LOCAL A. AND P. NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2669, 10 May 1905, Page 20

LOCAL A. AND P. NEWS.

The annual meeting of the Tokomairiro Branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union was held on Tuesday evening last, and was attended by 16 members, Mr W. Grey presiding. The balance sheet showed a credit balance of £5 10s 3d. The following officebearers were elected: — President, Mr W. Grey ~ -^re-elected) ; vice-president, Mr M'Arthur (re-elected) ; treasurer, Mr D. Reid (re-elected) ; secretary, Mr James Inglis (re-elected) ; committee— Messrs W. Farquharson, A. Allison, Alex. Lowery, J. Newbigging, G. Fisher, T. Lowery, J. Allison, J. Norrie, J. M'Leod, M. Scott, T. Soott, D. Hamilton, A. Campbell, and Jasper Clark. A good deal of discussion took place regarding the importation of bones for manures to tha colony, and it was decided to urge upon ihe Provincial Executive the necessity of the Colonial Executive impressing tipon the Government the importance of erecting sterilising works or prohibiting tho importance of bones altogether.

At a meeting of farmers at Outram on Saturday afternoon it was resolved to make an effort to revive the Outram branch of the Farmers' Union. A meeting of the branch will be held at an early date.

Winteir feed will be scarce at Gibbston {says the corresponded of the Lake County Press) on account of the dry weather, the turnips not being a heavy orop. The potato crop will not be heavy either.

A keen demand exists locrJly for draught horses (says the Bruce Herald), and there are a number of buyers in the district in search of a good class of young draught stallions for shipment to Melbourne. Mr S. C. Watson, of Windsor, took the heavy crop of 72 bushels of wheat to the acre off a paddock of about 100 acres this year. The grain is of very high quality, probably as good as anything grown in the district this year. The Oamaru Mail is assured that the potato disease in the North Otago district has proved much less destructive than was anticipated, and should the tub&rs keep in the pits, as there is every reason to anticipate, if due care is exercised, the ravages of the disea.se will be confined to a very limited sphere of operation.

Ploughing operations are being pushed ahead in the Longbeaeh district. On the Longbaach Estate oats have already been fioivn for fe&ding-off purposes in spring- and a3 early crops. Practically no threshing has been done yet. as the greater portion of the crops were pufc in the stack in such a condition as to render it prudent to delay threshing for another month at least.

At the beginning of the season (says the North Otago Times) there was a rush for sheep to put on the Canterbury stubbles, and Southland wa3 practically depleted of store sheep. On the top of this came large drafts from the North Island to Lyttelton, and instead of there being a shortage of sheep in Canterbury there are now more than can be dealt with. Southland having oversold, the tide has apparently turned, and sheep that were at one time brought from the south are now being 1 returned there to fill the gaps created by the over-selling. Sheep are now better value to Southland than in Canterbury or North Otago. ,

By the death of Mr John Maher (reports the Southland Times) a familiar figure has been removed from the fast-diminishing ranks of the early settlers. The deceased was born at Garlow, Ireland, in 1839, and at the age of 20 he migrated to England, wMere h© remained only three years. Upon entering the ranks of the benedicts he sailed for New Zealand in 1863, in the New Great Britain, under engagement to a Mr Henry Armstrong^ to manage a farm at Fern Bush, near Winton. Two years later, he took up his residence at Kew. carving out a home in Seaward Bush, and engaged in nursery and farming pursuits. Later on he took up contracting for a number of years, but his health becoming impaired he relinquished contracting and engaged in dairy farming, a calling which he followed until death. Mr Maher entered largely into public affaire in the early days, was one of the-" organisers of the first horticultural show held in Invercargill, was a member of the first road board, and was Mayor of SoutE Invercafgill for several terms. The deceased was a man of sterling qualities, and a kind and sympathetic father. He leaves a family of seven to cherish his memory, three eons and four daughters, all grown up and residing in the district. The funeral took place on the 30th ult., and was largely attended.

