AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3333, 30 January 1918, Page 9

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

The- dairy companies are raising their voices once more in regard! to the butter tax (says the Manawatu Times). This time it seems as if the department in charge of this matter has blundered grievously. In paying out the amounts due to- the different companies on account of that proportion of their output used for homo consumption, it evidently paid out too much, and now of course the department is asking the companies to pay it back. This is one of those mistakes which irritate uselessly. The amounts paid out were evidently paid subject to a final adjustment, but it seems strange that the department should not have taken care to pay out ■ rather under the amounts than over, so that in the final washup the hearts of the farmers would have been made glad by the receipt of a cheque instead of being desolated by having to disburse one. As members of the T\iapoka Agricultural Society have not much hope of obtaining redress, from tho non-committal reply of Sir James Allen to the deputation which waited on him on Show Day in regard to the payment of 2s on each member’s ticket by way of amusement tax, it was decided at a. meeting last week to communicate with other societies with a view to getting them to join in a united protest against the tax. A rough balance sheet in connection with the last show showed there would be a small credit -balance. Milton is about to undertake the erection of municipal stock sale yards, and a suitable site has been bought in Elderlee street, adjoining the railway lino. It is said that three stock agencies have undertaken to take out their £4O auctioneer’s license fee for five years in order to assist the borough council. Dr J. A. Gilruth, Administrator of the Northern Territory, in his annual report to the Minister of Home and Territories, touching upon tho agricultural prospects, states that at present there -were but _ 10 agricultural settlers on tho land. Nothing could he done without capital, and this seemed to be the stumbling-block. In all 15,187 square miles had been leased for pastoral purposes, and 13,524 square miles had been granted under grazing license during the past two years, but it had been found difficult by the owners to stock the land. Tho question of the responsibility of guaranteeing 4s a bushel f.o.b. respecting tho 1917-18 and 1918-19 wheat crops was considered by tho Australian Wheat Board recently (says the Australasian), and a resolution was passed to ask the various State Governments to agree to an allocation of responsibility for the guarantee. Respecting tho advances made to the farmers of South Australia, the State Government has intimated to the board that it is prepared to accept its share of the responsibility. Tho States will be held liable for 3s a bushel, and in each State the resnonsibility for tho difference between the 3s and 4s f.o.b. on an f.a.q. basis will be borne equally by the Governments of the States and of the Commonwealth, Since the British occupation large wheat crops have been nlanted in Mcsonotamia (says the. Australasian) under the direction of the Indian Government, and the harvesting of this will commence in April. ' Labour conditions aro not too settled in

( that country at the present time, and «[ any caso-'the native harvesting implement* are, for the most part, of a primitive kindv Australia has been asked to help in tibia matter therefore, and Mr Hugh V. MTKay i has arranged for the- despatch to Bagdad I of a number of harvesters of the latest I type, with petrol motor-driven mechanism, 1 and of 28 skilled Australian workers to j look after the machines. The men and machines will be despatched in about a month, and at the end of harvesting operations the men will return to Australia. In order to provide for repairs, a small .plant, specially constructed at Sunshine, will ba carried also. The Imperial Government has- announced that it is prepared to purchase dried apples in Australia to the extent of 300 tons pet j month for the first six months of" this year. The apples must conform to the average ! standard quality usually demanded by j United Kingdom buyers. '< Representatives of rabbit exporters oo , January 9 made a request to the Victorian Minister of Lands that poisoning operations should not be conducted within a radius of 20 miles of freezing- works, and received a favourable reply. Under the Act they_ were precluded from trapping in the vicinity of lands where poison had been laid. If trappers were permitted an area within a radius of 20 miles of a chiller in which to trap, rabbits, and in whioh no poison would be laid, the industry would be assisted and the pest would be effectually dealt with. The Minister expressed his willingness to give the scheme for trapping within a radius of 20 miles from chillers a six months' trial, but if inspection showed that in any part of an area the trapper or "person responsible was not carrying out his duties properly the department would give notice that it intended to lay poison. The department would use poison and every method of destroying rabbits on Crown lands outside the given areas of chillers, but would not interfere with private landowners who adopted effective means of exterminating the pest. The Dunstan Times states that the looal Inspector of Rabbits is notifying nearly all owners that energetic efforts must be immediately made to exterminate the pest. Unless this warnintr is promptly obeyed prosecutions will follow. January has been in the main {our Middlemarch correspondent a wet and unsettled month, rain having fallen at very frequent intervals. The outlook for harvest, at one time rather unfavourable, has been much improved by the drying weather experienced during the past few days. Harvest is becoming general, and very heavy yields are anticipated. Central Otago is a picture of luxuriance, and the present season has served to show of what the district is capable under favourable conditions. " Canterbury farmers claim that their thrashing by the hour costs them double what is used to by contract."—Mr John M'Queen at the Farmers' Union meeting on Saturday (says the Southland Times). A thrashing mill hand informed an Ashburton Guardian representative that owing to the continued spells caused by wee weather his actual net profit for the week, after' paying for food, aggregated 4a. The cocksfoot harvest on Banks Peninsula is now in full swing, and the men aro making good wages, up to 3s per hour and found being paid to good workers. The crop promises to bo fairly satisfactory,'.and prices at Is per lb for once-riddled seed have been reported. The rather changeable weather has somewhat prolonged the harvest, but so far no damage has been done to the seed, which is turning out a goodl sample. The dreaded potato blight has made its appearance in this district (says the Western Star). A reporter visited a stock sale withm a few miles of Palmerston North some days ago, and watched with interest the activities of a young woman drover, to whom apparently the buyers had become quite used. Her caustic remarks upon the qualities of the stock were very instructive, but in cutting out and drafting in the yards she was much more severe than one would expect from the gentler sex. On the road, too, astride an active stock horse, she made the pace, much as a Mexican cowboy might, but not in the easier spirit of out modern stockman. According to a gentleman who recently visited the locality, the settlers of Tuatapere (says the Post) have a distinct grievance with regard to potato-growing. Urged thereto by the Government they grew potatoes in large quantities, only to find! that, while in the north the tubers were sellinsr 'at from £l6 to £lB a ton, they could get only from £3 to £4 a ton. Latterly, however, the price obtainable has gone down to Is a bag, and potato-growing is steadilv decreasing in popular favour. A Balclutha gentleman just returned from a tour of Inchclutha stated that ha found blight very prevalent in the potato crops (says -±ho Free Press). He also said that rain was much needed to send the turnip crops along, and that there was a good deal of fly about in the latter crop. Potato blight it is understood has also made its appearance in Balclutha. A young lady in Palmerston North who has recently acquired the freehold of ft nioe vacant plot has (says the Manawatu Times) watched with keen interest the process of ploughing, planting, and cultivation of a splendid crop of potatoes by two unknown men. After they commenced opera-

tions they erected a notico board, " Trespassers will be prosecuted, followed by the name of the cultivators. It is now surmised that a neighbour who is a good natiircd wag, on being applied to lor permission to take a crop to clean up the ground, said they could do what they liked with it. The owner has not yet decided what form of "surprise" is to be sprung on this enterprising pair.