THE NORTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3293, 25 April 1917, Page 12

THE NORTH ISLAND.

(Feom Oub Own Cohresponuext.) The rain which has fallen during the past week or two has been most beiieliceiit, and its effect is seen everywnero in bcautiiul green swards, which only a lew weeks ago were dry, brown, parched areas. 'The ram was very warm, and gave a great impetus to growth ; but tiunrig tiie post lew mgnts very mucii colder weatner lias appeared. Farmers are now hoping that frosts will lioiu off until tno new make of grass has got sucli a hold that plenty of winter feed will be provided. That' tiie "man on the land" is not having the bad time that some would have us believe is evidenced by the demand tliere is for good properties, and the puce being asked tor same. As a matter of iact a number of farms have oiicinged hands at very gcod prices. For instance, a property in Waitotara Valley, owned by Mr M"civnzio, has been disposed ot at a price in tiie vicinity of £bll per acre. The land has hitherto been used tor lattening purposes, but it is to be converted mto a dairy farm, by its new owners, Messrs Grove and Head, who are intending to equip it with up-to-date sheds and milking plant. In the Wairarapa district there exists a very keen demand for small properties, and during the past two months the following sales have been effected: —On account ot J. O'Styke, 454 acres, Makuri, to O. Salter, Ekctaliuna; on account of 11. Grant, Woodvillc, 201 acres, Kaitawa, to D. S. Boss, Kaitawa; on account of W. Hermansen, 143 acres, Maharahara, to A. J. Maddern, Ruawhata; on account of A. J. Maddern, Kuawhata, 74 acres, to C. W. Mextcd. Pahiatua; on account of J. Wells, Mangatainoka, acres, to J. O'Styke; in conjunction with E. B. Hare and Co., on account of J. Ansin, Ballance, 118 acres, to 11. A. Peters, Hukanui. FARMERS AND THE BALLOT.

The Eketahuna County Council recently received a circular sent by the chairman of the Efficiency Board, and when it was being discussed, a councilor mentioned that while labour unions had a representative appealing on behalf of its members drawn in trie ballot, the Farmers' Union was doing nothing at all in the way of supporting appeals in the farming industry wfncii was the most important industry at the present time. Some farmers were now being taken who should be left at homo to increase production. It was eventually decided that the local branch of the Farmers' Union be recommended to make representations to the executive that an official representative of the farmers should be present at sittings of the Military Service Board in the interests of farmers. MORTALITY AMONG LAMBS.

Generally speaking, mortality among stock has been low considering the extraordinary season encountered; but stock-taking in Poverty Bay jreveals the fact that a fairly high percentage of lambs died in the autumn. This is attributed to .the exceptionally wet summer experienced, which made the grass rank and full of moisture, tho effect on lambs being serious. In contrast to that position at Gisborne, cattle have done very much better, particularly in the Wairarapa, where they have fattened at a very satisfactory rate. This is attributed to the, fact that the drought a year or two ago cleaned up the pastures. In tho same district lambs have also done better off their mothers than in former years.

THE BUTTER-FAT LEVY. The butter-fat levy is still a bone for contention among dairy factory supplies, and combined action is being taken to induce the Government to end the tax. Mr J. G. Harkness, secretai\y of the National Dairy Association, is taking an active interest in the matter, and at last week-end he attended a meeting of directors of dairy factories in the Danncvirke, Woodville, and Pahiatua districts, which was held at Dannovirkc. He explained what had ,led up to the present agitation, started in the South Auckland district, the imposition of £d levy and the purchase of cheese by the Imperial authorities at 9£d. If the farmers were to get redress; they must agitate. In certain correspondence with the Minister of Agriculture that gentleman had concluded a letter to him that the time would come when the farmer would be reconciled to the tax and' see its fairness and justice. Mr Harkness said ho had written combating this statement, saying that should the farmer adopt that attitude, then ho knew him not. He mentioned that a petition was in course of preparation for presentation to Parliament protesting against the raising of £300,000 from the dairy-farmers of the Dominion. Copies of the petition would be sent to every secretary of a dairy factory for signature by suppliers in time for such petition to be presented to the next sitting of Parliament. He believed that this course would have more weight with the country than anything else could possibly have. Eventually a resolution of protest against the tax and the request for a refund was carried. POSITION OF CANADIAN AND NEW ZEALAND CHEESE CONTRASTED.

