NEWS FOR FARMERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14360, 4 February 1911, Page 3 (Supplement)

NEWS FOR FARMERS.

(By "Koradi.")

THE MEAT TRADE. The annual meetings of tho Meat Companies ii£U*uiy pr-.'v.'itt uj3*jiul imormauou xegaiUing vno ui'-'.u iruuo bud its prospects, tootaiiiug at the last Annual meeting of uie toliansnoiuers oi tu.3 Cartitciiurcii Aleat tympany, ill i'. de J. Matct, Chairman 01 Directors g.ive some gc«;u general information on .trade prospects, and the work of the p.xai. jwij tuiu it uus Itic to a bhaioliolaer, i-ruiossor McMillan lirown, to give the must interesting speech. He urged that more use bo maue of the .waste products at the ivorko. Uermany imports waste extract from oli'al iruiu Uruguay and the Argentine, and turns them into albuminous toed. Mr Brown tooW a Qennan friend of his ten years .-go through the Islington Works, aud I.- held up Ins hands in amazement at the amount of food that was throi*., away. He said that where p.nco were Icing made the Company should make pounds. Eventually the directors were asked to take into consideration the 6cientific side of tho industry, especially in regard to abumen. A very interesting portion of Prolessor Brown's speech acalt with the ARGENTINE COMPETITION. The speaker <hd not consider that there •» a great deal to fear iroin that competition at present, aud when bouiuern Argentine gets tuorouguly equipped fur the exportation of mutton tne tension will be relieved by the opening of other markets. Spealiiug of Wo Argentine, Mr Brown said:— "I have recently been through that country and can speak with somo knowledge of it. The scares usually arise from sitting down to the atlas and seejug the enormous extent of the country. Now, if you look at the country you will.see that all northern and central Argentine is unfittted to compete with tins country. The north is for maize, linseed and sugar growing, and tfiere they have some of the plagues of Egypt with them. When I was there there was a drought, and you could not ko much that was green: and it took two days to pas through a cloud of v£ connn E from the north. It was ™ * B " owst ° rn »- As you looked up J?" could not see the blue sky except at odd intervals. The real part of lr--West of you who know South America ol tW 1 ham -J* « the shank or bone of that ham .that we have to fear Down there there are sweet, native there are good rains', and all conditions present there which help to W°r°?f OW ? Canterbury land excelS. I ,™ b <*>ri squatters there sav that ttey can raise lambs which would aro handicapped because of tho system ™7™ **£. tte north - They have . only one freezing works there-at Pun! ta Arenas. In the next few years however, we will feel their comoletton, bL ' WM S5- are eTen a ™ startine to ffi o & a * W * rfa in OTHER MARKETS. _ Prozenmeat has recently been sent in«j Austria and Portugal has removed a prohibitive tariff of 4Jd per lb on all aczen meat imported into that country. Mr Brown says that such Mediterranean countries as Portugal, Spain Italy and the Adriatic will take coarse mutton and therefore thev will not Rive relief for our finer* qualities. -OJt if our courses mutton and that of toe Argentine goes to European countries there will be, presumably, less , congestion in London than there is at present, as that has hitherto been practically the only market available The London manager of tho British New Zealand Meat Company wrote recently as .follows: "I have received letters irom Italy asking for {formation, and there_ has been a deputation from Austria to make inquiries and gather information." He adds: "Sooner or later, these Continental markets seem likely to open up in spite of the strong agrarian opposition. It will take some time for them to equip themselves, and when they have done so I think it'more likely that will take South American and Australian meat rather than New Zealand. But whatever class they buy it will, in a measure, relieve the" pressure, on this market." Speaking at the last annual meetin" of the British-New Zealand Meat and Produce Company, recently held in Cliristchurch, the Chairman of D:rect- ' ors, Mr M. C. Orbcil, said that It? thought that Canada was another country to which we might look forward as a future market, seeing that it has only about three million sheep. Difficulties are in the way, but these will be rapidly swept aside in the interest of commerce, the influence r.f which governs directly or ind'reotly all things. In tho meantime cur bus : n--ss is to maintain the quality of our meat, grade it well, and to regulate ship, ntents. A glut on tlie market at one t- : me and a scarcity at another is nit desirable, and the question of regulation of shipments is a m?st importantone to the trade. The shortage of freight knt year turned out to b.° e, blessins in disguise, because had to beheld back till vessels arrived to tike it away. FUTURE PROSPECT?.' Mr Orbell is optimistic regarding tlie coming season. In his annual speech he said:—"Prospects for the current season are decidedly favourable, provided there is no flooding the market through badly regulated shipments. The London stores wore practically clear < f mutton and lamb last month, and. j although shipments from Australia ! iave been heavier than last year, they ] ero being steadily sold upon arrival. | Therefore, there is not likely to be an | accumulation of "their stock. Our own shipments wiil be somewhat Inter, and by the time we hare any important cargoes arriving the market will probably be clear, or will not meet severe competition." It is interesting to note that Mr Orbell was able to report that consignments entrusted to his company, which has stalls in SmithSeld. showed a net profit of 4s per carcase above local' prices at the time of shipment-. TREATMENT OF HORSES, "t ou will hear some people say that the horse is the biggest fool in existence. Probably be is in several ways. Bnt if it were not for that- foolishness of his we would not be able to make him work and slave for us as .we do. If he once thoroughly realised how puny his masters really are, and what great strength lies within himself we would have a very small chance of turing him into a comparatively docile worker. He lias, however, a high decree oi intelligence of his own. and it is no doubt his stupidity in some directions, and his intelligence in oth.-rs that enable us not only to the mastery of him but also to train him t<> di our will. It is to be feared, however, that many of th? men ivh'i Ikivc hnrsw nr.-Jer their care are not much ahead of their charges in intelligence. Instead of treating a horse with kind■oa. aa well as firmness, they adopt

