AGRICULTURAL

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13811, 23 January 1909, Page 3 (Supplement)

AGRICULTURAL

■There is a god. deal of controversy among farmers* as; to-what are the best crosses to adopt for the fatlamb trade. A line of "1232" lambs from Makarori was shipped through the Gisborne Sheep Farmers'- Frozen - Meat Company last week. A>cut of them vras-run off comprising 541, of which 171 were Southdown cross and 370 English ■ Leicester cross, the remainder being mixed lambs of the two classes. The .Southdown cross averaged 34.61b per carcase, with an average of 2.151b of fat, and the English Leicesters averaged 31.91b with 1.941b of "fat, the weight showing a considerable advantage in favour of the Southdowns. The 691 mixed lot averaged 31.61b, and 1.901b of fat, whilst the average for the whole line was 32.211b, with 1.951b of* fat. The lambs were straight off the hills, having had no artificial, feeding., -; VICTORIAN WHEAT CROP, A BUMPER. ;The. "Australasian" at the end of 1908 estimated the Victorian wheat crop at 23 million bushels, the average yield being put at 13 bushels. Tiie crop is said to be better than any previous one excepting 1904, which averaged nearly 14J bushels per acre. The requirements of the State for food and seed are estimated at 8J million bushels, which, if the first estimate is correct would leave I4i million for export. '■ The) "Argus" of Jan Ist said: — ''Great activity is already being shown at "the Williamstown piers in shipping the wheat crop. There is; a large surplus for export, and-the wheat is coming forward much earlier than usual. Since harvesting began the weather has simply been perfect for the work. There lias been no broken time, and no injury..; to, the.grain- from wind andrairi; A great crop is being harvested and shipped in fine style." A sailer and a steainer'had"been dispatched with 7.5,000 bags, and .five other vessels were then-loading 362,000 bags.. "Suclr activity in, wheat' shipments la December has not been known for some yeans. Last year the harvest provided a very small margin for shipment, and up to January only three full cargoes were dispatched. The grain coming, forward is described by the experts engaged in its shipping as splendid ■; '■■■.[ .:..'. In some of the older gramgrpwing districts there is the usual percentage of wild oats, drake, and difier weed seeds in the wheat. The same price'is paid at the railway stations for graui having these impurities as for grain absolutely clean, so that there is-no encouragement given by the grain tiaSe to promote clean cultivation."

