WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3002, 27 September 1911, Page 18

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

flTnoM Our Own Correspondent.} Just when the depression of spirit among farmers, especially _ dairy-

The Weather.

men, was becoming intense the hoped-for rain came to

i relieve them. When writing last week it was mentioned that light rain was falling, but nothing much tell until Monday, and it has been raining intermittently since. On the first two days the rain was steady and warm. Yesterday came a cold snap, but nothing like so severe as is reported in other parte. Coming so steadily, and the land so thirsty, little water reached the creeks or rivers, but the soil has got a fair soaking, which should keep vegetation moving for a tew weeks, when it is, to be hoped there will be a further supply of the needful. [ During the last day or two the question j has been asked. What has the

i The Value of ; ltain.

last few days' rain put in the pockets of farmers, and therefore the commu-

' nity at large? To some extent any answer to such a query must be guesswork. In I Se fiSfc pffle. it is the dairymen who have benefited most In many cases g» icows had been badly jmtered; and the rapture was- ait a standstill for want 01 rain that the cows could not be expected . to "ome to full milk, as cows in Jowcondi- ! fion reauire a considerable period ot SauTand luxuriant feeding before com- ! STS full profit. There being nearly I mm dairy cows on the Coast, southi of * Waneanui County, it is a moderate eetii K supple that another week wigout rain wouM have meant a tas of |1 a 'head for the season, say "J^^gS? and agriculture were not so badly pusnea, ! still fir both rain was badly wanted a fi _an S insurance for the future and it ! sible to form an estimate 'of the vajne ot , this week's rain to those industries; but in ! many cases i* means.Ss to 10s per acne, so | flhat .for this district alone Revalue of the rain means close on £loo,ooo—that is, I if the drought had continued for another , month. In the Manawatu, with ram as a rule at least once a fortnight, we are 1 inclined to place little value on moisture unless when it comes a dry spell. It is to be hoped that the effort* lately made to avert loss by the conserving of water and the growing of fodder will bs continued, as it is a long time till autumn and it is better to be prepared to meet _ whatever may be the climate condition during spring. and summer. To- the love of purebred stock whether I . horses, cattle, sheep, .or

Stud Farms.

pigs, there are few districts in the Dominion "where a holiday can be spent com-

bining pleasure and'educatidn to ««ater advantage than between the Manawatu and KarSei Rivers. In this smal 1 corner ' are located numerous stud flocks of Romney I on 50 being registered m the so that the dtoot may be termed the "hub" of the breed Mr Short's famed "Parorangi is the and recognised as one ot the best >* New Zealand It will be remembered that a Paromngi ram took the championship at the great international show in Argentina. Besides this noted flock there are many, of. TheSer 49 that will wellrep ay looking over but which it would be invidious to plrtUlarise. . A dbcade back .Lmcolns were in strong force, but now there are few flocks left; still there are some good specimens of the breed to be- found—strong, robust-constitutioned sheep, w hlc JV in my opinion, will again come to Q th f front shortly. After the Romney, Southdowns are most in evidence. Shropshires are out of favour at present, but admirers predict a turn of the wheel. There are a few , excellent ■ English Lekester flocks and 'Borders in lesser numbers. Taking the 'stud flecks, of whatever breed, they are a credit to the district, as they should be, seeing the rich pastures on which the majority are raised, and that breeders have gone to great expense in procuring highclass animals when laying the foundation, ; and improving the standard annually by importations from Great Britain and noted I flocks in other part© of New Zealand. With regard to cattle, dairy breeds claim first attention. Formerly the Jersey ne.d ! pride of place, and perhaps does so vet. but the little "uns" are being pushed hard by the larger sorts—Ayrshire and Hoisteins. The Holsteins especially have made rapid strides, and during the past year a large number were ' imported from New South Wales. Grade Holsteins are highly appreciated as milkers. It will have been' noticed that Mr W. J. Loyelock, Palmerston North, landed at Wellington last week with what is stated to be the largest number of stud cattle that has come to New Zealand from America—namely, 17 head of Holsteins, with other six to follow. Mr i Lovelock has been prominent in the show S ring for some years with this breed, and | in order to keep iip the quality he made a I special trip to America some months ago \ to select ?ome good representatives of the j breed, where it is held in high repute, they having been kept purebred ever since i the first importations from Holland by early Dutch settlers. Besides buying for his own use, he was commissioned to buy I for five other dairymen who are starting I Holstein herds. I understand tihat Mr _ G. ! C. Hopping, Rongotea, intends visiting ! Holland shortly to further augment the ' number of Holsteins. Ayrshires are quietly ■ advancing in favour, and breeders have a ready sale for all the purebred* they can : produce. At the same time those inter- | ested should take to heart the advice ten- : dered by Mr DunJop and increase the size and weight somewhat. With regard to all the milking breeds, there is a fear that the stamina and constitution are likely to suffer by too much attention being given to augmenting the milking properties of the animal. In the past sheep, cattle, and horses also have gone out of repute owing to breeders endeavouring to perfect some particular quality or fad at the/ expense of constitution. Of the beef breed Herefords are in the front, there being tome half dozen herds that it would be hard to better in any part of the world. Shorthorns are few in number, there being- now no outstanding herds since the dispersal of the late Mr M'Hardie's. There are a few good representatives ot the Polled Anaus but the Hereford is the only beef breed of which the district can boast. Horsebreeding, especially draughts, as has been previously mentioned, is' somewhat neg-

