Rural Notes.

Southland Times, Issue 19387, 10 September 1904, Page 4 (Supplement)

Rural Notes.

Weather conditions duringyihe week have, oh the whole been very favour- , able to the fanner. In many parts of the district preparations for oatsowing are in full swing ;, in others, sowing has already commenced. On several days the land- was in splendid condition for sowing, but slight flying showers tended to impede operationsr •'■" There is now abundant evidence of- growth- in the ground, as . here arid there, all over the district grass paddocks -are becoming-bfiauti-fully greeny- Young grass, on the whole' is coming on splendidly , and oven, old pastures are beginning to appear' 'as 7- if : - ! they -too felt the px-oihptings ot spring. There is still ah abundance of turnips in Southland. On farm's where this crop was ridged and hoed, -some beautiful breaks of swedes are still untouched. Stock are doing exceedingly well, and there is a' general absence of disease- High prices for sheep are still ruling, and few are changing hands. Lambs are beginning to make their' appearance all over the distr jtt -; but lambing is not general yet. ? _- ; Many enquiries have been-ahade. of late "concerning the use of ground .-lime. Many fanners wish to know * if it is safe to mix ground lime with the fertiliser they are using, and sow, both together; -Speaking generally.' it is not wise to mix ground burned' lime' with a mixed fertiliser, and it is dangerous, to mix- it with a nitrogenous 'manure * but it may be Tmixed s with crushed bones or superphosphate without doing much harm if the mixture is sown promptly anl--not allowed to lie about for days or weeks. Those "who have used a good deal of ground lime during the past two years*, maintain that the best way to sow it is to spread it - on to the land and harrowit in before beginning to work, tho land for, say, turnips. There seems to.be a great demand for this form of lime this year, as almost every second farmer one meets seems to be about to use it , or has already done so . The dairying season is just about to comrhence again, anti it may not be out of place to say a word or two regarding dairy cows. Dairy cows •are of three classes : those that pay those that do not, and those that simply hold; their own. It should be a dairy-farmer's first duty to find out which of his cows will pay him to keep.. It is no advantage to him to keep them, feed them, and pay for the milking of them, simply because they are cows. What he wants are cows that will help him to make money, artd only cows, giving a good, steady flow of good milk for a prolonged period, will do this * all the others should be eliminated from the herd. At the commencement of the i -season -each cow's milk should be tested, and if it is not up to a paying quantity, or if it be deficient ih quality, that cow should be discarded. By this means only good cows will be left in the herd; and as they will be bred from, there is a greater cha-ice of the farmer getting into a class of good .milkers to fill all his own requirements and to sell , to his ncig-tbours.. J ■ - * Mr T. Logan, * Otama, has this year imported another new variety of oats, called " Improved Tartar King." Mr XiOg-Ji has, for a. number of years past, introduced new varieties of oats, and all have admirably suited our Southland climate. It is believed that this latest importation will be just as successful as the others: Mr Logan keeps, himself well posted up on all that is . being done in the production of new varieties in various parts of the world, and his own personal knowledge and experience enables .bird to select what is most likely to suit us in New Zealand. The land question being so lengthily, discussed in the House -just now, is arousing very little interest among farmers generally. Every '.farmer ; seems to have his mind made up on the subject ; and it is almost the universal belief that the present discussion is not a serious attempt to . get at a thorough understanding of the question. It is also believed that the question of appointing a Royal Commission is .simply a scheme devised for the purpose of allowing the freehold supporters of the Government to get grace, ally out of an awkward situation. Mr T. Gilmour, lately ., stock inspector at Riverton; was succeeded ! by Mr J. Baxter, who formerly acted ac rabbit agent to Mr Gilmour. Since Mr Gilmour left, considerable alteratib_ts have been made in the inspectorial districts of Southland. Mr Gilmour's old district has been divided between Mr Wright, Invercargill, and Mr D-JgleishAjGore. Mr Baxter goes to Queenstown, where he will replace Mr Fountain, who goes to Dunedin, where considerable boun- -' dfery alterations have been made. Mr Wright's, district will now extend from Waikawa to the Waiau, and from Mataura to Centre Bush. Mr John Forrester, who. has. acted as Crown Lands Ranger in Southland for the past few years, has been .. offered a somewhat similar appointment in Canterbury, which he is like* ly to accept. It was the intention of several well-known gentlemen to form themselves into a syndicate for the purpose of acquiring and improving the swamp known as Seaward Mps-s. It is not likely that they will do so now as a good portion of the swamp has been sold at the moderate price of 5s an acre. - v '--..' '. ,■ "'"■■- ■'■ '