WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2812, 5 February 1908, Page 9

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Perth, January 3. "Weather conditions during December have been seasonable and moderate. There has been very little hot weather this season, which is, in fact, an unusually cool one, and perhaps the only grumble has been that the farmers wanted hotter weather to get on with their stripping. No rain has fallen to interfere with ba.rvesfc cperations, and good progress, under the circumstances, has been made, although, as the season is on the late side, there is still a good area left to be treated by the harvester. East of the Great Southern Railway the crops are very good, the mortfjll and gimlet country in particular lookmg well, and a good deal of attention will doubtless be paid to this country during the next year as a result of the grain returns which are being secured there. Along the Great Southern itself and to the westward the phenomenal rains in July and August and the absence of October rain are responsible for lighter returns, and in a good many cases the crops axe below owners' anticipations. Feed is abundant everywhere ; in the absence of rain to spoil the dry grass, stock are looking; well. Prices of stock, grain, and hay maintain" very good figures, so that on the whole the year should be a prosperous one for the man on the land. The fall in the wool market has caused some concern as the majority of shipping owners will catch the January sales in London, and the course of the market will therefore be awaited with much interest. The great improvement in the quality of sheep in the State during recent years will undoubtedly make for better wool returns per sheep, and even if prices are not up to earlier anticipations, the net result will still be satisfactory, although owners would naturally have preferred to hit the market on the top side. All over the country increased attention is being paid to 6heep, and the importations of breeding ewes by the Government will lead to the stocking- up of a good deal of new country. Cattle, on the other hand, are being discarded year by year in district after district, the motive being that sheep pay better. Decidedly the trend of operations during 1907 has been in the direction «f growing wool and fat lambs. Agriculture, side by side, is also developing, but every agriculturist appears to he ambitious to become a stockowner. With wool, wheat, and lambs as the objective, by common consent, there ie plenty of room for expansion on sound lines. The feature of the stock market this season has been the slump in beef. The State will this season for th*» first time since the outbreak of the groldfields supply itself with beef right through the year, and just at present supplies are fairly plentiful, with the market stsuKjinpr a»+ 3^<l por- !l> for best qualities, or 28s to 29s per 1001b. In previous years it has been neoessarv to import a few cattle from about February onward, but as far as can be gauged at present practically nothing will be required this year. Mutton, on the other hand, is keening m> well, and fair prices are being t>aid for forward delivery. The export of lamb this year is already having a beneficial effect upon the price of store stock, and notwiihstanding the quantities of imported breeding ewes landing here, the market keeps firm, and good breeding ewes are hard to get. TASMANIA. Launeeston, January 3. As a Christmas gift Tasmania received one of the most general rains experienced in the summer for many years. From end to end of the island there was an abundant fall, about 2in being the lowest registration, and something over 4in the highest. The central and eastern country, which does not usually expect to participate in these precipitations, was well served. Except for the early wheat and oat crops, all vegetation will be enormously benefited. The spring cereals and the barley will gain greatly. As a matter of fact the downpour came just in time. Barley-growers were very despondent, many farmers being prepared to turn the stock in. In certain districts the increase will - run to 20 bushels per acre. Tons per acre will be added to most of the potato crops, while the fruit will also profit. As a rule graziers are well oleased, although it is too late to ensure as abundant a supply of pasture as last year. It i 3 probable that the rain which started on Boxing Day will

put over £100,000 into the pockets of land- f owners. Live stock are in good condition. Sheep-stealing is all too common in Tas- ' mania, and Mr A. E. Hansel], the wellknown Shropshire breeder and pastoralist at Mount "Vernon, Melton Mowbray, is call- ' ing a meeting of stockowners a Hobart on ' January 9, the eve of the Hobstrt wool sales, with the object of forming a Stockowners* Association. He has communicated with .several of the biggest sheep and cattic men, and has received such support that an f effort is to be made to embrace other ob- I jects than that of putting down sheepsteaJing in the mission of the proposed ] body.

When the Government, through the Closer Settlement Board purchased tne Chc^hunt Estate it was blamed for getting- a pi-operty much of it too wet and cold for farmers in winter. Subsequent experience has demonstrated that there were some grounds for the adverse criticism. As if to go to the other extreme, the board has now decided to purchase from Mr R. O'Connor the Mount Pleasant Estate, of about 8000 acres, at York Plains, in the Midlande. This is the driest portion of Tasma-nia, ajid very nearly half ihe area is unwatered. The price is under £3 per acr,<».

Ramie has been rai^fni by a Vical nurseryman, and several hundred plants have been distributed among farmers in vat'ious parts of the island for field trials.

The death occurred on December 27 from heart disease of Mr E. H. Heazlewood', tho well-known Leicester «heepbreeder. ot Glenorc. He was a big prizetaker at shows. It is understood that when the State Parliament meets the Government will bring in a Bill to abolish the effete Council of Agriculture, and to appoint a- Director of Agriculture with an organised department. A summer school for teaching- State school teachers the first principles of agriculture and horticulture will be held at Longford from January 21 to 31. Seven experts attached to the Council of Agriculture will deliver the lectures.

A controversy has been proceeding in a local newspaper between a woolgrower and a woolbroker as to where the former should seirhis wool — in England or Australia. One of the strongest arguments of the grower in that the chaos caused by sales in every Australian capital must prejudically affect the market.