Mr R. Pearttie, of Aldersyde, Tokomairiro, reports that hs has just dug 1551b of Northern Star potatoes from lib of seed. Of these 1401b are good, saleable potatoes, while the bulk of the balance are large enough for seed. A Greenfield correspondent gives a description of the progress of the new settlement in the Clutha Leader of the 2nd inst. : — The new settlers are now establishing themeelves on their sections, and preparing to get a start with fencing, ploughing, # and building, some of them even making a start with tents, and very comfortable and snug they look. In several oases the settlers never saw the sections that fell to them till last week, and some not eve-n yet. Each one is anxious to meet his neighbour in order to see about boundary fencing, etc. There is a great demand for building material, and I hear Burley and Co. have already got orders for six or eight sledge huts for immediate delivery. The reports abort the new settlers are of a highly satisfactory nature, and I am pleased to be able to confirm this. I have seen a large number of them, and they are sturdy, able-looking fellows, who know their work andl <ire not afr~id to tackle it. There is no doubt the settlement will be a siiccess — th© land is good and: the prices vight.

A meeting of fruife growers was held at Roxburgh on tho 2nd in.st., when Mr Blackmore, who 1 has been in that district for several days, gave an address to those present. Mr Blackmore urged the growers to plant early apples and pears, and mentioned several varieties suitable for growing to compete with the importation Of William's Bon Cretans. The speaker urged the planting of a better variety of plums for dessert purjjoses., as he con-

eidered (.hose grown now were only fit for culinary purposes. The Denartment intends to go m more for testing varieties (says the Mount Benger Mail), and Mr Blackmore is seeking to gain the co-operation of growers to plant and watch the growth of 1000 vai-ieties which it is intended to distribute among growers, and find out the different kinds suited to the different districts. In course of conversation with Mr Blackrnore he informed us that he was obtaining particulars and __ specimens of several new diseases he noticed among the trete of the orchards during his last visit here. H© has purchased a sample case of the products of the canning factory, and intends to sample tho contents before several Christchurch gentlemen. He expressed himself ac highly pleased at the quality of the fruit produced, and was pleased to see the company had put up several varieties not generally used for canning purposes, and these, "though not the. orthodox colour, were good, and would serve to tect the market Many farmers in the Waiau district have taken tha precaution to buy sheep to fat off the ragwort on their farms, with the result (according to the Rivcrion paper) I that little or nothing is seen of the weed on the Waiau farms. The following notes are taken from last Friday's Winjon Record :— A nice line of well-bred mother-fed calves was sold off their mothers for 37s 6d per head. — The prospect for ill-bred stores is not yet very I hopeful, but it seems as though good turnip i cattle will be required later on in the sea£on.—Threshing is in full swing all over tha Otautau district, and the samples are proving really good and bright; prices, are fairly firm for oats, but not so good for wheat. Linseed is in g-ood demand, and also barloy. The season for ryegrass is practically over. — The general indications point to an eas1 in* off in the price of lambs., which have boen steadily rising in value since the beginning of the year. Until now they have reached from 15s to 16s for good stores, which is admitted to be extremely high, seeing we have not yet begun tho winter. — There is likely to be an improved demand for beei in the near future. So much attention has been directed to sheep that cattle have been almost wholly neglected. The result is there is not by any means a large number of beef cattle to ba found in the district. It loojks, indeed, as if before long the demand will be equal to the supply. — At the Winton stock sale* yesterday a line of 1200 nice-looking sheep belonging to Mr