OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 3034, 8 May 1912, Page 20

OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

(Fbom Oua Own CoaBESFOWDwrr.) THE WEATHER AND GENERAL. Cold and wet conditions prevailed throughout the greater part of last week, and winte r seems to have sot in in earnest. Heavy rains fell on the flat country, and more snow on the high country, while frosts ranging up to 9deg were recorded. The average fall of rain over the province for the month of April was 4£in, the number of wet days being 10. For the corresponding month in 1911 the average fall was 2.30 in. Tho total rainfall for the year, as registered at Ashburton up to the end of April, is 11.47 in. The measurements for the four months are as follow: —January, 2.64 in; February, 1.83 in; March, 2.84 in; April, 4.16 in. From the above meteorological records it will be seen that the season up to date has been an unusually wet one, and farmers are now most anxious that fine weather will prevail for a term to enable them to push ahead the work of preparing the soil for the reception of winter cereals, which has been much delayed. During last week I spoke to a number of farmers from the swampy districts, and these stated that there is an unusual quantity of water on the surface of the soil in low-lying places, and the springs are aib normally high. Indeed, those farmers who have not had their grain threshed would experience no little difficulty in getting this work carried out at the present time, as the soil is absolutely too soft on the surface to carrv threshing plants. One good effect of the heavy rain (said one farmer) would bo that the grass grub would not be able to work in the soil in its present condition. On the other hand, a fairly large area of. land has been already sown in oats for feeding purposes during the winter and early spring, and the heavy rains of last week should give these cereals a favourable start in erowth.

The fall of snow in the back country is said to have been unusually heavy, and this will somewhat disconcert those graziers who have recently taken up the leases of pastoral runs. The weather was fine on Saturday, but during the night an unfavourable change occiirred, and.licht rain fell throughout the greater part of Sunday. A large acreage of land has been ploughed, and when the weather permits the sowing of winter wheat will be extensive. During the oast two weeks a fairly large area of medium quality land has been sown in oats. The rise that occurred in the wheat market last week was warmly welcomed by those farmers who have still their grain on hand. Fully 3d per bushel of a rise was being offered by merchants on Saturday last, but holders do not feel anxiously disposed to sell. Grain sacks are expected to arrive in the Dominion at an early date, but much of the unthreshed grain will be held over till the spring. The weather broke beautifully fina this (Monday) morning. THE STOCK MARKET. The advent of the cold and wet weather js inducing farmers to send forward ill their available fat stock, and notwithstanding the fact that the yardings at the chief sale centres have been-unusually heavy of late, prices have not suffered any depreciation. Indeed, last week there Nvas a rise of at least Is per head in fat sheep and lambs, and export buyers were operating very freely. Present indications point to a still further rise, a-id prices this winteT will doubtlossly exceed those that obtained last year. There is still a good supplv of feed on hand, but stock is bound to deteriorate in condition now that the weather has become so unfavourable. The following prices, which were obtained at a larsre displenishing sale in Mid-Can-terbury last wr-ok. will give a good idea of the current values of store sheep:—6l7 sixtocth ewes at Ids 3d. 302 sound-mouth ewes at 13s 3d. 505 do at 12s 7d. 28 fat, ewes and wethers' at ]ss 3d. 610 eight-tooifh ewes at 13s 6d. 633 fou---tooth ewes at 16s 9d, 524 do at 16s 6d, 407 lambs at 10s Id. 52 twotooth ewes at 17s Id, 571 two-tooth ewes at 14s Bd. 194 fat and forward wethers at 16s 9d, 740 five-year-old ewes at 9s 4d. 300 two. four. and six-tooth ewes (late shorn) at 13s 3d, 50 six and eight-tooth ewes at 14s 2d. LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL. The long-looked for Local Government BiM is having a mixed oreception. Many of the provisions of the bill are being roundly condemned, and it has been pointed out that work that is now being carried out gratis by member*; of Road' Boards (who are actually unpaid inspectors) would have to be done by paid officials, and the cost to the ratepayers would thereby be much increased. A return to a bureaucratio .form of local government as proposed by the measure is not being generally favoured. Matters in connection with appear to have been pushed forward with undue haste, there being but little time allowed for the representatives of local bodies to give the measure that careful consideration necessary before they will be able to discuss or vote intelligently upon it. It may safely be said that among those representatives of local bodies who will meet in conference at the Charitable Aid Board's offices on May 13 to elect a representative to attend the Wellington conference will be a number whose knowledge of the bill will be but vague and shadowy, and who, therefore, will be incompetent to instruct the delegate to be despatched' to Wellington as to how he should vote upon a matter of such vast importance. ' THE LABOUR MARKET. The inability of many farmers and contractors to . procure labourers is seriously hampering the progress of farm work. Ae showing the acute scarcity of farm vorkers and servants for country districts, it may be mentioned that one labour agency in Afihburton is actually in urgent need of the services of over 30 men and girls to fill vacant positions. A similar unsatisfactory state of affairs exists over tho whole province. Reporting to an annual meeting of ratepayers of a road district on Saturday last, the chairman (Mr J. W. Leadley) said that the roads in the board's district were getting into at very bad state, as a result of the heavy grain-carting traffic, and he incidentally remarked that at least two contracts for road-repairing had been actually

