FARM AND STATION. (Continued from page 9.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 26 August 1908, Page 20

FARM AND STATION. (Continued from page 9.)

LOCAL i. 151) P. SEWS Consequent on the complete failure of the- turnip crop so far as the Taieri was concerned, it was anticipated a few months ago that cattle would by this time be fetching famine prices.. But the failure of the turnip- crops on the Taieri Plain virtually , proved a blessing in disguise, and the anticipations that beef would by this time have reached famine prices have not been , fulfilled. As subsequent events went to j chow, had the Taieri turnip crop been a. | success, large numbers of cattle would J have been fattening on it, and the consequences on the occasion of the recent heavy floods there would have proved' disastrous in the extreme, as the bulk of them would have been -drowned, while, further, farmers would have been depending almost solely on their turnips as fodder. The floods <lid not prove very 6erious in regard to lose of cattle, and, as £ar as the land itself is concerned, the ultimate outcome will be that it will have derived 'a lot of good. About the time of the floods a number of the larger butchers of Dunedin went out into the country and \ ! purchased cattle, confidently believing that 1 | prices were bound to go up. But their , anticipations of an unusual rise have not been realised, although it must be admitted ! that cattle- are at the present time making very good- prices. This is doubtless due to the large number of cattle that are bejng fattened in Southland, where there is an abundance of food, and whence large numbers have been forwarded for grazing purposes, and from which district the weekly supply to the Burnside sale 3 has been pretty regular of late, thu3 preventing anything like a shortage. But there is another aspect to the question as far as the Southland supply is concerned. \ Buyers from Canterbury are purchasing j rather freely there, and taking the ca-tt'o north with them. The result of thb clearing will bo a hardening of the market here, and it is forecasted that in October and November cattle will be much dearer than now, and prime beef will be a much scarcer' commodity than is the case at present. Incidentally, it is not anticipated, a leading butcher stated to a Times reporter yesterday, when outlining. th© above facte, that there will be any great scarcity of mutton. Mr Hugh Mitchell (provincial secretary) ig in xeceip? of a. letter from the Woodlands "branch of the Farmers' Union, conveying A resolution of sympathy with the Taieri farmers in the heavy losses sustained by the recent floods. At a meeting of th* Tapanui branch of t-he New Zealand Farmers Union, Mr I\ M'Duif, who p.reeided, mad© feeling- reference to th© death of Mr Andrew Cleghorn, and it was resolved to forward a letter to the family expressing sympathy with 'tihem in. their bereavement. It was re6olT«d that the secretary write to ilr M/dcolm, M.P., and inform him that in the opinion of this branch the Sheareie'

Accommodation Bill -requires modification; and. that this branch opposes it in its presents form. It was agreed that the branch pool orders foT manure, and J a committee was appointed to deal with this matter. It was unanimously resolved that the" secretary write to Mr Malcolm, M.P., and express the branch's deep appreciation of his slirenuous efforts on beha-lf of the Tapanui County Bill. Before the meeting closed Mr Geo. Howat gave a description of his experiences in Wellington in connection with the Tapanui County Bili, and he was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his interesting address. The Cromwell Argus says: — "It is generally reported that rabbiters are doing very poorly this winter, as the rabbits are not taking the poison well. This is accounted for to a great extent by the very mild weather until well into June. Young ralSbits are already plentiful on the low country, so there will likely be a plentiful supply for the summer." The Wallace A., and P. Association is making an effort to secure the establishment of a farm labourers' settlement in the district, and recently the members of the committee met Mr- J." C. Mackley, of the La-nds and Survey Department, in conference/ Eventually a sub - 'committee, comprising the president (Mr T. A. Buckingham), the vice-president (Mr W. Affleck), and Messrs James D. Salton, John Findlay, John Lindsay, and David Clark, with power to add' to their number, was appointed to obtain offers of suitable properties, and submit them, with prices, to the Goversment. One speaker contended the sections should be limited to five acres of good land, and the holder prevented from acquiring more than one section. This speaker ought to recognise that this means an attempt to keep a man as a worker ail his life. If the owner of a section by thrift saves enough money to acquire an adjoining section so that his own property will require all 'his attention instead of having to go out to work for neighbouring farmers, surely that man should not be debarred from doing 60. The Otautau paper states tMat the various dairy factories in Wallace anticipate a record season for supplies. The Merrivale Factory will shortly have to face an enlargement of buildings and plant to cope with additional supplies. The Otautau Factory will also have a big season to face, one new supplier alone being responsible for IQO cows. The Minister of .Railways has replied, through Mr Allen, M.P., to the request of the Waitahuna Farmers' Club for a reduction in the -railway charges on sheep, intimating that he cannot see his way to grant the request. The Minister says it is generally" recognised that live stock traffic is on© of the most unremunerative with which the railway has to deal on account of special railway waggons having to be supplied, which are no use for other classes of traffic, and for the greaiei" part of the year are lying idle. He further points out ; that a very considerable concession was given to the farming community when the rates were made the .-same for both double and single-decked waggons, and adds that | the rates in existence are very reasonable for the services performed. The Rough Ridge correspondent of the j Mount Ida Ghronicle states that it is impossible to say yet what the los 3of sheep will be as the result of the snowstorms, but it may be safely put down at — On Home Hills runs 20 to 25 per ceait., on the smaller grazing runs on Blackstone Hill and Rough Ridge Ranges at 10 to 15 per cent., and on the farms at about 5 per cest. These arc the present losses in sheep, but the continued hardships have told severely on them, and as they.are I now considerably reduced in strength the spring losses are sure to be heavy. The wool is rising off the sheep badly, and a considerable amount is getting torn off ! on scrubs and rocks, and what remains on is light and lifeless; the wool cheque wiH in all probability be from 20 to 25 ! per oenfc. less tlian usual, and that on the sheep which remain alive. A-dd to this . the extra cost of feed and feeding, and it will be seen that the pastoralist's lot in sn-ow country is not a happy one. Cattle came through the storm fairly well ; it ie much easier Jxj=» feed cattle than sheep. There have been s-everak deaths of horses since the snowfall, mostly working horses. The causes of death are various and difficult to account for. | The remaining portion of Clydevale , Estate, consisting of about 2000 acres, has been sold to Mr Henry Snushall, of Fairlie. It is satisfactory to note that in one locality at least Arbor Day ha 3 been | observed. For the sixth j'ear in succession the i pupils of the Gore and East Gore schools were the guests of the Hon. R. M'Nab last week, having been driven to Knapdale in drags. There, after some practical hints on planting by Mr Jackson, they planted 250 Scotch fire behind the homestead, and a-fterwards did justice to a sumptuous supply of eatables.