MANDEVILLE NOTES

Southland Times, Issue 17697, 8 July 1914, Page 2

MANDEVILLE NOTES

(Frjm our own Correspondent.) The weather since last writing ha* been very wet and at times severely cold, in fact the whole of June was verywet with scarcely any frost. Sheep on turnips have required a deal of attention, the rainy days being so frequent that the sheep had to be removed at evening and put on again each morning. On many farms this meant a deal of extra work t<s those whose old pastures were some distance away from their turnip paddock The turnips are at present having a severe lima All the flock sheep are now on artificial feed and must continue there until the end of August and still better if they can be kept av/ay from the grass paddocks till well on towards the end of September. Grass on the river flats comes away fully a month before there is much show on the terrace lands. Tlie matter of providing winter feed for stock for so many months is Southland’s great drawback. Unless a large area is set aside for such purposes sheep have to he turned out on the grass paddocks before it has had a chance to make a fair growth, with the result that the grass gets no chance to get away before the end of November. Of course farmers about here arc much better provided with winter feed than they were last year and as the majority are understocked the ewes will be in much better condition at lambing, which means also that tho wool will be of a better quality at shearing. Farmers in this district are no different than in other places. The present appears to be a period of unrest, and as the prices obtainable for land is mnrii above what it originally cost, many seem to be tempted to part with their holdings. The last to have left us is Mr Beck. 1 understand he lias made an exchange with a Mr Wotton. whose property is near Ashburton. Mr Beck’s late property of seventeen hundred acres is situated on the Mandevillo-Retrcat road, lies splendidly to the sun, and practically al! ploughable: in fact, nearly the whole of it has been ploughed. It is an ideal, sheep farm where winter feed can and is plentifully grown Mr Wotton is to be congratulated upon securing such a. splendid property, conveniently situated to the railway station and township. There are rumours of the one is a certainty, but as it is not made public as yet I refrain from mentioning particulars. Ploughing is being pushed forward on the lea land, but stubble paddocks have been much too wet. The area turned over this season for grain growing will be less than last year if what I hear Is a fair average of what is going to be put in. Indeed, some of those farmers who have sufficient oat stacks on hand to serve them for chaff through the next year do not intend to put in any oats. The condition of the grain market and tho future prospect is not sufficent inducement for setting aside much land for graiii growing. We only need to show -i sample of oats for sale to thoroughly convince ourselves to leave oats alone and lake shares in a petrol mine company. Wo can ship oats to London for twenty shillings in place of thirty-five shillings a short time ago, hut to the great annoyance of the unfortunate oat holder tho market in England dropped, with the result that the merchants may offer Is 7d to Is 8d for best grades. This, briefly summed up. is no good. Sheep are selling at high prices, especially for good young ewes. A line of nice two-tooths belonging to Mr Beck realised 23s 2d at his clearing said a fortnight ago, and at a clearing sale In Wendon last week a fine line of twotooth ewes realised 24s Sd. It certainly does appear as if it is better to be a seller than a buyer at such prices, but still I believe sheep are going to be higher v et. The high price paid for fat lambs this season lias been the means of again tempting farmers to sell their ewe lambs. We all know this is a mistake frura a general point of view, but some little time ago fair two-tooths could be bought for nineteen to twenty-one shillings, which only left about two or three shillings between the ewe lamb at eighteen shillings fat and the twotooth ewe. This would, of course, be good business were there sufficient good healthv two-tooth ewes available, but such is if3t the case and the standard of our ewe flock is not. I venture to state, as good as it was five or six years ago. Kverything seems to point to the fact that the number of meat-eaters is on the increase. Meat is going into countries where rice, etc., formally satisfied the millions, and as the sheep flocks of the world are not increasing correspondingly the outlook for sheep raising is surely satisfactory. The holders of second and third-class land have a prosperous future —for soma years ahead —before them as far as can be seen, because it is going to be tha sheep breeder, not the fattener, that Is going to make the most out of the innocent sheep. The usual monthly meeting of the Farmers’ Union was held in the public hall on June 20. Mr Thomas Kain being voted te the chair in the absence of the chairman, Mr J. H. McLeod. There was a fair attendance considering the very rough weather. Members discussed tha advisableness of joining one of the Leagu« branches, but it was finally decided that the secretary should write and invite a delegate from the Southland League ta address them on its aims and objects, and if the letter-be favourably received to publicly invite all interested to attend such address. A cable message from Vancouver has been received from Mr .1. H. McLeod, who is taking a trip to the land of his parents’ birth —bonnie Scotland. His many f lends here and abroad will be glad to learn where he is.