Cameron, of the Nokomai Station, created a good deal of, interest, but it would have been better for the owner had they been brought down a mo.ith sooner. There were 900 fat and storj wethers and 300 breeding ewes. The tops of the line realised 18s 9d. ( As illustrating the difficulties that sheep fari mers in the Nokomai district have to coni lend with, it is worthy of note that the mustering of the sheep commenced on the 11th April, and the line offered would have been much larger but for the fact that many of the sheep escaped after being in 1 hand. Speaking nfc the Tnvercargill mayoral installation, last week, Mr W. B. Scandrett stated that out of 2977 cattle slaujrhte.-ed at the abattoirs 28 were wholly and 22 partially condemned, and of the 28 referred ito 20 W3re affected with tuberculosis. The I sheep passed through the abattoirs numbered 15,305, 32 of which had been wholly and 13 partially oondamned. This showed that the necessity for the abattoirs was not recognised to soon. At the Gore Magistrate's Court, on Thursday last, before Mr Cruikshank, S.M., the cases heard last court day, in which several farmers weTe charged with failing to destroy noxious weeds, were called on. Tlw n agistrate inflicted the following fines : — Huffh Smith, Robert Smith, J. Thomson, and C. Roche, each 10s and costs 7s; R. G. Buchanan, £1 10s and costs 7s; J. D. Sihand, £1 and costs £1 8s ; John Donaghy, £1 and costs 7s. Mr A. M. Paterson, late organising secretary and veterinary of the Southland Farmers' Union, returned fco Invereargill on Wednesday last, after a three months' holiday, completely restored to health. Interviewed by a Southland Times reporter, «Mr Paterson expressed the opinion that the best agricultural land he came across in his rambles was the Waikakahi Estate, in South Canterbury; after that Southland came in as a good all-round second. He believed that the North Jsland was the best place -as far as temperature and climate are ooncerned. The farmers there do not need to grow winter feed as those in Southland have to do, and that was a great help to men starting with limited means. On the Waikakahi Estate he 6aw Mr W. M'Kenzie, formerly, of Southland, who holds 500 acres, and his wheat crop off this had enabled him to pay off £2 per acre of his purchase money. He is growing 250 acres of wheat this season, and the seed is nearly all in. Mr Paterson thinks that the farmers there have an easy time. They have nothing much to do during the bulk of tht year ; they put in their orop in tho autumn and reap it the following harvest, usually get a splendid crop, and receive big prices for their output. He noted as an interesting fact that every farmer in the Oamaru disti-ict is a "Farmers' Co-operative" man, and in. Christchurch he was greatly impressed with the displays made every Saturday evening in the splendid buildings occupied by the Canterbury Farmers' Cooperative Association. Writing on the 3rd inst. the Hyde coxiespondent of the Mount Ida Chronicle reports : — Dry weather is somewhat hindering farm work, as the soil is too dry to plough. Threshing commenced on Friday, Mr Kirklana's mill starting at the lower end of the district, but so far I have not heard any returns. Judging by the number of stacks in some paddocks some of the yields will be good. Potato-digging is now in progress, and though we appear to have escaped the blight, crops are as a rule very poor, some of them being hardly worth the digging, which is to be regretted, seeing that prices for this commodity are likely to rule high next spring. Rabbittrapping is now in full swing, and some parties are making very good wages. In last week's Winton Record the contributor of "Stock Notes" writes as follows: — April will long be remembered by stockowners, buyers, and vendors . l or the high prices ruling for sheep during tf;e early part of the month. The latter end of March had seen the snsational sale at Burwood Station, when buyers from the north and south had divided honours 1 in competing for tussock-bred sheep, and the buyers of full-mouth ewes thinking themselves lucky in securing them at 18s. It wp& not, therefore, strange that an impetus ta-s jjivea io the sheep market at the

