AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2676, 28 June 1905, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

The t'e&ulfcs of ihe guessing competitions in connection with the Otago A. and P. Society's winter show are as follow: — For the ladjs guessing the nearest dressed weights of fat bullock a Singer's sewing maohice valued at £14- was given. The bullock was weighed on the 20th inst. in Mr Duke's shop, Georgo street, in the preeence of Mr H. V. Fulton, secretary of the society, and weighed 1459J,1b. Miss K. E. Pauiin, Lawrence, and Miss M. Gillies, 1-2 Castle street, were both £lb oxit: the former guessed! 14601b and the latter 14591b. According to the rules of the socioty a ballot was taken, with thfl result that Miss Gillies was do-; dared the winner. Miss A. Will, Maoril Hill, guessed 1458£1b. and Miss Dora Reid, Clifton, Windsor. 145721b. The guesses langed from 1231b to 20801b. In the opeijt class for the bullock guessing, Messrs Reginald Umbers, Castle street, and J. J., Anderson, Ross sti-eot, Roslyn, both guessed 14601b, and they being the nearest to the correct weight the prize money of £3 andt JBI 10s wiil hz divided equally. J. F. Moll:,* son, Dunedin, guessed 1458^1b; H. Green* aiount Oargilf, 14611b; -4_. Lesclener, Wai. pahi, 14621b; A. M 'Conned!, Sawyers' Bay,. 14571b; and G. Bortliwick, Lee Stream^ 1457. In the sheep-guessing competition! the exact weight of the five fat sheep, whiahf were weighed in the presence of the secre-

tary at the '-freezing woi'lrfs on the 20th, was 663^1b. T. Vipkers, Berwick, guessed 6631b, R. M'Kinno-n, Milton, 662±1b, and they, being rhe nearesc, take first and Recond prizes - respectively. T. Walter, Palmerston, "* guessed 6651b ; G. Harvey, Popotuho'a, 6651b; J. W. Wilson, Bafclutha, 6651b; and E.. Fbater, Leifch street, 6651b. . The weights guessed vaxied from 3SOlb to : 9701b. Messrs Angus, ShieJ, and Loudon, { members of com.mittee, with Mr Fulton* (secretary), acted as scrutineers. To show the demand that exists at present for sheepskins, it may b© mentioned that Messrs Stronach, Morris, and Co., at their auction sale on the 20th, sold for a clien* one merino at 15s 4d, and for the same owner three other lots at 14s 6d, 9s 6d, and 7s la. J-Jiese-, of course, were very heavy skins, aaia sent to town in good shipping condition. Mr William Allan, of Balehitha North, tet his three-year-old draught colt by Albion Irmoa (imp.) out of Blossom (imn.) go afc •auction in Duneddn. on Saturday "for 44gs (says the Free Press, Balclutha), and about a quarter of an hour afterwards the buyer S ° W .*«^ privately for £67— a clear gain oi hoi los. . .The Canterbury A. and P. Association Has referred to a sub-committee letters from, the agricultural machinery and implement manufacturers asking for a reduction of the space fee at the show. - _ Much Jias been heard of the alleged dila- > ■ tormess of the Advances to Settlers Department_ m making advances to settlers It I remained for Mr M'Cutchan, af'member of rhe Land Commission, lo present the other !"*? of the story. Addressing a witness pefore the commission,- he said he could, as * private, individual, speaki of cases where the valuer . had ,tor rider 70 miles to make , a •valuation, and .the money h^ been advanced'three weeks .after, forwarding application. The witness was the superintendent of the -He replied that the « responsible officers were men- of common %V£?: Y^° iried *° do their very best. Mr M'Cutchan: "I am sure of that," The Wyndham Farmer reports that Glen- : • ham settlers are putting- more land under , crop than they did last year. A local resident declares that energy,_liming, and starting a local dairy factory will secure the ! prosDerity of the settlement. ', A Gisborne message says that sheep brought ' " record prices at Thursday's sales, ewes realising22s Id- " On Wednesday (says the Clutha Leader) 21 teams turned out and gave Mr Hewitson, of Lovell's Fla*, a day's ploughing. Fifteen ' digger ploughs were at work, and some 60 acres turned over. There were 108 horses on the around, representing over £3000 in value. Mr Hewitson '■provided a. liberal 1 spread for his neighbours, and thanked 1 "them for their generous assistance in giving • •him a good, start on Tns new farm. ' A case, in which' damages were claimed < for- sheep-worrying, was heard at Rangiora < •lasb week before Mr Day, S.M. J. G. E. J Simpkinson sued H. Blackett, jun., for £39 - Os 6d. It was alleged that on May 13 two £ ■ dogs killed three wethers, valued at 17s €

