AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

" There are two things the New 2?ea» land dairy farmer and the Government da not find .It easy to take," said Mr Kinsella, late New Zealand Dairy iCommissioner, recently in Western Australia. "One is * medicine, and the other is advice. For six long years I kept this .question before' tihe people of that Dominion by lectures, by bulletins, and by practical demonstrations with the Babcock test, and it is only -aeeently that the Government and the dairy men themselves have awakened to the fact that they have "been for years milking about one-third of the oows -in the Dominion at a loss. ''Men carrying on dairying on land valued at £25 to £40 an acre cannot ■afford to milk cows for 33 weeks in * season for 3s 2d per week, and it is no wonder that such farmers are amazed when they find the cow„alongside- of the.3s- 2& one producing 10s ~7d per week." Another result of the drop in thepric* of wool has been that one or two steamers at present loading in the Dominion -are unable to obtain, full -cargoes.. '3bhia, -sa a shipping agent explained to a Timaru Herald reporter, is due to the faot ihafc some owners of "wool are "holding 'backtwith the object of again offering -their products at the next sale, while others are shipping direct to London, but being in no hurry i;o*feet -their wool "-on :to -a ,low market -are shipping per sailing veseel at . a lower freight than that charged by steamers. One Wellington shipping agent ie, said to have .as many as .eight sailing vessels chartered for the conveyance of wool to the 'Home markets. The agents of the steamship lines anticipate that now that the ■freezing works 'have reopeirsd -there will be no dearth of -cargo fhroughout the autumn and winter. Some farmers in the Geraldine district disposed of their new season's oats coma time ago when the crops were still green, and it would appear' that in selling ohem at 2s 6d per busnel for delivery'when ripe, they did a'good stroke of business, as this price is not now obtainable for new oats, It was stated at "the ,"Farmers' "Ulrica meeting at Halcombe to consider the shearers' demands that one farmer, whose flock consisted of a pet lamb, had been cited in the dispute. What is. probably a shearing record for Monaro (New South Wales) was put up at Delegate Station one day this season, when eight shearers, including two learners, short 1178 merino sheep. TShe principal tallies were:—S. G. Bingley, 187 -B. Hollingworth, 177; J. White, 175; ,B. .Abercrombie,- 157. The time worked "was "7hrs smin. I '/• An exchange says there -is no betterl way cq make a boy .stick to the farm than to give him 'a few sheep and teach him how to care for, them, and allow him the proceeds from his little flock. You will ba onfc -very little,' and you will be surprised how ' muoh he will make on the small investment compared with some of his father's larger The best oheesa made in Switzerland ie usually exported, and is seldom to be had ■even in the famous hotels of that country. A correspondent asks the Press the date of the arrival of the first reaper and binder m Canterbury, and that journal replies: — "We believe that -the first triajgaof an American reaper and binder, which probably approximated pretty closeJy dto 'the arrival of the dßrst machine, -took place at Hiecarton on January 8, 1877, 'the machine being a Walter A. Wood. 0 In only one department -(says Gountry* liifo) had the "English farmer got in ironfc of all rivals, and that is the one, as ifc Tiappens, which is least profitable to 'him now. He could, at his best, grow -inor«j wheat to the acre than any Other cultivator in ihe world, "but 'this has ceased to "be his main crop, and there are not many other departments in which' he stands ftrst. The sudden drop in the milk Bupnly -was responsible -for a Carterton cheese, -factory incurring demurrage fees to the Railway "Department. Six trucks had been ordered for the conveyance of cheese to Wellington for shipment on the" lonic, but' only *ive trucks could '&* filled. It is stateo by" the, Kaikoura^ Star that Messrs John U'lnnes and tJ. Hailes have bad crops of 12 and 10 acres, respectively,' completely ra.va.ged by caterpillars. It is perfectly useless; to cut the^ crops, so thoroughly .have The insects -done their destructive work. '. - • "As a r»Bult of the dry-season the potato «rop 'at ABhburtom -'is"said to be^a failure. There does not appear to have been enough moisture in 'the soil to induce the growta of the tubers, and one potato of fair size and a. numbr about as large as sparrow eggs aTe found to be the produce of most plants,' especially in the case of the latesown varieties. In Bwanspv country, »n<» in those instances where potatoes have been Bystematicallv irrigated, the crops -axe said •to be promising. Seports of tlw» cocksfoot harvest on tn» Peninsula generally are more favourable as the cutting proceeds (writes the Akaroa correspondent of the Ohristehuroh Press), and the shortage in the yield will not be ep great as was at first anticipated. The bu.k of the seed is clean, though light, but ia some places both bright and heavy. The dry, hot weather continues, and consequntly paddocks .have ripened fast. Outside iabour is very scarce, and fnom Is 6d to 2s per hour is 'being offered for reapers. Some few paddocks are now cut out. Rain would be beneficial to help the headis to shed freely when being threshed. Harvest hands are daily arriving m -Ashburton laays fhe Guardian), and are a« quickly being engaged-by farmers. A number of the threshing mills are yet to b» staffed, and" when stacking becomes .gen«* ral, which will bo in the course of a 'littlt* over a week, a large number of men .will be required. So far the 'farmers 'have "beer* able to do a. great -deal of their own "harvest in .consequence of the -con* tinued xirv -weafiher. The following -items of are iron*

