WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 21

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Glorious summer weather has prevailed — a bit too warm for some Tfce folk, but it is impossible to Weather. please everyone. Even farmers can find (something to grumble about, but they must be hard put to it in such weather as this. The growth of .all kinds of vegetation is groat—especially weeds,— and there is now every hope that grain-growers will reap a fair average crop, although in some cases it will be very belated. Once again the value of what many of us poor mortals consider disaster is in view. The scarcity of labour is the farmers' chief bugbear. The wet spring caused a big gap between' the sowings of grain, and the harvest time will be a. long one. The scarcity of labour will thus be minimised. Some -very early sown oats are getting white, and some reaping will be done before the New Year— that is, for chaffing purposes. In all probability harvesting will be going on for the next three months in the Manawatu and Kangitikei districts! On rich alluvial soils weeds arc the greatest pest the farmer has to Weeds. contend with, especially "docks." The past season # has been about perfect- for propagating them, and they are now much in evidence in many crops. There is no royal road to 'eradicate weeds, and on _ good land docks certainly take the cake. Hand-pulling is the- only satisfactory, way of contending with them, but labour being so scarce and expensive -makes this plan prohibitive if there is any great area to be dealt with. The only alternative is to sow infested j»ddocKs in grass. This will not kill the dock, but once the grass gets a good footing not many make an appearance. -Some years ago we had a real dirty field «own down, and the docks came up as thick as the hairs on a cat's back. When they were up high enough for the mower to cut them (that was, before they went to seed) we -Nit them down as close ac possible. The

next year there werej but few to be seen, except along the hedgerows, which were cut with the scythe. That field was again brought into cultivation two years ago, and I am told there- was hardly a dock to be seen. Against this I must give another instance at variance with this result. Some 10 years ago a 20-acre field was broken up tnat had been in grass for 10 years. I was told it was quite clean when laid down; but what a crop of docks we got the first year! It was decided to try and clean . it, and a lot of boys and one old man ' were set to work to pull them out and cart them off. Without having seen the heaps taken off, no one would hardly credit ' the quantity: The soil was loose river bed deposit, and showery weather -made the hand-pulling possible. It cost over £2 an acre for the first season. The following year the cost was considerably less. The land was fairly clean when sown out, and there were no docks amongst the grass. Thie field was also broken up last year, and the docks are about as plentiful as they were 10 years ago. The clean field turns up dirty, and the dirty clean, which is unaccountable, except on the supposition that seed had been lying dormant for years. I have seen docks cut with the reaper and binder and carted into heaps and burned. Many would consider this, -was the result of bad management; yet the owner of this particular farm was 'considered by his neighbours one of the best managers in the district. But he could not cope with docks. In the bush country which is now being stumped and ploughed after having been in grass 25 to 30 years," docks are everywhere in evidence. Some think they are inherent to the soil, which is not probable. Bow, then, did the seed get there? Certainly some may have been sown with the grass in the first instance, but again there were some careful men among the settlers, who wese particular about see'Tiz- the seed was free from weeds,' even in those rough early times, and they are having the same experience. Not a dock to bo seen until the ground was turned over with the plough. However the docks got there, they are there. The man who can formulate a met nod of eradicating them at a payable price has his fortune made. With respect to weeds that come under the Noxious Weeds Act, the Califbrnian thistle is the greatest pest. On the low agricultural lands there is not much to be seen, and farmers generally are taking measures to eradicate it altogether; but on the hilly bush country, where it has got a footing, it looms large as- an undertaking to even keep it from increasing, and many -Mlhnen have been at their wits' end how to keep it from seeding, there being no labour that will take on thistle-cutting. Now that it has become established amongst the logs and stumps in broken country, it has become a most serious matter to the owners of the land. It would tfeke a regiment of men to find every plant on a 1000-acre farm. The hill farmers must be given every credit for their exertions in keeping down the weeds with the means at their command. Farmers in the north are at last awakening to the fact that their Labs-ur geographical position is not Uaioa. going to prove a sufficient barrier to the incursion of the perambulating agitators of the Farm Labourers' Union. So far as I can understand they have not received much support in the ranks of the workers. A 1 branch of the Shearers' Union has been formed at Hunterville; — that is the only district on this coast at all likely to maintain a branch, Hunterville- being the centre of the large holdings. Even there there is only a very limited number. However, it is not the Shearers' Union that farmers have to fear, as they are now paying fully better money than what the union demands, and shearing is- not a big item to the ordinary small farmer. But the Farm Labourers' Union demands are quite another matter. Not much exception is taken to the wages demanded, as good men have for years been receiving better money than is asked. The trouble comes when the incapable, lazy, or negligent man or boy has to receive the same money as the trustmorthy man. Every farmer and all the better class of workers condemn with no uncertain expression* -the limitation of the working hours and the number of holidays asked for. Shortly stated, the position of labour on the Coast is as follows: — On farms unconnected with dairying very few farmers employ more than one or two .hands regularly all the year round, and when single men are employed they in many instances have their meals with the farmer's family, and often become one of the family by marrying a daughter. When I look round and count heads, I find that 50 per cent, of the workers in the agricultural districts are relatives of the employer, and in some measure have a common interest in the well-doing- of the farm. Even when strangers are 'employed they are treated as one of the family. One of the first requisites is that the applicant should bo of good character. On larger farms, when the owners are well-to-do, married men are usually engaged at good wages, including many perquisites which would be hard to value in money. As to the limitation of working hours, it is scarcely recognised. A system of give-and-take is the rule. If a job wants doing and the weather is favourable, 10 hours is not thought too long, and at clack times the

