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Otago Witness, Issue 2705, 17 January 1906, Page 6

was distributed amongst the factory suppliers near Manaia. The five companies doing business around Eltham — Eltham, K"gaire, Mangatoka, Lowgarth, and Kaponga—distributed over £21,000. Mr M. Murphy has shown a Lytteltun JTimes reporter several potato leaves obtained from his garden in Armagh street. liinwood. The leaves were covered with an aphis, the iasects crawling over them in &11 directions. The leaves had been dressed three times, but there was -no appreciable effect. Mr Murphy states that the aphis is a species which he believes has not znadg&its appearance here before. Its Tavages in* the east portion of Christchurch are so great that hardly a sound potato can be grown there. The aphis has also appeared in other parts, as plants affected iave been taken to Air Murphy. Notwithstanding the very unseasonable spring and summer months, the wheat and oat crops on the Tokomairiro Plain are, on the whole, looking wonderfully well (says the Bruce Herald), and should we be "fortunate enough to get a few months' good weather the yields will be well up to past averages. It is early yet to say much about the turnip crop. Some very promising crops of oats can fee seen at Pomahaka Downs at present, although perhaps somewhat late (says the .Clutha Leader). A large area is sown with turnips. These are also coming away eati6factorily. Shearing is well advanced, notwithstanding the weather. The- Agricultural- Department reports ihatthe spread "of the potato disease has ■received a cheek in many districts by the spell of hot and dry weatherThe supply of milk delivered at the iWaikouaiti Dairy Factory for the past ithree weeks has averaged 2400 gal daily. The " crops in North Canterbury were , much improved by the rain last week (says the Press). They are in a very backward condition, however, the early oat 6 having Jbut in few caee3 commenced to change colour. Short straw is the rule, and while the oats are heading very well, the wheat will be light. The peas, of which a large area was sown, are looking very well, and the potatoes are in a satisfactory condition, no blight being reported. The Mofcukaike block of the Pareora estate which was recently purchased by a Christchurch syndicate is being- cut up into small farms. Mr Leslie Hunt has made a start on the work of subdivision. A number of freeholders m the Wil'.owfcridge district have forwarded to the Prefiuier a petition against the excessive valuations lately made. They state that their rtland on the north side of the Waihao pays km a rising valuation and if the land tax is •not paid on due date 10 per cent, is added, 'whereas the leaseholders on the other side »«f the river pay a stationary rent and obtain '«a rebate of 10 per cent, if this is paid within one month after due date.— Timaru "Herald. . The potato blight is still making head'.tvay in the Eltham district. There are Lvery few crops in the locality that have 'tnot' been affected, particularly where epraying has not been resorted to. Farm labour is reported to be very scarce in Hawke's Bay and Forty-mile Bush. * Afc the municipal abattoirs in Timaru 153 ibead of grown cattle, 18 calves. 1246 sheep and 1 lambs, and 55 pigs were killed during ithe month of December ; and of these Icow, £ sheep, and 7 pig* were- found to be diseased. The total fees taken at fche=e " abattoirs during the past year totalled £1185 13s 6d, aa compared with £1058 10s 3d in 39M, an increase of £124 3s 3d. The stock slaughtered for the whole of last year was as follows:— 1920 grown cattle, 165 calves. 13,142 sheep and lambs, and 777 pigs. In the United States of America it is a ■violation of the Sanitary Code to hang meat outside the chops. In Sydney and various other cities and towns in Australia it is the common practice. Nothing eooid he filthier. All the du3t of the streets (of .which a large proportion is dried l*-ife onanure) collects on the meat. Dogs lick it, £iea blow it, and ye* the people buy it and allow it to continue. Many of the shops, however, are better, and •the meat there is^generally hung between glass. What is badly required (says iho Australian Meat Trades Journal) is a •ntini«ipal law forbidding butchers from exposing 1 meat. Every consumer also should gue jrheir patronage to "olean meat" shops. It fis time a change was made. Rothamsted has "had many critics, some a-ational and well-informed, a few boorish and ill-mannered, if not ignorai:. At this time of day (observes the Seottvh Farmer - 6f December 2) it seems hardly necessary fco pen an Apologia, for La«vos and Gilbf , I, jbut the Lawes Agricultural I rast Comniittee would appear to have tUoj^St differently. Hence the appearance cf a po>lly {half-guinea volume bearing the title, "The SBook of the Rothamsted Experiments.' It fis from "the pen of Mr A. D. Hall, M.A. ,<oxbn."),' -director of Rothamsted, and is {published by John Murray, Albemarle street, London. It is a book for studente and agricultural professors and lecturers, albeit it contains a good deal of popular •writing, and may bo read with .profit by the average farmer. The future of RothamBted demands some attention, and once anore it is suggested that the nation would [benefit to the greatest extent were it taken ovp.r as a national experiment station by "*he Board of Agriculture. It can scarcely fee said that, under present arrangements, /the public derive much benefit from the {handsome bequest of Sir John Bennet JLaweu, Bart. v

