AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

It came out in evidence before the South Australian Wheat Commission (writes a correspondent of The Worker) that, although the railway rates on the carriage of wheat from the country had, during the past year, been reduced by a total of .£26,000 to £30,000. not a single penny of this amount had reached the pockets of the •wheat producer, but every cent has been •wallowed up by the wheat "buyer. The alphabets of the various languages of the world vary from 12 to 202 letters. That of the Hawaiian language has only 12 letters, while that of the Tartars is at the other end of the list with 202 letters.

The modern shearer does not walk; he -^ Mdes his bike. An upcountry train in .New South Wales the other day carried 200 shearers on the way to the scene of future operations, and each one had hie iricycle with him.

Waikato lands have this season produced ■enormous crops of swedes. Farmer after farmer has boasted of the superiority of liis crop, but so far the exhibit of six roots weighing 1551b, one turning the scale •at 321b has eclipsed all others.

What is probably the highest price ever jvaid for, factory buttei in New Zealand was ■secured (says a Wellington papei) "by tbc--Mongorei Dairy Company, Taranaki, last ■week. The company sold to a Wellington dairy produce firm its August output at Is 4id (bulk) f.o.b. New Plymouth. This equals over 160s a hundredweight on the liondon market, a point never touched in ihe export trade. Taranaki factories -will, it is estimated, turn, out fully 3000 boxes of >utfcer this month, and the bulk of it will be available foi disposal outside the pro•rmce. The cold winds recently experienced in, Taranaki have checked tlie prrovsth of grass, but with fair weather from now on mx appreciable increase in the butter outxnit

of the province will take place about the last week of the month. Should further cold winds be experienced the butter output will not, however, equal the demand till October. The sale quoted means that the butter represents to the buyer, landed in Wellington and put up in pats, Is .id r<.r lb, and the buyer's and ths grocer's profits have to be added to that.

At the annual meeting of the Taratahi Dairy Company it was stated by the chairman' (Mr W. Fisher) that the output realised 12^d per lb o£ butter-fat for the whole season. The output compared with last season showed a decrease or 45 toi.s of cheese, while the cash distributions for the same period were less by 25 per cent. The average test was 3.9 against 3.3*. The cost of production this season was 4s 4d per cwt, or s^d more than for the f^aton ended June 30, 1907. Th© results of last season's work at the TMasterton. Co-operative Dairy Company's factory were as under: — Butter-fat received, 123,0121b; butter - fat manufactured, 135,1731b; over-run, 9.8; cash price paid to suppliers. Average for the season, 94d. Owing to the drought the quantity of butter-fat received' and butter manufactured fell below the record of the previous year, but the expenses could not b& reduced in the same ratio. The season's output was graded first class. An ice-plant was installed in December, and it is anticipated the venture will prove remunerative The directors of the Featherstnn Cooperative Dairy Company in their report supply the following details of the working:—Milk received, 5.85°,395 (ac compared with 6,860,595 in 1906-7); cheese made 563,0641b (681,1501b); average test, 3.70 (3.831b): butter-fat, 216,9601b (263 17Glbi , lbs milk to lib cheese, 10.40 (10 07j ■ lbs cheese to lib butter-fat, 2.59 (2.58) ; cnsignments to Glasgow realised from 60s to 6 *| Wpo cwt., the average being 6Gs 6d (6^3 6d) ; average Government grade for all shipments, 91.11. Advances on test to suppliers, 5d per gallon on September supply, and 4d per gallon for balance of season. A furtflier advance of four-sevenths of a penny per gallon will be mad-s on August 10, making- total advances equivalent tc 15.47 d per Jb of butter-fat for September supply, and 12.70 d per lb of butter-fat during balance of the season. Had the average test this season been the same as last there would have been in the quantity of milk supplied 761511> -of butt«-feit more, wl-ioK would have made 19,7231b cheese. Ocean freight this season was £d per lb, and amounted! to £1072 7s 9d, whereas last seaaon it was gd. The extra id per lb paid by this company amounted to £268 Is lid. The whole was not only graded first grade, but Mr Adameon, the managing cheesemaker, succeedted in obtaining the highest average grade in the Dominion for this season's shipments. This, combined v.-ith the fact that the reports from the buyers at Home have also been satisfactory, shows that Mr Adamson has well earned the thanks of the company for his capab'e work.

