GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 795, 19 April 1910, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

CO-OPEEATTVE BULL IMPORTATION.

An interesting development has taken place at Dalefield. A small syndicate of nvo members has been formed for the purpose of co-operating in the purchase ahd : importation of two pure-bred Holstein bulls. Four of the members of tho syndicate are members of the jDalefield Herd-Testing Association, and the herd-testing results have doubtless stimulated , tho desire to possess' first-class cattlo. The Wo bulls are to bo shipped at San Francisco by the Oceanic line, and will bo transhipped to the Union Company steamer at' Papeete. Tho world's champion Jersey cow, Colantha the Fourth's Johanna, : is an American Holstein. The Dalefield dairy farmers are strong believers in the breed.

Mr. A. E. Mayo has been elected chairman of the Feilding branch of the Farmers' Union and Mr. C. Selby vice-chair-man. It was decided to fix the membership fees on thb .same scalo as. last year, namely, for 250 acres, 10s.; 500, 155.; 750, 205.; 1000 ; and over, 30s. . . Profiting by the experience gained during the past few seasons, farmers in tho Ashburton county, in common with .those: in other parts of Canterbury, intend sowing wheat at a much earlier date than in. former 6easpns. Already-a comparatively.: largo ' area of land is. ploughed,, and: a, large q.nantity of wheat' will- ; be sown at the beginning of next month. Tho auhimn-sowri oats are well. up,, and aro looking particularly ■: strong and healthy. A contemporary states that at Ohakune inquiries for bush lands (milking areas)', are continually being made. One thousand throe hundred acres in the district has just changed hands at a good figure. Tho demand', for'fanning land, is ,also satisfactory.!'. ; • ' •'■■ : Tho milk supply in the Ohaliune district on the.'Maiu Trunk line is reported 1 to be surprisingly good for.:-the.- timolol: tho year. Dairy farmers arb showing a, profit fll 25V pe; '.cow. per month, and this from land purchased at £9 an acre. Mr. J. D. ITcaley has. a cow which has been tested by itfr'. Batej',. manager of the Stratford Dairy Company, and hasgiven a week's test of 8.8. per cent. The cow is a three-year pedigree Jersey. Another cow of tho-same ago came up to 8.0 : per ;cent.: Both ■■cows were grass-fed.. -, Tho whole of the'country', between Tβ. Aroha and Okania (a stretch of 20 miles, , along the lower slopes and foothills of tho dividing-range) is looking exception-'; ally well just now, and the supply of. milk to tho various creameries is keeping well up. .■•■''■ At the Nireaha,Factory, to-iriorrow tho sum of .£903 12s. 10d. will be paid out to suppliers ifor four weeks ending March 30, at an advance of Bd;' per., lb. of butter-fat. Tho amount- for the same period last year was .£741. The company has received advice tliafc their shipments of cheese ex Corintliic and Ruahine realised for white 025., nnd coloured 60s. per cwt. The milk supply is reported to bo keeping up well.

It is reported '(says a Napier Press Association message) that a blight has attacked the Californian th'istlo this year in the Patoka district. Tho blight is one which has also attacked the Scotch thistle.

The supply is keeping. up very well at the Bongokokako Cheese Factory, Eketahuna. Ninepenco per lb. for butter-fat is to be advanced on Mnrch supply, the advance totalling .£485. The last lino of clieese sent to Wellington for shipment to London graded 93 points. '

To-morrow will be sv big day with*the dairy farmers at Midhurst, Taranaki, for besides the ordinary monthly cheque, the factory will be paying out a bonus of Is. 3d. per lb. of butter-fat. ' Tho factory has had a most prosperous year, having been fortunate in getting rid of the butter at most satisfactory prices.

. Tho heavy rotting of apples, especially of the Northern Spy and Etowah species, is causing considerable anxiety among Whangaroi fruit-growers to combat the evil. Tho secretary of the Fruitgrowers' Association, Mr. J. Mackie, has telegraphed to Mr. W. A. Boucher, the Government pomologist, asking him to pay an early visit to the district to investigate the cause of the rot and advise local growers. ' '

.Threshing.'.and chaffing are in full swing in the Waikato, yields generally' being light, owing chiefly to the grain not being well filled, while many of .the later harvested crops were partially spoiled' by wet weather.

