AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2862, 20 January 1909, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Sinoa the beneficial rains of the past few weeks (says the Oamaru Mail) har\est prospects have brightened up considerably, so much so that the y'eld of wheat will be increased^ by from five to cix bu-sbels per acre, and that of cats by from eight to 10 bushels. There is an increased area under wheat in the Oamaru district of 57,581 acres, the increased area in oats being 51,000 and odd acres, and in barley 11,613 aei,--« Rape ha-? an increased area of 51,028 acres, and: potatoes 2617 3cres. Taking the total increased acreage- in conjunction with the prospects of a good yield, it will be seen that the prospecta for the district generally are exceedingly encouraging. The area usually sown in turnips hae decreased by 16,287 acres. It is estimated that over tho whole of the district oats will average 38 bushels to the acre, wheat 53 bushels, and barl'y 30 bushels. The harvesting of the oarly ciops of oat? and barley will be in

' full swing by the beginning of February, and by the middle of February it is not unlikely that the garnering of the orops will be general. Tho weight-guessing competition in connection -with the- Blueskin A. and P« ' Society's show resulted as follows : -rWeigbfc of sheep, 96ilb, D. Ferguson (96ilb), 1;. Chas. Alexander, T. Colehan, Leslie, Ful« larton (all 961b), and Miss Taylor, Mrs J. Elliott, and T. M'Connell (all 971b), 2. The six last-named, therefore, take second prize. There was a large number 06 guesses, ranging from 631b to 1061b, manyj of them being very nea<r the actual weight* Grass is abundant in the Feilding district, but the cereal crops suffered considerably by the recent stormy weather. Th{ dairy industry was never more flourishing. Steps are being taken by the directors of the Cheltenham Dairy Company to gather all information with a view to starting a cooperative bacon-curing company. The pigj breeders throjighout the district strongly support the idea-. There is an abundance of grass throughout the Clutha district this season, and most farms would carry -a good deal more stock, though the numbers are up to the average. The frequent ehowers and warm weather have made a great growth o£ yege>tation. As a rule the turnips are coming on well. j In some of the early sown oats that aye now weli " shot " and the grain beginning to harden (says the Olutha Leader) .the small birds are doing a great amount of damage. In a fine crop of oats at Otanomomo a strip along the fence line is almost white, the birds .having extracted all the grain. The potato blight has again appeared at Taradale, near Napier. The Napier Daily Telegraph, referring to the unwelcome visitation, says that a method of saving tubers three parts grown after flowering) when attacked by blight is to pluck up at once all the haulm, or top. By this means the virus of the ctiseasa is prevented from passing down the stems into the tubers, which ripen in safety. Onp srower in the district has yived crops three times in succession by adopting the methcd described. A few years ago the Danes tried a few Jerseys (says a writer in the Live Stock Journal), which evidently stood the test to their satisfaction, for their numbers have steadily increased, and now the latest consignment' (400 Jerseys) on record has just been shroDed from the island to Denmark. Tho animals have been selected chiefly for their dairy qualities. Not show profit 6, but big yields of butter are sought by the Danes. Three Feilding milk vendors were before the court on the 14-th for sellimg milk adulterated with water. The Government analysis showed that in one case 24 per cent, of water had be«n added, and in another case 30 per cent, added. In these two cases fines of 40s (with £3 15s costs) were inflicted. In the third case, in which 7 per oentv of water was in the milk, a fine qi 20s (with £3 15s costs) was imposed. During December the Gear Meat Company's works a<fc Petone put through 98,500 sheep and lambs and 14-00 bullocks, and if; is expected that this output will be exceeded during January. A district farmer informs the Wyndham Farmer that a prolonged spell of wet weather has seriously affected the turnip crop, which has thus been attacked by the fly ; and in many instances farmers have had to resow. Potatoes promise to be up to the average, while oats are likely to give a magnificent yield. The proportion of fat lambs off mothers will be Below" the average, owing to the cold season. There is a farmer in a smajl way in the Halcombe district who evidently knows how to breed fat lambs (reports the Press). He had 70 lambs running on his piece when