Rural Notes.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14211, 28 May 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

Rural Notes.

(By Koracli.) j

THE ■ "ANNUAL PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE. The iimi:;;! meeting of ilia Provincial Conference! of the South Canterbury Branches of the New Zealand i aimers' L nion was held on S.r, y last. There v.-as a very good .4 delegates. but it sec-iiis a pity that the number ol those entitled t-o :'.t le i;u \v.is so small. However, next year should see a iarger number of delegates. Efforts iiro o~.ng nntcio to druw nil | farmers into the::* "Union f and i;t- | crease-:! raomhe-rs-up menus increased ; representation t>ii the Provincial Con- ■ j The. idea of lorniing nn Kxocntive I outbids the delegates. altogether was a- ! good, owe. and enable* the gathering , to get a reprosL-ni;• ti ve body of men. If the delegate- wen* \ ot allowed to attend the meeting* 01' i-xecutive. nor t-o have a voice in deliberations. there v." on id be sound jbjeetions t-o excluding t-heiii f:\>m the .executive. But it is distinctly undorrtood that ihey are t;> attend the meetings of iCxeriitive. In fact. itappear a3 it the meetings when hold "Will be joint r-nnfr-roiifoi of and executive . meetings. There seemed, lis far as one could gather irom the report of Saturday's Conference* some- .itll3 trouble about representation m the appointment of the executive. The- main object, the report- Kays, was that all branches e.ioul'.i have a .-ay j■ the run'linn <-••' tna Union. T Imi nc-ans pra.-ti. ally that all bra*i■ : . ].,, vr Citation on the Executive en :i members'up bas-s. fneed net necessari'v bs the case, however. The aim should bo to tire i!ist men wherever -y are ta He rotmri. :tn;l there h!<! "»£> no jealousies between branches in the matter „f rer.-wvntatiisn on the JSxeent-ive. F-.r the ~{ the I'nj. n as a whole, the H:-« i.-.ei; should b« appointed irrespective <>: Their whereabouts. The Chairman. as was to be rspecfed, gave a- concise ij'.i: .-k-ar st.H'-::a-iit of tlic sever..! matte!-. that are nou* engagmi: the attention „i the i'armiiiji community. 3-i.s ivve v.- ,i" r]\.■ farming: industry was not unwarrantably optimistic. V."e have p»s-ec- through :•. brief period or "slump."' otherwise financial stringency. now Tiioney i* "again pientittil a:v; availa-ie ' at reasonably . e.ea;> ra : a.ny instiiiable and s.eoi.l enT;Tprises. : ' Y'vheii money is plentiful there is .-.lvrays a tendency t-.: tr.er i r ei. The pinch we get a short time a;io -.rill not Lave been quite lost if it lias produced E. steadying effect. Having got the Union weil established in South Canteriuirv, the next thin;.; •that is necessary is to organise force-; ¥or the puriK>se of pettinp every fariner to join. "Wainiate has sc-t an excellent -example in that direction, arid what 3ias been done there may be performed elsewhere. The subscription is low. =o low, in fact, that it is doubtful if efficiency can be maintained upon it. Tlie ;TJnion is undoubtedly a necessary institution, and it- has already iiroved iteelx to be of use to the farming coinmtmity. All farmers should back it- up as a matter of course. Those at the head of affairs ave alive to the neces- : erfcy of doing something to keep memters interested in their Union, aicd the proposal to have occasional papers, prepared by farmers, read at gatherings of farmers, should be one useful aid in attracting and holding members to the Union. Farmers are not keen on . giving publicity to their own extieri\{Bnces in their daily occupations except, ■perhaps, at the saleyards, and in the f fall way carriage. A very slender paper now and again would sirtnce to give some opening for discussion, and thus keet) the Union before fanners as a real, five institution. The Pleasant Point Branch a few years ago had some very successful debates. No doubt some of the gentlemen who then helped by preparing papers -would do' so again if requested. Government experts, Government veterinarians, instructors at Lincoln College, and the new South Canterbury agricultural instructor, who will soon arrive in Timaxu. could doubtless be pressed into the service, if required. The Agricultural Societies of Sotith Canterbury, and the various tranches of the Farmers' Union might Well act in conjunction in this matter. THACTION EXC-iDsE-.TEAFFIC. The remit sent to the Provincial . Conference by i-iio St. A.udre\v : s .Branch, ©f the Ifarmers T tnion, relating to traction engine trainc on tlie roaasj reopens a matter that lias ior many been beiore the Countj" Councils of South. Cant-erbury. A great deal of money lias been spoilt in endeavouring to frame by-laws to control tlie lieavy traiiic 3 but it has not been successful to any great extent. A case lias usnaUy round tiav;s in the by-la-.vs. and they have- generally fallen to the ground atter the local body concerned has spent, a good deal 01 money 111 testing tlie provisions or tii-ese by-laws. Y/ai-

