GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 797, 21 April 1910, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

At the last moment the Government has:decided to get 'together, an exhibit of:Ne'wJZealand, produce for the Argentine- Show. A few days ago, so far as could be-gathered, thero was no intention of sending' anything, and the-. Minister for: •; Agriculture, /stated,'.'.' on being., interviewed i.;by.. r .a"-'. representative, /'of- The' Dominion, that he "had been unable to obtain . any information which would justify the dispatch of an exhibit of apples. Apparently the Government has •come to the conclusion that representation at' a profitable-in-vestment -tor tile Dominion lifter all. Tho opening. ceremony . takes place on June 1, and tho: show closes on July 31. Mr. Kobieson, head- of ■ Commorco and Tourists' Division.;.- isi'arranging the exhibit, and the officers of the Department are bnsily engaged in. collecting a representative lot-of "fruit,-produce, etc., for as early shipment as. possible in tho few weeks-now remaining. ' , -'■ The' --.'NoTthern'. : Wairoa'i Co-uperativ6' Dairy Company paid out on Tuesday a sum of 10s. 6d. f0r42,5571b..0f but-ter-fat- supplied during the:.month of .March; I'or the same month last year tho sum of .61184- 16s. 2d. f0r?33,3491b. of .butter-fat was paid. v'; .< .Af the beginning;of the week the Hapuku: Dairy: WmparijV'Kaikouru, which is 'in !.conrs6 :of ■'.flotation,\ had still. 200 shares to get off before the provisional directors could." .proceed' to allotment. Unless theie aro taken up this week it is doubtful whether the factory will be erected. ;;'.;■,.. I'armers'at' Mandeyille, Southland, had been crying for rain for.six months.wken a downpour came last week. Ploughing was impossible owing to tho hardness of the ground, and teams were going idle; butjiow the ground is in good trim, and as it is still early in the season there is ample time to get along with'arrears. Grass paddocks have got a thorough washing and , cleaning, and turnips, which were showing signs of blight, have got a fresh start, ensuring a plentiful supply; of winter, feed. . Sheep of all .classes in the district are in the' pink of condition. ■ Farmers in . various parts of South Canterbury are complaining bitterly in regard to -.- shortage .of grain-carrying trucks on tho railway. They quote instances where; serious inconvenience and loss .of- time have occurred through wagons not turning up at the time promised.-. .' I - ■ ■

The connection between over-shipment and a fall in prices for frozen meat was touched upon by Mr. C. H. Besley at a gathering at Sri Audrew's, Canterbury, on Saturday evening. • He said that from Tiniaru during the period from January : 1, 1910,'t0 April 8, 1910, 248,000 carcasses of' frozen meat wero shipped Home,. as against 20S.UU0 for the same period in 1909. ' This lepresented an increase of 40,000, and there were about 130,000 carcasses, in the works at the present time. The farmers must expect lower prices for their lambs; prices had just come down |d., and they might fall lower. He advised . farmers not to go busing store sheep recklessly, and to go slow.

Tho Cambridge Co-operative Dairy Company will to-day oh account of 110,1271b. of butter made during tho month of March.(says the "Auckland Star" correspondent). This is over .£IOOO more than for the corresponding month of last year,, when the payment was i! 2563. .Thw coiapaJij's local trade has much increased of late. The plant is'now thoroughly up. to date in every way, and tho cream is pasteurised on similar lines to those-adopted in Denmark, and the result-is shown by the high, grading of the butter by tho Government expert. ' The market in the Old Country is extremely - good, and latest advices state it is firm. ■.-;

A punt load of about. 65 fine fat steers was being conveyed from Dargavillo tu Helensville on Saturday, and when near Kaipara Heads very rough seas were encountered, with the result that the punt load of cattle was swamped. The steers all swam to the shore. Another punt load of seventy was to hate been taken down on Sunday, but the manager for Mr. Bailey, to whom the cattle belonged, telegraphed up to say that the mob was to be taken home asrain. It is an incident lik? tho above (writes our Dargavillo correspondent) that demonstrates the danjjer of -punting northern stock to Helensville, and the great need there is for- a ■ railway. ■ Trade in stock has tremendously increased of late, and the western route, is becoming day by day. a more- urgent necessity. Tho sooner it comes the, sooner, will farmers he re-

lieved of the extreme dangers to which the- carriage,, of stock is at present ;exposed7ou tho.run to Helensville.. , ■ The "Southland Times", reports that laud in Edcr.dalo keeps up in value. A young settler lately refused JE2S an acre from a Canterbury 'buyer for a handy%i%h(x fain, oi 130 acres.

, Mr. 51. J. Corrigan has placed under .offer to the Government his GOO-ncre farm, situated about six miles from llakikihi; and about one mile from Hunter, South Canterbury. It is said that tho land could be'cut up into blocks of from SO to 100 acres. Tho Laud Purchase Board has made an offer for the land, but it is uot one that Mr. Corrigan will accept.

-Our Dargftvillo correspondent writes that the Government has signified its approval of an important'scheme whereby the;sum of J!H,OOU will ho available for the drainage of the. Tokatoka swamp. When this swamp is effectively drained it, will m-oviilo bomo ot the best farhia in": the Dominion. The conditions arc that the Raupo Drainogo Board shall raiso a Joan of ,£3OOO. Parliament will be asked to. vote a subsidy of .£3OOO, whilst 4000. acres of Crown lands "in the locality, over which Messrs. Butler Brothers have certain timber rights, will be loaded with a loan of £2 per acre, making, in all, £14,000. Tho Maketawa Dairy -Factory, Taranaki, expects to close down this year for the, month of Juno only, when the floor of tho separator room will b» concreted. At .this week's meeting of the general committee of the Manawatu A. and. P. Association, it was decided that all cows in milk in the dairy. division should be judged first; so as to enable them to he milking, earlier in the day. The practice has been in the past to judge the bulls first, and when there were large classes it took a- considerable time, with the result that the cows, which were naturally kept very, full of milk, suffered a certain amount of injury. Mr. E. Short was yesterday granted six months' leave of absence from committee of the. Manawatu A. and P. Association. This will cover the period Mr. Short will be away at the Argentine Show. ....-'■_,