THE NORTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3419, 26 September 1919, Page 12

THE NORTH ISLAND.

(FiiOM Ouh Own Coerespondent.) Tho past week's weather generally has been good, and a generous response in growth has been made. Crops appear to be coming on well, and give promise of developing satisfactorily. The busy time of the farmer has now commenced, and for the next few months he will be kept going. Although it was thought that when the war was over labour would be plentiful again this has not proved to be the < case, and sorao farmers, particularly those in the back country, are obliged; to pay very high wages in order to secure assistance. One of the contributing causes to the shortage is tho fact that many men who followed rural occupations before going to the war are now trying, their "luck out" on their own selections; whilst others, again, who were once satisfied with country conditions, have been unsettled and prefer the_ town with its better living accommodation. No doubt these men will settle down in time; but meanwhile there is a great difficulty in some parts in getting the necessary labour to develop on lines beyond the mere "carrying on" stage. A WORLD OUT OF JOINT. In the farmers' world a good deal of interest was created during the week by the holding of the Dominion Conference of the Farmers' Union at Wellington, and the discussion of remits which had been forwarded by Provincial Conferences. Tho president (Sir James Wilson) dealt with a number of matters on the occasion of the opening of tho conference which at present loom large on the political horizon, and which closely affect all sections of the community. Sir James urged farmers to endeavour to read the signs of the times aright and. to prepare accordingly. One cannot close their eyes to the fact that on all sides there are evidences of the organisation and marshalling of forces, and that if trouble is to be prevented parties must be well prepared. Sir James put it aptly when he said, "The world is out of joint," and it will be a considerable period ere things settle down. They will never' return to their old rut. Men are not disposed to resume the statu quo ante bellum. They have had great experiences, and have now a new outlook on life. Tho close of the war found men of all sections and classes more generally disposed to, endeavour to "view the affairs of life through their neighbour's spectacles, to smooth the rough and straighten the crooked places in their fellows' path. That impulse, however, has been deadened by the unscrupulous rapacity of the profiteer on the one hand and the fulminations of the revolutionary on the other. Improvements in the social order will come by evolution, not revolution. The hope for the future lies in building up, not in pulling down. When the classes and the masses grasp that fact progress towards tho desired goal will begin. HOMES FOR FARM WORKERS. One of the difficulties farmers are up against in getting men to leave the town for the country has been created by the inadequate accommodation provided for the workers, and there is not the slightest shadow of doubt that under the new conditions which have evolved out of the war farmers will bo studying their own interests in giving their employees better housing and greater inducements to marry and settle down. The question naturally occut pied tho attention of the Dominion Conference of the union at Wellington during the .week, and a resolution was carried impressing on the farming community that proper and convenient homes must be provided for employees. 0 IMTURE SEEDS. Mr Grogor M'Gregor, of Wanganui, has been hammering away for several years past in the effort to induce the Government to make it punishable for those who sell impure. seeds, and I noticed that last week the farmers of North Auckland were discussing the same question. A resolution was carried at Whangarei that the. New Zealand Farmers' Union requests the Government to make it compulsory that all merchants, agents, and salesmen be responsible for the quality of all farm seeds, and also to protect the farmer against noxious weeds in seeds. PRICES FOR VEGETABLES. Vegetables are very scarce just now, and prices have been soaring at an alarming rate. Those who buy have a good deal to say about alleged exploitation, but they seem to forget that the remedy largely rests in their own hands. All they have to do is to cultivate their own back yards. At one time tho kitchen garden was a valuable adjunct of domestic life, and it would have been thought that, under the new condition of affairs when the hours of ordinary employment were reduced, as they have been, more time would be left for the garden. The contrary has been the case, however. Despite the fact that mostly everybody has some srround around the house which could be devoted to the development of crops, the kitchen garden these days is very much neglected, and we find prices soaring upwards at a very rapid rate as a result of increasing demand and failing supplies. In the Wellington province"caulifiowers are being sold at 2s and 2s 6d each, whilst parsnips, carrots, _ and cabbage have also reached unknown heights in price. If people would only get busy in their own gardens they would soon find that increasing supplies _ eventually means a corresponding reduction in price. PRICES FOR FAT STOCK. Prices for fat stock have reached very high figures lately, but at Westfield on