mate evidently is in a position to enforce tea T-on loads., but, 1 believe I am right in saying that the Levels heavy traffic by-law* ara at present inoperative. The haulage of farm produce bv traction engines is favoured bv " many farmers oa the pjea tiiat it is* cheaper. I than haulage by horses. "While traction engines are'hauliug the iirodui e~to ; the railway or the seaport/ the farm I teams are able to work on the- land, i They need not be shed, as ihev would j if they were on the roads. There is ' less -wear and tear on horses, and near! ; when teams are on the land, and there >. is less danger of damage by' runaways, j Then there is the hun/niiarian plea : ' that horses on the roads have a far harder time of it than horses on the i land. Moreover, it is stated bv those ; who favour traction online "traffic. > that traction leads do less damage to ' the roads., tian heavy loads of grain . placed on farni waggons and dravs. It ; is contended that from that wiiirfc of Tiew alone the icca! bo.lies would gain ' by allowing the traction engine./ to ! hard heavier loads than is at* lire-sent • permitted. If traction engines are re- I Stricted to a ten-ton load, thev cannot ' "be made to pay. If thev are" allowed ' to pull another truck with v. 5-tou load '■ on it. making 15 tons in all. thev can , hatd stuff at a price that will render : them able to treat horses at hauling". I Five tens may be iy.it on a farm : waggon with narrow tyres, and often i is; five tons is all that "is allowed on a i traction waggon or trolly: therefore,] the farmers' Toad, it is contended, is j doing more c&miago than the traction I engine load. Thu~e who have had ! most to do with the management of ' roads know, however, that traction i engine traffic does not pay from the i general ratepayers' point of view. A i few farmers may benefit by traction | "haulage in a direct way. but the majority of the ratepayers must pay for it :n tho long run. Traction engine haulage would not be condemned as much as it is by road board members and county councillors, if those in charge of traction engines treated the roads reasonably, and if the carting were done only in fine weather. A heavilv metalled main road may stand a good deal of heavy trairfie. but the side roads are not always in such good condition, nor is it necessary that thev should be. There is also the question of speed. Engines nowadays are geared I to travel fast, and contract haulers | know that it nays them to get the i most out of the coal they use. Con- | Eequer-tlv. the temptation to drive at I an excessive speed is one that is verv I difficult to overcome. This fast travel- j ling shakos the reads very much. The j back wheels of the engine have to do all the work, and with a heavy load be-