USEFUL HINTS AND INFORMATION

culy the method of driviug him to do lucir lull by brute lorce and with ioar. it is very probable tiun in the long ran ecu Mill to'' I'"' U'or.i uut of a liorse by kuidii(ii> than ouo will by brute force, aud the work is dono more pleasantly and comfortably. Once you nin a horse's respect aud confidence it is wonderful hoiv they will obey you without recourse to violence.. Train him villi patieucu to understand what Jdu want, and if ho is not a "wicked one" hi will usually eudeavour to fill your requirements. Men in all ages have mnde almost personal friends of horses. Writers like Whyte Melville, have sung his praises in prose and verse, and have demonstrated that the love of a liorse may "surpass the love of a woman."

It is rather a common fallacy that a horse must have a "good go" when ho in first saddled and mounted or he is no good; he has no spirit in him. I have broken in farm hacks, and I have spoken with others who have done so, and have found that such need not be tUt case by any means. In fact if a horse bucks when he is mounted for tho first time it may show that he has not been properly handled, and that his training up to that point has been defective. I have had several good ones through my hands, sevcr.il of them were thought to be real outlaws in disposition, yet I havo never had a real, solid bueker. A few "big jumps" when mounting them for the first few times has been the extent of most of their wickedness. It is all very well to have a bit of fun in backing a horse and it i: nice to have the reputation of being a good sticker, but I" would rather lie able to train a horse to know that ho need fear nothing when I get on his back for the first time, and that the riding process is quite a matter of form. I Then there 13 the wretched practice ! of thrashing a liorse.when he shies, or rather after he has done so. No doubt the judicious use of a whip will induce him to pass an object wliich he thinks is something to bo afraid is quite permissable. But to give a horse a. good lashing after he has run off the road or swerved round is a huge mistake. For one thing ho very likely imagines after he has received his thrashing that he was quite right in liis fear of the object that he swerved at. He may possibly regard the whip as connected in some way with that object. The next time he shies, he will not only shy at the object but he will make a bolt to get- away from the punishment or the hurt.that is coming after. If time permits, and if the driver has the necessary patience, by far the better plan is to persuade the horse to approach the thing shied at and find out for himself that it is not going to hurt him. If the shying was caused by something imaginary, then tho horse may bo walked past the place till he finds that there is really nothing there. A whip will not do much- towards curing a horse of bad habits or serious vices. Even as a stimulant to action tnj whip should only be used with discretion. If a horse is .dead tired tho whip may force him to exert himself afresh, but it is at the expense of more than a proper sharo of his vitality. As a cure for laziness the whip is the best medicine, and no horse should be allowed to develop into a slug when by continually keeping him up to the mark he might have been kept a smart horse. . . '. Each Horse Has'Es own individual character and to be a successful horseman one must study one's horse, and find out how best to treat him. No hard and fast rules can be laid down. WORK FOR FEBRUARY, We shall be through our harvest in such good time this season, if the weather continues fine, that we shall have very little grain out by the middle of February in the earlier districts. On the heavy land, and in some instances <i,i the hills there will remain a proportion to be saved, but- 1 the chief rush will be over. We shall then be able to take a breather, provided We do not let the removal of the stress of liarvest induce us to drop into a too leisurely way of proceeding for the next month or two. For there is plenty to do. There are the stubbles to plough up and clean; the early oats, rye. Cape barley to put in, mending and repairing to be done after the neglect at harvest; getting gear in order, and the very necessary attention to stock. ' STACKS. If the stacks are to stand for any length of time, they must first of all bi attended to for they contain the result of much of the previous year's work. They will require to be raked down, and made secure against wind and rain. If any of them have a pronounced lean away from the weather they wiil probably need thatching. Rain soon -penetrate? even a well-built head, if for some reason or other, the stack has tilted over towards the nori west. After so much fine weather wo may expect a good downpour when a proper change does sot in. WINTER FORAGE CROPS. The early conclusion of harvest gives a splendid opportunity for getting in an early towing of some winter forage, ihe dry weather has not hten suitable for rape or turnips, although there are many acres of both of these thriving well. Any shortage may be helped out bv a sowing of Cape barley, wliich for feed purposes is superior to oats. Algerian oats have been found to be excellent for forage crops because they are relished by the sheep, are nutritious, grow quickly and recover splendidly after having been fed down late 1.1 spring. Dun oats are also very useful, hut sheep will not- eat them if they can procure anything else, and they punish the soil a good deal. Vetches make excellent feeding, and come next to cicver in nutritious qualities. FALLOWING. There is so little of this dono that there is very little ueed to say anything about iti. Probabiy if such wteds as twitch and couch had not to bs cleared out there would be less fallowing than there is because land is too valuable to leave lying oj>en during several months of the year. Twitch and couch roots that have been left lying up to the sun by the disc plough must be knocked about as much as possible. Even after the hut summer we have had it needs only a little rain to start the weeds growing as rigorously as ever. After being scorched up b T - the hot weather one would think that their vitality would bo almost lost hut unfortunately it does not die so easily. Tlie land should work down well unless it caked when it was ploughed up. STOCK. This is a very important section that will need a got-:! deal of straightening u.) iin mediately after harvest. It is not always easy, on a mixed farm, to att-ein.l to the live stock as one would wish while harvest is in full swing. Naturally the first thought is to save the grain, aud all energies are bent in