looted, there being no large stud establishments, with the exception of Mr J£ Short's Clydesdales and Messrs Jilis 8 Shires, both of which are worthy of visiting. It is reported that the Wairarapa A. and P. Association has decided

Training Show Jutigvs.

to make an endeavour to educate amateurs to become professional judges of live

stock. It appears that some time back the secretary* addressed a letter to 18 prominent judges asking their opinion on this matter. The question was _ put: "Would you object, when acting as judge, to' have a man attend you while perrorming your duties, discuss points, and explain to him vour reasons for awards?" Of trie 12 replies read, the majority were in. favour of giving the project a trial. Mr W. P. Archibald, judge of Downs, wrote that, in hie opinion, judges were bom', not educated. Personally he had no objection to giving his reasons for his decisions. Many competent judges, however, might object to give reasons for their decisions. Mr Alfred Matthews (Romneys) replied that he had already frequently expressed the opinion that it would assist some of our young men materially in becoming competent judges if they were allowed to accompany experienced judges when the latter were carrying out their duties. I have never been a silent judge," he wrote, "and have always had pleasure-in imparting to the stewards working with me as much information as I possibly in connection with the exhibits I deal with. We have men who are perhaps quite" competent to judge at shows,; but have not sufficient confidence in themselves to act alone. If, however, they were allowed, to attend on a first-class . judge, who would analyse the animals carefully, call attention to the essential points, and) clearly give reasons for the awards, these men would soon become competent judges, and would act with confidence. Unfortunately some judges would 1 not give reasons for their decisions, and you will generally find them incapable of analysing an animal. Sudh men were not likely to assist young men to become judges." Mr Donald Grant, judge of Downs, wrote that he would be pleased to assist the association, as he considered the idea a good one. Mr B. Sheet (Romney) wrote: —"Not more than three amateurs should be nominated to folioi.v the judge through each respective class they might wish to make themselves efficient in, and the judges should be requested to explain all the different point 3 of each animal as it passes through their hands. The information thus gained would have a lasting effect on ifce student." As the above would. necessitate longer time in judging, Mr Short that instruction could be given after the judge had: completed his work. Mr C. M. Threlkeid wtroto: —'T think your scheme worthy of a. trial, as I know how difficult it is to get good judges." Of the Ayrshire judges, Mr J. Kyle is strongly in favour of the scheme;. while Mr John Par lane said he had spoken to several judges about this matter, and after thinking it out carefully had come to the conclusion, that it would not be productive of gdoJ. results. Mr Wm. Taylor, a shorthorn judge, agreed with the 'idea, as there were not too many judges now, and the old judges could not go on for ever. Mr F. Armstrong (Akitio) and Mr E. D. O'Rorke (Auok-

land), judges of horses, are both in favour of the idea. Mr J. Knight (Feilding), a Down breeder, wirote my opinion, anyone desirous of learning judging should be put on as a senior steward. In that position much could be learned, and at the same time the judge would; be assisted. As a rule a judge had not too much time for discussing and explaining points.” Mr John Penrett. (Sandon), judlge of Leicesters, was in favour of the scheme, but the want of time would be an obstacle. Personally, I am of til© same opinion as Mr Archibald, when ho says “judges were bom, not educated,” and it may be added that Nature is most niggard in this matter, as the" keen, far-seeing eye of the studim aster is Vouchsafed to few; wanting which no on© can be considered a competent judge of breeding stock. It has also to be remembered that, besides Nature being so close-fisted in granting this extra sense, it is almost impossible 'to impart much of it intelligently to pthers. As Mr Matthews says, a judge should be able _to analyse and explain the different points of the animal as fair as conformation goes. But in the eye of the “born judge” there remains something more that is unexplainable. At the same time the scheme is worth a trial, for the reason that there are many among the few that have this natural gift that are wanting in confidence in themselves. There have been many successful breeders who could never be got to enter the show ring,, hut would have been glad of the opportunity to hear the judge give his reasons for decisions, which in some oases would have engendered confidence in himself. There is another aspect that is in which the scheme may prove advantageous, in ’'ringing forward extra judges, should the •'•oortunity be given to employees to beco l u dents. It is not always the owner who deserves the credit for the high standard of his flock or herd, as often dependence is placed on the herdsman or- shepherd', and it is advisable that those Who have done good work with a stud should join the ranks of judges. ANTIQUA OVIS.