To Farmers and Pastoralists.

Otago Witness, Issue 2862, 20 January 1909, Page 21

To Farmers and Pastoralists.

Again that admirable journal, the Pas* toraTist-s 1 Review, contains most interesting subject-matter, not only in the form of valuable articles, reports and contributions, but also in the way of a series of exceedingly attractive pictures. For example, Captain Pearse, one of tha proprietary, paid a. visit to his Majesty the King's Royal Farms at Windsor, and', to Lord Rothschild's Tring Estate, taking his camera with him. The outcome ia some really gooil illustrations, and a couple of most readable descriptive sketches. Then there are biographies of Mr W. C. Buchanan, Mr M. Kettle, Mr M. Murphy, and other prominent people concerned in agricultural and pastoral matters in New Zealand. Of course, there are the usual speciallycontributed show reports, including exclusive articles on the great Metropolitan) Agricultural Show at Christchurch, those at Dunedin, Auckland, Palmerston North, Wauganui, and at other smaller centres. Other topics treated in exhaustive manner aro "'Selling and Buying Wool," by S. B. Hollings; " r ihe Development of Back Country," and '"Harnessing Water Power." Then there is correspondence from wellknown and experienced pastoralists, deal* ing with irrigation, woolpacks, rabbits, inbreeding, footrot, maggot fly, immigration, and many ether matters of importance and concern. But it is difficult to even summarise tha contents of tho Pastorah'sts' Review in a manner which will do that altogether exceptional illustrated journal justice. It i« better to simply ad\ise both pastoralist^ and agriculturists to become subscribers—* the cost is only £1 a year — and obtain thi« excellent budget of reading matter regularly for themselves.

» bushel (Sydney), but meat of the city f huyers are pausing till definite news 11 ' ojibled from London, as Sydney values will iaa\gely dapc:nd during January and February on tha extent to which the London buyers may find it necessary to supplement the Argentine arrivals by importations from Australia. The drought along the South Coast baa eti mutated the sale of bran for dairy cows, a<nd of pollard for poult: >, etc. The harvest tends to weaken the Sydney flour market. Old New South iWales flour ia scarce. New flour is at quotations for eale to Svdn-ey, country, and interstate bakeries ; but small concessions on the full ratee have been allowed on sales ©f new flour for export oversea. The Narva'bri district hae the splendid average of 25 bushels of wheat *o tiie acne, and practically all of it is of choicest milling efcandBai>d. There are no reports of emut or (rust. The smallest farmers there have all payable orop3, the only regret being that there was not a bigger area undea* wheat. The 20-acre crops have paid handsomely. The record individual return for Narrabri this*. harvest is 50 bushels to the acre from a, 24-acre plot. This was the Bobs variety. Many wheatgirowens in the various parts of New South Wales have done excellently tihi* y?ar with Federation, Bobe, Steinwer|. !, Purple Straw, Marshall's Nos. 2 and 3, jni Dart's Imperial. Some fa-rmers .ha\<> -uffexKl by the prevalence of hot and fierce? winds during the last fovv days, a ponnon of the grain bein^r thrashsd by the •tornis. Thia visitation emphasises the pro-

verb that th<? farmer oaivnot oount on hU ' grain till it is actually in the bag." "As far as the wheat market is concerned '' (reports the Sydney Mail of the 6fh mst.) "it has undergone very little change during the holiday week. Neither buyers nor sellers have been cultivating"; business to any extent, and there is not j much activity even to-day. The tone of the market, however, slightly improved, and is now very firm at 3s 8d for shipping parcels in Sydney, although country buy- j ing ha« been brisk to-day and yesterday at up to 3s 9d. London, though quiet, is fairly strong in tone, the offerings from tha Argentine and Australia alike not being- i very free, while there is a very substantial falling-off in the shipments from bhe j United States and Canada. '• The Melbourne* market " (reports the Au-tralasia-n of the 9th inst.) " is steady at 3» 7id to 5o Bd, and a moderate business ha« been done. The shippers are now receiving large supplies of wheat delivered under eontraot-3 made with the farmeie •during the past four months, an"d, apart from some interruption oecsaioned by w-et weather, loading has been active at "Williem&town and Geelong. The forward con- ' fract? are on such a considerable c^ale, and the shipping engagements already made arc calculated to plsoe so much pressure on the handling accommodation, that \be goopp for fj-esli busine.'- 1 ' at the moment is ! wiii-ed. Reports from the country conI'iye fo rpp&k of good yields, and it is cvldor.* tlji.t supplies will be abundant in Victoria, ihouq:'! tiia South Australian and]