In the course of the meeting of dairy factory directors, held at Dannevirkc, to consider the butter-fat levy, Mr Haxkness explained why Canadian cheese had notbeen commandeered. He understood, he said, that a promise had been made by the Imperial authorities that, should cheese be wanted next year, Canadian cheese should be requisitioned the same as New Zealand. The high price now being obtained for Canadian cheese was being- made by the middlemen. Mr Harkness _said that was a good price for cheeses —50 per cent, more -than they had been getting. They should be thankful that they had got 9id, and be thankful they had got it shipped. Had it not been sold for 9gd not an ounce of their cheese would have gone forward. The butter peoplo to-day were suffering, and suffering badly, while the cheese had the oream and the whey. WOOL SEASON REVIEW. A reviow of the wool season, prepared by the Wellington Chambzer of Commerce, will prove of interest to wool-growers. "The now season," it says, "opened in Septem-ber-October with a private buying campaign on a rango of prices quite equal to the previous year, notwithstanding that freights had advanced per lb during the year." A considerable quantity of wool had changed hands, evidently on American

account, when in November the Governmenfc announced that private selling should cease, as the Imperial Government proposed to commandeer the whole New Zealand clip, and sales would be voidable. Whether tho buying by America was the to the Governments action, it is not possible to say; but it-must be evident to all that the Imperial Government acted wisely in preserving the wool clip for Britain and her Allies, and in preventing it falling into tho hands of neutrals. " The only grievance that can be lodged against the scheme is that it should have been evolved three months earlier. Then the complications whioh have arisen over private sales would have been avoided, as would tho congestion and disorganisation caused through the loss of six weeks in November and December before the first valuations could be effected. " Tho prices paid by the Government to farmers are generally considered satisfactory. The whole scheme is now working smoothly, and tho wool is being shipped fairly freely, preference being given to it by the Government over other cargo. Preference in shipping space for wool may be satisfactory so far as this interest is concerned ; but naturally shippers of tallow, pelts, hemp, and other cargo take another view. The general impression is that the commandeer may last for another year, even if peace is brought about in 1917. Tho wool clip will be wanted for our nation even after the War." THE PIG INDUSTRY. It was considered tnat when the amalgamation ot bacon lactones took place pig-breeders would really get bigger returns, ine cost of marketing, carting, and working expenses generally was expected to be reduced to suon an extent tnat in the aggregate tho farmers would receive bigger money for their products. Xne result, apparently, has not worked out to the expectations ol some pig-raisers, who consider that more than 6cl per lb for bacon pigs and 5d per lb for porkers should be given. Mr W. J. Freith, ol Wai-iti, in North Taranaki, draws the attention of farmers to the lact that in Canterbury the farmers arc getting ti£d tor pork, wmlst, according to the iiigh Commissioner's report, the pork sold oy them lor the whole of the season at 4£d is bringing 10id—a gross profit of d, or just 133 per cent. Mr Freith suggests tno erection oy the pig-supphers ol North Taranaki of a new and up-to-date factory at smart road. It is interesting to note that tne majority of the South Taranaki pigs are railed to Wellington, a distance ot Zoi) miles, to be killed, and when made into bacon the finished product is "railed back again. ' This, surely, is an expensive business, apart irom tne fact that the district loses the by-products—manures, etc.

THE JUDGING OF JERSEY COWS. In view of the big development in dairying, the judging and selection of cows is an important matter, and it is not often that experts demonstrate the various points, such as was done recently at Feilding in respect to judging Hereford cattle. However, in the iaranaki district a similar course was adopted by Mr H. G. Sergei, agricultural instructor, in discussing the question with a number of Taranaki school teachers. Mr Sergei took for demonstration two Jersey coWs, atnd< his observations should prove of considerable interest to all concerned. He dealt first of all with the horns, which, ho said, should be small, incurved, and not too widely separated at the base. It wae a big item for the eyes of a Jersey to be prominent, bold, and placid. They should be very wide apart, with the space between dished. The nose should not be baggy, but nicely curved from the eyes to the nostrils, which should be wide. An ugly cow would have a "pig jaw." Referring to the ears, the speaker said that yellowness inside indicated butter-fat qualities. The neck should be long, gently curved on top, and Avithout a "double chin" underneath. The wither required to be pointed. Next, the spine should be prominent and easily traced by running the fingers along, and the separate vertebra? to be distinctly tein. If they could not be so distinguished, it was a sign that the cow was looking after herself too much, to the detriment of butterfat production. The tail should be set square with the body, and the udder not tucked under the body too much. 'Proceeding to the chest. Mr Sergei said that judges liked to see a good width, showing plenty of lung-room; also a cow fallin * inwards on either side of the wither showed lack of heart girth. Well-sprung ribs, curving well outwards, were a good feature, showing plenty of food capacity. The hip bones should bo wide apart and protruding; looking from behind the hips should be square and not too sloping, as the latter showed poor constitution. Another important point which, the speaker mentioned, had to his knowledge greatly influenced judges at shows, was the distance from the hip back to pin bone. Continuing, he said that having a thin, flat thigh was one of the most important points of all. as this was necessary to allow plenty of udder room. The next point dealt with by the lecturer was' the udder. A weakness here, he said, could nearly always be seen in the fore udder. The hind udder should come well up at the back and, when the cow was in full milk, should stand out well behind. The udder should not be divided either from front to back or from side to side. The teats should be dark in colour, flat at the tip. and placed at each corner for ease of milking. The escutcheon—the space above the udder at the back—required to be wide, and, indicating butter-fat, yellow in colour. The milk veins in a good milker would be prominent and knotted. The cow's tail, the speaker continued; shourd be long and thin, while- the if too big, indicated coarsenees elsewhere. When judging a cow it should be made to walk away from one to see that its hocks did not come together, as this was a sign of weak constitution. The three wedges was another feature of the cow which Mr Sergei dealt with. The body, looked at from the sida, should be wedge-shaped from neck to hips; the wither should be narrowest' at the top and slope outwards down the shoulders; and the body, viewed from the front, should be narrow at the shoulders and gradually widening to the hips. The skin of a Jersey, he continued, should b:; thin and pliable. In concluding, the speaker said that a well-developed cow was the best from the point of economy. LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

