AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

A good deal of cocksfoot cutting has been done in the neighbourhood of Akaroa (says the Mail), and there is a general start with the crops on all parte of the Peninsula. The weather conditions have bean unusually propitious this year, and it is anticipated in consequence that the yield will be an unusually heavy one. As to labour, there are a large number of grass-seeders in all parts of the Peninsula. On the other hand, the growers in Little River district arc said to be disap- ' pointed at the ■ prospects »of the yield, which do not appear to be up to the expectations of a week or so ago. The season will bo an early one, even the late j crops being'in a very forward condition, j The estimates of the grain yield for the coming season, issued by the Govern- . men* were attacked by Mr G. Sheat at. Wednesday's meeting of the Farmers’ Union (says the Lyttelton Times). Fie stated that'ho had found only one farmer who had sent in an estimate of his grain yield, and he hinted that the policy of retrenchment had led the Government to scamp the job. The estimate for Canterbury, he sa,id. must, bo discounted by 33£ per cent, and then it would bo about

1 right. The statistics should hot ho published at all if they wore not properly compiled, as they would be misleading to grain buyers and inimical to the best interests of the Dominion. In the discussion which followed it was stated that, although no farmers had been asked to send in written estimates, the stock inspectors had made inquiries in some districts and had learned the acreage sown', but this was no index of the yield. It was resolved that the grain statistics were unsatisfactory, unreliable, and misleading, and would ba better left undone than collected in the haphazard manner at | present in vogue.” - j A Raglan farmer, who has recently lost ' over 200 sheep, emphatically declares they i have been stolen, as their complete disap- ' pearance would b© a physical impossibility otherwise. This serious allegation he is backing up by an offer of £3O for information which will lead to the conviction of the persons concerned in their removal. The Auckland A. and P. Association has a membership now of over 1100. The president (Mr J. Dray) expresses the opinion that there are not many other such societies in the Dominion with a larger membership. A novelty was brought to the Timarn Herald office on the 10th in the shape'of a cabbage or a swede turn’p plant with about half a dozen “ heads ” springing from : the root, one of them an “ albino ” the upper part of the leaves being quite white, the lower part and the stalks yellowish, j Harvesting is now in full swing throughout the Cromwell district (says the Argus), and there will be some heavy yields of wheat and barley in Hawea and Mount Barker. The crops about Tarraa will be poor, as the exceptionally warm, dry weather has played havoc with them. There will be. a shortage of oats throughout the j whole district. i Trappers recently captured 1100 rabbits in Titahi Bay, near Porirua, where the rodents are said at present to be very plentiful indeed. The manager of the Wairarapa Bacon I Factory has gone in for the Scottish cus- ' tom of skinning his pigs before curing ; them. By this means the rind of the bacon : is done away with, and the meat given a : better flavour. i Many stockowners in the Waikato are i complaining bitterly of the time occupied - by the Railway Department in conveying sheep and cattle on the Auckland-Waikato line. It is stated that on© day last week , onc stock train averaged only eight miles i an hour. ! A Taranaki farmer says that he exl pected to make his rent out of pigs this year, but he will not make even his rates. Samples of the new season’s wheat (hand rubbed), are now coming to hand, the earliest being sent, as usual, from the Hakataramoa district. The grain is clean and well-grown, but whether the growers will _ get the 4s per bushel which they a,re asking, remains to be wen, Isays the Timaru Herald. It may be said that the sample' of early-sown wheat >'n the Ashburton county generally will be good; but the check tbs later sown crops have received through the dry weather, will result in the samples of grain being lean and irregular. Caterpillars have made their appearance among the wheat crops on the Rangitata Island, Canterbury. To make matters worse, the birds, in their efforts to get the caterpillars, drop heavily on the grain, with the consequence that the heads gets snapped off from the stalk, and! a large quantity of the cereal is thus completely destroyed. At meeting of the Temufca branch of the N.Z. Farmers’ Union the chairman brought under notice a specific for destroying the California thistle. H© said r© had met a young man who alleged he had such a a.nd that it would neither injure the land nor the stock. He also said it would be very cheap. It was decided to try and test its efficacy. Buyers of fat lambs, who are now operating all over South Canterbury, say that lambs are not in such good condition as at this time last year. Feed is getting' scarce owing to the dry spell, and growers are anxious to quit at the earliest possible time. “\V© can’t afford to pay s£d per lb duty on dirt!” The remark waa mad© by an American buyer at the Wellington wool sale last week, in conversation with a Feilding wool-grower. They were looking at a bale, which contained a large amount of dirty matter, and the buyer said he would pass that lot by, and" would not trouble even to value it. The duty on wool imported into America is per lb, which explains the buyer’s remark. The wool was of good quality, and might have fetched a very satisfactory price but fertile fact that it was carelessly haled. At, the National D?iry Association meeting at Lyttelton, an important subject discussed was a proposal that all butter and cheese should be sold by auction, on the graae. lie fore being shipped from the various ports, instead 1 cf having the consignment sold at Home, as at present. The saies would l be hold fortnightly in the, busy season, and monthly at other times. It was claimed that by this method dairy companies would be able to soli their produce at prices that would be much nearer the value than the prices obtained by the existing system. , £ -held on Mu* J. D. Hopkins’s farm, Holm wood, ’ Wyndiham. last year bora a fine crop of wheat, running SO bushels to th ® acre - "’as then (says the Herald) autumn-ploughed and sown down in dun oats, from which a splendid growth arose ■in eany spring, a.nd 25 head of dairy cows were fed on it daily for three weeks, Then it was given a spell, and last week a first-class crop of ripa oats was cut and stocked from it. Now it is Mr Hopkins’s (intention to sow the same piece of land down with grass for late gutumn feed. ft is evident that “Holmwood” .contains some exceptionally fertile, land. Every day it is becoming more apparent (says the Oamaru Mail) that the big grain 3 ueids of which the district gave promise e<iily in the season are not likely to even.® tuate the dry scorching weather having played havoc witu the crops in all directions. Taking the district risht through, thcur state might be described as an admixture of good and bad; those that have been able to withstand the ordeal to which

