ON THE LAND

New Zealand Tablet, 30 October 1919, Page 43

ON THE LAND

}'■/ . J ©S MARKET REPORTS. 3 | At Burnside last week there was 1 a medium yarding of fat cattle, 135 being penned, consisting of medium to good quality, with a few pens of ;„ prime bullocks. There was a keen demand, and prices showed an advance of up to 30s on previous week's rates. Prime heavy 'bullocks £3l 10s to £45, prime bullocks £24 10s to £29, medium £2O to £24, light <£l7- 10s - upwards, prime cows and heifers £2O to £24, medium £l7 to £l9, light £l2 upwards. Fat sheep: There was a medium yarding, 1620 being penned, consisting of medium to good quality. Competition as keen, and prices showed an advance of Is to 2s per head on previous week's rates. Prime wethers 57s to 68s, medium 50s to 575; light' 43s upwards, prime heavy ewes to 60s, prime 47s to 545, medium 42s to 465, light 35s upwards. Lambs: There were 22 penned, and these sold from 26s to 355. Pigs: There was a small yarding of both fat and store pigs. * Fat pigs met with keen competition, and showed an advance of 10s per head on previous week's rates. . The yardings at Addington last week were smaller than the previous week, particularly of fat stock. There were, only four races of sheep, as compared with six the previous week, and 165 cattle, as compared with 334. Prices for fat sheep jumped from 5s to 7s, and for exceptionally prime sorts more than that. Fat lambs: 103 penned. The demand was keen. Good lambs brought up to 39s 9d, and medium 34s 6d. Fat cattle: 160 head (half the previous week's number) penned. This was insufficient for butchers' requirements, and a sharp rise of several pounds per head took place, the rate for the grtater part of the sale averaging £4 per 1001 b. Prime steers £32 10s to £37, ordinary £l4 to £2O, prime heifers £l7 to £25 12s 6d, ordinary £8 7s 6d to £ls, extra prime cows to £24 ss, prime £l4- to £2O, ordinary £9 15s to £l3. Fat sheep: A small yarding met "with a keen demand, and there was a sharp rise, several exceptionally prime wethers bringing 85s and 86s. Extra prime wethers to 86s, prime 64s 6d to 73s 6d, medium 52s to 60s, lighter 35s to 495, extra prime ewes 695, prime 545, medium 43s to 525, lighter -32 s to 41s, prime hoggets 54s to 635, lighter to 45s 6d. Vealers: The demand was keen, with a rise in prices. Runners £9 10s, good vealers £3 5s to £4 15s, fair vealers 45s to 50s, small and inferior 5s to 40s. Pigs A medium entry. There was a drop in prices. Extra heavy baconers to £8 lss, heavy £7 to £7 10s, medium £5 10s to £6 10s (equal to 9|d to lOd per lb), heavy porkers £4 10s to £5, medium £3 15s to £4 5s (equal to Hid to Is per lb), choppers £7 to £ll. ■-."-:■ ■->■■. -:- : . •-■ . .... ~..-.y/, f; Messrs. Donald Reid and Co. report sale of rabbitskins as follows: —Large catalogues were again submitted to a full attendance of buyers. Competition was keen for the better grades of skins, which may be quoted firm at late values. The quality of the skins on offer was not as good on the whole as a fortnight ago, there being a much larger offering of outgoing skins. Although these sold well, the bidding was erratic at times. A few lots : of selected does brought up to 220 d per lb, and a few lots of super bucks to 151 d per lb. The following is a range of prices obtained: Runners and- suckers 14d to 15d per /lb, light racks 30d to 32d per lb, summers 25d to 27d per lb, prime racks 42d to 44d per lb; autumns 80d to 90d per lb, incoming winters IOOd to 106 d per lb, second winter bucks to 120 d per lb, first winter bucks to 140 d per lb, second winter does to 200 d per lb, first winter does to-210d per lb, super does to 218 d per lb, outgoing does to 121 d per lb, outgoing bucks 97d per lb, winter broken to 60d per lb, 'first winter blacks to 182 d per lb, second winter blacks 130 d per lb, winter fawns to lOld per lb, springs to 62d per lb, milky does to 43d per lb, hareskins j to 43d per lb, catskins to Is each, horsehair to 20Jd per lb. ,?;, ABOUT POTATOES. :../,,,It is rather curious that practically all over the world the gathering of the potato crop is carried out in conjunction with the destruction of the plant. Lately it has been

proved ? that an ; enormous ■- increase in the yield may be ensured if "the plan of picking v the potatoes.' is adopted. Some interesting tests on the following lines were made in England with astonishing i results. When- the ?, potato"; plants had grown to a fair extent ! -the largest tubers that could ; be discovered were grubbed up. These w-ere located, and taken'with as little T injury to the roots and shoots : as possible. -'"A second gathering of tubers was made after about another.; month. It'' was noticed that after* the tubers had been picked the plants started to grow- with renewed vigor. . ; ; HOW TO GROW ONIONS. ■ >j ~< The following culled from a British gardening zine may he>p those desirous of growing - onions : —Give the onion plot a dressing of wood ashes, soot, lime, and road grit if the natural soil is of a heavy, tenacious character. Choose a dry day to fork over the surface six inches down, breaking the clods '/as';, the work proceeds.: Allow it to settle down for a few days. Choose again a dry day to rake over the surface, removing the large stones and any rubbish. If the soil is light in character, treat the surface firmly over and rake again before sowing. Draw small, drills with the corner of a hoe, sow the seed,. and cover with a compost of wood ashes, soot, and old potting soil, with a handful of lime added. This addition is an inducement to quick growth. Fill in the drills, beat down hard, and rake. evenly. ' • „«?_-' SHADE THE DRINKING WATER. j ; :J Cows, like drinking water that is cool and clean. At least, this is what the manager of'a certain big Jersey dairy farm in Hennepin County, Minnesota, U.S.A., thinks. So lie has built a roof over the watering trough in the barnyard that aids in keeping the water for his imported Jerseys both cool and clean. The round watering trough, in the .first place, has been built in a corner of the yard under some willow trees. To put on the cover, six heavy posts, each about Bft high, were set up outside the trough. On top of the posts a neat six-faced cupola roof has been built that extends out over the sides of the watering troughto -protect it from the rays of the sun and from dirt. "We consider this one of the best things round the place," says the manager. "It costs but little, and while there is no way 'of estimating what it brings in returns, we feel that as an investment in material and work it pays dividends far out of proportion to the initial expense." ELECTRIC PLOUGHING. , ~, Several methods have been devised for applying electric haulage to ploughs, and the latest is a British invention, which shows ' great originality and ingenuity. If serves three purposesploughing, drainage, and transport. The inventor proposes that overhead tracks shall be erected on A-shaped steel or ferro-concrete frames, so as to form parallel lines on opposite sides of the ground to be- cultivated. On each track is an electric traveller, with a winding drum, which hauls on an endless rope, to which the plough or other implement is attached. By making the implement double-ended, it can be hauled backwards and forwards without turning at the end of each journey. Underneath the line of A-shaped frames is constructed the main concrete drain, and the digging of mole drains leading into the main drain can be carried out by a draining machine hauled in the same way as the plough. By extending the system of overhead tracks, they may be used to carry materials and produce between the field and the farm or the main road. Where the ground is undulating, the level of the track is preserved by making the supports longer or shorter as required. Although this T equipment may seem costly, it is not so in effect, as it includes drainage and transport, and renders hedges, ditches, and roads unnecessary. The use of electric power also cuts out the necessity of carting fuel or water . for field operations. For intensive cultivation on modern lines this well-thought-out invention should have a most interesting future. '