THE FARM

Southland Times, Issue 17661, 19 February 1916, Page 2

THE FARM

ASBicrrLTxrsAi evewts tok week EOTJIEFG FEBB.UAR.~g 26-: —Saturday, February 19- — Horse sale at Invercargill, by Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Co., I>tdL —Tuesday, February 22. — Stock sale at Wallace to wo. —Thursday,' February 23. Stock sale at Wyndham. —Friday, February 24. Stock sale at Waikaka. The oat crop in the Heddon Bash district are somewhat patchey, some being comparatively light while others are exceptionally heavy. Mr Wm. Watson has a very fine crop, and Messrs Boyle Bros, have cut a crop of autumn sown Duns which is expected to top the century. Turnips are coming on well, especially those on the ridges. In the Orcti district the oat crops are looking well, and the average yield should be well above last year. The cutting of the autumn-sown portion has been finished. Farms on which exceptionally good crops may be seen arc those of Messrs B. Miller, T. McLean, Cowie Bros., Findlay Bros., and S. Woods. Mr R. Miller's crop should easily go over 100 bushels. Turnip crops promise to be good, the weather of late having been very favourable for-them. An ex-Canterbury farmer, who a few years back purchased a farm in the Five Rivers district, recently pand a visit to the land of his nativity. On bis return he confessed ungrudgingly that compared with Southland farmers there in Canterbury had a hard row to hoe. He said that it would take a good deal to tempt him to return north again to make his living by farming. A Woodlands farmer, who writes, seems to be somewhat in distress, as tbe following will show : —lf you know of a lad, or anybody, in search of work, kindly let me know, as we are terrible busy here. My brother and myself have set out to harvest 10-0 acres ourselves. X am prepared to give any wage within reason. The way farmers are harvesting is that the one helps the other; but there appears to be too much before me at present. One thing in our favour is that there is plenty of lime before the .winter sets in. Harvesting will be general in the Ermedale district in about a fortnight's time. The yields are expected to be up to the average. The best results from manure will be secured when it is hauled direct to the field, six to eight loads per acre, to be ploughed under for maize or top dressed mi pasture or grass land. It will benefit these crops and also tbe grain crops that follow. When fresh manure is to be applied to a grain crop top dress with it six to eight loads, or if rotted manure is available, it can be ploughed under. On the North Dakota Experiment Station Farm, manure applied to maize land, six loads per acre, has increased the maize and the following three wheat crops enough to make a return of 6/G per load. According to a well-informed statistician in the Banffshire Journal, 1403 .Shorthorns have been sold itt public auction in Scotland for £.72,783 ISs, or at an average of £sl 17s 6d, or 2s 2d less than the average of 1914. The 1915 bull average was £4 clown on the year, but the cow average £l3 up, while heifer calves in 1915 sold at £55 17s per head, against £46 in 1914. Breeders of Aber-cleen-Angus rattle will rejoice' to learn from the same source, that for the 1613 head sold by auction in 1915 an average of £3O 2s Id was secured, or an aggregate of £48.563 7s 7d Tbe average is the best since 1882. The 1915 average was £29 6s lid. Taking both breeds together, 3016 head have averaged £4O Is Sd —exactly the figure of 1914—and the aggregate has meant the turn-over of £"21,347 5s Gel. So far as the Shorthorn is concerned, the year’s average of £sl 17s 6d is one of the beet since 1906. The reapers are busily engaged in oat cutting in all parts of the Winton district. Some of the Winton district’s grass seed is already on the market. The oat crops in the Drummond district are expected to yield more profitably than was at first supposed. On the main road Springhills to lledgchope some promising crops are to bo seen, the best probably being those on the farms of Mr Donald Chisholm, Springhills, and Mr W. South, Hedgehope. Tlie question of demanding an increase in wages for the forthcoming harvesting and thrashing season in Tokomairiro district will lie ventilated at a meeting of employees to lie held shortly (says the Bruce Herald). The. ruling rates in Canterbury and several other districts are Is 3d per hour: in To!:o district Is per hour was paid last season. The potato crop in the Auckland district have nut proved as profitable this year as in (tie oast, mainly through the low .selling price and the increased, wages which were demanded and paid to ttio Maoris for digging the crops. Their

price is now Is Sd per hour. The price paid per bag for digging potatoes is also in advance of the sum previously paid.

