WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 20

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

We have experienced grand summer weather. Perhaps a little Tl«« . more .rain would be of Weather. benefit to those endeavouring to get the land into proper tilth to receive the turnip seed, of which there is a considerable breadth to tow yet. Rape even is still being sown in some quarters. Owing to the comparatively dry winter and spring, the land is in better fettle than I ever remember seeing it, so that if the seed i 3 not well got in it is the farmer's fault. During the past few days' hot sunshine the pessimist has had a. chance, and he tells us that unless we £et rain within a week the present grand prospects will be destroyed. Of course, everyone that has had any experience of the Menawatu and Wairarapa lands knows that they will not stand much of a -drought, and December is perhaps the most month of the year, and at least half an inch of rain pel- week is required to fill .the ears of grain, move the turnip up out of the reach of the fly, and thoroughly establish tedder plants, roots, and cereals. Whenever the *h-eep 6hows come round there are some dissatisfied The Revival breeders who consider their of am Old sheep, that have been Scheme of passed by the judges. Shcep-judg.ns. Buporior to those J & at received the tickets. This condition of things has been ever present ' to £>oiue extent, and will e\er be., as it is ' beyond the bounds of possibility to pro- ' euro a judge that can satisfy fome. There \\ ill be, a-5 long as human nature exists ! j.~ at present constituted, someone di.*(dtisiied. In bygone days it was generally '■ expected to hear some cavilling over the pi'l^inj of horses, it being a trite saj ing ,' 'li<u "c\ery man thinks his horse is* the ( l'C!«t.'' But *hecp anrl cattle breeder* took a defeat v. ith good grace, recognising that 1 everyone cannot get a prize, at the same ! <

