AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2804, 11 December 1907, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Two vateran shearers, each more- thaa 50 years of age, had a competition at Mangaweka the other day. At the close of the day one had shorn 160 sfteep and the other 159.

Haymaking has already commenced around Mwsterton, and' if the weather continued favourable it was expected to be it* full swing last week. Hay crops are ex» ceptionally good this season, especially ia clover.

" Quite a number of the failures in otheKtrades are dumped into . the raiiks of tho> farm labourers," said a' witness in the farm labourers' dispute in Christchnrch, when he was complaining of the quality of thelabourer whom farmers had on occasions toput up with. As showing to what an extent dairying is carried on, it is interesting to 'earn tnafc no less a sum than £688,495 has been paid out to farmers for milk up- to the present time by the New Zealand Farmers' DairyUnjon. This sum is for milk alone, besides which £75,887 has been paid out forwages, firewood, and carting. An Eketahuna farmer has Just installed* .a milking machine, and he reports^, that, three hands the other morning completedthe milking of 60 cows in 90 Tninutes. He> considers that after three milkings the* cows will give more milk with the machine* than by hand.

Lucerne hay continues to aeJ at very^ high prices. At auction ia Sydney, on. November 18, several truck loads sold at over £7 a ton, the highest price being; £7 15s, within a few shillings of the record, of tho year of the great drought.

The cause of unclean milk is the labour*question, says a Taranaki dairyman. There* are many people just working themselves to death, day and night, because labour could not be got. People tied themselves, in a difficult place, could not get labour, and this, was the chief cause of the trouble about the milk.

At West Wycombe (Bucks) this potato crops were lifted by machinery*.. The machine kept eight men employed "bagging." while "on its own" it did th«> work of another 12.

In the sixteenth century the wool of Eng> land was superior to that of all othettcountriee.

The following 1 are the returns <A stocfe slaughtered during the month of Novemberr at the Ashburton abattoir :-^-Cows; %\ bul*locks and heifers, 81; calves, 6,* pigs, 17» of which 1 was condemned for tuberculosis;} sheep, 693, of whioh 15 were condemned a I.amha SO. v •

A gentleman who has had a good deal to) do with the frozen moat industry during? the past few yean, informed a. -reporter of the Ashburton Guardian that he wattafraid that the export trade would showt a marked decrease this year as fur aa itt referred to Canterbury. "As a result. og the drought," he said, " farmers fenorall* are much understocked, and to ranienisn their stock graziers will be compelled to* keep a number of their ewe lambs. Then, again, my experience teaches me that » good proportion of the breeding flocks are becoming aged, whioh will be another factotf to induce farmers to replace tha cuU» with younger sorts. Every Eve yeara or there»abouts we have had a similar experience in Canterbury gdnoe the inception of the frozen meat export industry." The AshbuTton correspondent of the Chriatchjurch Press states that slaughtering operations will be resumed at the Fairfieli Freezing Works on the 11th inst. Some of the early crops of wheat and oata in the Amberley district are thawing very well in ear. One that htm evoked a great deal of admiration i* on. Mr S. Coleman's Riverside property, and the third crop of the- same cereal in •uccewion. It comprises 44 acres of Tuaoank wheat, and bears promise of .fielding weiL Giving evidence before tho CbiHSiliatioa Board at Timaru on Thursday last, Georg» Murray, runholder. in reply to a question answered: "New Zealand a good oountryf By jove, yes. I have no hesitation in saying that New Zealand is the beat country in the world for the working man," said Mr Murray, with emphasis. " And won*fr you admit," insinuated Mr Kennedy "tha* it is also the beet country for the employer?" "Certainly not. It ia not to b» compared with Somh America for making mone?: There i» better land there thaa your best Temuka land — hundreds of thottr sands of acres of it— and low waget.' "Then why didn't you atop there?" "Well because ftiere was a young lady in- the eaee> a.nd I came back to marry her." "Th«* old stor," said Mr Aoland— "blame th« woman." * Dairy-farmers and factory managers throughout the district (writes the Wairsr rapa correspondent of the Dominion) agreethat, in connection with the forthcomings Government inspection of cow yards, there should be some system which arill not unduly harass the dairyman. Instruction, they say; should come before inspection, and in this matter surprise is expressed that the Department interested hae not already disseminated broadcast sheaves of leaflets with suggested plans of outbuildings, and information dealing with a most important subject. If this wer» done, dairy-farmers would have a ohance -of studying the whole business, would be able to consider »nd weigh the question of cost, a.nd make preparation for it, instead of possibly being forced, at the poim} of a piece of blue paper, to effect reform* forthwith. There are many details upon which the Department might give inform** tion, such as drainage, arrangementa of cow -bails, and locality of milk stages, whloM would be accepted and laid down as fund** mental rules for g-uidanoe. For instance, the locality of the milk eUge ie most important. Some farmers, who may cot havd given the matter thought, pteoe their »tage*» as near as possible to the cow yaros — nortff, south, east or west— without reference to thA prevailing wind. Othen construct a build* ing which is ap open as tho air— a rookerj! for the small birdb— with unsatwfaotory results as to the flavour of the milk. Thes« are. in a wav, small items of importanpew but if the department were to fortbmtlf lay down some suggested regulations, iO would be doing much for a successful con* summation of industrial enterprise. __ The milking machine (saye tha Field) » felowly making ite way into general uss*