, The Waitara Road Dairy Company's payment to suppliers for March milk; was .£ll3l 19s. 3d., as against <£739 7s. 7d. for the corresponding month of. last year, when 10d. was paid, as against,9Jd. this season. The amount of milk received was W0,0281b., as against 380,6071b., an increase of 329,4211b. Butter fat, produced totalled 28,4211b., as against 17,748 lb., an increase of 10,6731b. Commercial butter made was 33,2541b., against 20,187 lb., an increase of 5 tons 16cwt. 751b; The average test was 4.4-1.

The Auckland "Star's" Cambridgo correspondent writes: "There is great distress amongst most of our poultry kcepors in this district, for those who had reared specially early pullets so that they would lay through the autumn and winter, have been disappointed, for they are getting scarcely any eggs at all. Tho pullets moulted a couple of months ago, many of them, and just as tho poultry keepers wero congratulating themselves that tho fowls were' well over it and would soon be laying, the perverse birds have broken' into another moult,. and of course have struck, against laying. One man who usually gets about a couple of dozen eggs per day,,at this season is only getting one; and he gave' mo; the names of several , .other largo * poultry, keepers who are faring' similarly. What has caused this second moult is what they want to know/ 1 suppose the.season mnst have something to do with it."

Wheat-growing has not been a popular branch of;.farming in the.Waikato during the last few years, but there are still a few enthusiastic'growers. Among them (says:the "Argus") is Mr. C. Day, of- PencarrW, whose wheat stacks are ever a conspicuous feature in the autumn landscape at Tamahere. This, season eight substantial stacks have been gathered; Tho yield will run about .30 bushel's per acre, and upon the same land, last season 41 bushels per acre were threshed, the variety in each case being White Tuscan. The above shows not only that Waikato cin grow good wheat, but that two crops in succession is not above the productive-powers of weli-farraed ■ land. Mr. Day will have about 1000 sacks, of milling wheat, for which he expects to realise 4s. 3d. per bnshel at the Auckland, mills.;. ■ - . ...■.-'.,•.

The butter export'season in.Auckland is searing '-'.its close,'but tho; factories are still turning out -far .JargcrV quantities ■ than at this time last year. For the fort'nighf ended on .Friday (says the "Herald")j G6oo;.boxes, or 105 tons, were'.sent into cool".store.for shipment by tho s.s; lonic frpni; Wellington, as against 1133 boxes,-, or ■28 tons,.for the corresponding period of last year. This increased production, while .in part due to the favourconditions that have prevailed this season, is largely owing to tho fact that many dairy-farmers, have seen , the advantages that will accrue, to them' from winter dairying, and quite a number of-Auckland-factories will continue operations throughout the winter, consequently there is little chance for speculators to "corner",-the local.market. A share in the: increase of , production may also be traced to Va weeding-out of unprofitable .animals, and.the breeding , of better milking cowsi :". . ■'-.-''

At Kimboltbn last week Mr. E. Short entertained his fellow-members of : the Kiwitea County Council at a, farewell, dinner on -the eve of his departure for. the Argentine,, whither he is .taking a number of ■, his prizo Komney sheep to compete in the world's championships. Among those present.were Messrs. D. Guthne, M.V., and F. F. Hockley. chairman.:. o£ the ■ Kiwitea ..County Council. Mr., Hockley,. on behalf of the members of the council;, presented Mr. Short with a handsome gold medal; bearing the following inscription: "Presented to Mr. Ernest Short; by his fellow-councillors, as a mark of esteem." Mr. Short briefly returned thanks. . .

. The, Percheron draught horse has never caught.on in this part of the world as it has' done iii America, where it "is the most largely advertised of all tho draught breeds. Possibly, says tho "Australasian;" this may be due to the viery modest opinion held by Englishmen in general, and by Australians in particular,. with regard to tho qualifications of the Frenchman as a stockbreeder. These opinions were probably shared by cattle-dealer Kidman until iiwhile ago he visited one of the French studs, and saw things for himself, and as a result of seeing bought a Percheron stallion and brought it out to •, South Australia. Good examples are occasionally infections, and this unusual departure on the part of one practical Australian may yet bo responsible for. others doing likewise. •' • . ■■