Combinations of farmers for the purchase fof fertilisers, feeding stuffs, and agricultural implements, as well as for the sale ol the produce of the farm, are rapidly growing in importance in France, and no doubt cerve a very useful purpose. Accordling to the report of the Minister of Commerce, the agricultural syndicates, in 1884 existed to the number of 2592, whereas in 2904 there were 3116, or an increase of 524 syndicates with 640,953 members, including 10,091 women. It might be thought from the speeches of the Canadian cattle party in this country {says the Field) that the Dominion farmers nvere greatly aggrieved at the action of the (British Government in abiding by the act of 1896. In all probability there is a strong /party in Canada in favour of the re-opening of British ports to store cattle; 'but it is evident that there is no unanimity of opinion on the other side, any more than an the United Kingdom. As showing that Canadian opinion is not solid on the side of the British agitators, some remarks from an article in the Canadian Farmers' Advocate may be cited. Our contemporary expresses the opinion that the taking away of really pood feeding cattle and finishing them in Great Britain is detrimental to

Canada, and, moreover, the writer correctly interprets the nature of the dissatisfaction in this country when he states that the clamour is not inspired or maintained by farmers or stockmen, but by feeders, those interested in the shipping trade, and others seeking to make a little political capital for themselves.

Ori Wednesday, November 22, the Duke of Devonshire presided at Derby at a meeting of the committee appointed to raise a guarantee fund and to organise local arrangements for next year's royal show. It was stated that the first list of subscriptions amounted to about £2000 of the £5500 required. The Duke said there were doubts whether the amount could be raised, considering the state of trade. He thought, however, that the matter might safely be left to the committee. The Mayor of Derby was appointed treasurer.

"Such conditions prevail In the cottages in some parts of rural England as to make decency impossible and morality a, miracle." Such was the emphatic remark of Sir Walter Foster, M.P., at the annual meeting of the Rural Housing and Sanitation Association, held under the presidency of Sir John Gorst, afc the Westminster Palace Hotel. Painful illustrations of the truth of hia denunciation were given in the pages of the annual report submitted for adoption. For instance (says the Mark Lane Express "of November 27), the inspector relates cf one cottage:— "Roof defective; no through ventilation. Top floor room occupied by father and mother, boy of 13, and four other children, ages 12, 10, eight, andfive. Three sous occupy a ground floor bedroom, . ages 22, 20, and 16. So thafr there are 10 persons in the three rooms. Tenants would like more room if it could be got. In -a, second : — Top floor room occupied by father and mother, boy of 13, and three girls of 11, seven, and four years respectively. The room has no through ventilation. Tenant would like more room." The association has, however, in sexeral instances, been able to bring about reforms by its appeals to owners and to the sanitary authorities. An interesting speech followed from Mr G. Fairfax Cholmeley, who rather deprecated the idea, that cottages could not be built to pay. He gave an account of his own work in building cottagea at a cost of £150 a-pieoe at Brandesby in Yorkshire.

Owing to tho lateness of the spring and the changeable and unfavourable weather experienced recently, the harvest this year in the Ashburton district will be unusually late. The yield is expected to be well up to the average.