Wednesday there was a fall on prevailing rates, competition not being nearly so keen for beel, which, on the other hand, had been penned in larger numbers than of late. Best oxen sold up to £3 9s per lOOib, whilst cow and heifer beef sold at from £2 17s to £3 6s. Steers ranged from i-lo to £Zi> 2s 6d, latter price being obtained for a good lino from Cambridge; THE COMMANDEER OF PRODUCE. During the pa-st week farmers' representatives from all parts of New Zealand havo been sitting in Wellington, and one question very seriously discussed was the proposal to urge on Government that the commandeer of New Zealand produce be determined at as early a date as possible, bo as to prevent manufacturers and profiteers from exploiting the producers and consumers. Opinions were divided on the matter, but most of the delegates took the same view as that expressed by Mr J. A. M'Pherson, of Otago—namely, that nothing, had yet been adduced to show that they should urge the abolition of the commandeer. A stablo market had been obtained in this world of chaos, and the prices received had been fairly satisfactory. In reply to a query Dr Reakes said the New Zealand Government had accpted the offer, of the Imperial Government to extend the comrrymdeer to June 30, 1920; therefore it was an absolute commitment on the part of this country, and to his mind the Government could not repudiate its action without parting with its own honour. Mr W. D. Lysnar, of Gisborne, held that if any commission was to go Home, then the commandeer should be abolished. He said, furthermore, that if the mercantile interests refused to make advances to the farmers on their produce, he was in favour of the establishment "of a farmers' bank, and he was prepared to put down £IO,OOO to start the institution. Upon a vote being taken, 16 voted for a continuation of the commandeer, as against 13 opposed. AN INTERESTING VISITOR. Among those who have recently visited Napier' is Mr Q. Llewellyn D. James, superintending engineer for Vesty Bros. Mr James was the founder of James and Co.. Wellington, from whose office freezing ■works at Longburn, Taihape, Poverty Bay, Westfield, and Whangarei were designed and. constructed. Since leaving New Zealand Mr James's business has taken him into most of the meat-producing countries of the world, including Australia, Java, Canada, and United States and South America, where he has enjoyed opportunities for studying the meat industry thoroughly. The observations he made, therefore, can be accepted as coming from an authoritative source. Mr James first of all expressed himself as being' in accord with the proposal to send a commission Home, though the object he had in view was different from the one assigned. Pie considered the move a good one, for the simple reason that New Zealanders ratner over estimated the importance of the Dominion in the meat industry. He pointed out that Australasia supplied only 14 per cent, of the exported meats of the world. Last year the /exports from the Argtentine and United States totalled 4,709,000 tons, as against Australasia's 670,000 tone. There was no question about the quality of our rrjeat, ho said, but he considered that the cost of placing it on the Home market .« wai a serious obstacle. The rapid develop- ' ment of South America constituted that country as a'serious rival." South America had now obtained a big market in Great Britain, and it must not be lost sight of that New Zealand would enter the field again after the Imperial commandeer was over with an increased producing market against her. The cost of producing and transportation from South America to England is but considerably less than the cost of landing New Zealand meat on the London market. In addition to this the economics which-have bcem studied in England must b 3 taken into consideration. People, by habit, are now making a pound of meat go further. England herself is producing considerably more than in prewar times, and in pre-war times she produced 66 per cent, of her own consumption, leaving only 34 per cent. for importation. The same remarks regarding production are, said Mr James, applicable to Fracce, Austria, and Germany. These countries, being impoverished by the war, will put every effort into their production, and will probably provide for an increase in the consumption of meat. Probably in from five to 10 yeai-s the demand for New Zealand meat, Mr James opines, will go back, not account of its cruality, but on account of its cost of putting it cm the British market. THE AMERICAN MEAT TRUST. Mr James, the authority above referred to as visiting Hawke's Bay, "does not conr Bider that there is much to fear from, the American Meat Trust. He joints out that the trvist has been going- into England for over 20 years, yet has not obtained such a footing as would dominate the industry. The American trust has undoubtedly made every effort to dominate.the English market, but its chances seem to be very remote for the reason that it would have to practically close or co-ordinate all British interests before it could do so.. This Dominion, ho added, wa3 not a country where there were only a few companies which the trust was able to dominate to its own advantage. The great majority of the works in New Zealand w.ere, farmers' co-operative associations, and there are too many of them for the trust to do anything without the farmers' consent. If the trust got a hold on New Zealand it would be caused by the farmer selling to the trust, and if the farmer sold to the trust it would be because so much more pence per sheep was worth more to him than his loyalty to New Zealand. Consequently the trust could not get hold of New Zealand unless the farmer sold New Zealand to the trust. FRIESIAN CATTLE. A successful sale of Mr R. Morrow's pedigree I'riesian cattle was held in Taranaki during the week just ended, the average price realised, including calves, being about 41gs. The bull which brought the fiighest price was Signor Domino (calved July, 1917), and was purchased by Mr E. A. Gray, of Lowgarth, for 50gs. Thirty-five guineas was paid for Lenora Jewel Nazli, a promising yearling heifer, the purchaser being Mr H. J. Hoskin, of Mangatoki. The cows fetched good prices, ranging from 30gs to 175 gs, at which prico Princess Paulino Sogis (calved November, 1912) was jtnocked down to Mr H. J. Hoskin. DRIED MILK. A largo number/ of farmers attended a meeting at Rontotea this week, when an address was delivered by Mr 11. E. Tracey, Of Auckland, who in the course of his remarks disabused the minds of those proBent of the prospect of getting 3s 6d per lb for their butter-fat. They in the

Dominion, ho said, must bo careful not to overdo the business. He strongly advised them to go in for the roller process of manufacture. ■ Should the result not come up to expectations, thoj' could always'revert to the production of butter. The concern should bo run on co-operative lines, and if sufficient milk were available it would bo advisable to provide capital to the extent of £50,000 to start the venture. In order to make sure of supplies it would be necessary to bind suppliers for at least five years. If they wore looking for something in the vicinity of 3s 6d per lb of butter-fat, then they should think well before starting on a factory. However, if post-war prices were better than pre-war prices, they might possibly reach 2s 4d, but it was possib.e that the average would be nearer Is. A good many questions were asked and answered, and--the dairymen of the district are now considering the matter.