held up for five months on account of the contractor being unable to secure the services of workmen. Quite a number of threshing machines, too, have been obliged to pull in, as a result of men leaving and the inability of mill-owners to replace them. There is a probability, however, that in the event of the weather taking up that the shortage of labour would not be so acute. SCARCITY OF RAILWAY TRUCKS. Never in the history of the province has there been such a pronounced shortage of railway trucks for the transport of grain. Large stacks of grain are to be seen at practically the whole of the country stations, and as a result of the recent (stormy weather much of the grain has been damaged' by rain. The Railway Department is. being strongly criticised for not being able to cope with the traffic, and it must surely be exasperating, to the farmers --after all their anxiety through the weather conditions, and their difficulty of obtaining labour to garner'the harvest in —to walch their grain going to ruin through the inability of the departmont to contend with "the traffic been 6aid and written of unnecessai rowing by the Liberal Government, but a loan to improve the railway service 6hould not only be a saving of much money to the farmer, but it would meet with the approbation of every resident of the Dominion who has the welfare of the staple industries o£ the country at heart. As the shortage of railway trucks is a vexed' question every year, it is to be hoped that the nowly-appointed Minister of Railways will not be so parsimonious as his predecessor, and that the department will take the necessary steps to remove the complaint. Indeed, members of the House who'have the interest of the farming community at heart should demand that the rolling stock should be increased, as good seasons are of little benefit to the agriculturists if they are to be prevented from reaping the full benefits by an improvident Railway Department. MISCELLANEOUS. An Ashburton farmer informed me that he has been experimenting in fattening pigs with crushed oats with satisfactory results. He sold the bulk of his oats at Is 9£d per bushel, and he finds that by feeding the remainder to pigs he actually realised a profit equal to 4s per bushel.' As demonstrating the lateness of the last season's harvest, it may be mentioned that Mr Alfred Curtis, Winchmore (Mid-Can-terbury), was engaged stacking a wheat crop a week ago. A similar experience has never occurred in the memory of the oldest settlers. THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY. The effect of the cold and wet weather has been to materially reduce the supplies of milk at the dairy factories, and the season is now waning. The secretary of the Staveley Dairy Factory Company informed me that the season had constituted a record since the formation of the company, and farmers in the bush districts were altogether pleased with the industry, and the progress it had made. Profiting by the experience gained in former years, suppliers had gone in for systematically culling their herds, and cows that failed to give a good average supply of rich milk were sold and replaced with others that were reliable and paid for their keep. Similar conditions have prevailed in North and South Canterbury acd the Peninsula, and the season has been altogether satisfactory to suppliers and all concerned. During the past season a comparatively large number of milking machines have been installed. The only drawback in regard to dairying in Canterbury ia the artifioial feeding of stock that is necessary in the winter months. In many parts of the North Island, where the winter is not so. severe, feed grows practically the whole year round, and the cost of artificial feeding to farmers is only nominal. In Canterbury it is absolutely necessary to pay strict attention to dairy herds in the off season if it is dcfirous that the cows should come in in the spring in good condition, and this means a fairly heavy outlay.