THE NORTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3315, 26 September 1917, Page 11

THE NORTH ISLAND.

(From Odb Own Coehespondent.) The weather since my last notes has boon on its best behaviour. In most parts it has I been really good, and evidences of forward growth are to be found everywhere. Around Danncvirke spring has come in earnest, and farmors are now busily engaged trying to make up for their enforced idleness with the plough and harrows and drills. Grass is growing luxuriantly, and the hay paddocks will soon be shut up again. Up tho Main Trunk and Auckland and Waikato some good rain has fallen, and the country generally never looked better in September. In the Taranaki district there has been a good admixture of sunshine, and rain, and the snow / on Mount Egmont is still within easy reach of the North Egmont. House by a formed track. The weather for making the ascent has been p'erfeot during the past week, and thoso who have been up say that the ice formation on the top' is wonderful at present, the oornices of ice on the rocks on the western side showing the most beautiful colours of green and ' blue. Coming farther south the snow is left behind, and the district of Wanganui is revelling in perfect weather. Though the days are lovely and warm, the evenings are quite cool, and many contend that this is the pleasantest part of the year. In the Gisborne district spring is coming on slowly. Prior to the last rain there was a good growth of grass, but the severe weather has given it a decided set-back. A few fine, warm days would effect a change for tho better which would be : greatly appreciated, and help to bring the lambs along a, little faster. Lambing, however is well on the .way; but it is too early yet to obtain much reliable information about percentages. One or two farmers in the Matawai-Raukora districts have docked their lambs, and report percentages of 100. The average will' probably be somewhere between 90 and 100 per cent., 'and this should be considered highly satisfactory by most farmers. The greatest mortality among lambs in tho district in question was caused by a recent severe storm; but tho losses were not such as to cause farmers much concern. A mortality of 4 to 5 per cent, is usually expected, this year it will probably reach 8 per cent. The wet weather has affected the ewes to some exient, and they are not as a rule in the best of condition; bu the i lambs are generally very strdng, and are rnaking good headway. While that is the condition of affairs in the Poverty Bay district, farmers in the Wellington province are having a good time. Lambing has been splendid t and the ' percentages will be high. Mortality is low, [' and both ewes and tho young families are I doing really well. Shearing in some parts I has already been undertaken, and the prospects ahead are only dimmed by the conditions arising out of tho war. | THE CROPS. Active operations are everywhere notice- ' able, and every effort is being made to get in the crops as expeditiously as ■„ possible. I At Moumahaki the lucerne paddocks ; have been a picture, and a standing adj vertisement to the feeding value pf this | great fodder. The stock which have been | grazing on it have the bloom of mid- ; summer upon them, and Mr Lonsdale, the J manager, informed me that the farm has ! not lost either one sheep or lamb this ; season. A few weeks ago Mr Lonsdale put I 50 bullocks on to the lucerne, which at | tho time was considered in an iedal con- ! dition for grazing.. The growth of lucerne, ' however, beat the bullocks, and the animals ! grazing in the lucerne fields had to be | augmented by another 50 head. This I clearly proves what a valuable asset a j stand of lucerne is on any farm. So far as J other routine work at Moumahaki is conI corned, the spring crops are now being I rusted and sowings of wheat, oats, and ' peas are being put in, with crops-of rape, j potatoes, mangolds, carrots, and swedes to follow. It is also intended to put more lucerne down in November; and, generally speaking, Moumahaki State Farm is ideal for demonstrating what has been and is being accomplished by scientific farming. ADVICE TO DAIRYMEN. Somo exceedingly interesting advice to dairymen was given by Mr DemxJster at a meeting of farmers held at Taumaranui. He said that farmers generally considered that tho cow which had the large test was j the best cow. They should, hocwever, bear j in mind that it was the quality of. the > milk combined with tho test that made the ! butter-fat. Some men, ho went on to say, ! showed ability in selecting a good cow, but | they would breed it in the wrong way. | Cow-breeding was vastly different from I horse-breeding or any other kind of ■ breeding. _ The Government now supj horse-breeding. The Government now supplied the necessary testing appliances. The j milk was weighed and then tested at the j factory. The method of testing worked out just a little above that for which tho owner had actually been paid, but was quite accurate enough for buying and selling. The best herd he knew of was one in which each cow brought in a dairy average of £4l 17s to tho owner annually. The great fault was that many men were net depending on their own breeding for j improving their herds. In travelling' "about j he had found that most farmers usually ; spent a great amount of time in choosing a cow, but v when it came to selecting a | bull they would pay little or no attention j to what the.T were getting. The speaker | was glad to say at this point that 5,000,000 more pounds of butter-fat were now proI duced yearly in tho Auckland province j than in any other province in New Zealand. i Coming to the question of tho care of i cream, Mr Dempster observed that tho first consideration was to thoroughly cool tho orearn as it came from the separator. This could be done very simply by means pf a cream cooler, costing not more than 15s. A kerosene tin of water was sufficient to cool the cream from 20 cows when used In this way. It was only natural for cream to go sour at times, and then a great deal of carbonate o| soda had to bo used to j reduce tho acidity. Cream would take i tho flavour of kerosene or onions more

