AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

In connection with the New ZealandSouth African steamship service, Mr J. G. Gow, New Zealand's trade representative in South Africa, calls attention, in a report to the Government, to the necessity of making Delagoa Bay a port of call for tho delivery of our produce. The Rand trade is fast going in that direction, and the Rand interests are so extensive there that ifc is -not at all likely that the port will be overlooked or allowed to go down. The Transvaal Government will require a certain portion of next year's oats to b© delivered via Delagoa Bay. When he was at the Cape he met Mr Rose, the travelling representative of the New Zealand and South African Shipping Company, arid discussed the question of the steamers calling at Delagoa Bay; II 1© fully recognised the importance of the matter, and* promised to bring it before th© directors. When packing a box of butter some few months ago, says the Auckland Weakly News, Mr W. G. King the manager 6f the North Taranaki Dairy Factory, placed inside it. note asking tho receiver of the box to let him know the condition in which. h& found its contents. Reoently a reply vrap reoeived from Mr G-. W. Dalton, wholesale cheesemonger, of London (brother of the -well-known outfitter of Auckland), stating that h© -yras the purchaser of the box in April at 1103 per cwt. The butter was in very good condition, and of veay good flavour. This, so far as the North. Taianaki Factory and, its manager are concerned, is very satisfactory, but they are wondering how it is that they do not get credit for the price at which, the butter was sold, and they believe "that they may have suffered from this practice for some years. The middlemen to whom the North" Tarauaki Company had consigned this particular lot of butter sent account sales at 108s, and now company discovers that Dalton made his purchase at 110s. Tlio middlemen in question receive the consignment for sale on commission, and, having disposed of it, presumably to "tlie best advantage, advise the sale at 108s in lieu of 110s. The land hunger, which is making itself so acutely felt in the Auckland province, was exemplified a few days ago by tho large gathering at the Crown Lands Office Of able-bodied young men anxious tc so

19 upon tho land to ballot for sections in t' blocks thrown open in the Awakino ai jj! Waitomo Counties, under the lease-in-pe ' petuity system. For some sections there we •\ as many as 35 applicants, while for one the If were 56, and for another 62. ' ■^ Complaints are made in Auckland th I ' > the market is being glutted with eggs fro San There are now a good many lambs io 1 seen in the fields over South. Canterbm but it is reported that a considerable nui ber are dying, by reason of the cold, w 3- weather prevailing. £_ The Thames papers state that the disea< " which last year played havoc with tl 'd potato has already made its appearan< si locally, and is causing consternation amol le gardeners. Mysterious deaths among cattle in Ne J South Wales, at first suspected to be fro 'S anthrax, and afterwards attributed I y "shivery weed," have been definitely tract to a bulbous plant identified by the Goven ' inent botanist as the "poison tulip." < J A Taranaki man has already gathered i 11 a portion of his new potato crop. B it stated that had it not been for the frosi c of a couple of weeks ago he would hay d been able to dig half a ton of potatoes b 6 this time. c ! A Canterbury dealer, who 'bought a lin s of 1000 hoggets in the district during th pasfc week, had the misfortune (says th ' Bruce Herald) to lose a number by a specie of disease designated as "turnip founder/ S The animals bad been fed solely on turnip s during tho winter months, and by the tim - they had been driven to Milburn severs s were in a state of collapse. It was foun< , impossible to drive them any further, an< .