GENERAL' FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 808, 4 May 1910, Page 8

GENERAL' FARMING NEWS.

A good many intending applicants, including residents of the youth Island and southern parts of the North Island, have been inspecting the :Hau- • rakt Plains which the.'Government is throwing, ppen, and cvecv launch going up J the''nvOT % land-seek-ers. Most of thera appear to be very much impressed with the quality of the land, but some would bo better pleased Jf. the drainage - works had been quite completed, before the : land was thrown open to selection. I r rora - all quarters, however, comes the . opinion that, there will be a'tremendous'number.; of applicants,' 1 '• • -V • The Feilding, "Star" Teports that Mr. H. Vile has disposed of his farm at Longburn at «£56 per acre, and lias purchased a property at Himitangi. i At the meeting of the Ellesmere Agricultural and Pastoral Association at Lcoston- oh Thursday .it was stated that, there were at present 600,000 carcns?es of frozen mutton stored in Canterbury.

i Several farmers in the Waimea Plains (Southland): district : have already sown seed for. . next year's harvest. They are experimenting' in this way with a view of;getting the benefit of winter rains in order to. give tlie grain a good start, anil to overcome tho difficulties later on of any drought such as occurred this year. They think that in this way early sowing will be profitable, although they risk the ravages of frost. On this latter point they incline to the idea that not only does Southland's winter not seem to be so severe as years ago, but that' - with the laud gradually getting better drained, frost, loses its terror.

A- crop of wheat of the Telavaria<variety grown by Mr. T. S. Shields, on his farm at Mason's Flat, has yielded, 70 1-3 bushels per acre. The seed was obtained from Lincoln College. A. mob of 400 head of Waikato cattlc of various ages arrived in Palmerston on Saturday, for the stock sales to-morrow. Several mobs of- cattle from the same place have arrived during the past few months, and' there appears a likelihood of a lucrative business being in this connection, Palmerston' making a good distributing ccntre for all parts of the southern portion of the island.

The price of six shillings a bushel received* for the Nelson apples at Monta Video will give a return to the growers, the Nelson (Hail", states, of three shillings a bushel, or something over three farthings a pound. The Levin "Chronicle" says : there is every likelihood of the "various flaxmills in Horowhenua County running . right through the winter, Seifert • Brothers' mill at Shannon, Swainson, and Bovan's mill at llanakau, and Bevan and M'Donald's mill at Pobotawa are three, certain workers throughout the winter. ' A' Waihao Forks (Canterbury) resident, writing to the "Tiinaru Post," says:— This year makes the fourth dry one in succession, and tho farmers, here are one' and all crying out for rain. Turnips are scarce, and maiiy are afraid to sowwheat for fear of dry rot. A prominent farmer, who has been in the district for many years, informed us'that'Jt 4 is the worst season he has ever experienced in South Canterbury. : Many of our rainwater tauks sadly reed replenishing, and presently there will be a great outcry against the weather gods. The small lot of South Australian fruit which reached London lately arrived in fair condition (says the "British Australasian").' Some trays were rather ripe, while others would have to ripen after sale. It was priced at Gs. Gd. per tray. The William Boil Chretien pears are sure of a' fine market at Covent Garden, and the trade were well pleased with the lot to hand.

It has been said (remarks the "Bruce Herald") that frosts will kill the turnip blight, and so it probably will if it is severe enough. A farmer, after the cold of a week ago, brought in some ieaves from his turnip , field and placed them near the warmth of the fire. Tho result was that the blight was at once reanimated, and the insects soon made uso of. their wings. A farmer in. a fairly large «v on the Ashburton Plains informed a Guardian" reporter that the past season had ieen tho most profitable one that iarmers on the light land had experienced for nianv years. Feed for stock had been abundant, aged ewes and lambs had been fattened off at a comparatively early date, and prices for mutton, lamb, and wool were higher than they hud been for some considerable time. "By way of comparison," said our informant, "farmers on the medium quality land had made an infinitely larger turnover this season than those who . were faming on the highest fertile soils."