WAIKATO FARMERS' CLUB.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 271, 7 April 1898, Page 4

WAIKATO FARMERS' CLUB.

The usual monthly meetiug of the above club waa held in the Borough Chambers at Cambridge on Mon lay evening, at 7.30 pm. There were present: Messrs H. Gillett (Presidcut), E. Allen, G. E. Clark. T. Wells, J. D. P. Morgan, W. Tucker, G. Keeley, J. Forrest, T. Hartly, J. Gane, J. W. Souter, J. C. Potts, W. G. Park, J. R. S. Richardson, and Archdeacon Willis. New Mkmber.—Mr Jas. Adams, of Waterside, Cambridge, wis elected a member of the club. AoRicuLTriRAL Conference.—A circular was received, asking to have a member of the club Bent to the Conference to be held at Christchurch on Bth June.—The matter was leftover till next meeting, it being thought probable the Waikato Agricultural and Pastoral Association would send a delegate. Analysis ok Mancres.— Mr E. Allen said MrTurney, of Ngaroto, some time since sent Bamples of manure to Mr Pond, of Auckland, whom he understood was the Government analyst, for him to report thereon. Heenclosed£l, not knowing what was the correct fce.but Mt Pond replied that he would not do the aualy«is unless he waa furnished with the name of the firm who supplied the manure, and a copy of the analysis sent with it. Mr Tirney then got a Government official to communicate with the Agricultural Department, as follows :—" Mr Tirney, of Ngaroto, wants to know if the Department will undertake for farmers analysis of artificial manures. They are not satisfied that samples contain, in proportion, constituents as set forth in analysis by sellers, and Mr Pond refuses to make an independent analysis." To that the following reply wa3 received : " The Department cannot undertake the analysis of manures. The " Manure Adulteration Act " provides a remedy." —Mr Alleu said Mr Tirney wished the Club to thoroughly thrash out the matter. If the fee waa more than £1 Mr Tirney would have sent what was asked ; but Mr Pond did not mention anything about the fee. It certainly appeared as if Mr Pond was retained by some firm not to analyse their wares, or he would not want to know the names of the manufacturers of the manures he analysed. The Chairman suggested sending samples to Mr Galbraith.—Mr Forreßt said there appeared to always be trouble with analysts. Some time ago samples of Lawe'a superphosphate were sent to an Auckland analytical chemist, and it was pronounced very inferior. A sample of the same was then sent to England and the analyst pronounced it better than it was professed to be by the seller.—Mr Clark thought it was not as bad as Mr Forrest painted it, for the difference arose in the methods of giving the analysis. The colonial man gave so much phosphoric acid, which really meant soluble phosphates as mentioned by the English analyst, so he was told. —Mr Gane siid it was no use sending to Lincoln College. They had tried doing ro, and were unsuccessful in getting any analysis returned. —It was eventually decided to get Mr Tirney to wiito tho full particulars to the Club, and then the secretary will write Mr Pond asking for an explanation.—lt was remarked that Mr Tirney is not a member of the Club, but that will not stand in the way of any action being taken for the good of the farmers generally. The Root and Produce Show.—The Chairman moved that the annual Root and Produce Show be held in June next. —The motion was seconded by Mr Forrest, who said he had travelled through a good part of New Zealand and he knew no place that could produce better roots in the colony, than the Waikato, and he doubted if it could not boat the world.—The motion was unanimously agreed to. A special committee was appointed to draw up and publish the schedule forthwith. It will consist of the Executive Committee, and Messrs Gane, Forrest and R. Fisher.—Mr Morgan suggested a dog trial should be held on the same day as the Show, but it was thought it would occupy too much ; Ume ; however, it was left for the Committe to decide. ,

Chakf.—Mr Wells spoke of the great destruction that daily took place by the chaff bags having their tops almost pulled off when being tilled with the aid of the spiked arrangement generally used in Waikato. He was Bure the farmers and merchants made a double loss, for not only were the bags destroyed but they could not get a full load on to a truck, hence the freight was higher. If the patent bagging rings were used the bags would be properly filled and he believed they cou'd this year put 5 tons of chaff on a truck, instead of 4-J tons as at the present time. If the farmers would refuse to employ any machinist who did not übe the patent rings, he thought the traders Aould back them up by refusing to buy any chaff that was not properly filled in the bags ; and it could easily be seen which had been put in with the assistauce of die patent rings, for the others were never quite full and well pressed at the tops.—Mr Forrest bore out Mr Wells' contention. He was in favour of passing a resolution asking the farmers to give the chaff-cutters a week to provide the patent riDgs.—Mr Gane said he had seen a ton of chaff put into 33 old bags with the aid of the rings, and only one burst, and that was at the bottom. Thi3 season he had new bags and he believed he could get a ton into 25 bags by using the rings ; whereas, by the old method it would take 28 bags. The rings would necessitate a little extra labour—say a boy —but in future he would have no other method. The Chairman thought the chaff - cutters would perhaps want a slight advance on the present rates, but it would pay the farmers to pay it. He moved ; That the Club recommend the farmers of Waikato, in their own interests, to refuse to have their chaff cut by machines not using the patent rings.—Seconded by Mr Fcrcst.—Mr Souter strongly supported the motion. He said Mr Short, of Kihikihi, was using the rings regularly and refused to revert to the old method.—The motion was then carried mm von

Pressed Straw.—Mr Gane asked if the Club would not do something to get the freight on pressed straw reduced. It was classed the same as chaff, but they could not get as much on a truck. —The Chairman quoted the reply given by the Minister of Railways, who was interviewed on the subject when in the district, wbich gave very little hope of anything being done in the direction Mr Gane desired.