At Gisborn© this week the Defence Committee eave consideration to the suggestion from the Wairarapa Patriotic Society concerning land for returned soldiers. In discussing the proposition the Mayor pf Gisborne said that he thought there should be three grades. Land for badly-wounded soldiers should be on the flat, where they misht grow vegetables, fruit, or do light

{arming; tho second, improved land; and the third, bush land for men who had not been wounded, and who were willing to go back. Tho scheme was considered to bo crudo, and was left over for a future meeting. At a- later stage of the meeting it was decide dto write' to the authorities, inviting the Land Purchase Commission to visit .-Poverty Bay for th© purposo of acquiring land for settlement by returned soldiers. ADVERTISING AUCKLAND PROVINCE IN LONDON. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce have in contemplation a scheme for advertising local prociuoo m London. Tho scheme provides for a series of displays of produce from tho Auokland district in th© new offioes of the High Commissioner in London. A letter was written to the Department of Agriculture in Wellington in reference to the matter, and at tiie ordinary meeting a reply was read to the effect that the necessity for a good dsiplay was fully x-ecogn.s-ed, and that no less than 27 cases of our products and manufactured articles had been forwarded to the High Commissioner last November. Tho poorness of the display noticed by Mr Burns (chairman) ■when reoently at Home, it was stated, was no doubt due to the fact that th© new exhibits had not been placed in the windows at the time. It was resolved to reply .that the idea was to obtain the use of tho windows for a series of exhibits from the Auckland province, giving at various times a display of wool, frozen mutton, kauri gum, minerals, timber, etc.; and that a permission be obtained to do this, arrangements would be proceeded with as soon as possible. GENERAL. At a meeting of farmers held at Tarata (Taranaki) the other evening, a local settler stated that when he came into the distriot nine years ago ho received 9s 4d tor his lambs. This year ho had received 24s 6d. Prior to the war the highest pf.ee that he had received for his wool was 10gd in London, tfmce ne. had received 17gd in London, and thi3 year 15d and 15id in Waitara. The great advantage of having only good oows has been stressed on more than one occasion, and a further opportun.ty was taken by a dairy farmer at the sitting of the Appeal Board at Palmerston North. He said that his ten cows gave, a return of £llO for tho last quarterly period. This led Captain Walker to remark that there were evidently cows and cows. The farmer eaid his herd were specially selected and well bred, and he had found that it always paid to keep the best. With regard to commandeered cheese, Mr J. G. Brechin, of Pahjatua, secretary of several cheese factories, has received cabled information that the Imperial Government proposes to pay 9£d f.0.b., New Zealand, for consignments of cheese shipped prior to January 16, and that all costs incurred from the time the cheese was placed on board the steamers at Wellington will b© a charge on the Government, who have also agreed to pay agents' commission amounting to 2£ per cent. Mr H. Stewart, of Masterton, has received an interesting newspaper cutting from Tasmania concerning the unique record of a heifer bred by Mr Brooks, of Snrthton, Tasmania. The heifer, which is creating great interest amongst cattle owners in th© Circular Head distinct of that State, is a Jersey,- and oommenced to milk at the age of 11 months, and has never been mated or had a calf. At present she is giving three and a-half quarts of milk per Aiv, ha« returned a tost of 48. State butcher shops are likely to be opened at Gisborne. Mr D. Reid, head butcher at Auckland, has been at Napier this week, and on Saturday he proceeded to Gisborne to go into th© question with the authorities there, i '

Af the monthly meeting of the Slaughtermens and Freezers' Un : on at Gisborne this week the balance sheet read nnd adopted showed the aftVrs of the union to be in a very satisfactory position. The report of the delegates from the Meat Trades' Conference in Wellmsrton was received and dis-' cussed. Under the new scheme Povertv Bay will bo one distr-Vt union instead of .three as at present. The recommendaVons from the conference were unanimously adopted.