"We are indebted, says the Winton Record, to Mr J. A. Broom for the following interesting figures of the lbs of milk supplied and the amount paid for same at the five factories :—Winton, Locbiel, Boggy Burn, Awarua, Browns —for December, 1914-19.15, and January, 19151916.

lbs milk. Paid for milk. Dec. 1914 .. 1,930,126 £3876 9s 9d Jan. 1915 .. 1,911,509 £3904 Os 9d Dec. 1915 .. 2,030,336 £4665 2s 8d Jan, 1916 .. 1,907,317 £4546 5s 6d

Think of it over 1300 pounds of butter-fat in one year. Such was the re-cord-breaking performance of a Holstein cow. Duchess Skylark Ormsby, owned by John B. Irwin, a Minnesota breeder and bred and raised on tbe. farm of R. B. Young, near Buffalo Center, la. To Axel Hansen, an lowa boy and a graduate of the State College at Ames, belongs the honour of feeding and caring for her ladyship throughout the year. The cow freshened on November 2, 1914, and finished her test on the first of the current month. If every American cow had the butter producing capacity of the Duchess America could just about supply the world with butter.

During the past week blight bap made its appearance in the potato crops and wrought considerable damage, states the Western Star. Some growers have resorted to mowing the tops to save the potatoes. There is always the danger in this method of blight striking the bottom of tlie shaw. A more effective method is, where the potatoes are well advanced, to null the shaws clean away and then draw the earth over the top of the drill so as to prevent the rain from penetrating the potato bed. The potatoes will mature, and the blight stricken shaws are so completely removed that there is no chance of contagion.

The Wyndham Farmer's correspondent at Mataura Island advises as follows : Harvesting operations began in this district early last week. Mr William Rule was the first to start, using a new Mas-sey-Harris machine, which is doing good work. By the end of the present week, most of the crops will ho ready for the reaper, and cutting will be in full swing. Labour is scarce, and consequently district farmers arc helping ona another—so many of their sons being away at the front.

The wheat crop in the Taierl this season is described as exceptionally good, it being estimated that the yield will be approximately 100,000 sacks. This quantity represents 300,000 bushels, which should give, when milled, something like 0000 tons of flour. It is stated that 6000 tons of flour would suffice for Dunedin’s requirements for about eight monttrs. It is reported that rust has niado an appearance on wheat in the Clntha district, but not to a serious extent.

A Canterbury firm lias, and has had since last winter, 30,000 sheep grazing in Soutldand. Hawing spent the whole of last winter there, their owner was expecting to send them north in the spring, bwt they have been shorn there, and from all appearances will he killed there. Recently a Waimate grazier sent 100 head of cattle, described as genuine stores, by road from Waimate to Southland. These measures indicate the dearth of feed in Canterbury - aJid North Otago.

Some splendid turnip crops are to be seen between Lochiel and Ryal Hush.

Freezing buyers were operating freely at the Otautau sale. A line of fat bullock", vended by Mr W. Saunders, brought £l4 17s 6d.

Sheep have already been turned on to turnip crops in the Ryal Bush district.

The gale on Wednesday did a great amount of damage to the harvest, says the Wyndham Herald. Farmers were in many cases waiting for a good day to cut the ripening grain. The gale had the effect of breaking the heads almost everywhere and subjecting the crops to a prettv good thrashing. ihe farmeis have tin; prospect of good prices, but they have the elements to contend with. The Southland farmers had good crops a few weeks ago, and anticipated profitable returns, but in too many cases the anticipations hare been disipated, first by the phenomenal hailstorm and now by the gale.

At. a recent meeting of the New Zealand Fanners’ Distributing Co., the chairman (Sir James G. Wilson) said the cheese factories had done a generous tiling in so readily agreeing to give an option over so many tons of cheese to the British Government. A writer in a Dunedin paper wrote at groat length ■wishing to show that the cheese companies had done no such thing, and that Sir .lames in his advocacy for fanners had made a ridiculous statement. As a matter of fact, had the cheese faclores shipped tills cheese which has been taken they would have netted Ud more than the ynow receive, and are thus giving the British Government a present of Ud a lb on all they lake: proving that what Sir James had. said was perfectly correct. that the company had acted generously in the matter.

The Rangitikei correspondent of the Wanganui Chronicle says that there is a regrettable falling-off in the number of boys coming forward for the agricultural course at the district high schools, only 27 having entered in the southern end of the board’s district, as against GO last year. The cause is due to the war.