A Six Wekks' Holiday Trip.— Mr Thus. Wells then gave a verbal resume of u holiday trip he took at the commencement of 'he year, chiefly in the South Island. The latter three weeks of the time he was accompanied by Mr Jos. Hume, of Hamilton, which made the trip a very pleasant one, as they were enabled to compare notes and discuss the capabilities of the various kinds of land and methods of farming they fell in with, in comparison with those they had left at home in the Wuikato. Mr Wells said he had submitted the few notes of the journey he had made to Mr Hume, and that gentleman had confirmed the views expressed and the estimates made therein, so he thougut they would prove reliable. He commenced the narration by giviDg the route taken, which embraced olti miles travelled by rail in the South Island, and 408 in the Sorth, a total of nearly 1000 miles on the railways. He was in Otago and Southland for nearly a month of the time, and a fortnight was spent on the return journey. The chief topic wherever he went was the phenomenal weather that was being experienced. Nothing like it had ever been known by the oldest identities. South of Dunedin it was dry, but very cold with occasional squalls, and the ranges were covered with snow. At one place he saw hailstones lying on the grouud under some trees for fully three i

hours, and lie assured his audience that a W'aikato winter was no f , nearly as had as the weather he experenced down South. On? day in February the thermometer stood at 32 degrees in Otsgu, aud the oldest inhabitant could not remember a fdmilar circumstance. Ac the Fame time in Canterbury they were having tcirihle gales, ,)Ut ,nc J ner * llotcues, which did considerable destruction. He read an extract from a paper that gave a description of a gale at Hamner, which nearly cost Mr Horsley,_ the Mayor of Liuwood, his life. He said he had similar experiences when in Canterbury, but not so dangerous. He crossed a bridge over a river that was over a mile long, where usually in the summer time only a few streamlets are to be seen meandering under it, ' ut it was a raging sea of snow wattr from the ranges at the time he went over. Referring to tho growth of the cities and their industries, he said Wellington had undoubtedly made the most advance, especially in the growth of its shipping facilities. It had become the chief distiTouting centre, and all the commercial houses were gradually gravitating there. Duuedin had much improved its harbour, and the city had a sterling appearance that denoted it had a wealthy population. For produce generally Christchurch stood preeminent, and for (esthetic beauty Auckland was an easy winner, for there waa nothing like it in the colony and very little in the world. One of the chief industries was the Kaiapoi Woollen Mills The whole of the old mill had been pulled down and a new one erected, which was, perhaps, the most extensive aud complete in the Southern Hemisphere. It was all on one lloor, made of concrete, and 400 hands were employed in it, the weekly wage bill being over £SOO._ That was exclusive of 700 employed in the Christchurch Factory. This season the Kaiapoi Company had purchased 3000 bale 3 of wool. One pleasing matter that he noticed was that no shoddy was used ; everything was wool, and a pair of blankets that would cost, eay 15s, was as good material as those costing double the money, the only difference being in colour. For a real live up-to date concern, it would be hard to beat the Belfast Freezing Works, which had a capacity for freezing 4000 sheep per day. It was complete in every way. The sheep •walk up a stage to the top of the building, beicg ably led by several decoy animals that have been trained to the business. Sixty-five butchers are employed in two rows down the centre of the building, and they kill and dress about eight eheep each per hour. The blood falls through a grating and is collected, and the offal is thrown into hoppers which conduct it into shoots, which deliver it in a lower room, where it is lorted and trucked away. The carcases are hung on swivels, which run on a rail, and a pus-h sends them along for a considerable distance into the cooling chamber. The canning works are very complete, and also the manure works. He saw a regular mountain of a brown-look-ing materi&l, aud on asking what it was he was informed it was all liver—hundreds of tons of it. If the butchers made a mistake and injured a carcase, they had to take it themselves. There was no fining in that establishment. The average weight of lambs frozen at the works was from 321 b. to 38lb. The Rakaia, which he saw at Wellington, had 67,000 carcases of sheep and lambs on board, which had all been taken in at Lyttelton. They were well acquainted with mobs of a few thousands in the Waikato, so they could estimate, by comparison, the enormous capacity of modern cargo steamers. For a considerable time he was the guest of Mr Jas. Smith, of Greenfield, who together with his sons managed their farm of over 23,000 acres. Mr Smith arrived in the colony with very little in his pocket, but by thrift and industry had acquired a large tract of rough unbroken country, and had converted it into an excellent farm. It was tot a run, but was worked as an ordinary farm, mainly by their own teams. It was all in paddocks, and was dealt with on the rotation principle. This year they had SOO acres in oats and 1700 in turnips, chiefly the Yellow Aberdeen. Owing to tho bad weather they had only 300 acres of swedes, which were ridged up, and Mr Smith thought it