SOUTHLAND TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3802, 25 January 1927, Page 48

SOUTHLAND TOPICS.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, January 22. The delightful warm weather which was first noticeable in Southland at the beginning of the Christmas holidays has continued right up to the present with the exception of a cold snap which was experienced during last week, and farmers generally throughout Southland have little cause to complain. Business in Invercargill was slightly slack during the period following Christmas and the orgy of spending which the festive season usually induces, but now the holiday-makers are returning and business firms are getting back to the ordinary routine. The various local bodies, including the Southland County Council, the Southland Education Board, and the Provincial Executive of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union have all held monthly meetings, at which the business which accumulated during the holidays was dealt with. At the meeting of the Farmers’ Union Executive on Saturday, January 15, the President (Mr Henry Smith) related an interesting and rather alarming experience which he had had with lamb mortality some three weeks previously. In one paddock he lost 20 lambs out of a flock of 300. He immediately telephoned to the veterinary surgeon at Gore, who at once came to his farm, accompanied by Mr Danskin, veterinary surgeon to the Government Agricultural Department. One of the lambs had scarcely been dead an hour when it was examined, and both these gentlemen were convinced that it had died as a result of renal congestion. He recommended him to turn the lambs into poorer pasture and to put a dog round them once a day. He did so, and only two lambs of this flock died later. The Jambs he lost in the first instance were the best lambs in that particular paddock, although there were better lambs on the farm. After some discussion it was decided to let the matter of investigating renal congestion rest in the hands of the committee already appointed. The -much-discussed blueberry, which in America is a serious rival to the strawberry, has recently been grown with success at Otatara by an Invercargill lady, who three years ago sent to America and secured three trees. Each tree has grown very well, and one of them appears to be going to bear a very heavy crop of fruit, which is said to resemble the cranberry in taste. The climate and soil at Otatara appears to be admirably suited to the cultivation of these trees, which seem to have thrived better than those specially brought to the Dominion and planted in other parts of New Zealand by Dr Tillyard, of the Cawthron Institute. A local nurseryman expresses the opinion that the growth of these trees showed the suitability of Southland for the extensive growing of this fruit, for which a ready market could be found. He understood that it was the intention of the owner of the trees to start an orchard of blueberries, and w jfn that object in view a commencement will be made shortly to propogate the plants properly. Two Invercargill residents, Messrs Barry and Fenn, have been experimenting with a liquid substance which, they claim, will destroy blackberries. The method adopted is to spray a speciallyprepared mixture over the plant, which then rapidly, dies back so that it can be burnt. A further injection of the liquid into the roots succeeds in killing the plant outright without doing any permanent injury to the land. The efficiency of this treatment is evidenced in the dead branches and roots of blackberries now covered over by luscious grass and clovers nine months after the patch had been treated. It is claimed that bushes spraved with the mixture are dead within a fortnight of its application. Despite the cold snap which was experienced throughout Southland during last week, conditions in the country districts are particularly good. As a result of the good weather which has prevailed since Christmas and the splendid growth of clover on the pastures, lambs have been doing very wefi, and it is to be hoped that the cold snap will not result in any very serious setback to them while they are still on the mothers, as it will yet be some before any supplementary feed is available on which to wean them. Supplementary crops are doing very well, although much later than usual. The area of lamb feed which will be available is considerably less than usual, and it is therefore generally expected that a large number of store lambs will come on the market this season. In all parts of southland there is an abundance of feed on the pastures, and at the present time most farms could graze more stock than they are doing. Present conditions would seem to indicate that there will be sufficient winter feed throughout the province trom root crops and hay. The freezing works are now working full time, and a steady supply of lambs is coming forward -the percentage of lambs drafted off the mothers is much less than last year, and it is also noticeable that the killings consist or a smaller number of extra heavy lambs than has been the case in the past. The lambs being killed so far consist mainly of medium weights, Which are much more suitable for the export trade. The first wool sale held in Invercargill is set down for January 27, and tlie second sale will be held on March 10 lhe greater proportion of the wool will be offered at the first sale, but there are some growers who prefer to leave their clip to the later sale in the belief that prices may harden. The stock market is still very quiet, and not a great deal of business is being transacted, although good supplies of fat stock are being sent to «h! n fat i St i° C i C marbet - A few sales of surw * I.- bave been made for delivery 2?« a , utumn at Prices from 25s to 30 s, but purchasers are disinclined to buy ahead. The usual fortnightly sale of stock at the Wallacetown yards was nuL Pr i Odu + i tlVe Of ’Prices; indeed l o gh u were full yardings of la“ b s and fat sheep prices in each case were 2s a head below the prices at the previous sale. There was a short supply of store cattle and store sheep, and prices equalled recent rates.

. About 25 officers and ‘507 men went Castle Rock four miles distant from Lumsden, last Wednesday to undergo the annual training course required of the Territorial units. The

camp site is an ideal one. On one side protection from the prevailing north-west winds is purovided by an extensive belt of trees, while an abundant supply of water may be obtained from a tributary of the. Oreti, which flows nearby. The camp is under the command of BrigadierGeneral M'Curdy, 0.8. E., Captain A. M. Foster, N.Z.S.C., acting as practical instructor. The troops will return to their homes on January 19. James C. Dakin, a scholar at the Southland Boys’ High School, recently gained honour for his school by taking first place in the Junior University Scholarship examinations in New Zealand, his achievement being equalled by I. M. Johnson, of Nelson College. . His scholastic career has been most creditable. He was dux of the primary school which he attended, and while there gained a junior scholarship. He entered the High School in 1922, and passed through the various forms with credit, winning a senior scholarship and gaining not a few prizes, principally in classics. In 1925 dux of the school/ and in 1926 was senior scholar though debarred by the traditions of the school from again being dux. He also distinguished himself in athletics, being in the first eleven for some years and captaining it in the 1926 season. He is an excellent shot, was school sergeantmajor in the Cadet Corps, and was one of the best forwards in the first fifteen in 1926. It is interesting to note that his father is classics master at the Southland Boys’ High School. The death occurred on Thursday of Robert Allan Harrington, aged 70 years, at his residence in Lewis street. The late Mr Harrington was born at Castlenaid, Australia, and came to Riverton with his parents at an early age. He was privately educated there, and later entered the sawmilling industry. From Riverton he went to Pahia, leaving there to go to Waimeamea. Before retiring he was engaged in sawmilling in the Catlins district. He was very well known throughout Southland, and his loss will be felt by many.