readily than anything else. Whcro a milking machine was concerned great earo should be taken to prevent the pipes from becoming choked. Disinfectants for cleaning the parts of a machine were not always advisable, as the odour in many cases would probably taint the milk. Above all. it was imperative that cleanliness should be adopted where the dairy was situated. In reply to a question as to the advisable ness of planting trees about a cowyard, Mr Dempster answered that trees should be Planted only where cows were likely to o standing. If the trees were planted abput half a chain away the cream would not be affected. In answer to a _ further question, Mr Dempster stated that it was a great mistake to mix the morning and evening cream, as one would generally bo cold and tho other warm. A practice such as this would speedily bring about fermentation.

SUCCESSFUL POULTRY-FARMING. At Tayforth, in the Wanganui district, Mr C. P. Hill is conducting a model poultry farm on a large scale, and to visit it is t 6 come away convinced that it is ono of the most interesting of local industries. In the first instance, the situation of the property is ideal. Mr Hill possesses about 12 acres, the poultry farm itself comprising a compact and partitioned area of three acres, which at tho present time is carrying 1100 laying birds. The scale of the operations may be gauged from the fact that the egg tally during tho past week was 700 eggs a day. For the past year' the production of hen fruit aggregated 11,000 eggs, the weight of which approximated 14- tons. In tho incubator house four machines are installed, the holding capacity being ■ 1100 eggs. , A day or two ago one of the machines presented a very interesting sight when a couple of hundred fluffy littlo chicks were pushing their way inquisitively towards the glass-pannelled front. Here the new-born chick stays two days in an even temperature of 103 deg generated by a lamp. At the end of tho period in question the chick gets its first move in the world to tho brooder-house, and here the question of artificial motherhood is continued for a period of five or six weeks. In the brooder the temperature is SOdcg to 90deg, and nice snug little rosts have been installed. An inclined way leads to the pen below,' where the chick spends its wakeful hours, and grows sturdy. At the ago of about six weeks the chick is in a condition to make a start on proper open-door life, and It goes on to moro commodious surroundings. Mr Hill has largely specialised in white Leghorn and black Orpington fowls, and he has met with great success in every respect. He considers that_ these are probably tho two best breeds if one wants to farm poultry for profit. The laying hens are accommodated in a house 128 ft long and 12ft in breadth, with a big run in the foreground. All the houses are designed so that they are sheltered from tho prevailing winds, and the birds roost in very comfortablp surroundings. In addition to fowls Mr Hill has 250 Indian runner ducks and a pen of Peking breed; also a number of geese and turkeys, the latter being for tho table trade. Water is reticulated all over the poultry farm from a high-level tank, the motive power being supplied by a windmill, and at' times an old engine, although the chief uso of the latter is to provide the power to grind up oyster shells and grit and cut green feed. Mr Hill grows a goo-JI deal of Cape barley,_ lucerne, and oats, the two being very prolific crops, and when chopped provide splendid fowl feed. * Good feeding is unquestionably one of the main points contributing to success. The poultry arefed at regular hours three times _ a day—in- the morning, when a mixture in a soup form consisting of two parts pollard, one > part bran, and one part green chaff is given ; at noon, when green chaff alone is given; and in the evening grain. What impressen the visitor to Mr Hill's place is the care and good treatment bestowed on the poultry, and, as Mr Hill explains, the reward is the good results to follow. STOCK STATISTICS. Some interesting stock statistics- collected during the year are provided by Dr Reakes, Director of the Live Stock Divjsion of the Agricultural Department. They show that the apprehension expressed in a former report as to a possible shortago of cattle is minimised. The number of cattle recorded in the Dominion in January, 1916, was 2,392,292, being an increase of 309,121 on the figures when tho statistics were last collected in 1911. COW-TESTING. The subject of cow-testing was recently discussed at the annual meeting of tho Meremere Dairy Company. The chairman, in his address, said that last year all tho outfit required had been procured, but practically no one took it up. Most suppliers had been shorthanded, and so full of ordinary farm work that they could not get the labour necessary in connectisn with the testing done. He now stated that a young man, a returned soldier, was anxious to do the work. Mr Boyle, of Patea, who has been a. consistent advocato of cow-testing, said it would be a groat gain if tho scheme could be carried out. He urged all suppliers to go in for regular testing. The results in his own experience had been such as to convince him of its utility and that it would be beneficial and lucrative all round. After some discussion the that, in view of the shortage of labour and other conditions unfavourable to the scheme, they could not proceed further. THE GRASS GRUB. The grass grub, which had almost disappeared during the dry seasons, is again m evidenco in tho hill country around Gisborno, and appears to have made extraordinary headway during the mild weather just experienced. Tho activities of tho grubs are increasingly noticeable, and it is feared pastures will suffer considerably this year from the pest. THE BACON INDUSTRY The Inglewood Bacon Company has had a very successful year, and the annual bonus is at a very much higher rate than any previously naid. amounting tr Id per lb on practically the whole of the pigs received during tho year, together with an additional id per lb on pigs received between January 1 and April 7, 1917. The effect of this bonus will be that tho lowest rate paid to shareholders for pigs during tho year will be per lb, a-nd the highest 7d. In addition to tho. bonus on the baeoners notice is also given of a bonus„of id per lb on porkers, this being very much in excess of any previous bonus paid by the company on that class of pig. The usual dividend of 5 per cent, on share capital is also being paid, so that the company has had a very prosperous year. It is entirely 00-operativo, pigs being received from shareholders only who receive all the profits in proportion to the

