THE FARM INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 534, 15 June 1909, Page 10

THE FARM INDUSTRY.

t'. — ; —♦ , ; OUR PRODUCTS. f ' SEASONS COMPARED. WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT YEAR. ' Not since 1901 has New Zealand exporter! _ 2,000,000 bushels of wheat —tho quantity Y which she is expected to send away this year; . Tho value of this surplus (estimated at 45.; s por bushel), would bo £400,000. It is eleven i years sinco wo exported wheat of such valuo. - 11l tho great year, 1897, when tho total wheat t yield was just over 13,000,000 bushels, tho ; exportablo surplus would ho about 7",000,000 • bushels. In tho subsequent years the quantities and values have been as follow: — Bushels. Valuo, £ 1808 ■ .... .., 26,817 5,190 . 1899 ' 101,035 13,770 1900 ~.. , ... 3,354,211 390,541 j 1001 ... ... 2,734,007 339,4021902 1,904,923 234,775' 1903 : 156,096 28,760 ." ' 1904. ... ... 296,812 47,483 . , 1905 i ... ... 551,799 84,935 • 1905 . 782,223 '115,282 1906 229,023 . 36,157 i 1907 17,014 3,025. • 1908- ... ... 1,385 • 344 1909 - 2,000,000 400,000 . The second figures for 1905 represent, tho exportation between March and September, . when tho closing date of the official year was changed to tho latter month. It is expected the wheat areas of tho coming season will be equal to- thoso of tho last, and as things go now, wbcatgiowing pays. In oats there is a similar abundance, but prices are less buoyant. Tho total yield has been about 17,000,000 bushels, but nearly all Npw Zealand oats are consumed in this country. The yields and export for a series of years show hoiv little wo depend on foreign oat markets:— Yield, Exported, Export Year. Bushels. Bushels. Valuo £ 1897-8 ... 9,738,391 ' 1,453,121 152,722 > ffi?, - 16 .511,388 1,217,190 123,415 1899-00 ... 16,325,832 4,597,487 401,063 ' 1900-1 ... 19,035,837 ' 6,208.791 '565,019 1901-2 ... 15,045,233 8,587,487 761,483 1902-3 i ... 21,766,708 5,707,524 726,738 1903-1. 15,107,237 4,913,889 418,493 1904-5 ... 14,553,611 2,247,342 184,953 — 12,707,982 831,943 85,803 1906-7 ... 11,201,789 ,■ 208,472 ' 23,468 1907-8 ... 15,021,861 — — -.1908-9 ... 17,000,000 — . — • Tho only other cereal of oonsequcncc is barley, of which the season's crop is about 1,700,000 bushels. In meat the output of tho season will bo easilya record in quantity, though perhaps not in total return, as tho prices have been lower than .usual. The milLon frozen sheep and lambs sent away last month, and tho 600,000 that are likely to_ go this month, give some indication of the unusual extent of this year s . operations. Tho fear lest tho heavy export should havo unduly depleted our flocks continues to bo expressed in some quarters; and perhaps the ' fear is strengthened by the view, that farmers would be tempted (by their alleged financial embarrassments of earlier in the season) to realise j eeY e that could be fattened, even at tho risk of diminishing the permanent flocks, out this is apparently only guesswork, for the- best, authorities—those, handling stock or acting .as agents for., the bis sheopowners— say that, as an actual fact, tao flocks are not undulv depleted. Tho heavy lambing of Jast year has been to carry the whole ' of-talis big exporting season, and conditions of weather and feed this season have produced)expectations of anotheiSbig lambing •Next; spring, the outlook in. that.. direction■ • being even brighter than '"tfooutlook';, ofi, twelve months.ago. A big crop of wool is also expected, and, with closing prices high and rising, the season ]ust nnished has strengthened the position. .po dairying outlook, of course, is-still ox- ' cellent. A reduction in butter prices appears 1 to have conie, but, even at present .quotations, dairying js a paying proposition. Pro- 1 bably it is the fear of a further, or at least 1 a reduction in butter values, that ;1 has mainly influenced thoso farmers who are J calling for cheese factories. Possibly the same view will .bo- held- by those ] - who annually bid for the factory outputs, 1 °5? . ma y c sP e cfc that 'their offers ! fcj tw V prudently low/. One may 1 hepoihat inversely, their offers for ohooso , will bo recklessly high, for the ohecso out- ] look is certainly encouraging. Perhaps on a 1 general new 0 f tho • conditions that exist, it E may be,wise of factory directors, in the tor- « gams to come, to consign butter and sell

" FUNDS PERMITTING."