VICTORIA AND NEW ZEALAND. INTERESTING -'COMPARISONS. ■:"* (Melbourne "Argus.") 'A bulletin containing agricultural and pastoral statistics of ,New Zealand, recently issued by tlie chief inspector of stock in the Dominion, enables some interesting comparisons to be made in-respect to agricultural progress in Victoria and New Zealand. The area of the Dominion is 66 million acres, and of Victoria 56, million acres. The total area occupied for agricultural purposes in New Zealand is 37.564,000 acres, as against 33„768,000 acres in Victoria. There are /3,367 holdings above one acre in the Dominion, and 52,987 in this state. The average holding in New Zealand, therefore, "is 512 and in Victoria 637 acres. As the Victoria statistics only include the .number of all holdings since 1904, * a comparison of the increase in number can 6nly.be made since that year. In 1904 there were 68,680 holdings in New Zealand and 49,002 in Victoria. The increase during the following three Tears was 4*687 farms m. the Dominion *aidv3,9Bs iri' Victoria. The Dominion therefore only, gained 702 farms for tlie period; or.about 234 farms a year over Victoria: There is evidently room m botlfc countries, for more activity in the increase of settlers. . - 'A-'criticism frequently expressed in respect to Victorian farmers is that s thev'are unprogressive, because there : lias r 3iot been an increase in the cultivated area > during the last 10 years. Tliis criticism is erroneous, for it does Upt take into consideration the fact .tliat-it ; ha?<-paid small farmers better to mix farming—to devote part : of -theK capital and energy in dairying, linib-raising,- and wool-growing, rather thanto the exclusive cultivation ot grain and hay crops. Precisely the same tendency is in operation in New Zealand. The area under wheat there fell'from 400,000 acres in 1898 to 193,000 acres (less than half) in 1907. Barlev declined in the same period from 47.000 to 41.000 acres, maize from 20,000 to 10,000. acres, and potatoes from 28,000 to 27.000 acres. The total area under crop (exclusive of sown grasses) in 1907 was only 1,709,592 acres, as against 4,294,553 acres m Victoria. So far as the use of the plough is concerned in raising commercial crops, v ictorians beat New Zealanders out of sight, not only in respect to the total area under cultivation, but in per centage of increase in the last ten-year period. Since 1898 only 20,889 acres have been added to the area under cultivated crops in the Dominion, whilst in the same period no less than 1,149,979 acres have been added in Victoria. But these figures do not indicate that New Zealand farming is retrograding, or that New Zealand farmers arc unprogressive. They merely show notwithstanding, that the equable character of the New Zealand climate gives far higher rrain averages per acre than • j. re obtained in Victoria, and that New Zealand farmers are engaged m somethiutr more profitable than gram -growing " They are raising lambs and sheep and making butter and cheese for export To provide increased pasturage for sheep and dairy cattle, the :>rea nuder sown grasses has been raised m the Dominion from 10,244.0001 acres in 1898 to 13,456,000 acres in 190/. In Victoria the acreage under sown grasses according to the Government statist, does not exceed 1,100.000 .-cres. Here is one phase of agricultural activity m New Zealand Victorian farmers might emulate with advantage. ■Whilst in the Dominion the export of wheat has declined from worth in 1900 to £3,000 worth m 190/, oats from £401,000 worth to £23,000 worth, and potatoes from £3B,OUU worth to £833 worth, the increase in the value of exports of lamb, dairy produce, mutton and beef has been prodigious. The number of lambs increased from 1,272,000 in 1900 to 2,263,000 iu 1908 (J ust doubled and their moneyvalue from 603,000 to £1,501,000. The value of mutton exported rose in the same period from £1,159,00 to £1.368,000 of butter from £693,000 to ' £1.146.00 and of butter from £683 000 to £1,146,000 of butter from £693,000 to £1,146,000, ' and of cheese from 208,000 to £765,000. The greater attention paid by New Zealand farmers to the improvement of the pastures has incrceased the stockcarrving capacity of the Dominiou, as compared with Victoria. During the last-seven years there has been a greatpercentage of-increase iu all classes qf .'stock'but sheep in New Zealand than -'.' in Victoria. During this period, how.eVer, the Victorian farmers have awakened to tbe value of lamb-raising, and .1 at.'the-'rate at : which the Victorian ■'flocks'are"now-increasing it will not be '. the -New : Zealand total of '.■ -'sheep,is ; overtaken. The following are '., the "comparative returns for New Zea- '-■;' land rand -Victoria for 1908.: in thou-