Dairy farmers interested in miltuy machinery ihould consult Nimmo and BlaUf about the "Hartn«tt," which i* th« b«f» machine Oft tho m»rket—*

Xf it does not become popular entirely on account of confidence in its utility and efficiency, it seems likely to receive con<d<fexj».l»Jo stimulus fiym another source. It is the old complaint of the difficulty of ©rocurinjf a -sufficient number of milkers, jfor some yeacs hack iess has been heard Of this trouble than -eight or ten years ago-; hut in some parts milkers axe again becoming difficult to obtain, and it is believed that the milking machine -will have to be introduced as "the only means of solving the difficulty. It should tend to relieve £hose who regard the future with anxiety to know that they are deeply pitied by the more venturesome of their number who have already made the plunge. Indeed «on»e of them epeak as if the labour trouble were a blessing in disgniee in their own case, in that it was the- means of inducing teem to try mechanical -milkers; and if this is co in their own case, they rightly maintain that it may apply equally to others. Speaking at an agricultural show luncheon leoeatly, Mr J. £. Ellis, M.P., said he mas one of those mho believed in the old adage that a good horse could not be a bad colour. He did not believe in show points. Be believed in judging the utility of an sjiimal. There had been a. good movement m the. Royal and other shows in favour of judging' animals, especially cows, by weir product. He had kept records for 2) yean himself as to the produce each day of his cows, and the yield had increased year hy year. It was to the farmer's benefit to have these records, and every farmer would agree with him Uiat a good cow cost little more to keep proportionally than o. bad <ow. Accurate records lay at the fcoot of good farming. —Extract sent toy our Cave correspondent. Sheep should bear the stamp and character of the breed they represent. The sire should be iaxpressive, resolute, and of noble bearing, and must have good constitutional *jm vital powers. In selecting a Bire, look flrefc at tiie head. If deficient there, look no further, bat reject at once. Insist upon a head that faces you boldly, with a wide face, a dear,. prominent eye, and a rohust •character throughout. The head should be joined to a well-filled, r.ound, muscular neck. This should be accompanied by a wide ohest, a prominent, well-filled brisket, •aid « full heart -girth, giving straight, even lines from the shoulder hack. The back should be strong, wide, and wellmeated irogi shoulder point to tail. The hrndquartcTß should he full and well let down in the leg and flank. The legs should be placed wide apart and stand straight.