Ab last week's meeting the Levels County Council authorised its solicitors to engage counsel to co-operate with Mr Raymond in defending the appeal of Messrs Wig-ley and Thornley to the Court of Appeal against the decision of Mr Justice D-enniston in tho case cf the County Council against appellants for damaging a road by traction engine haulage. It was agreed to request that the County Councils in South Canterbury should share the expense of opposing the appeal, as all are more or les3 interested in upholding the rights of county councils to obtain compensation for excessive damage to roads. The Chairman stated that tho appallants were being backed up by the other engine owners and by engine importers. Potato growers know generally that spraying has an effect in modifying the ravages of disease when the malady is apt to be prevalent in the potato crop. But it seema al c o to have a marked effect in increasing tho weight of the crop even when disease is not present. This year (say 3 the Field of November 25), Mr M. G. " Wallace, Terreglestown, Dumfries, who is one of the tliree or four largest growers of potatoes in Scotland, carried out an experiment to test this point, and the results obtained" are so marked as to bs worth recording. The variety grown was the Langworthy, which, although not a large cropper as a rule, is orfi th© finest quality. Several acres were grown alongside of each other, some being left unsprayed, while the others were twice (-■prayed in the course of the season. The whole of the potatoes have now been dug and carefully weighed, and the result 3 are as follows: — Unsprayed: Ware. 8 tons 4owt pen acre; seed. 3 tons 2owt; "brock." lOcwt— -total. 11 tons 16cwt. Twice sprayed : Ware, 9 tons 16cwt per acre ; seed, 3 tons lOcwt ; "brock," 12cwt— total, 13 tons 18cwt. In neither case was there any disease, so that the increase in the sprayed crop must be put down entirely to the beneficial effect of that operation. Spraying is not very expensive, and shoTild Mr Wallace's experience be confirmed by that of other growers; it moans that the general crop of the country might be considerably increased without any very extravagant outlay. - - ■ In the Mark Lane Express of November 27 tho contributor of "Sheep Notes writes:— Quite recently Mr W. O- Rennie. of Canterbury. New Zealand, has secured from Mr D. Hume, of Barrelwell, Brechin, a valuable selection of etud sheep— a ram and two yearling ewes. It will be of interest to note that Mr D. Hume sent his Highland show champion ram last year to New Zealand, and another order this year i 3 indicative that satisfaction has been given, or otherwise no ~econd lot would have been wanted from the same flock again this season. Hitherto the flockmasters of New Zealand have been content to run one Flock Book operative for the whole colony, in which all the different English breeds have been represented. The Kent or Romney Marsh sheep breeders have now found themselves strong enough to run a society of their own. The first volume of their Flock Book has recently come to hand, and it is a matter of gratification to find that tho principal rules of this soc-iety are counterpart with those that have led to the successful career of the parent association for this breed at home.

The second show of the National Potato Society, held in the Horticultural Hall, Westminster, on November 23 and 24, has taken place under circumstances very different from those which 6urrounded the initial exhibition. This year the potatogrowing pursuit appears to be about a^ quiet and uneventful as it was exciting a twelvemonth ago, a fact which indicates that the excitement and extravagant prices which then obtained had no solid or enduring foundation, but were highly superficial and temporary. While the boom must have made money for pome, and loft a great many considerably the poorer (says the Field), there is good reason (o believe that it was productive of a considerable amount of benefit. It certainly served to direct attention to the importance of raising new varieties as tho one and only means of staving off disaster as a result of dwa«e. All new introductions are not etjually effectual in resisting fungoid enemies, but there is abundant evidence to chow that susceptibility, to disease increases in proportion to lose of

