SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL. NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3513, 12 July 1921, Page 10

SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL. NOTES.

(From Odb Own Correspondent.) There are a few problems of great importance, and deeply interesting to the farming community at present. They will very much affect and influence the future outlook. In the forefront just at present is .the low value of the primary products, and the difficulty of realisation with no adequate profitable return. At the last wool sales in the Dominion as much wool has been disposed, of as was expected, although at a very low -figure. But on top of all this the position is intensified and aggravated, by the condition of the money market, or financial stringency which makes it almost impossible for _ any enterprising undertaking to afford relief. When the returns from meat and wool arc so meagre, and nothing" strongly attractive, there is some difficulty in deciding what to attend ■to, specially for a good, safe, and profitable return. The continuance of the coal sii'ike in the Old Country was affecting the di3 posal of cheese and lowering its value, but the strike being over the market seems recovering. The position seems to be that, for grain, there is no certainty, meat is doubtful, and wool equally uncertain. One redeeming feature in the wool sales of the Dominion, more wool has been disposed of than was expected, aild the prices, though low", were as good as had been looked for. The cheese market will depend so much. on the purchasing powers of the classes using it most, the future of its disposal cannot with any assurance be predicted. In the course of a few months the buyers will be flying round, to secure what they will require of the next season’s output, and on this occasion it is more than likely they will not be in too great haste to purchase. Those who consigned are a little apprehensive of what their returns may. be, and cannot yet hold out much hope, if any, of an advance on their progress payments. One thing is certain: all stocks have been got well away, and likely t-o be all disposed of, and the cool stores will be quite empty. Tire price for Butter-fat being still so .good, many of tho cheese factories, when the quantity cf milk got too low for profitable cheese-making, have gone in for separating. Many of the suppliers who are still milking, having had late calve rs, and plenty of feed, are trying to make ail they can out of the season, and many of them are doing fairly well. That more new cheese factories have not got under way is due to several causes. In districts too far removed from a railway line the expenses likely to be incurred from the high cost of building, and distance for carting, for both building purposes, and subsequent cartage, make© it a serious obstacle. At Glencoe, too far distant from either HedgeTiopo or Mat-aura, with an intervening distance of miles and considerable areas of go,od dairying districts between, it has been resolved to proceed. Again, at Tussock Creek, not so far removed from other dairy factories, sufficient support could not be bod, and for one season at least nothin" will be done. It is not advisable t-o build anything less than a two-vat factory, and make provision for space for separator and butter-making plant, and also in due tune a pasteuriser. If from 250 to 300 cows cannot be guaranteed it is better to defer until that number can bo-assured. . It is surprising to find how many coiiry factory co..iip-unes in Southland will not go in for pasteurising, although they cannot fail to perceive: it is only those factories that have done so that lead.in quality ana hold a premier position. Dairy experts and those laving experience show the advantages derived from pasteurising; and buyers pim'hasc more eagerly and confidently from those factories; but many others will not be reminded or advised. It is really ast < i! I E>.. With the late heavy rainfall the ground is a little heavy and sloppy, but Laving had a fine open Winter so far, farm work is well advanced, and more. land is being brought under cultivation than was at one time, expected, ft is not likely that cropping will be rushed into, bat whatever the cause may be it is a fact, now quite a-p----r:u" ut. more land is being broken up than has been the case for many years. Whether the slump in wool and mutton lias anything to do wiih it no one can say. The stock market is still lifeless, and little buying and selling business is going on executing in dairy cows, and that is less brisk than it was. With the freezing works closing down, and a limited demand for fats, it means that, with a good supply of winter feed, there will bo a considerable amount of holding over, and it will be all the more difficult to say how the market will open in the. spring and early summer. One of the most, serious troubles farmers have ahead of them is borrowing at anything like a reasonable rate of interest. This is attriouted to the “excessive company income tax.” Tho large stock and agency com panics, to meet such a large rate as 8s 9 3-5 d in tho £. much have put it on to the farmers, before they can be sure of sufficient profit, to pay such a heavy

