AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

A' Wellington message states that Mr 'Charles M'Ki-e, London representative of the ' National . Dairy Association of New Zealand, arrived by the lonio. on the 15tb. Be will attend the annual meeting of the National Dairy Association at Palmerston. North this week. At a. special meeting of subscribers to the Home representation scheme, Mr M'Kie will submit a report on his mission to the British market.

An English agricultural authority says that, one of the great "packers" in the. United States has committed himself to the opinion that meat of aH kinds will" be dearer within the next- six .moafclis than we have -seen it for many years. He points out that they .'are 20,000,0001b short of supply bow,and that there is the prospect, of a greater shortage in front of us. A malady has broken out among the cattle in the Kumar a district, and there" nas been considerable mortality. Bleeding at tfie mouth is one of .the symptoms. In handling tho frozen meat cargo of the s s. Aofea at Oamanr' a record was put up for smartness in loading. In six hours (says tb© North Otago Times) the stai? shitted from the trucks into the vessel 6300 carcases. This a,feo beats the Nelson, record of 1000 an hcur.

It is stated that a considerable number of dairy farmers in the Wairarapa district are ragging their cows this winter.

The Masterton Co-operative Dairy Company has ceased operations for tbe winter. At a rough estimate, it has turned out about 140,0001b of butter during the season-.

On Mr R. K. Smith's farm at Tarras a. very large Sock of Paradise ducks, numbering probably 200, are (says the Gore standard}" doing a considerable amount of damage- to a growing crop of rape, as they are pulling it out of tb.9 ground. - . The question of the filby ■. condU ioa in which some farmers send lambs to the freezing works was discussed at ieflgth by the Farmers' Union at Christchurch on. Wednesday last. The opinion wa3 x expressed tl-at drastic steps should be taken, in the interests o^ the freezing industry, and for the sake of tho mtn who had to handle si.^h stock, to remedy the evil.

A butter factory in the Stratford district wlhich was offered 11^54 for its_6isason's' output, but declined -to sell, figures out it& loss at about £5000.

Sonus idea bb the prolific nature of thi. 1908-9 daary. eeaeon may b& gamed, from tbe fact that a farmeir in the Eketaihuna— district ob.to.ined a hiffhea: return troan 52 cows than he did from 60 in the previous season ; in fact, tih© money value of the milk of the 52 cows < war ©reater by £176 than tihte milk from 1 - the same number of cows in the previous season.

Professor Angus will- this year carry out important experiments in wheat-breedirog at ths Barafi-ald Govern.m©n.t Farm, South, Australia. Hia is crossing Manitoba witlh. Federation »>nd Yamdillo King. He has been successful in pa-ocuring some of the best Russian types for cross fertilisation purposes by band, and .he has «tko obtained samples of ifaa best varieties of wheat arown in, the Punjab diatirict -o£ India. The latter a.re the prodiuot of sek©fcions by the Jndiaai Aga-icultuiaJ Depaxt- 1 roent after seraral ysars of exoeciinentaJE planting They are earfy and fast growing, aaid even if sown in July they will crobably ripen before the South Australian wheats. The graiin is of spietodid ouality, and tJie profeseor hopes to be able to produce hij?h -class wheats by hand fertilisation witih local wheats.

From a variety of causes what is termed "foreign meat" has gradually monoDolieeO 1 to a grreat extent the London trade. An attempt is "being made to change this and attract British-grown . meat to Smafchfield. The Markets Comimrteie of the London Caroora'tion have circularised all fiispricultural represenfcaifciTe bodies asking for information and suggestions. It is believed tbe principal deterrents to the sending of dead meat from the counfry to London 'are. the want of facilities and morereasonable railway freights, ami iSv&t these may hs obtained by means of combination and aggregated oomiigtimeints. This 'would! mean tblsr esitiabilis'h-men'fc of abattoirs at convenient country oenitoss where animals would be sfeu.«jht>ered, sorted, narked; anxJ ' oonsigned in 'bulk bo the London, market. Tt is oon-trmded, however, that it is useless to attempt any change until something is dene by which consumwrs will be able to know the real origin of the meat they are mirdhisintr. There' ajre many strawsw>"'ch indicate that a determine-d* effort will be made soon to prevent imported" m<v).t he-ine VoH as Home-grown. Or January 1 last tfa°< new regulations of the Bnarlish Local Government Board storvpipo the import; of rtork trimmiTigs. TjorV pi^fv-s of various kinds tha.t cannot ba idpntificd as v*w+ <*f a pi?t amounting t<y fK e valuo £2.992.551, according to the la^t return available of, 1907. comer in-fo force. This meat W<« used by arewrfl pork butelmrs mostly in the m3inufacbuire< or A *>i«rlo-G>ennian' sa-usajpes, no'on*°fi, etc. Tb«ir supply being: stopped, r^ev hadi odlv one course left — viz.. t" buy hcvTie-raJßed large hogs or <;ow=. This n a w, demand hot areatly added to th*» a-nd r*rice of -Digs, as is nroved by tV.e"facj; that since .Tanua-ry last the -Drioes \r?v& inereanod by 16 per cent, 'on boss °nd 2& p**r oent. on sows. Now t& pnnnlv this new- rf^majwcl it would require" ■ AR2 000 *ovre of 16 scores each t>er vicar. "Buf t^e fe.rm'Girg and ottv»rs of toe Homeland pre rot in a position to meet "t"he dornsnd. Asa. raaf*°r foot, there was ' a decrease in 1908 of 29.525 fc!T«ed»i|r sows, the decrease in the various ronntries hehwr — 15!n,glawl. 620fi: Wai'cs, 2208; Scotland, 2**7; Ir^and. 1f. 744. From thi° rosuHs of an- experimental 6ta"t;^ " n r-oan6lv csfciblished in Ohio to test the valu<> rock rJic^ate with manure as a Estrilising i^Qredienfc' -tW following \\b.v reporf^'J :— "T!"» rock phosphate _ £3 n-ze+l fiv t,K« nitr^«v>n in fTie manure pile.ard rh#'"»by tn^-fit 'lo^onrpoflttion^ thwirorM whirh th* n-'rowi '« lo^*. <■ It was shown

-tfoat by scaitsring a few pounds daily of fineiy-grouad rock phosphate among the manure the nitrogen loss was kept down to a. minimum. The rock should be 6cat-, tesred on the manure at a time 1 of hauling, before tie nitrogen less has taken place, and" if this is not done the onty value the rock jKhosphaie will, havia will 'be in the plant:food material it contains."