Nsw South Wale- crops are not .coming- up to expectations." The principal event in the local wheat naarket been the sele of a line of now wheat which is not yet harvested. An Ashburton merchant purchased a farmer's crop at 3s 5d on trucks, and resold a por(iou of the line to a Dunedin buyer at 3s 6d on trucks. It is also reported that §outh Canterbury millers have done business in new crop wheat at 3^ 6d at mill Joor. Reports from Canterbmy state that •be prospects, both as regards yield and acreage, are better than for 10 years past, and no one will bo surprised should 1909 prove t])9 record jear for a heavy yield. Old wheat w very scarce, especially velvet, for viiioh as much as 4s 7d on tru.ek=> i 3 Using cwked. A line of 500 sacks of Tu?o:.n c.id red chaff was sold at the beginning of tha week at 4a 2£d on trucks at Fairlie, *nd £.nothei* line from the same district (including some velvet) at 4s 3id. The /•vs-<iali9n v.-lieai to hand is grinding well -•id giving oaiisfaction Til* chick wheat market is unchanged <t'.. 4s 6d f.0.b., e.i., Timaru, for good whole | fovl v.-heat. For local ordeis 4s 6d ex tior-e 13 tho nominal quotation. There is no change in offal, and the association'^ tariff stands: — Bran, £4- 15a for local orders, and £4 10s, f.0.b., for shipment ; pollard, £6, both for local orders and for shipment. | Flour is unaltered. The association's tariff is as follows : —Sacks, £10 15? : 100's, ' fill; 50a, £11 10»j 25's, fill 15a. The '