the buyer oamo along, and ,he disposed of 69 of them as first-class fats. While driving a large mob of sheep between Mataura and Gore on the 12th ai shepherd had the misfortune to have a valuable dog- run over by the. express at tho CharLton siding. Comparing prices in the sheep and wool line this season with last January, a prominent Wairarapa stock auctioneer informed' a Dominion representative that he considered that the position now was generally better by £210 per thousand sheep. Thf auctioneer made his estimate up of the increase in this way: — Wool, £100; fat lambs, £80; ewes, £30;— total, £210. In the course of over 50 years of observation we have never yet seen the farmer who was a liberal feeder of his cows and! heifers but what made money by it, no matter what was the price of grain (says Hoard's Dairyman). We cannot understand why the great mass of farmers believe it* and praotise the very opposite course. Again, the evidence is overwhemingly in 1 favour of the statement that no man can afford to keep a cow that will not produce 2001b to 2401b of butter-fat a year ; that ifc requires at present prices at least 1501b of butter to- pay the cost of keeping a cowl in good producing condition, saying nothing of the expense of labour. Wo cannot* understand why the great mass of farmers who keep cows do not comprehend theeo facts andi act accordingly. It is universally admitted that a farmer cannot afford' to hinder his cows from doing their best for him by providing dark, damp, badlyventilated stables. Yet a great majority of cow stables are too dark, too damp, an<s badly ventilated. In view of th© fact thafa any farmer may know, if he will, what ! constitutes a profitable stable, we cannot: understand why the great majority prefer *o have such unprofitable conditions for their cows to live in. On the subject of the importance o£ liming meadow lands from time to time. Professor Falke, in a communication to thel German National Agricultural Society, makes the following remarks : — Lime should! form the basis of the manurial treatment of meadow 3, because- through its action tha effect of the other sources of fertility 19 assured. Thus without the presence in the *oil of a sufficiency of lime, neither potash nor phosphoric acid can exert their beneficial influence. Moreover, lime possesses the faculty of neutralising any acidity of the soil, and in this way encourages th© growth of the better kinds ol grass that cannot stand an acid soil, and in addition it assists the development of bacterial life,

•which plays such an important role in the growth of meadow herbage. The best way of applying lime is in the form of quicklime or carbonate of lime. "Where there is already a thick surface of grass the latter kind is to be preferred, because there is no (danger of it injuring the tender roots of the grass, winch quicklime might do. Quicklime should be applied when quick end strong effect is desired, though it must be remembered its action as quicklime is of short duration, as it soon reverts to the form, of carbonate. For some soils and eoUs Tien in humus quicklime is ths? most suitable. Business continues to be very brisk indeed (says the Dominion) in the fat lamb trade in Wairarapa and Bush Districts. "With plenty of feed, consignments of lambs and fat sheep have been ru6hed through to the Wellington Freezing "Works at a rate which frequently exhausted the supply of railway trucks, and the animals are now "coming on" so well that the exports should be considerable for fully another month. Wairarapa rape-growers have been placed in a quandary through the extraordinary growth of the pastures on the farms of their lees enterprising neighbours, who are now in a position to "sit tight," secure in the belief that now, no matter what happens, their stock cannot starve, and they are certain of good prices. Meanwhile the rape has to be eaten off, and if lambs are not available, rape-growers will simply have to fall back upon store sheep. There is likely to be little difference between the prices of fat and store stock. Fat lambs are usually placed for about a month upon a rape crop, and they are then eonsiderierl to be "topped off" and fit for freezing. It does not pay to place lambs or sheep in ' poor, condition upon rape, but the grass as bringing the stock along so well that it is considered that there is a fair chance of > numerous supplies to Wairarapa growers, j The other day there were six prominent Wairarapa rape-growing farmers in Eketahuna scourinsr the country for fat lambs to eat off their crops. They obtained a large number of the animals, but not so many a* they could have done with. An Opaki farmer has already commenced to feed his