STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3486, 4 January 1921, Page 9

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weekly Stork Sai&s. Burnside, Wednesdays Ashburton, Tuesdays Addington, Wednesday Walareka Hailway June tion. Tuesdays Wallaoetown. Tuesday Heriot. Thursdays Fortnightly. Clinton. Thursdays Owoka, alternate Thurdays with Clinton Baloiutha, Fridays Gore. Tuesdays Oamaru, Tuesdays Monthly. Wallacelono, Tuesdays Palmerston, Ist Monda Win ton, Ist Thursday Duotroon, 2nd Friday

WsnfMy fcentlnnedi. \\ uodlaruie, 2nd T6crail ay Ayndhim, last Thursday Puliour, 3rd Thursday Thornbury. Ist Friday Uuntroon A Otaatau. i'nd Friday Hiveredaie, 3rd Friday Walkaka, last Friday Clydevale, last Thursday Periodically as Advertised. Lumsden, Uoaeburn, vlrepukl. Mat-aura, V/aiaoual‘l, ilßerlou, Ngapara, and Otago Central Sales.

OTAGO. The weather has been line in Otago and seasonable, and although not much farm work lias been possible the admixture and exchange of town and country thought on topics of the day has doubtless served to solve someone's dilemma in respect to future likely happenings in this New Year of 1931. The usual stock sales were not hold last week. STOCK NOTES. There is naturally enough a dearth of news in respect to any “doings" in stock owing to the holidays. Country folk have been busy entertaining, feeding, and doing wieir best to allay that keen appetite which has been kindled by draughts of—country aar, before settling down to the work of the year. It will not do to be oversanguine about the position and immedi ate prospects of the country, though there h no justification for a pessimistic outlook. Given a few good seasons and ordinary luck and this Dominion can readily meet her national obligations. Ordinary luck, though, involves more than seasonable weather. It means serious thought, determined endeavour, and right feeling between all sections of the community. The call is for more and more production from the land and the working up of our raw materials into finished manufactures. We commence the year indifferently well. Judging from the season’s lambing, with something over 700,000 less ewes put to the ram than in 1919, there are, thanks to an 84 per cent, lambing, over 250,000 more lambs this season They will all be wanted with wool at its present price. The total number of ewes put to the ram are, however, away behind the figures of 1917, when 13,260,169 ewes, as against 11,563,549 ewes in 1920, were requisitioned. Opportunity invites graziers to muster a record number for this present season. Good rains fell along the coast and inland of Otago, and yet not enough to damp holiday-makers’ ardour. An important sale of purebred Percheron horses recently imported from France by the British Percheron Horse Society took place in October last at Knepp Castle, Sussex, by permission of Sir Merrik Burrell, the president of the society. The animals offered arrived in England quite recently. They included an excellent lot of mares and fillies, among them being several prizewinners at various French shows this year. Trade was good from start to finish, a comparatively high level of prices being maintained throughout. The highest price of the sale was made by the last animal offered, a grey mare, Quolline, which gained first prize this year at St. Julian -sur-Sarthe; Miss Harrison paid 720 gs for this. The 45 head—all mares and fillies —realised a total of £13,907 ss, (he average being £309 Is. At Beau House Farm, Cradley, Hereford, in October, a notable dispersal sale of Hereford cattle was held, 59 head averaging over £446. A pleasing feature was the homo demand, all but one remaining in the British Isles. It will lie remembered that as a yearling Resolute realised £8400; as a three-year-old he made 5500g5. Resolute is the first son of that great sire Ringer, which made £9450 some time back. A summary of the sale is interesting:

These figures must not only be refreshing to the vendors, but to the breeders in . general, for they show what can be done by the use of a good bull worthy of Royal ! championship honours. Resolute achieved this distinction at Darlington, and it is the first time that a Royal male champion has been sold by public auction in the same year of its success. His influence on the herd has boon tremendous, for most of the calves were by him, and cows in-calf to : him. AGRICULTURE IN PARLIAMENT. The Legislation of 1920 affecting rural interests was not marked by any outstanding agricultural feature, yet certain provisions are of interest to farmers: —• Rabbit Nuisance Amendment Act. — Part II of “Ihe Rabbit Nuisance Act, 1908," deals with the constitution of rabbitdistricts on the peititon of the majority of stock-owners therein. Ihe qualification of a “stock-owner” for this purpose is the ownership of £OO sheep or 100 head of cattle (one head of cattie is reckoned as five head of sheep), and these stock-owners are tile sole voters and ratepayers in any constituted district. Closer settlement and , dairying have necessitated a change, and the j stock-owner’s qualification is fixed by the Amendment Act at 100 sheep or 20" head of cattle. Rabbit districts may also be constituted at the instance of ratepayers. The principal Act provides that in such districts the rate leviable for rabbit-destruction purposes shall be leviable on the rateable value of the land in the district. In certain classes of country this militates against the successful establishment or working of a district. Provision is therefore made for an alternative system of rating on an acreage basis. The rating system to be adopted is to be determined by a poll. Power is conferred on Rabbit Boards to borrow by way of overdraft on the security of the revenue receivable by them. “The Rabbit Nuisance Amendment Act, 1918,” gave extended powers to Rabbit Boards, constituted under Part 111 of the principal Act, in the matter of the erection of rabbit-proof fencing. The rights and liabilities of the boards as owners of the fences are now laid down by incorporating similar provisions to those already existing in the case of rabbit-proof-fencing districts, i The Governor-general in Council may authorise Rabbit Boards in districts constituted under Part T 1 of the Rabbit Nuisance Act (stock-owners) to take the necessary steps for destroying rabbits on land without first serving notice on the owners of the land. Power is given to make regulations prescribing the moans to be adopted for destroying rabbits, regulating trapping, regulating purchase and sale of rabbits and skins, and regulating the export of rabbits and skins. j Orchard and Garden Diseases Amendment Act. — This amendment provides power to regulate the sale of fruit affected with blackspot. Apiaries Amendment Act. — ! Power is given in this amendment to provide for a registration fee for apiaries. The revenue is to be devoted to the furtherance of the industry. Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Amendment Act.—• Before a society incorporated under the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Act can. sell or exchange any land derived by it from the Crown the precedent consent of the Governor-general in Council is now . necessary. Companies Amendment Act.— When a company formed for a particular purpose desires to engage in operations not provided for in its memorandum or articles of association, a special procedure is necessary to B.mend the memorandum or articles. Relief is provided now in the case of companies formed wholly or in part for the manufacture of butter or cheese. Such companies may, without alteration in the memorandum or articles of association, engage I in the manufacture of rennet, casein, sugar ! of milk, butter boxes, cheese crates, and other articles subsidiary to their main purpose, or may acquire shares in any company carrying out such manufactures, or formed to undertake tho export and marketing of dairy produce, or to erect and ! carry on cool stores and freezing works. Land and Income Tax Amendment Act.— I Tho exemption from income tax enjoyed • by co-operative butter and cheese factories has been removed, but it is provided that in caloidating tho amount of income of such a factory there shall bo deducted from

the total receipts of the factories the amounts paid to suppliers in so far as such amounts are apportioned on the basis of the milk (or cream) supplied. Counties Act.— County Councils a.re now given powers to erect cattle dips, and to make by-laws and fix fees for their use. County Councils are also empowered to purchase and sell rabbit-proof wire netting on suitable terms. i Health Act. — A local authority is empowered to make by-laws defining areas in its district within which it shall be unlawful to establish or maintain stables, cow-sheds, or piggeries. The Board of Health may direct sucli areas to be defined. No cattle saleyard may be established without the consent of the local authority and the Medical Offier of Health. Provision is made for the registration of cattle saleyards, and no promises must be used aa cattle saleyards unless registered.—Journal of Agriculture. SOUTH ISLAND POTATO-GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION. Tho Potato-growers’ Association has made firm strides, though little has been heard of it locally for a while (says the Oamaru Mail). Branches will bo established in every centre in the South Island, with a Central Council representing all branches, elected by the latter. The Association will appoint representatives in every distributing centre in the North Island, and intends to reach many of the smaller inland towns there that have not hitherto been available markets to South Island growers. The association intends to trade as directly as possible between growers and consumers, and to open lip new markets wherever possible both in New Zealand and beyond it, and also to bring pressure upon the Government to provide a means of manufacturing any surplus that may exist, as is done in Germany and elsewhere, producing starch, motor spirit, etc., and by a drying process make marketable large quantities now wasted. Much of the latter could bo disposed of at a price satisfactory to growers. The association will endeavour to impress upon the Government the need of lifting the Australian embargo, should prices justify shipments in tho coming year. The Australian authorities consider that the chance of regulating shipments and prvention of the transmission of disease would be great ly enhanced if the growers were thoroughly organised. What has been done to date is by no means negligible. Waimate, Willowbridge, Studholme, and the surrounding district has been organised, and practically all growers over one acre (98 per cent.) have become members. TemiUca, Seadown, Clandeboye, and Waitoi have been organised (ICO per cent, growers), and North Canterbury is partially organised, and branches have been established at Ladbrooks, South bridge, and Christchurch. Kaiapoi, Rangiora, and North Canterbury will be immediately taken in hand. Oamaru will be visited by the organiser about tho 10-12th inst. The association will have agents in all southern towns, and will lay itself out to handle all potatoes sold to merchants or consumers in the South Island on the same basis as if these were shipped. This will particularly apply to the early potato crop. Orders are already coming in for the North Island for March, April, and forward delivery. Prior to the association taking active steps to handle its own produce, merchants were offering £4 to £4 10s. It is now possible to sell at from £5 10s to £6, forward delivery, and the association claims that this state of affairs is largely due to its efforts. The executive of the council of the association is very pleased to find the enthusiastic manner in which growers are entering into the association’s operations. It is the aim of the association not only to sell potatoes, but onions, chaff, seeds, and all the farmer grows, provided that the farmers are bona fide members, and its agents will be available for the sale of these goods. The Dominion organiser and manager is Mr T. Buxton, of Temuka, who has the light to appoint agents and has general supervision of the association. WHEAT AND RYE SUPPLIES. A recent publication by the International Institute of Agriculture, Rome, furnishes data of very great interest as to the quantities of wheat and rye which importing countries may obtain during tho season from Ist August, 1920, to 31st July, 1921. On the basis of data now available, and of forecasts of an average yield from the growing crops in Argentina and Australia, the Statistical Bureau of tho Institute estimates that Bulgaria, the Serb-Croat-Sloveno State, Canada, the United States, British India, Argentina, and Australia should be 1 able to export during the season 17.5 million j tons of wheat and 800.000 tons of rye, ; making a total of 18.3 million tons of breadstuffs. Taking into account the fact that the quantity afloat on Ist August, 1920, was very large, the aggregate .quantities at disposal of importing countries are estimated at 18.6 million, tons of wheat and 900,000