The advantages of lime as a manure were testified to in a striking manner by Mr J. Wingate at a meeting of the Manawatu Farmers’ Union. He instanced tire case of a farmer at Hunterville who had decided to experiment with lime, on his oats. He had applied Scwt to the acre, and as a result had been able to graze the land almost bare two or three times, after which he had allowed the oats to grow and had taken three tons of chaff to the acre from it at the end of the season.

For some time past difficulties have been exeprienced by the small farmer ip obtaining feed for his starving stock (says the North Otago Times). The big farmer finds no difficulty because lie is able to conform with the railway regulations, which provides that fodder carried free by rail must be obtained in truck, lots and confined to the farmer. With the small farmer the position is difficult because he is not in a position to purchase a truckload, and has perforce to obtain his supplies through the merchant, and the merchant cannot obtain the concessions. Mr E. P. Lee, M.P., lias interested himself in the matter, and it has been suggested that tiie Government should purchase. the fodder in bulk and rail the feed to Oamaru and dispose of it to the small farmer. it is understood that one merchant lias offered half his very large store as a repository for the fodder if the Department will take the matter in hand. In view of the importance of the question, Mr Dee telegraphed to the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. A\ . D. S. MacDonald) with the request that the Minister should personally visit the district and go fully into the question of fodder supplies Mi' Mac Donald is unable to comply, but on Monday evening Mr Lee received a telegram from the Secretary of the Department of agriculture stating that the Department is sending Mr J. Brown (Director of Fields).

Twenty trucks of sheep arrived the other afternoon by special tram, consigned to the freezing works (says the Hastings correspondent of the Rapier Telegraph), Sheep have been arriving steadily for some weeks, which is satisfactory testimonv that the companies have storage room for carcases.

A record price was obtained at the Dannevirke sale on Friday for a lot of breeding ewes submitted bj a Falmerston vendor, the line bringing 35s per head (says the News). Another line from the same owner recorded 335, which is a contrast tn prices prevailing this time last rear, when sheep, on account of the drought, could he obtained for a song.

Tiie twenty-first annual general meeting of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society was held in Dublin recently. Sir Horace Plunkett presided over a large attendance of delegates and visitors. The society was founded in 1594, in the. words of the president, to take over and bring to fruition a scheme started by a few irishmen five years before with" no less ambitious an aim than that of rebuilding the rural life of our country. Its foundations havo been laid in 1000 agricultural societies with an aggregate membership of some 100,000 farmers, whose business transactions through their co-operative oiganisation will this vear approximate to the respectable total of £4,000,000. The central union of these farmers—the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society—is the largest agricultural association in the British Empire. It is also the parent of precisely similar institutions in England. Scotland, Finland, and the United Stales. Ireland's prosperity depends inuinlv on agriculture, and, for that matter, so also does every other country, and the 1.A.0.5. aims at putting farming on an equal footing with all other industries. Certainly the agricultural cooperative movement in Ireland has not been one of slackness, and this worldshnking war is bound to restore agriculture’to the place it formerly occupied in the economy of nations. All Irishmen, therefore, can help by subscribing to the i.A.0.5., being, it is stated, non-political and non-sectarian.

A South Millend funnel- 1 1 as informed the Winton Record that although Hie oat crops arc not up to expectations the average yields will he from UO to 70 bushels to the ac.re.

The whin- of the reaper is again a familiar voice o’er tne land, says the Wyniiha.ni Farmer. On Wyndham Ridges, Messrs David Caldwell. John Smith 7 - ‘Taiulet"). Robert Young, Charles Muir, and \V. R. Stirling can be cited among those who arc already cutting their Hat crops, which give a splendid promise all round. Rabour is on the short side, hut a cordial spirit of helping one another is putting the farmers over that trouble. On the Wyndham Flat Messrs Frank Milne, Robert Milne. Oco. O'Rrino, and Mrs A. Simpson are among (he ■ vnrlv birds” with reapers and hinders. in the Menzios Ferry district, Messrs Donald Ross Hunter (the last of the district settlers to plough and sow;,

Robert Duncan, and Daniel Ross, all made a start cutting on Saturday: and the harvester is in evidence all the way from "Glenrose” to "Meadowbank.” On tile riverside part, Mr Wm. Clark (successor to Mr Robert Shields) and Mrs William Crosbio have made a start; and the lady in question is to be congratulated on the fine prospect from a fastripening field of wheat.

