AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3347, 8 May 1918, Page 8

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

For the winter show of the Otago A. and P. Society entries are coming in fast. Intending exhibitors are reminded that entries will close this week. The Wool Committee will bo pleased if growers who have wool for display will fill in the entry forms and despatch them to the society's office without delay. Thoso desiring floor space in the buildings should make early application, as the various positions'are now being allotted. The committee is of opinion that good entries will be made, judging by the numerous applications for schedules of the snow. Borne days ago (says a Press Association telegram) Sir Joseph Ward made strong representations to the British Government to have the payment of meat held on ita behalf paid for in storage. At present there is something over £4,000,000 worth of meat in the refrigerating stores throughout the country, and the difficulty of securing shipment of it to the Mother Country renders it desirable that the payment for

it should be made without prolonged delay. It would relieve a large amount of advances, and enable many people who are being financed for their meat while it is being held in store, to invest in the war loan. Sir Joseph stated that up .to now no reply had been reoeived, which he thought was a good sign, but he sincerely hoped that before long the representations made by him would be successful.

Keen interest is being taken in the fruit section of the Otago A. and P. Society's Winter Show, and entries are freely coming to hand. In the classes for district fruit bays, for which liberal prizes are offered, competition is likely to be keen. Thesb bays were a most attractive feature at last year's apple show, and there is evidence that there will be keen rivalry between the Otago fruitgrowers' associations. The Otagt> A. and P. Society has this year endeavoured to enlist the support of the city as well as the country housewives in the cooking, classes at the show, and there will be special classes for cooked apple dishes, fat which in each class prizes of six cases of apples have been donated. The annual meeting of the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association was held on Saturday (writes our Oamaru correspondent). The meeting was well attended. The statement of accounts showed an improvement in the position of the asoiation, the debt of £SO on last year's operations having been wiped out and a further almost equivalent amount being placed to credit. Mr J. G. Macdonald (Papakaio) was elected president, and Mr Duncan Cameron, (Papakaio) vice-president. The question of wheat-growing received considerable attention, the opinion being generally expressed that the announcements made by the Government were still far from satisfactory. "In future) all these profiteering cases are going to prison. There will be no fines. Everybody—butchers, grocers, and butter-sellers—will go to prison after this week." This was the warning given by Mr Chester Jones, Magistrate at Lambeth (London) Police Court, in fining grocers £35 for selling margarine above the maximum price.

A truckload of manure passed through Quorn for Adelaide from tho far north territory, reports a South Australian paper. It is stated to consist of excretions of small herbivorous animals, and is claimed to contain about 20 per cent, of potash, some nitrogen, andl a small percentage of phosphates. It is believed that a good quantity of the article is easily procurable within a few miles of. the Copley railway station. Should the mamfre be found to be of marketable value it is not unlikely that several hundred tons will be railed to the oity within the next few months.

Owing to the impossibility of procuring phosphorus, strychnine, or arsenic to mix with pollard to poison rabbits, and the almost prohibitive cost of digging them out, land owners in the Orango district of New South Wales are adopting other means to comply with the Act, says Town and Country. They have instituted mutual rabbit drives. Tho neighbours, and as many men who consider the drives as sport, assemble at a holding on given dates, with the result that thousands of the cotton tails aro killed.

There is much cavilling among the land owners over the fact that, while they are compelled by law to destroy the rabbits on their land, millions of the pests aro allowed to remain unmolested on Government reserves by the rabbit inspectors. These are unfenced, and constitute vast breeding grounds, and now since the restriction of export for carcases and skins, and trapping has been reduced to a minimum, the pest is rapidly increasing. i At tho annual meeting of the Clutha branch of tho New Zealand Farmers' Union, Mr John Christio was re-elected president, Mr O. Throp vice-president, and Mr P. A. Watt secretary. A lengthy report dealing with the year's operations was adopted. Tho third section of tho Noxious Weeds Act, 1908, has been extended to include | tho Cape daisy. Good kills with strychnine-treated cats ' are reported from various parte of Otago (says tho Tapanui Courier). Mr Vidal, of Gibbston, had a kill of 20G0 rabbits from 661 b of treated oats. Mr Crump, of Kelso, being troubled with rabbits about some of his hedges, decided to try strychnine. Ho got 113 rabbits next_ morning. In each of these cases the rabbits were fed for three days on sweetened oats before tho poisoned grain was put down. Oaten sheaf chaff is selling at as high as £8 per ton in the Masterton district. I The Wyndham Herald states that on a 'district farm recently might have been seen a farmer of 62 years of ago and his son of 15, crutehing sheep, while his wife and daughter were dipping tho sheep—and they put through 200 in two hours. An interesting experiment in flax cultiva- | tion, and one that promises to be attended . with full success, has been entered upon by : Messrs Maddren Bros. (Christchurch), proprietors of Shalimar flaxmill, Redan (states tho Wyndham Farmer). They aro planting every suitable part of their 600 aero property on which tho- Shalimar mill stands. Two men have already been doing so during tho past eight weeks, and upon inspection within a few days ago every root had'takon growth eplendidly. When the mill closes down in the near future, for the winter season, the

hands engaged thereat will have the option of taking up planting, and in this way it is hoped that the work will proceed apace. The 1916-17 crop of potatoes for the dominion was 26,156 tons. Of this total Waimate County provided the highest county yield, 1982 tons, Paparua and Waimairi being second and third with 1811 and 1643 respectively. The Government is not yet in a position to indicate the action to be taken in regard to importing wheat from Australia. The dominion thrashing returns, so far, do not enable the authorities to form a definite estimate of the season's yield, as much of the grain is still in stack. The Minister of Agriculture (reports the Wellington Post) is hoping to gain time by having estimates made of the approximate quantities of wheat in stack.