th;u direction. There is, in a great many cases the weaning still to do and tbo rape to stock. Crutching is seriously needed where the lambs havo been scouring at all, owing to tho unwelcome presence of blow flies. Some lambs havo already succumbed-to tho noisome pest, and more cases will occur unless the. matter is attended to. All sheep killed by maggots should !>o buried in order to prevent tho sheep blow fly from increasing. In Australia the pest is a very serious ono and wo have plenty of trouble hero with various insect nuisances without allowing them to increase if we enn help it . THE DAIRY. Cows have been going off in their milk for some time. This mouth 13 generally a trying ono for dairy fanners A little green feed helps a lot. In the North Island green maize is growing into favour as a summer feed. A few armfulls of rape given to cows immediately after milking help tho cream and butter supply, but great caro must be taken not to taint the butter. Sometimes cows are turned on to the rape in tho paddocks. Apart from the danger of "blowing," there is the certainty of tho butter becoming worse than "turnipy" in flavour. Field cabbages are very useful at this time of the year, and right along into winter cows enjoy and profit by them. GENERAL. While the weather is unsettled and harvest work cannot bo proceeded with there is plenty to do in the shape of cutting out stakes for raps and turnip fences. The teams may start skimming operations. Shingle may be carted to spots that are getting wet and muddy. Haystacks that were not covered with straw when they were built had better be secured now with a load or two of good straw. They should be then firmly tied down so that no wind can blow tho covering off again. The stooks should be kept up. A few sheaves lying on the ground may sprout and may cause a certain amount of damage to tno sample. It is to he hoped, however, that tho weather will take up before tho grain reaches the sprouting stage. BAROMETER AND RAIN GAUGE. These two instruments 6hould 'be found on every farm. They will prove interesting and instructive. Of the two, tho aneroid barometer will be voted the more useful, but a rain gauge U also of some practical value. Tho cost of each need not run into much money. Aneroids may be procured at a cost of £1 and upwards, and rain gauges at 12s 6d and'over.' The trouble of measuring the rainfall periodically is not great and may be left to a girl or boy that ha 3 attained the age of thirteen or fourteen years. The daily re-' gistration of the weather is not necessary for fanners whose chief requirement is to know exactly what quantityof rain has fallen. For instance rain may commence in the evening and continue throughout the night. A guess only can be hazarded at the fall if no register is kept. With a rain gauge the farmers can find out ejiactly how much rain has fallen on his land. A gauge on a farm some miles away may show that the rainfall over a district only a few miles in extent away may vary quite appreciably. The weather is an. evergreen topic among farmers and there is nothing surprising in that considering how much the weather means to the agriculturalist. A rain gauge helps one to speak authoritatively on the /quantities of Tain fallen, a thing one cannot do when he is'basins; his estimate on an oil drum or a milk dish left in the open. A barometer,, at certain seasons of the year is useful though one must not expect to be told by it exactly what kind of weather is to follow its changes. The face of. an aneroid is marked with various changes, such as rain, fair and eo on, and a hand indicates one or the other according as the "glass" rises or falls. But one soon learns to take but little or no