ON THE LAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11672, 12 April 1916, Page 8

ON THE LAND.

• JOTTINGS FOR FARMERS. are 138.776 acres of Crown 'land being thrown opon for selection shis month. In addition 11,407 acres - already set aside for disposal in 3fay. .What ia probably the highest price obtained for wpol in Taianaki is that realised by Messrs Budge and Good, who (according to tho Stratford -'.Post' 5 ) sold a portion, of their clip ' (twenty-one balos) from tlioir Poho,Vrira property cat Is 9d per lb at tho London January sales. In most parts of Oiago grain is threshing out poorly. At Milton Plains the wheat is reported of poor quality, with lighter yields than ve i re expected. Oats in this district bulk well, but the quality of grain is poorer than usual. Ryegrass is also light, god quality only medium. No doubt the grain was ripened too rapidly owing . to-dry hot weather. : Vlt is • many ' years sinco practically the whole of the grain on the Tokomairiro Plain was safely in stack by .jMarch 'l6, as is the this year ;/savs the "Bruce Herald' ). A J con " ""adorable portion of it has already been rtiiresbed, revealing a disappointing " yield in moat cases, duo, no doubt, to '''the premature ripening of the gram ■idn account of the unusual dryness ot "the season. •*% A Mount Somers farmer recently • commissioned an Ashburton auctwnedr- ■ • ■ins.' firm to procure for him a cow ot \fcbod milking strain (says the ' Guard- ' The commission was execute", '■flfith great care, and a stockman was "instructed to take the animal f™m tho - yards and consign it to tho purcbasei. A--"mistake occurred m tho number of . thp pen in which the cow located the vrong-animal was truckecL "The surprise of the Mount , -"fawner could well W imagined when, on'-' coing to tako delivery, *»s he 'thought of a mild-cyed Jersey cow, he % confronted by a big bhorthorn : bull. . ■_ •Hi. a sample of make, which wM ' ;W.-hsrd t<, (not wiytrliere, Mr Jam* . ' Sh"aw, marehuia, bas view in Stratford, says tho Stratford Post, " KSmple of the White Horse Tooth Irahety. It is 13ft in height, tho seed , nf was sown on December a, r 1915, and cut on Mrirch 20, 1910, 3c\v ;sfttianuro to the acre being used(lJcArt ■ super and ljcwt bonedust). Taranaki authority on ngricul.gral matters states that farmers would - iV.Vell advised tto cultivate a greater "variety of • crops next season, suggest™ > ihgy for instance, carrots, mangolds, -Icilfi,-maize,-etc., for autumn feed. ;V\" Sheep farming in America," said 'Mr E. Clifton, New Zealand Commissioner at the recent Panama-Pacific Rx- , position, who returned to Auckland ,in the" R.M.S. Niagara from Vancouver, carried out on different lines to . :'t3i9-- system - adopted in New- Zealand. ~ofe remarked that all sheep were herded L i»;:flocks of from 2000 to 3000. The .'Jienler lived with the sheep, and fenc-?jߣg-'was unknown. The reason for tho. ■ "Presence of the herder was to protect "sjc stock from predatory animals, such a&'the coyote and the fox. A further . reason • -vras that- the tenure of land . arlsome of tho largo districts was not stell defined. : : 'Y; SHORTHORNS. Shorthorn Dairy Society (Englyvi) gives records of 140 oows, all of 3tjHich have a yield of over 80001b of amltf during the year. Ross 44tli head? the list with 12,8091b milk for 365 days. Blushing Maid 2nd, Lady Clara and ' . Primrose 3rd gave oyer 12,0001b of iiiilk; and with tho exception of Lady . Clare-(317 days), were in milk'tho full year. Four cows gave over ll,ooulb iiiilk; twenty gave Qver 10,0001b, and - ■ forty-eaght "ranged from 90001b to ' '99791b.' Eighty-eight of the cows were <in ■ milk over' 300 days, and eighteen - milked the full year. . A writer m ije If' Yorkshire Post" points out that this is milkinc? the cow to death. Jn a • 'state of nature tho cow gives sufficient milk to rear her own calf. By breed- : ine, feeding, ; and management, .M>he rperiod and amount of flow have i been greatly increased; but heavy iwlkm ' Wa strain, on the constitution, and the ■'•prolonged periods of lactation noted above are a great danger to the cows. DISEASE ATTACKS SHEEP. - \ complaint known as facial eczema fcfcS made its appearance among sheep. • i n the Poverty Bay district, particularly on the" flats, whilst sheep on some parts of" the coast are also affected. This is a different complaint from the clis- ' ease-that affected sheep in 1910. _ A local veterinarian stated a few days ago that * "nasal .bot. is a common disease, but "facial is not well known. It ■ ifc r: cause& by a flush of feed, and although, as far as he has learned, there 'was" very little of it at present, the - ' peason had been such as to produce the complaint. "The only thing to •Hoi" said Mr Broom, "is for owners - "to'trv to get the sheep off the flats on ioj hill pastures, .or to places whevo . 'feed is scarce, so that the sheep will have to move about more." He did jiot think the complaint was infec.tfous. ; 'Th<* disease is said to bo spreading rapidly in the Te Arai district. Ono ijettier is believed to have 500 sheep Ono of the coast stations "alone was reputed to haro lost 1000 iditep through tho disease in 1910. y- STATE CATTLE FARMING. I /.The Queensland Minister of Lands '{Mr Hunter) stated recently that in 'eight months tho present Government 'had-resumed about 4,606,000 acres. Notice . of resumption had been served in* respect of 2,7/3,000 acres. New occupation licenses, covering 8,005,000 acres, had been issued, this being the intermediate stage between resumption i and selection. Only two renewals of .pastoral leases had been granted dur--lugthe eight months. }s sl An area of 478 square miles in Char-1 leville district, the Minister said, was utilised by tho Government as a. "cattlo station. The holding included two water-bores, with drains running light through, and it was fenced, sub-divided-and highly improved. Mr Hunv : ter added that tho Government did not jintend to stop at the present purchase. LICENSING DEALERS. v Victoria legislation has been pass'ad; recently for the licensing of all hide, skin andl wool buyers, the Chief Inspector of Stock liaving power to' refuso a •license to those who are not fit and'.proJ>er persons. No license is required for ,:any butcher, stockowner, or farmer ,-who sells only hides, etc., taken from " ssock which are his own property, or 'for their sale if used by the buyer in iis business or for domestice purposes, or for instruction in connection with an educational institution. Licensed .. persons, may buy from unlicensed perBoils, .as it would" be unreasonable to oxnect a dealer in a large way to inquire , into the bona fides of each of his customers; but, Avith tho above exceptions, they may sell only to licensees. Per- ■ pons holding licenses are required to post on. all premises and vehicles used = the. business the words "Licensed hide, 6kin and' wool dealer." Polico officers and inspectors of stock aro em.powered' to enter and search premises whero hides, skins and wool are stored, and to stop and search vehicles. Legislation such as tho above has long been ' for by stockownors as a measure Sf jrotectioi *sa!ust stsalins.