the Field of November 16 : — The National Sheep-breeders' Association has not beei successful in inducing the Australian and .New Zea'and authorities to shorten the quarantine which sheep imported from this country are required to undergo. -British stouk-owners will sympathise witb tiieir colonial customers in their determina-tion'-to preserve their flocks and herds from pos&ible contamination ,- with infectious •diseases, and in suggesting a curtailment of the quarantine period they do not wish to diminish the degree of security afforded by the existing regulations. Thej contend, "however, and with good reason, that the existing conditions are needlessly severe. To require cheep to be retained" in quarantine 30 days aftex a six-weeks' sea voj'age eeenra unnecessary, for it is clear that if the animals were infected with any disease , it would reveal iteelf long before they ' reached the Australian ports. It would be quite different, if they had: been isolated foi only &« week, but - nine or ten weeks of seclusion is- excessive, and- can have but the one effect of- restricting, the. business between, the two countries. The Australian view> is- that it has cost them an^enormous sum to rid J the country of sheep scab, and that- no measure*- are too" severe which will prevent the possibility of a reintroduotion of this troublesome disease. They suffer as much as this country does from the hindering effects of the -quarantine regulations, but they would rather be contented vrith smaller introductions .of replenishing stock than undergo a repetition of their past experiences with sheep scab. — Potato growers, who are storing their crops with all possible speed," are confidently, anticipating, a. remunerative season. The year oC plenty is seldom the most profitable to potato growers, any more than to producers of' hops.; indeed^ the case is usually the reverse, a bountiful yield being the precursor ..of low- prices and small _ gross Revenues. Within certain limits it is the price- per, given quantity which controls ihe- profit to the producers of such speculative 1 crops as hops and potatoes. This year, in striking- contrast to. last, has been precarious forr both the crops- mentioned, both Having beenrat different times on the verge. of" ruin ; yet the yield in. either case is not by any means bad_, but the quality is variable, and only in a few- instances of the highest Btandard. Potatoes have suffered'from the excessive rains- v and'' want* of J sunshine, and it is- feared that" their keepiiig* properties have been depreciated, and it v this uncertainty- as to the- character of the supply a few months- later on rather than present, scarcity that is influencing the market so-yitally- in- favour of the grower. /■ If" present predictions are- realised prices •will approach famine level in the- spring, a-nd the fear, of" this happening makesdealers' anxious to buy and farmers reluctant to sell, and hence the substantial prices- that axe obtaining at" the present>ti*ne. In the northern- markets potatoes <r average, quality are fetching £4 10s or more per ton 1 , and Scottish growers, who prefer to sell Hie crop, in the ground, arecommanding £30 per acre. Thus a season that at one time looked likely to end in disaster is turning' out one of the most prosperous in modern experiences. All through the Ellesmere district (says the Christchurch Press of the 10th in6t.) grain- is ripening rapidly; and crops are ' now falling freely before the reaper. In quite a number of oases yesterday threshing from the stook was going on, especially of ryegrass crops, barley, and oats. Tn spite of the dry season there aTe some very fine grain crops in the district, but root crops — particularly potatoes — are -languishing under • the long-continued dryness, esm^cially on- lighter land. Writing on Thursday lasik the Waimate correspondent of the Lyttelton Times re ports-: — It is gratifying to be able to record that in spite of" the dry season and the con-^ tinued spell of absolutely tropical weather — " our hottest day was 93.5 in the shade — the crrps are looking excellent, and from one > end of Waimate district to the other growers speak, of the prosDeets as- beingvery good. On the Willowbridge and JStudholme Junction heavy lands, wheat is expected to do well in the driest season, and this year it has come up to expectaiions, even the straw being- almost as lengthy as in moist years. On the dry shingle lands near Glenavy both crops and feed are abundant, the ground probably having had extra work put into it, thus the moisture 'which was so 'abun'darft at- the beginning of the year. Round Bedcliff, through the Waikakabi Valley into the Waihaorunga and Waihao Valley and Eapuna districts, aloncf the outskirts of the town to the Hook, Hunter, and Makikihi, i the tale is the same — good crops. Of course, there are exceptions, but for these ihere is a cause. Straw is not as plentiful, and some say that the very hot weather haa forced the grain too fast for filling, but this is not the "general opinion, and it •is rare to find even the farmer- " gTOw'insr." j Jlarvest operations will be very much earlier this 6eason; in fact," oats are now being j out in every direction, and barley will 60on ; fee ready for the machine. There is_ a j keen demand for men, and ' the uninterrupted sunshine may make harvesting even more of a rush than usual. vTbe- wh'eat-erowlng experiments out at Ihe Garforth Farm of the Leeds Collge of "do, npt encourage the- expectation of benefit from the "cultivation jf \ Canadian wheats. _ The- Domimon varieties Included in" the trials have given a poor. . i*ccQunt of, themselves. At first taex jtu*J*h<i

J scantily, but in the matter of prolificacy a they have steadily improved, although, und fortunately, the improvement has been at a the expense of quality. It wouid appear i that a3 the imported samples become acelii. matised they approximate the native whea^ a of the country both in yielding capacity ,- and milling quality, and thus in the light i of the Yorkshire experiments little is to do s gained by the introduction of the strong t wheats of Canada. The Garforth trials may i be indicative of the results that might 1 be expected in Yorkshire, but they are for- , tunately not in complete accordance with 3 the teaching of similar investigations carried out in the south. In all probability r prolonged cultivation in this country might 5 lead k> a change in certain characteristics, f but it has been shown that it takes a j considerable number of years to bring r about appreciable- deterioration in milling i , quality. Nor is the Yorkshire experience c a 6 to the unproductive properties of the f best ,Canadian wheats confirmed by southern s experiments. In cases within our know- - ledge (says the Field) Canadian wheat has i yielded as liberally as the ordinary British c sorts, and the difference in the quality of , the grain has been equal to 2s or 3s per i quarter, an advantage which is not to be - despised.