CURRENT TOPICS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19957, 18 June 1930, Page 8

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE WHEAT AREA. It was generally believed early in the season that .as the result of the low prices of sheep products this year there would be a decided, "swing" towards wheat-growing for ■ next season. Later developments, however, justify pome qualification of this belief. The Wheat FO6I Board is collecting estimates of areas sown and intended to be sown from its members, and in addition figures have been supplied in some districts by free-growers, and the weight of evidence so far is that the area will differ little from last season—i.e., 234,500 acres. This is a considerable drop on the 300,000 acres forecasted some months ago. Various causes for the shrinkage may bo suggested. First of all the last crop has turned out —so far at all events—much better than imagined, and with the heavy carryover of wheat from the preceding year the market for next crop is not promising, so well as it did. The possibility of a further, over-supply has caused many who had decided to put in a hundred acres or more to change their policy. Second, there has been a considerable area of light land cropped this last two or threo years, and this class of land can only stand a wheat crop once in every rotation. More frequent crops than this are attended with serious risk, as was demonstrated this last season, when the dry summer played havoc with manjr light land crops. Third, finance has been so bad and the market for stock, so depressed that farmers had to face a big sacrifice by selling sheep to make room for wheat, and the improvement in wool and lamb values this last month or more further modified their intention to make a change. It is therefore probable t<hat the 1930-31 area will not vary much from the recent one, or, at all events, it will not exceed it by the extent thought probable early in the Beason. A aoob PUBLICIST.

Speaking at a welcome tendered to him by his tenants in Ayrshire on his return from New Zealand, the ex-Gov-ernor-Cjeneral of the Dominion, Sir Charles Fergusson, said that New Zealand was becoming a very serious competitor in the markets of the world, and especially with Denmark. That development of the country had been brought about principally by the "pioneers who had gone out ninety years ago to what was practically a wilderness of forest, scrub, and bnsh, and who had made the country almost a paradise. Many of , those "pioneers, he was pleased to say, were Scottish, and no-vy their descendants Veremaldng New Zealand a country that was the highest' 3eg?eo. v MILE UNDEB STANDARD. Tho Home milk purveyor who Tends under-standard milk—by accidentdoes not risk the stigma of a charge of 'selling milk with "added water" as he 4ops ,in the Dominion, An agricultural journal records that an interesting' case was 'decided recently , by the"j Lanarkshire (Scotland) Sheriff. A idairy farmer • was charged with selling milk deficient in fat and non-fat solids. . The milk in dispute waß a consignment consisting of two separate milkings—morning's milk and previous night's milk. Separate samples were taken of the two' milkings unmixed. The previous night's milk vr&B all right, but the morning's milk was not quite up to standard. As the complainer. could not find the whole consignment bad, he averaged tho; two saihples, which brought out butter-fat above the standard; but slightly' under in other solids, and he asked for a conviction pn, the...alternative basis. A#_. regards the weakness of the morning sample, the SherifO accepted the plea of "tho respondent that it was as it came from the cowj but the interesting point was that he held that the complaint was not relevantly stated, in respect that it sought primarily a conviction for aq alleged contravention Upori an jinalysis of one sample representative only of a portion of the consignment, whereas in such circumstances the whole consignment must be the subject of analysis .as a unit, and as a whole found to be below the 'emulation standards;' The samples, said the Sheriff, might well have been consion to the analyst. While deci ling as he did, he vbry properly suggested. that dairy farmers, knowing that .certain conditions tender to lower the quality of jnilk, would do well to acquaint their customers of the state of matters, and. perhaps suspend deliveries, rather than run the risk of prosecution, even although they might be successfully defended. This case is believed to be the first of its kind.

