THE COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16156, 9 March 1918, Page 3

THE COUNTRY.

NEWS AND NOTES

PHOSPHATE SUPPLY

THE GOVERNMENT BONUS

The supply of marketable phosphates for manurii.l purposes has been recently referred to by the Hon. W. I>. S. Mac Donald, Minister of Agriculture, and lie again draws attention to the bonus offered by the Government for the discovery ati,.l working of deposits

(including guanoj within the Donunion. including: the Cook Islands. 1 Government offers £1000 bonus if the deport is found on Government land, and £500 il on other land.

The conditions which the Government ina'-tc* for the payment of th° bonus are as follows: 1, That no fertiliser containing material from the posit, or from any deposit in the neighbourhood. lias been placed upon the market previous to the date hereof. -• That the raw material is reasonably accessible and can be worked at a pront. 3, That a committee to bo appointed by the Minister of Agriculture to examine the deposit is satisfied ' that there is sufficient to warrant payment of the bonus: provided that il a small deposit is discovered a pro]X>rtion ot the bomi> offcred will be paid on and in aecoid- j iince with liie recommendation of the committee. -J. That the fertiliser made from tho phosphate can be disposed of at a price which will allow oj its being remuneratively used for agricultural purposes. 5,* That the composition of the phosphate averages not less than •'«J per cent, of phosphate, of lime (tncalcic phosphate); provided, however, that should a phosphate of a lower average composition be discovered, the comini - tee inav recommend that a portion or the bonus be granted. 6'. That the bonus shall only '"5 paid to tho his claimant, who satisfies the above conditions. The terms of payment shall bo— One-fifth on the committee reporting favourably of the discovery; one-liltn on delivery of tho first- 200 tons to purchasers: the remaining three-fifths equal pavments on delivery of each additional 'li'O tons to purchasers. Specimens of rock may be seen at an. offices of the Agricultural Department Field Inspectors, and a leaflet descriptive of tho mineral and explaining roughly how it may be tested, can also be obtained. HANMER SPRINGS. V social was held in the Queen Alary Hospital on Thursday evening Songs were given bv Miss Gocgin Corporal Dobson. Mr Woods, and ox-feergeant-Maior Ridgeway, a pianoforte selection bv Airs Buchanan, and a violin solo >y Pnvntc. Marshall. The music for the dance was played by Miss Summers and Miss McNaughton An excellent supper" was provided bv the ladie*. During ail interval the following prizes were presented: Ping-pong tournament, Corporal Newman; photographic competition, Sergeant Roper l. taptain Clifton '2 ; marking ■ P'g s eve, Lance-Corporal Fairbairn. Mr and .Mrs Whitmore were made the recipients of a purse of sovereigns each on the occasion of their leaving Hanraer Springs. Mr Whitmore has been postmaster for over 10 years, and has been transferred to Mongonui, in the Noa-th Island. Mr Murray- m making the presentation to Mr Wliitmore, on bohalf of the residents, spoke very highly of all that he had done, and wished him every s-uccess in his ne»v > sphere. The presentation to M' s • Whitmore was made by the soldiers and Red Cross workers. Mrs Wnitmore has been a most energetic worker for the Red Cross, and her services ■ will he greatly- inissed. Dr. Hendry. > who made the presentation, said that I she carried awnv- with her the good wishes of all for her future happiness.

. amberley. The Oddfellows' Hall was a scene of life on the occasion of the-annual ewe sale,' when luncheon and afternoon tea were provided by 'Amberley parishioners The proceeds of these and ol a sweet stall, a few sales of work "" d toys, together with a lamb weight competition, brought in over £ii of spent later upon painting the chinch, the vicarage, and the P aris ]* 1 , 0 ?' Hundreds of visitors were catered foi, and it called forth all the energy and strategy of a lady organiser, who with a host of others, had ample work provided for them from early morn till dewy eve. The result must have given them the liveliest satisfaction. ladbrooks. The weather during the week has been unsatisfactory for Investing, the rain stopping chair-cutting and tmeshin<r for wo days. There is a good demand for chaft, and large quantities have been solu this week, and are being sent away. The potato crops are sutfennglrom the blight, in several cases the i\hole croo being ruined. . Our local farmers are anxiously awaiting the decision of the Government regarding the price of wheat lor next season. . , . The vield lor last week s threshin ra did not come "p to expectations, tho wheat average being 2o bushels to tlir acre, and barley 40 bushels Ih.s week the avorage was about the same. So far the chaff is not turning'on<very heavy, but there are some exce - i lent samples still in stack. . drafts of sheep have arrived ■ here during the week, being principally purchased to eat off the spaie , feed, which is very plentiful just now, [ ospeciallv rape crops, which are the - be«t. for the last three years. Mr J. J. McCarthy lias so far rc- • covered from his recent illness as to be » able to drive out and attend to his ■! farming duties. r \ very successful garden party was - held at" Thornill. Broadficlds. the iv--1 sidence of Mr T-T. l'aterson. The pro--1 coeds were in aid of the funds ol ! the i Lincoln Presbyterian Church. A f large number of guests were present. Games of all descriptions wore in--3 clulged in. and Mr and Mrs Paterson s spared no pains to see that all present enjoyed themselves. Afternoon tea k was served on the lawn, and the guests r voted the outing a thoroughly enjoy- " able one. 5 Private W. E. Bartrum, of Lincoln, 1 left for ramp this week. He is attached to the 30th Reinforcements.

