THE NORTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3829, 2 August 1927, Page 20

THE NORTH ISLAND.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) The Auckland province was subjected to a heavy rain storm at last week-end, and the northern districts were flooded in some parts. On the East Coast there has also been much rain. The province of Hawke’s Bay clamoured and prayed for rain last year. This year it is getting it with a vengeance. On Monday again heavy rain, with accompanying gale-like winds, was experienced in all centres. In Napier the downpour lasted practically all night, and rain fell off and on throughout the day. At Whana Whana one and a-half inches fell, and the river rose considerably. At Hastings 91 points of rain fell during Monday night, the downpour being of a torrential nature. Hawke’s Bay certainly needs a lot of rain, and it is getting its requirements in full measure this year. HOW TO GET RID OF BLACKBERRY. The eradication of blackberry is a pro- ' Idem with which many land holders are

faced. Mr R. W. Gorringe, when addressing the farm school at Wairoa recently, showed that he had a way that would prove profitable and effective. Give him, he said, plenty of pigs, and he would guarantee to keep clean any reasonable sort of country from, the blackberry menace, and also from fern and any secondary growths. The speaker further showed the great profits to be derived from pig farmii ". A pig farm was twice the value of a dairy farm of the same area, and five times that of a sheep run. IN THE WAIKATO. Unsettled weather has prevailed in the Waikato district, and growth has been checked by frosts. Quite a number of cows are, however, coming in, and the supplies to factories are increasing every day. DAY-OLD CALVES. Day-old calves are making their appearance at some of the stock sales in the Thames Valley district. This unusual state of affairs has caused some comment, but apparently owners were under the impression that the new scheme dealing with calf products had already been established, and that good prices could be obtained. FIREBLIGHT MENACE. A deputation of farmers front the Manawatu district waited on the Minister of Agriculture at Wellington and protested against the mandate compelling them to destroy all hawthorn hedges within a five-milc radius of Palmerston North, on the ground of the great expense and the loss of shelter for their stock involved. Mr J. A. Nash, M.P., said the farmers had been given three weeks’ notice to eradicate all their hawthorn hedges. This was a very drastic notice, and it was an utter impossibility to comply with it. To do what the department suggested the hedges would have to be cut down, and the roots grubbed out, otherwise the hawthorn would grow again. The townspeople had no kick against the order, and they would destroy all the hedges in the town. The farmers, on the other hand, would be affected very seriously. The milking season was just starting, and the dairy farmers required shelter for their cows from now on for the next three or four months. They were relying on shelter that had been growing for many years, and had been told that they must remove it instantly. He quoted from letters from two farmers each of whom said he would be faced with a loss of £5OO. One said the cost of eradicating the hawthorn and erecting other fences would be £lOO. His was a farm of 39 acres, and if he received no compensation he would have to walk off. Mr Nash said there were so many cases where hardship would be inflicted upon farmers that the matter required very serious consideration before any action was taken. He recognised that the orchardists must be protected, but they should meet the farmers in a reasonable way and give them, say, five years in which to remove the hawthorn and re-

plant other shelter trees for their stock. Mr Linklater. M.P. for Manawatu, and Mr J. S. Elliott, M-.P. for Orona, as well as other deputationists, also spoke. Mr J. A. Campbell, director of the horticultural division of the Department of Agriculture, pointed out that hawthorn played a very important part in the spread of fireblight, which was a most serious disease as far as the fruitgrowers were concerned. To combat the spread of the disease, specific fruit areas had been proclaimed covering the present orchards and the future development of commercial fruit growings. Outside those areas farmers were permitted to grow hawthorn, but inside them it must be destroyed when required. Mr Campbell went on to say that fireblight was spreading all over the North Island. The proclaimed fruit areas were large enough to meet the Dominion’s future requirements, and there was no intention to increase them. The fight should be between the fruitgrower and the disease. Once fireblight got into hawthorn hedges it would remain there. The Farmers’ Union had

supported the proposal that the Palmerston North district should be proclaimed a fruit area. In the Auckland districts the fruitgrowers had got the disease out of their orchards as soon as the hawthorn hedges had been removed. The department did not insist upon grubbing out the roots, and the shoots should be easily dealt with. There were 250 acres of orchards in the Palmerston North area. The infection of fireblight was carried within the range of the flight of the bee, which was about three miles. Mr Nash suggetesd, and it was agreed to that a round-table conference be held between the officers of the Agricultural Department, the farmers, and the fruitgrowers to discuss the whole matter and reach a friendly solution to cover the Palmerston North district. PAxi-rSITES IN SHEEP.