- they had to. be forwarded to their destina B tion by rail. However, about 50 of th x animals were too exhausted to send on, and k despite special treatment, 20 have sine • died, while ifc is expected that at least tej more will succumb. r A butter factory in the Eltham distric 3 has sold the output to the end of Octobe • (approximately 450 boxes) at 10£ d f.o.b. a 1 the railway station. The chairman of tfc company informs the Argus that he doe j not believe his company will sell any mor< y forward at this price, believing even bette prices will be obtaining before the flush o the season is reached. So good indeed ar< tho prospect 3 that several factories in tli ? locality, that have been in tho habit o • Belling outright, will probably consign t< r London at their own risk. t At a meeting of the committee of th r Hawke's Bay Agricultural and Pastcra j Society, held on Friday, the question of ex [> perimental work in connection with tbe'eo [ • eieties, and', with the assistance of the De b I partment of Agriculture," was considered 1 Eventually the following recommendation p I were made:— (l) That the metropolitai ■ societies be asked to appoint special com 1 mittees to approach district societies anc i try to arrange the experiments proposed and sxibrnit the probable cost of same t< the department; (2) that the experiment' be practical, «yul such as would apply t< ordinary farm practice in their respectiv< districts. There is a good deal of crop going ir this year, oats being sown more generallj than wheat. When asked the reason ol i this, one farmer informed the Timaru Posi i that it was owing to the low price now ruling for wheat. On holding a post mortem examination ' on four cows belonging to a farmer at Aorangi recently, Mr Burton, veterinary surgeon, found the cause of death was due to the animals eating leaden tea-packets which had been left a-bout. Another dead cow, belonging to Mr Milson, Feilding, on being examined, was found to be full of gravel, staples, and scraps of various arbicles. New Zcaland_ is gaining in favour each year as a hunting-ground for English dairy produce merchants. Among the recant arrivals iv the-colony are Mr R. Davidson, of the firm of W. and R: Davidson, of Glasgow, and! _Mr Robort Hunter, of the London firm 'of Sandies, Hull, and Carruthers — both highly reputable firms doing business in dairy produce. The mission of these representatives is to secure regular supplies of butter and cheese during the season, which commences at the beginning of next montb. A meeting of the members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, representing the North and South Islands, was held at the office of Mr J. R. Charlton on August 16. Tho Registration Bill, now before the House of Representatives, was fully discussed, and it was unanimously dfloided to take immediate steps towards the formation of a New Zealand Veterinary Medical Association, Mr Charlton consenting to undertake the work of organisation. Tho "--nual meeting of tlie South Canterbury Threshing Mill Owners' "Industrial Union of Employers was held at Timaru on the 26th ult. It was very poorly attended, ohly seven members being present. Tho balance sheet showed a net credit balance of £9 15s 3d. Some amendments of the rules were adopted to facilitate the working of tli© committee, who have found ifc difficult to get a quorum. An invitation to amalgamate with tho Traction Engino I Owners' (Haiders) Association was declined, as their interests are by no means identical, the threshers' difficulty being labour, the hauk-is' difficulty being with the highway .authorities. Correspondence with the South Canterbury Workers' Union showed that an. to frame an amicable

he agreement for amending th© existing award nd had proved abortive, and it was decided to er- apply to the Conciliation Board to arrange lie the differences between the unions. A resojre lution passed by the Workers' Union was received, condemning the practice of lat threshing out of stcok owing to the loss of >ni time it entails, and demanding that the workmen- should be paid full time at ordi-t-e nary rate of wages when not able to work y, through no fault of their own. The meet"i- I ing passed over this as impracticable. Mr efc I J. Talbot was elected president and Mr 31. j Scannell vice-president. ■se Although the lambing season in this county he .i 3 not yet general (says the Ashburton, c© Guardian) there is already a good sprinka S ling of young lambs in the various districts adjacent to the beach. About the middle iW of this month the-" season on the dry lands 'f 1 will be at its height, and, judging "by the to . , present condition of the breeding ewes, ed taken as a whole, and tlie spring already n " noticeable in the grass pastures, there is every reason to expect a successful lambing m providing the weather proves favourable. * c ! The disease that attacked the ewes prior •" to lambing last year has again made itself ; prominent^ bufc not to any great extent, a iy large number of farmers having benefited by the advice given by Mr Giiruth, Govern- ■ ment veterinary