men take a holiday or an, afternoon to run into town. In .fact, many employees take & greater interest in the work than the owner of the farm does. Thie may be considered by many as a Utopian state of things between master and man; still numbers^- of such' cases are met with, and neither employer nor employed wish to be interfered with by the State. At the same time it has to be admitted Jhat all employers do not treat their men in this ideal manner, and there are farms where neither the food ' nor the accommodation is what it should be. But under present conditions these niggardly em- ' ployere have to pay the penalty, in that they can only get the incapables to work for them. Unionism and Socialism are only retarding the day when the rights of the workers will be generally recognised. They may and do ' demand from the employer present gain, but what they lose is incalculable. First there is the Ices of individualism, all being brought down to one common level. It is impossible to level up every thing. "Even a field of earth cannot be levelled up. The tops of the hills must be cut down to fill up the' low places, just as thcTßuperior man must take his place with the -inferior when he joins union. The plea is put forward by the Labour leaders that the labourer is no"t getting his fair chare of the late enhanced value of farm products. Would the -labourer receive less mo-ney 6ix or seven years ago when gain and wool were at such a low price that in many instances farms were being carried on at a loss, the whole returns from produce not paying working expenses, let alone paying any interest on capital? I fear not. To the farmers' credit be it said that they never attempted to lower wages, although they Jiad to personally economise' in many ways. Some system of profit-sharing may seem feasible in theory, but with regard to farm work is absolutely impracticable, for the reason that on many occasions there are no profits to share, and the labourer would have to get a living wage out of capital. Then it is questionable if' many farmers make much, money to-day, even with the high prices ruling for stock and grain, when the valuation of the land is considered. Knowing the Australian wheatgrowing country personally, I am quite at one with Professor Lowne, " That there is more- money to be made there than thereis on' £30 an acre land in New Zealand." Of course, the man who bought land at £6 oi £7 an acre eight or" ten years ago that is now celling at £20 is having ,a fairly good time. But I have in my mind a who bought at £20 an acre. The rent by way of interest and taxes is now something like 22s 6d an acre instead of 7s a decade since. There is etiil another factor. The wool sales that have been held throughout the Dominion this last month shows that farmers must accept 2d per lb lees than last year. Twopence is not much by itself, but when multiplied by 165 millions — which was last year s export or wool — it means very clob*> to a million and a-half sterling. Would the worker be will-, ing to have his share of the decreased value taken off his last vear'e wages? Not he. No; profit-sharing is altogether out of the question, and the majority of worker* quite understand it is so and wish for no alteration in their mode of disposing of what they have to sell — namely, labour — with whatever intelligence they can bring with it, and for which the northern farmer is prepared to pay full yalue^-especially for the intelligence. It is quite certain the Arbitration Court will be in the North Island next year, and farmers will be cited and have to abide by the decision of the court. What are farmers doing, or what do they intend to do to protect themselves ? The answer must be, " Not much." The only satisfactory solution "for the North Island is that the farming- industry should be exempt from the operations of the Arbitration Court. It is hopeless to expect this. Some farmere advocate letting the case before the court go by default, with the idea that tEe heavier the penalties imposed the sooner the union will see the impossibility of these being carried out, for as yet the law does not' compel a man to cultivate his fields. In the event of a rigorous restriction on the hours of labour, etc., being awarded, the only alternative will be to let the land revert to a sheep walk, where the farmer can do all the necessary labour himself. The labourer will then find himself without wages and with enforced holidays. Such things have happened before to-day, and may take place again, although I hope not. It is a sad sight to see one Who begs a brother of the eariji To give him leave to toil. The status of labour to-day is vastly improved since those lines were penned, and in this district they misrht be reversed. The whole question is really one of supply and demand. When the price of land and labour combined reaches figures that it becomes unprofitable to grow cereals, then the cultivation of such crops will be abandoned and the farm labourer dispensed with. Farming is. a business, and like every other trade or business, It may be carried on at a loss for a year or two waiting for a return of better times to recoup the loss. But a losing business cannot be carried on indefinitely, and the world's markets determine what product* of the farm can be grown at a profit. No legislative measures or Arbitration Court pjaaid can in. aaj way alter the price of j

products, and although we have been raised to the status^)f a Dominion, we have to abide the issue. The sooner the working man thoroughly understands this the sooner we jvill get over this unrest and friction between employee and employer. ANTIQUA OVIS.