SOUTHLAND NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3959, 28 January 1930, Page 17

SOUTHLAND NOTES.

(!■ rom Our Own Correspondent.) the weather. INVERCARGILL, January 25. . Uimatie conditions have improv', d during the past fortnight, although the weather is still unsettled. Odd paddocks are j'.’** being stacked for hay, but will not have much feeding value. It i«s strange that more ensilage is not being made in bouth and. as our climate and prolific glow th ot grass lend themselves admirably to this purpose, and the work is not hung up on account of weather. Alany people i tin away with the idea that a lot of prepat ation is necessary before ensilage can lie made, but a visit to one or two up-to-'i I e tarms in Canterbury- would convince them as to their error on this point. The bulk of the ewe flocks still remain to be shorn, and this season will establish a record for stoppage of farm work, which it is to be hoped will stand for a long L*ne. Ihe cutting of ryegrass will start ti.is week, and indications point to a healthy demand for good samples, but many paddocks have been beaten fiat »y rjtin and will be hard to cut. while in some cases frosts at New Year affected the seed. THE FAT LAMB MARKET. All things considered, local farmers have reason to be well pleased with the prices being paid for lambs, and in manycases the number taken has exceeded expectations. At the start of the season it was loudly broadcasted that local works were paying full Canterbury schedule prices, ami prophecies were made that very- few- fat lambs would be sent north, but this has not turned out to be the case, as northern buyers are getting as much stuff as they can handle; and at AVallacetown sale, which is easily- the biggest auction '.ale of fat lambs in Southland, one Canterbury buyer has been the largest purchaser. Some writers make the suggestion that it would be a benefit to the province if no fat lambs were railed to Canterbury, but anyone with a. knowledge of the fat lamb trade in Southland during the past ten years knows perfectly well how much value to place on propaganda of this description. LAND BALLOT. The Tama ’Tea estate, acquired by- the Government for closer settlement, was balloted for on the 16th inst., and the result must have been extremely disappointing to those responsible for the purchase, as only ten men applied for the seven sections, and some of these were turned down as being ineligible. A good deal of ink has been spilt in attempts to explain the scarcity of applicants, and some very wild statements have been made, but the plain fact is that the land is too dear. One correspondent in the Southland Times very pertinently points out that the capital value of one property is almost £3 an acre more than the price received by the vendor, and as the rent charged is based on the' higher figure, the incoming tenants are being asked to pay more than they are entitled to. Another important factor is that as far as this end of the Island, at any rate, is concerned, no man with any money wants to buy land, and no amount of boosting by armchair critics will create a demand for any article that nobody wants. A farmer who has to walk off his propertyin Southland does not derive any benefit from the knowledge that large numbers are also walking off in the North Island, and the fact that land is much clearer in Canterbury than in Southland does not make dear Southland land one penny chi a per. SALES OF CHEESE. There has been more animation in the cheese market of late, and several sales have been made on a basis of B|d. f.0.b.. Bluff. A group of seven factories in the AVinton district have disposed of their output from January 1 till the end of the season at the above figure to Alessrs AVeddel and Co.. through that firm’s local agents. Alessrs Saunders and Bocock, Invercargill. This purchase will amount to about 660 tons, and is one of the largest single deals in cheese ever made in the Dominion. AA’right. Stephenson, and Co. have also bought several fairly large lines in the Eastern District at the same price. Alost of the factories concerned in the above transactions had already sold their outputs up to the end of December, 1929. at 8?d. and the sales now made will enable the directors to pay out an average of about Is 7d per lb of butter fat for the year’s working. This price, while certainly as much as could be expected, does not leave any margin over working expenses, and only a small proportion of dairymen will show a profit on the season’s operations.

GENERAL.

Air William Watson, of Heddon Bush, who was probably- the first man in Southland to appreciate the benefits of top-

dressing, last week got away over 1100 fat lambs out of a mob of *l7OO. These lambs were by- Southdown rams from ordinary crossbred ewes, and although not heavy- weights, were splendid quality and a great advertisement (if one were needed) for Air Watson and his methods ot farming. B le death Robert Aliller. Oreti 1 lams, which occurred last week, removes from our midst a splendid type cf farmer, neighbour, and man. Of retiring disposition, the late Mr Aliller avoided anv kmd ot limelight, but as a breeder and feeder ot stock he had few equals in the province, and he leaves in the care of his two worthy sons one of the best tilled properties in Southland.

A syndicate is being formed to bore tor oil m the Centre Bush district, and it is understood that a contract has been let tor the preliminary operations. Accord,l.’p /•’. expert advice indications point to oil being present under practically all the land between the Waiau River 'ami the Hokonui Mountains. and it is to be sincerely hoped that this is so. as a few ou wells in full blast would soon solve Southland’s financial problems, and then have enough left over to settle any little details such as the Dominion National Debt.

'The members of the Alain Highway Board have been paying a visit to Southland. ami have compared our roads very favourably with those of other parts o't the Dominion. They have also expressed the opinion that our good roads and comparative absence of hills makes motorimJiere cheaper than it is in the north. I here is no doubt that our main highways aie wonderfully improved, and it is hist a question if the expenditure in some cases is warranted, as money has been spent on roads that were quite good enough tor any ordinary traffic for years to come. Good roads are certainly dosirable, but there is no necssity to spend money in establishing speedways all over the country, and many main roads in the South Island will soon come under that category. The chairman of the’ board soi ’’ e plain remarks in connection with the Alataura bridge, and stated that it an accident occurred the Southland County Council would probably be liable tor heavy damages. The outlook for the Invercargill wool sale on January 30 is certainly nothing to enthuse over, and sheep farmers will have to revise their estimated revenue for the year. Alany of the larger clips will be consigned to London on grower's account, and from reports this is precisely what the wool people in England are working for. Some people are again talking of the desirability of forming a AA’ool Conti ol Board, but shrewd observers consider that this step would be walking out ot the frying pan into the fire as far as the growers are concerned, although it would probably provide a few fat billets J here may be some methods of improving the present system of selling wool, but holding a pistol at the buyer’s head is assuredly not one of them.