FARM AND STATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2860, 6 January 1909, Page 20

FARM AND STATION.

(Continued from page t.)

AGaiCDLTURAL AKD PASTORAL NEWS. Writing on the subject of inferior longwocl sheep " Canadian, in the Pastoral Ms' Review, say-?:— I have visited the New Zealand shows several fames, andi am w&ll acquainted witb tbe leading- flocks there, so ■that, knowing tbe high standard of longwools in New Zealand, it has always been a surprise to see so much rubbisb sent over to tbe Sydney and Melbourne sates. If breeders could only see it, it means a serious check to therr trads, and fehe same thing applies <to Australia. New Zealand breeders hare rescinded the proposal to have qualified inspectors to visit flocks and oull a*l— below a certain • standard but the voting was very dose, which sbowedi that a large number were in favour of a continuance of tbe system. It just amounts to tbis, thaifc if tbe breeders themselves do not cull their inferior sheep, buyers won t look at *hem. and tbe flook suffers m consequence. The trouble is that a great mtfty inferior sheep are undoubtedly pure bred, and fcbe New Zealand Sheep-fareed-ere Association has *jt> issue certifi- ! cates with them when sales take place Therefore to ensure the association's certificate being a guarantee of quality as well as breeding, the inspection of flocks was one of the means adopted to attain that end. The difficulty in New Zealand is in dealmg with tbe flocks of existing members of «Jha association, or, ratfoer, the flocks of those members so notoriously below ths proper standard. South Anreirieaii meat has recently been imparted, and in fairly large quantities. into Chicago itself ! It ia a strange development of the commercial affairs of the world. In November last potatoes were realising £2 per bag in Johannesburg. On the earne date they were being sold in Scotland at £2 per ton. | The drought in Tasmania had a serious

I effect on tbe sheep market. Sheep j were offered for sale at Epping on boa 16th uk. with poor comc&fition. One owner who submitted his sheep informed the auctioneer that he did not intend to take tne sheep home again, that if "they were mat sold be would tur.n them into the road. These were young sheep, but they brought only 2s Bd. The first bid was Is 3d. A nice lot of wethsre from the same station realised 5s 8d — sheep that last yeaT would have brought from 11s 6d to 12s 6d. The science of oat-growing is being very elaborately developed from tbe experiments on different varieties of this cereal carried out for some years by the West of Scotland Agricultural College. Two reports have just Been issued 1 , one relating to dressed grain and the other to its components. One of the most important points, so far as growers are concerned 1 , is that as to ifche selection of seed. It is nol enough to choose oats which give a high weight per 1000 eeeds. because the heaviest Naats often come from a very poor crop, the ears of which bear the grain© singly, instead of in the couples or triplets to be found in prolific crops. - Therefore, it is pointed out that the marks of good seed oats are (1) proper weight per 1000 seeds, and (2) assurance that they are the produce of prolific care. A ske,toh plan of the Kauroo estate, North Otago, showing the sub-divisions is now available. The estate is divided into 35 sections varying from 74 to 3324 acres. Two school sites and a church site have been reserved. Tha " Oxe " Company has acquired one million three hundred thousand acra of cattle farms in South Africa, which it is now developing to Bupjjly beef for "Oxo." This huge territory js in addition to the present " Oxo " farms in tbe Argentine, which also cover over one million three hundred thousand acres.