• -time determining to try and get in thfront rank next year. Since it has beei left to judges to pass over any cheep tha they may think have been unduly trimme* or got up foJ exhibition, a good deal o talk has taken place over' th© -weight o fleeces that have come off long-woo pedigree sheep. •"'Hardly a day passes with out a record of phenomenal fleeces. Th< plodding farmer usually reads these witl a smile of distrust. There is always i suspicion -that even when, the weight givei is thoroughly authenticated, aither tin period of growth is not correct or thai th© sheep had. not been closely shorn th< previous year. "Whenever the w«ig-.ht o; tieece, or rather value, is the chief objec in sheep-breeding, discord has always- beer to the tore. Why it should remain a ques tion of disagreement is curious, as it ooulc • be settled readily if breeders 'would arrange to test the matter. Mr *G. C. Wheeler 1 the Romney breeder, brought up a pro posal before a meeting of the Feilding A. and P. Association last Friday whicl should settle all disputes. The motion reads as follows:— "Tnat a competition b« f held between two-tooth and ' four-tootl i rams of any long-wooiled registered breed, r I to be shorn or reshorn with machines or a date to be fixed in December, :1908, iv the presence of one or more persons ap•pointed by the Feilding A. and JP. Association, and then be handed over to the said association until . they be again shorn, on a date .to be arranged in 19U9. The fleeces shall' then be weighed, wrapped up separately , and labelled and forwarded to Wellington to_ be scoured and dried separately on the^same day in Wellington I in the presence of chose appointed and 1 any others interested. The fleeces shall - then be again weighed, wrapped up and , labelled as before, and consigned by the | society to Mr Hollings, wool expert, England, for his report and valuation; the > decision to be based upon the greatest • net value; the winner to be presented with ; the society's certificate. Entry to be 20s [ each sheep, and no one exhibitor .to enter , more than — [three suggested]. Good cattle grazing to bo obtained as near 1 Aoramgi settlement as possible. A subcommittee to be appointed to carry out the conditions, consisting of Messrs E. , Short, Gorton, Knight, the president (Mr Hugh Burrell), Messrs Wheeler, Lethbridge, and Perret." This proposal is no new thing, as in the middle seventies the merino breeders inaugurated a contest on faomewhat the same lines in xmnection with the Deniliquin A. and P. Association, in New South Wales. It proved a great success for many years, but I fancy it has fallen into disuse owing to wheat-growing and production of mutton and fat lambe having taken the place of the merino. I also understand that there is, or at" least was, such a contest 'carried on by the Canterbury A. and P. Association -in connection with merinos. The pity is that the proposal hag come too late in the season, as the contest is likely to be confined to Romneys, for which " thie district is famous, and in which there are now very fow long-woolled sheep except that breed. What would prove most Interesting and instructive would be if the Wan&anui atid Wairarapa, Lincoln men could be enticed to compete, and also some of the Leicester breeders, so as to enable breeders to come to a positive conclusion as to the difference in weight between silky, lustrous wool and file soft, mushy, though bulky, fleeces that are now so much grown on the Coast. The proposed contest seems fair in every way, in that the judge's award will give the true value to the manufacturer of each fleece, should the contest talce place, and it is hoped it will. It would be instructive if Mr Hollings sorts the fleece, and gives the percentage of waety or inferior wool comprising each fleece. As Mr Hollinge will probably do this, the society should either have the contesting sheep on exhibition at the Palmerston show next November, or have .them on some date et the I Feildiiig saleyards previous to being shorn in 1909. The Feilding show not being held until February, Palmerston -would be the better place, more especially as breeders at a distance would be able to inspect the exhibits of contestants, and be persuaded to join in .the following year. The phenomenal prices realised at tha sale of the Messrs Griffiths and Th» Dairy Cornwall's Jersey cattle at Cow. New Plymouth has suggested th^s paragraph. On reading the report of- &ucb sales the question suggests itself— Why should certain brwds of both sheep and cattle take prominence for a period and then recede into the general ruck again? At all times it is hard to say why fashions change. In a measure it may be ascribed to human nature, which i>, always looking for something new. from the fashion of hats to type of breed of animals. The breed of sheep is governed to some extent by the style of clothing demanded. But cattle only produce food, which does not change so readily, although during the last Recede it is how the pußiic demand for young meat instead of the fully matured has compelled breeders to change former methods in order to supply matured beef at two years old and lamb instead of four-year-old mutton. With regard to dairy cattle the reason for the changes that have taken place in the estimation of the dairy man of which is the best breed can ba readily accounted for. Dairying in the Dominion is only in its infancy, and as yet it cannot be proved which breed is best adapted for any particular district, seeing the wid« range of conditions that prevail in New Zealand. It cannot be expected that the cow found most suitable in Southland will prove equally so in the north of Auckland, or in the many intermediate districts, where soil and climate vary t,o much. When mixed farming- is carried on probably the heavier breeds, such as the shorthorns or Herefords (that is, the milking strain of those breeds), will be found most in evidence. The time may be distant, but it will come when it will be found profitable to stall feed and fatten cattle on arti- . ficial fodders in order to make manure to renew the wornout land. Then there are ' ' the middle-sized dairy cattle, like the Ayr- .' ] shires and Hokteins, which will in course i '. of time find their natural habitat in this ' j country of many climates. Possibly where ' , the holdings are small, the chief produce of which i- butter, the little Jersey and j Dexter will find a place. But, as haa been * said, we are in a transition stage, and it ' < behoves all lovers of the different breeds ; U> uphold by every means in their power , their =pecial fancy, there being room for all. There is little doubt that the work dor.c by the Jersey Breeders' Association haa been , '■ one of the main factors in raising the repu |

tation and thereby the price ef Jerseys to the present high standard. This should be an object Issson to owners of other breeds to go and do likewise. The Ayr- ". shire men in the North Island are now taking steps to inaugurate a society, but their numbers are small up here, although increasing. It is hoped, therefore, the South Island breeders will give their snpport and make the Ayrshire Society as successful as is the Jersey. As one who holds the highest opinion of the value of pedigpee, I believe it is to the beet interests of all breeds that societies should be formed and flock and herd books kept to ensure purity of breed- Still, a word of warning may bss useful at the present juncture. It nrust be remembered that the purebred sheep and cattle throughout the world are not more than 5 per cent, of the whole, New Zealand just about leading in this respect. It is the crossbred which proves of greatest utility and forms the greatest part of the world's stock. It would therefore be disastrous (if it were possible) if the whole of the Dominion's stock were purebred or eligible for registration in flock or herd books. Promoters of breed societies will oe well advised to be conservative.. Better to start with a few members than try to gain numbers by giving way , on rules that may be thought by some to be too drastic. I ~ ANTIQUA OVIS.