People who attend farmers’ Red Cross sales continue splendidly to show the sporting spirit. Dor example, a small Alderney calf, which was originally bought for 5 s in Grantham market, has been sold upwards of -400 times in aid of tiie British Fanners’ Red Cross funds. Altogether it realised £330. At Boston, a gander brought in considerably over £IOO for the same object. A pullet on the way to a sale by Blackburn Farmers' Association for the benefit of the Red Cross laid an egg in the prate. The egg was put up to auction by 'the Mayor and realised over £4.

The hoggets, of a flock belonging to a Gap Road farmers, yielded a profitable wool return. The fleeces averaged IGlhs.

A few cwt. of superphosphates will supply more phosphoric acid than the same number of tons of farmyard or stable manure. A ton of the stable manure would only contain as much potash as conld be. applied by using kairu or lalbs of sulphate of potash.

A well-known sheep breeder in the Feilding district has received a cable order from South America for 100 stud rams.

Fat stock of all kinds arc bringing much • higher prices in Adelaide than they are in Now Zealand, even allowing that the sheep in South Australia were earlier shorn than here. Prime beef, according to Elder’s Weekly Review, of January 12tb, was estimated to realise 45s to 55s per 1001b, and a few exceptionally choice lots even higher. Prime merino wethers made 29s to 35s 6d, and useful to good 23s to 2Ss Gd, prime crossbred wethers 33s to 355, and odd pens higher, good 2Ss to 29s (id, prime crossbred ewes 27s to 31s, others 24s Gd to 2Gs Gd; prime crossbred lambs, off shears, 25s to 31s, useful to good 21s to 255; good to prime veal calves 53s to 80s, yearlings to £5 IDs. Baconers £4 3s to £6, porkers 50s to £3 14s, choppers £7 10s to £l2, and stores at proportional rates.

Anyone travelling on the main trunk line north from Invercargill cannot fail to perceive the beneficial effects of liming and better cultivation. Even though white clover is more abundant tills season, it is worthy of notice from, say, Woodlands on past Morton Mains, Mataura, Edendate, and much further, that any practical observer can easily tell where lime has been applied. Further, anyone visiting any of the farms not in the immediate vicinity of the line, will find some of the grass paddocks showing a great display of white clover and grass, and where lime has never been applied there may possibly be no clover in evidence, or it may seem weak and anything but vigorous. The effects of liming is also very noticeable when opposite a well-limed paddock the area inclosed by the railway line contrasts so unfavourably with the paddock outside the railway fence.

A few farmers about Drummond havo the most of their grain crop in stock, and the mills are busy thrashing grass seed, but the weather has been rather showery for getting on right ahead.

The dairy factory companies believed that they had done well, particularly in the 1914-15 season —when the prospect for marketing cheese in was not too bright—by selling the whole of their output at a satisfactory figure. The same for the 1915-16 season. Those directors who would have consigned, but who wore in a miserable minority, might have been not so far out of it after all from the state of the, market all through. By consigning they maintain that fully 2d per lb might have been secured, which on one ton amounts to nearly £2O, and on 100 tons about £2OOO, and paid probably Is 6d ped lb butter fat. No one recollects of ever having seen such a fine take of turnips all over Southland and Otago, nor such lino growing weather at a critical period, which now gives promise of an abundant supply of winter feed. Stock of all kinds all over Southland are looking remarkably well, and are showing nn in condition fully as well as one might expect under the most favourable conditions. WOODLANDS NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent). We have had some extremely hot woathqr lately, accompanied by thunderstorms, hut we have had the luck to escape those bursting clouds which played so much havoc up north. At Ibis period of the ye.nr dairy farmers have considerable trouble in keeping the evening’s milk in a fit condition for delivery at the factory the following morning; consequently a portion of it is sometimes rejected by the factory manager and justly so, as good cheese cannot bo made from bad milk. The various factories around the district are getting rather more milk this year than formerly. This, of course, is due to the abundance of feed, accompanied by the perfect weather which we have had this season. i The grass harvest is rather later than usual; in fact some of it is ye,t in stook. In some cases tint clovers have overgrown the grass to such an extent that, when tile sheaf is bound, it is almost impossible to get it thoroughly dry, and what is still worse, when it reaches the threshing mill a poor yield is the result. From three to six lbs of mixed clover is the amount that is usually sown with grass for grazing purposes: but when intended to bo cut. for grass seed one lb of clover will be found sufficient. A small admixture of clover at reaping time tends to keep the grass sheaf together, and, in addition to this, it also acts as a fertiliser to the land. Grass threshing has commenced, and live best yield which 1 have hoard of is that of Mr John Burke. It averaged about 5 5 bushels. Mr Wm. Sadlier also threshed a fine crop which had been grazed for two years previous to being reserved for