they have been subjected being- very good and still full of promise, while the remainder have become so affected' by trying climatic conditions that their appearance causes the greatest disappointment. Many of the crops in the North Otago and South Canterbury districts were considerably damaged by the excessively warm, days and north-westers during Decern,her, and the yields will in many cases be' nothing like what was expected. Turnip-thinners have been busy of late in the Clutha (says the Free Press), and most of the fields have been thinned, but to fill the farmers’ cup of bliss rain is required . Al2 hours’ soak would put the prospects of this most essential feed crop beyond doubt. The Christchurch Fruit Growers’ Association has decided that owing to the shortage in the apple crop caused by the heavy storm in the late spring, it would be impossible to ship apples to England this year, therefore no advantage can be taken of th-e Government offer to guarantee Id per lb for apples shipped by ocol storage. The South Canterbury apple crop will also be short.

Tho Minister for Agriculture (Hon. T. Mackenzie) has supplied the following information to Mr A. S. Malcolm, M.P. for Clufchal: —With referencei to your letter of 23rd ult., in which you make several inquiries, regarding Long-’s noxious weeds exterminator, I have the honour to inform you that the test conducted under the supervision of this department took place on flat land, very wet, in winter time. It consists of a few inches of black soil on top with stiff clay underneath. The original plot treated with this specific in November, 1908 was 3ft x 17ft. There is a further narrow strip 18in wide round this, spot, but this has been treated by Mr Long only this season. The effect of treatment was that the plants withered; out the department’s officer reports that .this season several plants cams up again, -particularly round the edges. It seems, from present results, that this specific will •be useful as a means of checking the growth and preventing flowering, but it may not permanently eradicate the plants. In regard to the effect on the land, the test has been of too short a duration; from November, 1908, to say what the ultimate effect will be. Mr Long’s remedy consists of salt, borax, saltpetre, water, .and Oondy’s crystals for colouring, and the ground should therefore be fit for cropping as soon as the weeds ore destroyed and the land dug or ploughed. Mr Walter Blaokie, of Glasgow Farm, in "the course of a conversation with a representative of the Wynrham Herald, stated the Canadian thistle was proving a terrible pest all over the Taieri Plain. Acres upon acres of the richest soil, ho declares, •can be seen smothered with this noxious weed, leaving the laud almost useless for cultivation. “My advice to the farmers of Wvndham, and of Southland generally, said Mr Blacfcie, “is to take time by the forelock, and be unceasing in their efforts to keep the Canadian thistle in check. It . can be done. I ba.ve proved it for myself, j at Glasgow Farm, where not a Canadian ' thistle is to bo seen. Salt is the anti- , dote —common agricultural salt. It is unwise to give it in large quantities as a medium : dose of salt- has been proved to lie the most ■efficacious in treating with the pest.”

There appears to be a general consensus of opinion (says' the Mataura. Ensign) that the extreme heat experienced during part of last month and the drying winds which have invariably followed close on the heels of the showers will result in the eoat crop being short both in straw and yield' in many marts of the Matauta district, especially on the lighter lands, and even on the heavy Tends lately ‘brought in.’ which cake easily. The turnips have greatly benefited by the heavy rain of last week, and' the comparadvely cool weather since, which has given fhem a start in some places where it seemed likely they would prove a total failure, but the crop on the whole is not likely to be other than very medium. One farmer expressed the opinion to an Ensigr reporter the other day that the year was the worst for turnips in his experience of farming in Southland, which extends over a generation. On the other hand, excellent reports are to Tie heard of the wheat and oat crops on the river flat land.