FARM NOTES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13745, 7 September 1908, Page 3

FARM NOTES.

At a meeting of the Cheviot residents held to consider the proposal to re-open the Cheviot dairy factory, a number of speakers stated that they were in sympathy with the movement, but were afraid of not securing the services of milkers. One dairy farmer remarked: "If the young men could milk the cows on horseback and smoke cigarettes at the same time, there would be no difficulty in securing plenty of milkers." The Ashburton correspondent oi the Lyttelton Times states that despite the fact that the past two seasons have been unfavourable for remunerative farming, land still maintains a high value, and instead of depreciating in price there is evidence of a further me in value. About eighteen months ago a farmer purchased, in the Seafield district, a fairly large holding at £6 10s per acre, and he sold it again recently at £7 12s 6d per acre.

Mr Dempster, formerly manager of the Whenuakura Dairy Company, hat, been appointed manager of the Levin Dairy Company's new factory. It is reported that one or two cheese factories in the south have been offered 6d for their season's output, but they are not doing business at this good price. The pastures in Hawke's Bay are presenting a splendid appearance. The mild winter enabled tho ryegrass to come away rapidly with the advent of growing weather, and there is now abundant feed. The Masterton Co-operative Dairy Company is considering the advisableness of establishing cool storage space at its factory near the railway station. The space would be at tUe service of local tradespeople. A correspondent writes to the Manawatu Standard giving the following authentic returns from a 50-acre farm in the Glen Oroua' district, which he justly thinks will establish a record, especially for last season, which was unusually dry Tho herd consisted of twenty-five cows, and the milk was supplied to the Glen Oroua Dairy Company: — Factory cheque for butter-fat, £326 5s lid; pro fit on pigs, £78 2s 9d ; calf-skins, £2 10s; total, £406 18s Bd, or an average of £16 5s 6-Jd per cow. The cows throughout had nothing but grass and hay, and the pigs were raised almost entirely on skim-milk and other farm produce. Very little business is being done h} Feilding land agents at the present time (says The Dominion). Though tint is the time of year when farms usually chango hands, settlers are sticking tc their holdings more than used to be the case. Owing to the good supply of sheep of suitable killing weights in Wellington, the butcher has been able to get hi; meat cheaper than at this time last year, but owing to there being more weight in this year's sheep the farmer in selling on the hoof is receiving proportionately a better price than last year. — iN.Z. Times. There was brought into Feilding as \ curiosity (says the Star) /the carcase if a newly-born lamb which weighec 1 121 b. It was taken from a six-tooth Romney ewe, and, strange to say, was i twin. It was fully developed, and was alive when born, but the mother had t< be destroyed,. The usual weight of a lamb when born is 91b. or 101 b., so that the curiosity ,\vas out of- all pro portion. Australian farmers have hit upon a new method of ridlding their pastures of sorrel. They'tui'n sheep on tho infested land, and the animals soon take a liking to the plant, with the result that its extinction is inevitable. The Cape Egmont Co-operative Dairy Factory Company (Pungarehu) received during' July 84,0701 b. of milk, yielding 35801 b. of butter-fat, for which £141 14s lOd was paid to suppliers. Wairarapa farmers who have been holding on tenaciously to their oat 3tocks, and refusing very good offers, are now seriously considering their positions (writes The Dominion's correspondent). The recent severe fall in the price of oats and chaff in the South Island has set North Islanders thinking deeply, and wondering if they should quit now or hold on to realise from a prospective dry season. A very large amount of rain will be required during the next two months, for the earth is now much drier than it should be at this time of the year. There aro, of course, possibilities of a rise in the price of cereals with a dry season. Sou^h Island farmers have been forced apparently to realise on their oat stocks, and so have precipitated a fall in prices. Professor McFadyean, principal of the Royal Veterinary College, recently affirmed that in England no less than 20 per cent, of the adult cattle were affected to some extent with tuberculosis. In New Zealand the Chief Government Veterinarian (Mr J. A. Gilruth) has estimated the number of tuberculous dairy cows at 10 per cent., but in some representative tests the oercentage of disease was found to be 25 per cent.