vigour in the variety, and as the latter arises mainly from prolonged and intensive cultivation, or rather reproduction, it follows that the beat security which growers can obtain apart from systematic, spraying and competent management generally is in placing their confidence in the newer and stronger sorts. But the boom had at least one other good result, and that ia that it undoubtedly led to the institution of the society under whose auspices this interesting exhibition has been held. The National Potato Society is only yet in its infancy, but there is a wide field wherein it may give a good account of itself. Even in promoting aTi exhibition such as that witnessed at Westminster, it deserves well of all interested in the production and marketing of the tuber crop. But its efforts on behalf of the pursuit are by no means restricted to the holding of a chow; its sphere of work and influence covers the whole subject of potato-growing, and although the scope of its operations has not been properly defined so far, the intention of the promoters is U> render the institution practically serviceable to every class of grower. In view of the reported prevalence of both old and new varieties masquerading under popular names to which they have no claim, it will be recognised that there is abundant work .for an organisation of the kind to accomplish. A visitor to Waimate last week informs the Timaru Herald that the crops seen along the line are generally looking healthy and well, but the majority of them are rather thin. Notable exceptions to tins are a paddock of wheat at Makikihi Kailway Station, another a iittle further on, ■ and a few more towards Studnolme. Turnips are coming or somewhat unevenly in many cases. Potatoes look quite healthy . and fetrong. Haymaking is in hand, juid a spell of fine weather is desirable to enable this work to be got through. The oxeye daisy is making itself conspicuous about, Studholme, the railway reserve especially being white with the flower of this weed. A machine, recently invented by Mr A. L. J. Tait, for treating New Zealand flax, was (says the Melbourne Argus) shown at work on the 3rd inst. at South Melbourne. The green flax leaves arc fed into the machine one at a time, and are taken by feed-rollers against the face of a large revolving drum, with an intermittent rubbing action against a c\ishion plate. This disintegrates the green fleshy substance from the fibre, which is ihen carried along by an endless belt under a spray of water, where revolving scrapers press out the juice and colouring matter. The fibre leaves the machine in long, straight strands, of good colour, and requiring very little scutching. Mr Tait say 3 that additions which can be made to the machine dry the fibre, scutch it, and leave it ready for baling, but these were not. shown at work on the 3rd inst. The inventor intends to take his machine to New Zealand, where the flax industry is an extensive one. The Dublin Farmers' Gazette of November 18 writes: — "From the proceedings at the interview held on Wednesday between Sir Horace Plunkett and the deputation appointed at the meeting in Limerick lust week, it is apparent that the department recognise the extent of the grievances from which the Irish butter trade suffers, and which have been brought so forcibly under their notice ; as a result the Vice-presi-dent- has agreed to the appointment of an inspector, whose duty it will be to look after tho interests of Irish butter on the English markets ; but although admitting his willingness to take this step, signified the necessity for the sanction of the Agricultural Board, which no doubt will be readily given. It is to be hoped the action decided: upon will accomplish the end it has in view, and That genuine Irish butter will no longer he handicapped by some of the sharp practices which are apparently still being carried on." In the American Sheep Breeder for , November "Ancient Shepherd" discueses , the present and future prospects of the sheep 33 follows: — "The present condition of the sheep interests furnishes much food for careful thought and study by all the interests concerned. The official figures relating to thi3 interest go to show that there has been a redutcion of several million in the numbers of the sheep existing during the past year o>" two. There were very nearly 64 million sheep in the year 1903, and in 1905 only 45 million. Here is a reduction of 19 millions, or nearly onethird, in the number of sheep existing in two years. Were it not for the apparent rottennoss of, part of the Agricultural Depal tment at Washington, with which this part of the Government is connected, and which has been apparent to those conoerned in relations with it, it might be much more deeply interesting to some of us than it is; for while the falling off in numbers is so very considerable, there i«, curiously enough, no apparent result in thr» prices of sheep, although there is a considerable advance in the value of wool. This is, however, a sufficient equivalent to the sheep owners, for this additional ■ income the present year has been generally equivalent to at least 40 per cent, of the a\erage value of the sheep. Thus there is this remainder, as we may say. to go to the credit of the flocks and to increase their value to the shepherds."

Included in the cargo of the s.s lonic, which left Wellington on Friday for London, were 14,399 bales wool, 48,482 boxes and 467 kegs butter, 2775 crate 3 cheese, 10 371 carcases mutton, 12,826 lambs, and 236 porkers, besides tallow, hemp, and other products.