charge. The farmer, after all. will have to bear the brunt of it, and it comes all back upon tire producer and the land. OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER. AN UNWISE MOVE IN AUSTRALIA. From Otjr Special Correspondent. LONDON, May 12. The sales are being continued with very good results, for since the opening there has been a distinct hardening in merinos. Perhaps the best feature is the increased inquiry, Continental representatives being very keen to purchase everything of fine quality. Merinos are claiming the most attention, as can well be expected. Although all countries alike seem to- be passing through lean, difficult times, and leanness is the outstanding feature of the whole of the British nation’s trade, the strongest demand is being experienced for the finest wools. This clearly shows that even with a nation largely on short time, those spending money on clothes are still wanting the finest and the best. Of course, merino wool is now comparatively cheap, and with every probability of it remaining reasonable in price there is every likelihood of the call remaining for fine materials. There is something about merino fabrics which cannot be obtained from crossbred wool. We take it that the rank and file can distinguish between _ the soft handling fabrics made from merinos and the harder and harsher materials made from crossbreds. Be that as it may, we have the fact that merinos have made practically a 10 to 15 per cent, advance compared with a good 5" to 10 per cent, advance in crossbreds, and that clearly shows the tendency of fashion. CLEAN SCOURED COSTS. Messrs Kreglinger and Fernau last weokend published their usual clean scoured costs, showing the prices ruling during the first week of the current series of sales. We are a little surprised that the advances aro not more than what are set forth, but they must feel justified in the conclusions they have arrived at after carefully valuing for several days of the series. The most significant item is that to-day’s values are approximating those ruling at the July series, 1914, to-day’s values for merinos being in the same neighbourhood. When wo come to 53’s and below, prices are distinctly below. If we take good 46’s crossbred "fleeces, the clean scoured cost was 17d just before the war, compared with 12d today, and these are 2d per clean lb more than last series. In the case of coarse crossbreds, to-day’s clean cost is 9d_ for 40’s fleece wool compared with 15jd in _ July, 19:14, and if Australian pastoralists intend to retain their fleeces until they realise an all-round price of 8d per lb for greasy crossbred wool, they will have to keep them a very long time. " It certainly looks as if inexperienced men have fixed a flat rate of 8d in Australia, putting out of court entirely coarse and medium fleece wools, thus compelling buyers to centre their operations upon fine crossbreds and merinos. When one takes into account the very sensibly increased overhead charges for the working up of wool, then the raw material to-da.v is selling, at under an economic price. Every practical mill man knows that, there is still an increase of at least 150 per cent, in overhead charges. FIXING PRICES IN AUSTRALIA, j The Australian Government having seen j fit to pass a la w prohibiting the export, gd ■wool unless the same is first sold at a fiat ! rate of 8d per lb. means that all wool- | growers arc compelled to take part in the | British Australian Wool Realisation Association’s scheme. This certainly is a distinct hit against tlio liberty and freedom ! of wool-growers, and some frankly assert | that wool buyers now want to go on strike j and show B.A.W.R.A. that they can do I without its wool. This certainly "would be j taking" extreme measures, but by the pass- ! ing of ibis resolution we are afraid that the representatives of the colonial growers have done thfeir cause no good. Will this scheme mean the entire shelving of some gf the ■ very wastv heavy-conditioned wools? How I will it affect medium and coarse oross- ! brerts? All good to -superior wools will today easily command a fiat rate of Bd. but there will be thousands of clips entirely put out of court by tire passing of this acf. The majority of the trade nt this end still are convinced that Australian selling brokers wish to compel all wool-growers tii sell on the spot. It is well known that tills is the game they have boon playing, and apparently they have about realised their object. It now remains to be seen what support, will be forthcoming, and whether any wool-growers will ship to London for realisation. The passing of such : restrictions are a great annoyance to everyone, and cannot be of any assistance in a 1 doveloning market. This Act is passed for the sole purpose of stabilising wool values on an artificial basis, but, it is hardly likely - that European wool buyers will pay 8d for j greasy crossbred wool when they can buy

