-yearly meeting of the New South Wales Fr<~sh Food and lee Company was held on TliursdayMr LalcTey Mort (the chairman) presided. Tl c balance «heet and directors' report were unanimously adopted. Mr Jas. Moi~ was re-elected director, and Mr F. S. Willis as audi'or. A dividend at the rate, of 6 per cent, per annum was df clared, payable en March ]. This certanily is a satisfactoryresult considering th-e stagnant condition of business all round.

The Judicial Committee of the House of Lords has dismissed with costs the appeal ca=e, tho Municipal Council of Sydney versus the Austral Freezing: Works. This w?.r an appeal agaitst the Full Court, disrllowins- their claim for £826 against the Austral Company for slaughtering fees. The court held that the City Council had no power to make a by-law prescribing the payment of fees in respect of cattle intended for slaughter which were yarded in other yar»l= than those owned by the council within a radius of U miles from Sydney. The 2a=e was a ppeeial one, the total amount involved being about £2000, certain other arrears bsing claimed against other companies who slaughtered stocls at their own yards. At a meeting of the conrmitteo of the Canterbury A. and P. Association on Wed-i'p-day last. Mr P. C. Threlkelcl wrote asking the committee to take into favourable consideration the- question of including tlie Staffolk Punch horse in the show programme. He would guarantee that <=o leng as he lived the stallion, marc, and yovnester cla.ss?s of the breed woxild be represented. There were already many Suffolk Punch horses in tli3 colony, and there was no doubt that the numler would increase ir. us r.\pid a manner as it hal done in Australia. The letter was referred to the Hor^e Committee. The death is announced of Mr Walter Lavry, who passed away on the 7th inst. at his home at Springston. at the age of 88 years. He was a native of Cornwall, and came to New Zealand 42 years £>go. Tne whole of that time he has spent in Canterbury, and most of it at Spnngst-r-n. Shortly i>fter arrl\ina: here he tcok a farm in that district. and conducted it successfully, personally superintending operations until a few years ago. In the early clays he gava a great deal of attention to sheep-breeding, and yon prizes at tho agricultural and) pastoral shows. Mr Lawry leaves a large number of children, grandchildren, 3rd great grandchildren. The Lyttelton Times of the 9th instv says: — Over 3000 North Island sheep were; brought to Lyttelton on Wednesday.* The s.s. Rakanos> landed 264-0 from Wellington, and the s.s. Rotomahana brought 532 licm the same port. The s.s. Pukaki is expected to-day from- Wellington with 2500 sheep. She is to be follow ed by the s.s. Taieri from Napier with 3000, and the .-.s. Hawea from the same port with 3000. The Rakanoa also goes to Napier Tor a further consignment of sheep. At a meeting of the committee of theLondon Unemployed Fund, held at the Guildhall on Friday, January 20. it was reported that Mr Fels had completed the purchase of the old Colonial College estate at Holk=ley Bay, Suffolk, and placed ifc at the disposal of tho Central Commitoe for thive year-, at a peppercorn rent. It w?.a pointed out that the estate coybis 1309

