THE NORTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3314, 19 September 1917, Page 11

THE NORTH ISLAND.

(Feom Ouk Own Cokhesfondent.) Auckland province hae again been visited by very heavy weather at tho week-end, and it would seem as if the bad weather now experienced for many months has permanently set in. The heavy fall did much harm in the country districts, whero flood water had cleared somewhat on account of a few fine days, and agricultural operations, which have everywhere been delayed this season, had been lately pushed on. Indeed, tho way matters stand, feed for stockis far from satisfactory. In Henderson 'Valley farmers were compelled on Sunday night to remove their stock to higher ground, and some idea of the rapid rise of the water may be obtained when it is stated that it reached up to the fowls perches at some places, tho fowls having to flv up on the wire netting to escape. All along tho railway line vast tracts of water-logged land denpted the heaviness of the ram in the early part of the week in the Masterton district heavy ram fell on Tuesday night, and in some parts over lin was registered. At Solway the registration was 51 points. Wellington has been fairly immune I'rom heavy rain lately, but there was a big fall also on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. At the same time, in .the southern part of the island, the weather has been very mild, comparatively speaking, and intense cold has been conspicuous by its absence. On Thursday night there was a frost at Wanganui and farther north into Taranaki, and nipped Borne of the potatoes shooting above the ground. Speaking of potatoes, it As difficult yet to state what extent of area is going down in potatoes. Around Pukekohe, one of the main potato-growing districts of the north, the very heavy rains have prevented planting operations, and everywhere the work of cultivating has been delayed. Unless the conditions improve and allow the work to proceed, there will be a shortage of tuber supplies from that particular district. In the Gieborne district the opening up of the roads at Tolaga Bay, so badly affected by the long spell of bad weather, is now looking more satisfactory. Present ; efforts are being concentrated upon the opening of the main roads for tho coming 1 wool season, and, given ordinary weather, the Tauwhareparae road should be open for wool traffic in a fortnight, also the Kiore road, the Huanui road following a little later. This will be a great help to woolgrowers in tho Gisborne district, and will unquestionably facilitate the transport of the golden fleece from the sheds to the ' port. So far as the lamb industry is concerned excellent results appear to be obtained practically everywhere, though there are a few isolated cases where the percentage of mortality has been abnormally high. Taking the island as a whole, the yield of lambs will be very satisfactory. In quite a number of instances two, three, and even four lambs have been born to the one ewe; but in the same flocks there are a few ewes not mothering any,' so that, on the whole, wo can look forward to just a good average. Docking is proceeding in practically all districts, and, generally speaking, flockmasters appear to be well pleased with results. DAIRYING. The dairy season has opened under most auspicious conditions so far as supplies are concerned, and if nothing occurs to check the output—particularly meteorological—there will probably be a record output of butter and cheese. I say "probably" advisedly, because just yet it is premature to say how labour is going to affect the industry. Factory management is changing & good "deal, and there seems to be some difficulty in obtaining good butter and cheese makers; but it is hoped that all positions will be satisfactorily filled, and that supplies coming to hand will be dealt with in a manner profitable to supplier and company. AMONG BUCKET-FILLERS.

There axe now a few dairymen who are obtaining excellent results from the black-and-white breed of dairy cow, and among the votaries of Friosians might be mentioned Mr W. Bell,. who is farming a profitable holding adjoining the Hawora Dairy Factory. For the past few years he has been building up a good typo of dairy Friesian, and has succeeded in producing gome very nice cattle. He is aiming at a fairly low-set typo with a good body development and finer withers and ehoxilders. The bull ho is using is Tugela, which is leaving some very desirable stock. Tugela was a son of Manola and Kruger 11, and, Eeaking of Manola, the Director of the airy Division recently remarked that she was certainly a good dairy type and a strong producer.' For some time she held the New Zealand milk record, but was finally beaten by Salina Johanna Lyons, and it now looks as though the latter will have to lower her colours to Woodrest Johanna Tehee, owned by Mr J. Donald, pf Westmere, near Wang'anui. Kruger II has several certificate of merit daughters; and ono owned by Mr C4allichan, made 755.781 b of butter-fat and gave 20,6291 b of milk as a mature cow. Manola, under semiofficial test, gave 585.641 b of fat and 20,7551 b of milk. According to a Taranaki correspondent Tugela has left a really good stamp of dairy cow, and has considerably improved the standard of Mr Bell's herd. Twenty of the black-and-whites are in milk just now; 15 of these have calved this season, three have been milking right through, and two slipped their calves, and Mr Bell states that ne is now taking 7501 b of milk daily to the factory as well as reserving quite 701 b daily for his calves. Last season, with a herd of 27, including nine heifers, he averaged 421 b of milk per day each for part of the season, and his average test was 3.5. WHEAT PRODUCTION. A good deal of interest is being manifested in the coming _ wheat competition being held in the Wellington province, the grower of the best crop to be awarded a Valuable challenge cup donated by Mr G. L. Marshall, Wellington provincial president of the Farmers' Union. A lurge number of entries are anticipated, and ono very important point will bo the Eolving of the problem as to the best seed to sow in certain districts to secure the highest yields.

NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL PASTURES. According to Mr Cockayne, biologist of the Agricultural Department, there are 24,000,000 acres of natural pasture and 17,000,000 acres of artificial in New Zealand. He proposed to confine his attention to the latter. Artificial pastures he would classify according to their duration. Permanent pasJures came first. They were established 6)i the best soils of tho Dominion, where they gave good results. It entailed an unremunerativo cost to displace them periodically by temporary pastures. In the lower part of the South Island, however, permanent pastures would not thrive, and the almost universal practice there was to resortto various types of three to four year rotation. Moreover, it must be remembered that pastures on cultivable lands should be established only after the ground had been prepared by a course of sowings of annual grasses on soiling crops. Even then, .when they wcro established, they did not at all seasons, particularly in the winter, provide a sufficiency of food for the stock; hence the nocd of seasonal crops. The chief of these were hard turnips and swedes, which were not generally grown in the South Island. In putting in temporary crops regard must be paid to the cost of seed and tillage. The brief period during which they were remunerative made it imperative to see that an actual profit was received. DAIRYMAN'S NEW NOTE. The dairyfarmer of the north has done remarkably well —in fact, the price received for last season's butter-fat reached a height never dreamed of by the greatest optimist three years ago. Notwithstanding the fact that gd per lb butter levy was deducted from their earnings, the dairymen have been paid anything from Is. 7d to Is llgd per lb butter-fat, Whilst before the war they thought 9d, lOd, and lid were big prices. At practically every factory meeting this year the butter-fat -tax was severely criticised ; nevertheless, directors universally congratulated shareholders upon tho magnificent prices realised in tho main. A new noto was, however, struck at the meeting of the Lepperton Dairy Co., held at Lepperton Hall by Mr H. B. Lepper, chairman of directors. He said that the season had been the best the factory Tiad ever had from the point of view of payout, but he was not going to congratulate suppliers on the high prices, as he saw other companies had done. He could not do' so, however, as he realised that it was simply on account of war times that the high prices were ruling. " Can we," he said, rejoice at receiving a few more pennies and our boys are at the front? How many of our boys had made the supreme sacrifice, and how many more of our boys will come home dependent on us? If we were as we were in olden times, with- a few pennies less and normal con* ditions", all would be better pleased! . . . Now that they were receiving high prices for their produce, it was up to them to give whatever they could to help to contribute to those who were fighting for them. Let us hope," he added, "that id no distant time Prussian militarism will be crushed." THE WOOLMAN'S PROSPECT.

From reports to hand from various reliable sources the coming wool season looks good, and "every prospect pleases" so far as the 1917-18 season looks at present. Lambing has generally been very good, but in somo localities recent spells of southerly weather havo accounted for a certain amount of mortality, but not on a large scale. With regard to the prices for their olips, farmers are assured that these will bo good, inasmuch as that last season's remunerative schedule is to be adhered to. Nevertheless, good as. the official prices are, particularly as compared with the rates ruling before the war, it is estimated that had It been possible to get the wool away to market and dispose of it at current rates returns would have been greater by anything from £5,000,000 to £9,000,000 above the price paid by the Imperial Government. At the same time flock-masters are pleased indeed to make the sacrifice, especially in view of the good returns for' wool coming in, and the assurance for next season's clip. TO ENCOURAGE SHEEP-BREEDING The Wanganui. Agricultural Association has adopted a scheme to encourage an improvement in the breed of sheep—namely, to hold a flock ewe championship. It was suggested that exhibitors should show 20 sheep, the object being that farmers in the baekbloeks oould get 20 owes at a reasonable figure—good enough to breed rams from. It would, it is contended, also encourage farmers to breed to a type and improve the breed of sheep along the West Coast. With a view to ascertaining what assistance would be forthcoming in the shape of finance, the president interviewed certain members, with the result that 10 guaranteed prizes amounting to £IOO for the competition. Exhibits are to consist of 20 ewes in the wool, and any ' -red to be eligible. The scheme adopted is to offer £SO as the first prize, and then prizes of £25, £ls, and £lO in that order. EXTRACTION OF POTASH. A very interesting paper was read before the Wellington Philosophical Society on the economic aspects of the green sands of the Dominion, which rather tended to indicate that, more should bo known about them before their exact value could bo ascertained. Green sand is a generic term for glaueanitic minerals which have their origin in the depths of the sea. Large deposits, especially in conjunction with limestone formation, exist around Oamani, Kaikoura. and generally along the East Coast. Dr Thomson asserted that the green sands might be successfully treated for the extraction of potash for fertilisation purposes. The war had brought about a scarcity of potash, and tho high prices obtained for this commodity encouraged research for tho discovery of means for manufacturing it. SALE OF PEDIGREE FRIESIANS. A very successful sale of pedigree Friesians was held on account of Mr A. J. Gallichan, Tikitahuna, buyers being present from Invercargill, Southland. Dunedin, Blenheim, Wairarapa, Manakau, Auroa, Wanganui, Eltham, Stratford, Hawera, Gisborne, Auckland, Thames, and Waikato. The cattle showed signs of the late rough weather, but competition was good throughout the clay, and the following are the prices realised: Cow, 103 gs, A. Peat, Southland; cow, 86gs, W. I. Lovelock, Palmcrston North; bull. 68gs, Jolly Bros., Waiuku; yearling heifer. 45gs, W. I. Lovelock, Palmcrston North; cow, 85gs, A. Peat, Southland; cow, 35gs, A. Peat, Southland; cow, 94gs, F. W. Koberstcin, Taonui; yearling heifer, 45gs. J. H. Bairstow, Mangatainoka; yearling heifer (low condition), 16gs, W. I. Lovelock, Palmerston North; two-year heifer, 46gs, J. O'Shea, Hawera; two-year bull, 70gs, S. Clements, Waikato; cow, 93gs, A. Peat,

