AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 19

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS

At Burnside market on the 3rd inst. there was a. very good yarding of sheep so far as numbers wore concerned, there being 3026 forward, tho bulk of which were secondary and inferior ewes. Very few heavy wethers were yarded. Competition for good wether s was about on a par with last week's rates. Freezing buyers were operating a little, and this helped to maintain values for wethers. This was a reflex of the London market, which shows an upward tendency at the present time. Secondary ewc s were down Is 6d per head, and inferior ewes were down as much as 2s par .head compared with last week's values. Wethers made up to 225, and prime ewes up to 18s. There were 2107 lambs yarded. The market was a shade weaker, not on aoccunt of a similar tendency on the London market, because as a matter of fact prices there are firmer, the wool and sheepskin market being buoyant, but because of the- inability of freezing buyers to get stock killed owing to the Easter holidays intervening. The consequence was that prices were not equal to last week's rates by from 6d to 9d per head. The quality was by no means up to the average, but prime lambs made up to 17s 6d. One hundred and eighty-eight cattle were yarded, and prime bullocks made up to £l3 10s, and heifers up to £lO ss. The bulk of the yarding was composed of medium quality cows, good bullocks being in the minority. Bullocks sold at equal to last week's rates, but cows were down 10s per head, and in some instances 15s. The quality on the whole was not good, tho big majority of the animals yarded being secondary or inferioi cows. Forty-six porkers and baooners were penned and 85 stores. Tho last-named were rather weaker in values, but the market for porkers and fats was, if anything, firmer, these lines making 6£d per lb. the market being very firm at tliat prioe The entries for tho annual field turnip competition havo been coming in freely competition have been coming in freely, and the names of a number of well-known competitors figure in the list. Mesrs G. H. Gilroy (Stirling) and J. L. Mitchell have been appointed judges, and they will commence their tour of inspection of the fields entered at the end of the month. A visit of one of our staff to tho district of Tokomairiro on tho 4th inst. showed that Good Friday had no claims on the farmer, and an interesting chat with on; of the millowners there reveals the fact tliai tho oat crops in that district at least are turning out exceptionally well —110 bushels to tho aero has been threshed, and 80 and 90 bushels are quite common. One farm with this millownor threshed returned 100 bags of oats more than the same acreage (40j last year. Tho grain is certainly a little discoloured, but it is well filled, good plump samples, and this millownor has no reason to think that the discolouring will in any way materially afEect the price. Tho grain will mill out splendidly—in fact, he considers it better filled than last year. He says that threshing is general, but one or two mills have been unable to get a start owing to shortage of labour. He Himself, has not his full complement, and could do with one or two more men. He says that it is no use tho town "agitator" crying out that there is no work. Any man able and willing to work can get work in tho country at present, and at very good wages—in fact, he says (and he has had a long experience) he never saw labour so scarce. With regard to wheat crops, he has net threshed any yet, but ho believes the harvest will turn out very well —not bo well as tho oats perhaps, but quite up to tho average of former years. Thero i 3 a little rust noticeable in eomo of tho paddocks, but this is not nearly so general as it was at first thought it would bo. The turnips and winter feed aro all looking well. Thus, although tho season has been remarkably wet, it.has not been the dis-

astrous one to the farming community such as at one time it was predicted it would be, because after all opinions and predictions go for nothing when put up against the hard, solid returns of the threshing mills. This is what tells the true state of affairs. The town dweller may have his pleasures at this season, but tho strictly rural dweller has his pleasures also, in a different way peihaps—in tho joy and satisfaction of getting a good return for his year's hard toil. Even with seasons liko this one there are worse things to tackle than farming. Farmers are seizing every opportunity of harvesting their crops (says the Southland Times), and there is a keen demand for labour- Men have been paid as high as Is 6d per hour, and at Otautau on Saturday a farmer in search of men was offering 2s per hour for as many as would come forward and work on Sunday. Tho stacks in the corn fields are unusually numerous this year. A visitor from the North Island, passing through South Canterbury one day this week, said he had seen more stack there than he had seen sheaves in. the North Island. Tho Uruguayan Commissioners, who recently visited New Zealand, expressed themselves as disappointed with the dairy stock they had seen in the Dominion, and considered that tho various breeds would do better if they were kept separate. The Hereford cattle were a much better lot than they had seen in England. Potato digging is becoming general in the districts along tho main line south of Oamaru. In tho Maheno district there have been some very good crops of potatoes. The blight does not seem to have boon as bad as it was thought to bo a month or so ago. Tho district is certainly very free from disease in the potato crop considering tho wet season. So far the grub, which wrought so much destruction amongst the tubers last season, has not appeared. Tho Mataura correspondent of tho Southland Times writes: —"The passage of sheep northward has suddenly stopped: sheep are arriving almost daily from tho north, and the Mataura freezing .works aro receiving a full supply. No fewer than 20 butchers are at work on tho board ■ at present there aro 4000 sheep on hand to kill, and there is every indication of a busy season both in sheep and rabbits. There arrived in Stratford on Wednesday 1200 sheep from tho Mangamingi Run of Mr A. Hatrick (Wanganui). They wore trained to Waitara to be frozen and forwarded to England on Mr Hatriok's account. Tho shearing in tho back country, liko harvesting along tho sea coast, has been greatly delayed by broken weather (says tho North Ota go Times). One station in tho Upper Waitaki took two months and three days to cut out. A Timaru miller, who has been round tho Oamaru district buying wheat this week, told an Oamaru Mail reporter that tho quality of this season's crop of wheat had suffered a good deal through being threshed from the stook. The grain, he said, had not time to harden, and in some cases was threshed before the sheaves wcro properly dry. What had been stacked beforo threshing hail improved very much, and some that was now in stack was likely to turn out some of tho finest samples of wheat seen for a pood many seasons. Tho daily output of butter at the llawke's Bay Dairy Company's factory at Mangatainoka is about 38 boxes, nearly one ton per day. Threshing is in full swing in the Cust district, and excellent yields aro being obtained. Tho linseed crop, for which this district is especially adapted, is turning out well, three-quarters of a ton to tho acre being about tho average yield. Feed. is plentiful, and farmers do not view tho approaching winter with the misgivings which prevailed 12 months ago. A farmer informed a Masterton DailyTimes reporter that twice as much ensilago was being made by farmers in tho distriot as before, this fodder being recognised as a valuable ono for tho winter season. Three stacks of oat straw were burnt at Addington, Christchurch. on Wednesday, the fire being caused by a mischievous email boy. Frosts during the last week or two have cut down most of the maizo crops in tlie Wairarapa. They have also dono damage to the potato crops. Pumpkins are being tried on Mr Ernest Short's Parorangi Estate, near Feilding, as winter food for sheep. Ho has got a splendid crop of about 28 acres growing on the banks of tho Rangitikei River. A returned visitor to Hawke's Buy told nn Auckland Star reporter that he had never seen llawke's Bay looking better Stock aro in splendid condition, and there appeared to be an abundance of feed, both for present requirements and for the forthcoming winter. Tho plains, lie said, aro a perfect picture, owing to recent vigorous growth after a succession of periods of rainfall. Unusually heavy rain fell in Mangaia, .Cook Islands, during tho early part of March (writes tho correspondent pf the Auckland Herald). Tho low-lying lands were flooded, and nearly all the taro swamps and many plantations were son ously damaged On March 12 a native boy. about 12 years of age, was drowned while bathing in a fresh-water stream in-

land. The orango season, which is just commencing, is expected to produce a plentiful crop.