AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2842, 2 September 1908, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Mr George Sheat, in speaking of the \ farm labourers' dispute to a representative t of the Ashburton Mail, stated that there 1 was at most only 5 per cent, of farmers J who could be classed as objectionable em- ! plovers, and the case had induced these to toe th& line and treat their employees on the same lines as the majority. Those < [ who were chiefly interested In fchd case \

from an employer's -jKnr.t of 'view had alt along asserted a desire to make their delinquent colleagues figu-Muvely "sit U p.' The experience he had gained dnring the hearing of the case was that 95 per ooi t o£ the farmers were anxious ~o -do the '• right thing " with their employ e?e. Although the sheep tax was abolished last session it by no means follows that owners of sheep are relieved of the duty of filling in their sheep returr? for the- Department of Agriculture. The of the tax has not done away the necessity for the return, and failur « a-- comply with the regulations will brin- about a prosecution in due course. j • It - is A ?* t^T iha i a rabtit-trappor opsrat. ing m the Gilgandxa district (N.sTw.) %&& aver £11 m on« week. , *««■ Fobt xolMr vaJuabW draught hox^ be. longmg to Mr a. Dayeh, of Maaterton, wer« poisoned a few days ago thr^nA" dTinkmg water drawn fron> a flax swamp. This* class ojE w^feeai is very unsuitable foe animalsj as it causes aatte dysenterß. Apparently (says the Hawera StarKthe demand for good dairy cows in Tarana*i is keener than over. At a clearing sa^v last week 160 cows were cold in four hours at prksea up to £H Ws, wMle another salo saw 48 excellent cows sold, the whole herd averaging over £7 per head. A dairy- inspector recently at Paeroa founct at one farm cans contaiiiing milk standing open in the milking ehed, and a couple of fowls rooating on the cans Duong his peregrinations he discovered that burners had been milking- oawssoffer'rag from various diseases, the cause and effect of which they were ignorant At a meeting of the Cheviot residents, held to consider the proposal to re-open the Cheviot dairy factory, a number of speakers stated 1 that they were in sympathy with the movement, but were afraid of not eeouring the services of milkers. One dairy farmer naively remarked:— "lf the- young- men could milk the gowa on horseback and smoke cigarettes at tfte same time, there would be no difficulty in securing, plenty ol milkers. The As'hbttrton Guardian states that a. farmer in Ashburton County claims to have killed recently 108- sperrotre witlt one discharge- of his gun, the cartridge boing charged with sparrow-shot. The" gun was discharged while the birds were in the act of rising from an oatsheaf stack. Representatives of the Pastoralists' Association and the Workers 1 Union, met bat Melbourne a few days ago to seek mutual) agreement as- ta the true ■definition, of " too wet" as applied to wool. AnH it was agceed that if six months' separate testa of a newly-invented instrument "for ascertaining the amount of moisture in tiha fleece proved satisfactory, contention, should for ever cease on the point. Then the* parties waited upon the Prime Minister and obtaind a promise to 'reoomm/eind his * colleagues \to provide £500 for defraying! the expense of the teste in different areas, - The new instrument is the invention of a Melbiktrne man, and' if it fulfils expectation a problem which' has been a fruitful! source of- trouble in • the past' will have; •been, solved.. - - Of the 6000 creameries in the United Sfcafcesn something life© 1800 fire 00-opemtite. The proportion of co-operative concern* is gradually increasing. The annual output is about 500,000,f1001b, which sold dtrrmg -1907 for an average of about Is 2dl per Ib. This means a gross return of approximately £28,000,000. It is stated that in the United Statea an area of about 8,000,000 acres of eTidl and almost sterile country has, by the introduction of irrigatioxiy been, converted izrfo a thickly-populated and highly-productive district. The Taitapu Gold Estates (I<td.), who own 88,350 acres of freehold/ land in the Colliragwood district, Nelson, is seeking- ta promote settlement on the property, and has also made arrangements to enable prospecting parties to exploit whatever portion of the territory they may piefer. The! nature of the country on the wesbeni aide) is considered to be extremely favourable for the existence of reefs. The company is prepared to receive applications from bona-fidc settlers for euch areas as they may desire to select on specially favourable terms as to payment by instalments-. The lands fronting the coast consist principally of limestone and papa country, and are partly covered with rimu and white pine, etc., the balance consisting of open country containing a good deal of grass, md there are also large areas covered with tall flax and shrubs, nikau palms, etc., indicating good soil and climate. The Cheltenham Dairy Company, in the Wellington district, in its annual report 3tates that during the past year 9,175,87211* of mLk and 141,1861b of cream have been received. The butter manufactured imounted to 413,0021b. The directors rasrret that, owing to ,the very bad spring, which was followed by drought, a. serious shrinkage in the output was caused, and: this greatly reduced the profits for tbfi fear's operations. It is not intended to* Krrite,, anything off the plant this year foy depreciation, seeing that the machinery h*y been kept in first-class order and that 15 per cent, was written off last year. It » proposed to erect a new creamery in the Ocoua Valley, near Kimbolton. The* amount paid* suppliers was £IS-,446 Off 4d, svJiile the. sales amounted to £20,56& Is sd. The fifteenth annual report of the directors of the New Zealand Farmers' Dairy Dnion, Wellington, states that while there is not a surplus available for distribution 1 , the advances have averaged 12d per 1b for? the 1£ months, which is the highest the company has ever been able to make. Out of tfie balance of £3222 at the credit of the profit and loss account a dividend afc the irate of 5 per cent, on tihe paid-up) capital is recommended. The directors urge that the balance should be devoted to* paying off four or five debentures. Tl» output for the season was 572 tons lOcwt of butter and 49£ tons of cheese. Th« particulars were : Butter made, 1,282,4191b ; milk received, 29,495,6371b; average test, 5.85: quantity of milk to lib butter, 231b'. The famous Matawhero shorthorn, stud? jattle, owned by Messrs M'Master Bros., of Lower Valley. WaiTarapa, have been pur* shased- outright by Mr W. Howard Booth-, ot Carrington Station, Carterton. It \m understood (write 3 the Waixarapa correspondent of the Dominion) that Mr Booth? tias purchased the Mata-whero Estate. Th«( Matawhero shorthorn cattle ha-ve been one