Lind these wheels chew up the mads where little pinches occur. Midi as coming out of a depression. In wet v. earner a groat deal Humane is none hy tl-mso a heels, rt is all very well to say that- the trucks do poi cul up 1 Inroad much as farmers' waggon--. Perhaps they don't, but the engine floes tar more damage, than horses, especially on soft roads with an up grade, and in damp weather. Where traction engines can do r.il their hauling downhill the case is not so bad. '" i c:mte back to the plea, that horses cannot compete with steam, and that it pays the farmer to keep his horses working on the land while traction engines do his carting, there are in some districts light spring drays hauled hy j light spring cart horses, that, can and i do compete against steam, with the re- ! suit that steam has to take second i place. These spring drays will take upj to -i tons, and the horses in them can i trot with that. load. The loading and j unloading is soon done: the paddocks a.re net cut up as with traction engines, and the work is done quickly and i chep.piy. These teams, where they are ! runmuc:. arc in great, demand during I the carting seascn. and so much .so tba c ! in some cases they can cbarco :t fj;°od j price for their work. Traction engines! with their liability to break down, and | their tendeir-y to run the owner into i a big cheriue for repairs now ami again, j cannot hold their own against these he-lit tC-iU'S 1- is doubtful if the heavy type of road engine will ever do a. great, deal on trie ro;«U. There seems to be more chance icv the lighter engine, and for the motor trolley. which is used so largely in the old country. It is on!y r;ght that traction engines should uay ii- license and registration fees some- j t'ni:: ■■- t'-wards the upkeep of the road.; they use. and they should also be under control in the matters of loads and speed. COLOUR OF CLOVEK SEED. An exchange deals as follows with the ; colour of clover : jed. a matter of some, interest to ! armors now that clover ! shelling is being proceeded with:—' ; A ; -cimpie of red clover seed should be i vigorous: lighter-coloured ones mav he j strong enough to estaMish themselves. . but they are not so sale. Very pah' : seed should be avoided, whilst brown i om-s arc dead. The most common im- ; purities are docks and plantain, but) dodder is such an obnoxious pest that ! 0 should be most stringently avoided, j I'niess a man is an expert in seeds, iie j is very boolish to buy without the aid : of a magnifying glass' A shilling sec;!- ! testing glass of about live power re-j veals so much that the ordinary buyer has not expected he had overlooked'on casual observation, that if he once uses one there is little nerd to advise him to use one again. It is the most valuable shilling a i'arnirr sc-riid- in the who!c_ course of his farming." "White clover seed should be of a true golden colour: very light ones have weak germination. and brown ones are dead. A very large number i of varieties of weeds are found in white j clover: sometimes as much geranium as I white clover seed has been sold to ex- j pel lencci farmers, v.-ho irom its sh:e t and colour had not been able to distinguish it : an experienced seed dealer ■will notice its deeper colour and oval shape. Docks, sorrell. and plantain ares the most, common among the many seeds , found in white clover, which, from its short habit oi growth, has to bs cut so close to the ground as to cause main- to be gathered with it. Alsike is liable to contain many of the seeds found in -white clover, bnt higher cutting causes many to be missed. The seed should be dark green in colour, though the best samples will contain some of lighter green. Crimson clover, commonly called trifoiium. contains docks and plantain. t but its size allows it to be onsily freed from the weeds found in the smaller clovers: and trefoil is rarely unclean for the same reason. Lucerne is rarely impure, though occasionally trefoil may be present." JOTTINGS. The lamb market keeps up well, considering the large amounts frozen and afloat. Those who have shipped Home are now fairly confident that they will come out on the right side. The" local price per pound, and on foot, is good. and there are very few that are consign lug on their own account. Wheat is a drug on the market, and many farmers last Saturdav were regretting that they did not take the prices offered them a few weeks ago. uheat is going down in London and; in Adelaide, and it is doubtful if ex- j porters can afford to pay more than 3s 4d per bushel for prime samples. It is difficult to see what is going to happen, but the probabilities are that we shall not see a return to the high prices of the last few seasons for some time to come. There is a lot- of damaged stuff about, and it is practically unsaleable now. The ilay sales were not brilliant as tar as crossbred was concerned. Some shippers find that their returns are much whet they would have been had they sold at the local sales. Growers of big lines comprising all kinds of wool, find that it- sometimes pays to ship in order to clear all their clip at current Home rates. They find that locally th.ev often do not -ret as much for the inferior sorts as they would if they shipped, while the top lot mightsell just as well here as in London, j The weather is all that can be dej sired, and farmers of all kinds are ! quite satisfied with it. "Wheat is goi nig in well, and lambs are fattening ! splendidly on turnips. Store sheep are ! also in good order, and the winter can i be faced with good heart. ' Poports upon experiments in the • manuring of oats, potatoes, and man- ' golds have been issued by the Irish De- . partrtcni of Agriculture, from which -c ; will be seen that finality in investigaj tions of the kind has been as nearly : readied as is ever likely to be the case . uvder inevitable variations in soils and ; eh'mate. As regards oats, it is stated that plots manured with sulphate of amvamhi and superphosphate, and with : sulphate of ammonia, superphosphate, ; am! ka:n:t resnectively. have invariably : igiv:n profitable returns, but that whore ; materials were used singlv the re- '. sidts have hc-cn irregular and not al- . -.rays remvnerativ.'. The influence-- of the manures ami of the quantities J nuctimied from time to time. The j best returns in potatoes. taking c-ne ; year v:': T ."n another, were obtained from | a lpoderfte oi-.antity of farmyard j manure—=iv. l-o tons per acre. —supple- ; mented with lc-.vt. suluhate of cm--1 mon::i. 4cwt. superphosphate, and lcwt j muriate of uotasb. In mangolds also I the returns from ihe different dressings i vary acc-rding to seasonal influences. ; which, of course. the farmer cannot ! foresee but. again, on an average n'~: ! results the department feel confident in j recommending, in addition to 20 tons of farmvard manure, 4cwt. superphosphate, scwt. sulphate of ammonia, nntl 4cwt. common salt per acre.