6d.-eaoh, and did general damage to the wether flock, amounting to £5. Fourteen hoggets were also said to have been killed, Talued at 163 each, and general damage to 4-18 .hoggets was estimated at the rate t>f Is* each at £28 IPs. After hearing: evidence, the" magistrate allowed damages for '. the loss of two wethers (16s each) and five j

the loss of two wethers (16s each) and five .hoggets (15s each), and on account of general disturbance of the sheep, £13. Plaintiff . t,hns\rer>eived judgment for £18 fs, and costs' (£6 6s). ' • ' - " The President of the Wellington Industrial Association (Mr J; P., Luke) states ■ that' the colony has 10 woollen mills, which employed 1693 hands^ajid paid £112,000 annually in wages ; the value of the material used or operated on by these mills annually was £196,081 ; the total value of produce, including repairs, £559,382. The figures for the iron trade showed that engineering was neck and neck with woollens, comparing the number of hands, amount of wa^es and value of work orerated on. Speaking generally, he said our woollens were protected up to 25 per cent., and it was a pity they did not get manufactured in this colony all the work they possibly j could in preference- to sending away for it. ' It is announced (says tbe North British Agriculturist) that the thorough-hied stallion Cyllene, the property of Mr O. D. liose. the- member for the Newmarket Division of Cambridge, has been sold for 30,000ge, delivery to be made on the Ist of i July, after the season is over. The buyer | is Mr William Bass, who a few years aero ' gavo 25,Q0Qgs for the- mare Sceptre. This ' mare is tLis year in foal to Cyllen-e. The Australian Moat 'Trades' Journal o£ the 13th inst. states that Mr John Cooke . is buying- large quanties of fat wethers in ■Western and South-western Qeensland. He (has already secured large drafts from Noondooy Bayrick, Culloden, Narada Downs, Byrganna, Tainbo, "VYestquarter, Listowel I •Downs, Bandon Grove, Tocal, The Raad, Malvern Hil]s, and Longway, and is inspecting at Milo, Darr River. Talleyrand, =Wellsfaot, and. other places. These sh-eep «*«■ all fop tlie Eedba-nk" Works, and amount to nearly 60.000 already. Butier "faking" goes on merrily (writes the London correspondent of the Melbourne Argus), and there seems to be no mean? of stopping it. Many of the large retailers are advertising their butter substitutes, and are apparently selling largo quantities. fiere ia a circular, of Ljjjtons (Limited):

s "We are going to make 'Delicio,' our new | j butter substitute, a household word. It is j equal in flavour to choicest butter, sweeter " and more palatable than anything to be 1 had at much higher prices. Each buyer ', of lib of 'Delicio,' our new delicious , butter substitute, at 9d, will, receive as a free gift one box of biscuits, worth at least ' 6d." ' i In the Agricultural Students' Gazette J (Oirencester) there is a note from a former , , student now farming in Tasmania, which i. will be read with narticular interest by breeders of Devon cattle and Shropshire t sheep. It 13 pretty wel known that the j. popxilar Shropshire breed has established c a very strong hold in that island, owing to j. its value for the frozen meat trade ; but c ' it is not so well known that the Devon cattle have/ also found a, congenial home I there-. It is gratifying, therefore, to find (says the Field of May 6) that the writer of the note himself owns no fewer than [ 250 Devons, and that he can state from b his own personal knowledge that they are 3 peculiarly suitable for the conditions" preI; vailing. The Devon breed is one of the . choicest in the country for beef production, , andi it has always been a, matter of surprise that it has not enlisted more extent sive support abroad; but it would seem that _in a quiet way it has been gradually \ gaining a foothold in at least one of our , colonies.