Southland; cow, 78gs, L. M'Kelvie, Bulls; yearling heifer, 56gs, F. VV. Koberstein, Taonui; yearling heifer, 27gs, W. I. Lovelock, Palmerston North; cow, &ogs, W. Bevan, Manukau; heifer calf, 26gs, H. _E. Green, Kairanga ; cow. 46gs, A. White, I'aeroa; heifer calf, 31gs, S. Clement?, Waikato; cow. 72gs. L. J. O'Flaherty, Gisborne; cow, 84gs, K. O. King, Southland; heifer, 40gs, Jolly Bros., Waiuku; two-year bull, SBgs, Arthur Freeth, Blenheim ; yearling heifer (low condition), 22gs, W. JL. Lovelock, Palmerston North; cow,' 24gs, J. Walsh, Eltham; heifer, 34gs, R. O. King, Southland; yearling heifer (small), 27gs, W. I. Lovelock, Palmerston North; cow, 62gs, W. D. Hunt, Invercargill; cow, 50gs, F. W. Koberstein, Taonui; yearling bull, 12g3, J. Walsh, Eltham; cow, 35gs, A. Peat, Southland; heifer, 26gs, J. N. Lawson, Dnncrlm; cow, 62gs, L. Martin, Wanganui East; cow, 53gs, L. Martin, Wanganui East; calf, llgß, J. T. Walsh, Stratford; yearling heifer, 30gs, R. Castle. Auroa; heifer, 23gs, J. C4ardner, Westfield; bull, 91gs, R- Castle, Auroa; cow. 18gs, W. D. Hunt, Invercargill; cow, 40gs, W. D. Hunt, Invercargill; bull calf, 10gs, E. Aiken, Kimbolton; bull, 20gs. J. Walsh, Eltham; bull, 42gs, A. Pedeisen, Sanson; bull calf, sgs, T. Perry, Mastcrton; cow, 10gs, J. Walsh, Eltham. . SERIOUS LOSS OF CHEESE. The Director of the Dairy Division, in his annual report, makes the following interesting observations: —"It is safe to say that anything from £25,000 to £30,000 has been lost to the dairy-farmers of the Dominion through the excessive shrinkage of cheese alone, to say nothing of a loss in quality, caused by overheating. These losses have occurred mainly in the cheese produced in the provinces of Taranaki and Wellington. Large quantities of the cheese have been damaged owing to being held in buildings the temperature of which could not be properly controlled. The dairy companies making cheese in the Auckland province, however, have been in the fortunate position of being able to cool store the whole of their cheese, the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company having provided suitable accommodation for the entire season's output. Therefore all cheese shipped from Auckland has been sent away in good order, and excessive losses in shrinkage have been avoided. •'A portion of the cheese coming forward for grading at New Plymouth has been partially cool-stored; but neither the temperature of the various chambers nor the circulation of air has been properly regulated. Consequently .the cheese &tored at this point has been more or less cleijrimentally affected. These irregularities have been brought under the notice of the storage company concerned, and it is hoped that by the next season better provision will have*" been made for the storing of cheese. In addition to the cheese held at the freezing works many thousands of crates had to be stored in other buildings in order to relievo the pressure for room at the factories. The cheese in these stores suffered badly during the warmest weather, and caused much anxiety to those responsible for its supervision. .'"The harmful treatment which much of the cheese receives prior to leaving JN T ew Zealand has been brought under the notice of the producers from time to time, but they do not appear to take as much interest in this phase of their business as its importance demands. The position is one calling for immediate attention, for there is no guarantee that the accumulation of cheese at the main ports will bo any less next year. If cargo space is shorter than it has been large quantities of cheese may deteriorate to such an extent during the summer months as to become a total loss and unfit "for shipment. Hence the urgent necessity for extending the cool storage accommodation for cheese at the ports mentioned above."