CEREALS FOE STOCK. In view of the successful experiments carried out by Lincoln College in regard to the feeding of cereals to stock, it is interesting to quote Home advice to the same effect. Captain John MacGillivray, of Calrossie, the famous breeder of Shorthorn cattle, makes the very useful suggestion that in view of the high price of cakes during the past few years, sufficient use has not been made of the cereal crop for: the foeding. of cattle and rheep. He maintains—andno.one win question his expcric- . states the "North Britisli Agriculturist"—that there is no better feed for feeding or breeding animals than boiled barley, and when thoroughly cooked and poured over a cooler full of hashed cats, some bran, and cut hay, and well mixed, this can beat the best cake ever made, either for cattle or sheep. The oats themselves are perhaps too heating, ' but. tho barley >anjl .bran counter =thaV and along: with the. cut hay act as a drier, for. tha-whole: mixture. It: has been - said that boiled barley may be 'doubtful for horses, although Captain MacGillivray" is not prepared, to accept that view. But, in any case, he is strongly of opinion that if a moire general practice, of feeding cereals to cattle and sheep were adopted, it go far to adjust the price of grain and. cakes in different diirctions. Ca. 'n MacGillivray.; recalls in this cootfexion. the/success of the late Ross (of .SmitMeld , cattle feeding -fame}, who -\vaß an- ex•jmTt in' "the preparation and feeding of ; steamed foods- in ' the- manner indicated. The obvious' comment is that a system so ; notably successful then u well worthfoUowbag n^w,

"WORLD'S BEEF SOABOTTT.* Recently there has been in' England between Sir Haldane,'who haa made an inspection of the' South' American meat : pbsjtio% and; the head of the packing firm of in regard to the world's beef Supplies. Sjr William Haldane, had been stressing the fact that thesis' a great'decline In beef production ■in North America, which country has' had to augment its supplies from ' outside ■ ■ ' Ths lioad' of the pjickine firm claimed that there was plenty of beef, and concmaea the argument —to his' own satisfaction, at all events—by statihg that the difference between Sir William's ideas and his own was that he knew what he was talking about—Sir William didn't. But theweight of evidence would appear to- support the Haldane claim. A contribution from South Africa is strongly confirmative, "tho parlous state of the beef export trade of that country and the -urgent need for its development and stabilisation through the paying of a bounty by the Government on cattle or meat exported, were points emphasised in a recent issue of the "Cape Times" by Major G. E. Bichards, a well-known South 'African. At present, he ' declared,... there, was a world shortage' of beef, brought about chiefly by increasing consumption in the United States at a time '•'when the ; local supplies are showing a marked falling off. 'America had reduced her beef cattle to a figure lower than at any time during the last 50 years, and had far from sufficient killable'beef to meet her immediate d<!-, mands. During the paist two/yearsj America had,' therefore, to draw upon' outside supplies, and had already, exhausted air the "surplus in Canada and New Zealand, and was now looking to Australia for her requirements. "The effect of this on the English supplies has been most marked," said Major Richards. "England's only outside source of supply to-day 'is . the Argentine, and she has had to fall back on her own local supplies, with most disastrous results. *' England has reduced her own cattle by over 300,000 in a little more than two years, and is still killing faster than she can breed. In consequence, the price of beef in England has, during the last two years, risen by 19J per cent."

HOME POTATO GLUT. The area in potatoes in Scotland this yenr wnu 145,000 acres, and the crop of 1,155,000 tons (8 tons, per aero), about 360,000 tons more than In 1927, the last jear in which the. whole of the crop was marketed. In 1928, 475,000 tons were imported at a value of about £5,000,000, while a considerable portion of the Scottish' crop was either wasted or -fed to-cattle.- During 192728 potato importations cost the country £9,000,000. A "Pool" has been suggested as a remedy against foreign importation, but it is considered that its value • would be doubtful unless 100 per cent, strong. New potatoes in South Africa wore selling recently at 6s a bag, and it was considered that, shipped to England, they would/be worth ,£2 a .bag, providing they are .of right sizej and arrive in good, condition, in ; the. seaWfi to .March. Apparently the Home gf'ower is beset on all sides—Continental "importations in the season, and that from further afield in the "off."