FARM AND STATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2812, 5 February 1908, Page 20

FARM AND STATION.

(Continued from page 9.) LOCAL 4- AND P. NEWS One of the results arising from the peculiarity of the season about the- period when the sowing of wheat was general is (says the Oamaru Mail) the very marked dnersity in the outcome of the sowing. This is most conspicuous in the Ngapara district. In one paddock Mr Milmine has an excellent crop of wheat, which will return close on 60 bushels to the acre, and his oats also give most gratifying promise ; while not far away other fields of first-class rape land, sown a little earlier or perhaps a week laier, have not raised anj thing like satisfactory crops. If the braird was just ready for the showers as they came the result was good, but if the farmer was not fortunate enough to have his fields in such a state that they could take full advantage of the rain the outcome of his sowing was seriously jeopardised. There was too little rain during the growing season to permit of any being lost without the crop suffering.

Says the Clutha Leader of January 28 : — This district has now the services of a resident veterinary surgeon, Mr Danskin, F.R.C.V.S., having now arrived and being ready to enter upon his duties. He has a very wide field to cover, and his time should' be fully occupied in attending to the duties of his appointment. A person who is in a position to form a good estimate informed us on Saturday night that in this district alone about £1000 worth of stock died from disease of various kinds every year, much of which could be saved were the services of a vet. available. Mr T. Rodgers, of Totara, has thre§hed a paddock of Tartarian oats and obtained 67 bushels per acre. Another farmer has threshed a paddock of Cape barley, which yielded 70 bushels. These yields, are well up to expectations (says the North Otago Times) in spite of the prognostications that the return would not come up to expectations owing to the sp@ll of diy weather experienced. When the wheat crops aie threshed they also will give ■the farmer a good return, although in other wheat, growing- areas of the colony the yiekl this year may be smaller than usual.

A committee meeting' of the Gore Agricultu«u. *jkl Pastoral Association was held

on January 25, Mr J. Waddell (presdent)" in the chair. John M'Donnell, Little Grey Junction, Grey.mouth, wrote asking for the list of the names of Romney ram breeders in the Gore district. He required 20 rams, a-pd usually drew his supplies from Nelson ; but he thought a change from the South might be made with advantage. He would like to get purebred Romneys. The secretary stated that he replied giving the information as far as possible. The subcommittee appointed to report upon the old show ground at Jacobstown recommended that the ground be sold. During a discussion it was stated that Mr J. Holland had a leaso of the ground, and had part of it in crop. A portion of the ground was badly overrun with gorse. -As far as tho sale was concerned it was decided to hod the matter over in the meantime, and to give the tenant notice to clear the gorse. The president mentioned that there had been some discontent owing to there being no grass on the grounds at the show. Mr Murdoch moved, and it was carried, "That all stock be removed from the ground a, fortnight before the show in order to ha^e it clean." Mr H. M'lntyre brought up the matter of sheep exhibits. He thought that Corriedales should not have been shown in the fine wool class. They were now a distinct c!ass, and should not be shown with crossbreds. Members agreed, but thought the judge should decide the point. The chairman presented Mr M. Dickie with the president's prize for most points gained at the late show. Had the decision been by ballot of the committee instead of by merit, as it was, he was satisfied that Mr Dickie would have got the prize. He had been a large and consistent pxlibito- of all kinds of stock for very many years. He was the right kind of supporter* of th-e as&o-ciation. The prize <;orxeistec' of six pieces of silver plate, including a tea and coffee service, suitably inscribed. The vVaikoikoi correspondent of the Tapanui Courier writes: — The oat crops in all pa its of the district are looking splendid. They are not very heavy, but if rain comes the yield will be good. Another month should see harvest work in full swing. This will be earlier than last year, and will enable farmers to get their grain carted to the siding before winter sets in — a matter of great importance to those who have to cart over clay roads. Turnips arc coming on well, but want rain badly. Grass cutting is about finished, and the threshing mill should soon be at work. Grass i.^s plentiful, and stock of all kinds look well. The following district notes are contributed by correspondents of the Wyndham Farmei :"— Waikawa Valley : We ha\ c had fine showers of rain, and all the turnips in consequence are coming away in grand stylo. The oat crop, with one or two exceptions is rather backward for a season like this. Mr James Templeton's crop on the Waikawa road is just in ear. and a. very fine crop at that. It is hard to say how the crop of lambs will turn out, but I expect to see a considerable quantity prove prime when taken from their mothers. It is rather dry. in the ridges for potatoes, but tho3e that *v e re in early should give fair returns. — Waimahaka : The weather of late in this district has been lather changeable. A lot of high winds have been experienced, with an occasional shower The wind has had a very drying effect on the soil, and has consequently _retarded growth somewhat. But, notwithstanding- these drawbacks, the district as a whole is looking very well indeed, feed plentiful, and stock of all descriptions in splendid order. The harvest is rapidly approaching; in fact, in one or two instances a start has already been made, but cutting w ill net be general for a fortnight at least. The area under oats is about normal. The straw, on the whole, is going to be shorter than in former seasons, but it is remarkably well headed, and, given mild weather, will certainly yield well. Messrs M'Leod and Washbourne, new settlers on Woodslee Downs estate, have just concluded cutting something like 300 acres of ryegrass, some of it being very heavy. A large area of turnips has been sown, and, judging from present appearances, gives promise of heavy crops. The early sowings have done splendidly; the later ones have suffered a bit from the fl'% that scourge even attacking the 'neeps after getting* into the rough leaf— rather an unusual thing, due, no doubt, to the dry winds so prevalent of late. The cutting up and selling of Woodsleo Downs estate is certainly having a beneficial effect on our community ; but what would benefit us still more would be the acquiring of Forestva'.f estate by Government, and its sub-division into small holdincri, foi which the trreaier bulk of Forest\ale is eminently adapted. With the above an accomplished fact, Waimahaka wou'd speedily become a second Wvndham. both in size and importance. The Toi Toi Dairy Factory is going ahead this -\ear, both in rr.ric intake and the number of supplier?. The prospects for next season are also very hopeful, as several- new patrons are practicalh assured. The manager, Mr John Stevens, is manufacturing nothing but "first evade" chee=e, and high-pointed at that. For the past two_ seasons this factory has turned out nothing but a "first grade" article Grain crops in the TahaHka district (eay6 the Clutha Free Press) will be ready for cutting in the course of a few weeks — early harvest for the bush. The turnips •are looking well, but the grass is getting 1 completely burnt up, and the milk supply to the T. and P. creamery is daily getting shorter. The following items are from last Friday's Clutha Leader : — Eighty-three bushels of grass eeed per acre is What Mr Alex. Allison got from a. 25 acre paddock on hia farm at Clarksville. — Cutting a crop of oa-ts that waa sown 18 months ago is a bit of a record. Yet this is the experience of Mr Wm. Munro, of Toiro. He sowed a 20-acre paddock with oats and grass seed in August, 1906. It lay in the ground dormant owing- to the drought all the following- summer till late in autumn, when it came awa.y. It has now turned out a fine crop, rye-grass and seed oats all ripe together, and an above-the-average crop.