shipping price is £10 10s, and the Invercargill price £11. There has been a good demand for oats during the week on the basis of Is 9d to Is 9£d f.0.b., s.i., but to-day the market is firm at the higher quotation. The bad ■ueather in Canterbury, with the prospect of a delayed harvest, has stiffened the market there, especially in South Canterbury, where stocks are short. The prioa of oatmeal is unchanged at £10 10s per ton. Pearl barley is quoted at , £17. 1 The ryegrass market has not yet opened, although samples from Canterbury have been shown on the Dunedin market. The Rcmples to hand are of light seed, and it , is said that Canterbury farmers are indicating 2s as the probable price, but buyers are holding off. 1 The London market shows a slight firing in butter and a rise of 2s per cwt in cneese within four days. There is no advice aa to the disposal of tfie Paparoa's i shipment. The Rimutaka takes 52,075 j boxes of butter and 19,719 cases of cheese. We understand that the Taieri and Peninsula's Rimutaka shipment ♦ealised a shade I over lid per lb f.o.b. Tha local market is still over-supplied Vv-Ith dairy butter Quotations: Dairy pats, 6£d ; dairy bulk, 8d ; separator, lib pats, } 7£d; Taieri and Peninsula pats, ll£d (id ; rebate for cash) ; T. and P. bulk, Hid. ! Cheese. s£d to bid. I Chaff is f>.gain easier. Prime oaten sheaf is wortli £3 15s; medium, £3 7s 6d to £3 12s &d ; inferior, £2 10s to £3 5s (sacks extra). Potatoes. — New Oamarus have keen com- • £113 forvard freely ■during- the week, and are now quoted at £6 per ton. Auckland j new £5 10s, and Peninsulas at 7s 6d per I ovt. Old potatoes are slow of sale at £3. — Fair derr.a.Tid, Is Id per dozen. Bacon. — Rolls, Bid; sides, 8d ; hams, 9d ; prime bacon pigs, up to 1601b, 4id^ heavy w 'ighf, 2|d. Poultry.— Hens, 2s 6d to 2s 9d per pair ; ; rro^ters. 5s per pair ; ducks, 4s 6d, and • (iuckha£, s 4s 6d to 5s per pair; turkeys — I liens sd. gobblers 8d io ?if per lb for 151b ; and over, lighter weights 6d per lb; geese, 6o per pair. Hor?\.- Choice, 4d per lb ; 101b tins, 3s to 3= 6d ; choice sections, 6d to 7d. Closer hay, £3 for choice. Straw: ! Wheaten, 3£» 6d : oaten, 40s ton. Feed barley, ?;■ to 3s 3d. Maize, 4s 6d to ss. Pe-r.rN. — Java, 2d ; Japanese, 2Jd to 3d. Piesori sd ginger. 7£d. j FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. I Th.3 I'aci vrcather of the last few days I ba=> eeiioiisly affected the fruit markets. Fair supplies hare arrived from the Teviot, principally peaches; also supplies of 'omatoes and plums from Auckland. Cherries and strawberries are finished for the season. Following are current quotations between fruitbi-okers and retailers : — Orange-?. — Californian, 16s to 17s. Lemons. — In short supply, and prices are expecred to go higher in consequence of the Messina disaster. Californian, 9s to Bananas. — The market has collapsed owing to a large shipment of 2700 oases from Suva, which sold at 3s to 7s &d per ofse. A few lots ware sold to arrive at 8s to 9s. Apples. — Aucklands, 2s 6d to 3s 9d per box. Raspberries. — Fairly plentiful; 4^d to sd. Gooseberries. — In short supply. Green, l£d to 2d; ripe, 2d to 3d. Black Currants. — Scarce, and in good demand at 3d to 3^d. Red Currants.— Small and inferior, l£d to 2d ; choice, 3sd. Teviot Fruits. — Very few apricots. Choice, 3d to 4d ; jam, l£d to 2|d. Peaches — Choice dessert. 3d to 4d ; medium, up to 2~d; small, Id to l£d. Plums, l^d to 3d. No r.^c^arines Tomatoes. — In rather short supply. Cln- ; 3iohi;ich (hothouse), 7d to BAd ; local, uJ.,-1 lo M ; Nelson and Auckland, 4d to 6id. Cacr.mbsrs. 2s to 4s per dozen. Vo^cloMes.— Cabbages, Is 9d to 2s 9d r-i ss.~k : cauliflowers. 3s to 4s; lettuce, 6d to 1? 6d per oa.se; rhubarb, 5s to 7s psr r vt- crc-n psa<?, lid to If d ; French beans, ?<1 to s n ; \eprftable marrows, 3-s 6d to 4s i *,• of on-o <"oz.cn ; sacks, &3 to 7s> 6d. Onions — Australian. 7s to 7s 6d ; Can- ' - bury nominally 6s 6d to 7s (none off erIMPORT MARKET. Business in the impoit market, as is r.^ual at this time of the year, is very j quiet — a quietnej-s which has bean intensi- j hod by the bad weather and the depression in busine=3, induced by the general unrest in the political and industrial worlds, j Piicos are for ths most part stationary. , Thero is a good inquiry for sugar for tho ry>s°rving- season, and the Sugar Company sF-is tome difficulty in supplying the demand. Especially in this the case with l)i ewers' crystals, of which local stocks are low . Thero is an upward tendency manifest in Mauritius sugars, and cable advice has been received from Melbourne notifying a rise of £1 per ton in this class of sugar. This wil affect tho price in the local market of brow n brewers' sugar, and also of rations. Thr> m.irkat is quite bare of lentil s pending the arrival of the W'hakatane. Ow ing to a rise in freights there has bf>en an advance in all American woodware and hardware. In consequence the price of clothes pegs has been advanced by 3d per box. The sago and tapioca markets have been showing a tendency to harden for some dine back. Current quotations are 14s 6d to 15^ 6d for sago, and 15s 6d to 16s 8d for pearl tapioca. »Siar brand mullet shows en increased ro?t owing to the difficulty in procurinsr the fish. This is quoted at 5s 6d to 5s 9d, according to quantity. Owing to tho Messina disaster the price of Sicily almonds lias risen, and they are now quoted at from Is to Is Id per ib. A i-harp advance lias taken place in rl<"33icated cocoanut, which is now quoted : Chests, 4id ; half-che3ts, 4£d ; and packets, 6s. A new line of Barilla soap (Christie's)— paid to bo quite equal if not superior to anything- hitherto procurable^ — has just been placed upon the maiket, and is quoted at from 3s to 3s 6d per dozen tablets, according to quantity.