surgeon, in his addressgfe- ■ iivered in Ashburton some 11 months ago under the auspices of the Ashburton Agri- ,, cultural and Pastoral Association. Mr Gilj3j 3 j r uth then pointed out that" to counteract ie the disease it was necessary to provide the a j ewea with green pasture, such as early- < grown oats, say for two hours about mid<j day. Acting on the advice tendered, a number of pastoralists sowed small areas of Le early oats shortly after last harvest, and j where the experiment liae been given a >c fr'k'i .the results have been highly saitisfacn tory in combating the disease above indicated. Owing to the continued liigli price jk j of sheep, the somewhat low market value , r I ruling for oerealsj together with the- -large ft number of breeding ewes imported into 1 the cquntry at the beginning of the year, ifc ,8, 8 is estimated that the lambing in the Ashe burton district this year will constitute, a. (r record. >f , The annual meeting of the Canterbury c I Agrioultual and Pastoral Labourers' Indusie I trial Union of Workers was held at Dar,f field on the 26th ult., the president, Mr W. 0 F. ■ Cooper, presiding. There was a good - attendance of members from the various is districts. The Chairman reported that duril ing the year several meetings hadl been . c- 1 held, at one of which a statement of wages )- j had been presented, and an, organiser (Mij- B. Kennedy) had been appointed to 1 organise for the union in the Canterbury is district. Through his exertions a considern, able number of the country workers had 1- joined the union. The reports of the prosid dent and organiser and the balance sheet 1, were adopted. Officers were elected for the o ensuing year.- It was decided that the .s organiser should' be appointed for a further 0 term. « Farming prospects look bright enough (says the Stratford correspondent of tbe ft Taranaki Herald) to cheer the most invest i crate growler. Bijfc*er is evidently going t to ba worth from €. halfpenny to three fart things- more than last year, .and the weathe* "■ so far , promises abundance of grass. I should not be surprised if Taranaki's out- ? put of dairy produce for the coming season D is worth £100,000 more than the best yet * recorded. J ' Sir Montague Nelson, at the Royal Colo- 1 , nial Institute in London, said that on re- . ■ quest he recently sent a small quantity of ', f -meai to Vienna, bufc it was turned away ■ 3 without even tho railway vans being ■ opened. He reported this to Lord Lans- i x downe, who found that the Austrian Go- < r vernment have decided to exclude .any kind ! fc ?T J; rozen - Produce from the colonies of the I British Empire. f j.t "*■* cJ 1 "? meat and by-product exhibition in < 3 the Sydney Eoyal Exchange, Mr Arthur . Kidman had a very interesting display of , frozen mutton, dressed iv the style his ex- ' f penenee has proved to be most suited to r English demands. The sheep coming down j now are very fat, and realising that tho f consumer will not give the price of mutton • for fat, Mr Kidman removes all Jhe- skirts [ and the fat round tho kidneys, so that tho 3 . carcases look bright and clean inside At- ] 1 tention to many other details results in giv1 ing the carcase a most attractive appear- ' ' a y ce< . } 1 } ard . *° the important matter ] » of weight, Mr Kidman states that anything ; - frcm 301b to 361b is most papular, and the i very limit should be 551b/ Mr Kidmpn , ■ is expecting a busy season, and is buying ] ■ m th© Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney , ■ markets. He has invented and patented on « improved belly set which preatly imnwo? ) ■ the appearance cf tli© carcase. I Tho Earl of Ani%astev has made a rerurn 1 of 20 per e£nt. to his tenantry at the half- c . yearly rent audit of his Lincolnshire estates, { > held a£ Rippingale, in addition to an abate- t 1 rncnt of 10 yvev cent, which ho alTowed dur- T ■ mg the previous half-year. This was a j ' VG *y generous act on the part" of the noble { ' landlord, cspecinlly a^ many of li« Lincoln- t 1 shire tenants made fortune? the. 1 1 potato boom, Mhich was "on" «, and 1 1 a-half aoro. j Tho Goto StancTard states that Mr R " M'Nab, M.H.R., who was jyrauted leave • of absence from _ Parliament the other day, j j and is now at his home at Oore, has come j 1 south in connection with the theft from 1 1 his nronevtv of fVont, Ifin -FninnW^ »i,^. e •-*>

lambs worth up to 27s 6d or 30s each. They were stolen from a flock paddocked near tby homestead during the past three v.eeks.