sands:—Horses 353—407, dairy- cows 541—701, other cattle 181 C—llo3, sheep 20,984—12,937, pigs 241—220. The.value of exports of "New Zealand produce and manufactures rose from £11,937,490 worth in 1902 to £l9, 687,573 worth in 1907, 'and dropped back-to £16,118,221 worth in 1908—an unfavourable year for agricultural operations. The,export of Victorian produce for a larger home population) rose from £13,823,939 in 1902 to £19,881,233 in ]906, and fell off to £19,435,444 in 1907. The value of Victorian produce exported and of primary production have steadily increased since 1904. Exclusive of manufactures, the value of primary production in 1904 was £lB 12s ljd per head. In 1905 it was - £2O 0s 4d, in 1906 £2l 7s Bd,. and in 1907 £2O 18s Id per head. The slight falling off in 1907 was due.to the adverse season. These temporary; variations are experienced in all countries. In the main production vis steadily increasing. THE WOOL INDUSTRY. ADVICE BY HOME AUTHORITY. There was. present, at the'.Wellington wool sale Mr A. Whitehead, of the firm of Francis, Willey anil . Co. of Bradford and America, one of the leading wool firms in the world. Mr Whitehead is an admitted authority on wool. In 1907 he judged all classes of wool at the- RoyakShowr r of?''England, and has been.again 'appointed*"the sole wool judge* at the Royal of next June. In view of the necessity of learning the exact requirements of the men who 'buy our produce, the "New Zealand Times" took advantage of Mr Whitehead's presence in the Dominion to -obtain his views.as to the weakness in New Zealand wool and the chief matters in connection therewith demanding reform. :: » : LAMBS WOOL. The first point emphasised by Mr Whitehead was that, growers would study their,own interests r could they do without shearing their.lambs. Where they now make, say, 7d for wool off lambs, but catalogued as they would make 9d if the lambs were: not shorn till T later, and then catalogued as a true hogget fleece. The advantages are to the buyer, as well as the grower, and in every case the latter benefits. For instance, where there is one buyer for lambs' wool there are twenty buyers for fleece wool,- or true hoggets. The small outlet for lambs' wool'means that it cannot obviously secure, either the competition or the price. THE SKIRTING PROBLEM. . Every buyer who comes to our shores makes complaint in regard to lack'of skirting. Mr Whitehead emphasises the extent of this weakness: He says it is more prevalent to the~southern districts of this island and in' Auckland than in other portions of the Dominion. This precludes from; competition buyers operating on American account, as they palpably cannot afford to pay the high duty of. eleven cents, on skirts. Take, for instance, unskirted wool in -■: the sale on Friday and Saturday i which sold at 7id. If it had been properly skirted it" would have realised at least 2d higher. And = the skirting ; miist be done well. At- least fifteen to twenty per cent, of skirts should be taken off before baling. ... A point in this connection which it would pay growers to remember:' says Mr Whitehead, is that the skirts-should be auctioned with the fleece, not. as some growers do, sell the skirts privately and onlv enter for sale the fleece wool. Where all the clip is entered for public sale the buyer-is- able to judge at once of the manner in which the fleece is marketed, for the number of bales of pieces and locks gives him a fairlv accurate idea of the extent of the skirting and the freedom of the fleece from inferior qualities of woo and extraneous matter. Consequently lie is encouraged to go to his extreme limit for the fleece and pay a correspondingly good price for the skirts./ Brieflv, the proportion of bales of skirt to fleece is a guarantee to the buyer that the clip has been honestly skirted and up to what per cent. CLASSING.

A matter almost as important as skirting is that of classing, not necessarily the classing of the expert, but the baling separately of dissimilar wools. Then the hogget wool f should be baled separately from the wether wool. The advantage of this.is m the fact that where one man will buy hogget wool another will want wether wool, and sometimes the mixing of the two precludes a man buying altogether. THE CRIMP. There is a strange difference of opinion in regard to serration, or crimp, in wool. The American buyer attaches little importance to it, hut it delights the Bradford operator, declares Mr Whitehead, and for the reason that "crimp" gives the wool an elasticity, which is a decided advantage in spinning, while the crimp is an indication of quality and being nearer the pure blood. . „ CORRIEDALE WOOL.

Have you seen any wools during your present Visit to the Dominion which struck you as of exceptional quality? "Yes, I have admired very much the Corriedale wool I have seen. It is a beautiful wool and suits the requirements of the best class of trade. It is a wool for which there will always be a demand, and which will always secure the highest market price. "North Island growers, however, are following a safe policy in breeding the Romney. The New Zealand type of this breed is improving every year, and must, with each year, attract more attention from the trade." LOCAL SELLING.

What is your opinion, Mr Whitehead, of local selling? "I predict that each year we shall I see a larger number of Home and Ame- ' rican buyers operating in New Zealand. It is manifestly to the advantage of the grower to market his wool at the seat of production. In ninety per cent, of cases he will realise above a London paritv of value. There ar two reasons for this. In the Dominion all the clip" has to be purchased within three or four months, so that competition is keen to secure supplies for-the vear, wliereas in London, where the sales are spread over all the year, the buyers have full opportunity to weigh matters and probably at times juggle with the product, to the manifest disadvantage of the. grower. Then, the grower being fnr distant from the broker, is not in a position to overlook his interests as lie is when the wool is sold at his door." WOOL PACKS.

Growers, declares Mr Whitehead, should purchase nothing but the best packs procurable. This is very desirable. A well-made pack carries the wool better, and it is decidedly to the advantage of the wool when offered for sale.

Where brokers have to sew the bales

up they should do so, considers Mr Whitehead, with coloured twine,, and twine Of a decent quality. This is now the general rule in England, and Mr Whitehead was pleased to uoti'-e that the coloured twine is being used by one or two Wellington brokers.