WAIRARAPA NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2921, 9 March 1910, Page 39

WAIRARAPA NEWS.

(From a Cokkesfondent )

Business .in the stock market has been brisker during the present week than has been the case for some considerable time past. The chief demand at present is for good lambs, and aged ewes with fairly good/ mouths. There is always a fairly keen* demand in this district for the latter ckfts of sheep, but business has been somewhat retarded owing to owners putting too high values on their sheep. This restriction of business has caused owners to lower their reserves, and, consequently, sales have been brisk at prices that should be satisfactory to owners. M, the time of writing; prices' of stock in the Wairarapa are ruling as follow:—Fat ewes, 10s lid; aged ewes, 7s 9d;_ wethers, lis to 12s 9d; woolly lambs, 8s 7d to 9s Id; two-tooth ewes, 10s lid to las Id; four-tooth ewes, 12s 6d to 13s .3d it cull lambs, 3s lOd tc 6s; good shorn/ lambs, 7s to 7s 8d;- good sound breeding ewes, 9s 6d to 12s 6cl; six-tooth ewes, 12a 8cl; rape lambs, 6s lid to 7s 2d. This week there has been a very keen demand for cattle at the sales, at prices in sellers' favour. Forward bullocks are quoted at £6 10s to £7 2s; three-year-old bullocks. £5 10s to £5 19s; two and a-half-year-old steers, £o 2s 6d; 18-month steers, £3 17s; heifers, £2 5s to £2 7s 6d: cows, £3 to £3 SsS yearling steers and heifers, £2 2s; salves, £1 2s 6d. The following are the rate* ruling in the Forty-mile Bush district:—-Two-year-old ewes, 7s to 10s 4d; four-year< old ewes, 12s 4d; two and four-tooth? wethers, 9s to lis sd; rape lambs, 6s 106 to 7s 3d; three and a-half steers, £4 17s; two and a-half year steers, £4- 8s to £4- 13s • heifers in calf, £2 17s 6d to £3; empty cows, £3 6s; cows in calf, £3 lis. The crops throughout the Y/airarapa havt ; turned out very satisf actor j —in fact, fa« better than was at one time anticipated, as" it was considered that the long spell of dry weather experienced "would have a detrimental effect upon them. The crops generally are healthy, and good yields have been obtained. Smut, rust, or the caterpillar, have not done so mulh damage as has been recorded in some previous seasons. Within a small, confined area, at Taratahi, and on one or two farms at Tinui, the caterpillar has done some damago. In the former district Mr Perry had a large crop of oats destroyed by the pest, while Mr Groves, at Tinui, had 10 acres >f oats rendered useless. Outside of these two instances very little damage has been done to crops by the caterpillar. In both the Masterton and Cartexton districts quite a number of oat crops have returned 70 and 75 bushels to the acre. One settler on . the Upper Plain, near Masterton (Mr M< Meredith) obtained 880 bushels of oats frow 11 acres —a. return of 80 bushels to the acre,. Some other crops worthy of note are those of Messrs J. B. M'Kenzie (about 78 bushels to the acre), M'Gregor (76 bushels), and A. Welch (75 bsshels). There are some splendid wheat crops in the district, the best, perhaps, being that of Mr Colquhoun, of Opaki, which has yielded a return of over* 60 bushels to the acre. A stock fair was held at-Masterton on Wednesday, March 3, the proceeds of which went towards paying for the new grounds at Solway, of the Masterton Agricultural and Pastoral Association. The stock disposed of was the gift of settlers residing in! various parts of the AVairarapa, and the sum of £3OO was realised by the sale. Fat bullocks brought £ll 10s per head, fat sheep 30s, horses £ls, and Mr W. Perry's pen of 20 stud Lincoln ewes realised the handsome sum of £72 12s 6d. A sale of stock was held during the recent show of the asso--> ciatiap, and about £3OO realised then, so

that the Solway grounds fund has at present, a credit of £6OO derived from the sale of stock.

Mr A. J. Stone-Wigg, who recently subdivided and sold his Te Rangitumau estate, near Masterton, has disposed of the stock on the property by auction. Buyers were present at the sale from Wairarapa, Forty - .smile Bush, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Auckland, and the South Island. The whole of the stock wai disposed of at prices which .were satisfactory to the vendor. The cows. a number of which were dry, averaged £6 15a 6d, the two-year-olds £6, and the yearling heifers £4 10s The sheep were very (keenly competed for. Six-tooth ewes realised 15s 6d, two-tootb ewes 16s, four-year-old ewes from Te Hoe station 12s 2d, sixtooth ewes from the Ornid station 13s, four-year-old ewes from Tablelands 13s, small pwe lambs 6s 9d, two-tooth Southdown 'rams 2£gs to sigs, six-tooth Southdown xams 3gs to 4gs, four-tooth Southdown a-ams 4gs to four-year-old Lincoln -rams |g to 2gs, aged Lincoln rams lg 'to Hgs, four and five-year-old Romney j Marsh rams lg tc ligs, five-year-old rams lg to ligs. . .... A disease foreign to local farmers has hroken out in several swede crops in the district. Farmers are at a loss to name the disease, and have reported the matter to the Goyernmemt .Fields and Experimental Farms Division, which is making an investigation. It is not anticipated that the disease will prove very destructive to crops. The Ballance Co-operative Dairy Company •has received cabled information that a large shipment of its butter has realised the very satisfactory price of 121 s per cwt in the London mar,ket. The dairying season, which is now 'coming to a' close, has been a phenomenal one all ove. the Wairarapa and Fortymile Bush districts. At every factory the supply of mills has increased as compared "with the corresponding period last seasonin some cases it having doubled,—while the tests have been very good. There has certainly never been a season in the dairy industry history of the districts named to equal the present season. The Forty-mile Bush has made wonderful strides as a dairying district during the past 12 months, and there is a big future before it—in fact, there are many who prophesy that in years to come Forty-mile Bush will be a big rival to Taranaki. The maize crops grown throughout the district have turned fnit very well, farmers being highlv satisfied with the results obtained. This class of crop is somewhat •new to-most of the local farmers, and consequently they do not yet understand the best conditions under which to grow it. For instance, in most cases the seed was sown too far apart, and' the result has not been as large as it would have been •had the plants been closer together.