_ Such_ conditions have arisen in connection with the meat supply in Viotaria ihar, •whilst not unprecedented, they have surpassed the state of affairs which ousted in 1902, the culminating point of .the £ reat drought which practically existed ail ocr Australia. Yet Victoria's pastures teavs the Sydney Mail) .have been on the whole in a much better condition now than in that year. How to account for the great scarcity of fat stock in that State is somewhat difficult, unless we compare the conditions with those ruling in Xew Zealand a few years ago, when on account of a h&avv export of young stock for years in the shape cf frozen mutton and lambs «.re found herself short of breeding ewes. And when we note how largely Victoria has shipped during the past two years it looks a« if a parallel to New Zealand's condition now rules. For -the last two months Victoria has largely drawn Dn New South Wales and South Australia for fat stock, and we are within a. reasonable computation when we put down be,r purchases ficm private sources only at over 100,000 sheep and 10,000 cattle. The*e conditions may Lo very gratifying to our graziers, but they are the reverse to the householder, who sees himself compelled to pay more than ho ought owing to his neighbours' shortage. And there is no prospect of prices lowering for some time, for we have to ] rovide for a large 'influx of visitors when, the American fleet comes, and the likelihood ie that meat will be even dearer than r.ow.

A full meeting or the council of the New Zealand Sheep-breeders' Association (South Island) was held last Thursday evening ior the purpose of considering the reports of the inspectors appointed to inspect the whole of the Border Leicester flocks in the South Island entered in the Flock Book. The reports dea.lt very fully with the condition of the flocks, and recorded a considerable amount of culling. A number of ewe flocks were admitted for registianou in the approaching issue of the Flock Book. The question of the sale- by auction of registered sheep wa-3 also fully discussed with a view to protecting- purchasers of them.

The Parkville Cheese Company, Careerton, which has 40 suppliers, received last season 3,473,4-ITTb of milk, being a decrea&s of 1,774,8271b on last season's supply, accounted for by the very dry season and on account of the largest property from which last season's supply was drawn having changed ownership. The yield of butterfat was 132,C62.081b, from which 334,8631b of cheese were made. Each pound of butter-fat yielded 2.531b of cheese, and uacb

pound of cheese required 10.371b of n:;>k. The tests ranged from 3.2 to 6, the average being 3.8. On© hundred and forty fons of cheese were shipped to London, the balance being available for the New Zealand trade. After setting aside £66 14s as a, livid3nd of 6 per cent, on the subscribed eaipir-ai, and writing- £55 11s lid' off for th?, depreciation of plant and -buildings, there ieraains a balance of £1788 7s .Id iue- to supplier's, making the actual price t»iid per pound of butter-fat Is Old, equal to 4.89 ci per gallon of lO^lb of milk. The cheese sold realised £7870 5s 9d.

The report of the DalefieLd Cheeso Company, Carterton, states that during the season 7,500,7321b of milt was received, yielding 289,219.381b of butter-fat, from which 714,6661b cheese was made — a diecrease of 65 tons on last year's output. This decrease is due to the exceedingly dry ©eoson experienced. The highest tost during the season was 5.8, and the 'owest 3.2, the. average being 3.85. The quantity of milk required to make one pound of choose was 10.491b, and each pound of butter fat made 2.471b cheese. After paying aji advance amounting to £9639 12s lOd, writing off £37 12s 8d for depreciation of plant and buildings, and reserving £61 16s f or 6 per cent, dividend on subscribed 1 capital, the-ro remains a balance of 5121 lls 3d due to suppliers, making an actual cash payment of Is Oid per lb of butter-fat. Tho cheese realised £18,458. The number of supplier is 63

The output of the butt&r from ite Eallanee Daii-y Company's factory last seaeou realised £42,596.