SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3332, 23 January 1918, Page 13

SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

< (From Oob Own Correspondent.) The weather, though it may not have .been injurious to the grass harvest as a ■whole, has not been so favourable as most *>eople would desire. When the crops have been heavy to out, and considerable" tangled and lodged by the weather, it gets into the sheaf very often in a disorderly condition, and cannot withstand the effects of unfavourable weather, so that, when handled, the "seed shells out of the sheaves heavily, and hail showers and heavy rain showers put a good deal into the heart of the sheaves besides what is completely lost. The discolouring of the seed by wet or muggy weather is not the worst evil that can befall the seed. As it is. always the heaviest of the seed which drops out by ■bad handling, it is also' the heaviest that fa knocked out by th-3 weather. Granted, therefore, the season being fairly favourable for a weighty seed, it can in quality be reduced by unfavourable wonther after cutting, and is also all th* more easily destroyed by careless handling. Most people -who have any quantity prefer to thrash out of the stook, and mill-owners s used to have much longer seasons than they dare dream of now. So much less is grass seed a general or main crop that ine thrashing season is now held to be of little account by mill hands. The briefness of the season for grainthrashing and the very limited number of mills employed in any locality are of themselves most convincing evidence of the testricted area even in oats. The acreage in oats .does seem comparatively small. Although there was very little autumnsown oats, any such crop is either fit for harvesting or already in the stook. Not so much is autumn-sown now on account of the birds. crops suffer very severely, and it is no.t an uncommon thing to see paddocks of oats whitening through the depredations of the small birds, especially along tho fences.. While sparrows arid linnets take the' grain, the thrushes are the greatest fruit robbers. They take all kinds as 'they come _ into season. In town and suburban districts they are not so numerous as in the country, and country . districts suffer severely, especially whero there are trees and fences. One settler in the Western district who had a fair-sized plot of gooseberry bushes, besides a large orchard and plenty of trees and gorse fences, killed one year close on 500, and tho year following nearly 600.. chiefly thrushes, there being only a few blackbirds, by using what is known as a breakback trap originally intended for rats. It la wonderful where all the small birds come, from during tho brief period. Many come from neighbouring farms and dorse fences in the surrounding country. If everyone would take steps simultaneously there, might be a considerable diminution of both tin bird and rabbit pests. The rabbits are getting fairly numerous in some districts, and especially where there is shelter. Wherever the fences are neglected mid overgrown, rabbit* very soon abound. This is very noticeable to anyone movinjr about and sufficiently observant. If it should so happen that stoats are seen in any rabbit-infested spot, bunny very soon either migrates or in some way or other disappears. If all settlers at a suitable time would use all the approved means for coping with those pests they would cease to be a pest, and ever afterwards be easily kept in chock. Tho wool season, through showery weather and the labour shortage, is very protracted, and there are still a number who have not yet finished ehearinjr their ewes. Mr Denney reports that, of the 6000 bales .under valuation, the whole was strong, sound, and healthy; but in somo pases there was much room for improvement in skirting and cleaning. There is some uneasiness among dairy factory companies over the .insurant* of cheese on tho coastal steamers. Why insurance companies are chary of insuring and even declino to insurs or take any risks on, coastal boats seems to the uninitiated as Something of an enigma. A good few thousand cases left tho Bluff on Wednesday (somewhere between 5000 and 6000, I think) by a coastal boat for reshipmenfc, arid must have been mostly uninsured. Now that the lamb-buying season _ is just about getting into full swing, there is somo arixfety amongst those having large Hnea

for disposal. It is reported 'that buyers are likely to bo offering at least 4s or 5s por head less than last year. Lamb will bo the last to bo shipped, and, in any ca3e, storago may in various ways create a difficulty which buyers will havo to face. Possibly, however, it may not bo so bad if tho wheat famine in the OJd Country should be as serious as it at present threatens to be. The Home Government may take all possible steps to get everything in the nature of meat away. Tho prospects of lambs having to be held Is causing more soft turnips being sown, many not being yet finished. Tho fly has been very troublesome, but is now past tho worst.