A BRIEF RETROSPECT.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14393, 7 January 1911, Page 3 (Supplement)

A BRIEF RETROSPECT.

The year 1010 was a fairly good ouo for ialiiiers, aud it eudetl far less glcumily than was * anticipated some two months ago. Then tne dry weather all along tho east coast of Now Zealand threatened disaster to crops aud pastures. Tho rains which followed were not sufticient for all requirements, nor did they save some localities from very considerable losses, but they changed for the bettor the prospects of the majority of farmers and very much indeed, and now we can Icufc forward to quite a decent harvest, and a fair quantity of lamb feed during the next few montlis. During the past year, the money market has bokn extremely buoyant, and as a consequence land has continued to rise. Farms were selling at the end of the year at prices which would have been thought fabulous only a few years ago. There cannot be any doubt that land is too high, and that farms are being bought at prices that require everything m the farmers® favour in order to be payable. Cheap money.makes it possible for a profit to be made when times -are good, but the principal has to be found some time or other, and a temporary check caused by low prices, or an unsuitable season, may cause ruin to many who have worked hard for the money they have put into their places. Land, in many cases, is so high in price that dairying is the only thing that can turn out a profit. . . The past year has seen that industry very active, and prices have kept up extremely well. Cattle are all the time rising in value. Farmers have now commenced keeping their calves, as they find it pays to rear them. Butter-fat substitutes placed in the separated milk iff now given in everincreasing quantities. Patent preparations, linseed and molasses, all take the place of the extracted fat, and where this course is followed, the stock must improve. It is true that calves are still fed on skim-milk only, but it is being found thai this does not pay in the long run. The spread of home- ' separating in South _ Casterbnry has been wonderful during the last few years. Moreover it is still going on rapidly, as agents for hand separators can testify. Many & wife pays for her household stores with her cream or butter cheque, the result of keeping a few cow 3 more than axe required for bODIO CSd. Wool continued firm throughout "the rear, and seems likely to remain so. The local markets are being very extensively patronised bv wool-growers in tho district. , Very few- ship to London nowadays; the majority are satisfied with the local sales. Perhaps if wool dropped in price more shipping on owners' account would he done than s tire case at present, hut while wool remains at its present level, the average grower is content to eellhere. One sometimes hears that the Timaru sales do not- see such high prices as are procured in Jarge centres, such as Ehristchnrch, hut after all there can be but little foundation for that impression. ' In comparing prices for wool, there are many things to be taken into consideration. It is doubtful if it would pay a South Canterbury grower to send his stuff to Christ church. The multiplicity of wool sales in New Zealand is a fact to be deplored for several reasons, hut we are not keen on jeeing the Timaru sales cut out. Frozen mutton and lamb ia on & jayable level, and seems likely to continue so. _ Lambs, as ■_& role, are rather more backward than is usually the case at this time of the year, owing to the drought keeping back the feed. This may prove a good thing in the long ran, because tia Australian meat will have got the heaviest part of its export sold. " The lambing from one end of tho Dominion to the other, was exceptionally good, and sheep have continued healthy, bar af few ailments among some .flocks of lambs, -such as are. customary at this season of the year. Some of the minor"industxies connected with the land, such as fruitgrowing, poultry-raising, bee-culture, and so on, have considerably increased durimr the year. In this connection the efforts of the Agriculture Department are specially worthy of notice. In the larger fields of the agrarian industries, the Department has also been active, and it is all the time getting more and more into touch with the primary producers ' of the Dominion. The Minister for Agriculture is recognised among farmers as being a live man, and with his lieutenants, Mr Clifton, Mr C. J. Eeakes, MJR.C.V.S., Mr Cuddie, Mr Kirk and Sir Cockayne, be has kept the mam divisions of the Department well to the fore. The monthly publication of the Department's journal has done a great deal towards keeping the Department before those who should take tie most interest in it.

Taking one thing witE another the past year has been a satisfactory one. Prices have been good, especially for the main products, namely wool,* lamb, and dairy produce. May the year we have just entered upon Vork out as well.