rape crop off with sheep. The successes of crossbred animals in the championship competition at Norwich form an interesting feature in the records of fat stock exhibitions. Only once in nine years (says the Field) has the East Anglian championship been won by a purebred animal, and that was last year, when the winner ■was Mr Oridlan's Aberdeen-Angus heifer, and the significance of this wonderful sequence of crossbred triumphs will be understood when it is mentioned that in the corresponding period only once has the supreme honour at Smithfield been securod for a crossbred exhibit — namely, in 1903, when the coveted distinction fell to Mr R. J. Batchelor's huge red roan heifer, weighing almost I9cwt. There is something appropriate in the success of purely commercial animals at a show held in an essentially grazing district, but inasmuch as the judges are seldom East Anglian etocikowners, the good fortune of crossbred animals at the Norwich meeting can only be regarded as one of those peculiar incidents that relieve showing of monotony. Another feature of recent Norwich shows as compared with former year 3 is the larp:e proportion of black or blw-grey exhibits. At the last meeting 53 head out of an aggregate of 110 cattle were black or blue-grey, and mostly hornless, and if tho red poll and shorthorn breeds are excluded, considerably more 'than half of the remainder were of. the types alluded to, and indicated the popularity of the Scottish polled breeds in the production of grazing stock. The proportion in the county and butcher classes showing Aberdeen-Angus influences was equally prominent, and from this fact it is evident that East Anglian graziers have largely discarded the big-framed, mongrel ihorned oxen which used to figure 6o conspicuously in the restricted competitions. , The moTe compact and responsive bluegreys fatten quicker and at less expenditure, and when finished command better prices, and hence the increased favour extended to this class of animal. For the month of December the Edendal© Dairy Factory paid out a record sum for milk received, the amount being £5768 : and these were some of the highest individual fheques:— £l7l, £151, £124, £133, £123. £108, and £100. These splendid figura* are +o be accounted for in this way : The high ■prices have induced dairymen to stock to the utmost, and the highly favourable grass season has contributed to an abundant milk yield. Sir Joseph Ward, when he was at Elidexslie, had an opportunity of inspecting the crops in that locality, and he was so pleased -with their appearance that he expressed extreme satisfaction with the prospects of the district.. What Sir Joseph saw a-fc^ Elderslie is but a replica of what he might see nearly all over the oountrv. i 53»ere axe certainly some oat crops that will not come up to the average of the district, but on the other hand t»here are some ' Splendid oat crops. The wheat crops could snot look tttueh better, and the yield prosnlees to be a capital one. With favourable weather and the absence of nor'yesfcers — the enemy of the farmer — a good 'deal of money will be made out of graingrowing in this district. The growth of &raes has given buoyancy ?o dairy-farming, and the rapidity with which turnips and

rape have recover ad from the dryncss of the early part of the season gives promise of gord things for the grazier and freezing company. The New Zealand Gazette publishes a translation of an order of the Governor of Samoa, prohibiting the importation of fowls from Now Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. The order, which came into force on July 21, prohibits importation until further notice, and states that contravention of th-s order will be punished as an infraction \>l the law. Cocksfoot-cutting has commenced in several places in the neighbourhood of Akaroa, and generally in some of the bays. It is reported (says the Akaroa Mail) that the seed is very fair, but will be no cleaner than was anticipated. At Little River cutting has commenced in a few places on the flat, and cutting will be started generally thore about the middle of the week. Evsry train brings numbers of grassseeders, so that there should be no dearth of men this season. Mr Hopkins, the Government apiarist, and Mr Bray, inspector of apiaries, ax© at preeent on a visit to the West Coast, and expect to spend three months in doing the Coast, Marlboi'otigh, and Nelson districts, in which there are in all 1500 beekeepers. Mr Hopkins states that the honey season has been very patchy, and b&ekeeners all over the South Island are complaining of the shortness of the crop of honey eecured up to the present. Some districts in the North Island Jiav© h^d a simiiar experience.