THE NORTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3331, 16 January 1918, Page 10

THE NORTH ISLAND.

(Fhom Oob Own Correspondent.)

Atmospheric pressure has been low in most parts of the north, and, generally speaking, humid conditions havo prevailed during the past week. At the same time it has to be admitted that, the weather has been most peculiar, as may be gathered from the fact that mushrooms are being obtained in certain parts, including the neighbourhood of" Taumarunui. Throughout the year there is hardly a district that has not experienced a very big rainfall. In Auckland and East Coast districts it was particularly heavy—indeed, Auckland established a record. The total fall for 1917 was 74.51 in, as compared with 67.10 in for 1916, 49.87 in for 1915, and 28.46 in for 1914. This record was beaten at Stratford, in Taranaki, where rain fell on 174 days, .totalling 83.86 in, which is about lOin more than the average of 'the past 25 years. Striking across to the Waimarino country, we find that rain fell only on 124 days, during which the, total fall was 46.85 in. Poverty Bay, too, had a record fall, so it will be seen that. the North Island was pretty well deluged during 1917. The rceult is seen to-day in the abundance of feed everywhere. Of course, with the heat of mid-summer the pastures are showing brown; but I received a pleasant surprise in the Waimarino district during a hurried visit this week. The country 'there is remarkably green, and, without any exaggeration, I saw paddock after paddock in luxuriant grass and clover—in fact, there were several that came under my notice that sheep could easily be lost to sight, the growth was so heavy. In no part of the' island has there been a shortago of feed 'this summer, and the dairy industry has in consequence been most productive. Just now factories are beginning to shorten hands ae the milk supply drops; but there is much more cheese being made than can.be shipped or properly stored,- and it is just doubtful whether the requirements of storage and shipping are going to be met. In the North Auckland district, particularly at Dargavillo, gardens and orchards are now m the zenith of their summer disnlay of floral and fruit wealth. Many of the gardens invite close inspector with their nrofusion of roses and the wide range of flowers which revel in the superb climate of that portion of the Dominion, whilst outdoor grapes, stone fruits, and apples appear to provide especially fine crops. ORCHARD DISEASES. According to the horticultural branch of the Department of Agriculture certain insect and fungus diseases are rather prevalent in orchards in some "parts of the North Island and in the northern portion of the South Island. The standard specific recommended for the destruction of" these pests is what is known as 33 Baume. The experts state that the preparation should be diluted with water —one in 10 for winter use and one in about 100 or 120 for application during the summer. It has been ascertained that some persons are putting a lime and sulphur mixture on the market, which only reaches a strength of 14 Baume, and are recommending that it be used as instructed by the department. This means that th© application is only onethird of the strength requisite in order to be effective. Orchardists, according to the experts, should see that the Baume's specific gravity is shown on each packet, and that the standard should be 33 Baume. It _is probable that distributors pf the article -below standard strength will be prosecuted. THE HARVEST. Harvesting operations have been pushed ahead with ail expedition, and every advantage has been taken of the "Hry weather prvailmg. On Thursday there was a big break in the meteorological conditions, and a heavy thunderstorm passed over a considerable area of the west coast. Rain fell all night and Friday,_ and it is not anticipated that any serious damage will bo occasioned to the cut, but unstacked, crops. Some very fine stacks have been built up around the Marton district, where good crops of wheat were grown. As may have been gathered from last , week's notes, some consternation was caused in Palmerston North district in respect to a proposal that the flaxmills should bo closed and the workers compulsorily' forced on to farms to save the crops. Such a proposal was Severely condemned, and Palmerston local bodies took prompt action to prevent any such calamity overtaking the district, seeing that the flaxmills form such an important part of the industrial life of the community. Mr W. M'Kenzie, secretary of the Palmerston North Chamber of 'Commerce, has this week received a letter from Mr W. Ferguson, of the National Efficiency Board, givinn- 'the assurance that no proposal in the direction suggested has ever been made by the board;, therefore the Chamber had v been misinformed in supposing that such action was proposed. Mr Ferguson added that if action was taken in the- direction mentioned, the board would see to it that the parties interested would be consulted. It is not likely, therefore, that anything further will be heard about closing the flaxmills and transferring labour to the harvest fields. Harvest prospects are very good, unless, as previously suggested, the very heavy rain at the week-end has caused more damage than is expected. It is Quite certain that several fine fields of fully-grown Crops awaiting cutting arc down

