Agricultural Affairs.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXIX, Issue 5704, 25 April 1911, Page 4

Agricultural Affairs.

The Taranaki Herald says that the potato grub is already in that district, a representative having been shown a specimen of locally-grown potatoes riddled by the grub. These potatoes, whon dug a little over a week before and bagged, showed no sign of infection, but when seen all were more or lesß infected.

Far the largest consignment of apples ever shipped from Victoria in one steamer was sent away in the steamer Pera, which left last week for the United Kingdom. The consignment consisted of 32,000 cases, a number which is greater than the whole of Victoria’s exports eleven years ago.

Sheep are being sent forward to the freezing works in South Canterbury faster than they can be dealt with, and in consequence there has been a blockage at the works on several occasions lately. Farmers have all been wanting to get their sheep away in a hurry owing to shortage of feed. A correspondent of a Taranaki paper says that the recent rain was welcome, but it came too late to keep the milk supply up. “The season has been a very short one,” he says. “ This year the cattle are not looking too well to begin the winter, and most of the farmers are feeding their cows on corn to keep the milk supply up as much as they can, but still the yield goes down.”

News comes from Charleville, in the western portion of Queensland, of a great droving feat, which reminds us that that romantic profession is not yet extinct. Mr Albert Williams arrived at the Millie boundary in charge of a mob of 2G06 head of cattle, which ho and his mates had driven across the continent. They came from Lissadalo and Argyle Downs stations, and travelled over 2400 miles. The trip was particularly rough. “This creamery has practically made the district,” said a speaker at the opening of the new well of the Springston creamery, Canterbury. “ Before the creamery was started, the district was sparsely settled and the people so poor that they could not support a school or send their children to school decently clad. The cheques from the creamery wero a great help to them, and the district soon became more closely settled and the people better off. Now that the creamery has been improved by obtaining such a fine flow of water, the district ought to go ahead very rapidly.” The news that in consequence of the dearness of food in Switzerland the Government, after prolonged deliberation, hue consented to the importation of frozen meat from over seas is of considerable importance to Australia and New Zealand. Dr Buergi, the expert, sent some time ago to London, warmly recommended the importation. The duty will bo 25 francs per 100 kilograms, which later will probably be reduced to 10 francs. At the higher rate the duty is something over Id per lb, but even after meeting such a charge colonial mutton could be sold at a price much lower than that which must now he paid for meat of similar quality in Switzerland.

There is a somewhat booming market for pedigree pigs in America just now. Pork has been at prices which curtail consumption. The public has a right to rebel when a rasher of bacon reaches a prohibitive price, Bays the Breeders 1 Gazette. There is room for material expansion in pig breeding, but, as usual, the country seems rushing headlong toward another era of over - production. The American farmer seems to seek either a feast or a famine. Neither is conducive to the best digestion. So intent is the farmer in his chase after swine that he is putting the cattle situation on his blind side. That eye will be opened presently, but the operation will have cost him money that could have been easily made. An Edinburgh dairyman, who was recently charged with selling morning milk which only showed 2.32 per cent of butter-fat was acquitted. fn this case an appeal was made to the cow, and the analysis of the milk taken direct from the udder corresponded with that of the sample. The position taken up by the respondent was that exhaustive enquiries by means of analyses wero made a number of years ago by Dr. Stevenson Macadam, and these all showed that in cases of city cows it was impossible, with the best available management, to maintain the morning milk drawn at 3 a.m., after an interval of 13 hours, at a standard of 3 per cent butter fat. The respondent, therefore, knew that all

he could do was to use bis beat judg raent in buying bia cowa, in feeding them, and in bouaing them, and that bis duty to the public waa entirely discharged when he eold them the genuine product of theße cows. There waa absolutely nothing abnormal iu the cows or their treatment, as was admitted by the prosecutor. The Judge who heard the case was plainly antagonistic to the dairyman, but he could only give the verdiot in light of the evidence. A New South Wales resident has patented in the Commonwealth and New Zealand a collapsible butter box of a neat, durable, and labour saving order. The device is exceedingly simple. Made of three eighth New Zealand white pine, it is claimed to be the lightest box on the market. The four sides of the box are of equal measurements. The sides are grooved and fitted into grooved corners, with the top and end pieces nailed to the corners, eight nails being sufficient to hold the box intact as against over forty in the present nailed box, The whole when together is perfectly rigid and vyco like. It has been put to the most severe handling possible, as buxes have been Bhipped to Sydney from the Clarence full of butter in the ordinary way and arrived there in sound condition—one of the boxes even going the length Of falling from the top of a loaded wagon on to the metalled road, with no other damage than a crack along one of the sides. At present two sizes are made—the ordinary for export purposes (561 b), and the local (281 b).