DAR FIELD. Arrangements are well in hand in connexion -with the horticultural show, to be held nest week. Owinjj; to j Mr 11. Thompson going into cam ) i for home service, Mr T. I. Mellwraith has been aopointerl secretary. -\ lrs J. KeM "and Mr L. R. 'V lhs have been appointed to the executive. It was decided to have all exhib. r > staged by eleven a.m. on the day of the show. At the Red Cross nieetm" on Tuesday, different ladies ere •appointed to take charge nf the tinchcon. afternoon tea. and supper arrangements. A number of competitions are being arranged. AKAROA. At a meeting of the Akaroa vancement Association, it was resolved that/ the Education Board be approachccl with an offer ol nearly half the as a denosit on the old school bite, the balance to remain until twelve montlis j after the war. It was decided to con- j tinue the insertion of advertisement* extolling the attractions of Akaroa. for | another three months, in the main New j Zealand daily papers. It was reported that this season had easily constituted a record in regard to the number of visitors to the town. MnHi of thi- sneers was. it helievo'l. due to the Asf-nciation's energetic > efforts.

OKAUfS BAY. The induction of the Rev. H. J. j Allen as vicar of Banks Peninsula East, took place on Thursday overling. \ In the unavoidable absence of his Lord- | ship Bishop Julius, the Rev. Mr Mo- j Clavcrty. vicar of Little River, officiated. There was a large attendance. This season has been most favourable to the growth. of grass, and the hills have never lost their green appearance. Very heavy seas have been experienced. Old residents state that they were the heaviest, for over twenty years. HINDS. Harve-t in the Hinds district is nearly -finished. Already a good deal of crop has been threshed, and the yields are generally satisfactory. Grain carting has commenced, and the station yard presents a busy s-cene while loading into trucks is going on. Mr Webber, the new Presbyterian missionary, with his wife and family, is abont to settle at Hinds. The Education Board i - making some repairs at the local school, employing its own workmen to do the work. "BOOMING SHEEP VALUES.'" xo the editor of "the mi ess." Sir.—Please allow me a little space for brief reference to the pivx-ut exploitation in sheep prices l.iv ;i lew dealers who have iki further interest in tho business except what they can squeeze out of the lii-.rest farmer, the backbone of the country. Talk of a Development Loague lor liie furtherance ol Norlli and South Canterbury, is simply useless rntii tiic undesirable ilealer is eliminated, or :>t least limited, by law, from profiteering at the expense of the man requiring ewes for legitimate purposes

A. good many instances can be vouched ior this season so far, where the original seller in the first placc sold to dealers at a good, fair price, and would do the same again, knowing price to be the genuine, correct value. Tho same line, notably ewes, was sold and resold two or three times, arid values bumped by Bs. 10>, to 13s, and, of course, in nearly every case foisted on to the unfortunate man seeking ewes for legitimate use. This exploitation is encouraged by some firms encouraging the dealing for the commission remuneration, and until the business is limited by legislation, the abuses will continue, and the consistent man .seeking ewes for legitimate use will be exploited to the uttermost farthing. It is inevitable that some reaction must eventuate before long, and that prices must fall —if not before the dealers unload, at least immediately alter. Fattening is unduly delayed and prolonged this year owing to the abundance of tho grass feed, and in consequence of so much water in teed delaying fattening, which will Ik 3 further reduced oO per cent, after the end of March. It is a moral certainty the carry-over of unfinished lambs, and lambs impossible to '■nisi;, will be very considerable. The turnip c:op is by no means an assured success, and the area a very limited one. It is absolutely impossible to have thtee things, viz. : Eixtreme prices, inadequate dear turnip crop, and a big carry-over of sheep supplies. The one is a contradiction to the other, to say nothing or the sort of winter we may get, and last, hut not least, the possibility of stringent. finance in the near sweet bv-and-bye. I havj already sufficiently emphasised the foregoing for the serious consideration of common-sense thinkers, and trust- some good may result in the amending of the serious things enumerated. —Yours, etc., PRACTICAL FARMER.