NORta'ANBY VOTES FOR CHEESE

to the Normanby Dairy Factory at a ineeW on Wednesday, ooiifirmed a former resolution to establish, cheese factories' at Nonnanby/Ararata, and Hirstlands. Mr W. bpodJand, chairman of directors, presided, and about 30 other shareholders were : . .. ..

'• , The ,, Chai ™ari said the directors had gone mto the question of finance and first approached tho bank, but the result was not at all.satisfactory. lleeently Mr. Turton (secretary),had inquired from various factories the smallest number: of cows rieoesthe installation of. cheese plants pay, and Joll's'said that fewer than H f°?™ WOuld ot , Kaupokonui put it at 700 cows. Calculated on the averLo of five suppliers each; cow gave 2091b. of buttor-fat: Ararata supplied this season 32 xi. of^n tter " fat i equalling 71,8001b.: but on tbe 650 cows basis Ararata would have ™f its supply of .butter-fat to 130,0001b. Was Ararata in a position to guarantco that amount ? Tho only thing for Ararata to-do would be for tho suppliers to consent-to separate accounts ibeiiig kept. Hirstlands was considerably! below Ararata. ■This soason 19 tous of > buiter-fat were ,supphed_to Eirstlands, and, allowing for two months in spring before the factory wasopened, it -would, be equal , to 25 tons -of butto-fat. He dia not think that the -in-.staUation-of a cheese plant at .Hirstlands would pay.' It.had been said thaf if Hirstlands. did not get a : cheese factory thby would -quit." Before the Hirstlauds supj.pliers decided to sever from the'company he assured them that they would have to ehoulder their liabilities to the company TO ry shortly after Uiey had gone. Ho did not throw'that out.as a threat; ,Aβ regarded the installation of a cheese plant at Normanby, he d!d not think it could be done unwere willing to come over But that wm not the only difficulty The great difficulty lay in the fact .that.there was no room Jn.tfie presont imam, factory to allow of-;a cheese plant being installed there., There >as a'risk of fire ,n baring -the bmldings too close • gother. The only thing to do would bo toget an outside: site for a cheese.factory Mr. Gane:>s an individual, is the.'chairman in favour of cheese? ■. The Chairman: Personally, lam' Mt. Le Fleming askod what would bo the cost or installing tho cheose plants v. The, Chairman_ replied.^hat'the cost for £2000 fact °nes wouldbo -something'like

• A i lr V-S ib u n m ?™, l3: " In vfew of tne"financial difficulty which stood in the ' : .way ■of oheose plants being-installed, that'the company continue in the manufacture of-but-' Mr.Kelsen seconded. ■■'■.■>-";■ "'' ' ■ On;; Mr. Gibson's motion being-'put.to tho meeting, tho voting was: Tor,/.lf; against, J.O. * - ■■ ■''.:,-'.' y. '■'■ ,■'"' : .. : ~ '■.- ■ The chairman gave ..his. ■casting-yote against, tho resolution-.-. ~•■ ,' ■ -. ." ■■■|Mr. Gibson then called for a ballot, in niiioli.-each shareholder voted aecordin-r to tho number of shares held. Resnlt: Butter 782; cheese, 1360. ■ '■•"■ . Mr. Cocker moved: "That the directors !>o empowered to increase the shares by 100 per cent, on a butter-fat basis for tho purpose nf' getting tho financial assistance for lnstAllino; cheeso plants at Ararata and Normnnby. ■ .. ...' Mr. W. Gano seconded tho motion, which was.carried, only ono voter disseuting. ,

TASMANIAN POTATOES.

A correspondent in a letter in yceterday's Dominion condemned the Agricultural Department on a charge of having admitted to Now Zealand quantities of potatoes from Taemanjii, where ho ollojEfle a nm disooeo'

recently broke ont. Ho considered such action calculated to introduce disease to New Zealand and increase the price of potatoes. The Government Biologist, Mr. T. W. Kirk, when questioned on tho subject yesterday, said tho Tnsmanian potatoes which had' lately boon imported to New Zealand had been- a very clean sample free from disease ■ The powers of the Department enabled theni to exclude produce only .when diseased, so' that they had no power to stop tho importation/of tho potatoes in question. If tho writer of the complaint wished nil Tasmanian 'potatoes to ho excluded, that would-havo: to ho a question of now legislation, with which, of course, tho Department had- nothing to do.

STUMPINC IN THE OLD DAYS.