grass seed purposes. This is surely a step in the right direction, for, if grass will cut at three years old, it is truly a perennial. The autumn* sown oats have all been reaped ,and a portion is already safely stacked. The general harvest is now in full swing, and has turned out exceptionally good; in fact, some of it is too good, as it has gone down. Mr Wm. tsadlier has a specially line yield of sparrowhill oats which will average about sft. Gin. in height, and stalks have been found to measure 7ft. The turnip crops have been growing like mushrooms, and sufficient winter feed is now assured. The potato crops arc a.L«we the average, but, unfortunately, the blight has made its appearance. . FIVE RIVERS NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Things have never looked better than they are to-day in this district. V> e have been favoured with all the moisture we require, which has acted materially in favour of abnormal growth all round. For five consecutive days we had heavy thunder-storms, followed by intense heat, the thermometer registering as high as S7 in the shade and some days higher. Crops are looking splendid and the outlook for winter feed was never better. It is evident that the once decried Five Rivers has yet to be reckoned with amongst the most fertile parts of Southland, and one has only to ride over the now divided estate to-day to realise the fact. A great diversity of agricultural intellect has brought about results that many could not have thought possible, and one has only to look out of the railway carriages between Lumsden and Bvre Creek and note the many splendid crops, herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, to realise all this. Although all is good and well done, a word in praise of Mr S. Mitchell’s beautiful crop of wheat must claim extra attention. Taken out of lea and sown early in the spring, one is surprised to see it right up over the fences and beautifully beaded. It may thresh anything from -40 to 50 bushels of splendid quality. But quality of cereal production is one admitted on all sides. Our elevation and almost continuous sunshine is no doubt the reason for this. . Coining further west, we reach Mr Matheson’s newly acquired property recently purchased from Mr McArthur. We have not long to wait before we realise that he is the right man in the right place, and possesses the energy required to renew grass and produce, turnips, ’and to deal effectively with

“bunny.” His presence amongst us is a distinct gain to our district. I must not omit Mr Burke,, whose crops of all kinds are a credit to the owner and a picture to behold, and if tire powers that be would only deal with the thousands of rabbits that infest the roadlines to the detriment of Mr Burke’s property, it would only bo a fair thing, both to Mr Burke and the district generally. ,

We now-come to Mr Wm. Ellis's pro-' party, and the luxuriant growth of red and white clover in the paddocks, to put it mildly, would “bog a dray,” and the fattening bullocks grazing there are something to look at. This is one portion of Mr Ellis’s property that is regarded as the light land, thus showing, when treated properly, what cau be done upon hundreds of acres of similar land lying near-by in idleness. Xow we come to the Awarima estate —the western portion of at one time the Five Rivers Eostate. Broadly, it is considered to contain a very largo portion of the best land, and, certainly, it is the best cattle country on the original Five Rivers, This is now owned by a Canterbury syndicate, and contains, roughly, 10,500 acres, 3000 of low hill country, and 7500 of Hat land, upon which a great deal has been siicnt during the last two years. It is interesting to note that since the syndicate took it up no fewer than 27,000 rabbits were caught during the first fifteen months. The methods of destruction adopted by the manager are of every description, including dogs, biswlphide, poison, digging out, etc., and above all he says, “Keep at them, no matter how scarce they seem.”

Aparima is considered to be one of the best fenced places in Southland for its area, there being over 50 miles of rabbit and cattle proof fencing upon it. They have over 1100 acres of new land under cultivation this season and looking splendid. But with 500 head of cattle and nearly (>OOO sheep on it, it will all lie required no doubt. As an instance of the wisdom of dealing severely with the rabbits, the first shearing could only produce GO bales of wool. This year S.J bales wore produced, which must be gratifying to the owners.