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Southland Times, Issue 20014, 30 October 1926, Page 14

PAST MONTH REVIEWED. COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY. (Contributed.) After the snow storm toward the end of September fanners generally expected the month of October to start with fine spring weather, but unfortunately such has not been the case and we have experienced some of the coldest east winds known. Growth has therefore been retarded and the work on farms is somewhat behind. Some oats are not yet sown, and the season is decidedly late. Very few sheep have yet been shorn—they are better with their wool on unless they are in very sheltered spots. Although there were considerable losses among young lambs as the result of the snow storm and the cold east wind, ewes have been very prolific this year and the lambing will be quite up to the average. Many prophesied a good lambing as the ewes went out at mating time in splendid condition and with plenty of fresh green feed no doubt those conditions have a great effect on the percentage of lambs. LAMB MORTALITY. It is to be regretted that considerable loss is taking place among lambs. From all parts we have accounts of many deaths. This is no new experience but it had been hoped that investigations and remedies recommended might to some extent eliminate such serious losses. This has not been so, however, and it is doubted by many that we have yet got to the root of the trouble of mortality among lambs. Many suggestions have been and could be passed on, but unfortunately no reliable solution of the trouble can be offered. Research work must on. It seems certain that the theory of sunny warm weather with a flush of grass and too much milk is not all the cause, for present conditions are the very opposite this season. DAIRYING PROSPECTS. Although some good intakes are reported fi. a some of the dairy factories the cold weather has been very hard on the herds and with the present outlook dairy farmers are not in the best spirits. But Southland is a wonderful province and a few fine days will make us all feel better. THE STOCK MARKET. During the month the markets have kept fairly level. Fat sheep have advanced and are selling well, the market being supplied with first class mutton. Store sheep are in demand and anything young and well woolled meets keen competition. Especially is this the case with well-woolled Romney ewe hoggets. The yardings at country centres have been small but a fair entry at Winton sale on October 21 met with good competition whenever quality was offered. A good demand for well-woolled young sheep can be again predicted. FAT LAMBS. Although a few new season’s lambs have been sold at high prices it is not yet possible to say what freezing prices will be. But one thing is certain—that farmers all over this Island are not going to submit to the difference of l]d per lb. between under and over 36’S. Last season’s experience proved that is was not justified. FAT CATTLE. The fat cattle market has not improved during the month when the quality is considered. Many very prime beasts have been on offer, and the prices at this season, when animals have been about five months on what may be termed artificial feed, will not pay the seller. It is doubtful if anywhere better beef and mutton is on the market than in Southland. Good, dairy cows are selling well and heifers of milking strains are in demand. But poor stuff is not wanted. The high prices of pork' are enticing people to take note of the pig, and stores are in very strong demand. NEW ZEALAND HEMP

INTRODUCTION TO NATAL. The following extract from the Cordage World, an authoritative London journal merits attention:—“A new industry which promises to become an important asset to South Africa has been started on the borders of the Newcastle Town Lands in Northern Natal by the planting of New Zealand hemp. “As a beginning, no fewer than 5,000 suckers have been planted, and it is expected that there will be others at the rate of 25,000 suckers per month. It is proposed that between 2,000 and 3,000 acres should be put under the crop. These suckers have been imported from the Government plantations at St. Helena, and the planting is in the hands of a Government expert from that island. No tangible results can be expected for three years (the time taken for hemp to mature), but with the establishment of maturity, there are successive annual crops. It is stated by the promoters of the new industry that the cost of the hemp used in this country at present, all of which is imported, amounts to £5O per ton, landed at the coast ports, whereas they claim to be able to grow the hemp at Newcastle and produce the fibre ready for the factory at a cost of approximately £lO per ton.” MANILA GRADING. Steps have been taken by Philippine shippers and by manufacturers to place the industry upon a sounder basis, and guarantee of quality ‘will now be given, after July 1 next, on all grades, and it is hoped that we have seen the last of the arbitrary Government grader’s system of grading, which has lately been farcical. Shippers will now grade the hemp, and buyers will nave the protection of arbitration on quality as well as on condition, and it is .hoped that the fibre will regain its former popularity in Europe. The July referred to is of this year. Government grading here proved such a failure that this has resulted. The hemp grading will now be done by thte merchants. I believe that our (New Zealand) grading system is the only one of its kind in the world. IRISH PHOSPHATES At the Dublin Spring Show, the Irish Department of Agriculture brought to the notice of farmers and visitors the fact that there is a great deposit of phosphates awaiting full development in County Clare. As an exhibit of an educational character, the Agricultural Department had on view samples of phosphate rock found between Kilfenora and Ballyvaughan in County Clare, and these formed an interesting feature among the manurial exhibits at the show, and attracted much attention. This rock has been proved to contain as much as 70 per cent, total phosphates, and it is claimed that there is sufficient in the wide district in which it lies to supply the British Isles with phosphates. Independent inquiry goes ■to show that the deposit is sufficiently rich and abundant to supply a big demand for phosphatic fertilisers if the difficulty of transport can be successfully surmounted. Some of this valuable material is obtainable in the form of fine sand, and those who have used it in County Clare, where the application of phosphates is very much needed on grass, have a high opinion of its value.