number of pigs supplied. It is understood that the directors of tho company, in anticipation of tho very largely increased supply likely to bo forthcoming during tho coming year, have procured substantial additions to the company's plant, and that those will shortly be erected on a still better footing than ever to handle supplies. • RURAL ENTERPRISES.

Tho Secretary of Agriculture, in his annual report, discusses tho financing of rural 'enterprises. Ho eays that "if New Zealand's production of agricultural produce of all kinds is to bo largely extended after tho war, as will be so eminently desirable in view of the increasing National Debt, I am convinced that it will bo necessary for the Government to havo power to lend money for tho establishment of enterprises designed to promote production. Such provision already exists in tho caao of the fruit-preserving industry, and there seems no reason to doubt that similar assistance should be rendered in tho case of all kjnda of co-operative or other semi-public agricultural undertakings. I strongly recommend that legislation should be introduced to enable the Government to make advances to co-operative companies and to proprietary concerns in suitable circumstances for the establishment of such businesses as meat works, dairy factories, cold stores for poultry, produce, lime works, works for the utilisation of waste timber, wool-scouring plant and so on."

GENERAL. Some interesting figures in milk production were given by the chairman of the Mangatoki Dairy Company when touching on the imposition of the butter-fat levy. In all, he said, over a million tons of milk were produced annually in the Dominion, yielding 95,000.0001 bof butter-fat. Of this butter-fat 40,000.0001 b was converted into cheese, and 55,000,0001 b into butter. Practically the whole of tho cheese was exported, whilst one-third of the butter was used in the Dominion.

' The New Zealand Refrigerating Companyhas acquired the steamer Mana for the lightering trade %t Wang/anui. The sub-committee set up by the Masterton A. and P. Association to. endeavour to procure a farm for occupation by shellshock soldiers has been so far successful that- an area of about 7CO acres on the Taratahi Plains has been made available.