, THE BENEFITS OF BLASTING. Writing with: reference to the district ■ around Cheltenham and Kiwitea, our travelling correspondent says:—This is a country where a. comparatively short time ago there was. nothing" but'heavy .bush. Axe and firo 'have now' done their, work and left vast expanses of beautiful grass lande, with all the various • improvements which have been placed on them. It has seemed to mo nothing _ short of a marvel that all this has been Bono by hand labour. Every tree was felled by tho axe, and many acres of land wore stumped and cleaned by manual labour, years before the explosives, which are now i so indispensable, camo into use. To clear land of stumps and timber now is a different matter from what it was twenty years ago. About that time I wanted ■ a smaU . area tJeared, and tlie lowest tender was £20 aii aero. Of course, the bush had ..not boen down long, so tho roots would be still . green. But, of course, tho price "was based: 'on all hand labour, while to-day stumping and clearing are quite an easy matter.- • I have seen rimu stuinps four feet across the scalf and .with big flanges, which mean large roots, thrown clean out of tho ground at a cost of Is. 6d. for blasting gelatine and twentv minutes of labour. Under : former condStions a day would havo been taken, and at least two men, and then, when they had got the stump out, would come tho trouble of burning a solid , lump of rimu. Those who have done any-stumping will know what a lot of firing it takes to get rid of a big stump.' With explosives, tho'stnmp is not only lifted: out of tho ground, but shattered into many easily-handled pieces, which of themselves, when started, are sufficient to make a good fire.' There is no doubt that land is higher in price now'than only a few years ago, but there is one thing in favour of the man ,who takes up '.bush land in these later.days: ho is able to mako a start at clearing hie land as soon after his first, burn as ho .can got 'to work, as the more solid the logs aroy and tho.tinner the stumps are in the.ground, the better is the resnlt. The how settler in a bush district could start at once. clearing his land, and' if he had a ton-pound note fer a battery, and a cbuplo of pounds for a case of explosives, he could, get" rid of a few stumps and shatter his logs at many odd/times—in what a farmer I know calls stolen time! Ho used to dig a bit'of ground for a vegetable garden before breakfasts—sometimes ' ten : minutes, sometimes half an hour. :In these odd times it would bo,an eye-opener to see what area of land could bo cleared in twelve months after the new burn. But without explosives he would have to wait ten or twelve years or more, for otherwise tho cost would be beyond the means of the average man on the land. . -

HAWKE'S BAY FRUITGROWERS.

, A. general meeting of the Hawke'e Bay, Fruitgrowers' Association?:;., was Held at "Hastings on Saturday Yftftirnoqn, •' Mr. 1 ,, . 'Cook presiding.■ ■;'-'-' : j; .'/'''i\;'j'b'i'.'*-' Mr..'\Vi A. Boucher,■ Government Pomologist. gave an interesting address-on "Spraying,', iviiich was' listened to,'with, great attentionv At theconcjlusion Mr .Boucher was accorded a hearty: vote of thanks.. • It was also decided ,'to recommend to the Agricpltural Department that Mr. Boucher attend .thd; conference next, month at AVellington, and deliver the .samo address ! there. • '

In reply to a communication from tho secretary of the Palmerston North Dairy Show, it was decided to recommend the-, appointment of Mr. F.-. Cook as a judge in . tho apple classes. ".' ,' ■" ; . . In regard to cool storage of, fruit, Mr. Boucher informed the meeting that ho estimated that it would cost Jd. per lb. to store apples for four months.. . ■'~ Mr. W. G. Gould was appointed delegate to the conference next month, in,the event of tbo present delegate, Mr. F. Cook, being unable, to attend.. . ■ . ,• , ■ : . , .•

INSTRUCTION IN WOOL-CLASSING.

. According to a Press Association message from! Foilding, the Technical. School Committee-,; with the-'approval of"the Wanganui Education Board, has arranged , for. woolclassing instruction in various parts of the district. Tho instructor engaged is Mr." J. T. Cahill, well' known to all largo woolgrowers. The first class was held at Waituna on Satnrday. Forty-three pupils were present. After an instructive lecture by Mr. Cahill, Mr. E. Short, the famous Romuey breeder and prize-winner, gayo an address oil how to start and' manage a flock. Classes in other parts of the district are promised strong support. -••' / -.'

HASTINGS PLOUGHING MATCH.

At a meeting l of the Hawke's Bay Ploughing Match and Entiro Parade Committee, held on Saturday, it was decided that the , fixture take place- on August 3,, in, Mr.' Bridgeman's paddock, Hastings. ' V ' . SHOW DATES. June IJ> to ,17.—Invercargill'Winter Show. June 22 to 25;— National Dairy Show (Pal- ; merstou North).;- ,, . : . ■.'.,'-.■...-

FARMERS' UNION CONFERENCE V DATES. ■■-• <

Farmers' Union Conferences will bo held this year as follow: .",'-.. OJ-ago.—Not yet : notified/ / '■ End of July.—Dominion Conference, at Wei- : lingtoii. '~';.■ ' * ■ . ".: A biennial conference of agricultural societies will be held ;in Wellington this year, probably at the end of June. ' ;