AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2855, 2 December 1908, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

i Tha^ foreign meat regulations recently J issued by the Local Government Board, , which come into effect on January 1 next, I require that pork imported into the , United Kingdom shall be accompanied by | an official certificate, recognised by the Local Government Board, from the meatinspecing- authorities in the country of origin, to attest that the animal from which the meat is derived was free from disease, and that the meat for export has been prepared and packed in satisfactory conditions. This certificate (6ays our London correspondent) is not required in the case of imported bacon and ham, or in the case of pork imported as whole carcases. The authorities concerned in British colonies and foreign countries who desire to have forms of certificates officially | recognised are to apply for this purpose to tha Local Government Board. The High Commissioner for New Zealand endcavouied to get recognition of New , Zealand inspection in the form of some relaxation of the conditions for New Zealand pork, but the Local Government Board would make no exception. ] The removal of pigs from the piggeries ' 1 in connection with the Stirling Dai^y * Factory has commenced (says the Clutha * Leader). Of the 71 already sent down to the Dunedin City Abattoirs for slaughter < and inspection &1 were found by the veteri- j nary eurgeond (Mr Kerrigan and Mr < Snowball) to be affected with disease, and : were 6ent to the chemical works; the remaining 30, found to be sound and right, were sold in the open market, and, being ' in good condition, commanded ruling '

i f prices. Of the remainder, 45 are to ba I sent down on Saturday," 50 on Wednesday next, and 127 as soon after as possibleThe abattoirs are very, busy at present, 1 otherwise the whole of the pigs would have 1 been sent down eearlier. 1 Exhaustive experiments are now being 1 conducted at the Dookie Agricultural' Col- | j lege, Victoria, with a view to lessening the ; damage done by rusts and smuts in wheat. The experiments have been conducted on over 200 plots, and they are the most comprehensive ever carried out in the Ooin» monwealth. Various varieties of wheat, thoroughly infected with the spores of emut, were sown by the side of similar wheat which had not been so infected. It was found that while the infected seed generally produced a large proportion of smutted plants, the uninfected seed, under the same conditions of soil, climate, «nd season; gave a perfectly clean crop. However, the Stanley (a selection made at Dookie), Mudgee, and cedar varieties of seeds, though thoroughly infected when sown, . produced •crops which were quite free from smut. The value of this striking result, 'thotfgli ifc canmot be taken, as a final test on one season, lies in the suggestion, Mr M^Alpine (Government pathologist)* says, that strains of wheat have been obtained which can resist stinking smut. Special interest attaches to 'these experiments because some leading American investigators declare that no known variety of wheat possesses the hereditary quality of being smuf-resisting. The experiences of a judge at an agricultural show are often interesting, and ten<l i to prove that judging. « not as easy ai i falling off the proverbial log. Mr J. Miller was judging the Romney eiheep at " the Clutha show on Nov. 24-, and was confronted with two rams, between which there | appeared to ( "be absolutely nothing to I choose. This was bad enough, but tho i fact that Mr Miller knew one of them to ! be am English champion, but did not know I which, made matters worse. The judginp J of the&a two rams took some time, and all tha judge's experience was brought into j play. He finally allotted the prize with '• the philosophical reflection that if lie had j reversed the decision of the British specialists it could not be helped. On Wednesday morning he learned that he had given the first prize to the English champion, and, as he remarked, came out of f t rather well. A Press Association telegram from Asnburtoii states that, although the farming community has just come through a very critical and financially stringent year, it has not prevented a laTge amount of busi-» nes3 from being transacted in land 1 sales. This has been very clearly exemplified by the A&hburton branch of the National Mortgage and Agency Company, which t». ! ports that for the 12 months ended October 31 land to the total value of over £258,003 has changed hands, A ponference of parties, consisting of representatives from the Ofcago and Southland Sheep-owners' Association and the Otago and Southland Shearers' Union (over which Mr William Scott presided),' was lold in Dunedin on Nov. 28. The ■smployere, while anxious to meet the shearers as far as possible, could not see their way to interfere with present contracts or rates for the current season, but undertook to enter into an agreement to have the Canterbury award • made binding on Otago as from February 1, 1909. This was eventually agreed to by the shearers' representatives, and thus an ' amicable settlement was arrived at, notI withstanding the many complications. The | Canterbury award, it may bo stated, holds I for 18s p#r hundred, and the Otago award for 16s 8d per hundred. Very few calves are being raised by dairy farmers in the Eketahuna district this season, as it is found more profitable to feed tho skim milk to pies than to calves. At Maharahara a dairyman received from the New Zealand Dairy Union a cheque for £164 2s 8d for milk supplied during the month of October. The union paid altogether to its suppliers for th* month the sum of £6553. Recent high winds in Taranaki are .said to have had a disastrous effect on young crops of rape, etc., in tho plains. In some cases the surface of the ground has become so dry that it has been lilted and the young plants blown right out. A Waitara farmer has supplied the following parfcioulairs of the capacity of his 400-acre farm:— He ha 3 shorn J092 sheep, 988 of them clipping 20 bales, which averaged 4001b, in atJdkion to which the land has been carrying 130 head of oattl* and 20 horses. A Kaituna farmer has sold 8000 busliels of barley at 5s lOd on trucks, and his crop averaged 60.45 bushels per acre. The return was thus £17 12s per acre. A gentleman ( who has visited various parts of the North Otago district during the past week states to the Oamaru Mail that the crops are not looking at all promising at present. Th.& lack of rain has caused them a esrioiu set-back, and brown, patches are frequent, particularly in wheat areas. At least 24 hours' rain is badly wanted, and if it does not come soon the yield will be sadly prejudiced. It is not possible, says an -Argentine correspondent of Hoards Dairyman, to make money from beef and milk* at the same time. "They are two birds 'which cannot be killed with one stone, as the beef cow and the dairy cow never go -to roost in the same tree." According to the poster issued by the Lands Department, '49,167 acres of Crown lands will be open for sale or selection duo-ing the month of December. But the irea open under the freehold or optional tenure is almost infinitesimal. In Auckland there is opeai for application for cash "or occupation with right of purchase, or for renewable lease, five sections d£ second* :lass land totalling 2244 acres, six sections

More Planet, Jr., agricultural and earden implemente are in use in the world than any ° , e^, tl ? ree mak «a P»t together.— Nimmo » and Blauc *