AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3338, 6 March 1918, Page 9

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Tho Otautau paper reports that Mr John Looney, of Sfouth Hillend, recently disposed of 2700 wethers at £2 a head. It is understood their destination is the Balclutha Freezing Works. The injury done by the German armies | to the French live stock industry is reflected ! in recent official figures. Since 1913 the number of horses in the country of our Ally has declined by 50 per cent., cattle by 16 per cent., sheep by 55 per cent., and pigs by 41 per cent. Most of the damage indicated by these figures was the result of theft and slaughter carried out systemati- j cally by the Huns in the early days of'the J war. The statistics demonstrate to how i great an vxtent it will be necesary for the ; Agricultural Relief of Allies Fund to offer help to .the farmers of France if they are to replenish their holdings even to a moderate extent. The fund which, as most farmers are aware, was instituted by the- Royal Agricultural Society of England Q«6, Bedford square, W.C.I), will greatly welcome assistance, either in the form of donations or of offers to organise gift sales. Without such help the fund cannot hope adequately j to carry out the task it has undertaken in j the name of English agriculturists. J The hummocks environing the coast-line of the Western District of Victoria from Allan sford to Port Fairy consist of from 80 to 85 per cent, calcium carbonate —i.e., mild lime. There are millions of tons available. Ex- ' periments at Warrnambool show remarkable j results especially in the grazing areas. The j effect of the sand, or at least the mild lime contained in the sand, is to increase the | rate of nitrification and to intensify the growth of legumes. The immediate advantages aro (a) a more succulent and richer pasture; (b) a marked increase in the carrying capacity; and (c) a longer growing period owing to maturity being retarded. There is no doubt the limestone sand produces a marked effect, but, unfortunately, \ the dressing required is very large—from 20 to 40 tons were used in local experiments. This is the one disadvantage, for under pre- | sent economic conditions the cost of a suit- j able dressing would amount to £5 per aero . on land in the immediate vicinity of the hummocks, but local authorities olaim that the rises in the value of the land more than meets this outlay.

A Mataura Ensign representative was informed at Heriot that the crops at Moa Flat are so heavy that they are down in places and farmers are experiencing difficulty with reaping operations. Passing through the Kelso district many crops ready for cutting* are to be seen. Friday waa an ideal harvesting day, but in several instances binders were lying idle in crops where reaping had been commenced, giving evidence of the difficulty farmers are experiencing in securing labour. Bluff has unearthed a champion potato In this season of blight and disease, states the Bluff Press. Mr R. > Finnerty left at that office a sample of his crop of Up-tc~. Dates, which, turned the scales at 21b, and wa3 similar in size to eight others under the same shaw, and the whole crop ran to an unusual size. The seed was chosen pro-

miscucusly from a bag of eating potatoe* bought in the auction rooms. Mr Jesse C. -South, mill-owner, hat thrashed for Messrs Cadwallader, Rangitata. 100 acres of velvet wheat averaging 4a bushels, and a crop of Algerian oat?., averaging 50 bushels per acre. It is believed that Mr William Bennett was the first to import the Eomnoy Marsh sheep into New Zealand, in the early 'fifties. Mr Bennett landed with his sheep in Wellington, but being unable to find what he considered suitable land for them ho disposed of the sheep to Mr Ludlem, of the Upper Hutt, and it was from this strain that tho breed first commenced to filter into the Wairarapa. Last season farmers in the Ashburtoa 3 County had difficulty, owing to the blight, to grow swedes or any other variety o| turnips. This year the swedes came away with vigorous growth, but owing to excessive moisture many of them are showing l early signs of decay in the bulbs. An.' Ashburton thrashing mill owner stated at the Appeal Board on Wednesday (according to the Guardian) that the labour problem was a difficult one to solve thia season in order to got suitable men for hia mills. He had been talcing out men almost daily to his mills. The chairman (Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M.) asked what he did with all the men. The mill-owner replied thai the next day he gave them their cheques. Stories were told to the Victorian Premier and the Minister of Lands to the effect that the rabbits in ' the M&lleo, near the New South Wales border, wera becoming such a pest that a number of settlers had been compelled to leave the district. Rdbbjts were devouring the crops, and oven eating the roses and uoworlng shrubs around the house's. A poisoning week, in which tho farmers will be asked to join, has been arranged. A sample of a new class of dun oat has reached the Olutha Leader office from Mr Yardley's farni at Moa Flat. The strawis over Ift high, and has been grown from one seed. The peculiarity of the specimen is that it stools out at the root, each see<J producing 15 to 20 stalks. The oats is o* an imported variety., having been obtained through Lincoln College, Canterbury, and is excellent for seH \ urpose3. Mr Yardlej has a paddock .of between five and tet acres, and has cultivated this from a fen seeds as a beginning.