paid to do so. For cleaning the ground fourhorse teams and Duncan's cultivators were used, the Canadian being considered too light tor that district. Duriug the past season 30,000 sheep were shorn on the farm,which gave 486 bales of wool. The whole of the work was done by hand, the men being paid 15s per 100 and found. In Australia tho charge was 2s per 100 Ices if the machine was used, but at Greenfield the men wanted the same money, so the machine was stopped, baving access to Mr Smith's books, Mr Wells said he made a comparison, " Hand v. Machine," from work that had been done at Greenfield, and he found that the average with the Wolsley machine was 163 per man per day, but by hand labour it was only 123, a difference in fa\ our of the machine of 32 per cent., and yet the men wanted the same pay. 130,000 to 140,000 rabbits were destroyed every year on the farm, entailing a net loss of about £6OO. Twelve rabbitters were constantly employed, and poisoned oats were plentifully used. This year the oats would be cut into chaff and be sent to Punedin. They would go about 24 bags to the ton, and would make from £3 to £4 5s in Duuedin. One of the most encouraging things he met with on his trip was " Chewing's Fescue." In Southland, it was well spoken of as the best grass for " thin " poor land, by which very stony land was meant. He was mostly on the good country, and therefore saw but little of it ; but at Gillers' he saw a patch of about two acres of it, on some " thin " land, which had been down 13 years and it looked well and was covered with droppings which denoted that it was eagerly sought after by the cattle. The Auckland Agricultural Company had about 120 acres of it on the flat outside Cambridge on poor pumice land, and it had carried a lot of stock duiing the dry weather. AM that had been sown of the Chewing fescue was 91b to the acre, and it now covered the land where the other grasses, sown with it, had disappeared. Mr Wells then referred to what is an important matter to the farmers of Waikato ; namely, the freezing of lambs. He said both himself and Mr Hume agreed that the best thing for the Waikato farmers to do, would be to do their ewes well and sell their lambs tor freezing ; always provided they could get the same prices as those given in the South. Down theie the farmers did not have to trouble themselves about the freezing, for dealers bought the lambs in the paddocks, and gave 30 per cent, more than could be obtained in the Auckland Province. While he was at Greenfield, Mr Smith was offered 9s Ud per head for 4000 lambs, if he would select them from the docks. The dealers were men who kept in touch with the Old Country, and if they could got them to extend their operations to Waikato, and could get the Auckland freezing and shipping charges brought into conformity with other ports, the farmers would do well. He then quoted a few of the charges made in Auckland and other ports, to show how the farmers arc handicapped. For instance, the freezing charges in Auckland are -\d per lb, and in other ports |d; a difference of 33 per cent. Shipping charges : Aucklaud, ljd ; ether ports, 13/16d ; an extra for Auckland of 38 per cent. Putting shippiug and freezing charges together, Auckland is loaded to the extent of 37 per cent. Mr Wells said when he told soire of tho Southern people of the Auckland charges, they said they were monstrous, and that no industry could stand them. There were about a quarter of a million acres at Patctore which, if planted with Chewing's F'cscuc, would carry a sheep to the acre ; but if it would only carry half a one and they conld get the Auckland prices regulated, would bring them

settlers who would give good prices for their gcoi land. At the present purchasers were afraid of a large proportion being poor land. It they could get p'euty of Chewing's ft'scue on their poor hinds, and sugar-beet on the good soil, Au kland would yet come out on the top. If tiny eon Id get culled ewc3 fiom Hawke's Bay in February, and sell the lambs in December and the ewes immediately after—which ."houid about briug the cost, or nearly so—the farmer would have the lambs and the fleeces as profit. The ewes should do well, and also the lambs, for it was alter the weaning that the trouble came. By that system the stock would be cleared annuilly. The weather had, Mr Wells estimated, caused a shrinkage of 35 per cent, in the crops of Otago and Southland. The oats in the latter province were not 20 inches high, and the wheat but little better. At Greenfield the crops were estimated to have lost 20 per cent, all round, and the pasturage 50 per cent. In conclusion, Mr Wells said takiog things on the whole the Waikato was as good as any place he had been in, except for the freezing charges, etc. When he icturned home he saw more grass—bad as they thought it —than was to be seen on the whole of the East Coast he travelled. Every time he went on these holiday trips—which was at intervals of about seven years—he returned more contented with the Waikato, so he counselled its inhabitants to be contented with their lot. —Mr Gane said they were all indebted to Mr Wells for the information he had given them. He would like to know if there would be as much chaff and potatoes coming from the South this yoar —Mr Wells did not think there would be nearly as much chaff, but he was not competeut to speak as to the potatoos.—Mr Forrest said they must have the dealers from the South.—Several questions were asked and answered and a vote of thanks to Mr Wells terminated the meeting.