notice of these markings s-nd watches only for tho rise and fall of the hands. Roughly speaking a rising "glass" msans fair weather. If it- commences raining on a rising glass nothing serious is generally looked for but if it commences to fall then rough weather may be expected. Easterly, drizzling weather is usually accompanied by a high glass. A falling glass indicates wind, and a rapidly falling barometer means thunder. It is here that an aneroid proves itself useful in harvest. A nor' wester can often be foretold as much as twenty-four hours before it arrives. Sky and cloud indications must be taken into consideration as well as the changes in tlie barometer. Some people prefer a mercurial barometer to an aneroid, and those who study weather closely advise the use of the latter as being by far the- better guide. Tlie following rules have been formulated as .in assistance in foretelling the weather by the changes in the mercurial barometer. One — The rising of the mercury presages, in general, fair weather, and its falling, foul weather, such as rain, snow, gales and storms. Two— In very hot weather the falling of the mercury indicates thunder. Three—A sudden and rapid f fall in any weather is a sure sign of an approaching gale with' or without rain or snow. Four—When bad weather follows soon after the fall of the mercury, expect but little of it, and en the contrary, expect hut little fair weather if it follows soon after the rising of the mercury. Five—ln foul weather, when the mercury rises much, and so continues for two or three "days before the foul weather is over, then .1 continuance of fair weather may be expected to follow. Six —In fair weather when the mercury falls much and thus continues for two or three days before the change, then expect a great de.nl nf wet -""id probably much wind also. Seven —Tlie unsettled motion of mercury, of course, denotes uncertain t'nd changeable weather. JOTTINGS. Since I commenced these notes the v.catiier has taken a very unwelcome turn, causing grain growers not a little anxiety. Nearly two inches of rain have tallsii, commencing on the evening of January 25th. The stooks that were blown down by the gales of the previous week got a good soaking, and had to be set up again. They dried, out fairly well on the 2"th and 2Sth, but on the evening of the latter data rain again commenced to fall, and for the three following days, showery and drizzly weather prevailed. The last day of the month, though it broke cloudy and dull promised better things. At the time of writing the rain had not gono far into the stooks, and a few hours sun would dry the dampness out of the grain again. The grain hog i softened very considerably. It would not take a great deal more of moisture tj cause it to sprout. It has lost a I good deal of its bloom and instead of I being stook-threshed it shoidd be stacked and left for a time. Stacking will no doubt be gone on with before the stuff is again ready to stook thresh. If tho weather should clear up now, (Jjiminrv 31st) not much harm has been done, bnt the grain is in a very critical state. Continuel moisture would soon spoil it. The rains are very useful as far as turnips, rape, and are concerned. These are all growing splendidly and a good supply of autumn and winter feed is nlmost assured. Turnips are doing very well this year in most localities. Rape has not yet flourished as it should hnre done but it should grow out ngain after these rains. Tho days are netting a bit shorter and the nights will soon commence to get a go'xl deal cooler so thr.t plant life will not suffer so severely even if we do get another turn of hot and dry weather. In fact we want n few weeks of that sort of nli'mnta u>=+. i