FARM CHAT.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 764, 22 July 1916, Page 2

FARM CHAT.

A summary of the frozen meat ex* ported from New Zealand, compiled hjr Messrs D: Igety and Co.. Ltd., giTW some interesting comparisons. The mammary covers the six months up to Jim 9 .';". 10 1 *!. Lyttelton exported )U/K)5 carcases of mutton, equivalent to 5,505,8521b, 356,2*9 carcases of lamb of 11,422,5901b, and 3,206,1531b of f-eef. Both Napier and Gisborne beat if It elton in mutton and beef, while I#/ttelton's figures for lamb make nearly three times either of these districts. Wellington's exports in mutton, lamb, and beef stand nnapproached by any other part of the Dominion, with the exception of Auckland, which rone it very close for beef. The total shipment of carcases from New Zealand for the six mouths ending June 30, 1916, was:—Mutton, 1.154,963 carcases: lamb, 1,821,040 carcases; beef, G3,519.2511b. The exports of frozen meat in I*S2 were 1,707,3281b; since then the figure has risen with comparatively few set-backs until in 1915 it stood at 372.396,0501b, and for the half vear of 1910 19-\i86,196 lb.

Mr W. Berry, of Oxford, was the owner of a very fine purebre ! Holstein dairy eow which was offered at Addington on Wednesday. She was an exceedingly fine five-year-old beast, with a heifer calf at foot, and Mr Mugford, of Halswell gave £3O 10/- for the two. This is a big price for a dairy cow. but when it is remembered that later an offer was made for the calf of £lO 10/-, and refused, it is realised that the eow was cheap.

Something in the way of a record price for pigs at Addingtou wan established on Wednesday, when the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association sold, on aeconnt of Mr H. Penny, well known in the Lincoln district, four Tamworth baeoners, which realised £5 14/6 each. They were beautifully finished, and, considering their weight, they probably form the best Bale in Tamworths made at the vards.

Tl.e fifteenth annual Dominion Con- 1 fereuce of the New Zealand F.-meTs' Union will be held on Tuesday, and a long list of remits will be discussed. One question of great importance that is d wn for dis jssion is that of the eonti u. 1 practice of slaughtering female sto. k. Hawke's Bay suggest*:— "That" the Government be requested to stop the slaughtering of ewe lambs (bla '- faced exempted) for a term of one, tw u , or three years, seeing that a wretc" (1 class of breeding ewe is at present on the markets of the Dominion, ind that the present time is most opportune to enforce it." The position is certainly becoming a serious "one, the high price of fats being mainly responsible for the wholesale killing, regardless of sex. and with little or no thought for the future. On Banks Peninsula the reserving of female hoggets has proved very profitable, and many fanners keep drafts of the best lambs for 5 breeding purposes every year. As two and four-tooths they are worth much more than if quitted as hoggets. Of course the tendency to fatten on the Peninsula is not so strong as on the flat, owing to the difficulty of producing turnips or rape for tLe purpose.

Dairy cattle are bringing high prices 'just now in the Wanganui district. A. large herd sold recently averaged over £l2 8/- per head, including heifers, the highest price paid being £l7 5/-.

The general abundance of feed in the district is remarkable, says an Oamara paper. All over the Papakato Plains crops are looking remarkably well, and so far pests have not shown up to any extent. Stock generally is in first-class condition, but farms are for the most part under-stocked.

A striking illustration of the mildness of the present season is to be found along the roadside to Little River, where clumps of bluegum trees are to be seen in full bloom. Ashburton also reports these trees in bloom. Akaroa residents have any number of different kinds of flowers in their gardens, and from one of the bays are eoming some very fine specimens of camelias. Tomatoes that are red, although rather tasteless, are being picked in sheltered spots. T : is mildness is fairly general, for another instance is recorded from the Manawatu district where a resident picked a quantity of ripe tomatoes gTown in the open.