WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 21

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

(Fno-t Ou» Own Coeresfokdent.) ! The West Coast has been fortunate in escaping- the heavy easterly Th« gales that have been raging Weather. in the north-east. We • had dirty, cold ' weather until Monday, when frost took possession, with bright sunshine, which is very enjoyable, 'and if it will only la6t farmer s. should soon be able to get on with ploughing turnip . ground. But turnip land takes a lot of drying, more especially if the turnips were eaten off during wet weather. There is a fair area of turnips standing yet, which shows that the erop^must have been a fair j average one, or else the good growth of ' grass in the autumn may account to some > extent for their standing 6O well. Strange : that there should be such an. abundant rainfall in the North Island, while a couple ■ of hundred miles away in the South they are experiencing a disastrous drought. It reminds us of Australia when we hear of farmers having to cart water in midwinter, and stock having to be railed to other < districts to graze. _ > .' i Owing to so much rain there has been a j great deal of trouble in get- . Sheep • ting the crutching done. Crate-Ing. Perhaps I am. too olcf and * conservative, but I muet again enter a protest about the cruel way some have of crutching their cheep. One cold, stormy day lately I noticed a lot of sheep in a bare, bleak paddock with their ( heads turned to the storm — a most unusual thing on such a day. (Of course cheep will always feed towards the wind in decent weather.) On looking for the reason it was evident that it was due to the brutal way their hinder parts had been denuded of the natural covering by the system of crutching adopted. The wool had been taken off from above the tail all over the breech to well in front of the udder. There is no necessity for or gain by such procedure. Certainly cheep must be kept clean, but if sheep are properly fed and looked after a • very little wool taken off when dagging is all that is required, and long-woolled lambing ewes may be all the better of a few snips being taken off round the udders. Where the country is rough and the paddock large and difficult to master there may be some excuse for taking a bit of clean wool 'off, but there can be none with email flocks where the sheep can be got into the yards at any time in less than an hour. There muet be a monetary loss, too, because the death rate is liable to be greater, especially among the ewes, as the cold acting on the exposed part is likely to bring on mflamtnarion. We hear farmers bragging of the sjovd c\ eques they have received For crutch.ngs. Certainly they may take a half-pound or more wool off now, for which they may got 6d per lb, but when it comes to shearing they will be a' full pound short, for which they would get lCd per lb. I know that lam in the minority on this question. -■z JW _ There was a decided rise in tTTfI price of store sheep at -Feilding on Sheep Friday. Ewes in lamb Market. ' fetched up to 355, and hoggets 16s, the northern buyers being again in evidence. Fat sheep ! are getting scarce, so much co that Wani ganui freezing works have closed down, and are not likely to start agajn. before Ootober. Some 12 months ago the editor sent me some seed of paspalum Pwp-lnm grass. I gave it to Mr S. Grass. Strachan, head master of the Halcombe School, who is an enthusiast in experimenting with seeds. Previous to my giving him the small packet he had sown. 6ome 12 months before, so that the grass has now had a fair trial of two years on the stiff clay lands at F ilcombe. It is found wanting. Mr Strachan tells me that it made fair growth during warm weather, but was no use in winter, cocksfoot and rye being far ahead of it in every way as a fodder. I have heard of others that have given it a trial, and they express the same opinion. Paspalum is, therefore, not likely to be much cultivated on the West Coast. The growing of lucerne is often advocated, and the great crops produced in Australia are quoted, people forgetting that Australia and the Argentine have sub-tropical climates. In introducing new fodder plants ' the first thing to consider is their habitat,