THE TICKI PEST IN NORTHLAND. The tick pest is causing considerable anxiety in North Auckland, and etfectivo steps are being taken to deal with it. It appears that the 'tick has now spread over the peninsula, and a proposal has been mooted .to declare the whole of Northland an infected area. If this is done there will be a consequent biff drop in the price of stock, and in commenting on that aspect Colonel Allen Bell said that the settlers must take effective meaures to prevent such an occurrence. The tick, ho says, is. not an uncommon pest. It was prevalent in many parts of Australia and South Africa, and the measures taken there to combat the trouble were spraying or dipping In many Darts of Cape Colony and Natal public dips had been erected, and this had been found efficacious as far as the animals were concerned; but the almost insurmountable difficulty had been to destroy thorn in their breeding-places on the ground. It was the opinion that this matter should be taken in hand by the Veterinary Department of the Department of Agriculture, and public dips arranged for. , At a meeting of the Mangonui County A. and P. Association the subject was discussed at some lengthy and there is no doubt that the pest is viewed with grave apprehension. Several of the settlers prosent seemed to be quite certain that the tick was the Queensland variety. As soon as it was fullv developed it dropped off tho animal and bred on the ground. The view was held that if settlers killed the parent ticks on 'tho animals by dipping it would prevent tho eggs from reaching the ground. The question arose as to whether dairy cattle should bo dipped. Colonel Bell said* ho had never seen dairy cows in milk clipped in South Africa. These were sprayed, which was more tedious than dipping", but effective. He did not consider it advisable to erect dips on each farm, which was 'too expensive, and it was useless to

expect to eradicate the pest without a compelling regulation and the assistance of the Depax-tment of Agriculture. A special committee was appointed to deal with the matter.

A PROBLEM OF THE VETEINARY DEPARTMENT.

The prevalence of tick among tho stock of Northland, which is causing some concern, is now being investigated by the_ Veterinary Department, and Mr 0. J. Reakes, Director of the Live Stock Division, has both written and telegraphed concerning the matter. He says: "The ticks in question are of a variety which has been known to be present m New Zealand for several years past, and differ in some respects from the parasite commonly known as the Queensland tick, which is responsible for spreading the disease* known as -tick fever. Even in Queensland and other countries where that disease exists, the ticks acts simply as a carrier of infection from one animal to another, _ tho disease itself being caused by a minute blood parasite which' circulates in 'the blood of affected animals. It must be clearly understood that, unless animals- are affected by this minute parasite of the _ blood, tho only harm any ticks can do is such as might result from the irritation they cause to the skin \of animals, and by their bloodsucking propensities. I am glad to say that this disease (tick fever) does not exist, and never has existed, in New Zealand, and every precaution is taken to prevent its introduction. One point to be considered in connection with these New Zealand ticks is that, if present on an animal in a large number, they may .do some damage to the hide, and thereby depreciate its value to some extent. On this account alone it is desirable that everything possible be dono to eradicate the parasites. Various forms of treatment are adopted to get rid of them, and with a view to ascertaining what is at once the most simple and efficacious