tons of rye; the complete total is therefore 19.5 million metrio tons, against a quantity amounting to 18.5 million tons of wheat and rye, forming the actual receipts of importing countries during laßt season. On the other hand, the total production of the two cereals m the importing countries comes out very nearly tho same as it was last year (33.2 million tons against 33.5 million). It follows that overseas requirements should not be much greater than last year’s, while potentially about one million tons more than they imported last season will be at the disposal of the importing countries. But there is no positive assurance that the potential exportable surplus will in its entirety reach the countries that may need it, inasmuch as it is not certain that India will export all its apparent surplus, while, within the period still separating us from the coming harvests of Argentina and Australia, our presort expectations regarding those crops may he modified unfavourably. Prudence dictates abstention from undue optimism in view of these uncertain factors of the situation. DISEASES AND TESTS. That- insufficient use has been made of bacterial agencies in checking infective diseases and animal and insect pests was asserted recently by Mr Francis Ray, . a French bacteriologist;, at a meeting of the select committee on the improvement of agriculture m New South Wales. Mr Ray arrived (reports the Weekly Times) at Sydney in 1906, under special agreement with the Pasteur Institute of Paris, to act as their representative in the manufacture and distribution of vacines. Such diseases as black-leg, pleuro-pneumonia, tuberculosis, actinomycosis, swine fever, and contagious mammitis could, ho stated, bo controlled by appropriate vaccines which were being or could be prepared in his laboratory. In 1918 he conducted, under the. control of the department, an experiment in immunising pigs for hog cholera, which he claimed was perfectly successful, but the policy of the department was to disallow tho use of serums, and to kill all the contact pigs in the event of an outbreak, whether the pig market was high or low. Swine fever, he assorted, still and had already ruined a lot of pig-raisers in the neighbourhood of Sydney. Soldier settlers had lost tremendously, and on being appealed to by the Deputy-controller, Colonel Farr, be had offered to’ treat the pigs of returned men free of charge if the Government, would allow preventive inoculation. Ihe immunising of hogs had for many years proved a success in the United States and in many parts of Europe. Mr Ray expressed his confidence in the use of bacteria in exterminating the tick and the blowfly. The Queensland Government had approached him in connection with the tick problem. To undertake it, however, he would have to leave New South Wales, as he must have infected ticks. For this embargo he could not blame the present regulations. American methods of controlling and exterminating the tick could be put into operation hero, and all that was needed was organisation. Mr Ray recalled the Danyz experiments on rabbits, and in answer to the chairman (Sir Joseph Carruthers) expressed the view that if the test 3 had been conducted on the mainland the results would have been successful. He had himself infected two rabbits, which in turn had killed 120. The recent mouse plague, witness contended, could have been successfully combated with the common Pasteur virus, which was freely on sale in France. It had proved the most deadly and efficient eradicator of rats and .mice, and was quite harmless to other animals. He had not been asked to apply bis method, and would not put himself forward unasked. As an illustration of the successful use of these methods (says a Sydney exchange) Mr Ray instanced the extermination of grasshoppers in Algiers. After 18 months’ research, during which sick insects, were closely studied, the cause of the sickness was found, the causal organism isolated, cultivated in broth, and poured over the grass and ground where the flight was expected to come. Death occurred in three hours. The same method had been tried in Argentina, and liad been found successful.

Animals. A verag e. Total. £ a. d. £ 8. d. 25 Cows in Calf to Ttesol u te 43G 0 0 10,904 0 0 6 Cows in Calf to Twyford Hampton 215 5 0 1,291 10 0 20 Calves by Resolute 0 6,903 15 0 4 Calves by Twyford Hampton 65 ii 0 2G3 10 0 2 yearling Heifers .. 5-2-2 7 6 1,044 15 0 Resolute 5,776 0 0 Xwytora Hampton . 210 0 0 £26,892 6 0

£ 8. d. Four Bull Calves by Resolute averaged .. .. 436 0 0 10,904 0 0 Top .Price of Bull Calves (a record) 2,415 0 0 Heifer Calves .. 493 10 0 Cows 1,417 10 0 It it Two-year-old Heifers .. 787 10 0 „ „ Yearling Heifers 710 15 0