The subject of stock diseases was discussed fully by Mr E. E. Elphic at the Wairoa Farmers’ School, one of the topics enlarged upon being parasites in sheep, the chief one being liver fluke. Mr Elphic said that in the southern part of Hawke’s Bay the disease was on the increase. Thor- were not many cases in Wairoa, but it was hoped to get the percentages later and stop any increase. He detailed the life history of the parasite, and said the ravages of fluke must be stopped. In view of the fact that the water snail was the host of the fluke, the wet portions of the farm must be drained to keep the water running clear in the creeks. As a help, he advocated the use of copper sulphate in water holes. Stomach worm was also dealt with, the speaker pointing out tjiat it was more easily dealt with than the fluke, as it had no intermediate host. The draining of the land killed this pest also. Statistics were given of the loss to the Dominion in districts as wide apart as Nelson and Hawke's Bay, and said it was costing the farmers of New Zealand £3,000,000 in ten years. FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. There has been a fear that sooner or later foot-and-mouth disease, so prevalent in certain countries on the Continent of Europe, will make its appearance in the Dominion, particularly if there . is .any laxity on the part of the Department, Speaking at the annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union at Wellington a few days ago, however, Dr C. J. Reakes, Director of Agriculture, assured

the meeting that every precaution was being taken against the introduction of the disease - into New Zealand. This Dominion, he said, bought very little farm produce from those particular countries, although a certain amount of seed was purchased

from them. England was now comparatively free of the disease. It was just a matter how far farmers should go in prohibiting the importation of seed from countries infected with foot-and-mouth disease, as had been suggested. There was the further question of the possible risk which might be incurred as the result of purchasing seed from such countries. Cattle, sheep, and pigs were susceptible to. the disease, but it was unlikely that any of those animals would be running in paddocks where seed was being produced. The risk of infection through seed was, to say the least, very slight. One delegate thought that perhaps a plant might become infected as the result of the seed having the disease, but Di’ Reakes negatived that suggestion, the seed, lie pointed out. being only a mechanical conveyor. Continuing, Dr Reakes said he understood that alteration in the regulations for the destruction • of hay, straw, or packing from countries where foot-and-mouth disease was prevalent was received with anxiety by delegates. He assumed that they referred to the regulation whereby, so far as Great Britain was concerned, hay or straw used for packing could be admitted without having to be destroyed immediately on arrival in New 7 Zealand, provided it was certified by a proper authority as having been sterilised before being used for packing. That regulation, which had been in practice for some time, had given satisfaction so far as he knew.- The authorities at Home had decided on the sterilisation of hay and straw before being used for packing, and he had every reason to believe that that work was being carried out efficiently and satisfactorily. In reply to a query as to what precautions are being taken so far as Europe is concerned, Dr Reakes said the same provision applied. A good many of the European countries were now using other materials for packing.

GOOD PRICES FOR DAIRY CATTLE. At a sale of a good line of Jersey cows and heifers at Woodville buyers were present from Waikato and other parts. The keen demand for the stock caused very satisfactory prices to be obtained. Tho highest price paid for cows was £27, and tho lowest £ll, and the top price for two-year heifers was £2O ss, lowest price £9 10s. The cows averaged the very satisfactory figure £l7 Ils, and the two-year-old heifers £l4 17s. CASEIN. The casein factory at Aramoho has been developing very steadily, and quite a number of factories in the Taranaki district are now sending curd to Aramoho. At a meeting of the Waitara, Taranaki, Factory tho chairman of directors pointed out that casein manufactured was about the same as last year, and the quality was up io the usual standard, being classed as “excellent” and “very good.” Owing to better prices being obtained, tho amount received by suppliers has been considerably more than tho previous year. There was £ll3 7s Ed to credit in tho casein account. They had now received a further payment from the casein company, and this made it possible to pay a further penny per 100U>. They would then have received 9d per ICOtb of new milk supplied for cascinrnaking during the year.

At a meeting of representatives of the 31 companies and branches sending curd to Aramoho, the general tenor of tho remarks indicated that it was being more and more recognised that the most equitable and the fairest way to pay for milk for casein-making was on the basis of 1001 b of new' milk used; this company had adopted this method from the start. This year they had been paid by the casein company on the nitrogen content of the curd instead of, as previously, at so much per ton on tho dried casein. They had received an average of 2s 6.35 d per lb of nitrogen, this being equal to an average of £4O 10s 3d per ton of dried casein. The prospects for tho coming season were good, and they could definitely say that 9d per 1001 b of new milk would be paid for July, August, and September milk. SOIL FERTILISATION.

Dr D. L. Freeman, addressing a large number of farmers at the Wairoa Farmers’ school, occupied some time in discussing most interestingly the important question of soil fertilisation. The farmers of today, he said, were o.dy sub-pioneers, the descendants of ’’.ose who felled the bush, and the later generation was making use of these lands. He stressed the improved position of dairy farmers to-day through the introduction of scientific methods of testing herds, enabling the farmers to cull the herds, and so increase the average yield of b itter-fat. The New Zealand average, he said, was not high, ami many' as lov as 1751 b. It was unfortunate he could not squeeze in the

dairy cow, but would come along later if thought advisable. In the matter of fertilisation of land, where would the farmer be without the investigator? He classed superphosphate as the king of fertilisers. The speaker then went on to give a masterly exposition of the elements of plant food, showing the needs for various crops and soils, the sources of these in he world of nature and the world of science. He also showed the effects of the various fertilisers on the lands of the Do .Inion. Before the war New Zealand got the potassic manures from German mines, and now that Alsace had again become French we got it from France. The output had been from 40.000 to 50.000 tons a day. Now, in addition to France these manures were o-ot from Galicia, Abyssinia, and Catalonia, also from Scotland. New Zealand soils were deficient n phosphates, and the application of such had wonderful effects on the pastures. Liming of land was also dealt with in a masterly manner, and the speaker said lie was prepared to lax out and superintend experimental plots for the farmers t- test the question ot fertilisation. He concluded by making a number of soil ’ its for lime or no Inn'’.