principal local , yards. Thus Winton, fol* lowing shortly after with a big yarding-, fully maintained its name as a good stock centre, and Otaxitau a week later topped everything with sensational prices. This, however, was th c culminating point. The market having been sustained all along by the demand created by the well-known scarcity of sheep, naturally declined when; competition was restricted — as was certain to b© the case after the rams were put in — • and dealers, having mostly no winter feed to fall back on, retire from the arena, or, rather, curtail their operations considerablyMost seasonably, therefore, a frost has set in, the first indication of which appeared a 6 the great Moa Flat sale, where there was every inducement for the .speculator to operate. The weather was perfect, th£ arrangements, to the minutest detail, all that the most critical could desire, the catering most seductive, the auctioneering masterly, and the sheep in every class far above the average — not a cull in the whole 21,000 — in fact, the writer in all his experience has never seen so grand a mob put together. Yet, with all these inducements, although the sale did not hang, fhere was, considering the quality of the sheep, a very distinct drop, especially in the ewes, at from ' 2s 6d to ss ; and this has been further emphasised in the local saleyards, for at the last sale at the metropolitan yards it was evident that there was an uneasy feeling existing, and sheep of all classes were hard to quit in consequence. However, although there, may be a temporary scare, we do not anticipate a. serious decline from the ruling prices. The country is allowedly understocked, and there are too many farmers still unsupplied to allow of a slump occurring; but the time of abnormal values is no doubt a thing of the past. We do not think stockowners may hope for a revival until the spring, and not even then unless there is an open and short winter. As regards the cattle market the prospects seem to be darker and darker, and the prices lower and lower ; in fact, for some classes it is impossible to quote, as they seem unsaleable at any price. Nor with the winter approaching can 'they be said to have reached the bot*torn yet, but it is most disheartening to see yard after- yard passed unsold. The Tuapeka Times or the 6th inst. says r Mr A. B. Henderson, of Blue Spur, informs us ihat in October last he planted a pound weight of the Northern Star potato, and he has just dug 166£1b of good, marketable potatoes from the 12 sets ir.io which he divided his pound. The land on which this return was got was poor, impoverished, clayey soil, and' no manure, with the exception of a few dead leaves, was used. Mr A. H&rfc, Irvine street, reP63'ts having got a return of 1461b from, lib of seed At Wallacetown Freezing Works on Thursday last a lino of 146 Shropshire Down lambs, the property of Mr James Fleming (Rakahouka), were dressed and returned the excellent avarage of 54.811b <eaoh. An expert assures the Oamaru Mail that the potato disease has not done nearly the amount of harm that was anticipated, and if care is Taken in the pitting the loss will be comparatively small. He is convinced! that growers ha-ve themselves to blame for the greater part of the depreciation in pits, and states ±hat straw only should be used instead of the usual covering of earth, as it do-es not matter how much air gets in to the tubers provided that the frost is kept out, and while the air discourages moisture, the usual coating of earth sets up sweating and other disorders which are fatal to the preservation of the • potato. Writing on the 3rd inst. the Crown Terlaoe correspondent of the Lake Wakatipu Mail reports: — Harvest operations are -still on. We will need two weeks of fine weather before all the crops are gathered in. Most of the farmers, however, have all their grain io stacks. The crops this year are not quite so heavy as in former years, yet the farmers are satisfied. The chief crop is oats. There are a few patches of wheat and barley. The farmers will be able to speak with a degree of certainty as to yields when the threshing mill has done its work ; till then it is all guesswork. The potato blight has not yet made its appearance here yet. There is a splendid crop, large and sound, with an agTeeable flavour which tempts the appetite It is predicted that this coming winter will be very severe. If the prediction proves correct the stock will be badly off for feed, as the grass is burnt up and the turnips are a very inferior crop oVing. no doubt, to the cold weather and drying winds experienced in the early stages of their growth. If those farmers who have stock would build the straw where it would afford both shelter and fodder, the cattle would be all right. The annual meeting of members of the North Otago A. and .P. Association was held on Saturday last, Mr James Reid (president) in the chair. The report and balance sheet were submitted to the meeting. The membership again shows a gratifying increase, having risen from 282 to 354; but further efforts will be made to enlarge the number, till a reasonable nortion of the 1700 farmers in the district "are enrolled. It nrust be remembered that the greater the membership the more conveniences for stock, exhibitors, and the public, and the larger and more numerous the prizes. The credit balance at the end of last year was £567 5s Id, including which the total revenue for the year was £1760 lls 7d, and the total expenditure £1055 9a 2d, leaving a credit balance of £704 2s sd, or a profit of £136 17s 4d on the year's work. The statement of assets and liabilities as at the date of the next show int November, 1905, shows assets estimated at £1933 2s sd. The adoption of the report and balance sheet was unanimously agreed! to. — Officers for the ensuing year were elected as follows: — President, Mr William. Milne ; vice-president, Mr W. Wylie ; treasurer, Mr George Brownlee ; auditors, Messrs Gsorge Bruce and H. F. Gibson; committee— Messrs Borrie, Little, James Reid, Buckley, Livingstone, Gardiner, M'Pherson, Douglas, Mitchell, Cowan, O'Brkvn, Muir, T. Reid, jun., George M'Donald Menlove, Macaulay, Donaldson, W. P. Reid, Morton, Orbell, Blythe, W.. Sutherland, J. B. Taylor, and W. J. Nicolson. — Mr Robert Jadlcson said he would lik® the new committee to consider the advisableness of judging the entire horses afl the society's horse parade. This coursS was followed in other places, and the* speaker felt it was the right thing. The Chairman said Mr Jackson could bring the question before the first meeting of the new committee.— A hearty vote of "thanks to the retiring president was enthusiastically carried.