as few are useful but of it, although there , are exceptions. Thie is the season when dairymen generally enjoy their holdings, Dftiryi-g. whether freehold, leasehold, or working on 6hares. In looking over, the local paper I note between Palmerston to Wanganui there are about two cow sales a day advertised, and during the past fortnight a large number of dairy cows have changed hands. Prices on an average at bona fide clearing sales are, I consider, a little higher than last year's. Decent herds average about £6 to £7 a head, some odd beasts going up to £10 and £12. Jerseys and Jersey crosses appear to be most in favour, especially purebred pedigree bulls. Mr Lancaster, the famous Palmerston breeder of Jerseys, reports that he ha« sold £500 worth this season, and he has only now for disposal a few calves. Mr F. Moore, of Kai-Iwi (who purchased Mr G. Stuckey's Rangituma herd of Herefords and the famed imported Clydesdale sire Banoor from Mr Walter Blakie at the record price of £1000 last year) evidently intends adding another stud herd, laving purchased from Mr Lancaster the pedigree Jersey bull" Te Rimu, a son of Starlight (imported by Mr G. A. M'Rea from Mr Chirnside's Jersey herd, Victoria). At the same time he secured 16 choice heifers, so that shortly we may expect to see 'Kai-Iwi Jerseys as noted as the Herefords. It is promising for the stability of our purebred herds when 'young men like Mr Moore show such enthusiasm by acquiring the beet blood that comes on the market. Ayrshires do not seem to be so much appreciated as they were a few years ago. It is notified that Mr -S. Standen, one of •our most prominent breeders of Ayrshires, is giving up dairying, and his whole herd is to be sold on 31st July, when a large number "of high-class cows v ill ot'me under the hammer, including- the unbeaten cow Princess May and her daughters Peeress, Petulance, and Princess Royal. This sale should-be a guide as to how the Ayrshire, are thought of in the north. Another record sale of dairy cows and of breeding sows is advertised for the same date. I suppose the date of one of them will be altered. The first is that of Mr James Skerman, who has been dairying near Palmerston for over 35 years without irtermission. This hesd must be on© of the beet in the colony, as Mr Skerman Las iVYoted his whole attention to dairying during that long period, and his cheese and .bacon stands unrivalled to-day, as it has done for 30 years. Mr Skerman having sold hie property I suppose this means his retirement altogether. It is a pity to see such a. herd and connection thrown to the four winds of heaven. How seldom it is that a son steps in and takes his father's place in +he colony, as is the case in the Homoland. It has often been a wonder to me why the Maoris did not milk a The Maori cow or two at their pas, as itilkeri. and I have often tried to persuade them to do so, seeing that they are very fond of both milk and butter. Although I lived many years alongside of a pa, I could never get them to have anything to do with a COW, sheep and horses being their hobby, and, of j course, pigs also. It is reported now that in some districts they are taking to the business, and doing good work. This shows that the Maori is far from degenerating. But until the Native lands are individualised there can be little hope of expansion in Maori dairying. While they are forced to live as Socialists there can be no encouragement to improve their position ; and improve they would if given the chance, as can be eeen when one 61 them gets a bit of land that he can call his own. He soon adopts pakeha methods — aye, and sometimes improves on them. There are some- that I know who, having received a dividend out of lands sold to the Crown, havo bought farms and' are making money. Why the impression reigns that the Maoris are only children, and should be treated a 6 such, I fail to understand. The majority of the younger generation are nearly — some of them quite — a3 keen business men as the Europeans, and I doubt if many more of them would make ducks and drakes of their patrimony than what happens amongst ourselves. Dairying^ ehould just be into the Maoris' hands, as a great deal of the land held by them is admirably adapted for such purposes. There is no good reason why a Maori factory should not take the shield at Palmerston winter show for butter ; some day, when our legislators learn to treat them as men. The rabbit pest is still on the increase up at Apiti and Tight up on ' Rabbits. the foothills of the Ruahine ranges. A meetidy was held last week to devise ways and mean* ! of combating the scourge. The Waituna Rabbit Committee have decided to start simultaneous poisoning one day this week. The majority of farmers are now olive to I the necessity of taking concerted action to at least minimise the plague. I fear there is little hope of extermination in the broken bush country, there being so much cover. The rabbit inspectors seem to have great faith in poison, but many have doubts, and argue that grass being so and succulent rabbits will not care for poliard pills, and that, the numbers bcinjr comparatively email and scattasei], it is hardly

possible to put the baits where the rabbits are. Poisoning is not a very expensive v item, so I would advise everyone to use it. They should take a leaf out of Mr L. E. Jackson's book, who said it a meeting the other day:~"My instruction to my shepherds and workmen is, when they see & rabbit or sign of one to leave everything and endeavour tc kill it, or find out the burrow and dig it out." D< not depend ' on poison alone, but adopt any other method except trapping, there being so many natural, enemies which it would be a great mistake to destroy by traps. > j ANTTQUA*bVIS.