acres, and was expressly laid out some years ' age as a training ground for young Englishmen who wished to embark upon farming life in the colonies. Buildings exist capable of accommodating 750 men, and there is, in addition, a residence for ths superintendent, 23 cottages, and a complete range of well-equipped fa-rm buildings. Every kind of live stock is on the land, and the agricultural appliances generally, all modern in character, are in good order. The members of the Working Colonies Subcommittee intend to visit the estate and it is expected that the Central Committee will enter upon possession in tha course of a fortnight. The British Board of Agriculture returns in regard to the average prices for grain ' during the year 1904- are not without interest. These returns show that the average price of wheat in the past year exhibits a rise of 2s Id a quarter, the average being 2Ss lOd, whereas "in 1903 it was 26s 9d. The highest weekly average was 30s 6d on Octo3ber 29 and on November 5 ; the lowest 2&s 3d a quarter, whereas in ISO 3 the fluctuation was 5s 4d a quarter. The average price of barley in the past year was 22s 9r a quarter. In 1903 it was 22s Bd, being a ri?e of only Id a quarter. The highest price ws 15s 10d on September 24, and the lowest ISs 2d on July 18, being a fluctuation of 7s 8d a quarter. In 1903 the fluctuation wes 4s 7d a quarter. Th* average price of oats in the , past year was 16s 7d a quarter,, being 7d lower tha,n in 1903, when the average was 17s 2d a quarter. The highest price wa? 17s lOd on July 30 and August 6, and the lowest 15s 5d on January 2, being a fluctuation of 2s 5d a quarter. In 1903 the fluctuation was 3s 5d a quarter. Oats also stood at the low price of 15s 5d a quarter durin°" ISO 3. . -" -JTifteen purebred sheep, Komney Marshes, Shropshires, and Southdowns, imported from i [England by Mr J. E. Davenport, were released from the quarantine station at Quail Island on Thursday last, having completed their period of 40 days' quarantine. They ■were taken by rail to Christchurch. The Aniuri sheep fair of 1905 (says the Ohristehurch Press) will long be Temembei-ed by those who -attended it as ths most remarkable event of its kind ever held in ths colony, the prices given for breeding ewes eclipsing all previous records. In fact, it is considered that no such prices have ever been given in the Australasian colonies for large lines of flock ewes, except, probably, for merinos in Australia. With the general shortage of sheep, the high pi-ices now ruling fo rewes, and the good prospects of the mutton and wool markets, it was anticipated that two-tooth ha'fbred ewes at the Amuri fair might reach 30s, and possibly o2s 6d at the outside^, but 36s 4d was quite •unlooked for until the bidding began. This price was 13s Id over the highest figure of the previous year, when 23s 3d was th© record established. Certainly the sheep this year were several shillings per head be-tte-r in quality and condition than those offered last year. The late winter was a fairly mild one, and the amount of rain that fell during the summer has enabled the famous Amuri pastures to produce abundance of feed, while the previous year the sheep liad to come through an exceptionally severe winter, and in consequence^ were not so well grown. The keenness of the demand for sheep was shown by the fact that there was an exceptionally large- attendance., probably one thousand or over buyers being present from almost all parts of Canterbury, from as far south as Timaru, and they were favoured with, beautiful weather. It was noticeable that the dealers were nnab'e to do any business, -and the sheep ■will thu3 go direct from the sale into farmers' hands. Tlie entry totalled 31,304, r being made up as follows: — 13,723 half bred and crossbred ewes, 6696 merino ewes, 4-936 iialfbred wethers, 743 merino wethers, and . 5206 halfbred and crossbred lambs. Several large lines, including 10,000 from Flaxbourne, were unable to come to hand on .account of floods in. the rhers. It is gratifying to know that at least one of our experiment stations (says the Midland Farmer) is becoming conscious of the fact that it ought to do something toirard developing strictly American types j of horses other than racers. The ©olorado station has inaugurated the work_ of developing- a carriage horse that will come i nearer filling the requirements of that class j of horses in this country than are now known. The trottei is to be the starting jpoint, and by careful and intelligent selection and mating, a somewhat heavier and mors symmetrical horse is expected to evolve, and, at the same time, retain the Staying qualities of the trotter, and as much i of his speed as is desirable in a good, titility carriage horse. This is a work of years, of course, but is certain of final success if the work_ is well done. Past svecese in , creating new types of cattle, hogs, and I cheep shows what may be done with horses. We have to acknowledge receipt from Messrs 3". E. Watson and Co. of the illustrated catalogue of implements and machines manufactured by MessTS William Gardiner and Co., Mataura; also the 1904-5 price h~ls of tho iDeermg- division of the International Harvester jConipa-ny. ! The annual rani fair will be held at Burn- ! Bide on Tuesday, 28th inst. Entries close on | Friday, 21th inst. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile &<*ency Company will sell drays, buggies, islouffts, eta*> ftt G-oze s>& W lesda^ 22ad

The G-ore stock agents will Lold a sale of sheep and lambs at Riversdale on Thursday, 16th inst. A number of sections in the township of Hull (Taieri Mouth) and "Waitaki Bridge will be offered for sale by auction at the Lands Office, Dunedin, on Tuesday, 28th mst. Messrs Skene and Fleming commenced business on Monday last as seed and plant merchants. Mr Skene has gained his experience with. Mr H. C. Gibbons, of Wellington, •with whom he was employed for a number of years. Mr Fleming was for a number of years with Messrs Nimmo and JtJlair. The members of the new firm have thus had a good deal of experience of the business which they are about to open in this city. Messrs Dalgety and Co. will hold their annual ram and ewe fair at Burnsicle on Tuesday, 28th inst. Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co., in conjunction with, the National Mortgage and Agency Company, will hold a sale of stock and implements at Burwood Station, near Mossbum, on Thursday, 3Oth inst., and on April 5 they will hold a sale of stock, implements, etc.. at Glenorchy. The Clutha sheep dog trials, which were to have been held at Barnego Flat next Wednesday and Thursday, are now postponed till April 5 ancl 6. » A number of pastoral runs in the Maniototo, .Mount Hyde, Maungatua, and St. Bathans districts will be open for application at the Lands Office, Dunedin, on Tuesday, April 11.