in .South America to-dav all they want of any quality up to 46’s at 6d clean scoured, c.i.f. Liverpool. These are a few solid facts which will have to be considered by B.A.W.R.A. Thero is sufficient medium and- coarse crossbred wool in South America to satisfy all the requirements of European buyers, and we wonder if Australian and -New Zealand "rowers are going to stand by see buyers’ wants entirely satisfied while their wools are nrevented from enter ing the market until suck times arrive that buyers can pay the newly enforced reserves. PASSIVE ATTITUDE IN BRADFORD. . The above question is being seriously considered in responsible circles in this centre, but so far no definite Action has been taken. It is evidently considered that this is not necessary, for the whole scheme reveals it? own weakness, and it may almost be taken for granted that it will eventually break down under the weight of its own uselessness. A meeting of the British Wool federation, held this week, decided to ignore the latest Australian developments. It is a foregone conclusion among* m#rchants and users in this country that if v 00l cannot be purchased on an economic basis—that is, at such prices as will allow it to be handled and turned into manufactured goods, at least at a reasonable proiit—it will be left entirely alone. HISTORY OF ALFALFA (LUCERNE). A field of alfalfa (lucerne) to the casual thought suggests contented herds and rich cream, and a general ensemble of agricultural content and neatly-painted bams and rural homes. Yet the friendly herb, perfectly at home in pastoral settings, lias known wilder times—when its fame was spread at the point of the javelin, and conquered nations blessed their conquerors Ahfi brought it. War was its agent when civilisation through the vainglory of kings taught culture with the sword and carved the continents into nations. “Ihe best fodder is herbs medica, because when it is once sown it lasts 10 years; because it can be mowed regularly four times a year, sometimes even six times; because it fertilises the land; because all emaciated stock fatten on it; because it is a remedy for sick cattle; because a jugeruni (about three-fifths of- an acre) suffices abundantly for three horses for a. whole year.” But for a certain quaintness of phrasing the foregoing statement might have been uttered by some keen young professor of a modern agricultural college, intent on condensing at lecture the excellent traits and versatility of the premier forago plant, alfalfa. It was, however written by the Roman granger, Oollumella, in the" first century of the Christian era, and it suffices to chasten our self-conceit. Much that wo do well to-day, priding ourselves accordingly, was no secret of the ancients. And so with alfalfa. An Ancient Fodder.— It is a singular fact that a plant so adapted to peace should have migrated in the train of Mars. Yet the slow spread of the purple-flowered fodder from the Median plains, where it is first of record in the year 500 b.c., was attended by many a flashing cavalcade of ruthless armoured men, by the whistle of arrows, and the savage cut and thrust of fo-ot soldiers. A plant of peace, if ever there was one, it has been nurtured by war. To trace its progress over the world is to follow the trumpets and swords. It, is clearly established the ancient home of the plant was in Media, now Northern Persia, and its (origin survives in the botanical name, “Medicago saliva.” Even in England, where old names endure longer than battlements, it- is the “purple medic,” or purple flower of the Modes. Leaders in the civilisation of their period, tho Medes gave this excellent fodder to their neighbours, the Persians. The great King Darius, bent on conquest for the extension of his dominions, and equally shrewd in providing forage for his horses and herds, scattered alfalfa in the wake of war. So Pliny says, and he should have known whereof he wrote. The Persians termed it “aspect,” or horse fodder, and wherever a Persian javelin gained a rod of ground the flower of the Modes found root —most tenacious root, too, when one remembers having heard that alfalfa taps the soils to a depth of 6ft and more under proper conditions. Soil Stimulant. — Even the ancients were not behind in knowing that, the plant needed a stimulant by way of a fertiliser, and it was they who first discovered that lime and a’so sulphur gave excellent results, which in more modern times is called gypsum or land plaster. The early English used a land piaster which was dug from the ground at great depths in some places; .the holes are very much in evidence to-day, being filled with water, and suffice to quench the thirst of cattle. The Grecian geographer, Strabo, d isocursing the first century on fodders and their origin, further confirms the claim of Media, or Northern Persia, to the role of benefactor. “The herb which nourishes horses best” he affirmed, “we call the Median hero, from its abounding natively there.” • —Moors Took It to Spain.— Adventurers, traders, or one is may have carried the seed to Northern Africa. The chronicles are mute regarding this stepping stone to Western Europe. At any rate the flower of the Medes was there when the swarthy Moors, chanting their fierce battle cries, galloped out of the desert and won by lance and scimitar both Northern Africa, arjd Southern Spain, As horsemen they knew fine fodder when they saw it, and during their conquests during the seventh and eighth centuries they carried the plant to Spain, whence it was introduced to mediaeval and modern agriculture. History left its imprint again on the name of the plant, for the term alfalfa is plainly derived from the Moorish word “Alfacfacah,” signifying horse fodder Europe, at war almost unremittingly, east it hither and yon across the continent. The good knight Chevalier Bayard, revered by France and Christendom as the flower of chivalry, undoubtedly pastured his broadruinped chargers on it when he campaigned against the Spaniards and the Italians. A genial, industrious serviceable plant, it won new friends and fields whenever and wherever introduced. —To South America and California.— But the appearance of alfalfa in North America was not sponsored by modern Europe, though sortie early attempt was made to introduce it to the Eastern States.

