THE FARMERS’ COLUMN

Patea Mail, Volume XLVI, 27 August 1923, Page 3

THE FARMERS’ COLUMN

After existing for five years, the Khodesia Moat Packing Company, Ltd., has gone into voluntary liquidation, with a deficit of £36,000, /of which £23,000 is put down to the fall in market values. Competition from Australian canners was the main cause of the loss.

The largest and one of the bestmanaged dairy farms in the Thames Valley is that of Mr F. W. Walters’, of Waitoa, and formerly of Taranaki, Mr Walters has 1197 acres, on which he milked, last season, 499 cows. These were divided into five herds, with a

sharemilker in charge of each. The five fs gave a grand total of 144,6071 b utterfat for the season, or an averof 291.21 b per cow. This yield, at per lb bntterfat would give a gross nbf £10,845 10/-. Tor the 1921-22 season, \fkeji 483 cows were milked, the yield totalled 127,7531 b of butterfat, or an average of 262.41 b per cow.

Kecently a man called at a local local farm and asked for a job, stating that be had walked many miles and was deat beat. He was willing, he said, to work for anything at all. The land-* owner, who at the time had more men, than he needed, gave the man a feed and a bunk for the night, and during the course of the evening rang up a friend, who said he would give the man a job at 30/- a week and found. In the morning the landowner said to the man, “Well, I have got you a job at 30/- a week.” “Oh,” said the man, who had now res.ed and been well fed. “I would not work for any man for less than £2 a week.” “Well, pick up your swag and get out of this—you do not want work,” said the farmer. The man promptly left.

“Five hundred thousand acres of marketable kauri timber would ultimately pay the New Zealand war debt,” was an observation made to a “Manawatu Times” reporter by an oificer of the Forestry Department. He quoted this as an illustration of what a valuable national asset New Zealand possesses in its kauri forests.

A Southern farmer reports an incident in connection with a recent arrival * from overseas, who had been sent to New Zealand to work on his farm. The “missus" gave instructions to the lad to catch a pony, which was grazing in a near-by horse paddock, and harness him in the gig, as she wished to go, into the township. After waiting half an hour, the farmer's wife went out to find the cause of the delay, and met the boy coming back to the house. “It's no good; I can’t catch him," shouted the overheated boy. “Which one have you after?" “The little yun over there," he replied, pointing to a draught mare's foal.

During his recent lecture at Bell Block, Mr Wood gave a few hints on how to ring a bull, and at the same time commented on the extreme cruelty perpetrated often, he hoped unintentionally, when performing this operation (says an exchange). He produced two home-made bull “ rings' ’ which had been taken from animals after they had been slaughtered at the meat works. The first of these instruments of torture consisted of a rusty piece of fencing wire twisted into a loop about seven or eight inches long. The ends of the wire had not even been snipped off close to prevent them catching in rubbish, etc., and how the beast had managed to feed itself sufficiently to warrant his despatch to the works was a mystery. The other was an old rusty beat-ring. The fact of it being of iron should have condemned its use, not to mention its dimensions.

Information has been received by the American Consul at Auckland (Mr A. R. Preston, jun.) that the World Dairy Congress will open at Washington, D.C., on October 2, and will be continued at Philadelphia on October 4, and at Syracuse, New York, on October 5 and following days. The New York assembly will be held in conjunction with the Dairying Exposition. Invitations to attend the congress have been extended to all dairying countries of the world, and it is expected that there will be a very large gathering of representatives of this important industry. \ MAKE.TAWA DAIRY FACTORY Mr J. Brown, chairman of directors, presided at the annual meeting of the above company, there being about 35 present. ■F The annual report stated that the quantity of butter made was 221 tons, the excess of butterfat over the 192122 season being '54,3751b, and butter by 28 tons 14cwt. Suppliers had received payments amounting to £27,986, an average of 15.83 d per lb, and the balance remaining (£2403) will provide a further 1.36 d. There were 1545 more boxes of butter on the water, and the season’s full payout will not be known until this is disposed of. TUNA ANNUAL MEETING The annual meeting of the ‘Tuna Coop. Dairy Co. was held at Stratford. The chairman (Mr W. Sedgwell) presided. The report state<) that the output had again increased, and the quality had given every satisfaction, there having been only five cases of second- * grade cheese out of 3227 cases, and no second-grade butter. Suppliers had received advances equal to 1/4 per lb butterfat, and a surplus of £1350, equal to lad per lb, was yet to be distributed. Consignments totalling 687 cases yet to- be sold had been valued on the safe basis of 6Jd, f.o.b.