ON THE LAND

New Zealand Tablet, 4 July 1918, Page 37

ON THE LAND

The Head of the Lake correspondent of the Wakatip Mail states that the squatter's enemy the kea has been working havoc amongst the flocks on' the high country this autumn. This pest, when he feels that way inclined, can do an enormous amount of damage in a very short time, and with the prices ruling at present for stock the loss he inflicted on the squatter is very serious. Dairy produce exports being now in their millions of pounds, and dairy factory property and dairy herds so valuable and extensive, it is to be proposed at the Palmerston North Conference—" That the time has arrived when a co-operative insurance company should be formed for the purpose of taking over all dairy companies' risks." Dairy produce insurance business now handled by State and private offices has become a- very big thing, and some farmers feel that they should do the business for their own profit. At the National Beekeepers' Association Conference lately held the Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald said that the beekeepers had an offer from a certain firm at a remunerative figure for all the honey that could be produced for export". The arrangements would remain in force during the period of the war and for some considerable time afterwards. The industry never looked brighter. The president (Mr. Barker) advocated the compulsory registration of beekeepers. The most economical way of feeding straw is to chaff and mix it with other more nourishing and appetising food. For cattle it is usually mixed with sliced or pulped roots, crushed cake or meal, and treacle water, and allowed to stand overnight. A slight fermentation sets up which softens the straw and further adds to the palatibility of the mixture. The quality of clover hay depends largely on the condition in which it is stored. If cut in full bloom, and well saved without being rained on, or bleached from over-exposure to the sun, it is twice as valuable as that cut when ripe and dry or unduly exposed to rain and sun. The thicker the stand of clover the finer will be the growth and also the feeding quality. In view of the development of the dairy industry and the prospect of the erection of a dried milk factory, there was a big attendance at the auction sale of the Ivonini flats (says a Press Association telegram from Pahiatua). Forty-eight acres were sold for <£B6 per acre, and the remainder of the land at .£4O per acre. The subdivision of large runs, and scientific farming, with an intelligent use of fertilisers, changed the Waikato from a land of want to a place of plenty (said the Hon. D. 11. Guthrie, Minister of Lands, when speaking of the progress of that district the other day). In the Waikato, people with an accurate knowledge of history call a grateful blessing rather than the common curse on the memories of squatters. Long years ago men with large ideas of prosperity, long banking accounts, and a shortage of experience, went into the Waikato. They took up large blocks on easy terms, but they learned painfully that it was one thing to buy an estate cheaply and another thing to run it successfully. They imported the best of dairying stock, and altogether they worked hard in the wilds—and the result was the foundation of prosperity for others. The original pioneers spent large sums, counted as lost so far as they were concerned, but the "spade-work" of those stout-hearted ''squatters" prepared the way for profitable settlement by a later generation.

Mr. C. Branigan, Government Fields Inspector, stationed at Ashburton, who has been on a visit of inspection to the back country, states that a very mild winter was experienced until a fortnight ago, when heavy snow-storms set in. On the back stations it was found necessary to engage gangs of snow-rakers k to rescue the sheep, many of which had been smothered, but it will be impossible to estimate the loss until the spring. The mild winters of late have caused stationholders to take risks, and they were "caught napping," having delayed to get their sheep on to safer country before the snow fell.

THE HONEY CROP.

The Director of the Horticulture Division of the Department of Agriculture has received from the apiary instructors the following latest report concerning the honey crop prospects: Auckland.—There is little further to report this month. The keen demand for honey has slackened somewhat. Beeswax is in demand at 2s per lb, with but little offering. Wellington.—Practically all this season's crop has been extracted or sold pending extraction from the combs. Prices realised average Is per lb. There is no pat honey coming forward. Comb honey is also scarce. Beeswax is in keen demand at 2s per lb. Export lines continue to come freelv into the grading store. Dunedin. There is practically no alteration. The bulk of the crop has been dealt with, but a few small lines are still to come forward. Prices are firm. Local market quotations show no decline. Bulk honey, 9Ad to lOd ; sections, 7s Gd to 10s: pat honey, none forward. Beeswax is in strong demand, and is quoted at 2s per lb.