GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 713, 12 January 1910, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Gales and 'the scarcity.of rain l (says our Feilding correspondent) .' have given- the crops and orchards-in:the iHalcombe dis.felclr:a.':'c6hsidefable ;setto'ck.l i. ' . The .secretary of the Pahiatua Central ■Branch of. the Farmers' XJnion (says our local has received a communication from Mr. S. • Woods, of Hastings, expressing his /willingness \to ; con-, duct wool-classing classes at ; Pahiatua at dates:, to bo- arranged.; ■ This; :is; in answer to- an inquiry. made by the branch., some time back. '.-" ' • v'-' ■~ ; "

.; The'famous. Te Ante herd Of Shorthorn cattle ■ was; [started by ; the late Ven.' Archdeacon Williams in 1862.

The Queensland Government proposes "to extend- .-agriculturalteaching in'- the schools.by appointing a special- steadier, totravel . round the State'schools-and deliver lectures; oil, the, elementary'" portion of] agricultural practice....

. 'The'necessity" for : 'keeping a record of' the rainfall in the different parts of New Zealand, and for making such/information available at the Afferent Land Board offices, is, to be brought before tho Government by tho ./Hastings: branch of tho Farmers' Union. .•

The'■weather,;has.:l)een fairly-- dry. in Taranaki lately, and :; there'. has of course been a falling milk supply. The. rain' of. the' past few days. has; consequently Ibeen' much appreciated. So far .tho driest.weather along the West Coast has been ex-: perience'd between "Wanganui and • Patca.

Our Pahiatua correspondent states that Mr.; Thomas Horton; .ttie well-known-nur- : seryinah, vrfll' act as judge in ' connection 'with ;the borticultn'ral section at ' the forthcoming Pahiatua-Alntio sbow. :

.• for the Peildmg A. and, P. ? Show may be seen ' at The Dominion office, or may be obtained from the secretary, Mr. E. H. Fisher, box 98, Feilding P.O.

. Some idea, of the immensity of thcrabbit pest may, bo' obtained (says a correspondent of. tho "Press") from the fact that on 'the Morv'en Hills run,v'an area of ■about 350,000 acres, to : be thrown open by the Government in February, tho number of rabbits cleared off: the ground in v1909 ran into millions, and. tho anuual cost of clearing, them 1 off has.;averaged something like £H>W for. the past .five years; ■ ;

Last year an Ashburton farmer. refused lbs. per'head; for a lino of over '300 latabs, his reserve being 16s. ' He sent th'cm, Home on his- own account, and: after paying expenses he received an average return of lis. 4d; per lamb.,