SOUTHLAND NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 4048, 13 October 1931, Page 14

SOUTHLAND NOTES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) A GREAT LAMBING. It would be hardly possible to have better weather for lambing than Southland has experienced during the past two weeks, and deaths owing to weather are nil. Tall percentages are already being quoted, and although some farmers have weird ideas of calculating their lamb crop it looks as if there will be a record number of lambs produced this season. On lighter areas grass is not too plentiful yet, but ewes and lambs both appear to be doing well everywhere round the countryside. Ono or two old hands have been heard finding fault over having too many twin lambs, as they maintain that nowadays one good lamb that goes away fat off its mother pays the grower better than two. that have to be kept well on into the winter. However, there is always a fly in the ointment, and the average man on" the land to-day is wearing a more cheerful look than he did a month ago, and he seems to realise that plenty of people are worse off than he is, which is, of course, very true.

GETTING ON WITH THE WORK. There are not many idle moments on farms this month, and teams are being made to earn their oats every day. Ground is in good order for working, and those whose oat crops are sown, are now getting land ready for lamb feed, of which there will probably be a record acreage in Southland this season. Early birds like to get their first lot of rape sown as soon after the first of November as possible, and with last year’s experience in mind, they are not losing any time in preparing the ground. A good shower would freshen un the newly-sown crops and help grass, as whatever virtues our land may possess, it certainly cannot stand drought even in a very modified form. Many farmers on small places arc forced through shortage of cash to do their own team work this vear, as well as look after the lambing, and anyone who has ever tried it knows that, this means working every hour of daylight and a few in the dark to keep up with things. BETTER DEMAND FOR FAT STOCK. Both fat sheep and cattle have hardened in value during the fortnight, though not to any great extent, and there is no likelihood of a boom in either class of stock. At Lorneville sale on October 6 an Oamaru butcher was operating in the beef pens, and he helped, the demand right through the sale, causing prices to be about £1 better than those of the week before, and the splendid quality of the fat sheep entry made the selling easier than has been the ease for some time, though perhaps the per pound price was not a great deal higher. In the store sheep trade there is almost nothing at all doing, although a few lots of ewe hoggets are reported to have been placed privately to men who have the opinion that the recent developments in England means the end of all our troubles. If they are right no one will grudge them making a handsome profit on their deals, and the outlook for wool at any rate is not nearly so dreary as it was a month or less ago. KEEPING DOWN EXPENSES. Mercantile firms arc watching their clients’ expenditure very closely those days, and even orders for seeds and manures are subject to criticism if pitched on too lavish a scale. The stores are, of course, sending out a fair quantity of stuff just now, but even farmers who are in the happy position of being able to pay cash are keeping their orders down to the minimum, and are not doing any more sowing out than is absolutely necessary. Dressed ryegrass is cheaper than has been the case for years, but clovers.

etc., have not dropped' a great deal in .price, and with the cost of manure it is still a fairly expensive job to sow down a large area in permanent pasture. One or two branches of the Farmers’ Union last year imported clover seed from Canterbury for their members, and the price seemed low in comparison with that being charged by mercantile houses, but whether the seed was first class or contained a fair proportion of cheap suckling is only known to those who used it. A QUIET MEETING. In spite of rumours to the contrary, the annual meeting of the Farmers’ Federation passed off without much fuss, and the two retiring directors were re-elected by a big majority over two new candidates for the positions. The chairman’s report dealt largely with matters affecting the industry as a whole, and did not devote much time to the domestic affairs of the federation, but it was evident at the meeting that shareholders are determined to keep a close watch on the costs of running the concern. It is on the cards that this season will see the federation increase its output of butter, as heaps of farmers are milking an extra cow or two to bring in a little ready cash, and it is much handier for these people to have their cream collected at their door than waste time going to the dairy factoryevery day with only a can or so of milk. KEEN FOR WORK. A farmer in the Western District last week called tenders for grubbing, cutting, and burning about three miles of a real “ old man ” gorse fence, and accepted the lowest tender of Is Ud per chain. The successful (?) tenderers have to find themselves for everything required, including food and camp, and they will assuredly not have to take any notice of Arbitration Court awards or hours if they are going to make big wages on the job. Anyhow they wanted work, and good luck to them, as young chaps of this sort are hard to keep down, and don’t run round expecting an easy job to be found for them. A GOOD RECORD. Experienced stock men often declare that even including North Canterbury there is no healthier sheep country in the Dominion than the average Southland farm, and an instance bearing this out was quoted at a local sale this week. A mob of slightly over 1500 ewes has been carried on turnips right through the winter (and we had a winter this year) by one owner without a single death up till lambing started. The flock were certainly in the hands of a good man. and were well provided with a run off, hay, salt lick, etc., but allowing all this, it shows that the country they were running on is eminently adapted for the work it is doing. THE CHEESE MARKET. A group of factories in the Western District have sold their combined output for September-October to Messrs Weddel and Co., Ltd., at 6Jd per pound f.o.b. The total quantity will be somewhere about 100 tons, and this sale will enable the factories concerned to pay out over Is without any risks. It is reported that offers to purchase outputs up to the end of March at 6d have been received, but these offers are being made subject to fluctuations in exchange, so it is hard to say what the offer might turn out to be. The intake at factories is very much on a par with last year’s, and most dairymen would welcome a good day’s rain. A POPULAR SALESMAN LEAVES THE RAILS. Mr “ Dick ” Harris, for many years a stock salesman for Wright, Stephenson, and Co., in Invercargill, has severed his connection with the firm, and is taking over the management of the Junction Hotel at Wallacetown. Mr Harris has been in the employ of the one firm since leaving school, and he leaves the rails with a splendid record as a capable, straightgoing. and hard-working auctioneer, who would go to any trouble to do the firm’s smallest client a good turn.