Spain, at the height of her grandeur, when the don and t he: r soldiers dreamed of empire in South America, sowed the seed to our sister continent. Gold-seekers, sailing around Cape Horn to California - diggings in the early forties and fifties, brought alfalfa from Chile, and thus ensured its peaceful conquest of the Pacific Slope and its steady penetration eastward and northward. Though in tills migration tho plant was unattended by martial clangor, it i 3 pertinent to observe that romance still mothered the flower "of the Medes. Experiments have been carried on very extensively in Washington, Oregon, California and other States, and it lias been proven conclusively that by applying sulphur or sulphur compounds, such as gypsum, that such legumes aa alfalfa and red clover have increased the yield over 400 per cent, and even higher in some instances, and an application of about 6001 bto the acre is sufficient for three years, and even the fourth year gives wonderful results. Gypsum is now being mined in British Columbia in the powder form and contains a very high percentage of calcium sulphate and calcium carbonate. One sweetens the soil and the other fertilises, and can be applied in the spring or fall. —By W. 1L Burley, in Farm and Home. N.Z. FARMERS 7 UNION. MOA FLAT BRANCH. Tho Moa Flat Branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union held its adjourned annual meeting on Saturday afternoon, the 2nd July. This was followed by an ordinary meeting, and a largo amount of business of a local nature was put ill rough. Mr \S m. Brenssell takes over the duties of secretary and treasurer, and Mr Love was elected president for tiie present year. Recently the telegraph engineer placed at the disposal of tne private line owners a complete new and up-to-date outfit at the bureau, and it was resolved to write to the engineer in appreciation for the improvements effected. The following resolutions were sent on to the Provincial Executive:(1) “That this branch is of the opinion that, the rules should be altered to allow a provincial area to be cut up into districts, having a community of interest and containing perhaps front four to eight branches; each district or ‘ward’ to nominate arid elect by ballot their own member or members to the executive, one ballot paper being used tor each branch. (2) “That this branch protests against the Government, in order to give relief to unemployed, sending them on to works which are quite unnecessary at the present time, when, if a limited number of grants were released to local bodies, the same amount of unemployed could be absorbed on essential works.” CYLDEYALE BRANCH. A meeting of the Clydevale Branch of the Now Zealand Farmers’ Union was held on the 2nd inst., there being present Messrs T. Burns (chairman). E. T. Pannett, R. Butters, H. Mollison, W. R. Bennetts, J. Weir, W. Horsburgh, J. Paisley, D. Muir, and secretary. A motion of sympathy with Mr and Mrs SuiLshail in their bereavement was passed, members standing in silence. On the motion of Mr Butters the secretary was instructed to report meeting in Otago Witness. A letter was received from Mr C. F. Lucas tendering his resignation, but it was the wish of the meeting that he should be . asked to reconsider the matter. The matter of the Women’s Rest House at Balclutha was left to the generosity of members, no canvass of district to be taken. The secretary was instructed to write for a copy of provincial balance sheet. The subscription for the year was fixed at £1 and 15s for returned soldiers. it was resolved -to ask the Greenfield Branch to co-operate with regard to obtaining a sittt<l lior.-e for districts. The secretary was instructed to write to River Board asking that telephone from river shed to Mr Pannett’s residence be erected. During the winter the meetings will bo held* in the afternoon. DRUMMOND PLOUGHING MATCH. The annual Drummond ploughing match was held on Wednesday in a very suitable paddock on Mr Gordon Lindsay’s farm. Thero was quite a good attendance, but, unfortunately, the liberal prize fist did not attract more than six teams, four in the open double-furrow class and two in the plain ploughing. William Allison, the youngest ploughman on the ground, and only a boy, won the president’s challenge cup for the champion lot on the field. Messrs W. A. Gray (Wallacetown) and David Hardy (Waik’wi) were the judges of ploughing, and Me isrs James Ryan (Bayswater) and James O’Brien (Nightcaps) were tho judges of the horses and specials. The president of the association (Mr John Kincaid) was unavoidably absent, but Mr Buckingham was quite equal to attend to all the duties of both president and secretary in his usual capable manner. The following is the prize list:—■ Class A (open, double furrows). First prize £6 and £1 Is trophy, second £5 ss, third £3 worth of trophies, fourth £"2.—2, William Allison ploughman, Arthur :: owner; 2 James Lindsay ploughman, John Lindsay * owner; *8 Janies M’Lcan ploughman, David Jones owner; 4 John Gaieley ploughman, Alex. Hamilton .owner. B:st break, William Allison; best finish, William Allison; straicblest ploughing, A. Gateley. Class D (plain ploughing). First prize £5, second £2 And a case of kerosene.—l Arthur Gateley ploughman, William Bros owners; 2 John Smith ploughman. Best break, John Smith; best finish, A. Gateley; straightest ploughing, A. Gately. Specials.—Champion lot: President’s silvercup, £lO 10s, to be won twice—William Allison ; tidiest turnout, £1 Is—John Lindsay (Drummond); tidiest turnout in daily use, it Is —A. Allison; best groomed three-horso teams —John Lindsay 1, William Bros. 2; best three mares, £1 Is—John Lindsay; best three geldings, £1 1 a—William Bros.; beet matched team, 10s — A. Allison; best harness, 10s —John Lindsay; ploughman from longest distance, £l—James M'Lean (Queenstown); Oldest ploughman, £1 Is —Albert Gately; youngest ploughman William Allison; ploughman with largest family, roast of beef and a sack of flour—John Smith (two children).