method, tho officers of the department aro now engaged m treating affected animals with various preparations with a view to arriving at 'tho desired information. Pending tho result of this, I think it would bo found that the careful application of a mixture of equal parts of kerosene and whale oil, or some other strong smelling fish or animal oil, would be effective. Another thing which can be done with quiet animals such' as dairy Cows is to clip off the ticks with a pair of thin-bladed sharp scissors, taking care to collect the ticks in a bucket containing a small quantity of kerosene, strong sheep dip, or some other similar fluid, afterwards washing the surface of tho skin with a 1 in 20 solution of. non-poisonous sheep dip." WOOL.; The wool valuations in the north have passed off. well, and farmers generally are perfectly satisfied. There are some, however, who consider that it was not in the best interest of the wool-grower that tho fleece should be commandeered. That opinion is based upon the American market, -where Australian wool has been selling at 2dol (or eight shillings) per lb. The reasons why Australian wool has. not been commandeered is not known here, but it is quite possible that some of the Australian wool has been released for America after reaching London. There is an enormous demand in America for wool for soldiers' uniforms and equipment, in addition to the fact that Great Britain is manufacturing a large quantity of material for the States. It is held here that New Zealand flock-masters should not pay more for their loyalty than the Australians; but, taking it on the whole, with the assurance of stocks being got away, New Zealand farmers should feel extremely thankful that they, are in such a secure arid satisfactory position. The fourth Government valuation of wool at Wanganui for this season resulted in some 4000 bales being dealt *ith. Tho fleece generally was well grown, and compared more than favourably with last year s wool. There is, however, one important point that should not be overlooked—namely,'that if they took more pains in skirting and classing 'their wool better prices would be realised in individual cases. In Auckland the wool industry has been particularly active during the past few weeks. Up to the present about _ 27,000 bales of this season's wool have arrived in Auckland, of which 18,000 have been valued under the Government scheme. There has not been the shortage of shearers at first anticipated—in fact, the wool has been coming in so fast during the past couple of months that brokers haxe experienced difficulty in handling it. Bales have been rushed to the stores at an unprecedented rate, and in consequence the stores have been congested to an unusual.extent. Relief is expected shortly in the shape of shipping, a liberal allotment for an early shipment having been announced.' A considerable quantity will then be taken away. The wool coming to hand in Auckland is excellent in quality, a large percentage being at least 2 per cent, heavier than that of last year. ' ■ , In the Poverty Bay district the third valuation saw very heavy catalogues, one firm alone having no fewer than 1000 bales. Shearing has proceeded at a very satisfactory rate; but one of 'the biggest troubles is the scarcity of carriers, with the result that wool is arriving at Gisborne much more slowly than desired.

SEEDY WOOL. The mild winter and growing spring has not onlv given us abundance of grass, but weeds, "and all over New Zealand, but mostly in 'the bush districts of Auckland and Wellington, bidi-bidi came earlier than usual. The rain and scarcity of men made shearing late in the Gisborne district, and as a consequence there is a very large quantity of. seedy wool. The same applies to the Wairarapa. There being no carbonising plants in New Zealand—a process of putting the wool through acid for the purpose of rotting the seeds and then scouring it out,—the valuers have brought down prices, and if these are continued at present levels it will bo a serious blow, not to the wool kings, as labour members like to refer to the big wool-growers, but, to small farmers over'a very large area. It is quite certain that if the Government had installed a carbonising plant, or had encouraged private enterprise', this trouble would not have been current to-day. Combined 1 efforts to place matters on a more satisfactory basie are required.

IMPORTATION QE SLAUGHTERMEN. The importation of slaughtermen from Australia has~ caused considerable _ adverse, comment, and the action of the Minister in advertising in Australia for slaughtermen has been severely condemned. Already the matter has been referred to_ in the columns of the Witness, and I notice since my last contribution on the subject that a strong protest was recorded by a meeting of freezing works' v employees representing 12 works in Wellington and Haw'ke's Bay. The Hon. G. W. Russell is apparently firm in his intention not to prohibit the introduction of Australians. Fie eonsiders it the duty of this part of the Empire to (1) send men to fight and (2) to send food for the soldiers and for the British people. The Minister, replyintr to 'the Marlborough Union, has said: " Without in any way relaxing its efforts in the matter of men to fight, the Government is equally determined to carry on every essential industry at full strength, and !more particularly those which provide food for the soldiers of the Empire and our fellow-citizens in the Mother Country." BIG BURNS. One _of the features of the past week's' operations along the Main Trunk line was the burning of felled bush. The wind was just in the right direction for favourable burns, and thousands of acres of good land has been made ready for the grass sped and turnips that will be sown during the coming week. In view of the bier burns. there has been a heavy demand for grass seeds for surface-sowing. EXPORT OF TALLOW. There is already a considerable congestion of tallow at the_ various stores, and, as the killing season isnow in full swine:, this congestion bids fair 'to be- materially increased as the new tallow commences to come forward. It is generally considered that the now freight proposals will not seriously affect the market at present so far as tallow is The Imperial authorities do not look upon- tallow as an essential product, and it is not one of the main products commandeered, such as wool, meat, and butter; consequently a very small space allotment is being made from time tc time for the shipment of 'this product to the United Kingdom, and many of the tallow merchants have had tallow in store for months past waiting for an opportunity 'to got it away.