NORTH OTAGO FARM NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2857, 16 December 1908, Page 20

NORTH OTAGO FARM NOTES-

(Fkom Oub Ov,\k Cobhesfojjdent.) Deeembei 12. A mo-t welcome fall of rain Wns gladdened the hearts of farmer^ in the past few <.ia\s. On Monday night the rainfall \arie<l from 20 point* on the coast to 60 points at Duntroon. while on the hills there was a deposit of snow that was heavier than for many Decembers past. Fortunately the gentle rain commenced again on Wednesday evening, and extended all over the district, quite half an inch falling before next morning. Crops have certainly suffered by the dry wind* of the lan; two months. Wheat has oeen chocked very ->e\erely. Much of it had ihoi into ear in the past fortnight, but it was stunted in growth, and without ram could liardly have been cut. Exposed faces have, of course, felt the heat most, and only on the more sheltered folds of undulating country flas there been a better growth, winter and early spring wheat making good progress against adverse conditions. Allowing for this it is probable that the average yiold in North Otago will not exceed 30 bushels. The *lry weather has probably been responsible for a. decline of 8 to 10 bushels per acre in the yield. One farmer told me this week he could only look for half.- a crop, in spite of the rain that had fallen. Oats will come away better after the rain, although the harm done to this crop has been considerable. All root crops were, of course, held back by the want of moisture, but these and grass will benefit materially. In North Otago there is nothing to complain of in the quality of the soil, but however heavy the winter rains may he, the great anxiety is~'alwaj's spring rains. After such a flocd as was experienced early in August there should have been little anxiety about rain till after harvest. Yet a few weeks of nor'-westers licked up all the surface moisture, and turned everything brown. An eArlj improvement in. the stock mar- I

y ket should be experienced, for grass ■will ccme a-.vay fast now, the soil being very hot. The Department of Industries and Commerce has at last acceded to the request of the Oamaru Chamber of Commerce for* the appointment of a grain-grader, and Mr David Hay has been appointed. Expor- H ters will, therefore, henceforth be able to j attach a grader's certificate to their shipments. The re-election of Mr G. Livingstone, of Windsor, North Otago, to his seat on the Otago Land Board will occasion general satisfaction to Crown tenante in this district particularly. Mr Livingstone has been a valuable member of the board, especially from the tenants' point of, view, and hfs majority of over 100 is a well-deserved one. The recent show produced an apparent profit of £115, so the secretary told the A. and P. Association's committee on Wednesday. When compared with an apparent loss of £4 last year, this is very satisfactory. The balance is, of course, only , [ a tentative one, but it is evident that the i I result of the year's operations should be i [ satisfactory. One rather extraordinary thing reported to Wednesday's meeting was j £he alleged methods by,, which an exhibitor won the milking tests at the show. The I exhibitor was reported to —have tied his cow by both legs to make her kick, and' eventually refuse her milk on the occaeion of the first milking? before the stewards. Next morning at an early hour the cow's teats were tied with handkerchiefs to prevent her over-full udder losing the milk. ! No protest was lodged, but the committee ' resolved to ask the owner to explain his J actions. The allegations are supported by j the class stewards, who, however, could • hardly interfere owing to the manner in j which the rule was framed. j

■> ' largely developed that they would not bVi i happy unless they had something to exercise their minds with in the way of speculation, but it is generally the plodder who I comes out best in the end. During the past week a considerable number of lambs have been sent Fat to the factory, and from. Lambs. now onward 6 for the next ' three months the resources of the railways will be taxed to the .utmost. Now that the Manawatu line has been taken over by the Government, they will not bo able to blame that company for not return-* ing "empties." Feilding has been iimk'o a "depot" for empties, so, that buyers oE store stock from a distance' will be able to obtain some idea prior to the sale as to I what truck© are available. This should ' lead to increased business bein*r done, as Feilding is already recognised as the chief market fox eiheep on the coast. It is to be hoped that the North Trunk line will be thoroughly equipped early in the 'year, so as to give an outlet for the surplus breeding ewes from this district up. north. Theire ' is also a possibSity of a fair number of fab. sheep- being sent thro<fgh u to Auckland,, 4h^ price there being\aftkays t «bove that given in Wellington. Even laet year fat wethers were bought in the Manawatu by -Auckland Dutohers, sent by rail to New' Plymouth, thence to Auckland by sea. Few seem, to . recognise the possibilities ahead with regard to the interchange of stock and produce by the* taking over of the M&nawatu line and the opening of the North Trunk line. By the sale of the Manawatu railway a considerable amount- of cash will be distributed amongst the old settlers in tha district .to which they are justly entitled, when we consider the long years when there wero no dividends forthcoming, and many of the shareholders were in sore straits to keep their heads above water. Their patriotic action ill erect-ing- the railway has not been fully recompensed. How many of the original shareholders are still alive I have no means of knowing. It should be interesting enough to publish the list. - [ ANTIQUA OVIS. .